The shopkeeper had seen many things in his years managing the little cafe in downtown Vale. He'd seen revolution and oppression, as well as freedom and celebration. But what always interested him were the individual people and their stories.

One of his favorite pastimes, while tending to the customers that came by for his wide selection of teas and coffees, was to watch the folk in his establishment and try to figure out their stories.

Many were there to simply pass the time, waiting for an appointment or for someone to finish their activity elsewhere. Some just to relax from a stressful day at the office or wherever they worked. The tall, suited man who always came in at precisely eleven in the morning for tea for the past three years. He preferred green tea, with only one sugar, and would peruse the local paper while sipping. A half hour later he would leave again, the spring in his step from when he entered now missing as if he dreaded where he was to return to.

There were plenty of non-regulars, of course. An elderly mother and her daughter, bonding over coffee, both preferring their drinks strong and black. The daughter, dressed casually in jeans and a sweatshirt that read 'Signal Academy', was obviously worried for her parent for some reason, but the older woman would just shake her head calmly while resting her hand on her daughter's arm with a reassuring smile.

Towards the back were a group of teenagers, studying up for a test in algebra. They'd entered when he opened and had received three refills apiece, but their pace had picked up frantically. Likely the hour for their test was rapidly approaching.

The old man's eyes lit upon another pair of older teen girls, both dressed elegantly yet casually, one with long red hair, jeans, brown calf boots, and a white sweater, while the other raven-haired girl, sporting a large bow on top of her head, wore purple capris pants, black ankle boots, and a short-sleeved black blouse. They were sitting across from each other and chatting amicably, but it was the way that they would look at each other over the top of their cups (tea for the raven-haired girl, coffee for the redhead, both with a healthy dose of milk) and occasionally reach out to briefly touch each other's hand that led him to believe they were a couple. A rather cute one, at that.

The romantic stories were always a favorite of his, couples coming in on dates or just to enjoy each other's company as these two young women were. It often warmed his old heart to see young love blossom so earnestly.

While filling a to-go order, he glanced back over as the redhead giggled merrily, her hand held to her mouth, while her companion just sipped from her tea. Evidently she'd managed to surprise her, based on the mischievous twinkle in her amber eyes. The redhead, for her part, wiped a tear of mirth from her own emerald green ones and shook her head. She reached across and took hold of the raven-haired girl's hand, holding on to it firmly this time as she stared at the other earnestly while speaking with a small smile.

Both of the girls paused in their conversation to look down at their hands, blushing lightly, but didn't relinquish the contact. Instead, the dark girl turned her hand over so that their fingers might entwine together, causing both of their blushes to deepen.

Ahh, so it's in the early stages still, he chuckled to himself. It was obvious that the pair had a certain chemistry, and were quite attracted to each other. He let a soft smile grow on his face as he washed out a set of coffee mugs, happy that his humble little cafe was playing a part in their burgeoning relationship.

The front door chimed just then, and he looked up to spy a shorter teenaged girl enter. She had chin-length brown hair that was dyed red at the tips, and wore a red hooded cloak over torn jeans and a white tee shirt with an emblem of a rose on it. Just as he opened his mouth to ask how he might be of assistance, the brunette let out a happy squeal before launching herself over towards the table with the other two girls.

The elderly shopkeeper smiled again, thinking that perhaps a friend of the couple just happened to come across them, but then he paused when he noticed the very passionate yet brief kiss she planted on the redhead. And then again, on the raven-haired girl.

Well. That's not something you see every day.

What was almost visibly palpable, however, was the energy that picked up at the table now that the couple had become three. He could practically feel the love radiating from over there, equally between the three of them, something that quite honestly was a first for him.

Most certainly a day to remember.

Just then the brunette gave a little jump, stopping herself from her joyous chatter as she hopped up and approached the shopkeeper.

"Hi there!" she chirped, silver eyes shining merrily. "Could I get a coffee please? Cream and five sugars, if you don't mind, sir!"

"Certainly, miss," he smiled warmly. He quickly prepared the hot drink as requested, providing it to her with a flourish.

"Thanks! Oh, how much?" the brunette asked with a smile.

He waved her away. "No charge. You just enjoy your day now with those other two lovely ladies!"

The girl giggled and picked up her mug with a nod. "Thanks again! And I definitely plan to!"

He watched her skip back to join her companions, miraculously not spilling a drop of coffee even with as much as she bounced along.

Yep, he mused with a pensive smile. Definitely not something you see every day.

A/N: Random shopkeeper / best girl makes an appearance! Whee!

HOLY HAIRY GRIMM BALLS we hit 200 followers! W00t! You guys are awesome! Just for that, you get an extra posting tonight. Next one still on for the morning!

Alright, so now we're up to another three-part set (hmm, I do like to do things in threes don't I?) that I've been anticipating. Enjoy the next chapters!

DarthMaine: Thanks so very much for the kind words! And yes there shall be other relationships on the peripheral, but it'll be an even slower burn than these three ladies…

Guest: There is, in fact, a lemony companion to this tale called A Thorny Bind, find it off of my author's page. Fun fluffy smut. I keep thinking I should add to it and not just make it a one-shot…

growlscout: Heh, yeah that would have been a bad ending to the camping trip if it'd been Nora rather than a tree branch…

THB4: I actually try very hard to show a different side of Ruby here, one that doesn't need all that much taking care of. Once she's comfortable and secure in her relationship with these two girls her stronger and more, shall we say, domineering side comes out. But, that isn't to say she leaves her quirks behind, such as a love for cookies and adventure and, as we saw, an unfortunate reaction to ghost stories.

TacoKing23: The ghost stories are real! Heh, I hear ya about reading fanfics taking over your life. And I'm incredibly honored this one made the early list. I've gone back to re-read my first story from the Firefly fandom, it's over 450k words, and now all my RWBY fanfics are piling up, sigh...

Stay shiny!