Hello all! Welcome to the first day of "The 9 Days of Lancaster" event! As always, I'm excited to once again be participating and taking the time to show both my gratitude and commitment towards my favorite ship not only in RWBY, but all around. I hope you'll join me and everyone else for 2024 whether it be reading, posting, or engaging with the RWBY/Lancaster community as we try to keep active during these questionable times as fans of the series. Credit as always to the Kingdom of Lancaster discord user, "Aashi" for once again working with its users to create the prompts, as well as "Ex-Prodigy" for working on the banner this year. Their dedication and creativity are what this community is all about.

GodRealm

Italicized – Inner Thoughts

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Training/First Date

It's not a date. It's not a date. It's not a date.

Ruby paced the halls of the empty Arc-Cotta household as she silently emphasized to herself. What was usually a household full of irrepressible noise was now just the young girl left alone with her thoughts; well, save for one other person who was upstairs getting changed. Possibly getting ready for the two and their d-

IT. IS. NOT. A DATE.

Ruby slapped either side of her cheeks, attempting to un-frazzle herself from where her mind had been taking her throughout most of the early afternoon. While the residents of the house, Nora, Ren, Qrow, and Oscar, along with the rest of her team had left to go shopping or exploring the rest of the town, Jaune and her had opted to do their own thing.

Their "own thing" had involved hitting up the weapon's shop, the local flavors of food, and maybe finding a spot to try and spar, per her blonde-haired friend. When he had initially asked her to accompany him, she didn't give it much thought. After all, those were all things that made Ruby… Ruby. Turning down a new weapons shop? Nope. Miss out on a training day? Double nope. Pass up the sweets? Sacreligious some would say.

No, it was a deal she was not about to pass up on. It was only when her wonderful older sister began to make comments once Ruby had told her why she wouldn't be tagging along with the rest of her team when it came to the sights. Yes, what a great sister she is. Surely not one that would make off-the-wall comments about how they would be "sitting in a tree" while making locking lips.

Ruby felt her cheeks redden further on top of the stinging as she recalled the whole event once more. To be honest, Ruby had never given the idea of love or romance much thought. Despite her being the age that she was, she was forced to grow up rather early on in life. From skipping a few years to make it into Beacon, leading her own team, and then the whole "save the world" issue they were dealing with nowadays, her mind was usually focused on what comes next.

It seemed as though tonight would be more focused on one tall, blue-eyed knight. Since they had reunited in Argus after the train incident, she had noticed how much more time that they were spending together. Unfortunately, so had Yang. Yes, once again, the wonderful sister that she was. Regardless, their time together had been more than enjoyable to say the least. Just another reason she was looking forward to their time tonight.

Her thoughts shifted as she heard the door close upstairs. Her heart skipped a beat in nervousness and a small "eep" escaped her lips unconsciously. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of her neck as she could hear his rather loud footsteps heading towards the top of the stairs. Was Jaune making her nervous? Was that even possible?

Before she could consider any further thoughts, Jaune had made it to the base of the stairs, turning the corner to meet her in the hallway.

"Hey, Rubes." He offered with a smile.

"Hey yourself, Jaune." She replied with a weak wave– one she had just used to wipe away that bead of sweat.

Jaune scooted past the girl to her right, opening the closet door beside them and beginning to search for something. "Sorry I took so long. Are you ready to head out?"

What is that smell? Does Jaune have cologne on?!

"Yep! All set on my end."

Girl, no you're not! This boy is wearing cologne and…

Ruby looked the boy over once more as she had taken in the scent further as they now shared proximity. The aroma was familiar. Pinewood perhaps? Whatever it was, she had to admit, it was pleasant. Usually the only thing that would invigorate her senses were food, but this was captivating to say the least. It was subtle, so as not to overpower someone's nose.

"Did you cut your hair?" Ruby managed to speak out.

Jaune retrieved a jacket from the closet, handing it off to her, which she took graciously before he returned to search the closet again. "Yeah," He mentioned begrudgingly. "Nora insisted on doing it since she cuts Ren's all the time. I was terrified to give her scissors to be honest."

"Oh?" Ruby giggled childishly. "What made her think she needed to cut those long locks?"

"Har har." He quipped sarcastically, emphasizing an eye roll before retrieving another jacket similar to the one he had handed Ruby. "I haven't got a clue. I told her we were heading out and all of a sudden I found myself nearly strapped to the chair in front of a mirror while she took a few uncooperative strands."

Jaune closed the door before tossing the jacket over his shoulders and slipping his arms through the sleeves. 'Why? Does it look bad?"

Ruby didn't offer any words at first as she watched him. She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she instead closed their distance, something Jaune took note of as she seemed focused on his head. He remained still as she reached her outstretched arm up, perhaps even meeting her slightly. Her fingers met his scalp, gliding through his once disheveled hair.

Slowly, she skimmed through his rather soft locks with her digits. She found herself gently parting it to either side in an attempt to help with styling it better. It wasn't something she was familiar with all that much even with her own hair, but the fixation felt natural right now. She took her time, enjoying the pinewood scent as she had come to recognize after living in a forestry most of her life.

Jaune himself was preoccupied with the girl being so attentive himself, doing his best not to stare at her. While they had shared such closeness before, their hugging reunion specifically being the one he could recall most recently, this was another level beyond that. Never were their faces so close to the point he could identify the pores of her appearingly silky, smooth skin. He noticed her nose flaring, and could hear the calming breath as she focused on the task at hand– something he hadn't even asked of her.

He gulped loudly as the scenario became both uncomfortable but welcoming at the same time. It was so loud, Ruby's eyes traveled to his own, having interrupted her concentration. For a moment, silver met azure before both noticed a tinge of red to the other's face.

Before it could become even more awkward, Ruby shoved Jaune backwards, earning a "Gah!" from the boy as he staggered against the now-closed closet door. "There you go! Looks great!" Ruby remarked with a gauche laugh. Seriously?! What the hell were you doing?! She couldn't help but chide herself before she also began dressing herself with the coat she had been handed.

Jaune blinked for a moment as he noticed Ruby's frazzled state. He regained his own composure and opted to peer into the mirror beside the hallway closet. "Wow," He remarked, gaining Ruby's attention once more. "This looks way better!"

"You think so?" Ruby asked sheepishly, still embarrassed regarding the whole ordeal.

"For sure!" I'm used to just parting my hair and making due with where it falls, but this at least has some style to it. Is there anything you can't do?"

The girl laughed a bit more honestly this time at him paying her a compliment. "You know me: Ruby Rose, Huntress, team leader, hairdresser..."

The remark earned a snort from the blonde as he finished admiring his new appearance in the mirror and turned to her, still smiling. "Well Ruby, when you open your shop one day, I'll be your first customer."

Ruby rolled her eyes at the boy's attempt at sarcasm. "Looking forward to your patronage." She answered before turning and making her way towards the front door, Jaune filing behind her shortly after. She stopped in front of the door, reaching out to turn the nob before stopping and turning to him, catching the boy off guard.

"Wait a second! When did we get nice jackets?" She questioned him.

"Oh, uhhh… I sort of bought them when you and everyone else were on your way to Argus." He replied. "Do you not like it?"

She shook her head in response to the boy's question. " No, no, it's very nice. It's just… why?"

The boy's face morphed to a slight frown in response. "Well," He began. "all that waiting we had to do was… it was near maddening. I had to stay positive and I also had to preoccupy myself while we waited for you all. So, rather than sit around during downtime, I opted to think about what you might need once you get here. After all, it can get quite cold around here."

Ruby looked the jacket over once more as felt the warmth radiating from within. "So you bought us all jackets?"

"Ruby, I'm not rich. I bought YOU a jacket."

"M-me?! Why me?" She retorted feeling off-put.

"Because unlike the rest of your team, I don't think you would give me a hard time about it. Weiss is a rich heiress and would denounce my style in some way, Yang would probably ruin it in a day, and Blake… well, I'm still getting to know her, so that would be weird."

Ruby felt the unease wash over her. She had never received a gift from a boy before. She had to admit, she liked the black. It wasn't a puffy coat by any means, and it had all the pockets she could desire for anything she might want… like snacks.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Jaune asked.

"I bet that was a really hard time for you, and I must seem ungrateful."

Her eyes dropped to the floor, not wanting to meet his gaze. She hadn't even offered a "thank you" for such a gift. It might not be the most expensive or top-of-the line designer coat, but he bought it specifically for her during a questionable time. It could have been just another harsh reminder had she not made it back to him.

Like Pyrrha.

She bit her lip in response to the silence they remained in, once again cursing the lack of bodies that normally roam the house. Surely this had dampened the mood and possibly even their plans for the day. Her thoughts were cut short as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She hadn't even noticed he had closed the proximity between them this time.

She looked up to see his face adorned with a soft smile. The same one he had offered her on so many other occasions before. How could she be so dumb? Jaune would never think so little of her, even if she could be a brat when she wanted to.

"You don't have to say thank you." He finally answered. "I'm just glad you're here to wear it as planned."

Ruby took a moment to listen to his words before smiling back. It wasn't much longer that she wrapped her arms around his shoulders instinctively, gripping him tightly into a hug. He reciprocated the action all his own, enveloping her frame with his own arms.

"As promised." She replied.

Just like that, any tension was gone. The two shared the embrace for a few moments before releasing simultaneously. All they needed was for someone to walk in and give them the third degree about biding their time until everyone had left the house to get extra close.

Jaune moved past the girl, reaching and opening the door to the outside world before zippering his own jacket.

"I was thinking we would start at the local bakery?" He asked her.

The redhead could only smile as she walked out beside him, meeting him on the porch before she shut the door behind them.

"It's a date."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

So ends day one! Looking forward to more posting and reading what you all have to say!

GodRealm