Chapter Text
“... so then she said “I thought it was a nice jester” but the others didn’t find it very funny I guess.” Ruby shrugged, setting down the pumpkin on the newspaper-covered table. “And that’s how we got kicked out of the venue. Weiss wasn’t happy with Yang, but I think they reconciled by now.”
Pyrrha caugt herself staring a second too late to not make it awkward.
She cleared her throat. “Yang seems to have a talent for that. Getting you kicked out of places, I mean.”
“Yeah… sis just has a temper. But it’s okay, most of the clubs that ban us weren’t that great to begin with. If all else fails, Blake can call her girlfriend and get us in. She owns half the town. The part that doesn’t belong to Weiss’ sister, I mean.”
Ruby shot her a smile and she swore she could hear her heart skip a beat.
“You can put yours down on the table too, you know”, she added as an afterthought, pointing to the pumpkin that was still comfortably nestled in her arms.
“Aren’t we gonna… crack them or something?”, Pyrrha asked, confused. It was getting a little heavy.
Ruby blinked. “You.. you don’t crack a pumpkin, Pyrrha, uhm. It’s not a coconut. Have you never carved pumpkins before?”
“I… no, actually.” She sighed. I really just wanted to spend time with you. “We never really celebrated Halloween in my family. I never went trick-or-treating and I don’t think I’d survive one of those haunted houses you guys always go to.”
Ruby was rendered speechless for a second, her mouth half-open in shock and Pyrrha briefly panicked over the possibility that she might have offended her in some way or other.
But when her lips curved into the biggest, most elated grin and her eyes got that certain glint people feared so much, she suddenly had other things to worry about.
“This is awesome! I’m gonna make this your first and best Halloween ever, we’re gonna do so much fun stuff, I can’t wait! You’ll love it, I promise.” Pyrrha had trouble holding onto the pumpkin when Ruby more or less jumped at her, hugging and twirling her around.
Her own cheeks felt flaming hot for some reason.
“Ruby - the pumpkin -”
She backed off immediately, looking a little embarrassed. “Sorry, sorry, I got a little overexcited maybe. I just love my birthday season.” She took the pumpkin from Pyrrha and set it down next to her own before grabbing one of the chairs. Once she’d taken her place, she motioned Pyrrha forward.
“Come on, I’ll show you how it works.”
Slicing the pumpkin open would’ve been less difficult if Ruby wasn’t guiding her hand, but the sensation of her skin pressed against her own, her hair brushing her cheek as she leaned over to hold the knife steady left Pyrrha tingly and warm and soft inside. And not a word left her lips.
She struggled not to let her disappointment show once Ruby was done.
“Scoop the pulp into that bowl over there, we’re going to turn it into pumpkin pie later. And we might even get to eat it if Yang doesn’t come home early”, she joked.
“Can you blame her? You’re a great baker, Ruby.”
Ruby smiled brightly and Pyrrha couldn’t help but notice the slight tinge of her cheeks under the halogen lights. Lights. Trick of the light.
“Alright, now take the marker and draw a face on the front of your pumpkin.”
She frowned. “Any face?”
“Yes. Well, it’s supposed to be scary, but you can make it friendly if you want.”
Pyrrha nodded absently, trying to draw something that looked remotely like a face. She wasn’t very good at this and it didn’t help that her eyes kept darting to the girl on her left, watching her screw her face up in concentration as she worked. It’s something she admired about Ruby. That she always put so much passion in everything she did.
Her pumpkin’s eyes weren’t the same size and his nose looked sad and crooked, but at least he had a face at all.
“Looks great, Pyrrha!”, Ruby piped before handing her a carving knife.
“Now make sure you don’t cut too close to the top or the bottom while you carve.”
Cutting out the face proved easier than expected and she actually started having fun with it - before she remembered what she had promised herself to do today.
Nervousness swept over her in a sudden, nauseating wave and the knife in her hand seemed to slip out of her grasp before she caught it with her fingertips inches away from the blade. Well, she was as good as done anyway.
Pyrrha hadn’t really planned how to go about this but she knew that if she didn’t do it soon, she’d never work up the courage again. But what to tell her? Ruby was stunning, sweet, brilliant and beautiful, she was all of these things but so much more and the sheer weight of trying to fit all of her feelings into a single sentence felt heavy on her shoulders.
Maybe she should just keep it simple. Ask her out like a normal person.
After all, Jaune wouldn’t ler her hear the end of it if she messed this up. Pyrrha put down her knife.
“Ruby? There’s something I’d like to ask you.” Well, here’s your moment of truth, Pyrrha.
“Mh?” She looked up from her carving with a smile and she really wished her nerves wouldn’t start to flatter like mad just now. “What is it?”
Breathe. You can do this. You’ve done worse. “I was wondering if you would like to go out with me sometime?” The words felt rushed on her tongue, spilling onto the table in front of her as if she’d tipped over a glass of water, but she didn’t stutter, didn’t stumble, didn’t falter.
For an agonizing second, Ruby just stared at her. Pyrrha couldn’t help biting her lip. “What?”
The lump in her throat felt like ice. “A date. You and I.”
She could barely bear to look at her but she forced herself to keep her gaze steady.
Ruby cleared her throat. “I-I mean I… I’m… that’s… -” This time, Pyrrha was sure it was not just the lights that made her blush.
“It’s okay Ruby, if you don’t want to that’s totally -”
“No!”, Ruby hastily intercepted, shaking her head. “It’s not that. I just... I thought this already was... kind of... a-...a date?” She laughed nervously, looking anywhere but at her.
She frowned. Wait, what?
Pyrrha would’ve liked the world to swallow her whole. How had she misread the situation so completely? What in the world was wrong with her that she didn’t realize this earlier?
“Oh”, she mumbled, averting her gaze. “Well now I feel very stupid.”
“Please don’t! I could’ve made it clearer I guess, I just.. you’re always so cool and nice and I thought you must’ve noticed for sure how much I’m into you by now and I was so happy when you accepted I kind of didn’t even stop to consider that maybe you didn’t think this was a date, so…” She trailed off, looking sheepish.
Pyrrha paused. Did she hear that right?
How much I’m into you.
Warmth unfurled in her chest, spread through her stomach into her knees and she was sure Ruby could see it on her face too but for once, she didn’t care. She liked her. Nora just lost her bet against Jaune. She liked her.
How she imagined this to end, she wasn’t sure, but this felt surreal, too good to be true and if she was honest with herself, it might just be one of her favourite feelings.
She didn’t have a backup plan anyway.
Silence passed between them for a heartbeat, maybe three and when Pyrrha began to snicker, she was relieved to hear Ruby join in soon after.
“I can’t believe this was all just one big misunderstanding. I mean I was so nervous over nothing and - and now it turns out I simply misread the situation.” She shook her head in mild disbelief.
“You were nervous?” Pyrrha wanted to justify herself, but relaxed when Ruby added: “Me too.”
“Still, that doesn’t really answer my question”, she said, noticing the fresh blush colouring the other girl’s cheeks. It suited her so well.
Ruby sighed happily. “Yes, of course, I’d love to.”
Pyrrha glanced at the mismatched face of the Jack-o-Lantern before her and a giddy smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
“Ruby?”
“Mmh?”
“It already is the best Halloween ever.”