The trees were all gowned in reds and golds, and beginning to strip down to reveal their undercarriage. Hardly anything green was left to world as the chill in the air sucked it all out. Ruby's scroll jingled in her skirt pocket, and she took it out. A text from 'Bae' shared a pastel image of a cartoon kitten, with cutesy writing next to the kitten reading: Today's a great day, and so are you. Ruby snorted, putting her scroll away. He could be so corny.
Yang, who had been leaning to look over her shoulder, stood up straight, her arms folded behind her head. "Was that your boyfriend?" she asked. Team RWBY walked through the streets of town, all with shopping lists on hand.
"Sure was," she answered.
"So like, what's up between you two these days?"
She shrugged. "We had a talk, and he promised he would be more supportive."
She sighed. "Man, you know I want to like this guy, but it's hard when I don't know anything about him."
"Maybe someday I'll introduce you."
"He's not some sort of criminal, is he?" Weiss asked. "Like a gangster? Is that why he makes you keep him a secret?"
Ruby scoffed. "No, he's not a gangster, don't be silly."
"Is he older than you?" Blake suddenly asked.
Ruby's heart missed a beat. "What?"
"Your boyfriend. Is he older than you?"
There was a moment where all eyes were on her. "Not really?" she managed.
Yang narrowed her eyes. "How much is 'not really?'"
"Ruby," Weiss put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "the age of consent in Vale is 16. You're still just 15."
"Ew, Weiss, why do you know that?" Ruby whined, shrugging out of her grasp.
"Don't change the subject."
"I'm not going to ask you again, Ruby," Yang insisted. "How old is 'not really?'"
"Guys calm down," Ruby entreated, raising her hands defensively. "He's only a couple of years older than me. And besides, he's a complete gentleman. He'd never do anything to hurt me."
"Or pleasure you?" Weiss pressed.
"Oh my god." She hid her face in her hands.
"So when you say he's a couple years older than you, how much is 'a couple?'" Yang questioned.
"Ruby," Blake spoke, "you should understand that just because two people are soulmates doesn't mean that they're good for each other. There are cases where soulmates are abusive, and have even killed their partners. You really need to be careful."
"I just said he isn't like that," Ruby groaned. She took a deep breath. "Look, let's just drop the subject, okay? We didn't come out here to discuss my romantic life, we came out here to get some shopping done, so let's just focus on that." She quickened her pace to walk ahead of them, and they finally went silent.
Their errands took them all over town, visiting food markets and clothing stores and dust shops and office supply stores and bookstores. While Weiss and Blake visited the fabric store across the street, Ruby and Yang entered the tinker shop. Ruby walked down the aisles, eyes scanning the shelves. Every so often she would pause and select a few cogs or sheets of metal, and place them in her basket.
"Can I try and guess who your boyfriend is?" Yang asked.
"I'd rather you didn't," Ruby replied. She picked up a bottle of red paint, and a small mirror.
Yang sighed. "So what's all this stuff for? You gonna make some modifications on Crescent Rose?"
"Nope." She smiled. "I'm gonna use these to make a Natiuiteo present for my boyfriend."
She scoffed, and leaned against the corner of a shelf. "What if you two break up before Natiuiteo rolls around?"
Ruby's hand hesitated for a moment over a small pack of springs, then picked them up anyways. "If that happens, I'll just give it to someone else." She tossed her head, moving some bangs out of her line of sight. "But I doubt that'll happen."
After paying for the items and regrouping outside, the team's errands took them further still through town, till they were reaching the outskirts. On those outskirts they gave pause, watching the commotion in the distance. A good portion of land was roped off, with construction equipment and workers littered all over. Great metal structures were going up, trenches being dug, and wooden skeletons of buildings being placed.
They gathered along the ropes. "Looks like they're already setting up for the Autumn Carnival," Weiss commented.
"Sure does," Yang agreed. "I heard a rumor that there was gonna be bear wrestling this year."
Blake frowned. "They're going to make bears wrestle for entertainment?"
"No no, you get to wrestle the bear." She gestured for emphasis.
"Ah." Her bow twitched. "I heard that they're stepping up security this year."
"That's not a bad idea," Weiss said. "I heard this year, they hired engineers all the way from Atlas, to make the biggest, most fantastic observation wheel we've ever had."
"Hm," Ruby said to herself, thoughtful. She looked up to the imagined space that the ferris wheel would occupy when it was complete. She imagined the colorful tents and carnival games, and the brisk chill of the season when the time for the carnival came. She imagined sharing a car in the ferris wheel with Clark, and at the very top, with the world glittering below and only the stars to see, they would share a kiss. She giggled, and held her face in her hands, while the others looked at her in surprise.