One thing Oscar was grateful for was his open invitation to the Xiao-Long household and their air conditioning. Movie nights and hanging out had been moved to the Xiao-Long house as Oscar waited to get his air conditioning repaired.
The tv played some action movie Ruby had found the other day. It wasn't very good, but it was nice being curled up next to his new girlfriend. Ruby leaned her head against his shoulder as she complained about the movie, her hand absentmindedly stroked Zwei's fur.
"I mean come on! That's completely unrealistic! Just find something heavy to break the door down!" she groaned at the character's stupidity.
"If you're so fed up with it, just put on a different movie!" Tai called from the kitchen.
"But we already started this one! We can't start another one now!" Ruby called back to her father.
"She's right! We're halfway through!" Oscar added. There was a sigh from the kitchen.
"Can you at least spare me the complaining and pause it to set the table for dinner? I have guests coming soon, you know!" Tai called back after a moment of quiet.
She paused the movie and stood up. Zwei jumped off her lap. He watched her leave before jumping onto Oscar's lap. With nothing else to do, Oscar just played with Zwei a bit. A knock on the door made Zwei leap off Oscar's lap and go bounding towards the door. Oscar looked to the kitchen briefly, realizing that none of the occupants had left yet.
"I got it!" Oscar called. He met Zwei at the door and opened it. Standing before him was Flann and her husband, Rufus. "Flann! Mr. Rufus! It's good to see you!"
"Oscar! What a pleasant surprise! I haven't seen you since the school year ended!" Flann grinned. She pulled Oscar into a hug. "What are you doing here?"
"Just having a movie night with Ruby." He gestured to where the tv was paused on their movie. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Rufus."
"As to you, Oscar. When was the last time I saw you?" the older gentleman asked.
"The holiday party, I think." Rufus nodded his head at the response.
"Flann! Rufus! Glad you could make it!" Tai called from inside. Oscar decided to get out of the way to allow Tai through. He grabbed Zwei and made it back to his spot on the couch.
"Are Dad's guests here?" Ruby asked as she came from the kitchen to join them. She looked to where Tai was talking in the doorway.
"Yeah. It's our coworker, Flann, and her husband, Rufus. Want to say hi?" She thought a moment before shaking her head. Her social awkwardness hadn't completely gone away. Ruby sat back in her seat and turned the movie on again. Tai had already moved back to the kitchen with Flann and Rufus in tow.
"Is it weird having your coworkers over like this?" Ruby whispered to Oscar.
"Well just slightly awkward but can't be as awkward as the first time she came over."
"The first time?" Ruby lowered the movie's volume and stared at him with expectant eyes. Oscar chuckled a little.
"It was when I was still living here. Tai hadn't told me that Flann and others were coming for a brunch or something. So I came downstairs in my pajamas. I was halfway down the stairs when I saw Flann and Mr. Rufus were there. Flann called out to me, but I was so embarrassed that I had to run back upstairs to change."
"Really?" Ruby put a hand over her mouth to hide her snickers.
"Yeah." He rolled his eyes at her amusement. "Also the first time I met Marigold."
"In your pajamas?"
"No! I had already changed!"
"Hey kids! Dinner's going to be ready soon!" Tai called from the kitchen. "Go wash up, ok?!"
"Hey! We are not kids!" Ruby called back. She stuck her tongue out towards the kitchen.
"Ruby, we're watching an animated movie marketed towards children," Oscar reminded her. "We're pretty much kids."
"C'mon! We've fought giant monsters and bad guys! We saved Remnant! I have my silver-eye powers and you're… like kind of magic! If anything, we're superheroes!"
"Well if Miss Superhero wants me to save her a seat at the table let me know," he laughed as he kissed her on the cheek. He stood up and left before she could stick her tongue out at him.
Oscar entered the kitchen and grabbed a chair. Tai was talking about the mission Raven was currently on. She had renewed her license recently and was starting to take more missions. Ruby didn't chime in as she entered the kitchen. She quietly began helping Tai set the food on the table.
"So how was Vale, Oscar?" Flann asked.
"It was good. The wedding was pretty busy, but I'm glad things went smoothly," he replied.
"Were you able to find a new apartment? I heard it's pretty difficult to find a good apartment in Vale."
"Uh…" Oscar looked to where Ruby was. She was looking straight at him with a questioning look on her face. "Not yet…"
"That's a shame. I have some huntsmen friends in Vale. I can see if they can help you find someplace to live."
"Uh… Flann-?"
"What's this about finding a new apartment?" Ruby set a bowl of peas on the table. Oscar rubbed the back of his neck.
"You didn't know? Oscar is going to teach at Beacon!" Flann proudly announced.
"In a year!" he quickly added.
"You didn't tell me you took the job offer." She looked at him quizzically.
"Uh, yeah, I did. It's not set in stone yet or anything so…"
"That's great! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" She smiled. Despite her joy, Oscar found it hard to look at her.
"Er…" he looked between Ruby, Flann, and Tai. Tai stood behind Ruby with his arms crossed. He gestured to Oscar to take the conversation elsewhere. "Let's go upstairs so I can tell you the details."
Ruby looked confused, but followed him upstairs. They went to her bedroom where he closed the door behind him. Ruby sat on her bed, waiting for an explanation.
"So, you're going to Vale?" she asked him.
"Yeah. In a year."
"That's great! You're going to be teaching at our alma mater! Why didn't you say anything?!"
"Because… Because it's not exactly a good thing?" Ruby's expression turned from excitement to concern.
"Oscar? What's wrong?"
"You remember Professor Reid, right?"
"The current headmaster, yes."
"Well I've been in contact with him. He wants me to go to Beacon to help with some things… well some things concerning Salem…"
"Salem?" Her voice was a whisper.
"We don't know if it's a splinter group or some survivors, but he wants me to come and take care of things. Maybe… Maybe even become the next headmaster."
"But you don't want that," Ruby concluded. Oscar didn't say anything, but his expression was enough for her to stand up and pull him into a hug. "Oscar, you're not Ozpin. You never have. You can choose what you want to do."
"But-"
"No buts! You should know by now that being headmaster or whatever isn't the only way to defeat Salem and her followers," she joked. Oscar wiped away a few tears.
"Yeah. Superheroes can beat her." Ruby grinned and laughed when he said that.
"That's my Oscar!" she giggled. "C'mon, let's go downstairs before dad worries."
"Wait." He grabbed her hand before she could leave. "What do you think of this?"
"What? You going to Beacon? Or Salem's followers?"
"Both. Truthfully." He stared intensely at her. Ruby thought a moment before taking a breath.
"I would be lying to say that I wasn't scared. I don't have much longer left."
"Don't say that."
"But it's true. We just started a relationship and soon you'll be leaving. Even if I'm alive in a year, I won't be able to join you in Vale. I'm scared that I won't be able to help, that I won't be with you."
"You've helped me more than you can imagine."
"But this is going to be hard for you. If I die, then… I don't want to hurt you."
"Ruby, no matter what, you could never hurt me. You once told me that you choose to keep moving forward. I've decided to do the same. It's going to be hard, but… I know you'll be right beside me to the end."
"Look at you, all grown up," she smiled.
"Well these things tend to happen, you know."
"I guess they do," Ruby laughed.
"We should get back downstairs before Flann gets some weird idea in her head."
"She's the one that's always asking about relationships, right?"
"Yeah…"
"At least we're dating now. It's not going to be as awkward if she asks."
"Well Flann somehow always finds a way."
"Is Mr. Rufus the same way?"
"He's more stoic and doesn't talk as much. At the holiday party-"
"Are you two done talking?!" Tai called up to them. "Dinner's ready down here!"
"Coming!" Ruby yelled back. "Guess that's our cue?"
"I guess it is. Shall we, milady?" He held an arm out for her.
"Of course, Sir Oscar," she giggled before taking his arm.
The couple made their way downstairs. Of course, Flann asked them a torrent of questions as soon as she saw them together. Apparently she had been placing bets with another teacher about when Oscar would get a girlfriend. He laughed as he looked over at Ruby's embarrassment from some of Flann's questioning. He reached over and grabbed her hand as her eyes begged him to help her out of the situation. Oscar wished he would remember every minute of this. Aside from the immense embarrassment and Tai constantly trying to change the subject, he wanted to enjoy every second he could with Ruby.