Cetus had never been good with girls… well, he wasn't good with a lot of things really, but girls ranked near the top of the list. He could barely even talk to a girl without turning into a blubbering mess.

This wouldn't have been much of a problem if girls didn't approach him so often. His uncle told him that he was handsome, so girls were bound to flock to him. Dorado was the same way. Girls always just seemed to gather around him when he was walking through town. But whereas he knew how to cooly and calmly talk to them, Cetus just ended up freezing and walking off without a word.

According to Lars, this made things worse. They thought he was a lone wolf or something. He wasn't a lone wolf, he was just terrified.

But he had never been more terrified than when he had met her.

Ruby Rhinestone.

He had met her when he went to a gathering in the Waterfolk kingdom. Seeing as they had the closest ties with them outside of the other Nymph tribes, it wasn't unusual to see some of the more high ranking members of the tribe there.

The moment he laid eyes on her, he'd been smitten. She was so pretty. Her long blazing red hair, the way she carried herself, the fact that she had flipped off Lars when he'd snickered as she walked by. She was so awesome. He wanted to talk to her, but he knew he would only freeze up again.

He had been planning to just stand on the other side of the room and settle for not making a bad impression, but his brother noticed him staring and encouraging him to go and speak to her. Dorado's plan was simple. Just give a formal introduction like he was taught, let her introduce herself, and leave.

Short, simple, formal. After all, it wasn't as if he needed to woo her on their very first meeting. It was enough to make a good impression.

Cetus took a leap of faith and went for it…

And right as he made his way up towards her, he tripped and fell flat on his face. The whole room turned and looked at him, except Lars who burst out into laughter. Without a word he just got up, walked out of the room, and hid in the bathroom for the rest of the night. Cetus had a lot of competition for the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he was pretty sure that one was on top for now.

So it was no wonder he saw being here, at another waterfolk party with Ruby once again present, not boding well for him. He had made very sure to stay out of her line of sight and hide behind his brothers of cousins whenever possible.

"What are you doing, Cetus?"

The boy angled himself behind his uncle as carefully as he could. "Doing my best not to make a fool of myself, again," he said, taking a sip of his punch.

Hody looked confused, then peeked over his shoulder. "Oh, I see…" He remembered just what had happened at the last event he'd attended here. It would have been very hard to forget. "You really shouldn't dwell on that Cetus. Nobody even remembers that."

"Bull shit we don't!" Lacerta said, chuckling. Because of course he would be around to capitalize on his misery. "That was fucking pricless. The way you just walked off when you got up. Amazing as hell. Ten out of ten show little brother."

Hody narrowed his eyes. Of all of Astro's spawn, Lacerta was without a doubt the most intolerable. With that smart mouthed little brat Aqua of his being second. "Never mind your brother's fool of a brother. Forget about what happened. Just focus on the here and now. If you want to talk to that girl, then go do it."

Cetus groaned. "It's not that easy uncle Hody…" He appreciated how supportive he always was of him, but he seemed to think much more highly of him than he actually deserved. "I can't just go up there and like none of that ever happened. I literally fell face flat at her feet."

"Of course you can!" Hody said sternly. "Of all your siblings you have the strongest connection to your Waterfolk blood. You've inherited both the talents and looks. All you need is confidence. When I was your age I was also pretty popular with the ladies, so I know what I'm talking about."

Cetus still looked worried, but Hody nudged him forward. "Trust me, the best thing you can do is just jump into it. I promise everything will work out."

The boy gulped, but nodded and walked forward. The moment he left, Lacerta turned towards his uncle. "You know he's gonna fuck it up right? And when he does it's gonna be on you," he said. "But it should at least be a hell of a show, so thanks uncle."

Hody glared. "Why are you here…?"

"Because my old man plowed my mom along with your sister…"

Cetus kept making his way over towards Ruby, who was standing near the balcony with a bored expression on her face. "Alright, you can do this Cetus. Just a formal greeting, that's all I need. I can't screw that up. I can't-" His thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly tripped, and fell forward.

"I'm a failure…" he thought as he fell forward. "After all the courage I had to muster up to do this too. Sorry Uncle Hody. Sorry Dad. God was this a mistake. God it's taking a long time to hit the ground."

"Are you okay man?"

Cetus looked up and realized that he wasn't falling anymore. He was being held up, by none other than the girl who'd he marched over here to talk to. She had grabbed him by the shoulders and was giving him a confused look. He quickly straightened up. "I-I'm fine! Thank you!" he said, his face turning beet red.

"Are you sure. Because this is the second time this has happened to you. Do you have like, a medical condition or something?" she asked, tilting her head. Cetus honestly wondered if she was right. There had to be some explanation as to why he was the only one of his family like this. "Your face is red, you sick?"

Cetus' eyes widened as she placed a hand on his forehead. "Holy stump! Is this what a girl's hand feels like?! It's soft and warm!" he thought trying to keep himself from freaking out. "I-I'm fine! My name is Cetus Butterfly! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Yeah, I know. Sort of hard not to know about your family," she said. "My name is Ruby Rhinestone. It's nice to meet you too."

He chuckled nervously. "Right, guess that was kind of obvious. So…" Dang it, he never thought he would get this far! What did he say now?! "You're a fire Nymph…"

She clicked her tongue. "And you have eyes," she commented.

"Sorry. I just… I really didn't know what I was going to say when I came over here."

"Then why'd you come over here?"

He flinched. Stump, he really was digging a hole for himself here. What was he supposed to say? He thought she was pretty and just wanted to talk to her? That would have been totally awkward. Plus he had a feeling that might get him punched or something.

Ruby raised an eyebrow as the boy stood there and tried to come up with an answer, and then noticed something. King Hody, along with one half of the twin titans, were looking in their direction. The King had the decency to try and look inconspicuous, while Lacerta was just smirking and watching the show.

She hummed. "Hey, a little advice. In my tribe we like to be pretty direct with people, so if there's something you want to say, then you should just go ahead and say it."

Cetus looked at her surprised. "Oh… well, I mean… I guess I just wanted to get to know you. Maybe hold a conversation without tripping over my own feet?" he said.

Ruby smirked. "Can you manage that? From what I can tell you can't get across a room without falling on your face," she said. The boy blushed and rubbed the back of his head, and she punched his arm. "Ah, don't get all mopey. I'm messing with you."

The little prince rubbed his arms. "Wow, you're strong."

"We train a lot," she said before holding out her hands. "Do you have a mirror on you?"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Give it here." He didn't need to be told twice, and handed it to her. She began poking at it. "I'm putting my number in here. I don't have a mirror of my own, but my family has one in the house. So call later and we can talk."

Cetus was shocked. "Wait, really?" he asked in disbelief. "Holy stump, I thought I pretty much just blew this whole thing."

"Not yet," she said amused. "I mean you come off as a little clumsy, but I'm still giving you a shot before I decide whether or not you're worth hanging out with. So try not to botch it, tadpole."

Cetus nodded back towards her. "Right, I'll… you know, try not to do that. Now if you'll excuse me I think I should go before I somehow screw this up and you regret this. I-I can call later right?" he asked.

She reached up and nudged his chin gently with her first. "You better tadpole. A prince is supposed to keep their word, right?" she asked, smirking. He blushed and nodded back quickly. "Catch you later then."

Cetus turned around, a goofy smile on his face. Ruby watched him walk off, wondering if he was going to be able to make it back without tripping again. He definitely wasn't like the other boys back home. But he was sort of cute in a nerdy way. As he made his back, Hody smirked down at him. "I told you. There was nothing to worry about."

Lacerta whistled. "Shit. I guess miracles do happen. You gonna be okay runt? That girl looks like she could chew you up and spit you out without a thought," he said looking up towards Ruby. The girl was staring back at them, and upon seeing Lacerta staring back lifted her hand and flipped him off. "That little…"

Hody hummed. "She's a crass little one, isn't she?" Then again she was a Fire Nymph so there was little reason to be surprised by that fact.

"She's awesome…" Cetus said, clutching his mirror.

Lars snorted. "So, you got a number. What are you planning on talking about?"

"...I never thought I'd make it this far, so I don't know."

Hody patted his shoulder. "Don't panic nephew. I'd be happy to give you advice. I know exactly what-"

Astro suddenly appeared, brushing past Hody and grabbing his son. "Alright, lets that conversation slide long enough. Don't give love advice to my kid dipshit. I want my grandkids to be planned for…"

"It was nineteen fucking years ago!"

"Damn!" Lars said clutching his side.

Cetus looked down embarrassed. "Don't you think it's a little too early to be talking about kids dad…" he muttered.

"Not if you follow in your uncle's footsteps, no…"