This Freedom of Mine

by Fanfiction's Rookie

It had been five years since The Battle for Remnant, a decade, since the concept of 'freedom' had crossed Cinder's mind. After being released from prison, the woman is finally able to spend her days as a Huntress. But when the demons of the past start to cast shadows over the life she wants to live, Cinder fears that it is only a matter of time before they catch up to her...

3. Orange Jacket

A/N: As always, big thank you to actualbampot for their continued feedback and proofreading:)

---

Prison left no room for self expression. One's self is what authority deemed to have been the very reason they were to be handcuffed and shoved by the hundreds into a singular space. For anyone who felt remorse, or just wanted to serve their sentence as quickly and painlessly as possible, it was best to keep quiet and keep your head down. The muted beige colours of their attire helped of course. And if someone wanted to stir up trouble in the name of meaningless hierarchies, you would quickly be picked out and marked with new red jumpers to mask the bloody aftermath of fellow prisoners being sicced on you, like a pack of rabid dogs, by the guards.

Cinder had not been so lucky. While she had been separated from the general population by seven storeys, tons of concrete, hard light dust and life-draining cell which would make a Apathy-infested barn seem like a better alternative, it meant that there would be no one to shield her from the odd beating.

They had been a regular occurrence in the first months. Before Ruby intervened, Cinder was at the mercy of her isolation, depression, the other end of guards' frustration and a not-yet-perfected technology taxing at her aura. So Cinder had to be satisfied in what they had chosen to dress her in; a white overall, dotted with bloodstains.

"-of this one?"

Cinder blinked, suddenly finding herself in one of Vale's many clothing stores in one of its many shopping malls. Ruby was holding a white and red polka-dot blouse, waiting for the Maiden's response with a rapt interest.

Cinder raised a brow, tone deadpan.

"You see me wearing polka-dots?"

Ruby groaned. "Not you. Me."

Cinder suppressed an internal wince. It had been the third time that day when Ruby caught her drifting off. The Maiden had been restless throughout most of last night and when she did fall asleep, it must've been in one awkward position or another, because the woman woke up with her ankle all stiff and sore.

Blasted tracker!

For someone who had little to no interest in shopping for anything outside of a weapon or Dust shop, Ruby had been incredibly excited to help Cinder assemble a new wardrobe. Her partner's enthusiasm and the fact that the Huntress was the one who would pay for it all, made Cinder at least return some effort.

"Am I being difficult?"

Cinder's fatigue must've shown in the slow curl of her smile, prompting Ruby's assurance as she put the blouse back and turned to the woman with slight concern, "No, nothing like that. Well…", followed by a teasing smile. "Not more than usual anyway."

Cinder grunted with amusement.

"You can thank the collar around my ankle."

"Maybe I could take a look at it when we get home. I'm pretty sure I should be able to loosen it or make it more comfortable without y'know, letting every cop in the VPD know."

"I would appreciate that."

Cinder suppressed the urge to thank the Huntress with a kiss, when she noticed two Faunus teenagers dressed in a red and black dress adorned with ridiculous amounts of rose-themed accessories, lingering in the background. It was no doubt another one of the Huntress' overbearing followers.

Not wanting to get caught in their incessant conversation, Cinder turned her attention to the piles and hangers of clothing for the first time she set foot in the shop. The Maiden's appreciation for a well-made garment has been cultivated by the simple practicality of knowing how to sew when a single garment had to last for seasons out in the cold. Such talents were nourished by the status and power which gold thread and intricate details could display. But until Cinder had the means to afford such luxuries, any detail would have to be sewn in by hand. Cinder recalled noticing another tear she noticed in the Huntress' cape and made a mental note to pick up some thread after they were done here. Time shouldn't have been an issue when glancing at the Maiden's options. Amongst the unfamiliarity of being caught between countless racks and shelves, holding clothing vibrant with all colours under the sun, Cinder had gravitated towards the small section of black. She picked out two pairs of jeans, black and dark blue and a nice set of black pants. With another two shirts, and red button up for something more formal, the woman was just about ready to leave and made her way to the Huntress.

Unsurprisingly, or annoyingly to be exact, two of Ruby's fangirls had grown into a crowd of at least twenty.

"I can't believe I'm meeting you in person! You're the reason I'm training to become a Huntsman! "

All of them were buzzing with questions and uncontained excitement. Teenagers, adults and their children scrambled to grab a shirt or hat or whatever article hung on the nearest rack, to shove into Ruby's hands for an autograph.

"Wow! An autograph from a real famous Huntress!"

Cinder scoffed.

The everyday-person's obsession with Huntsmen and Huntresses were nothing but a source of irritation for her. She of all people knew that humanity's protectors were little different than the people they protected. What did these strangers know about Ruby and what she had been through? They idolised what she had accomplished without knowing what it cost her. Then, in a way to feel closer to a person they could never understand, they selfishly demand her name and the wealth it could bring them.

Cinder convinced herself that jealousy had little to do with her anger. The annoyance justified the way she stepped forth and made her way to Ruby's side with little care of who she bumped into..

"I think it's time for all of you to-."

"Are you also a huntress!" One of the children interrupted, looking at Cinder with wide-eyed adoration which made the Maiden feel nothing short of uncomfortable.

"No.", she deadpanned.

The child's disappointment, replaced by a teenager's annoyance of having a conversation with his idol so rudely interrupted.

"Well that's lame."

Cinder's attention snapped to the boy and in a moment of childish spite, decided that she didn't have the patience to be anything other than petty.

"Are you a Huntsman?"

"Not yet but-"

"'Lame' indeed."

"Hey!" An older man shouted, shoving his way to the first of the crowd to stare down at the Maiden. "That's my son you're talking to."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "And it's me you're bothering by insisting that Ruby entertain your incessant badgering as if she doesn't have anything more important to be spending her time with." Upon hearing the aggravation seeping into her tone Ruby swiftly stepped in between them to deflate the situation with a signature smile.

"Sorry, my friend was just really excited to finally go shopping together but it was really nice talking to all of you"

Cinder waited, patiently she might add, for Ruby to wave goodbye and exchange parting words to fans, cheery and grumbling alike, before tugging hold on her partner's sleeve once they were one of a handful of remaining patrons.

"Let's go."

Ruby however, wasn't so easily nudged from where she was no doubt debating whether or how to chastise Cinder, before lightly speaking up in that teasing tone of hers. "You know if you wanted an autograph you could've just asked. I'd even let you cut in front of the line."

Cinder rolled her eye.

"I'm glad you'd consider your partner over one of your many mindless followers."

The Huntress turned around with a deft step forward that had Cinder stop in her tracks with a finger pointing accusingly in near-comical defence. "They're called fans and they just wanted to talk a bit and ask for an autograph."

Cinder huffed and that was all reply Ruby needed to lean forward with a suddenly changing demeanour and a widening grin to match.

"Cinder Fall, were you jealous?"

Cinder scoffed.

"Of what?"

Ruby wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Maybe the attention?" Cinder decided that any kind of response would only drag out this unnecessary… whatever this was. It wasn't because she was right. But Ruby didn't need any provocation for her hands to rest on the incline between Cinder's neck and shoulders. "Which I would be happy to give you. If…"

"I'd be less difficult?"

"I mean…" Ruby rifted off with a lopsided smile. She reached for Cinder's shoulders, swaying from side to side to the sound of a sing-song tone. "...you wouldn't be Cinder Fall if you weren't driving me a tiny bit crazy."

A chuckle rumbled from Cinder's chest, chastised and disarmed by the unexpected warmth rushing to her cheeks. "Very well."

In a quick zip of her semblance Ruby rummaged through the items in her the Maiden's arms. The Huntress' incredulity turned to confusion as she counted the articles once more.

"Wait, that can't be all you're getting."

Cinder cocked an eyebrow in turn. "What else would I need?"

The pairs of clothing were more than sufficient. Cinder knew she could sew up any kind of tears or alterations. Not to mention she wasn't planning on setting foot out of the house for anything other than for a dreaded job and when Ruby inevitably drags her out for some 'exploration'.

"For starters, maybe at least another… another five of each?" The Maiden had no time to object before Ruby plopped the pile of clothes back in her hands and headed to the more colourful sections with Cinder following close behind.

"I know you enjoy your dark and mysterious-ness. But how about adding some colour?"

Again, the near decade's habit of being dressed in black spurred the woman to object. Just like weapons were more than they appeared to Hunters, colour meant more to the people of Remnant than it did almost a century ago. The fear of somehow choosing wrong had Cinder shifting her weight from one foot to the other, hesitating once she spotted a yellow-orange leather jacket.

"What colour did you have in mind?"

With a bit more of an inkling to let Ruby help her expand her wardrobe, and be a bit more prepared for whatever job interview would come next, Cinder strolled with a fresh view through the racks, occasionally taking one article or another. The Maiden had, not that she would admit to something so ridiculous, been scared off by the intimidating bright orange and opted for the stepping stones of some earthy tones instead.

"Hey Cin?" Ruby piped up as the Maiden was debating between the shade of ginger or spice. "Can I ask you something?"

"Mmmnnn?"

"You still have that diamond feather brooch, right?"

Cinder paused, thinking carefully of her next words as she put back the hanger. "I do." She glanced at Ruby from the corner of her eye. "Why?"

The Huntress skipped over with a dark green peplum in her hand and started measuring sizes against her turned back. "I saw this colour that I thought might look good on you. It reminded me of when you always used to wear it when we met up?"

Cinder snorted in amusement.

"You're referring to our battles to the death?" When she glanced again, it was for Ruby to press a chaste kiss to her lips.

"Something like that."

"It was a gift." The words slipped past her lips before she had time to realise what they were. "...from an old friend."

It wasn't entirely a lie. On that fateful night Cinder had found it in Rhodes' backpack, along with the brooch's accompanying note, after she had stolen it in a quick decision to run and set everything behind her ablaze.

'Cinder, let this feathered brooch remind you of the freedom you've earned. May you bring the same freedom to others on your path to becoming a Huntress.

-Rhodes'

Cinder only read that message once before burning the paper to ashes but the words had been seared into memory ever since.

"I figured it was best to store it away. Lest the old thing falls apart the next time I wear it."

Ruby must've decided something in contemplative silence while glancing between the two pairs of boots in Cinder's hands. What that conclusion might have been the woman couldn't be sure, but her guess wouldn't be far off the moment Ruby lifted a hand to the woman's cheek.

"Would it be okay if you got a new one sometime? From a girlfriend maybe?"

Cinder couldn't be sure what meaning Ruby would attribute to the action of giving that gift. Only that she couldn't imagine Ruby wanting to give someone anything with anything less than good intentions, and in her partner's case, wanting to shower her with affection and discreetly state it in the open. Whatever the conclusion it left Cinder with a smile, and her murmur, just shy of a kiss against the Huntress' cheek.

"I think it would. Although…" Amongst the furthest racks closer to the back of the store, hung an assortment of pink, black, silk and satin lingerie. Intricate lace rose patterns caught the Maiden's eye. "Seeing you in red lace would certainly be a treat."

"Why?" Ruby was intrigued. Cinder could see that the thought hadn't crossed the other's mind until now since as most of their… altercations had been in a hasty spur of the moment. Quality time between them however, was becoming less and less of a problem. The Huntress reached to inspect the pair Cinder had been admiring with a matching pink tint on her cheeks. "I mean, what's the point of fancy underwear if you're just gonna take it off- because nothing shaves more than this lace."

Watching Ruby's recoil out of sheer discomfort, Couldn't help but to chuckle at her response, even if the Maiden very much held the same sentiment.

"I suppose it has less to do with comfort than it is the prospect of seeing Ruby Rose wrapped up all pretty in red silk and lace."

Cutious, Cinder flipped over the price tag. Both women cringed.

"There's no way I'm spending thirty Lien on something that's this itchy before it gets ruined the first time I put it on."

There was no disagreement from Cinder. Thirty Lien for, a poorly stitched garment she might add, was nothing short of extortion. Of course that didn't mean she stopped enjoying the reactions it got out of her partner.

"The wrapping of a present is meant to be torn, no?"

Ruby's mouth flapped soundlessly as her cheeks turned bright red all the way to the tips of her ears.

"I uhm- fitting room!" Amused, Cinder watched Ruby stutter and scampered about, in that way of hers, to regain composure. "You got everything you want to try on?"

Cinder glanced at a basket of clothes in her hand.

"Unless saving Remnant comes with a small fortune, I think this will do for now."

Ruby blew a raspberry at the exaggeration as she led Cinder to where she could try on her new clothes.

"Maybe next time."

As the door closed behind her, Cinder picked up a red blouse and noticed two different sizes of the orange leather jacket, among her selection. The Maiden hadn't picked them herself, so either Ruby had gotten better at reading what she once thought to be an indiscernible expression, or Ruby decided that it would fit her as well as the other woman hoped it would. The Huntress, however, hadn't gotten her size town to a tee as the sleeves of the first pair swallowed up Cinder's hands with ease.

The blouse's material was rough against her back. A feeling that was very much unappreciated by scarred skin. The Maiden shrugged off the jacket and tossed the clothes into a heap, to fold up later. Relieved to be released from the itching across her back and shoulders, Cinder reached for the smaller sized jacket. The leather was nice and thick, whilst remaining relatively cool and comfortable, the inside lined with a smooth silk. The woman gave the stitching a once over before making a mental note to grab some black thread before they left. Her symbol, and perhaps some roses would be a nice touch, she mused.

"Cinder? I found this button-up that I think you might like."

If the woman hadn't gotten so used to Ruby's semblance, hearing the Huntress' voice out of thin air would have made her jump out of her skin. When she turned around to take the garment she stopped short to find Ruby frozen in her tracks with her gaze dating about, bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"...Wow. Orange's really your colour, huh?"

The Maiden studied her appearance in the mirror with a raised brow, looking for some kind of recognition.

"You think so?"

The shade of colour was closer to that of honey or marigold, mimicking the bits of gold she used to wear. Their familiarity is what prompted her to try them on but the woman still struggled to see herself in anything other than black and red.

Ruby however wasn't able to look away for more than a few moments.

"Definitely! You've worn a little colour like it before… and it's the same colour as your aura…" Cinder glanced sideways once more to see Ruby close the distance with her hands on the woman's shoulders as the Huntress swayed gently from side to side, almost as if she was contemplating. "It's rich…and warm and bright…" Ruby's tone, soft and warm, trailed off with a near indistinguishable coarseness which struck Cinder with a memory that made her pause for a moment.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickles with distant anticipation.

"Oh?"

"Mmmm nnnmm." Cinder felt her back tingle as it tried to suppress a shiver as delicately callous hands drifted to the exposed skin of her neck before trailing down her toned abdomen. The look in the Huntress' eyes, that of anticipation and want, shone clear no matter how Ruby tried to keep it under the surface. "...like your eyes."

As each moment passed, the thread wrapping around and pulling them close, grew tighter and tighter. An invisible fist clutched at Cinder's chest and forced her to take deep breaths. No matter how she tried to shove her prickling excitement back down into the reality of where they were, the reality was that it had been months since they had seen one another, either in the heat of battle or under the cool night air or midnight trysts or rendezvous.

"Beautiful."

Habits were hard to break.

Ruby's lips were on her's.

Her hands grabbed fistfuls of the jacket, pushing her back against the mirror while Cinder pulled the Huntress' body against her own. The moan reverberating against Cinder's lips slipped Ruby's kiss over to the side.

The woman sighed against Ruby's tongue dragging along her neck and her teeth leaving nips and bites which ran a shiver down her spine. Fingertips ran cool trails along the muscles of Cinder's abdomen and fluttered over scars to her back and undoing the black strapless bra.

Before Cinder could even think to voice any kind of caution she caught the look in Ruby's eyes. Those silver eyes were clouded over with desire, an absolute hunger and Cinder was starving to her at the other end of it. The Maiden buried her face in the crook of the woman's neck to muffle those second thoughts and then bit down… hard.

Ruby's groan of pleasure spilled recklessly from her lips to be silenced, by the skin of her palm, between her teeth.

Instead of patrons and store employees the Maiden shut her eyes and imagined a pair of guards behind thinning walls.

'Cin- Cin if they hear u-hmf!'

'Shhhhh.'

Oh, how careless they had been, laughing in the face of whatever grave punishment would have befallen them. Only this time Ruby was the one who intended to make her squirm.

The Huntress dug her nails into the marred skin of Cinder's shoulders before running red lines downward to find purchase on her hips and shoving her back against the wall.

"Hhmf!"

Standing opposite the mirror, Cinder cursed that all she could see was the red and white of Ruby's clothes.

If only she hadn't picked such a ridiculous location to-

Her train of thought, derailed, caught in the electrifying touch of Ruby's teeth as it captured her right nipple between teasing bites. Biting against the whine, as it threatened to slip past her lips, Cinder blindly tugged at the Huntress' shirt with one hand while the other pulled at fistfuls of hair with the same sting of pain that Ruby was riling her up with.

Cinder's hips found the rhythm in deep slow thrusts against Ruby's thigh and when the ache between her legs were left, unsatiated by the muddled sensations of their jeans, the Maiden's hand reached behind the Huntress's knee and hiked up her leg for her bucking hips to pick up their pace. A shaking hand, trembling fingers, fluttered between Cinder's pants and picked at the satin of her underwear and across heated skin. The Maiden sucked in a breath, so as not to betray any sound that could make the other woman falter in her descent.

The delicate brush of Ruby's touch across wet lips pulled Cinder's grasp into the fabric and skin while the woman struggled to contain viscous nails behind a barrier of leather. Ruby took to the display with an eagerness for more and tugged at Cinder's hair so that she may look into those fiery eyes as she sunk one of her digits knuckle deep into the scalding warmth that had Cinder bucking for anything more than the arduous pace, adding to the tightness that she was no so painfully aware of.

'They'll… they'll be back in five minutes.'

'Then stop wasting time and make me come!'

"Ruby. Now."

There was no hesitation.

With her hand pinned between her knee and Cinder's clit, Ruby added another finger and began pumping with no care of being gentle. Because along with being all of the things that others loved her for, Ruby could be more, she could be crass, she could be reckless. Ruby could be mean and she could be spiteful and Cinder would love her all the more, hold her tighter and bite even harder as she rode out the orgasm glistening hot on Ruby's fingers when she raised them to her parched lips.

A tentative knock on the door yanked them apart.

Ruby was frantically wiping off her hands in an attempt to look somewhat presentable while the Fall Maiden stood naked, still catching her breath, behind her.

"Ma'am? Is everything alright?"

Luckily… for all three of them, the assistant wouldn't be able to open that door anytime soon. Ruby, after tripping over piles of clothes, slammed herself against the door to make sure the assistant knew just how 'alright' they were.

"Y-yes everything is fine! Just uh… picked a size too small. But we- I'm fine now!"

A moment of pensive silence stretched like aeons.

"Alright…" Came the hesitant reply to which Ruby could only wince. "Please let us know if you need-."

"We-I will!"

Another stretch of silence.

Ruby strained to follow the disappearing footsteps, failing to notice that Cinder had taken the time to close the distance. With her arms firmly wrapped around Ruby's torso she could only struggle while Cinder's hands snaked underneath her shirt and dipped into her jeans.

"Cin, they're onto us-"

The Huntress' attempt at dissuasion, cut off by teeth latching onto her forearm as she muffled the moan that had her hip arching further along Cinder's fingers.

The Maiden smiled devilishly against Ruby's neck, revealing a trail of red and purple marks which softened to a whisper against the shell of her ear. Cinder's tease, an explicit attempt of drumming up sound, for the Huntress to try and bite back.

"Then you better keep quiet."

It had been too long since Ruby had been at her mercy like this. But deprivation only made the Huntress' whine sound all the sweeter when Cinder slowly, deliberately withdrew her digits from slick and swollen lips, only to pump the full length of her heated fingers in between slick folds to stoke the fire in Ruby's loins.

Cinder's ministrations, almost an afterthought when free to explore the expanse of skin still hidden underneath Ruby's clothing. Even without the added sensitivity of the woman's Grimm appendage, the act of intimacy was second to the fact that it was Cinder, who Ruby wanted to touch her, that Cinder was the only one who would ever be the one touching her…feeling her… kissing her.

Inside her.

Ruby admired Cinder all the same, as much as she could with one hand committed to her mouth and the other to the Maiden's hair. She peeked over the archer's shoulders at all the angles of Cinder's bare ass reflected back at her. Marred, burned, grim and flawless.

Ruby wanted it all.

Spurred on, Cinder picked up the pace, submerging herself in the heat clenching around her fingers and the gasps fluttering next to her ear.

For the briefest of moments they were just two people, so consumed in their desire for one another, that their existence apart from one another ceased to be. They weren't an ex-con and world-famous Huntress fucking in the fitting rooms of a hopefully unsuspecting clothing store, with Ruby finally coming undone with a cry that left a matching cascade of hickeys along Cinder's neck.

It had been at least another five minutes when both women caught their breath, and scrambled to sort through the clothes that were theirs, and what Cinder intended to buy.

Getting to the cashier was nothing short of a walk of shame.

The last thing Cinder wanted was for her and Ruby's affairs plastered all over newspapers and gossip magazines across Vale. Still, the woman decided that she didn't care about the cashier's wandering gaze and deathly silence, as much as she found Ruby's beet red blush and marred neck sadistically amusing.

In the future, or in public, Cinder knew that they would have to temper or find their way around these sudden outbursts of… attachment.

---

At the very least they could wait until both of them had returned home, where the Maiden could throw her bags of new clothes to the side and wrap Ruby's legs around her hips, her lips staking claim once more,

"So, what did you think of your first official shopping trip?" The Huntress asked as she unhooked her bra to snag the back of Cinder's neck and pull her close, lips brushing as they spoke.

The golden glint of Cinder's eye cast downward at the naked tangle of their intertwining bodies.

"You're referring to what I'm wearing right now?"

Ruby giggled, leaning forward for a kiss before her lips split into a mischievous grin.

"Maybe."

Cinder, eager to return the gesture in kind as she let her palms press flat against salted skin to drag them across the nicks and scars, dips and curves that she has explored so many times, that were hers and hers alone.

"I think it suits me."

"I think so too."