*Author's Note*

Hey guys, it'sa me! No, not Mario. It's Dravyn. Seriously, I'm sorry about almost no updates in a week, but things around here have been hectic. I'm getting so little sleep that the moment even a tiny chance presents itself, I'm out cold. Broke my glasses falling face first on my desk in my room (thankfully, the desk was okay.)

Anyhow, this idea comes from something that was brewing in my mind for a while, with some influence from a good point one fan put out. I make Ruby almost like Pyrrha from the actual show; too many good points, and almost/no flaws. This is one of the reasons I almost despise Pyrrha, she's too damn perfect (for now(and this kinda explains why I love making her fail, and putting her into weird things.))So this arc is more about Jaune doing something Ruby can't, Ruby acting like a spoiled little girl, and (of course) Pyrrha interfering with the two. Or rather, trying to interfere (you all know she will never succeed, right?) Anyhow, you all probably don't care to hear/read my ranting, so onto the main event.

"Arrrrgh! Damnit!"

"Ruby, watch your language. It's un-ladylike to use such a vocabulary."

What was currently going on was Ruby Rose was growing angry, and her teammate, Lie Ren, was trying to calm her down. But Ruby wasn't in the best of moods.

"Shut up Ren! These Roses hate me! I don't know why, but Roses hate me! I show them love, I act nice, talk to them, cuddle them, pet them, name them..." Uhhh, what? "I take perfect care of them, and they never grow for me. I do it like my mother used to tell me, when she would tend to her own garden. Her roses were beautiful, and they always grew. So why won't mine?!"

And it was true. Despite having delicate enough hands to masterfully draw any object real, imaginary, or otherwise. Or being able to cook and bake as well as a trained chef. Or being able to craft weapons like a master. Despite her many talents and her impressive dexterity, Ruby could not grow a flower to save her life. Scratch that, she couldn't even grow a weed. It was a fact that had always hit Ruby to the core, especially since she positively loved Roses. Being unable to grow them, however, sometimes made Ruby go insane.

"Chill out Rubes. It's because you weren't born with a green thumb. Your thumb is.. well. Uhh. I'd say your thumb is more Red like Roses. "

"Yang, this is no time for puns. I think Ruby is genuinely stressed out."

With her partner seeming to be more attuned to the young girls emotions, Yang took the hint and decided to drop the lame jokes. Hopefully. Meanwhile, she just sat there, with her partner, watching as her little sister dug up rose after rose, each having died under the care of the girl named for their very being. Funny how that works out.

"Come on Ren, we should go." Growing bored of watching Ruby fail at gardening for the umpteenth time, Yang decided it was time for a break. "How about we go and do some sparring?" Well, it seemed like something would break, be it Ren or his spirit. Having to deal with Nora got Ren used to such hyperactive females, but Yang had a quality that just made her different. Like the different between a bud and a flower. Or rather, more like the difference between static electricity and the Energizer bunny. Either way, Ren was sure it would suck. Like usual.

Even after her teammates had left, Ruby sat there, planting, watering, and tending to her roses, hoping to see even one bloom. Even until late, when curfew was swift arriving. She kept going and going, thinking about what tomorrow would mean for her roses. But her past failures had started to weigh on her. They have been for a while. Ruby wouldn't admit it; in fact, it was likely that she herself didn't even know this, but Ruby was starting to feel like she couldn't do this. Despite all of her energy, and how active she always was about doing it, Ruby had never managed to grow a single Rose, and that bothered her.

Looking down on her garden, and seeing the product of her hard work, Ruby felt good. Or so she thought. Looking down again however, and all Ruby saw was wasted energy. Ruby's inner voice took over, and finally vocalized what Ruby's heart had been considering the entire time. Maybe I should just quit? They'll be dead in the morning anyhow, these dumb roses. Even trying to harden her heart, however, Ruby still couldn't help but loose a few tears. She hated giving up on these beautiful flowers. She'd always loved roses, and thought them to be magnificent flowers. But being unable to produce such magnificence herself made her feel a little off. Taking one last look at her "garden", Ruby turned and fled, knowing tomorrow she would be coming back to a withered bed of roses.

And nobody saw this little event take place. Or did they? Off in the back, tending to another little garden of their own, a young man had watched the red-cloaked flower run off, tears streaming from her face. And it saddened him. Coming over to her garden, he looked at what had left the girl in tears, and decided to fix the problem. Starting with some sweat, blood, and a little bit of appropriately used dust.

Waking up the next morning, Ruby was back to her usual cheery self. She hopped out of bed, got cleaned and changed, and readied herself for the day. Deciding to check on her roses, hoping for some miracle maybe, Ruby went to the greenhouse. Went she got there, she was left in a state of shock. She could not believe her eyes, as before her was a bed of many different colored roses. White, pink, yellow. Crimson red. And it was beautiful. Ruby was awestruck at the roses, and how vibrant they were. She had not expected she many to bloom so beautifully. No, she'd actually expected to have yet another removal session this morning. But she was met with a pleasant surprise.

"Yang! Yang Yang Yang! Come and look! Hurry!" Ruby waved her big sister over to her little garden, where Yang simply stared in shock. She could not believe that her sister, the one with a Red Thumb, could produce any flower other than the rose petals that came from her sister's aura. No, she really could not believe it. She felt something was amis here, and that these could not be Ruby's roses. But they were situated the exact same as the ones Ruby had planted, and this was her baby sister's garden. There could be no doubt they were the roses her sister had planted, but Yang could not believe they were Ruby's doing.

Behind Yang, Ren and Jaune were arriving. What they found when they got to the sisters was an extremely excited red head, and a confused blonde.

"Jaune! Look, look look! Look at my roses!" Ruby eagerly waved her boyfriend over to show him the product of her hard work, or so she thought. Had Ruby been less excited, she would have noticed Jaune flinch slightly when Ruby got worked up over the rose garden. But Yang didn't miss it. Not this time.

"Hey Rubes, mind if I borrow Vomit Boy here for a second?"

Waving off her sister and boyfriend, Ruby went back to tending the roses while Yang pulled Jaune somewhere off to the corner, where Jaune assumed he would be buried under the rows of daises there.

"Okay lover boy, spill it. What did you do to my sister's roses? How did you manage to get something my sister planted to grow?!" Rather than try to kill him, as Jaune suspected she would, Yang was more amazed with Jaune. "I mean, Ruby always mentions how hard it is to take care of roses which, added on top of her inability to grow anything, makes it nearly impossible for her to have a garden. Meanwhile, you actually got results. How'd you do it?"

"Oh uhh... You see, my mother always found the way my family forced me to learn combat was rather harsh. Whenever my training was over, she would tear me from my father and grandfather, and she would take me out into the gardens our family had and just teach me about plants. It eventually became a habit of mine, so I would tend to my family's garden, against the wishes of my father and grandfather."

Yang just stood there, studying Jaune. She'd always figured that Jaune had no special skill to speak of, and was rather useless. Even with all of her baby sister's help, he still wasn't the best in combat. Yang could blow him away easily (then again, in Yang's eyes, anyone who could not beat her was weaker than average), and didn't think much of him outside of combat. But this new skill of his (okay, new to her), her opinion of the blonde was starting to change. Just a little bit.

"Impressive Jauney-boy. I never knew you could actually do something right. Based on your grades and ranking within the class, I'd assumed you were just a chronic failure." At this, one could almost practically see Jaune's spirit slowly diminish. "But hey, I'm not gonna complain. I'm just happy that Ruby is happy."

"Yeah. I'm gonna go let her know that the roses are a gift."

As he turned to leave, he was stopped by a hand grabbing his shoulder rather viciously. Being turned around, he was faced with a rather intense looking Yang. Would Jaune have noticed better, he would have assumed it to be panic.

"Listen here, and listen well; Ruby is to never find out that it was you who made those roses grow and not her. You understand?"

"But-"

"Do. You. Under. Stand?" And with each syllable, she tightened her grip on his shoulders, until Jaune swore he heard his shoulder guard start to creak and dent. After he gave a weak 'Yes', and nodded in assent, Yang continued. "Ruby thinks she finally managed to grow something. It would devastate her if she learned that anyone else did it. She would likely end up hating you for taking that from her, if she found out. Just keep it on the down low, alright?"

And with this, Yang left Jaune standing there, going over the moral dilemma in his head. Tell his girlfriend the truth and maybe have her hate him, or let her believe she grew the roses and then face even greater disappointment when she experiences her same failures later? As he pondered how to handle his rosy girlfriend, another red head was plotting. One who had heard the conversation, and had less-than-honorable machinations.

*Afterword*

So yeah, nice chapter, huh? We can all guess who the evil red head is, we can all guess how this is probably going to end, and we can all guess what punishment the evil red-head is getting. Yeah, a cliche little 2 parter, but being done nonetheless because I wanted to do something non-actiony or comical. Anyhow, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I'll try to have the next one releases promptly. Depends on how circumstance favors me tomorrow.

Well, I'll keep this Afterword short, and end it with this; I have a few arcs planned already, so odds are I may release quite a few chapters, including a double release depending on circumstance. I've debated whether or not to spoil the arcs for you, but might as well let you in on a few of them, just a bit. One arc has the little Ball I mentioned a few chapters ago. That one may turn out to be a three parter with how I have it planned, and my hectic schedule. One arc where Jaune gives love advice! And another little arc where Velvet hops aboard (pardon the lame, Barbara-like pun) the USS Jaune Arc. So yeah, big things planned. Any suggestions for these arcs, or any ideas for an arc or small story, would be appreciated.

Anyhow, see you next chapter!