Chapter 53

There was something beautiful about a clear blue morning in Atlas. Perhaps it was because of how few there were, due to all the clouds and blizzards that hit the area. Of course, through the power of Dust, the mighty blizzards became little more than a spot of rain.

Perhaps it was simply because of what day it was. It was their day off after all.

The sun's rays filled Ruby with energy. It felt a little nostalgic really. The last time the sun felt this good was probably before I went to Beacon.

Ruby stretched with a loud, pleased sigh. Today was a day to relax and enjoy themselves, which is why they had decided to head towards Atlas's largest mall and the surrounding shopping centre. Everyone had already gathered at one of the academies exits, one that led out into the rest of the city. It was a quieter exit that meant they didn't have to deal with any gawkers.

That was important considering they had Penny, who was a little famous as the Defender of Mantle, and Pyrrha, who was 'The Invincible Girl'.

"Everyone ready?" Jaune asked, grinning from ear to ear. They all responded with an affirmative and headed out. They'd left their weapons behind for the day, though Ruby had kept her gauntlets. Just in case.

Jaune and Pyrrha pretty quickly formed the front of their formation, almost hand in hand. Ruby bit her lower lip at the sight. It had become pretty obvious over the last week exactly where their relationship had gone and she didn't really know how to feel.

Nora and Ren were next and he was being even more standoffish than usual. He was the only one to disagree with the day off, saying they should be training instead. Ruby did agree that training was important, but breaks were as well.

Ruby and Penny took to the back, leaving Oscar and Ilia in front of them. Her father and Qrow had decided to go relax by themselves. If it had been any time before now Ruby would have suspected they'd go drinking, but Qrow was trying to quit so they were probably finding something else to do.

Ruby walked slowly, letting the others get some distance ahead of her. Penny stayed back as well, a gleeful smile on her face. "I've waited so long to hang out again!" She exclaimed.

Ruby smiled back. "Yeah. It's been a long time since I got to just relax. Going to the mall isn't usually my kind of thing but oh well."

"Well, I know exactly what we'll do!"

"Oh yeah?" Ruby looked to her ginger friend with a raised eyebrow.

"We'll get our nails painted, then try on some new clothes and top it all off by talking about cute boys!" She placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest with pride.

Ruby couldn't help but giggle. "Really? You remember that huh?"

"Of course! It's what I've always wanted to do with my friends!"

"Well, then I'll have to oblige." Ruby's smile took on a sorrowful bent, however. "You know that's the third time I've heard that list. The second was from you on the day we met, but the first was… the first was Weiss."

"Oh really? So Weiss and I agree that these are great friend activities?" Penny's eyes gleamed.

"Actually she was being sarcastic." Ruby replied with a laugh. "She didn't really like me back then and well she decided to be annoying about it. Though honestly, it backfired on her pretty hard. She used Jaune as an example of a cute boy and he spent the next half a year flirting with her."

"No!" Penny giggled.

"Yes! If I remember right her exact words were: 'we can talk about cute boys like tall, blonde and scraggly over there!'" Ruby felt both joy and sadness as she recounted her first day at Beacon. It felt like so long ago…

"And he took that as her being interested?"

"Yep. It's kinda her own fault. Though Jaune really couldn't take a hint back then. Well, he couldn't really read any hints. From anyone." Ruby said with a roll of her eyes.

"He seems to have read them now though."

"Y-yeah. Took him long enough."

"Are you not happy for them?" Penny asked. They were far back enough that the others couldn't hear them now.

"I am… I just… I don't know. I'm happy, but I'm also sad and jealous. I think anyway. It's confusing right now. They look really happy and I'm glad. I'm happy that they're happy but…" she bit her lip again and whispered: "...I want that…"

She looked down to the ground, shame filling her. It fell away when Penny grabbed her hand. "I understand how you feel, Ruby. I've always wanted friends, so hearing or seeing others with their friends made me feel jealous. Do you think you're jealous because they're your friends, or because of something else?"

"I'm not entirely sure. When we were travelling across Mistral I think I started to catch some feelings for him but… well he's a close friend who helped me a lot, was close to me and was free. I wasn't exactly in the best mental state either so I honestly don't know anymore if what I felt was real or just… Me being confused."

Penny squeezed her hand as they walked. "Well, that's okay. You are allowed to be confused. As far as I know, love isn't something simple and easy to understand."

Ruby gave her friend a suspicious look. "Where are you getting this advice from anyway?"

"The CCT!" She proudly exclaimed. "Thanks to father and state of the art technology I can connect to the CCT from anywhere in Atlas or Mantle which allows me to search through any forums or message boards to answer any questions I have!"

"So… you asked the internet?"

"Yup!"

Ruby laughed. "That's not really what I expected to be honest. But umm. Thanks. My mind is a mess these days. Between you and Ilia though maybe I can make sense of it all."

"I'm glad to be of help! Really glad. Lets me make up for when I failed before."

"What do you mean? When did you fail?"

"Beacon. After Mountain Glenn. You were hurting and I couldn't help. All I could do was fight to save you from Adam. Even then all I did was die…"

"Penny… that moment when you stood in front of me and faced down Adam… you put your life on the line for me. We'd only been friends for less than a year but you were willing to die to save me. I don't know what I've ever done to deserve so many people being okay with dying if it meant I lived."

Penny stopped in her tracks and reached out, taking Ruby's hands in hers. "Ruby you saved me. When I was made I was alone. I had my father and the military but they weren't my friends. Father was - is - a great father, but he couldn't be a friend. I went to bed every night wishing on the stars to give me a friend. And what happened on my first day in Vale? I made a friend! I know you just said it to be nice but I felt such a rush! I was so excited! And it stuck! You looked for me even when I went back to the military. You helped me run away from some soldiers so that we could talk for a while! You accepted me being a robot like it was nothing! You are one of the most important people in my life, why wouldn't I be okay risking everything to protect you?"

"I… am I really that important to you?"

"Yes! You're my best friend!"

"Thank you…"

"And thank you, Ruby."

The tension drained from their bodies with a sigh. Ruby hadn't even realised it was building at all. "So… shall we go get our nails painted then?" Ruby asked.

"Yes!"

"So this is Atlas's biggest mall huh?" Jaune asked the air as he and Pyrrha wandered through. Everyone had split up to have fun, so he was planning on spending as much time as he could with Pyrrha.

"It's definitely big…" Pyrrha replied.

The building was massive. Four floors with an open space in the middle for a skylight to shine down upon the customers. Jaune led her through the crowd and picked them up some crêpes. Looking around he pretty quickly spotted something interesting though.

"Hey, Pyrrha look at that! A new Spruce Willis movie!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah." He pulled out his scroll and searched it up. Spruce Willis in The Fall. What's it about? "Quick synopsis… looks like it's a movie about the Fall of Beacon?"

"Really?"

"Yea. Sounds like he has to hunt down a conspiracy group looking to bring down Beacon for some reason. That's… a little close to home."

"Well, Cinder did blast her intentions out to the world. Easy to see that something weird was going on and movies love to use that to make something interesting."

"It's got good ratings too. Apparently, it released in Vale half a year ago but with how slow things are these days it's only just released here. Wanna go see it?"

"Do I want to watch a dumb action movie with unrealistic combat, excessive explosions, an underdeveloped romance subplot and corny one-liners?" She asked with a bored look.

"Uhh…" Jaune stalled for a moment.

Pyrrha laughed. "The answer is yes. Let's go get tickets." She said with a grin.

Jaune laughed and followed after, finishing his crêpe as he went. He bought the tickets while she grabbed the popcorn and soon enough they entered the nearby theatre.

And a few hours later came out laughing.

"I can't believe that was how they dealt with the Cinder stand in!" Jaune exclaimed.

"I know! Just kicked her right into the wyvern's mouth!" Pyrrha giggled.

"It was kind of obvious that she was going to fuse with the wyvern, but it still looked really awesome! The CGI was really well done!"

"Her fire powers looked so real! It almost felt like Cinder was right there, but she'd never use so many puns."

"'This is the day you burn!'" Jaune quoted. The two burst out laughing.

Jaune felt happier than he ever had. It was so good to just spend time with the woman he loved. Now I wish I had realised how she felt ages ago. We could have been doing things like this during Beacon! Would have had more time too.

But there was no use complaining about it. He'd just have to make up for lost time.

Nora wasn't happy. She thought she would be. This was a day she could spend hanging out with Ren after all! It wasn't going well though.

They wandered through the mall crowd, looking for something to do.

"Ren there's an arcade over there…"

"Mmm." He just hummed in response, not really listening to her.

I know he wants to be training and all but come on. We're already here! Just try to enjoy yourself!

Nora sighed. She was used to dragging Ren around but this was getting a little much.

Ilia let out a contented sigh and placed her cup back onto its plate. She and Oscar had decided to spend their time at a café people-watching. The boy was well-spoken and seemed interested in learning about the culture here. Ilia however wanted more information if she ever needed to sneak around.

It was a hobby that she only rarely took part in, but one nonetheless. Right now she'd changed her skin to be all a single tone, to make her look human. It annoyed her, but it was easier than dealing with the inevitable racists. Oscar seemed to take issue with that, however, as he brought it up well into their time at the café.

"Are you really okay with hiding?" He asked. He sounded unsure.

"No, but it's easier. Blake did it sometimes too. She used a bow. I always wondered if it hurt hiding her ears under that cloth. Mine is… much easier to hide."

"Isn't it like you're running away?"

"Probably. But I don't gain anything from fighting about it. Causing trouble won't change minds. Besides I'm not the kind of person that deals well with the spotlight. I'll leave it up to others."

"I see…"

"You don't sound like you approve." Ilia brought her cup up, using it to hide a slight smile.

"I don't. I don't like that you feel the need. That anyone feels the need. People should be able to be whoever they want to be, as long as it doesn't hurt others. This… I don't know. I never had to deal with these issues back home. I was just a farm boy, nobody cared if you were a Faunus or a Human. As long as you did your job and farmed you were good."

"That sounds nice. I wish everyone was like that."

"Yeah. If we manage to push Salem back and buy ourselves a breather then I want to work on that stuff. I want us all to be okay with each other."

"When that happens I'll help, however I can. I know some people that would appreciate the assistance of someone like you."

"Like me?"

"You're going to be pretty influential. Either a headmaster or a friend of them all. That kinda power would be a big help to us."

"Right…" Oscar looked down dejectedly.

"Sorry. I guess you don't want to think about all that."

"Yeah… I just want to be me. For as long as I can."

"That… that is something I can get behind." Ilia smiled at him and ordered a slice of cake each.

Oscar was a good kid in a terrible situation. Being his friend was the least she could do.

Penny was happy. Super happy. She felt like she would explode from how happy she was! She and Ruby were giggling like mad as they tried on various outfits.

Penny was currently excitedly waiting for Ruby to come out of the changing room. Soon enough the red-head came out wearing a black blouse and skirt. Penny excitedly jumped up and down.

"You look great!"

"I feel like this isn't really suited to the weather…"

"It's perfectly fine! Atlas has the most sophisticated heating grid, meaning that snow melts to rain and most rain evaporates! Therefore it's basically always summer!"

"I guess… oh well it's been a while. How do I look?"

"Cute!"

"Cute huh?" Ruby asked, twirling a piece of her hair. It had gotten a lot longer than it had been at Beacon. Penny quite liked it if she was honest. It definitely wasn't because she also now had long hair. "Okay well, you're up next."

"Okay!" Penny quickly jumped into a changing room and speedily swapped to her selected outfit. When she left it was with a giddy grin on her face.

"A maid outfit?" Ruby asked, baffled. Penny giggled and twirled around, causing the frilly black and white dress to rise a bit.

"Isn't it adorable!?"

"Y-yeah." Ruby stammered a little. She swallowed. "I had an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Matching maid outfits. Shock everyone."

"That… is perfect! Let's find one that fits you!" Penny happily pulled Ruby along. They quickly found several pairs and had her try them on to see which fit best. Once they found one they set it aside with her own and went back to trying other things.

Once they got what they could from that store they purchased it all and moved to the next one. They spent their day hanging out, trying on clothes and buying what they liked.

Eventually, they tiredly sat down in the mall's food court and purchased a hearty burger each. Of course, Penny didn't need to eat, but she could. Father wanted her to fit in as much as she could after all.

Once done they sat back with a contented sigh.

"How are you feeling Ruby?" Penny eventually asked.

"Better. Better than I was before arriving in Atlas. Things aren't easy, but with so many people supporting me I can't just sit back and let myself stay as I am."

"That's great!"

"I just…" Ruby hesitated for a moment. "You gave your life for mine once and I feel a lot about that. I am so very thankful but… I don't want that to ever happen again."

"I understand." Penny nodded along.

"So Penny…" Ruby looked her square in the eyes. "Penny please stay by my side. Don't die or leave or anything! I… I couldn't bear to lose you again! I can't bear to lose anyone anymore! So please…"

Penny reached out, grasping Ruby's hand with her own. "Ruby. Of course. You're my first and best friend. I'll be by your side for as long as I possibly can. That's what friends do, right?"

"Yeah." Ruby had a soft, sorrowful smile on her face. "Friends stick by each other."

"To start, why don't you join my patrol tomorrow! We can protect Mantle together!"

"That sounds perfect."

"She seems… happier." Tai let out a heavy sigh as he looked down at his daughter eating and laughing with Penny. Qrow chuckled from beside him.

"She's tough as nails. Nah, tougher. But she needed this I think. A good break and a heartfelt reunion. I don't think we need to worry about her right now."

"I think you're right. These kids are stronger than I thought. Maybe we can take a backseat for a while."

"Weren't we already?" Qrow raised a brow, as if asking if he really thought they'd been in the front seat.

"I guess you're right." Tai let out another sigh. How am I supposed to look out for you these days?

The answer eluded him.

A/N: And so the gang get their day off, though it's not a day off from getting things off your chest! At least not for Ruby. She needed a proper talk with Penny anyway. Needs a lot drilled into her head too. But she got to address her crush on Jaune now that he's dating Pyrrha and she's realising that maybe it wasn't as serious as she once thought. With how messed up she was it's hard to really understand what was genuine and what wasn't. Maybe her crush was, maybe it wasn't. It doesn't really matter now because she's moving on from it. Ruby gets to try on clothes with Penny finally! And they buy matching maid outfits. Because why not?

Meanwhile, Ren is angsty, which kinda ruins Nora's day. Jaune and Pyrrha get to watch a movie based on the Fall of Beacon starring Bruce, I mean Spruce Willis. Because why not? Plus Oscar and Ilia bond a little. All while Tai and Qrow watch on, with Tai still trying to figure out where he fits in nowadays. Poor guy.

I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!