"You almost had me there," Yang says, grabbing a hand and pulling it up. Of course, she was lying; the man before her's aura was all but depleted while he'd barely gotten any hits in on her.
"Next time."
"So, think you got the hang of them? Upgrades are good, right?"
What had started as a half-baked idea for an upgrade turned out to be a set of gauntlets. The tiny tinker had truly revolutionized the design, making it function infinitely better and more efficiently. Pushing back the growing inferiority complex, the man says, "I'd say they're pretty great. Didn't help with you, though."
What were once gloves were now gauntlets. At this point, all the man had contributed was the idea for something worn that he could use with your Semblance, seeing as Ruby had all but scrapped everything. Ruby had transformed it into a set of gauntlets with a rotating revolver mechanism coupled with a belt-fed magazine; not unlike Yang's Ember Celica, he had an ammo belt to reload it, and not unlike Weiss' Myrtenaster, it could be rotated to use different Dust types. Sadly/thankfully, it lost the visible Dust-threads, so it wouldn't broadcast which type was loaded, but at the cost of looking cool. The gauntlets now allow him to use multiple types of Dust without having to load and unload, and he's practiced shooting out projectiles and timed bombs.
All this to say that it doesn't really help against someone stronger. Yang was just… she was physically way stronger and had a lot more practical training, so even with the upgrades, the man couldn't do much more than normal. Maybe if she didn't know he had the gauntlets and what they were capable of, then he could get the upper hand. Even with knowledge of them, he caught Yang off guard more than once, so he could get a little lucky.
Ah, well. The man'd at least be a much bigger threat to people a bit more in his range. With that settled, he and Yang grab a quick lunch before heading back home. They get back to Beacon with full stomachs and, in his case, only SLIGHTLY bruised ribs. Caught up in a chat about how a kid's game about a happy pink blob was filled with horrific backstories, the two walk back to her dorm to say hi to everyone.
Seeing as his head is turned back to ask another question about Dyson, the man is very surprised as he slides the door to RWBY's open and finds Ruby dangerously close. "Wah!" he scrambles, not expecting her to be inches from his face in a shower of rose petals. "Brothers Grimm, Ruby!" With pride damaged by Yang laughing, he steps in.
"Sooooo! How was it? Did it work alright? No jamming? Revolver work right? Was it too heavy?" Ruby rapid fires, using her Semblance to rapidly circle and inspect the gauntlets. Unlike normal, she was very extroverted, touching the man's arms and moving them to test how well they worked with her handiwork. She'd lost her usual wallflower; he guesses she REALLY likes weapons. He confusedly looks at Weiss and Blake, both enjoying the hilarity from their beds.
Wait…
Something was… not quite wrong, but… different. It felt off for some reason. Something wasn't normal, but one can't quite put a finger on it. It wasn't even because Ruby was touching without asking. It was Ruby that was the cause of the disturbance, though…
"Oh, Ruby, you aren't wearing your stockings!"
As opposed to always, Ruby's legs weren't covered by thick black stockings hiding her figure. She'd swapped them out for a pair of thigh highs; for the first time, one saw bits of her legs, which were shocking shapely for someone so youthful. The thigh highs snugly clung to her legs, showcasing the lean that contrasted her usual puffiness brought on by her poofy clothes. Her figure was usually hidden, but now at least her legs were visible. The most uncharacteristic thing was that Ruby's thighs pillows around the elastic, the slight indentation highlighting the out of character exposure in an enticing tease. Despite her outfit otherwise being her normal one, she immediately looks several years older, and significantly prettier; both the man and the rest of RWBY have been attempting to improve Ruby's body confidence, and this definitely makes her look more grown and mature.
Ruby's eyes widen as her mouth starts babbling. A crimson blush quickly decorates her face as she freaks out, clearly a bit taken aback. A bit too violently, she snaps her hands to the bottom hem of her dress and feebly tries to pull it down in an attempt to hide her thighs. "MystockingsgotdirtyandIforgottowashthemandIdidn'thaveanythingelseandIdidn'tplanongoingouttodayandYangsaidthey'dbecuteand–"
"–Ruby. What I mean is that it's a nice look for you. Yang was right; you do look cute!"
"C-cute!?" Ruby babbles, moving her hands from her skirt to her mouth. "Youreally–"
"I told you guys would like them!" Yang says, prematurely stopping Ruby's flustered rant. "And I think this guy knows a bit about cute girls!" The blonde winks at Weiss, who begrudgingly accepts without saying anything; the man's girl– his first girl– well, both girlfriends were interested in helping Ruby's self-esteem and body image, so Weiss didn't feel like disagreeing.
Ruby was two years younger than everyone, so she wasn't quite as developed as everyone else, especially her bombshell big sister. The little sister, despite being 18, was still not quite done developing; however, though she was short and lacked her sister's huge rack, her thigh highs highlighted that she had amazing legs and hips. If only she'd wear pants rather than skirts, she could show off her figure more than not at all.
Again cutting Ruby off, Yang adds, "Now, before you freak out, calm down, take a breath, and yes, the training went well. Your babies did amazing!"
Ruby closes her eyes, takes a second to breathe, and calms down. In no way a small effort, she puts her hands behind her back, lets out a long breath, and allows a boy to look at her thigh high-skirt combination without freaking out. Nervously excited by the positive attention to her body, Ruby opens her eyes and asks, "Okay, I'm good! So, they were good!?" She quickly returns to her previous excitement, though refrains from touching again.
"You did amazing. They work perfectly!"
Ruby's eyes seem to shine as she jumps up in excitement. Immediately realizing her mistake, she throws her hands back down to her skirt, as jumping would make it fly upwards to potentially show even more of under her skirt. "Ahehe…" she nervously giggles, thankful she didn't flash her team. Deciding to sit down rather than risk further embarrassment, she plops down next to Weiss on her bed and says, "That's great! I'm so glad they work right!"
"Of course they work!" Yang says, winking at the man without letting Ruby see. "As if something made by a master tinker wouldn't be amazing!"
Ruby shies into herself and looks away. "Aww, I'm not that amazing at building weapons."
"Nonsense!" Yang shouts. You gather that she was piggybacking of compliments; she was trying to further increase Ruby's confidence in both her appearance and her abilities. "I've seen the stuff you do to Crescent Rose! And all the upgrades you've made to all our stuff!" The blonde sits down next to her sister and wraps an arm around her. "Cute as a button AND a super genius! The best sister a girl could have!" Yang pulls Ruby in for a sideways hug, though it mainly just forces Ruby into her cleavage.
"Yang, stop!" Ruby shouts, trying to push herself off of Yang's chest. "You're embarrassing me!" Yang loosens her hold but keeps her arm around her. Ruby's face was a familiar crimson.
"I'd have to agree with her, to be honest," Blake casually states, putting a bookmark in her latest novel. "Gambol Shroud never worked as well as it does, and believe me, those gauntlets are a vast improvement from when he first made them," she adds, gesturing to the man. He accepts the insult, seeing as it was A. true, and B. for Ruby's sake. Blake seems to be amazing at knowing exactly where Yang's thoughts were, so she instantly caught on to complimenting her sister.
Ruby responds mostly by squirming. She clearly isn't used to being so elevated, and the fact that a boy was there probably made it better/worse. She mumbles a few things but doesn't speak. After a little while and a few silent cries for help, she finally says, "Fine, I'm a good mechanic."
"The BEST!" Yang, sensing more opportunities in the pause that would allow her to embarrass her sister, leans in close to Ruby. "So… you forgot to wash your stockings? What about your other pairs?" She asks this in an almost accusatory manner, immediately putting visible pressure on Ruby.
"W-why are you asking me that!?" Ruby asks, re-made aware of her exposed thighs, which were squishing into the bed as she sat. "I ran in some mud and forgot to wash them!"
Yang raises an eyebrow. With a smirk, she starts slowly shifting her eyes to look at the man. "You sureeeee that's why?" she teases, drawing out the words. "You didn't put on those thigh highs because you thought a boy would drop by our room?" As Ruby jumps up nervously, she flicks her head to the man, ensuring Ruby knew who Yang was accusing her of having a crush on. Of course, this was all totally unfounded; Ruby had never shown explicit romantic interest in him- or anyone for that matter, it was more than likely just Yang teasing her baby sister. "Thought he'd look your way and stare at those cute little legs of yours? You got something under that skirt he'd like to see?"
"Yang!" Ruby shouts, holding down her skirt and trying not to look. It was beyond adorable to see her so flustered, and the fact that the rest of RWBY were giggling helped you ignore Ruby's plight. She stands, trying to pull down her skirt as much as possible. "Ididn'teventhinkI'dleavetheroomtoday! Andhe'sdatingWeiss!" Weiss and Blake share a smile. "Sowhatifhethinksthey'recute? He'swithWeissandthat'dbeweirdandI'mnotlookingforaboyfriendand–"
"–Ruby, I'm joking," Yang interrupts (again), cackling with laughter. Weiss and Blake were stifling themselves, so the man felt fine enough laughing along. "I would NEVER accuse you of doing something so risqué for a boy!"
"Your upgrades are amazing Ruby. I can't wait to keep testing, and now I need to think up more designs for you to help with." It helps, if marginally; Ruby lets go of her skirt, but she keeps her bright blush and smiles. Her body language clues the man in that she was still nervous, so he feels it might be time to leave. But first, he should give Weiss a goodnight ki– wait… Goddamnit, he can't; though that was a pretty common thing before break, it'd be unfair to Blake. Ugh, this was annoying…
"I think she wants to say thank you," Blake says in Ruby's stead, seeing as the tinker was not in her headspace. Ruby pauses, then furiously nods verbalizing her agreement. "She says that she does think she looks cuter in thigh highs and that she appreciates you saying that. She was hoping you'd notice because she thinks you're cute." She stifles a giggle as Ruby's eyes widen.
"That's not what I meant!" Ruby shouts, pointing accusingly at Blake. "I mean– I mean, thanks for saying that, too, but weapons! Upgrades! T-thanks for saying that stuff! I'm not like that! I didn't say you were cute! Not that you aren't, but but but– BLAKE!" Ruby pulls her hood over her head and says, "You guys are the worst!"
"Hey!" Weiss says. "I didn't do anything!" Though she hadn't contributed to Ruby's humiliation, she had spent the past several minutes quietly laughing. Blake was also stifling laughter, but Yang was cackling.
"I'm leaving," Ruby says, lacking conviction. She takes a deep breath and removes her hood, calming down and regaining composure. "Imma go buy a soda." Despite all the teasing, she seems to be in a relatively good mood all of a sudden; she must be pretty familiar with Yang's teasing, so she knows it's just to troll her. "But you guys are MEAN, so I won't bring you anything back!" She grabs her things and plugs her scroll into a pair of rose headphones. As loud punky rock leaks from her ears, she cheerily waves goodbye and heads out.
"Should I be worried?"
Yang brushes it off. "Nah, she was gonna do it anyway. She likes walking to the corner store to buy sweets for exercise, usually around this time." Before one pointed out the inconsistency, she interrupts, "Yes, she exercises by eating candy. Yes, we've told her." Seeing the concern, she adds, "You're welcome to join her if you're worried. We tease her a lot, but out of love!" Yang makes a heart with her hands.
The man turns around to look at Ruby cheerily walk down the hall.
"I mean…" Yang says, seeing the man take interest in Ruby's activity. "If you're gonna gooooo…"
The man looks at Yang and raises an eyebrow.
Yang makes another heart with her hands and says, "Can you get me a bottle of Red Splash? 3". Seeing the man glare at her, she puts on a pouty face and says, "Pwease?"
Despite the man not having answered, nor even confirming that he wanted to go to the corner store in the first place, Blake writes, "A Mistral Breeze Tea, please," onto the shopping list. The man turns to her as she mimics Yang, making a heart with her hands; to be fair, hers meant a bit more, seeing as she's said she loves him. He can't back out now. It simply couldn't be done.
Seeing as the man had been conscripted into buying drinks for everyone, he looks at Weiss. With a smile, she makes a third heart with her hands. "A mocha, the kind in those glass bottles. Thanks, Sweetheart!"
The man takes the payment in the form of three hearts and rushes after Ruby. A nice drink after a beating session sounded good, anyway.