Chapter 4: Ruby's POV

I woke up to my alarm at 9:30, ensuring I would have time to get myself ready. I rummaged through her closet and quickly realized I had nothing to wear. I rushed across the hall to Weiss's room and knocked on the door. "Weiss! I need your help!"

Weiss opened the door, startled since I normally slept in on my days off. She was already awake and dressed, but her hair was still down. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Do you remember how I met someone last night?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"He invited me to get coffee with him, but I don't have anything to wear. I mean, I have t-shirts and jeans, but… I kind of want to wear something less… plain. I need your talents. Your fashion sense is much better."

Weiss sighed. "Get ready, I'll take you shopping. Hurry."

I flung my arms around my teammate. "Thank you, Weiss! You're the best!"

"You're welcome, Ruby. Now go get dressed."

I quickly sped to my bathroom and quickly showered and got dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt with a red dragon. I found Weiss waiting on the couch, who had since put her hair in a ponytail. "I'm ready, Weiss!"

Weiss simply nodded and led the way out of their apartment and to a clothing store that was a 15-minute walk away. "I have a perfect idea, given your obsession with corsets. I saw a specific one that reminded me of you a few days ago." We walked into the store and Weiss made a beeline to the corset. She held it up for me to see. It was mostly black, with red lace lining the cups and center, with a strip of white lace in the very middle and four black bows on it. "Well, what do you think?"

"It's perfect, Weiss! Do you think I should wear a jacket over it, though?"

"It's warm today, so I think you'll be okay. I do think we should look around a bit more though. I assume you plan to see this guy again."

I nodded and let Weiss lead the way. After picking out a few more outfits and a skirt to go with the corset, I felt satisfied.

"I'm proud of you for coming out of your shell, Ruby. the clothes are my treat, as a congratulations gift."

I wrapped Weiss into a tight hug. "Thank you, Weiss! You really are the best!" after we paid for the clothes, we began the walk home.

Weiss cleared her throat. "So, Ruby, do you remember your friend texting the group chat from your scroll last night?"

"Vaguely, why?"

"Do you remember what our conversation was about right before that?"

My face reddened at the realization. "Oh no, he saw the messages."

"He did indeed see the messages."

"Weiss! I can't face him now! I'll die of embarrassment! I have to find an excuse to cancel."

"No, Ruby. You're not canceling. You have to be a big girl. You took down Salem, you can face some embarrassment."

I groaned. "Fine." We arrived at our apartment and I quickly ran to my room and changed into the corset and a black pleated skirt with two red stripes across the bottom. I checked the time on my scroll. 11:40. Just in time to walk to the coffee shop and get there five minutes early. I sent a text to Roman.

Ruby: Good morning! I'm on my way, I'll be there in 15 minutes!

Roman quickly responded.

Roman: Good morning, little gem. I hope you slept well. I'll see you soon.

My heart thundered in my chest and butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I blushed at the nickname. Maybe the nicknames aren't so bad after all. Maybe I should see where this goes.

I walked out of the apartment, grabbing Roman's jacket on the way out. I quickly walked to the coffee shop, making it five minutes before our scheduled time. I spotted Roman's signature bowler hat. He was sitting in a booth in the far back corner of the shop, facing away from the door. I walked up to him and gave him a small wave. "Hi."

Roman looked up from his scroll and gave me a crooked grin that made my heart flutter. "Hello, little gem. I'm glad you made it. Have a seat."

I blushed and handed him his jacket. "I brought your jacket back."

"Thank you." He accepted it and set it down in the booth beside him.

I took the seat across from him just before a waitress approached.

"Hi! What can I get started for you...two?" It was obvious that the waitress recognized Roman and was nervous. Her hands were shaking as she held her notebook.

"Just a regular coffee with cream and five sugars, please." I said politely.

"Black coffee for myself, please." There was very little emotion in Roman's words, and it seemed that he was indifferent to how the waitress acted.

The waitress nodded and quickly returned with our drinks.

We sat in silence until I finally spoke. "So… is there a specific reason you invited me out for coffee?"

Roman nodded. "I just wanted to get to know you better, Red. You had the courage to initiate a conversation last night. I was actually going to ask you why you chose to talk to me when there were a hundred other people in that club."

I bit my bottom lip nervously."I… have social anxiety. Even though we were enemies a few years ago, I still knew you… sort of. It seemed like a better option than going up to a complete stranger."

Roman nodded. "I can see it."

"I also had a question for you. Why did you walk me home last night? You could've easily called a cab and sent me on my way."

Roman shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you got home safely."

"Oh. Well, thank you. I appreciate it." Roman simply nodded as the waitress returned with their coffee, leaving as quickly as she came. I kept my gaze on my coffee as I blew on it to cool it down. Oh, gosh, I'm still terrible at this making-new-friends thing. What do I say to him? Well, he did say he wanted to get to know me better, so maybe I should start with that. "So, um, you said you wanted to get to know me better? What do you want to know?" I looked up from my coffee and my eyes met Roman's.

"Let's start with your hobbies, other than going to shady clubs and having drinks with ex-convicts." He gave me a smirk that made my heart nearly leap out of my chest.

I suppose he actually is attractive, now that we're not trying to kill each other. "Well, when I'm not training or on missions, I like to read."

"What genre of books do you read?" Roman held my gaze over his mug as he took a sip of his coffee.

My cheeks turned pink. I have two options. I can tell him the truth and tell him I read romance, or I can lie. I'm horrible at lying. I guess I'll tell him the truth, but I absolutely cannot let this man know I read smut. I'll never live it down. "I, um, I read a lot of romance novels." I admitted with an embarrassed laugh.

Roman gave another devilish smirk and propped his cheek on his fist while taking another sip of his coffee. "I also enjoy a well-written romance book. Do you have a favorite?"

My cheeks turned a darker shade of pink. I swear it's like he's looking right through me. "Ninjas of Love." I mumbled, avoiding Roman's piercing gaze. Suddenly, Roman grabbed my chin and tilted my face to look at him, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip, causing my face to become a deep shade of red.

"As I said last night, sweetheart, I don't speak mumbles."

I gulped. "Ni-Ninjas of Love."

Roman grinned and cocked his head to the side. "The sweet little huntress has a naughty side, how cute." He chuckled, releasing my chin and returning to his coffee.

"Shut up. Don't judge me." I focused my eyes on my coffee as I gulped it down, eager to avoid the conversation. I think I might actually die of embarrassment now.

Roman set his empty cup on the table. "I'm not judging you. I think it's cute that you read absolute filth." I sank into the booth hoping that if I ignored Roman, he would stop talking.

"Can I let you in on a little secret, Red?"

I silently nodded.

"I read it from time to time, too." He gave me a mischevious grin that had my heart beating out of my chest.

"Really?" I never would've thought that a hardened criminal reads smut.

Roman shrugged. "I get bored these days, but I have a new favorite hobby as of last night."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Making you blush." His lips curved into a flirty grin.

I quickly stood up from the table after Roman's statement. "I actually just remembered that I have things to do. Thank you for the coffee." I began to leave when Roman grabbed my wrist and hauled me into the booth next to him.

"You're a horrible liar, sweetheart. I'm sorry for making you embarrassed, you're just too damn cute when you blush." Roman gave me another wolfish grin, causing me to blush once more.

"I am not cute." I crossed my arms in defiance.

Roman's gaze wandered over my body. "But you are. Every inch of you. I have a request of you, then I'll let you go."

"What?"

"Go on a date with me."

"Excuse me?"

"Go on a date with me. A real date, with wine and a nice dinner."

I searched his face for any hint of insincerity but found none. I hesitated, mulling over the request in my brain before giving him an answer. "Fine."

Roman gave me a sincere, sweet smile. "Good. I'll make a reservation and send you the details. And since you're so eager to go home, let me take you."

"It's broad daylight, Roman."

"And?" Roman raised an eyebrow.

"If my teammates and sister see you with me, they will kill you."

Roman gave a playful grin. "They can try."

"You might be willing to take that risk, but I'm the one who would have to deal with the drama and lectures." I rolled my eyes.

Roman frowned. "That seems a bit hypocritical of them. They tell you to grow up one minute, then they lecture you on who you hang out with like you're still a child."

I sighed. "I know. If you're still adamant about taking me home, let me check our location-sharing app and see who's home. If Yang and Blake aren't there, you can walk me home. Blake, with her faunus hearing, would definitely be able to hear you outside and would tell Yang. Weiss is probably too busy to notice." I pulled out my scroll and checked the app.

"Well?"

"Yang and Blake are at the gym, we're safe."

"Good." Roman scooped me into his arms and exited the booth, earning a small squeak of surprise from me before putting me down. Roman reached into his wallet and left enough Lien on the table for the coffee and a decent-sized tip before exiting the coffee shop with me in tow.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at my home. "Well, here we are. Thank you again for the coffee, and for walking me home." I looked up at Roman with a soft smile and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

Roman returned the smile. "Thank you for the company."

I nodded and turned to reach for the doorknob, but hesitated before turning back to Roman, who had started to turn to walk away. I grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him down to my level, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. He paused for a moment, surprised, before returning the hug. "I had fun today, Roman. Thank you."

Roman gently rubbed my back before releasing me. "I did too."

"I'll see you soon." I turned for the door and smiled back at Roman. I entered the house and shut the door behind me, before using my semblance to bust into Weiss's room and tackle her into a hug.

"Ruby! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She shoved me off of her.

"Sorry, Weiss! I just have super exciting news!" I was practically bouncing on Weiss's bed. "I have a date!" I squealed.

"That's great, Ruby." Weiss smiled.

"Yeah! Thank you for getting me a fancy dress earlier, it'll come in handy."

A few hours later, my scroll buzzed with a text from Roman, with an address.

Roman: This is the restaurant. I'll pick you up Friday at 7.

I squealed in delight.

I have a date!