When Jaune invites her to meet his teammates, Ruby has no idea what to expect. She's heard about team JNPR and their antics from Yang, and she had seen them in action during the Vytal Festival Tournament (although her memory of that match is a bit hazy, given what had occurred just a few days later), but that doesn't mean that she knows what to expect from them in person. Plus, everyone's a bit different these days, after the Fall.

(Ruby does remember Yang talking about how one of the girls on team JNPR used a warhammer that doubled as a grenade launcher—which is a weapon that Ruby definitely needs to see for herself. A voice in her head that sounds a lot like her sister scolds her for fantasizing about seeing a person's weapon before she even meets them.)

So, yeah, despite Jaune's assurances about how excited his teammates are to meet her, Ruby is still nervous as she waits for him to arrive. She checks her scroll for what feels like the thousandth time this morning, shifting from foot to foot anxiously. What if she's gotten the time wrong? What if nobody comes? What if this is actually a giant prank and they're just coming to make fun of her? What if—

"Hey, Ruby!" Jaune calls from across the square. Ruby's head snaps up and she follows the sound of his voice to see him heading towards her from the row of buildings opposite her. Behind him are two people: a girl with red hair and a boy with dark hair. "Good to see you again."

"You too," she replies, smiling with relief. "So, uh—" She tips her head in the direction of his friends, still standing behind him.

"Oh!" He smiles sheepishly. "Allow me to introduce you to my teammates. This is—"

But he's cut off by a squeal from the redheaded girl. "Ruby!" She rushes forward, scooping Ruby up and twirling her around, moving so quickly that Ruby has no chance to respond—and she has a speed semblance. "I'm so excited to meet you! Jaune's been telling us all about you! But he forgot to mention just how cute you are." Finally pausing to take a breath, she glances over her shoulder at the dark-haired boy. "Isn't she adorable, Ren?"

"Nora." The dark-haired boy—Ren, Nora had called him—rolls his eyes. "She's not a puppy. Put her down; you're overwhelming her."

"Oh." Nora looks taken aback, genuinely surprised. "Whoops!" She quickly sets Ruby down, gentle despite her excitement. "Ha ha, sorry about that! I couldn't help it; I'm just so excited to finally meet Yang's baby sister!" She leans forward, and in what Ruby guesses is supposed to be a conspiratorial whisper, says "She talks about you all the time, you know."

"Anyway." Jaune sounds like he's trying hard not to laugh. "These are my teammates, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren." Nora beams at her; Ren nods slightly. They seem like polar opposites, to each other and to Jaune. Certainly an interesting mix of personalities for a group of teammates.

"Uh," Ruby replies intelligently. Her head is spinning. "Nice to meet you?" Normally, she'd be irritated at being called adorable, and a little put off by being picked up like a doll, but Nora seems so genuinely enthusiastic that it's hard to be offended.

Jaune pats her on the shoulder. "Yeah, Nora tends to have that effect on people. C'mon, let's get going before we're late to lunch."

"Yay food!" Nora shouts, sprinting off in what Ruby guesses is the direction of the restaurant.

Ren sighs. "Sorry about that," he tells her quietly. "Nora can a bit—energetic."

"It's okay," Ruby reassures him. "I don't mind." She's surprised to find that she really doesn't. Sure, Nora seems a bit—different—but she also seems fun. And Ruby's in no position to judge anyone for being weird anyway.

As they wait to place their orders, Nora continues to ramble, filling the slightly awkward silence. "Since you brought up puppies earlier, Ren, I've been thinking—"

"Oh boy," mutters Ren.

"We should totally get a puppy! It'd be so cute and fun, and we could cuddle it, and then when it grows up we could teach it to fight Grimm with us! It'd be awesome!"

"Nora, no," Ren replies instantly.

"Aw, you're no fun." She pouts. "Why not?"

"Remember the goldfish incident?" Apparently she does, because she winces and seems to wilt in her seat. "Yeah, that's why."

Jaune seems to be entertained by their lively back and forth, not bothering to interfere with any input of his own. Ruby does her best to sit still and not fidget, uncomfortable the way she usually is in social situations. She knows Jaune, but these three seem so comfortable together, it makes her feel awkward. Like an outsider.

She should contribute, she tells herself. Make small talk, try to get to know them since they just met. Ruby opens her mouth, preparing to ask a socially acceptable question such as "Where are you from?" or "Have you been enjoying yourselves in Vale?" Something basic and boring like that. Instead, what comes out is: "Nora, Yang was telling me about your weapon." She leaves out the part where she was frantically asking her sister to describe all the different weapons that she saw at Beacon. "Is it true that yours is a hammer that doubles as a grenade launcher? That's so cool!"

As soon as the words are out of her mouth, Ruby cringes internally. Great, now she's made things weird. Even saying something about how she and Yang had taught Zwei to fight Grimm with them would have been a better opening. But instead of being put off by the question, Nora beams, pulling out the weapon in question and placing it on the table, shoving dishes and menus out of the way. "Sure do! Isn't she beautiful?"

"Oh, wow!" Ruby exclaims, her eyes going wide. She hovers her hands over the gleaming metal, just short of actually touching it. "Can I—"

"Go for it!" Nora replies immediately. "I saw how well you took care of Ren's weapon, without even seeing it in person. I'm just saying, if you wanted to suggest any upgrades like you did for him, I'm all ears."

"Of course!" Ruby's eyes light up, and she runs a hand reverently along the weapon. "She's truly a work of art."

When the waitress arrives to take their orders, It's to Ruby and Nora talking animatedly over the giant warhammer laying on the table, while Jaune and Ren watch with a mixture of amusement and fond exasperation. "Um," she says, clearing her throat. "Can I take your order?"

Ruby has a feeling that they're all going to get along just fine.


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