The first few days at the bakery were hard on Ruby; she has never worked a job such as this. The only job she's known is fixing a few of the neighbor's toasters and lawnmowers here and there. She made her money sitting around making different kinds of patents for the Schnee Company. She never had to stand and run around for more than eight hours as she does now. Sure she got tips here and there but she would always give them to Blake at the end of the day in order to help out the bakery.
Cinder still remained absent for most of the day since the return of Winter only came around the bakery in the late afternoons to take over for Blake so that she could make it to her rehearsals, and everyday Winter came around in the morning around the time Emerald would take over for Blake. Ruby still wondered how she continuously got away with talking to Emerald the way she did every single time they interacted.
It soon turned into a rhythm that Ruby grew very accustomed too. But then came the day that Blake had been forced to miss work due to it being the day of the big show. They were even going to close down early in order to make it to the show.
And somehow Ruby ended up trapped in the corner of the kitchen in the bakery during the empty early morning hours of which the first batches of bread were baked. Ruby stood against the wall of the bakery with a knife pointed at her throat. The wielder of the knife narrowed her blood red eyes as they bore a hole into Ruby's soul. The closer the knife got the more she backed into the wall until it was impossible to move. The knife was so close she could clearly read the brand etched into the side of the blade. She had seen what Emerald's special 'Shun' knife set had done to a wide assortment of things. It was sure to cut through her like butter if she wasn't careful with the next few words she spoke.
"I have a question for you, Red." Emerald stepped impossibly closer; Ruby could almost feel the edge of the knife against her skin.
"A-ask away." Stuttered Ruby
"What are your intentions with my girls?"
"I-I- I don't know what you're talking about…"
"Answer the question."
"I-I I swear don't know what you're talking about!"
"I've seen them both eye fuck you every chance they get, and to be frank? I'm kind of tired of it. Choose one or choose none. I don't want that kind of bull shit messin' with their heads. They've been goin' through a hard time right now and I really don't know how they've managed not to tear each other's faces off. So I don't need this pretty little face of yours ruining this little truce they seem to have made at the moment. I haven't seen them get along this well in years and it really would be a shame if something were to happen to the person who put a wrench in that truce." Emerald dragged the blunt side of the knife against Ruby's neck and continued. "Do you catch my drift?"
Ruby gave a high pitched "Yep" before Emerald smiled and slowly backed away.
"Alright, with that settled lets sell some bread." Emerald went back to making preparations and left Ruby to collect herself. Note to self, do not EVER mess with Emerald. Thought Ruby as she slowly made it to the main floor and began to re-clean the tables in an attempt to keep as much distance between her and Emerald as possible.
Soon the day's flood of customers came and went. The night soon fell and the show was about to begin. Winter came to the bakery accompanied by Cinder in her car to rush over to the theater where Blake's show was being held. The car itself was vaguely familiar to Ruby but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Ruby ignored the feeling and just enjoyed the ever tense conversation between Winter and Emerald. Cinder just laughed along, while none of them explained a thing to Ruby. They soon arrived minutes before they closed the doors and rushed to their reserved seats in the front row. The lights dimmed and a nicely dressed announcer stepped up to the stage and began to announce the show.
The show seemed to fly by. Everyone's performances were absolutely amazing. Ruby was personally surprised how well Neptune could pull off the whippy husband, and when he sang Mr. Cellophane, Ruby almost shed a tear for him. She hardly spoke to Velvet during the times she came to watch Blake practice because they were together in most scenes they worked on. But she was only matched by Blake in how amazing their performance was. When the show was finally over Ruby was one of the many people to give them a standing ovation. When they met up backstage Ruby jumped Blake with a hug, almost making them topple to the floor. They were both sent into giggles.
"You were amazing!" exclaimed Ruby as she backed up slightly to look at her face but never letting go.
Blake laughs, "Thank you."
She looked at Ruby for a few moments and she didn't know if it was the adoring look on Ruby's face or the left over adrenalin from the show, but she blurted out, "Go out with me tonight."
Ruby's eyes widened, "Of course." she said before thinking it through.
Blake's smile blared and she continued, "Alright. I just need to make a small appearance at the party we're hosting at Neptune's for the first show and we can go on our date."
"Sure…" Was all Ruby was able to get out before the rest of their friends came up to them to congratulate and compliment Blake. Ruby was pushed out of the way by their other friends and the small amount of fans she had amassed. As Ruby waited for them to finish she spotted her best friend and his new boy toy getting friendly against one of the prop closet. Ruby rolled her eyes and went back to watching Blake thank and take pictures with the few people that has managed to sneak into the backstage. As soon as they were done Blake quickly walked over to Ruby and grabbed her hand to quickly pull her away from the chaos that was the backstage. Their group rushed off to Winter's car.
They soon arrived to the house where the party is being held. What looked like it used to be a large living room had been cleared out and made into a makeshift dance room with a girl with teal hair manning the music. As soon as they walked through the door a fellow cast member found Blake and instantly pounced on her, dragging her away from Ruby before she had a chance to react. Ruby turned back to look for Winter and Cinder but they had also disappeared. Emerald had been dropped off at her home just before they had gotten to the party.
Lost and confused, Ruby went in search for Blake. She found her moments later surrounded by a group of people in from the play shouting, "Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!"
"Guys I really don't want to today. I would rather just enjoy the party sober for once." The group gave a massive 'aw' before a woman known as Velvet put her arm around Blake's neck and said, "Come on, Blake. It's not party if both of us aren't drinking. We are the life of the party and if you play you can get quite a few bills." Blake looked back at the table lined with shots and a different amount of money under each shot. With one more moment of hesitation she sighed and gave in.
She walked around the table and picked up the first shot, she raised it to the crowd and said, "I hate you all" before downing it. The crowd cheered as she took shot after shot, collecting the bills that increased in number as she went. When she finished the last shot the crowd cheered and she folded the money before putting it away in her pocket. She walked away as they lined in a new row of shots and dragged in an unwilling victim in.
Ruby worked her way through the crowd and quickly found Blake standing on top of a couch scoping out the area with her hand to her forehead. "Ahoy there Ruby!" yelled Blake as she jumped off the couch and clumsily landed on the floor next to her. She soon got up and put her arms around Ruby. "Heyyyyy I missed you, did you see all that mooony I made?"
"How many shots was that? No one else has been able to finish them."
"I don't even knoooow…. it many." Ruby tried to push Blake off in an attempt to have a normal conversation but Blake giggled and held on tighter. In their fighting, Blake accidentally pushed them up against a wall. Blake continued to giggle as she buried her face into Ruby's neck. She inhaled and said, "You smell so nice Ruby. Why do you smell so nice? I like you so so so sooooo much and you don't even know it and you just come in here all sweetie and cute and nice and I don't know what to do with myself because of that."
"Blake, I think you're drunk, you need to get some water in you and maybe sit down for a bit."
Blake groaned and pulled herself away from Ruby with a pout apparent on her face. "But-" in that moment some rapidly paced heavy accordion music began and Blake turned away from Ruby, "Ruby I'll be right back… I have to do this."
Blake turned around and locked eyes with Velvet across the room almost as if they could sense each other's drunken presence and Blake quickly pulled the couch that had been against the wall to the middle of the room as the accordion music continued. Blake stood atop the couch with a bottle she seemed to acquire from inside the couch and began the song. "My friends I stand before you. To tell you a truth most dire. There lurks a traitor in our midst. Who hath invoked the captain's ire?"
Velvet continued from the point where Blake had left off, "He don't deserve no mercy. We ought to shoot him with a gun. But I'm not an evil man, so let's have a little fun."
Together they began, "We'll tie that scoundrel to a rope, and throw him overboard, drag him underneath the ship. A terrifying deadly trip."
With that, everyone in the building began to chant the chorus, "Keelhaul! That filthy landlubber! Send him down to the depth below! Make that bastard walk the plank! With a bottle of rum and yo ho ho!"
"What the hell is happening…"said Ruby as she watched an entire floor of people sing a song.
When the song was over, everyone cheered and went back to the party and whatever they were doing before the song began. Blake sauntered back to Ruby as she said, "Now where were we? I really hope we were in the makin' out stage because you are lookin' sooo cute right now."
"Okay first off, what was that? And second, are all theater kid parties this...odd?"
Blake stared at Ruby for a minute trying to form her thoughts into one cohesive piece"...Um uh um yes?...Come on Ruby let's do something a little more fuuun." Blake grabbed her wrists to pull her away from the wall and to the kitchen from more drinks.
In that moment Ruby had a flash of Penny's menacing voice whispering, "Come on Ruby let's do something a little more fun." Blake grabbed both of Ruby's hands and yanked them towards her. In that moment all Ruby could feel is tightness in her chest as the world darkened around her. Her breathing sped as she yelled "No!" and yanked her wrists away from Blake before shoving her out of the way and almost ran to the nearest exit.
Blake stared as Ruby ran away from her, not knowing what she did. She sobered and went to drink some water before she followed the route Ruby had taken to the back exit of the house. She found Ruby sitting on the porch steps. Blake took a moment to collect her thoughts before she carefully sat next to Ruby.
"Hey Ruby… I'm sorry for acting the way I did… I don't know what got into me." Blake slowly reached out for Ruby's hand hoping that she would forgive her for whatever she had done.
Ruby turned her hand and intertwined it with Blake's, "It's really not your fault Blake... It's me. My ex has me all messed up and with everything that was going on I was so confused. When my anxiety gets to me I sometimes get flashes of that relationship. I'm sorry I'm such a bother Blake, you know you can back out from that date you promised at any time now, right?" with that Ruby turned to Blake with a sad smile.
"I don't think so." Blake smiled and continued, "Ruby, I would love to get to know you better and I am willing to figure this out if you are."
"Damaged goods and all?"
"Definitely."
"Maybe you're crazier than me." Ruby chuckled and Blake joined in.
Gold met silver and almost an undeniable force began to bring them closer. Blake looked down at Ruby's lips and quickly went back up to her eyes to ask for unspoken permission. Ruby did the same and just as their lips brushed, Ruby's phone rang her obnoxious ring tone she had set for Yang. Ruby sighed and backed away from Blake, answering her phone in a huff.
"Hello," her annoyance burningly obvious.
"Hey Ruby, I just wanted to inform you that your sister is drunk as all hell and that you should probably come and get her before I get Bubba to escort her out for trying to pick a fight for her keys… Don't make me fight her again… that metal hand of hers hurts like a bitch and Bubba is about to go home soon."
Ruby sighed again and pressed her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose, "Thanks Nolan, I'll be right there." With that she hung up the phone and turned to Blake with an apologetic smile, "I'm so sorry, there's… a family issue I need to get to..."
"Do you need a ride? I can get you anywhere you want I just have to steal Winter's car, they're probably going to be staying here for the night anyway."
"No thank you Blake, this is a family issue and I would much rather settle this just between me and her if you don't mind. Also you've been drinking and I would rather not have you driving around like this, okay? I'll just catch a cab or something."
"At this time of night? That's crazy; at least let me stay with you until you get home."
"Its fine, Blake. I can score a safe ride with ease. You don't need to worry about me and if anyone tries anything, my dad taught me some stuff from his army days to keep me safe, alright?"
Blake continued to stare at Ruby, unsure if she should trust her words or continue to insist to accompany her to her destination. "…Fine I'll let you get a ride from some stranger but I'm going to stay here until your ride arrives for you, and confirm that they aren't sketchy."
Ruby laughed and stood to walk back into the building to get to the font. "Alright, let me just call a cab and we can get to know each other a bit more since we're going to be waiting."
"Sounds like a plan."
After a phone call and some talking, a small mustard yellow car parked in front of the Vasilias household. As soon as Ruby saw the cab and the familiar driver, she stood, turning around and giving Blake a hug. "I'll see you later Blake."
"See you," responded Blake as she watched Ruby get into the car driven by a vaguely familiar Latino man.
"Hola Rubí."
"Hey Juan, can you drive me to The BRNZ?"
Juan turned to look at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes, "Yang?"
Ruby turned away from him and looked down at her hands, "Yeah…"
"Are you going to need some help dragging her out this time?"
"Yeah, probably."
Juan nodded and said, "Alright, let's go," before shifting the car into gear and beginning the ride over to The BRNZ.
After they parked the car in front of the nightclub, they both exited and made their way into the bar.
There, drooped on the counter of the bar rambling nonsense, was Yang, in all her glory. One sleeve rolled up showing off her tattoos and the other kept down to hide her prosthetic. "Come on Yang, let's get you out of here and into bed."
"Hold up, there is the small issue of her tab." Nolan slid the paper with everything Yang had had and Ruby's eyes widened at the amount. With no time to be upset she dug out her black card she kept in the metal card holder she used as a wallet.
Once she paid Juan, she put Yang's real arm around his neck to help her out of her chair as Ruby put her other arm around her shoulder to help him. She tried to support her mainly from holding her waist in order to put less strain on the prosthetic.
"Oh here comes Ruby with all her money to saaave the day,"muttered Yang as they escorted her out and made their way to the cab.
Once yang was strapped into the back seat, Ruby took a seat in the front along with Juan. The ride back to Ruby and Yang's house was relatively silent. When they arrived they began the meticulous task of dragging Yang out of the car and into the house.
They end up leaving her on the couch as Ruby tried to pay Juan for all the trouble she caused him. "It is no trouble Ruby; you can call whenever if you need a tad bit of help." Ruby sighed and let him leave.
As she covered Yang in a blanket and set some aspirin next to her for the next day, she heard her mumble a single word. "Weiss."
"Don't worry Yang, it's all going to get better. I promise." with that, Ruby began to pet Yang's head and smoothed out any wild hairs as tears began to run down Yang's face.
~A.N.~
Oh look a chapter! What's that doin' there? *dodges spears and pitchforks* ok ok I know its been a while since I've uploaded a chapter but I got a job and that left me with no time to write because I was on a crazy schedule, but now that things have cooled down a bit I am going to start uploading weekly again. I would like to thank legacy23 for editing this for me since my english had been suffering recently. Also I would like if ya'll left a review telling me what ya think and all that jazz and til next time peoples!
p.s.- I don't own RWBY or the song keelhauled by Alestorm (its the song Blake and Velvet sang.)