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Weiss could easily see why Papa Pepperoni's would appeal to Ruby. The entire interior was an explosion of bright lights, beeping and booping arcade machines and a carnival-like atmosphere that would appeal to her in a way that no other establishment, except maybe a weapons shop, could. The top floor held arcade machines as far as the eye could see, but the bottom floor is where the dining tables were actually located. Ruby could barely contain her excitement, as she held on to Weiss' right hand with a tight grip, the RWBY team leader practically bouncing in place as she waited for the host to take them to their seat.
"Hi, welcome to Papa Pepperoni's Pizza Parlor where you can have im-pasta-bowl levels of fun. My name is Mark. Party of two?" the poor teen host droned monotone. He was dressed up in a stereotypical outfit of a red and white vertical striped shirt, a plastic black handlebar mustache, and a pork pie hat.
"Indeed, good sir!" Ruby said with way more formality than needed. "My girlfriend and I shall require your finest table!" Mark barely acknowledged that as the emotional toll on this job had sucked any life out of his voice and personality.
"No problem, ma'am. Your booth is 3E and if you'll follow-" he was in the process of saying, but a cloud of rose petals cut him off as Ruby zoomed to their table, leaving Weiss and Mark behind. "Are...are those rose petals?" he asked, plucking one out of the air as it slowly fell to earth. Weiss just sighed.
"Yes, they are. But they will disappear in about twenty minutes or so. I'm sorry about this, I'll make sure to-" Weiss was also saying, but she was now interrupted by another cloud of petals as Ruby had run back to the front lobby.
"Sorry!" she said with a shy smile, grabbing Weiss by the wrist. "I forgot my Snowflake."
"Ruby, wait, I can waaaaaaaaaaalllkk!" Weiss wailed, as Ruby Semblanced them to the booth at 3E. Weiss felt like she barely had time to catch her breath before she was unceremoniously dumped in the booth, sitting across from Ruby who was already nose deep in the menu.
"I honestly haven't seen you this excited since you managed to win tickets to HunterCon," Weiss said, adjusting to the worn out red pleather seat of her booth.
"How could I not be excited?!" Ruby exclaimed. "I've only been wanting to come here since I was a little girl and it was all the way over in Atlas, so far from Patch!"
"I admit, this wouldn't be the type of location I would have chosen for a date, but it is nice to see you so happy." And it was true. Weiss took joy in watching Ruby bounce around with excitement and it helped take her mind off the decision she would have to make in regards to her relationship or her career as a Huntress. It was a lose/lose situation and Weiss was feeling torn down the middle, but seeing Ruby happy helped ease the pain a bit.
"Can I get you, ladies, anything?" deadpanned Mark, notepad in hand.
"Yes, you can!" Ruby said cheerfully. "I will have a large coffee, please. And I need exactly eight sugars and eight little cream thingies, please! And Weiss?"
"I'll just have a small coffee, please. One cream, one sugar."
Mark jotted down the order, his eyes dull and glazed.
"Ready to eat?" he asked.
"I'm actually not that hungry," Weiss admitted. "I'll just have a small slice of cheesecake."
"And for you, ma'am?" Mark queried of Ruby, brushing off an errant rose petal off his shoulder. Ruby was studying her menu hard, her silver eyes focused with laser-like precision. This was not a decision she was going to make lightly.
"I...I think I'll haaaaaveee...you know what? I'm an adult! Let's skip straight to dessert. I'll have the Delizioso Dynamite Cookie Crumble, please. And can I get extra mocha-choco dipping sauce?" Ruby wondered to her emotionally hollowed out waiter. Mark just shrugged and scribbled something down on his notepad.
"Sure. I get paid the same either way. I'll be back with your orders." he murmured and shuffled off to the kitchen.
"I swear you are five years old." Weiss laughed. "Dessert for dinner? You're lucky Yang's not here."
"Which is exactly why I ordered it, Snowflake!" Ruby countered. "Without Yang being all Sister-Mom on me, I can finally eat what I want! I'll just have to train extra hard back at the Academy to burn this off."
Both girls sat there in silence, holding hands over the table, neither one speaking but enjoying the quiet comfort of the other's presence. Finally, it was Ruby who broke the silence, posing a question that had been eating at the back of her mind since that ill-fated dinner.
"Hey Snowflake, not to kill the mood, but uh, what are you going to do with what your Dad said?" she questioned. Weiss winced a bit, as she was trying to avoid that topic at hand.
"I'll think of something, Ruby." was all she said, but that wasn't good enough for her girlfriend.
"Weiss, please...I want to talk about this." Ruby pleased, her silver eyes wrought with worry and concern. The very fact she said 'Weiss' was proof enough she was concerned, as she almost exclusively referred to her girlfriend as Snowflake since the relationship started. Weiss gave a bitter sigh and rubbed her temples, trying to relax the stress and unease that was building.
"For starters, there's no way I'm going to end things with you. This is honestly the happiest I've ever been, even if you can a bit of a hyperactive dolt at times, but if Jacques thinks I'm ending this, he's sadly mistaken." Weiss said defiantly. This made Ruby's heart sing for joy, but that emotional high almost immediately came crashing down as the repercussions of that decision hit her hard.
"But Weiss...that means you wouldn't be able to stay in Beacon..." Ruby worried. Weiss took Ruby's hands back in her own and gave a soft, sad, sweet smile.
"I swear to you, Ruby Rose, I will do everything in my power to stay by your side as your teammate, your friend, your classmate and your girlfriend."
"Snowflake...I...I love you." Ruby sniffled. Weiss kissed the back of Ruby's hand and smiled warmly.
"And I love you as well, Ruby Rose."
As tender as this moment was, it was interrupted by the sound of Mark clearing his throat, holding a large tray with Weiss' cheesecake, Ruby's gastronomical dessert nightmare and two steaming cups of coffee.
"Your food," he said flatly. "It's here."
Ruby's excitement was back up to one hundred as the huge dish was neatly placed in front of her. It was a massive chocolate chip cookie, the size of a frying pan, on which shredded churros, smashed Smoreo cookies and two big scoops of chocolate ice cream were piled on top. And true to Ruby's request, it was smothered in hot Mocha-Choco Sauce.
"This. looks. DELICIOUS!" Ruby squealed with delight. Weiss was almost positive she could see stars in Ruby's eyes.
"That looks disgusting." the Heiress groaned. "But enjoy your sugar rush."
How Ruby even managed to stop and take time to catch a breath was beyond Weiss Schnee. She watched with a mixture of horror and amusement as the diminutive brunette practically inhaled her Frankendessert, easily gobbling up the confectionary abomination. If you had never met Ruby and this was your only experience with her, you would assume she was an impulsive, childish pixie, which, Weiss reluctantly admitted to herself, is partially true. She can be like that at her worst.
However, Weiss would be the first to admit that Ruby was one of the most gifted Huntresses she had ever seen. Watching Ruby yield Crescent Rose was like watching ballet, or a beautifully synchronized dance number. It was almost like the curved blade-gun was an extension of herself, something she twirled and slashed with the greatest of ease. There had been times where Weiss was sure they were outnumbered by Grimm, the odds too high for a chance of survival and just when things seemed their bleakest, there came Ruby Rose, slicing and dicing with her weapon, clearing a path for safety or at least injuring the Grimm enough to allow for an easier victory or successful retreat. And, Weiss was embarrassed to admit, she did look really hot in full combat mode. In fact-
"Weiss?"
Weiss blinked back to reality, realizing she had been daydreaming.
"Sorry, Ruby. Were you saying something?"
"Yeah, I was saying I'm done with dessert and I wanna go upstairs to play video games. Wanna come with me? I'll win you a prize!" Ruby grinned.
"I'm not much of a video game person, but I would be delighted to come with you," Weiss replied. After swiping the lien card at the payment station at the table and boxing up Weiss' barely touched cheesecake, Ruby practically ran upstairs to the arcade, Weiss being tugged behind by the wrist.
'At least she's not using her Semblance...' Weiss thought, happy they wouldn't be leaving another mess of rose petals to clean up. Once they crested the stairs to the arcade, Ruby's jaw dropped.
"...so beautiful..." she whispered. Ruby felt like how she did on her first day at Beacon Academy, completely overwhelmed and excited by everything before her. So many things to look at! So many things to do! She felt like she could explode with giddiness at any moment, just erupting into a squealing, glee-filled bomb of fireworks and caffeine. She wasn't even sure what game she wanted to play first - ROBOT WARS XL? TURBO GOPHER MASSACRE? ZOMBIE DATING SIMULATOR? ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT GRIMM? So many decisions! But then, like a burning bush in the desert, she saw it. The Game. The only one she would need to play, the one she had read so much about - Zombie Sniper Turbo Edition. With the 4k Digitally Remastered graphics and deleted scenes added to the story mode! Ruby felt like she was floating on clouds as she walked over to the machine, swiped the Lien card and picked her character, a plucky female sniper with a cybernetic eye named Gaige.
"Even I have heard of this game," Weiss admitted, standing to the side of the machine. "The game so tough, it made the news. They said no one can even beat the first level."
"HA!" Ruby scoffed. "This game never ran into me! Sniping is my specialty! Well, that and cookies. And kissing you. Okay, so sniping is one of my specialties, which include kissing you and cookies."
"Just play the game, dolt." Weiss giggled, giving Ruby a supportive kiss on the cheek. Ruby grinned in determination and stared down the faux-scope of the heavy plastic sniper rifle.
'READY? BEGIN THE HUNT!' the game bellowed, as the cutscreen shown the safe house doors bursting open and the hordes of the shambling undead starting to file in. Ruby swept the room, sizing each zombie and what areas were in need of protection, and pulled the trigger. A compressed audio recording of an actual sniper file played through the built-in speakers on the gun and a ghoul's head exploded in pixilated viscera. This was followed by another and another and another and another. All flawless headshots and all of them with plenty of time to spare to protect the civilians hiding in the corner of the factory level. A small crowd began to gather to watch this spectacle, as no one had shown a mastery of this game quite like this short girl in the grey hoodie.
"Oh, you want some more?" Ruby taunted. "Here's some more!"
BOOM. Another headshot.
"Hail to the Queen, baby!"
BOOM. Another headshot.
"Say hello to my little friend!"
BOOM. Another headshot.
On and on it went, with most of the arcade cheering as if they were at a sports game, watching Ruby make it to the final boss, the dreaded Lord Gor'Gath - The Undead Ambassador of Pain. No one had even beaten the first level, let alone made it this far. Weiss actually felt a sense of pride that her girlfriend was so good at video games, even if she herself didn't think they were all that entertaining.
"You can do it, Ruby! I believe in you!" she cheered, feeling slightly silly but still wanting to root her on.
The actual battle was tough and fierce, with Ruby having to dodge her digital avatar behind walls and barrels to avoid the Gor-Gath's Flaming NecroSkulls and his Acid Breath. The whole fight must have lasted a good twenty minutes before Ruby timed an expert shot right between the beast's eyes sending him to whatever pixilated hell he crawled out of.
"I did it!" Ruby squealed, jumping up and down and clapping. "I beat the game!"
"I'm so proud of you!" Weiss said, reaching over to hug Ruby. But she was caught off guard when Ruby yanked her down and literally swooped her low for a kiss.
"Gimmie some sugar, baby!" she said with a wink and the two shared a deep, passionate kiss to the "Oooohs!" and "YOU GET IT, GIRL!" cheers from the crowd. When the two finally broke their kiss, Weiss' cheeks feeling hot and her lips even hotter, Ruby scooped up the huge pile of tickets the machine had spat out and was practically skipping towards the prize room to redeem her bounty. At least, that was the plan till one of the side rooms caught her eye. "Weeeiisssssss! Looooook! We have to do this!"
Weiss took one look at the sign for the room and vehemently shook her head no.
"No way, no way, NO WAY. Watching you play video games is one thing, but there's no way in Remnant I'm doing this."
"Pleeeaaassseeee!" Ruby pleaded, using her silver eyes to their full advantage, giving them her best puppy dog beg. Weiss sighed, once again succumbing to her girlfriend's whims and desires.
"Fine. But no one from the team finds out about this, ok? Yang will have a field day if she finds out." Weiss said. Ruby jumped for joy, hugging Weiss tightly around her neck.
"Thank you, Snowflake! I promise this will be our little secret!"
And so the two girls walked into the room, above which hung a neon sign that read 'Karaoke'...