Ruby
*Beep*
*Beep*
"*Yawn!* I-is it morning already?" I hazily rubbed my eyes, then stretching, shooting my arms upward.
"Ow...Thanks for the wake-up call Ruby," I gazed up to see I had hit Leo under his jaw.
"Ehehe sorry," after Leo knocked out my dad, which is still unfreakin' believable. We ran straight to the harbor avoiding the police that were heading to the scene. The path to the port was outside of city limits. Which meant we had to enter the forest to reach it. Fortunately, we encountered little to no Grimm along our way. A real blessing I had expected to have to fight a pack of Ursas or more. When we got to the harbor, we looked for a place to crash, but every place we checked had no rooms available. With no option left, we had to sleep outside. We found an alley that was clean enough, spotted a spot, and rested there. Leo insisted that I sleep between his legs, using him as a pillow and his jacket as a blanket. At first, I declined; however, once that cold midnight breeze hit me, I dove right in and snuggled up. It didn't take me long to fall asleep as Leo's body heat kept me warm enough where the cold air didn't even matter. Though, I can't say the same about Leo.
"Were you able to sleep?" I asked him.
"Yea...I caught an hour or two," I reached up, coupling his face and guiding it downward so I could see his face.
"Liar," he hadn't slept a wink. His eyes were red and droopy. "Leo, nothing was going to creep up on us. Even if something did, we got this little guy to warn us," I lifted his jacket slightly, revealing Zwei curled up into a ball on my lap. At first glance, Zwei appeared to be sleeping soundly, yet his ears were twitching slightly to any sound that drew near them.
"Yeah, your right," his voice was low and weary, making me huff in annoyance.
"Go to sleep," I ordered, pulling his nose, making him squirm.
"O-owwww Ruby, I'm still hurt from yesterday, be gentle, will ya?" I pulled even more.
"And who's fault is that? I didn't ask you to beat up my dad, ya know."
"But!"
"No, buts, go to sleep so I can lecture you for everything you've done." Checking the time, I saw we still had about an hour in a half before they started boarding. "I'll wake you up in an hour, so sleep!" I felt Leo rest his head on top of mine, then he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.
"Fine, but stay here with me. I don't want you running off and getting yourself into trouble."
"Your one to talk!" he chuckled softly. Then after some time, his breathing relaxed, and his hold on me loosened. Leo was asleep. I pushed him back, so he was leaning against the wall instead of me. Then I stood up, stretching my body, making popping sounds with my spine before sitting back down across from him. Zwei followed my lead, stretching for a bit before jumping back onto my lap.
"Guess I'll browse the web till it's time to wake Leo up," before I could open up the app, Zwei popped his head up, aiming to our right, signaling someone was approaching us. Though I didn't reach for my weapon as Zwei wasn't growling or barking, telling me it wasn't an enemy. However, it still made my heart race because there are only a select few people that Zwei doesn't bark too, and I hope it's not the two people I'm thinking of right now.
"Is this some new sexual play you guys thought of or something?" I let out a sigh of relief as one of our old classmates stood in front of us.
"Heya Trish, and no, it's not some sexual play," Trish Reeves, my best friend from Signal Academy, a Faunus girl with beautiful wavy chocolate hair that was tied in a clean ponytail and fuzzy fox ears to match. Her eyes were rich brown that was just radiant as her smile. She wore a red unbuttoned checkered flannel with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and a tight white shirt that highlighted her stupid chest that was definitely not bigger than mine. Lastly, she donned light blue slim fit jeans and brown leather cowboy boots with a holster tied to her side housing a revolver, one of the few weapons I didn't destroy called the Rose Cannon, which is what the gun should have been named, but Trish said the name was lame and changed it to Heartbreaker. Till This day, we still argue on which name is better. She's a ranch girl who moved here from Menagerie to get a better education since they don't have a proper school system yet. Just as what you expect from a rancher, she was slim and fit, except instead of having muscles, she had curves that left guys drooling at her feet. Like seriously, there was a line of boys lusting after Trish back in school. Boys are so stupid.
"Then what are you and the Mr. tall, dark and gruesome doing in an alley?" she asked, crouching down in front of us, scratching Zwei's belly, who jumped off to greet her.
"It's a long story," I told Trish everything that had happened these last 24 hours.
"HA! That's hilarious; leave it to Leo to make things worse!"
"Shhhhhh, Trish, he's trying to sleep!" Leo stirred, but thankfully he didn't wake up.
"Sorry, sorry, so what now? You guys gonna go to Menagerie to look for this Blake person for your sister?"
"Yeah, that's the plan."
"Well, that's great. I could use some company."
"Oh! Are you heading to Menagerie too?"
"Yeah, the folks need some help back at the ranch." Trish seemed dispirited.
"Is everything okay?"
"No, It's the Grimm there attacking again."
"Oh no, not again. What are the guards doing?"
"Nothing as usual." she sighed. "I keep telling my folks it's not worth building a ranch in Menagerie when the damn nation can't even protect its people, but they never listen—always going about that they have to make a foundation for the next generation and such, but for what? Menagerie is a dying nation. Because of the constant Grimm attacks, we can't even build a proper foundation as it keeps getting destroyed. Repairing the foundation is impossible as we lack the personnel, so we relocate somewhere else, forcing its people to abandon their homes and move or stay and try to make do. It's so irritating." She buried her face in her hands, not letting me see her face. I couldn't blame her for feeling that way. By no means was Trish letting events play out without her doing anything.
On the contrary, she's continuously been sending money she's earned completing Grimm contacts with Leo, Ike, and me. Allowing her parents to purchase supplies and hire huntsmen to protect them. Though, as of recent, the amount of lien required to employ a team of huntsmen has skyrocketed. Forcing Trish to have to choose between only sending money for supplies or protection. She gambled that the nation's guards would step up to the task in place of the missing huntsmen. Sadly she lost that bet. Crops were trampled and ruined; the livestock devoured or scattered, making it a lose-lose situation.
"Trish, what are you going to do?" she took a second to think before answering.
"I'm gonna go exterminate the Grimm nests near my family's ranch," she said bluntly.
"By yourself? Are you crazy!? They'll eat you alive!" The Grimm from Menagerie are much more aggressive than the Grimm from the mainlands. If you treat them lightly, you will die.
"I know that!? But what can I do? I don't earn enough lien from Grimm contracts even when I take on a part-time job."
"Can't your parents talk to the leader of Menagerie?"
"They've been trying, but they haven't been able to get an audience with that bastard. They say he's been busy with Monty knows what!" I wanted to offer another suggestion, but something caught my eye.
"Trish lemme see your hand," her eyes opened wide, hiding both of them from my view.
"..." I held out my hand, waiting for hers.
"..."
"Trish!"
"Okay! Fine!" she rested her hand on mine, letting me scan it. There on her wrist was a red mark as if someone had violently grabbed her by it. I raised her hand, frowning at her.
"Trish, what happened?" she avoided my gaze.
"Trish, come on, aren't we friends?" that made her cringe and eventually made her look at me.
"Look, Ruby, it's not what you think."
"Then tell me what happened." I pressed.
"I...I...I went back to that place," I felt my heart twist in disappointment and anger.
"Trish, what do you mean you went back to that place!?" I yelled, not caring for my surroundings.
Trish shook her hands erratically, " B-but I didn't take any jobs or shifts!" she tried to defend herself.
"But you still went, Trish! It doesn't matter if you didn't take any jobs or shifts!" I countered. "Why did you go back!?"
"I had a moment of weakness, okay!?" she shot back.
I shot forward, grasping Trish's collar with both hands pulling her close, "Why didn't you tell me!?"
Trish looked downwards, hiding her expression from me. "You had your sister to worry about; it didn't feel right for me to bother you," she said in a low tone, pissing me off even more.
"Trish, your just as important as my sister!? I'm not going to turn my back on you!?"
Trish tried to tear off my hands; however, I refused to let go, "Look!? I'm sorry, alright!? I got desperate, but as I said, I didn't take on any work!?"
"This time, you didn't!? What about next time you have one of these moments of weakness!?"
"I'll ask for your help!?"
"You didn't ask for my help this time!? How can I trust you to ask me the next time this happens!?" I spat angrily at her, my teeth grinding in frustration. Trish didn't reply; she just stayed quiet, hiding her face.
"Could you ladies keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep here," Trish and me both turned to see Leo with one eye open, looking rather annoyed to have been woken up.
"Ah! Sorry, Leo, we didn't mean to wake you!" Leo scoffed at me.
"Yeah, I noticed," he grumbled, pushing himself off the wall getting on his feet. He brushed off his pants, then turned to Trish and me. "Why are you two yelling so early in the morning?"
"..." Neither of us said anything. It's not that we don't trust Leo. It's just that whenever he gets involved, he tends to complicate things at times. Though in the end, it doesn't matter if we tell him or not because he has this stupid trait where he guesses what's happening on the first try.
"Lemme guess Trish almost whored herself again?" Like that. We both winced at Leo's stupid blunt accurate guess giving him the answer he needed.
"God damn it, Trish," he said, scratching the back of his head. "So did you?"
"N-no!" Trish responded, shaking her head. "Like I told Ruby, I only we-"
*Karate Chop*
"Ow!? The hell Leo that hurt!?" Trish rubbed the top of her head where Leo hit her.
"That's the point retard. It wouldn't be a punishment if it didn't hurt."
Trish glared at Leo, pushing back the tears that were forming on the corners of her eyes. "You're not my fucking parents, Leo!?" Oh, boy, Trish was pissed, making Leo smirk.
"Ha! Considering how much we've had to look out for you, I'd say we pretty much are your parents. And just like any good parent, whenever you fuck up, I'll be there beat some sense into you whether you like it or not," Trish growled at him, reaching for her revolver only to grasp air.
"Where?"
"Looking for this?" Trish turned back to me to notice her weapon in my hand.
"If beating you doesn't work, then we start taking away your toys," I said with a smug look on my face.
Trish looked at both of us with a face ready to fight; however, she stopped herself; there was no way she stood a chance against either of us.
"UGH!? Alright, I get it!? I fucked up!?" she yelled, pouting and shaking her arms just like a kid. "I won't do it again," she said in a murmur, blowing some loose strands of hair out of her face letting her arms fall to her side.
"Nope, not good enough," I say, yanking on her ponytail, making her yelp. "You're going to be under our watch till we deem you good enough to be on your own. Got it?"
"What? So you're going to babysit me!" she replied and was going to argue, but I yanked on her hair again, cutting her off.
"Got it?" I repeat, glaring at her.
"Alright!? Geez, stop pulling my hair, wouldja?" I gave her one last look before letting go. "Fine, but you're on thin ice," was going to say more, but the sound of a loud horn cut me off.
"Looks like it's time to board," Letting out a yawn, Leo picked up our stuff and started walking out of the alley. "Come on, you two, we got a boat to catch. You can yell at each other more there."
Both of us glanced at each other our talk was far from over; we both knew it. Trish broke away first, letting out a tired sigh. "Rubes, I know you have more to say, but can we talk about this after we help my folks out?" Trish slapped her hands together into prayer. "Please? I have too much on my mind right now." Trish looked at me with pleading eyes. I looked away, closing my eyes, thinking for a bit, then turning back to her.
"Fine," I say, handing back her weapon. "But after we help, your family were gonna sit down and talk, okay?" Trish nodded, smiling, pulling me into a tight hug that I returned.
"Sorry for being a pain in the ass," I chuckled at her apology.
"Yeah, I'd appreciate it if you fix that. Please, and thank you." I quipped, making us both laugh. "Now come on, let's go. We have a boat to catch."
XXXX
Leo
I looked back to see Trish and Ruby exiting the alley laughing and smiling. Thank Monty, they made up fast. It's a pain whenever those two argue, mostly because I have to listen to Ruby's complaints, which sounds mean but lemme tell you she can go for fucking days if she never needed to sleep or eat. Hurray for being human! As we walked towards our boat, I noticed Trish wasn't carrying anything. "Hey, Trish, are you going to bring any luggage?" I asked.
"It's already loaded on the boat. You should know me by now, big guy. I hate carrying stuff." She really does detest carrying anything that doesn't fit in her pocket.
"Haha yeah, You'd usually make other people carry your stuff," Ike's name came to mind.
"Of course! Someone as gorgeous as me shouldn't be doing such taxing labor!" she puffed her chest proudly as she boasted.
"Alright, what are you going to do once we get to Menagerie? I doubt you have a butler waiting for you at the port who's going to carry your shit."
Trish looked at me, beaming a smile, before slowly tilting forward, giving me a hella good view of her cleavage. "Please, can you carry my stuff?" Trish said in a flirty voice. Before I could even utter a word, a fist sunk into my stomach, making me groan in pain.
"Dafaq Ruby! That hurt!"
"Shut up, pervert," she shot back, turning away from me in disgust.
"Why not punch Trish! I was a victim!"
"You say that, yet you didn't stop looking at her cleavage even while she was talking."
"I was not looking at her cleavage!" I totally was, though she didn't need to know that.
"HMPH," giving me the cold shoulder, Ruby walked ahead of us, letting that cloak of hers smack me in the face as she walked past me.
"My my my trouble in paradise, I see." Trish was smirking at me as if this wasn't her fault.
"I hate you so much," I grumbled.
"Love you too, big guy. And thanks for carrying my stuff!" she said the last part loud on purpose, and just like before, I never got to utter a word in defense as one of Ruby's magazines hit my right in the face.
FML
XXXX
Ruby
'Stupid Leo,' I think to myself as we waited in line to board. However, the real idiot was me. I knew Trish was just messing with us. She's always pulling this sort of stunt. I should be used to it by now, yet whenever Leo looks at another girl that's not me, I feel all icky inside. It's hard to explain. Like I know, Leo has no feelings for Trish, and neither does she. They're just friends, but I just can't help feeling this way. UGH! I hate these stupid feelings of mine! Why can't everything be simple? You'd think that dating for two years would give me time to get a grip on my emotions, but nope I'm still just as lost as when I started dating Leo. I pinch the bridge of my nose, growing more frustrated with these dumb girl emotions.
I feel a hand ruffle my hair, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Leo descend, sealing my lips with his own. I struggled to push him away, still angry at him for reasons that eluded me. However, he held me firmly in place, refusing to let me go intensifying the kiss—my heart beating like crazy in response. Eventually, I found myself giving in, returning his kiss with equal passion. The negative emotion slowly overwritten by another one, except this one made me feel so light and happy like I could just fly away right now. I relished feeling this way; it made all these confusing emotions fade away. Leo pulled me close, embracing me with his arms while I wrapped mine around his kneck, pulling him lower. This warmth was addicting. I wanted more, and nothing was going to stop me fr-
"*Cough* *Cough* Hey, you two don't mean to ruin your moment, but you're both still in public, and everyone's staring."
OH SHOOT! My eyes shot open, breaking away from Leo immediately. I wanted to say something but slowly stumbled a bit, feeling lightheaded. How long were we kissing that I almost felt like I was going to pass out? I'm sure my face was red as heck, and it probably got even redder since I noticed Trish was telling the truth. People around us were staring at Leo and me.
"Kids are so shameless nowadays, huh honey?" a wife said to her husband, giggling.
"Get a room, you two!" a man yelled at us.
"Go to die in a hole, asshole!" a group of guys about the same age as us shouted well, mostly at Leo.
I've never felt so embarrassed in my life that I pulled my cloak's hoodie on, hiding my face that was generating so much heat that I could probably cook an egg on it.
"Pssst Ruby, the line's moving, we gotta move up," Leo whispered. I couldn't move. It felt like my entire body crashed on me; nothing was responding.
"I-I can't move..." I whispered back, still hiding my face. He chuckled before picking me up in his arms like he always does. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if I exploded from either all the blood rushing to my face or how the heat I was emitting doubled in intensity. After much effort, I manage to sneak a peek at Leo to see how he was faring. The fool had the biggest goofy smile as if he had won the lottery.
'Stupid Leo,' I think to myself as a small smile surfaces.
XXXX
Leo
"You feeling better?" I ask the girl in my arms as we move further up the line.
"Yeah, but keep carrying me," she responds. "It's punishment for embarrassing me in public," she lifts her hoodie showing me she's no longer the same color as her cloak.
"Ha, You know you liked it."
"Nope, I hated it," she joked.
"Really?" I respond in false shock. "I'm willing to try again if you'd like?" I whispered, adjusting her closer towards me. She didn't reply, nor did she need to. I could see it in those silver orbs of hers. She ready was ready for round two.
"Oh no, you two, don't!" Trish forced Ruby out of my arms, putting her down. "No more of this boyfriend/girlfriend crap! I am not going to be a third wheel for this whole trip!" she lectured, pushing Ruby away from me.
"Geez, jealous much, Trish?" Ruby giggled.
"Oh, Shut up!" the two began to joke and bicker with one another, leaving me to my thoughts, which sucks because I'm still tired as shit. The high from passionately kissing my girlfriend was wearing off. A yawn forced its way out, making me even sleepier.
"What! I can't pay that much!" the sudden voice caught my attention. Turning my head towards the sound, I saw a group of four guys talking to what I assume the ship's captain. I focused my aura, enhancing my hearing, letting me eavesdrop on their conversation.
"That's our final offer. Take it or leave it," one of them spoke up, plausibly the leader of the group.
"5000 Lien to hire your team is outrageous! I'm already letting you lads board for free!" Ah, there huntsmen, but they didn't look the part. Aside from being weaponless, they weren't wearing any armor of any sort, just flashy clothes you'd wear when going out to a club.
"Nothing I can do about that chief we need to eat too, ya know?" The leader shrugged as he said that. I understand times are tough; however, 5k lien is a lot of money to hire a team. The most Trish has had to pay to hire a team for her family was 2k. Even that was pricey for her.
"But!"
"Listen, if you can't pay us, that's fine. We'll find work elsewhere, but can you find another team to hire before you guys set sail?" No, he can't. There isn't enough time to run to the lodge and request a team. Even if he found a team right away, they still have to negotiate the fees and such.
"..."
"See?" The captain was in a tight spot. It's not required to have a huntsmen team on board, although everyone felt safer having one with them. Taking a glance at the boat. I noticed the ship nor the crew wasn't armed to fight off aquatic Grimm. Another reason why they needed a team.
"H-How about 2500 lien, free food for the whole trip, and access to the captain's quarters?"
"Why would we want access to your room?" They didn't say no, so he has their attention.
"Well, my room is on the opposite side of the ship, away from the public and crew rest areas."
"So?"
"I'm sure you lads would love to give the ladies a tour of the captain's quarters," That got gears going in there heads. He basically told them, I'll let you fuck in my room. All four of them grinned and smirked at one another, already thinking of all the fun they are going to have on this trip.
"Alright, we're in!" The leader shook the captain's hand.
"Excellent. Please give me a moment to have the room cleaned, and I will return with the key," with the deal sealed, the captain returned to the ship.
"Nice negotiating skills," his companions said in praise, smacking his leader on the back.
"You know it, man. Now, let's scope out all the candidates that would love a tour of the captain's quarters." The group huddled together, scanning the people in line.
"Hey, look at the lady with the goat horns." following his description, I found said candidate talking with her husband. One look and I could tell why'd he picked her. "Look at those massive tits she gots. Think she'd let me motorboat them?" he grinned as his teammates giggled.
"You'll never know till you try." His teammate egged him on.
"Yeah, we'll do the usual we'll distract the husband while you talk to the wife." So they've done this before, huh.
"Just buy me 10 minutes. I'll have her in bed, screaming my name in no time."
"Alright, since you picked that one, I'll pick those two chicks with the matching raccoon tails." The two candidates were happily chatting away, oblivious that they were being marked. I couldn't see their faces since they were facing forward, but they had a decent form, not much to talk about, though.
"Ha, You sure do have a tail fetish, don't cha?" Ah, that's why he picked those two.
"Fuck yeah. What about you?" he asked the next guy.
"Hmmm, That one the fox girl with the nice ass and tits." Trish huh? Good luck with that.
"Awwww, you lucky son of bitch I didn't see her."
"Haha yeah, probably because that moron right there was in the way." Fuck you.
"Whata bout you oh fearless leader?"
"Me? I'm feeling a bit frisky today so guess I'll take the one next to the fox girl you picked." So you've chosen death, I see.
"You sure? That boyfriend of hers looks like a fighter." Listen to your friend, and you might keep all your limbs.
"Fuck him. I'll just use my semblance and tell him to fuck off." So his semblance is a controlling type, I see. Good to know. I wanted to keep eavesdropping on them to learn what else they could do, but the tugging on my sleeves got my attention.
"Hm? Oh, what's up, beautiful?" Ruby returned to my side.
"Finally, I got your attention."
"Sorry, sorry, it takes a while for sound to reach my ears from down there," I quipped, making her pout adorably.
"You're so mean!" she cried, punching me in the arm.
"I'm kidding; I'm kidding." I laughed
"Hmph." she crossed her arms, looking away.
"What were you gonna tell me?" she pointed at me with a serious look on her face.
"I want you to be on your best behavior, okay? No causing trouble!" I glanced back at the group still scoping out the candidates, then back at my girlfriend, that was also one of the candidates.
"Sorry, beautiful, but I'm not gonna be able to stay out of trouble." Before she could argue, I grabbed her hoodie, covering her face with it walking ahead of her. "Come on, Ruby, the lines moving up, let's go." she chased after me, yelling something that didn't reach my ears.