Author's note: First of all, thank you so much to everyone who has already read, favorited, followed and reviewed this story! It's only been going for a week or so but it's already becoming one of my most popular stories to date. Due to the pairing, I certainly wasn't expecting a reception like this. I hope the rest is as enjoyable as what's happened so far!
Secondly, since people have been asking and I haven't seen any official title for this ship on any master posts, I'm dubbing this ship Raspberry Mocha Latte.
Finally, this next part was all supposed to be one chapter but it kind of got out of hand. So I decided to split it into two chapters instead. Be on the lookout for Chapter 5 tomorrow! Anyway, enough blabbering from me, back to the story!
Several days had passed since that night and today was the day that Velvet was definitely going to ask Ruby out. Or at least she planned on attempting to do it. She was currently camped out in the Beacon Library hoping for a chance to talk to Ruby alone but that was proving troublesome. The entirety of Team RWBY were all studying together and Ruby had yet to break away from the table to do anything like go find a book or use the restroom. So Velvet simply waited and watched their table through a hole she'd created by removing some books on a shelf nearby.
In the time since she'd made her confession to Coco about her feelings for Ruby and Coco had come up with this plan to ask her out, things had changed in regards to Velvet's position on this whole potential relationship. Coco had taken the liberty of sending Velvet a bunch of different research and studies about polyamory and it definitely helped put her mind at rest. This was, in fact, something that existed in the world and the people who practiced it weren't strange freakos or perverts or anything like she had feared. They just happened to love multiple people all at once. What really surprised her was how accepting the boys on her team were when they were informed of the plans. It made perfect sense to both of them that this was feasible so Velvet had to wonder just how sheltered she really was from the rest of society.
Now came the toughest part of any potential date and that was actually asking out the other person. It was already stressful enough to go through this under normal circumstances. But doing it when you're already dating someone else and you're also asking out your crush on their behalf as well? It had fried each end every one of Velvet's nerves to their breaking point. She checked on the team again and saw that Blake Belladonna had left the group in the time since she last peeked. Velvet made a quick scan in as much of her peripheral vision as she could to try and find the fellow Faunus but suddenly a head popped into her view from the other side and Velvet was eye to eye with a familiar set of amber eyes. Velvet jumped back in surprise right into a cart full of books that she'd forgotten was behind her. As she nursed her bruised ego and other bumps and bruises from the fall, Blake rounded the corner looking cross and stared at Velvet.
"Goodness Blake, you startled me!" Velvet winced as she tried to pick herself up from the pile of books and twisted remains of the cart with as much dignity as she could.
"You mind telling me why you were spying on us?" Blake asked curtly.
"Spying on you? I don't know what you mean," stammered Velvet. Blake simply walked over to where Velvet had been standing and looked through the hole to see her teammates all looking concerned about the loud crash Velvet made when she fell. Blake turned back to look at Velvet with her eyes narrowed in displeasure.
"I've been watching you watch us for a half hour now. So do me a favor and explain yourself."
"Okay," Velvet began as she guiltily stared at the floor and shuffled her feet, "the truth is that I need to talk to Ruby but it really needs to be in private and I didn't want to just barge in and interrupt your study group."
"Well wait here then; I'll go get Ruby." Before Velvet could protest, Blake had strode away to go fetch her leader. This was all going so wrong for Velvet. Now she had no time to properly prepare herself to talk to Ruby and she had to tack on the embarrassment of causing a big scene before talking to her. Velvet considered grabbing her things and running for it but then those beautiful silver eyes of Ruby's peeked around the corner and Velvet was rooted where she stood.
"Velvet? You okay? That crash sounded like it hurt," Ruby asked with concern as she walked over to Velvet.
"I'll be fine," said Velvet softly as she looked to the ground again to avoid Ruby's gaze. This had officially turned into a nightmare. Velvet actually looked down to make sure she was still fully clothed since that was about the only way this could be worse.
"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Ruby, I can trust you enough to tell you anything, right?"
"Of course Velvet. Why? What's wrong?"
Velvet took a shaky breath to steady herself and finally looked up into Ruby's eyes. She couldn't imagine how pitiful she must have looked to the younger girl. But Velvet only saw concern and trust in her eyes. Finally, she whispered, "I need to confess something to you."
"Okay…" Now Ruby was starting to get kind of nervous.
"I wasn't entirely honest with you the other night in the common room. About why I was so preoccupied after the rain ended our day together."
"What do you mean?"
This was it. There was no turning back after this. Velvet gulped and slowly said, "I…really like you a lot, Ruby."
"I like you too, Velvet. But what does that have to do-"
"No, no, you don't understand," Velvet quickly interrupted. She felt guilty about how rude that was but she had to get this out now. "I like you as in romantically."
"Um…what?" Ruby asked, completely flabbergasted.
"I've had a pretty substantial crush on you for a good while now."
"But you already have a girlfriend Velvet," said Ruby slowly, completely confused about what was happening.
"Well, you see, that's the catch. As it turns out, Coco also happens to feel the same way about you. And we both were wondering if you would be interested in going out on a date with both of us this weekend?" Velvet added a hopeful little smile to the question to try and stack the odds in her favor. Ruby's eyes went wide at a speed that shouldn't have been possible.
"I…you…what…both of you? You both want to take me out?" Ruby squeaked as she hyperventilated a little.
"If you'd like, of course," Velvet said quickly to try and put her back at ease. "I know this sounds incredibly strange but Coco assures me that it's perfectly acceptable to do as long as everyone involved agrees to the terms."
"And what would those terms be?" Ruby's curiosity was somehow managing to overpower her logic which was screaming at her how wrong this all was.
"My understanding is that if we chose to move forward with this venture that all three of us would be dating. You'd have both Coco and myself as your girlfriends. And as long as we keep communication with each other open and honest and don't play favorites with one another or neglect someone in order to meet in secrecy, we would be free to pursue the relationship however we chose."
"Wow," Ruby said with her head spinning. This was definitely not a conversation she expected to have today. And having all this be dumped on her was starting to overwhelm her. "Um, this is kind of a lot to take in all at once, Velvet. I've never been asked out before by anyone, let alone two people at the same time."
"I know, and I am sorry that it came about like this," apologized Velvet. She wished there could have been an easier, more normal way to do this. "But Coco figured that since I got on best with you already that I'd be better suited to ask you."
"I guess that does kinda make sense," admitted Ruby. "Still, I really don't know what to think about all of this."
"If it helps, you can think about it and let me know what you'd like to do later?"
"Yeah, definitely," said a relieved Ruby. That definitely took some of the stress away. "I can't make any promises for when 'later' might be, though."
"It's perfectly okay, take as much time as you need. Just do one thing for me if you can?"
"What's that?" Velvet slowly reached out to take Ruby's hand. Ruby caught on to what she was doing and grabbed Velvet's hand first and gave her a comforting squeeze.
"Can we please still be friends no matter what you decide?" Velvet pleaded. This was the thing she was most worried about. She could handle Ruby declining her but if this ended up ruining their friendship, she'd never forgive herself. "I can assure you that I'll be perfectly fine if you choose not to come out with us. But I really don't want this to change our friendship. I value you more as a friend than anything and don't want to have that change."
"Of course Velvet," replied Ruby with no hesitation. "I just need to think about how much I really like you is all. But I'll still always be there for you no matter what. I promise."
"Thank you Ruby. That means a lot." Velvet was so overcome with relief that she actually felt a tear roll down her cheek. "I should be going now, though. I'm sure I've taken up more of your team's time than they'd like."
"Yeah, probably. See you, Velvet." Velvet quickly gathered up her things and sped out of the library, stopping briefly to give some lien to the librarian to pay for the damaged cart. Ruby stayed exactly where she was, though. A numbness swept through her body as she tried to cope with what just happened. After a few minutes of remaining frozen, Ruby turned back and returned to the table with her teammates.
"Finally! Honestly, I could have taken notes on the next five chapters if I didn't have to wait for you," scolded a fuming Weiss Schnee. Ruby offered a weak smile to apologize and took her seat.
"So, what was that all about?" Blake asked. Ruby appeared to not hear her and just kept staring into her lap.
"Ruby? What's wrong? What happened?" Yang asked. She immediately could see something major was bothering Ruby and left her seat to crouch down next to Ruby.
"Um, " stammered Ruby, not sure if she should reveal exactly what happened, "Vel-Velvet asked me out on a date. With her and Coco together."
"WHAT?!" Yang and Weiss both screamed. A chorus of shushing rang out and the RWBY table was surrounded by a lot of dirty looks.
"What did you tell her?" Blake asked, completely nonplussed.
"I said I needed some time to think about it. Anyway, let's get back to our papers." Ruby picked her pen back up but stopped when she saw Weiss packing her things away. "Wait, why are we stopping?"
"Because there's more important things to talk about right now," Weiss answered briskly. "Let me see if I've got this right. Velvet Scarlatina wanted to talk to you in private to tell you that not only does she want to date you but so does her girlfriend?"
"Um, yeah, I think so. Is that a bad thing?"
"No, not necessarily," sneered Weiss. "It's just shocking to me that they'd want to date you of all people."
"Cool it, Ice Queen," hissed Blake. Weiss scowled at Blake using the nickname she knew Weiss hated. "You're not helping. Ruby, what are you thinking about all of this?"
"This is all so overwhelming," said an agitated Ruby as she put her head in her hands. "I didn't think I'd have to be dealing with things like dating for awhile. Everything is happening so fast."
"But you didn't immediately tell her no. Why not?" Weiss asked, genuinely curious for her rationale.
"I don't know. She took me off guard and I don't think I was thinking straight. I'm still not sure if I am or not."
"Yang, what do you make of all this?" Blake asked her teammate. But Yang wasn't listening. She had her eyes closed and her fists clenched.
"Yang," Weiss said sharply to try and get her attention, "Blake asked you a question, you dunce. It's rude to ignore her." But Yang didn't register Weiss's voice either. She began to breathe heavily and her whole body began twitching.
"Uh-oh, we should probably take cover," Ruby said frantically when she noticed her sister. Blake followed orders and started backing away while Ruby dove out of her seat and hid under the table next to theirs.
"Wait, why?" Weiss asked. But before she could get an answer, Yang literally exploded and sent pieces of the table and chairs flying everywhere. The other students in the library fled in a panic for safety as Yang stood seething with rage with fire engulfing her.
"You oaf," coughed Weiss who was now covered in dust and had several scorch marks on her, "look what you've done to my uniform!"
"I'll make it up to you later," Yang growled in a low, dangerous tone. Her usually lilac eyes were instead burning with the most intense shade of red they'd ever seen from the brawler. "But right now, I have business I need to attend to." With that, she stormed out of the library, leaving cracks in the floor as her feet stomped into it.
"Wait," cried Ruby, "where are you going?! Yang, come back!"
"Let her go," bristled Weiss as she tried to brush all the debris off of her. "We won't be accomplices if she decides to blow up the school."
"It's not the school I'm worried about her blowing up." Ruby whined fearfully. She was mostly concerned about Velvet and hoped the Faunus had put enough distance between herself and the library so Yang couldn't find her.
"Okay, back to the issue at hand here," said Blake as she picked up her things to move to a table that was still intact.
"You two can stay here and chat. I need to go change." Weiss then grabbed her bag and left the library in a huff.
"This is why studying is a bad idea, you know," said Ruby halfheartedly, trying to lighten the mood. "Nothing good ever comes from it."
"I'm guessing Velvet and Coco aren't attracted to you for your sense of humor," chuckled Blake.
"So what do you think of all this, Blake?"
Blake shrugged and said, "It's not what I think that matters Ruby, it's what you think."
"Could you at least humor me with your opinion?" Ruby asked in frustration. If she was capable of figuring this out by herself, she wouldn't need to ask for advice. "Is this actually as crazy at it sounds?"
"I will admit that I wouldn't have put lien on something like this happening," conceded Blake. "I didn't take Coco and Velvet to be polyamorous types. But personally, I don't see anything unusual about it."
"Polyamorous?"
"It means 'many loves,'" Blake explained. " There are some people out there who don't feel that they should be restricted by society to have more than one relationship at a time. And if they can find mates who also agree with that belief, they can build big relationships together."
"Oh, so Mom, Dad and Yang's mom were polyamorous then?" Ruby asked as a realization dawned on her.
"Beg pardon?" Blake replied, a bit taken aback.
"Yeah! I found a bunch of love letters they all wrote to each other in Dad's room back home." Ruby suddenly realized she might have divulged too much and leaned to whisper in Blake's ear, "But Yang doesn't know so don't tell her, okay?"
"Uh, sure," said Blake, still a bit confused. "But yeah, basically like that. As long as everyone is aware of the boundaries of the relationship, they can be some of the strongest ones imaginable."
"I'm still not sure what to really think about all that."
"Well then let's focus on things you do know about, okay. Do you like girls, Ruby?"
"Kinda, I guess," admitted Ruby as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "I haven't really thought about it too much. I mean yeah, I can totally tell when a girl is super cute and all but I never really considered dating them. Or dating anyone in general."
"But you're not entirely opposed to the idea?"
Ruby considered the question for a moment before answering, "No, I don't think so."
"Alright then," continued Blake, nodding in satisfaction that they were getting somewhere. "Tell me what you think about Velvet then."
"Well, she's a really good friend. I think we click really well because we're both kinda shy and not good at being around most people. But we can open up to each other and I really like that. It makes me feel really good when I can make her smile and laugh and enjoy herself since she spends so much time being nervous and sad."
"How about Coco?"
"She's always been super nice to me whenever we've talked. But I haven't really gotten to know her that well, to be honest. I really would like to, though. She just seems so cool and calm and like nothing fazes her. I really hope that someday I can be a leader like how she is."
"Do you think you're attracted to either of them?"
Ruby let out a little amused snort and said, "I don't think there's a soul here in Beacon who doesn't think Coco is smoking hot."
"I'll agree with that," replied Blake. It was definitely true that there were some students that commanded the hormones of the students of Beacon regardless of their gender or sexuality. And Coco was definitely right at the top of that list.
"But Velvet is definitely really cute too. I love listening to her talk because her accent is so pretty. And when she gets all excited it's so cool to see because her eyes get real big and she gets the biggest smile on her face. Her hair is really nice and soft too. I like how it feels on my face when she hugs me."
Blake pondered what Ruby had just told her for a few moments before she clapped her hands together and said confidently, "I'll be honest with you Ruby, I think you should go out with them."
"For real?" Ruby asked in surprise as her eyes went wide again.
"I do," confirmed Blake. "It seems to me like you definitely like them both. And you said that you wouldn't potentially mind dating a girl. So I think you should go for it."
"A date is such a big step, though," fretted Ruby. "I'm not sure if I'm ready."
"At the very least, I think you should try going with them this one time. Just think of it like you're going to hang out. But it's just the three of you and you all happen to really like each other. If things start getting romantic, great. If not, you're spending time with two of your friends. Either way the day is a win."
"But what do I do if things do get romantic? I've never even kissed anybody yet."
"If you don't want to do anything like that then tell them. I'm sure they won't mind respecting your boundaries. If they do, then they're no good for you in the first place."
"Thanks Blake," said Ruby with a tired smile. This day had been exhausting for her mentally. "You've been a big help."
"No problem Ruby," replied Blake who grinned back and gave her a quick side hug. "Now come on, let's get out of here before Goodwitch arrives and gives us detention for wrecking the place."
The two girls then packed up their supplies and headed back for their room. Ruby was still debating as to what she should do but Blake's talk had definitely made things clearer for her. Now she just had to make her decision and hope that Yang hadn't broken anyone in half from her anger. The only thing that Ruby was certain about was that when she got back to her dorm, she was going to take a nap.
To be continued…