Ruby Rose was a bird faunus. Well, a hooded crow faunus if one wanted to be specific. Which wasn't too bad. She got some cool wings and a tail with black and red tipped feathers. Which, yes, she could use to fly sometimes. She could whistle like a champ, and she could sing pretty well too. If one were so fortunate to catch her doing so. She'll even coo if someone ran their hand through her hair, but she'll take that secret to her grave.

Sure, there were some people who were a bit mean to her. Washing her wings could be a pain, sometimes literally. And having people come up to her asking for her to shake her tail feathers was a bit weird.

But overall, it wasn't too bad to be a bird faunus. So, why was Ruby pacing on one of Beacon's rooftops one morning?

Well, you see, she was having these dreams. No, no, no! Not those kind of dreams. Nothing filthy or anything like that. So, if they weren't filthy then why were they such a concern to the girl? Well, the best way to explain would be to recount one of these dreams.

They would usually start with Ruby building a nest. Running around looking for cool sticks. Finding nice bits of, usually red, fabric to add. Putting in a few shiny things to bring it all together. Adding some pillows and blankets for some extra comfort. Completely normal things that she was sure every girl dreamed of!

Then he would show up and make it all weird.

The "he" being Beacon's resident blond knight to be, and Ruby's best boy friend, Jaune Arc.

At first, he would just lay down beside her. Then they would start touching each other. Cuddling, He would even pat Ruby's head. Then they would start kissing and holding hands. Okay so maybe her dreams were filthy, but only a little bit.

As you can imagine, Ruby was a mess after she had this dream. She couldn't even look at Jaune for most of that day without becoming a blushing mess. Much to Jaune's confusion. Which didn't go unnoticed by a certain sunny dragon.

The teasing. Oh gods, the teasing. It was merciless.

But eventually Ruby did get over her embarrassment. That was until she had the exact same dream that night, and for every night over the last few weeks.

Which brings us back to Ruby's current crisis. Why was she having these dreams? For the first week the answer alluded her, but now it was clear as day. Even to someone as usually uninterested in the topic as Ruby.

Ruby Rose had a crush on Jaune Arc, and she had no idea what to do about it. She couldn't ask Yang, for reasons that should be fairly obvious. Weiss… well she would just insult Jaune instead of helping. Blake would probably say to do something lewd. Nora had her own boy problems to overcome. And Pyrrha… well she wasn't an option.

Ruby sat on the edge of the roof wondering what she was going to do. This wasn't exactly her area of expertise. Why couldn't this be simple, like making a weapon? Actually, maybe she could forge Jaune a sword? A dagger, maybe? Or maybe a sword that turned into a sniper and a rocket launcher! See that was simple. Love, not so much.

She stared down at the park her metaphorical perch overlooked.

Maybe she could bake him some cookies? Yeah, that was a good idea. Special "Will you pretty please go on a date with me" cookies. It just might work. But what kind of cookie did Jaune like? She couldn't just make any type of cookie for him. It would have to be a type he loved. Nothing less would be acceptable.

But she couldn't just go up to him and ask. "Hey Jaune, what kind of cookie do you love so much that you would fall in love with the girl who made them for you?" No, she would have to do some reconnaissance. Be all sneaky like. Maybe Blake could help her with that? She can be pretty sneaky when she wanted to be.

It was then that Ruby noticed something. The object of her current crisis, and affections, sitting on a bench below her. Feeding the birds. Spreading out bit of corn for the pigeons when he should be feeding Ruby corn!

Getting over her momentary corn-based jealousy, which is a normal feeling that normal people have, she came to a realization. Now would be the perfect time for some spying. She would just need to use a little trick that her father had taught her.


Jaune had just sit down in his favorite spot. It was in a quiet corner of Beacon's courtyard. A few trees providing some nice shade. Though surprisingly few people came to this section. Which Jaune was more than happy to take advantage of. It was nice to have a quiet corner all to himself.

Sometimes it was hard to find some peace and quiet in his dorm. Nora would usually make sure of that. Jaune had come to see the energetic young girl as a true friend, but man, could she be a handful sometimes. He had no idea how Ren handled her. That man had the patience of several saints.

Even Pyrrha could be a bit distracting at times. Jaune understood that she liked to sleep naked. It can get pretty hot in those rooms sometimes. Really it wouldn't be a problem if she didn't toss and turn so much in her sleep, which would mean that her blanket usually ended up in the floor instead of covering her.

Which made it pretty hard for Jaune to get things done while she was taking a nap. Which she started taking a lot more of lately. How strange.

Jaune stared up at the sky for a few moments after taking a seat. It had been an interesting few months since he arrived at Beacon. He'd made some good friends. Killed a few grimm. Nobody knew about his transcripts besides his partner and Cardin. And he managed to not die yet. It was going great.

But it was stressful as hell.

Which is why he'd made a habit of coming out here to feed the birds, speaking of. Jaune pulled out a brown paper bag containing bits of dried corn and scattered them on the ground. And soon his feathered friends appeared. Well, most of them at least.

Ruby was probably off doing something with her team. He wouldn't have minded her company. She always had a way of making things make sense for Jaune. Even if half of what she talked about involved pointy things or things exploding.

It was then that a bird perched itself on the bench next to Jaune. To say it wasn't like the others was a bit of an understatement. Well for one, it was a crow. Second being its coloration. With black feathers that became red at the tips. Almost like Ruby's actually. Well, isn't that neat. Lastly it was staring at him. Not at the food, but at him. With little silver eyes.

Jaune did what he usually did with the birds. Offered some food. "Want some food, buddy." He said to the crow before throwing another handful of corn onto the ground. Which the crow responded to with a quick caw and walking closer to Jaune. Eventually crawling up onto his lap.

"Do you want to be hand fed?" Jaune asked the crow, holding out another handful of corn. To which the crow responded with another caw before staring to peck at the corn kernels in his hand. He sat and watched the crow for a minute. It was strangely familiar.

"You know little guy, you kind of remind me of my friend Ruby." He said, because normal people talk to strange birds, "Or well, I guess your coloration does. Black feathers with red tips. At least that's what she has on her tail feathers. I've never actually seen her wings, but I would guess they have the same pattern."

The crow stopped eating and returned to staring at Jaune as he carried on his rambling.

"Which I get. I mean with people like Cardin around it's not she can go around just displaying them, but I guess it's a bit weird not to have seen them. I don't know. I bet they would be pretty, though. Well, she's already pretty so I guess that would just make her prettier. Does that make sense?" He asked the crow.

The crow didn't respond this time. Simply continuing to stare at Jaune.

"Guess it doesn't really make-" Jaune was interrupted by his scroll buzzing. "What is it this time. 'Nora found the sap. All over the dorm.' Welp, better go sort that out. See you later Red? Can I call you that?"

The crow again responded with a caw as Jaune sat up to leave. The crow standing on the back of the bench watching him go.


Ruby, still perched on the bench, watched Jaune walk away before flying back to her previous spot on the roof. She transformed back into her regular form and started pacing on the roof again.

"He said I was pretty," She said still pacing back and forth, "Not cute. Not adorable. Pretty."

Oh, Ruby was in trouble. Her plan had pretty much failed. She learned nothing about the kind of cookies he liked and just ended up all flustered.

"What am I going to do," She said laying down on the rough surface of the roof, "Why can't this just be easy. Why can't I just say that I like him!" She screamed towards the heavens. No, it can't just be that simple. She had to do something to make him notice her. To make him want to ask her out. That would be so much easier, but what?

She laid there thinking. "It has to be something that'll work fast. Something awesome. Something that'll make me irresistible." She needed something. Anything! If only she had someone, she could ask that would actually be helpful. "If only…"

She paused. Maybe she did have someone that could help her. Someone that always gave her good advice. But asking her would be a drastic measure, but Ruby couldn't risk Jaune falling for Pyrrha while Ruby was indecisive.

No, now was the time for drastic measures. So, Ruby would bring out the big guns.

She'd call her mom and ask for her advice.

"Sorry Pyrrha," Ruby said bringing up her mom's number on her contact list "But that Arc booty is mine!"


Summer was enjoying the cool morning air while tending to her garden. She was still getting use to Yang and Ruby being gone, but she was getting through the days just fine.

Maybe she should start taking on missions again? Ozpin would probably be happy to have her back in the field. Though Qrow would probably have a much less positive reaction. Considering how close her last mission came to being the end of Summer Rose.

Summer's scroll started to buzz. "It's Ruby," She said looking at the caller ID. "Hopefully RWBY isn't in trouble again." She said to herself before answering the call. "Hello Ruby."

"Hi Mom," Ruby said, "Do you have a minute to talk? I kind of need your help with something."

"I'm just doing a little gardening, so I've got time to chat. What do you need help with?"

Ruby started fidgeting and rubbing her fingers against her cloak. A little nervous habit she picked up from her father. "Well, you see I… Well, I umm… I kind of…" She trailed off.

Oh, she was definitely nervous about something, but not the same kind of nervous she was when her team got up to something dangerous. She usually only acted like this when Yang would tease her about getting a boyfriend.

Wait, Summer's mother senses were tingling and more importantly her grandmother senses! It was finally happening. Ruby likes a boy!

"You need help with a boy, don't you?" Summer said, holding back her excitement for the moment.

"…Yes." Ruby said sporting a healthy blush.

"Who is it, honey? That nice boy you met on your first day?" Summer said.

"Yeah, it's Jaune."

Jaune, from what Summer had heard about Ruby's fellow team leader he was a perfect gentleman, if not that great of a fighter. Helping Ruby out on her first day like that. Almost like Qrow did with Summer all those years ago. And the fact that Summer was good friends with Jaune's mother helped. Though it was a shame that they never had the opportunity to meet before they both went off to Beacon.

"Well, why don't you tell me why you like him, rosebud." Summer said, more than happy to do a little motherly snooping.

"Well, he's really kind, and brave. He fought an ursa by himself once." Ruby said in what was the beginning of what Summer sensed would be a long ramble. "He likes all the same comics I do. We play games together and stuff. He always helps me with my work for our leadership class. He doesn't zone out when I talk about weapons, and he actually asks questions. He pays attention! And, well umm…" Ruby paused with her blush deepening.

"Go on." Summer said. Trying to encourage her daughter.

"Well… he has a nice butt."

That earned a rather hardy snort laugh out of Summer, and a rather disgruntled "Mom," out of Ruby.

"Sorry dear," Summer said wiping a tear from her eye, "Like mother like daughter, I guess. So, I'm guessing you called to ask for some advice?"

"Yeah, what am I supposed to do. Ask him out? I'd probably just end up running away if I tried." Ruby said with a defeated look on her face.

"Honestly Ruby, I don't know if I can really help you there. I spend three years following your father around before he noticed me. I wasn't the one to ask him out."

"Well, he definitely isn't going to notice me. Pyrrha's had a huge crush on him all year and if he doesn't notice her… I don't like my chances."

"You'll just have to do something to make him notice. That's what I did."

Ruby quirked an eyebrow "What did you do to make dad notice?"

"Well, you see, I did a mating dance."

"A mating dance?"

"Yeah, since your father is a bird faunus I figured it would make him do, something. Either he would ask me out or he would turn me down, both were better options than me just pining after, and eventually losing, him."

"That… That might work." Ruby muttered to herself.

"What was that, dear. I couldn't hear you."

"Oh, I said thanks mom. I think I have an idea of what I should do now."

"Well, that's great. I hope it goes well, rosebud!"

"Thanks mom, I'll talk to you later."

And with that Ruby had a plan. To do a mating dance for Jaune. If she could work up the courage to try it that is.

If only love could be simple.


Today was the day. Either Ruby and Jaune would be dating after this, or they would just be best friends, but Ruby wouldn't just let nothing happen. Or take the chance that Pyrrha wouldn't make a move eventually. Nope. Today was the day.

So today Ruby was sitting on the bench that Jaune usually did when he fed the birds. Waiting for him to come. It wasn't quite as private of a place as Ruby would have liked it to be, but it was about as private as she was going to get. So, there she waited until eventually her knight made an appearance.

"Ruby?" Jaune said surprised that anyone knew about his spot, "What are you doing out here? Don't you usually spar with Weiss this time of day?"

"Yeah, usually." She said, standing from the bench taking one last deep breath. "But I have something I want to show you. Something special."

"Really? What is it?" He said.

It was now or never.


Jaune was surprised when he found Ruby out here by herself. He was more surprised when she said she had something to show him. And even more so when she unfolded her wings in front of him. He'd admittedly never seen her wings, but he had to say they were quite beautiful.

When Ruby started dancing well Jaune was figuratively, and almost literally, knocked off his feet. First by the fact that it was Ruby of all people dancing. She rarely put herself front and center.

Second being the fluidity of her dance. Her movements fine and controlled as she spun and weaved her way around him. Her wings hiding and revealing parts of her as she moved. Her tailfeathers and hips moving side to side rhythmically. It was really quite something. And Jaune was mesmerized by it.

And lastly, a fact that became more and more apparent as she danced closer, was that she was dancing for him. Jaune couldn't do or say anything. He was simply overwhelmed by that fact. A pretty girl was dancing for him. His best friend, or perhaps they were more than that?

Finally, Ruby's dance came to an end as she wrapped Jaune in her wings and looked into his eyes. Her face was as red as her cloak, she was breathing hard, but there was determination in her beautiful silver eyes. "So, did you like my mating dance." She asked.

"Mating dance?" He said quirking his head to the side. Mating dance. So did that mean she wanted to… "Wait, does that mean you want me to be your mate?"

"Yeah! Though you can say we're boyfriend and girlfriend if you prefer that." She said still staring into his eyes.

She wanted to be his girlfriend. She wanted him to be his boyfriend. Or mates, or whatever.

"…Yes, I'll be your mate."

"Really!" She said with a squeak.

"Yeah," he said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Great." She said laying her head against his chest. "Well, as my boyfriend do you think you could do a little favor for me?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Can you carry me back to my room," She said her face turning several shades redder, "That was actually really, really, really, embarrassing."

So, with that Jaune picked up his new "mate" and they headed off to her room.


Jaune and Ruby laid in their "nest", the nest being Ruby's bed with a ring of blankets and pillows around them. Ruby was fast asleep cuddled up next to Jaune. Softly cooing as he ran his fingers through her feather soft hair.

This wasn't exactly how Jaune thought he would get his first girlfriend, but he couldn't say that he would have it any other way.