Disclaimer: Of course I don't own RWBY, its characters, or the franchise. That's all Rooster Teeth~
Story: Where James found himself with a penpal and writing back, and ended up with a strange kind of friendship that he was actually enjoying. If he found himself a Romeo, he supposed he could deal with being 'Juliet'.
Set as crack!AU (sometimes taken serious?), in which Ruby and Ironwood somehow become penpals before main series start and related to my other RWBY fic "Team RAMEN!"
Spoilers: Probably.
Warnings: Age disparity, maybe future situations if this is continued. Crack humor in abundance and absurdity rampant –probably OOC. Tons of fluff, though be warned of depressive moments because of undiagnosed depressive characters.
Pairings: Ruby/James Ironwood; IronRose pre-relationship.

The R&J Exchange
Chapter Four: Colors

James wondered if he left out enough to make sure she or anyone else couldn't link the letters to himself. He was sure he did and thought she would definitely not think it was "General Ironwood" who was writing to her. Would she mind it so much if she knew though?

R probably wouldn't have expected his letter to have arrived so fast. Though if she took up the habit of writing a reply just as quickly, he was sure that he could expect one from her just as fast.

Thinking of her as R and if, for some reason, he had to talk about her, he felt strange doing so with just a letter. It should be fine and yet he found himself wanting to attach a name, even a faux one. He should probably write to her about it, see what she thought.

"Sir, a letter for you," Winter told him, handing it to him. "Only thing in your mailbox currently."

"Thank you, Specialist Schnee," he said distractedly, reaching for it. Seeing the familiar red ink, his lips twitched up. She probably saw it, to his chagrin, but she said nothing and left after he dismissed her.

He quickly opened the envelope and started to read.

Good morning (currently here), J!

It's much better, weather-wise, here. Still a bit cold, but not as much as probably there, huh? Hope it's not storming anymore and you're all warmed up! Drink a warm drink otherwise!

I love scythes. They're my absolute favorite and I'm learning to wield one. I've been learning it since I was young though, but you never stop learning your weapon, I say. Crescent Rose (my personal scythe) is my baby and I built her from ground up. I keep working on her and will probably keep working on her until I'm old and gray, haha! She's also able to turn into a sniper rifle, hence my other favorite weapon. I would like to think I'm good with it —I can snipe a target from over 3k meters away. And you're right —I love weapons enough to make sure I'm able to reasonably handle all kinds, and even better —pick them apart and put them back together!

I love all sorts of desserts, so that dacquoise sounds like a must! I would probably also prefer buttercream, though I don't mind whipped cream at all. Of all sweet things though, I'm especially fond of chocolate chip cookies and strawberries.

I don't mind you being formal at all! I understand. Personally, I'm usually really friendly and casual with everyone, though I try to be polite when appropriate. I'm just used to being a very open person. I do hope you'll consider us friends soon.

Red is definitely my favorite color! I even have a red cloak I wear a lot, as well as wear red with my outfit normally. My hair has a natural red tint at the ends too~ If you write back in blue, we'll be color buddies, J!

Hobbies? You probably know mine, since it's how we were introduced. Anything to do with weapons and training with Crescent Rose, and that's me. I don't…really do much else or hang around others after all. Then again, now I have you to talk to! I'm really happy about that and I'm enjoying writing to you and reading your letters back.

Warm wishes,

R

His eyebrows raised when he read her sniping distance —that was remarkable. It sounded like R was a sharpshooter and more than capable with her sniper rifle.

However, it did sound like he was right about her loneliness and lack of companionship. It made him more sure that he wasn't doing anything wrong with writing back to her and that this could be a good thing, especially for her.

Getting out a piece of paper, he searched out the blue-inked pen he got specifically for these letters and began to write.

Good evening from here, R,

Weather's clearing up, though I have been drinking more coffee than usual. It'll settle down soon enough, though yes, storm's gone finally.

My personal weapons are revolvers (hence my mention before that they were my favorite weapons). I have two that use Dust rounds each, and use them in conjunction with my hand to hand combat training.

I've talked more to you than I have to anyone, to be honest. You're very easy to talk to somehow. I enjoy writing to you and reading your letters as well, so easy to say, I think we could be friends in no time. If not, strangely, already becoming so.

And as you can see, I switched to blue ink! I won't use it often, since it's more professional of me to stick to black ink, but it shouldn't be a problem if it's just a thing with you. I do like blue and have blue eyes, and some of my uniform contains blue.

Aside from training and taking care of my own weapons, I love stars. Astrology, stargazing, anything to do with them, I love. I also love reading. It's pleasant for me to just sit and relax somewhere, usually by my fireplace, and just focus on reading a book and getting into the story. Do you have any favorite books?

Warm regards,

J

P.S. If, for some reason, I end up talking to someone about you, I think it'd be easier to have a pseud? What do you think? I'll try to be vague and respect your privacy, but I do tend to enjoy our letters so much that I suspect that others are beginning to notice.

James concluded his letter in satisfaction and hoped she would send one back soon.

Started 12/30/20 – Completed 12/30/20

A/n: Hoho! A little longer than usual –and wow, people actually reading this XD Still utterly fantastic~ More love for James ;-;

Anon Review:

1. Travis S.: Thanks! I'm trying to get this as sweet and fluffy as possible –some nice, lighthearted stuff just to relax to and enjoy, lol. Especially with RL was/is being stressful and Season 8 is making my heart hurt. Definitely looking to humanize Ironwood to compensate.