Ruby hummed happily as she skipped her way through Vale, a smile splitting her lips as she made her way to her destination. Behind her, her teammates gave her looks of varying amusement and exasperation as they struggled to keep up with her excited pace.
It was a little after midday in Vale, and team RWBY had been lucky enough to get a day free of afternoon classes so they had practically the entire day free to themselves. Ruby had taken it upon herself to make it a team bonding trip to the city. More specifically, a team trip to a little bakery Ruby loved to eat at more than anything.
She hadn't shared exactly where they were going, and it had taken a bit of begging and promising to do her homework to get Blake and Weiss to come along, but she had managed it. What a great team leader she was!
Ruby had a feeling Yang knew exactly where they were going thanks to the looks her sister was giving her, but Ruby studiously ignored her. She wouldn't fall victim to the blonde's teasing.
"Ruby, can we please slow down a bit?" Weiss spoke up with a haggard expression, "I'm wearing heels, and you haven't slowed down since we got off of the bullhead. I'm not made for this kind of exertion!"
As Ruby turned back to apologize to her partner, Yang spoke up, wrapping an arm around Weiss's shoulder, "Oh come on Weiss-cream, you and I both know that's not true. I've seen the way you dance around during our spars, you're probably the most nimble one out of us all!"
Weiss gave the blonde an annoyed look, ducking out from under her arm, "Fighting and walking are two completely different things you blonde brute." She huffed, patting off her shoulders which Ruby thought was weird since she knew Yang took a shower earlier, "And besides, I have different sets of heels for fighting and walking."
"Really?" Blake said doubtfully, "But they all look the same." She pointed out.
"That's intentional. The construction of the actual shoes are very different. Some are made for walking, some for running, and some for fighting. I am currently wearing the walking ones."
"How can you tell which is which?" Ruby asked curiously as she walked around a lamppost.
"They have labels on the sole." Weiss explained, "It's not hard to figure which is which if you know what you're looking for."
"Why don't you wear, I don't know, normal shoes?" Yang asked the heiress, "Even Blake doesn't wear her heels all the time."
Blake gave partner an annoyed look, "They're not heels Yang."
Yang's eyes widened and her face morphed into a confused expression that they all knew was completely fake, "What? But-but they have heels!" She exclaimed. She looked to Ruby, "Sis, back me up here! They're totally heels right?"
Ruby giggled at her sister's antics, deciding to play along, "Sure Yang. They're heels."
"Philistines." Weiss huffed, and that set them all laughing. Ruby grinned happily as she noticed that even Weiss had a small smile on her face. She was glad the cold girl was warming up to them, Weiss was surprisingly witty when you got her talking.
"We're here!" Ruby shouted happily as they reached their destination, "The best bakery in all of Vale!"
"Lynx Bakery?" Weiss said dubiously as she took in the glass storefront, "I've never heard of that company before."
"Oh it's not a company." Ruby said simply as she bounced her way to the front entrance, turning back to her team, "It's owned and run by Rei. She inherited it from her grandfather." She explained and Weiss gave an interested hum.
"Hey Rubes, why's this place so empty?" Yang asked as she looked inside of the bakery curiously, "I've had some of her stuff before and it's really good. People should be lining up out the door!"
Ruby turned to look inside, frowning as she noticed only four people were seated at the various tables inside. Rei said she was having trouble getting customers, but she didn't think it was this bad. Ruby normally tried to come around closing time so she would have more time to talk with the Faunus, but if this was what it was like on a normal day…
Well, Rei said her second job was paying well. Hopefully it would be enough to keep the bakery running as well. She wouldn't want to see her best friend and crush lose her home.
Before Ruby got the chance to answer her sister's question, Blake did it for her.
Her black-haired teammate pointed to a specific part of the glass storefront, "That's probably why." She said, the rest of the team looked where she was pointing curiously, and came face-to-face with a poster that read Faunus Welcome.
Yang made an 'ah' noise and let out an angry huff, while Weiss made a noise of confusion.
"So she lets Faunus patronize her store, what's the big deal?" The heiress asked in confusion.
Blake scowled lightly, as she stared at the sign, and Ruby's eyes were drawn to her bow. Did it move? "It's because of the part of Vale that we're in. Most people don't around here don't even let Faunus step foot on their property, so a store with a sign like that isn't going to get many customers." She explained, and Ruby could hear the anger in her voice and wondered if the black-haired girl had Faunus friends too.
"Why not? Won't the Faunus around here just come instead?" Weiss asked.
Blake just shook her head, "Faunus stay away from this part of the city. It probably isn't worth getting slurs yelled at you just to go to a bakery, so I can't imagine many of them come around that often."
Ruby wondered how Blake knew so much about this sort of stuff. The only reason she knew is because Rei often complained that she wished more Faunus would come to her bakery. Maybe Blake had Faunus friends? Ruby would like to meet them if that was the case. Good team leaders took an interest in their team's lives.
Either way, they had stayed outside of the shop for too long in Ruby's opinion. She wanted to see Rei!
"Come on! Let's go find a seat!" Ruby called out to her team as she opened the doors. The familiar sound of the bell rang out as they entered, and Ruby inhaled happily, taking in the smell of fresh-baked treats that she loved so much.
The look of contentment morphed into a smile as Rei's voice called from the back.
"Welcome to the Lynx Bakery! Go ahead and seat yourself, I'll be with you in just a moment!" Rei called out to them.
Ruby happily made her way to the nearest booth, her team following behind as they looked around the bakery curiously. Wanting a spot at the edge, she let Yang get in the booth first before following behind her, grabbing one of the menus from the holder and looking it over eagerly.
Weiss let out a small noise of pleasant surprise across from her, "These prices are much better than most places I've been to. Twelve lien for a platter of sampler cookies is more than reasonable." she commented.
Ruby hummed as she scrutinized the text on the laminated sheet, "Rei said her grandfather would kill her if she ever tried to price gouge people. I believe it too, he was scary."
"Isn't he dead?" Yang asked hesitantly.
"Yep. I don't think that would stop him though."
"Ah."
They fell into a comfortable silence that was only slightly broken by the other patrons of the bakery, and Ruby's mouth watered as she stared at the menu, taking in the wide variety of delicious treats she could choose from.
It took excruciating effort, but eventually she decided on the same cookies Rei had made for her before she left for Beacon: dark chocolate peanut butter with caramel drizzle. And a large glass of milk of course. Can't have cookies without milk.
Ruby placed her menu on the table with the rest of her teams, bouncing in her seat as she eagerly awaited her friend's arrival from the back of the bakery.
She didn't have to wait long luckily, as only a minute or so later, the Faunus strolled out.
Reis was wearing her signature blue jacket, and a soft smile was on her face as she wiped her hand with a rag, cleaning it of flour or baking powder, Ruby couldn't be sure. All she knew was that her best friend was just a few feet away, and she hadn't seen her in person in at least a week.
So of course she wasn't just going to sit there and wait for the girl to notice her.
"Reeeiiii!"
"Reeeiiii!" Yang shook her head fondly at Ruby as she bolted from the booth, crashing into the surprised Faunus who just barely managed to not fall over.
"Ruby!" Rei smiled in pleasant surprise, "You didn't tell me you were coming!"
Ruby just smiled as she looked up at the slightly taller girl, "I wanted it to be a surprise!"
Rei gave her a fond look as she hugged the girl back just as eagerly, "Well I'm certainly surprised, mission accomplished I suppose."
Ruby gave a soft 'heh' as she buried her face into the girl's jacket happily.
Back at the table, the rest of Ruby's team stared at the two with varying expressions.
"So that's Rei is it?" Weiss said quietly as she observed the two girls, "She seems… nice."
"She's a Faunus." Blake said in surprise as she took in the girl that Ruby was still embracing. Dang Rubes, make it a little less obvious will ya?
Yang and even Weiss gave her an odd look at her words, "Dude, the place is literally called Lynx Bakery, and you're the one who pointed out the sign on the door."
Blake blushed lightly, "I thought she might have just been a sympathizer or something. Ruby didn't say anything about her being a Faunus…" She muttered as the two girls started conversing animatedly, Ruby no doubt telling the girl about their recent adventures as Rei looked on with a fond smile.
Yang just shrugged, "Rei's just Rei to Ruby. They've been friends for as long as I can remember, I doubt she even notices the looks they get when they hang out together. Rei definitely notices, but I don't think she cares."
"Though that certainly explains why people don't come here." Weiss commented as she eyed the happily chatting Lynx Faunus up and down, "If the people around here are as racist as you say they are, I don't imagine they'd be likely to patronize an establishment owned and run by a Faunus."
"No…" Black muttered as the hugging girls made their way over to the booth, "No they wouldn't."
Yang turned her attention back to her sister as she arrived. She gave them all a wide smile, gesturing towards the grinning Faunus at herbside, "Team RWBY, This is my best friend, Rei Lynx. Rei, this is my team!"
Rein gave them all a wave, "It's nice to meet the people who are gonna have Ruby's back out there. I'm glad to see she's got a good team of people around her."
She then turned to Yang, giving her a short nod, recognizing her, "Yang, How are you?"
Yang grinned, "Oh you know, I'm Yangin in there."
As the rest of the team groaned at her pun, Rei gave her a chuckle, "Yeah. That sounds about right."
She turned to Weiss, "And this must be your partner. Weiss right?"
The heiress gave her a polite nod, "That's right. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Rei gave her a grin, "I hear you've actually managed to get Ruby to study. Not an easy feat to get this girl to stay still for more than five minutes," She nudged Ruby's shoulder lightly.
Weiss gave a startled laugh, putting a hand in front of her mouth, "Yes, it's certainly been an adventure to say the least."
Rei snorted, "I can imagine."
"Reeiii! Don't embarrass me in front of my team!" Ruby whined, slapping the grinning Faunus on the shoulder.
"Sorry Ruby, no can do." Rei laughed as she wethered the smaller girl's assault. She wound an arm around Ruby's shoulder, pulling her into a one-armed, "Our friendship is built on the back of teasing remarks and flustered redheads. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is. It's too late to change it now."
Yang grinned as Ruby's face flushed a bright red at the Faunus' close contact, avoiding Rei's eyes as she let go to address her team once more.
Rei paused as she got to Blake, and Yang noticed her eyes widened minutely as they took in her partner, "...And this must be Blake. Yang's partner." She said after a moment. Blake didn't say anything, just giving her a nod and Yang frowned. Did her partner not like Rei?
Before she could wonder any more about her partner's odd behavior, Rei cleared her throat, pulling a small notebook out of her jacket pocket, "Well then, judging by the menus in your hands I imagine this isn't just a social visit. I'll go ahead and take your orders if that's alright with you." Her statement was punctuated by the click of a pen as she stared at them all expectantly.
Yang broke out of her stupor, putting the weird interaction out of her mind as she looked down at the menu again, "Oh, yeah. I'll have a-…"
Rei nodded as she took their orders, scribbling quickly in her notebook as she went around the table.
"Alright." Rei finished writing in her notebook, stowing the pen in her pocket, "I'll go grab your orders, most of the stuff you asked for is a simple ask. I'll be back in just a moment. Oh, and Ruby," She gave the girl a glance, "I need to talk to you about something when I get back. It's important."
"Oh!" Ruby looked surprised, "Yeah, ok."
Rei gave her a wink before making her way back into the rear of the bakery to prepare their orders, leaving them all in silence.
"Sooooo…" Yang broke it, drawing curious looks from her team as she looked at her sister, "You think she's gonna ask you out?"
Yang was pretty sure that her sister would have choked if she was drinking anything. As it was, her jaw dropped open and a bright red blush bloomed on her face.
"Wha-buh-I-YANG!" Ruby stuttered furiously at her sister's question, and Yang let out a loud laugh, "I don't even know if she likes me like that! She could just be teasing me!"
Across the table, Weiss scoffed, an odd sound for the heiress to make, "Please Ruby, she's all over you. Well, actually I take that back," She amended, "You're both all over each other. It's actually rather sweet."
Yang gave the heiress a teasing grin, "Oh? Is our little Weiss a romantic? I never pegged you as the type."
Weiss flushed, glancing away, "I'm allowed to have hobbies." She muttered.
"...You really think so?" Ruby asked quietly.
Yang gave her a look, "I don't think she could make it more obvious if she tried sis." She looked to the others for confirmation, and received agreeing nods in return, "I say go for it. She's clearly into you just as much as you are into her. What's the worst that could happen?"
Ruby was saved from having to respond as the subject of conversation returned, only a few minutes after she left.
"Alright you guys, I've got your orders ready!" Rei greeted them as she strolled up, a small cart pulled behind her with various treats stacked atop it on a platter. She pulled the cart in front of the table, and began removing the items from it, placing them in front of their respective consumers, "Sampler Platter for Weiss, strawberry shortcake for Yang, caramel fudge brownies for Blake, and of course, cookies and a pitcher of milk for my favorite redhead." The team grinned as Ruby's face flushed once more, "Enjoy!"
The table was once more bathed in a comfortable silence as the team enjoyed their respective foods. Yang sighed happily as she took a bite of her strawberry shortcake, the sweet fruit and spongy cake sending her tastebuds to heaven. Rei was a really good baker.
Now she had to get her to date Ruby. There was no way the blonde was going to pass up the chance to have these treats any time she wanted.
"So what did you want to ask me Rei?" Ruby spoke up to her friend in between bites of cookie. Rei blinked in surprise as she placed the platter back onto the cart, clearly not expecting the question.
"Oh uh," She fidgeted slightly as they all looked at her curiously, ears twitching on the top of her head, "My uh other job is getting a bit dangerous. So I was gonna ask for your help with something." Rei said quietly and Yang's brow scrunched in confusion as she munched on her treat. Other job? What was she talking about?
Ruby apparently knew, as her sister let out a worried gasp, "Are you okay!? Did you get hurt!? Oh! Weiss usually has some bandages with her if you need som-"
Rei held her hands up at Ruby's onslaught of words, "Woah woah Ruby! It's nothing like that!' She put her hands on the girl's shoulders, keeping her in place as she practically vibrated with worry, "Nothing bad has happened yet."
Yang looked at her curiously, "Yet? What do you mean? You're not a huntress right?" From what Yang had heard, Rei hated fighting. Hell, apart from the gun she sometimes kept on her, she was pretty sure the girl didn't even have a weapon. She couldn't see Rei willingly seeking out Grimm if she could avoid it.
Rei made an 'eh' noise, "No, I'm more like… hired muscle I suppose. My employer is paying me some good money to take care of things for him, and unfortunately I'll have to defend myself to do it. From Grimm or people."
"But you don't have any combat training." Ruby said in concern, "You're pretty good with Trick, but any first year at Beacon could beat you in a fight pretty easily!" She winced as she realized how that sounded, "No offense."
Rei just shook her head, "No no, you're absolutely right. I'm really bad at fighting. The thing is, my employer actually hooked me up with a combat tutor. I'm nowhere near your guys' level, but I could probably hold my own against a random thug or three. Especially with my Semblance."
Huh. That was interesting. Yang wondered what kind of employer the Faunus had if they were willing to pay for a private tutor instead of just sending her to a combat school.
Her mind locked onto the other thing the girl had said, "Wait, you have your Semblance unlocked? What's it do?" Yang asked curiously. She knew from Ruby's numerous stories that the girl had her aura unlocked, but she didn't know that she had a Semblance as well.
'There are a few people in Beacon who didn't have their Semblance unlocked yet' Yang thought to herself, thinking of a certain blonde team leader, 'Wonder how she got hers…'
Rei hummed in response to her question, before leaning forward and locking eyes with Yang. She held out her hand to the blonde, "Can I use it on you? It won't hurt, but it'll probably feel uncomfortable."
Yang looked to Ruby, finding her watching the proceedings in interest, and shrugged, "Sure, why not? Better not mess with my hair though." She placed her hand in Rei's own.
In front of the rapt attention of Team RWBY, Rei's irises shifted from their usual blue color, to a brilliant gold. Yang's eyes widened as a sudden and acute feeling of loss came over her, like something extremely important was taken from her suddenly, leaving a hole deep within.
"Sorry, I've heard that sucks." The Faunus began, giving Yang a look of apology as she withdrew her hand, "My Semblance is called Borrow. Basically, as long as someone is within a certain range of me, I can temporarily steal their Semblance for myself. It lasts longer if they give it to me willingly, but I can just take it if I need to. Can't keep it forever no matter what though, it always goes back to the original owner."
"Can you just keep taking it when they get it back?" Ruby asked in interest, and Yang nearly snorted as she noticed that her sister hadn't stopped staring at the Faunus' eyes the entire time.
Rei seemingly didn't notice, shaking her head in response to the question, "No, I can't steal someone's Semblance twice in a row. I have to 'renew' the charge by stealing another Semblance, or wait around an hour."
She gave Yang a glance, and the blonde noticed there was a bit of sweat on her forehead, "By the way Yang, how do you live like this? The room just shot up like fifteen degrees the second I took Burn."
"I'm used to the heat." Yang shrugged as she flexed her fingers, feeling just slightly off. Which made sense considering her sister's crush had basically just stolen a piece of her actual soul, "You mind giving it back? This feels weird."
Rei's eyes changed again, gold fading back to its usual blue, and Yang sighed in relief as her soul was put back in one piece. She stretched happily, cracking her knuckles over her head, "Oh yeah, that feels better."
"So if that wasn't it, what was your question?" Ruby asked her friend curiously, polishing off her glass of milk and sitting it back on the table.
Rei took a visible breath, blue eyes becoming serious as she stared into Ruby's silver orbs, "Ruby," She began lowly, and Yang leaned forward in interest, wondering what kind of request could make the normally laidback Faunus act so serious, "I want you to help me smith a weapon."
Oh. Oh no.
Yang quickly placed her hands over her ears as she noticed Ruby's eyes widen and her jaw pop open. Her other teammates gave her weird looks, raising their eyebrows at her actions, and Yang just gave them a look of sympathy as the keening in the back of her sister's throat grew steadily louder, quickly becoming slightly uncomfortable to the others at the table and then those beyond.
Yang wondered how long it would take for her weapon-manic sister to calm down this time.
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