Blake always ran.

It was one of the things she hated about herself. One of many things. What was she thinking? How could she date with so much baggage? Ruby didn't deserve this.

...She was picturing it, though. Going out to dinner, or a quiet walk through a park. She could imagine Ruby's arms around her on a cold night, pressing soft kisses against her cheek. Calloused hands running over her hips, those red lips slowly coming up to her own...

Oh, she was doomed.

They would be leaving on assignment in two days, and would have to spend many more together. Alone. Camping out, where nobody would interrupt them. She really had to stop thinking about it. Or, save it for when she wasn't in public.

Okay, maybe dating Ruby would be a good thing. A really good thing. She just...had to take the first step. Well, she had already sort of taken the first step. Now she had to actually make sure Ruby knew what she meant.

'...You do. Have a chance.'

Talk about vague. Was her leader going to ask her out? It kind of seems like that's what she asked for. Would it be weird to ask Ruby out? No, she was over thinking it. How would she even ask? Saunter up, 'hey Ruby, do you wanna go to Vale for cake and kisses?' Well, that might actually work. She should really just get it done, shouldn't she? Ruby would understand her running off, right? Of course she would, she was the most forgiving person Blake had ever known.

She started walking back towards their dorm, heart hammering loudly. There was a lump in her throat, dragging it's way down on every swallow. Her legs felt heavy as she forced them to move. Anxiety was flooding through her, whispering about every possible bad outcome.

It was a battle she couldn't win yet. She turned and took the first exit, trying to get as far away from her partner as possible.

Blake didn't return until it was dark.

She had hoped to avoid waking her team, but Ruby was already awake. Her leader sat outside their room in her pajamas, back against the wall. Their gazes met, and Blake's heart skipped a beat. It was hard to read Ruby's expression, to figure out how she was feeling. Unsure of how to proceed, she sat down next to her...whatever they were right now.

Ruby spoke first. "I'm sorry, Blake."

"For what?"

"For putting you on the spot like that. You were just trying to help and I...I totally made it weird."

Blake's bow twitched. "Don't worry about it. I think I made it weird, too."

Ruby giggled. "Maybe a little. But, um...Did you mean it?"

The faunas' face started to flush, and an involuntary whine escaped her at the prospect of affirming her affections.

Unfortunately, her leader took the whine as a worse sign than it was. "B-because it's okay if you weren't. I mean, if you just wanted to make me feel better. Really, I understa-"

Her voice acted faster than Blake could control, interrupting her partner with a rushed "Ishouldbeyourgirlfriend."

Silver eyes blinked confusedly. "W-What?"

"I should be your girlfriend."

"...Really? I mean, 'cause you're, like, gorgeous and I'm just...me."

"Ruby, you aren't just you." Blake said. "You're you, and that's who I want."

Her leader was blushing now. "I-I want you, too. Just, y'know, have you seen my sister? I don't really compare..."

Blake had a feeling saying this would end up biting her, but she had to see how Ruby would react to it. "I happen to think you're pretty sexy."

Ruby's face lit up and she started stammering incoherently. Blake was blushing as well, but the younger girl practically practically had steam rising off of her. The faunas giggled a bit, feeling her nerves finally relaxing.

In moments like these, it was easy to forget that fate was cruel.

She was still stammering, but Ruby managed to reply "W-well, I-I think you're pretty sexy too, babe."

Sudden, barking laughter shot out from their dorm. It was pretty obviously Yang, and they could even hear her slapping her knee as she laughed uncontrollably. Weiss' voice started piped up, reprimanding the blonde for interrupting. All in all, a pretty thorough way to ruin the mood.

Faces bright red, the subjects of her mirth quickly ran in to the dorm room so they could shut the door before Yang woke up their entire year. The brawler was desperately trying to wipe tears from her eyes, and to collect her composure. Ruby sped over to grab a pillow and then tackled her sister, attempting to smother her with it. They really just ended up rolling around on the floor, Yang's laughter muffled but far from over.

Blake looked over at Weiss, and found herself seeing a rare sight. The heiress had a hand over her mouth, and was shaking. The giggles were being contained, but not by much. Weiss let a few coughs into her palm, getting herself under control. She looked Blake in the eyes, her face flat.

After a moment, Weiss' spoke. "Remember to use protection."

With that, the flood gates were opened once again. Yang was howling in laughter, kicking her sister off and rolling on to her side. Completely undignified giggles were pouring out of the heiress, occasionally leading to tiny snorts as she struggled to breath.

It was going to be a long night.

It took a full half hour for their teammates to calm down, and they ended up talking on their beds. Well, Weiss and Yang were on their beds. Blake and taken Ruby to hers, figuring it couldn't get worse than what they had already gone through.

"Exactly how much of that did you two hear?" The faunas asked.

"Enough to know you got it bad for my sis."

The black and red pair groaned, leaning into each other.

Weiss stepped in, "Now Yang, the proper term would be enamored."

Of course they had to end up with teammates who not only thought they were funny, but were becoming quite skilled at making each other laugh. If they didn't put a stop to this, they'd be laughing until the morning. Luckily, Blake wasn't the only one to notice this.

Ruby got off the bed and crossed the room in a moment, switching off the light before returning.

"Okay, everybody to bed! Next one of you to talk will be cleaning the bathroom for a week!"

Yang and Weiss gave off some grumbles, but slid under their sheets without real complaint. Blake reached up and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, pulling her down to the bed. She pulled her blanket over them and snuggled in close, enjoying the smaller girls warmth.

"We're going to have to talk to them in the morning." Blake whispered.

"Shut up and cuddle me." Ruby replied.

Author's Note

I just want to give a quick thanks to all my readers and reviewers, I didn't expect anyone to stick around past the first chapter but it's really great to see I was wrong.

Other than that, I feel as though the summary for this story isn't really clear. I think these eight chapters could honestly count as a prologue more so than the actually story. This fic is not about how Ladybug get together, though it may have seemed that way at first, but instead how an awkward first relationship becomes more serious and loving over time.

Because of that, I don't expect this story to end for a fairly long time. I will try to keep this updated at least once a week, but that may not always be the case.

Until next time.