The whole town was tinted in shades of orange and gold, purple shadows draped everywhere. Ruby walked briskly up the streets, wearing her white and black dress, rather than her usual black and red one. She double-checked the directions Ozpin had given her, and turned the corner. And there he was, leaning against a streetlamp in front of a quaint movie theater that she didn't know exist. She tucked some hair behind her ear, and went to him. "Hey you," she called, and waved.

He looked over, and stood up straight. "Good evening, Ruby."

"I hope you weren't waiting out here for too long?"

"Not at all."

"That's good." She rocked on her heels. "Sooo... what do you think of my outfit?" She gave a little twirl.

His eyes flicked up and down. "Adorable. Here is your ticket." He held out a small slip of paper, which she took. "Shall we go in?"

"Sure." They both turned for the entrance. Walking side by side, her eyes went to his free hand hanging by his side. She reached for it, fingers moving across his palm. He pulled his hand away, placing it in his pocket. She simply looked at him, stunned for a moment, then turned her gaze to the ground, her hand curling into a fist.

Inside, she almost lost him while she was trying to hand her ticket to the usher. He walked so fast despite his cane, she trotted after him. "Oz-, I mean, Clark!" He froze, and she saw his shoulders tense.

He turned slowly back around to face her, a patient and strained smile on his face. "Yes?"

"Can we get some snacks? Like popcorn, and stuff? I'm hungry." She pointed at the small concession stand.

He sighed. "Very well." By the time she'd gotten her popcorn and soda, and they'd made it to their seats in the theater, the opening credits for the movie were halfway done. She placed the popcorn on the armrest between them, eating it one kernel at a time. But his hand never went near it.

While the protagonist on screen lamented to another character about something, her eyes peeked over to him. His gaze was focused completely on the screen, an intent look on his face. She sipped her soda, then set it to the side. She gave a big yawn, arching her back and stretching out her arms. She brought her arms down and around, moving to rest one on the back of his chair. But then, without his eyes leaving the screen, he took his cane in hand and used it to stop her arm. Hooking it around, he moved her arm back down to her side.

She frowned, brows furrowing. She settled back into her seat, and moved the popcorn into her lap. She slouched, munching away from the now half-empty container. She glanced away from the movie again, this time at the floor. She moved her foot along the ground, closer to his own foot. Then he crossed his legs, effectively putting his foot out of her reach. With a huff she sat up straight again.

Then she noticed that he had taken the armrest the popcorn had previously rested on. His hand sat half-open, careless and at peace. She made another grab at it, but he was faster, so that her hand simply grappled with the cup holder. "Okay, what's your problem?" she hissed at him.

"What's your problem?" he whispered back, eyes finally leaving the screen to glare at her.

"We're on a date, and you won't even hold my hand!"

"Be quiet!"

"Shh!" someone a couple rows behind them said, a finger to their lips.

A few moments of silence passed, and Ozpin spoke again, very softly. "Holding hands is not a requirement in a relationship."

"It is when you kiss me!"

He adjusted his glasses, and looked away to the screen. "That was a mistake. I apologize."

She felt her insides constrict. "Then why did you do it?"

"I was hoping to disgust you. Most people would've been disgusted, if they'd just received a kiss from someone old enough to be their father."

"I guess I'm not most people."

"Evidently."

She blinked furiously, her chest tight. "Well, if you hate me so much, why didn't you just say so?" She crossed her arms and sunk in her seat, looking off to some dark corner of the theater.

He looked over to her. He studied her, only the profile of her face visible to him. He looked down at the ground, taking a slow breath through his nose. He slid his foot along the ground, and lightly touched her foot. Her head whipped around back to him. "I don't hate you," he said quietly. She didn't say anything, simply looking at him with those big silver eyes of hers. "If I did, I never would have agreed to giving our relationship a chance in the first place." They looked at each other for a few moments more, and then he turned his attention back to the movie. Ruby watched him, then followed suit.

Later, they exited the theater together, the both of them quiet. The streetlamps gave a soft glow, the stars just peeking out from behind the city's luminescent skirts. A faint mist ebbed in the alleyways, and no wind blew. "I think there are some things I should explain to you," he said.

"Oh yeah?" she prompted.

"Yes, because I don't think you fully understand the situation we're in. A relationship between us is...complicated, to say the least."

"Because you could be arrested?"

"Yes, but there's more to it than just that." His cane clicked against the sidewalk. "We also have our positions in society to consider. You're a young lady, a huntress in training. It could damage your reputation, forever, so that people would never show you the respect you deserve. Even if you were older, and this wasn't illegitimate, your reputation would be in jeopardy."

"Who cares about reputation?" She crossed her arms up behind her head, stretching.

"You should care. Even if it doesn't matter to you what people think, what people think can make life difficult for you." He sighed. "And that goes double for me. As the headmaster of a warrior school, a scandal like this would make Beacon's renown plummet. There's a very good chance I would lose my job, and never be hired in a field of work that involved children or teens ever again. And even then, people would be reluctant to hire me, just so they could avoid the stigma."

She frowned, lowering her arms again. "You talk as if we've been convicted of a crime. Like, okay it's kind of weird for us to be dating, but we haven't actually done anything. They can't book us if we haven't done anything, right?"

"We don't have to do anything. The suspicion is all people need."

She kicked at a crumpled can. "It's kind of a special circumstance anyways, isn't it? We're soulmates, that changes things."

"Not as much as you'd think, and not as much as in the eyes of the public."

"But I want this!" He looked down to her. "I was the one who asked you to give me a chance. Doesn't the fact that this is my choice count for anything?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. They would say I'm abusing my authority over you as a headmaster." She glared at the ground. "Like I said, it's complicated. I told you earlier that we must keep this a secret. I mean a complete secret. We cannot give anybody a reason to suspect us. Not the slightest hint. So, for as long as there are other people around to witness it, we cannot be demonstrating any form of affection towards each other."

She sighed. "Fine, I get it."

"Do you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Though, if you ask me, just holding hands doesn't say much about what sort of relationship two people have."

"It can say a lot if you know who the people are individually."

"Whatever."

"You're still too young to appreciate the big picture in all this, and that's part of the problem."

"I get it, I get it." She looked up, her jaw set. "I'll stop showing you affection in public. I'll stop trying to hold your hand. Even if I don't think there's anything wrong with it, I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

He nodded. "Thank you." They crossed the street, shadows dancing across the stones.

"So, what'll we do for our next date?"

He seemed to deflate a little. "I don't know, what would you like to do?"

She thought for a moment. "Just a little while ago, the museum opened a new exhibit on weapons. Old weapons, artsy weapons, useless weapons, and possible future weapons. I've been wanting to go check it out. So, let's check it out together."

He gave a tired smile. "Very well. We can discuss the details later." They reached the small airship station, and stepped aboard the one due for the school on the cliff.

"I don't think this date went too bad," she informed him. "Even if things were kind of awkward, and I felt bad at first when you wouldn't hold my hand. At least we were able to have a talk about it."

"I'm glad we were able to come to an understanding."

"It was a good movie. Kind of depressing, though."

"Maybe next time we'll watch something a bit more cheerful."

Next time. She smiled privately to herself at the prospect.

As soon as the airship landed, he exited before her. "Good night, Ruby." Just a toss of his hand over his shoulder, at that same fast pace that she could hardly keep up with. She paused, and watched him go, a tightness in her chest again.

She gave a little wave. "Good night... Clark." She made the long, slow way to her dorm, the night air raising goosebumps on her skin where exposed. She entered the room.

"Hey Ruby, did you finish your errands in town?" Yang greeted, looking up from her homework. Weiss lay on her bed, wearing a clay mask and cucumber goggles.

"Yeah, basically." She leaned against the wall, pulling her shoes off. "Where's Blake?" she asked when she noticed the faunus was missing.

"Library. Research." Ruby nodded, and climbed up to her bed. "Hey, you okay? You've really been seeming kind of down these days."

She sighed. "It's complicated."

She sat up. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "No. I'll figure it out myself, eventually."

Elsewhere, Ozpin climbed the long staircase to his apartment. The massive gears in the tower echoed against the walls and each other. A terrible, always present sound, always impending, always reminding, always foreboding. Especially at night, when the moon's pale sickly fingers stretched across the black, clinging to whatever they could reach. Sickly. I shouldn't have corrected her, he thought. What was he thinking? What kind of fool encourages a 15-year-old like that, by playing footsie with her? Clinging. Why did he bother trying to explain things to her? Why did he want her to understand, to be more careful?

Surely it was just proof to how immature she was, and how wrong they were for each other, if he had to explain such obvious things to her. What a fool she is! Oh, but could a fool coordinate in seconds such a synced attack against a giant nevermore, with teammates she was largely unfamiliar with? How striking she looked when she reached the top of that cliff, how brave. But she's careless. Careless. Carefree. With a smile like the sun.

He felt so sick.