Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“If you let anything happen to her tonight, I’ll personally end you.”

“You worry too much, Dia! I swear on the name of the entire Ohara family that I won’t let anything happen to dear, sweet little Ruby-chan.”

“You’d better not.”

“I won’t!” Dia was, perhaps somewhat understandably, very high strung at the moment. Today was Ruby’s birthday, which was normally a cause for celebration. And, in fact, that was what the day had been filled with. They had enjoyed a nice lunch at a fancy restaurant, and Dia had showered her little sister with presents to make sure it remained the highlight of Ruby’s year, just as she always did. However, this wasn’t just any old birthday, indistinguishable from the others that had come before it: this was Ruby’s twentieth birthday. Meaning that she was now old enough to legally purchase and consume alcohol in Japan. And that was where Mari came in.

Despite Dia’s strong opposition, Mari had decided that the only proper way to celebrate such an important coming of age was by taking Ruby out to her very first bar. And while Ruby wasn’t really sure whether or not she would enjoy the experience, she had at least decided that it was the sort of thing that was worth trying once, much to Dia’s despair. So now Ruby was off in her room getting ready, and Mari was in Dia’s room, getting yet another round of sisterly threats.

“Don’t let her drink too much, and don’t let her out of your sight,” Dia went on. “And if anything starts to go wrong call me immediately , do you understand?”

“Dia,” Mari replied, suddenly adopting an uncharacteristically serious tone and expression. She reached up, placing her hands on Dia’s shoulders and staring directly into her eyes. “Everything’s going to be fine. You know I would never actually put Ruby-chan in danger, right?”

“...I know,” Dia sighed. “I suppose it’s just… Hard to register that she’s really an adult now. It feels like only yesterday she was still a child, constantly needing me to look after her and take care of her, and now she’s entirely grown up.”

“Well look on the bright side,” Mari replied. “When Ruby goes off and gets pregnant tonight, you’ll have another little one to look after!”

“Mari!” Dia huffed, shoving her friend away from her. “Don’t even joke about that!” Mari, meanwhile, could hardly contain her laughter.

Mari stood outside the Kurosawa household, humming and tapping her fingers against the wall behind her. Her last comment had more or less gotten her kicked out of Dia’s room, so now she had taken to standing outside, waiting for Ruby to come join her. It had already gotten dark out, and the air had a slight chill to it, prompting Mari to layer a jacket over her outfit. Probably a thicker one than was really necessary, but she had never been a fan of the cold. She much preferred the warmer weather of the summer months.

“Mari-chan! Sorry I kept you waiting!” When Mari heard that voice coming from behind her she whirled around to face the source, and her eyes immediately fell upon Ruby, bouncing down the front steps of the Kurosawa manor with a pleasant smile on her face.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Ruby-chan!” Mari replied. “You’re the birthday girl, after all, so you could leave me waiting out here all night if you wanted to!”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Ruby giggled.

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t,” Mari agreed. “You’re too much of a sweetheart for that. Now, are you excited for your first trip out to a bar?”

“Mhmm,” Ruby replied, nodding along. “A little bit nervous, but… It’ll be fun!” she assured herself. “And even if I don’t like it, I think I’ll be glad I tried it once…”

“That’s the spirit! And it’s not like I’m about to take you to some seedy little dive bar somewhere either. The place we’re going is very classy! ” she promised, switching into English at the end. “Only the best for Ruby-chan!”

“And you’ll help me pick out a drink, right?” Ruby asked. Unlike some of the people she knew (Mari included) who were already quite familiar with alcohol by the time they turned twenty, Ruby had never touched it before in her life. If she were simply presented with a menu and no further instruction, she would have no clue what to order.

“Of course! Consider me your guide through this new and exciting time in your life,” she hummed, tossing an arm around Ruby’s shoulders (and producing even more laughter from Ruby in the process). “You can count on Mari-senpai to show you what to do!”

“But you’re not my senpai anymore,” Ruby pointed out.

“I am for tonight!” Mari replied. “Now let’s goooooooo!”

 The bar wasn’t overly crowded- Ruby’s birthday happened to have fallen on a Thursday this year, which meant it was a manageable size. There were some people there starting their weekends early, putting it in a nice middle ground between not being as swamped as it would have been on a Friday and not being as empty as it would have been during the middle of the week. The bar itself was, as Mari had promised, relatively upscale: it was well lit with colorful walls, and a mixture of standard tables and couches filled the space. The bar itself was towards the back, and most of the drinks up for offer were complex cocktails, all of them sporting a variety of fancy ingredients and a price tag to match. Mari had managed to snag space for them on one of the vacant couches before heading up towards the bar, and she was now returning with a drink menu in hand.

“Alllllllll-right!” she hummed, dropping down onto the couch beside Ruby with just enough force to make the cushion shake. “I already did a little bit of scouting to find something you might like.”

“Let me see,” Ruby said, scooting closer to Mari so they could peer down at the menu together.

“They have both strawberry margaritas and strawberry mojitos,” Mari explained, pointing out the two relevant entries on the list. “Two sweet strawberry drinks for a sweet strawberry girl! They’ve also got cosmos, although those might be a little bit too sour for your liking. And a rum and Coke is always a safe bet if you’re not feeling especially adventurous!” As Mari rattled off the different options Ruby continued to look over the menu, pondering the choice for a few seconds before she looked up towards her friend.

“What are you getting, Mari-chan?” she asked.

“Me?” Mari replied. “I’m a whisky girl myself, but I don’t think you’d like that very much.”

“Can I try a little sip?”

“Hmm? If you really want to, but don’t blame me if you hate it! And get something for yourself too, mmkay, bella? ”

“Okay,” Ruby agreed. She nodded slowly, turning her eyes back to the menu and looking over it one more time before making her selection. “I’ll try this one, I guess,” she decided, pointing towards the mojito Mari had recommended.

“An excellent choice, madam!” Mari said, bouncing back up from the couch. “Now you just wait here while I get those drinks for us. Everything is on the Ohara tab tonight!”

“I can pay for myself, Mari-chan,” Ruby tried to argue, but she was quickly shut down by a wagging finger.

“Not on your birthday, you can’t! I’ll be right back!” Before Ruby had a chance to get another word in Mari was disappearing up towards the bar again, momentarily leaving Ruby alone on the couch. Just as when she had been left alone before, Ruby found her eyes starting to wander around, taking in everything that surrounded her. It still felt a little bit odd to actually be inside a bar after just seeing them on TV or in movies so many times before, but she had to admit she was actually somewhat fond of the atmosphere. She imagined that might change if Mari had brought her to somewhere that was more crowded or more divey, but this particular establishment, at least, was managing to impress her. Provided the drinks didn’t turn out to be absolutely disgusting, she could see herself wanting to make a habit of coming here with her friends.

Mari, thankfully, wasn’t gone very long, and soon enough she came back, carrying one glass in each hand: one containing crushed ice, pinkish liquid, and a sprig of mint that was clearly meant for Ruby, and another simply containing a small amount of brown liquid, clearly meant for herself. She returned to the couch, carefully keeping Ruby’s drink level so that none of it spilled out while she handed it over to her.

“Cheers!” Mari said, holding her own drink up once she had taken her seat. “To the birthday girl! May this year be the best one yet!”

“You’re silly, Mari-chan,” Ruby giggled back. Still, she held her own glass up as well, letting it clink against Mari’s before she turned her focus to the contents. She felt like her first alcoholic beverage was a big deal, although she also wasn’t sure what sort of fanfare was necessary for an occasion like this. So, without dwelling on it for too much longer, she lifted the glass up, put her lips against the straw, sucked in, and…

Was pleasantly pleased by the taste. She had honestly been prepared for alcohol to be sort of disgusting, and while she could sense a definite bitterness that wouldn't have been there in a soft drink, she didn’t necessarily hate it. The strawberry was sweet, but the rum and the mint prevented it from being overly so. It was all lighter than she would have expected as well, and the whole cocktail mixed together in a way that was much more pleasant than anything she had been ready for.

“Well?” Mari asked, watching Ruby with eager eyes. “What do you think?”

“It’s good!” Ruby replied, nodding happily. “I like it!”

“Do you still want to try mine as well?” Mari then offered, holding her whiskey out towards Ruby. Ruby nodded, setting her drink on the low table in front of them and taking a hold of Mari’s glass. Before even bringing it all the way to her lips she was struck by the smell, noticing that it was much harsher than what she had picked for herself. Already she was starting to have some second thoughts about this, but she didn’t want to chicken out now. So she lifted the glass the rest of the way to her lips, taking a sip, and…

Bitter. That was her immediate reaction. It was far more bitter than her mojito, and the taste made her nose crinkle up as soon as it hit her tongue. That said, while the initial flavor was a bit shocking, she didn’t outright hate it. Her reaction wasn’t even as violent as Mari had been expecting, and while Ruby’s face was still scrunched up as she handed the drink back, continuing to lick at her own lips in an attempt to get the taste off her tongue, she wasn’t immediately running for the nearest glass of water.

“A little bit much for you?” Mari teased, taking her glass back from Ruby.

“I think I like mine more,” Ruby replied, picking her mojito back up off the table. She took another sip of it, larger than before this time, letting the slight sweetness of it drown out some of the leftover aftertaste from the whiskey. She held the drink in her mouth for a few seconds, eyes wandering the venu once again, before they finally returned to Mari just as she swallowed. “So… What else is there to do at bars besides drinking?”

“I’m so glad you asked, Ruby-chan!” Mari replied. She scooted closer after saying that and, without much warning, tossed an arm around Ruby’s shoulders again, pulling her in closer. Suddenly she was leaning forward with an almost conspiratorial look about her, dropping her voice down quiet enough that Ruby actually had to struggle to hear her over all the other idle chatter that filled the room. “The number one reason to come to bars is for the alcohol,” she said. “But the number two reason… Is to find cute girls!”

“...Cute girls?” Ruby repeated, blinking a few times as she processed that.

“That’s right! Cute girls! There’s no better place in the world to meet a pretty lady than at a bar like this one. Sooooo? Are you ready to meet the future Mrs. Ruby Kurosawa?”

“Mari-chan,” Ruby giggled, slowly wiggling backwards to extract herself from Mari’s grip. “You know I’m not good at that kind of thing.” That wasn’t much of a secret to anyone: after graduating from high school and going off to university, Mari had gotten involved in a handful of flings with girls from all around the world. None them were too serious, and they never lasted for very long, but it was clear she was living her life to the fullest. Ruby, on the other hand, had been single for her entire life. Admittedly a lot of that seemed like it had come from a lack of ever really trying, and it wasn’t like she had been getting constantly rejected by every girl she made any attempt to talk to. She had just never bothered with romance, and had been left on her own because of it. Now it seemed like Mari wanted to change that.

“Well that’s the point of having a wingman!” Mari insisted. “You don’t have to be good at this sort of thing on your own, because I’ll be here to do all the hard parts for you! You just point out a girl you like and Mari-senpai will get you her number in five minutes flat!”

“But I don’t wanna get a girl’s number,” Ruby insisted, shaking her head. “I just wanna spend time with you.”

“Are you sure you’re not just being a little scared?” Mari teased. “It’s perfectly normal to get intimidated about the thought of talking to a girl like that.”

“I’m not scared,” Ruby insisted, puffing her cheeks out. And then, an idea popped into her head that would end up being the best of both worlds: “Why don’t you let me talk to a girl for you?” That suggestion absolutely wasn’t one Mari was expecting, and it managed to surprise her for a moment. At first she almost thought Ruby was joking, though it quickly became clear that wasn’t the case.

“You want to wingman for me?” Mari repeated, still slowly registering that. “I’m not sure that’s such a great idea, Ruby-chan.”

“Why not?” Ruby replied. “I’m good at talking to people! And there has to be someone in here you like, right?” Mari pondered the offer for another few seconds, and then an idea came to her head. She leaned against the couch with a devious smile on her face, tapping her fingers against the edges of her glass.

“Alright,” she decided. “You can try to be my wingman. But! I’m not going to point anyone out to you. You just have to find a girl you think I would like. Does that sound fair?”

“Yeah! Deal!” Ruby agreed, nodding along with more enthusiasm than Mari had been prepared for. She had actually been expecting a complaint about how that was too hard and wasn’t fair, and she would have thought that would be enough to put the whole issue to rest, but apparently she was underestimating just how excited Ruby was about this. Already, her friend’s bright green eyes were starting to move around the room, carefully looking over every other girl in the venue. And as much as Mari had initially been trying to shut this down, she did have to admit that curiosity was getting the better of her now. She was sort of intrigued about how this was going to play out.

“What about her?” Ruby eventually asked, pointing up towards a girl who was sitting alone at the bar. She looked a little bit older, closer to Mari’s age than Ruby’s own, with short brown hair, and eyes that were about the same color as Ruby’s. She was dressed nicely, almost formally, and while Ruby wasn’t quite an expert on fashion, she could make a guess that her outfit cost a small fortune.

“Ooooh, she’s a cutie!” Mari replied, scooting closer to Ruby so she could lean in and peer at the girl alongside her. “Are you gonna go talk to her for me? What are you gonna say?”

“I’ll figure something out,” Ruby replied, already getting up to her feet. There was a large part of Mari that already felt like this was going to be a disaster: letting Ruby go up and talk to a random girl at a bar on her behalf without any sort of plan seemed like it was destined for failure, and while Mari knew Ruby wasn’t the same shy, scared girl she had been back in her first year of high school, there was still a protective part of her that was thinking it might be better to shut this down before it got out of hand. That said, there was also a part of her that was being racked by morbid curiosity at the moment. And right now, that part was winning out.

“Good luck!” Mari called after her, though Ruby was already halfway up to the bar at that point. As she started to get closer, Ruby did begin to realize that maybe she should have taken at least a minute or so to plan something out before coming up here, and now that she was almost there a little bit of anxiety was starting to bubble up in her stomach. Still, she knew it would be far worse if she had been approaching this girl on her own behalf. Something about doing this for a friend’s sake allowed her to calm her nerves significantly.

“Hi!” she said as she finally reached the bar, moving into a vacant seat next to the girl in question. There was the slightest of pauses as the other girl looked up towards her, and in that time Ruby’s eyes fell onto her glass. The contents were a dark reddish-pink, mixed with quite a bit of ice, and there was a skewer sticking up from the top, with a lime wedge and a blackberry stuck to it. That was her opening. “What are you drinking?” she asked.

“A bramble,” the girl replied. Her expression was curious, if not a bit reserved. She wasn’t being outright cold to Ruby, but it was clear she was skeptical about why this stranger had come over to talk to her.

“Is it good?”

“You’ve never tried one before?”

“Nuhuh,” Ruby said, shaking her head. “I’ve never been to a bar before. I just turned twenty, and this is my first drink,” she went on, looking towards her mojito. At that a small smile appeared on the other girl’s lips, and she ended up laughing softly.

“That’s a good choice to start with,” she replied. “Did you come here alone? You shouldn’t have to be by yourself on your birthday.”

“Nope! My friend Mari-chan brought me here!” At that point Ruby gestured back towards the couch where Mari was still sitting, and as the other girl turned to look as well Mari did her best to pretend she didn’t notice she was being observed.

“She seems like a good friend, then.”

“She is!” Ruby agreed.

“And you ditched her to come over here and talk to me?” the girl then asked, turning her attention back towards Ruby as she let the playful smile tug even wider at her lips. “That wasn’t very nice of you.” For a moment Ruby was thrown off by the comment, but thankfully she had always been quick on her feet, and it didn’t take long for her to find a way to bounce back.

“Well, that’s actually the thing…” Ruby said, laughing softly and feigning a bit of sheepishness. As someone who had once been (and still was, on some level) a very shy person, it was easy for Ruby to play the part. She shrunk down just the smallest bit, and her hands moved away from her glass, starting to fidget with each other instead. “Mari-chan thinks you’re really pretty, but she wouldn’t come over here to talk to you ‘cause she felt bad about leaving me alone on my birthday. And I told her she was being silly, but she still wouldn’t budge. So… I decided to come talk to you for her!”

“Ahh, so this is one of those situations,” the girl replied. Her eyes moved back towards Mari after Ruby explained herself, continuing to watch for a couple of seconds, and Ruby could practically see the consideration writing itself across her face. For a moment she started to worry that maybe she had been too blunt, too transparent, that simply telling this girl Mari was interested in her would end up pushing her away. But, in the end, everything seemed like it was working out: “She’s very pretty,” the girl commented. “And you make her sound nice. Maybe I’ll go say hi to her.” Ruby nearly squealed with excitement when she realized she had been successful, though she managed to contain herself, just so she wouldn’t make Mari look like a dork by association.

“She’s really nice!” Ruby promised. “And friendly, and funny! You should go talk to her!” The other girl nodded along, picking up her drink and standing from her chair.

“You’re a good friend,” she told Ruby. And then, from there, she was walking over towards the couch where Mari had been waiting that whole time. They were at enough of a distance that Ruby couldn’t actually overhear them, but she could watch as the girl approached and introduced herself to Mari. Mari actually seemed surprised when someone came over to start talking to her, and for a brief moment she stole a glance in Ruby’s direction. Ruby merely smiled back, quite proud of herself as she watched her handiwork unfold.

The conversation seemed to go well from there- Ruby tried not to look like she was staring or observing them, but she did continue to glance over every few seconds, wanting to keep an eye on how it all progressed. Before long the other girl had seated herself in the space next to Mari, the one Ruby herself had been occupying previously, and even at a distance Ruby was able to pick up on all the little cues telling her they were hitting it off well. They were both laughing, they were sitting with hardly any room between them, the other girl was even showing all of those textbook signs of flirtation Ruby had seen in movies and TV shows before, letting her hand brush up against Mari’s arm every once in a while or playing with her own hair. It was like something straight off a screen, and Ruby was quite pleased with herself for making this happen.

That said, having Mari occupied in conversation with this newcomer did also mean that Ruby was left on her own at the bar now, and she wasn’t sure how long that was going to last for. Eventually she let her hawklike supervision of Mari and her companion lapse, turning herself forward in her seat again to focus on her drink. She still had quite a bit of her mojito left in her glass, and despite everything she’d heard about the effects alcohol would have, especially on someone of her size who’d never built up a tolerance before, she wasn’t feeling anything just yet. The fact that she was drinking so slowly probably helped with that.

As she sat there alone, Ruby allowed herself to look around the bar once more, and to wonder what she was supposed to do now. She supposed she could go up and talk to someone else- it had gone well enough the first time, and with the little burst of confidence that gave her, she could approach another girl and see how it went. But somehow, the thought of trying to talk to someone on her own behalf was still more intimidating than the thought of talking to someone for Mari’s sake, and that aside, she didn’t really feel like doing that in the first place. Mari had always been a very outgoing, flirtatious person, and Ruby had heard about some of her exploits off at university, despite Dia’s best attempts to shield her from them. A bar like this one seemed like Mari’s natural environment, and chatting up some girl she’d only just met was right up her alley. Ruby, on the other hand, couldn’t really see herself doing something like that. She would rather spend the evening around someone she actually knew. And speak of the devil-

“Ruby-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!” Ruby was snapped from her thoughts by the sound of that voice, and the feeling of a hand coming down on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly. She quickly twisted around in her seat to see Mari standing there, wearing a huge smile on her face. “I hope you weren’t starting to get lonely over here. I’m sorry I left you by yourself for so long, bella .”

“It’s okay!” Ruby replied, before a sudden sense of antsiness set over her. “But- wait! Where’s-” As she asked that Ruby leaned to the side to look past Mari, back towards the couch where she had been sitting, and when she did she saw that it was now vacant: no sign of the other girl at all.

“Oh, her?” Mari replied. “She left.”

“Oh…” Ruby said, a note of disappointment obvious in her voice.

“But not before…” Mari added on, reaching down into her pocket. “Giving me this!” With a truly excessive degree of flourish Mari pulled out a small slip of paper, holding it out for Ruby to see. A name was written at the top, “Tsubasa Kira,” followed up by a phone number, all punctuated with a tiny heart. “I told her I didn’t want to leave you alone for too long, so she gave me her number and said to call her sometime when I wasn’t busy. And it’s all thanks to you, Ruby-chan!”

“Mari-chaaaaan,” Ruby huffed, puffing out her cheeks as she looked at the number. “You could’ve kept talking to her! I didn’t mind!”

“And abandon the birthday princess on her special day? Unthinkable!” Mari gasped, before pulling out the empty seat next to Ruby and plopping herself down in front of the bar. “Now, you just hurry up and finish this off!” she went on, tapping her fingers against Ruby’s still unfinished mojito. “There are still plenty of other drinks for you to try, and I want to get you juuuuust drunk enough for Dia to be mad at me when I take you back home.”

“You’re silly,” Ruby murmured, giggling softly as she reached out for her glass.

“If you think I’m silly now,” Mari replied, “just wait until I start to get tipsy.”

Chapter Text

The waves lapping up against the edge of the docks behind the Ohara family’s hotel were pleasant. The sound was soothing, the smell of the ocean was always nice, and with her shoes off and her legs dangling over the edge, Ruby got to feel the water each time it splashed up against her feet. Kanan was sitting beside her, while Mari and Dia were fully on the dock, just behind them. Ruby was used to spending time with the three of them; once upon a time she had always felt like the little sister tagging along, being granted the privilege of hanging out with her big sister’s cool friends, but it didn’t feel that way anymore. Now, Kanan and Mari really felt like they were her own friends as well.

“I still can’t believe you got Ruby drunk,” she heard Dia mutter. That had been a few days ago now, but Dia had still been harping on it every time she had been in Mari’s presence since. To Mari’s credit, saying that she got Ruby drunk was a bit of an overstatement. But she had definitely gotten her across the tipsy threshold, getting Ruby to the point where she was giggling more than usual and losing her footing just a bit when she had walked back up the stairs to her house. Mari had stayed at their place that night, though not before gushing to Dia about how much fun they’d had, and how much she’d missed out on.

“I still can’t believe Ruby’s been more drunk than you have now, Dia,” Kanan cut in, looking back at her other friends over her shoulder with an enormous shit-eating grin on her face. “You’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” After saying that Kanan held up the can of beer she had been drinking from, extending it out in Dia’s direction, though Dia simply turned her nose up at it.

“You act is if I’ve never had alcohol before,” she scoffed. “You know that’s not the case.”

“Sipping sake with your sashimi and your wagyu beef doesn’t count, Dia-chan,” Mari mocked, pushing her face up far too close for Dia’s comfort in the process.

“You’re one to talk! How much did that bottle of whiskey sitting on your dresser cost you anyway?”

“Irrelevant! The point is that your little sister is way more of a party animal than you are,” Mari insisted, continuing to cling onto Dia despite Dia’s increasingly vigorous attempts to push her away. “She even got me a girl’s phone number!”

“You made her do WHAT??” Upon hearing that, though, Ruby suddenly perked up, attention snapped away from the water in front of her as she craned around to look back at her sister and her friend.

“Oh! What ever happened with that?” she asked. “Did you end up calling her?”

“Hmm? I most certainly did, Ruby-chan!” Mari replied. She (finally) let go of Dia, turning her attention to the younger Kurosawa and bouncing down the dock towards her. “I called her up, and we had an absolutely lovely evening together!” Hearing that made Ruby positively bubble up with excitement and pride over knowing her matchmaking skills had worked out. She clapped her hands together, face lighting up.

“Are you gonna see her again??” she asked. In response to that, however, a coy smile crossed over Mari’s face. She walked the rest of the way over, wiggling herself in between Kanan and Ruby to take a seat at the edge of the dock with the two of them.

“Oh, I doubt that,” she replied, making Ruby’s excited smile falter a bit. “She wasn’t really the dinner, movie, fall in love, meet the parents sort, you know? If I called her back up right now she would probably just let it go to voicemail.”

“You won’t know unless you try!” Ruby insisted, though she found that comment quickly dismissed by a hand ruffling her hair.

“Well, if she called me right now, I’d probably let it go to voicemail too,” Mari said. Ruby was silent for a few seconds after that. Mari was smiling, hand still on top of Ruby’s head, but Ruby herself looked more confused than anything else. Though, perhaps confused wasn’t quite the right word for it. She understood well enough what Mari had said. Maybe she was more just surprised that Mari had said it.

“So… You didn’t wanna go out with her?” Ruby eventually asked.

“Not particularly, no,” Mari replied, shaking her head. “And I don’t think she was interested in going out with me either.”

“Then you two were just…”

“Dia,” Kanan called out behind her, not even bothering to look back over her shoulder this time. “You’ve given Ruby the sex talk by now, right?”

“KANAN!” Dia shouted, and Ruby’s face immediately started to turn red. Despite that, she puffed her cheeks out, putting on a determined expression.

“I knew what Mari-chan was talking about,” she insisted. Just because Ruby didn’t have any personal experience in matters of romance or sex didn’t mean she was a naive child, despite how the others (and Dia in particular) still tended to treat her from time to time.

“Mari’s never been out there looking for love, or trying to find the future Mrs. Mari Ohara,” Kanan went on. “She’s just trying to find cute girls to fu-” And that was the last thing Kanan said before Dia’s form came flying through the air, grappling onto her and slamming them both down into the water. They disappeared from view with an enormous splash, one that caused Ruby to squeal and Mari, almost instinctively, to shield her. They were out of view for a few seconds before Kanan broke through the surface, laughing her ass off, and Dia came up a moment later, still positively fuming.

“Don’t speak that way in front of my sister!” she huffed.

“Aww, c’mon,” Kanan teased back. “You really think Ruby doesn’t know the word fu-” And just like that, Dia was tackling her under the water again. Realizing their conflict was likely to go on for quite some time, Ruby turned her attention back towards Mari.

“Is that really true?” she asked. “You don’t wanna date anyone?”

“Hmm?” Mari replied, focusing her attention on Ruby in turn. “More or less, yes. Is that a problem?”

“Not a problem,” Ruby replied, shaking her head. “But… Why? Doesn’t that get kind of lonely?”

“How could I get lonely when I have wonderful friends like you?” As she said that Mari tossed her arm around Ruby’s shoulders to pull the smaller girl closer, and it was enough to make Ruby giggle softly. “I’ve never been one of those people who puts romance above all else or thinks I need to be in love to be happy,” she went on. “Besides! Who wants to get tied down when they’re still young? That’s why I’ve always said, I won’t even think about getting married until I’m fifty.”

“But… What if you meet someone before then?” Ruby asked.

“Hmm?” Mari replied, raising an eyebrow as she looked down at Ruby. “Did you have someone in mind?”

“Not specifically,” Ruby said, shaking her head. “But… What if you meet someone you’re supposed to be with and you miss out because of this? What if you already met them and you didn’t even give them a chance?”

“Somehow I doubt that’s the case,” Mari laughed. “And even if I did miss out on someone… Well, there’s always other fish in the sea, right? But it’s very nice of you to worry about me like this, Ruby-chan.”

“I just want my friends to be happy,” Ruby murmured.

“And as long as I’m getting to spend time around you I’m very happy! ” Mari promised. “If Dia doesn’t kill me for it, we should go out to a bar again soon. I had a good time.”

“Really?” Ruby asked, face lighting up just a bit.

“Really! Plus,” Mari added on with a wink, “I definitely wouldn’t complain if you got me more cute girls’ phone numbers. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” From there Mari pulled her arm back from around Ruby, and with a small “Hyup!” she jumped up to a standing position on the edge of the dock. And then, with absolutely no warning, she crossed her arms over her torso, grabbing the bottom of her shirt and lifting it off over her head.

“M-Mari-chan!” Ruby blurted out, cheeks going bright red, only for her to get hit in the face by Mari’s top a moment later as it came flying through the air towards her.

“CANNONBALL!” Mari shouted, vaulting herself off the dock, and straight towards the still squabbling Kanan and Dia.

Chapter Text

Mari had insisted on going to a different bar than the one they had visited previously- “variety is the spice of life,” she had claimed, and Ruby couldn’t really bring herself to argue with it. She had enjoyed the first bar well enough, but she also thought it would be fun to go somewhere she hadn’t been before, and to get a taste of something new. That was the whole point of coming out to bars with Mari in the first place, wasn’t it?

This new establishment was similarly upscale to the last one, though the atmosphere was a fair bit different. The last bar had been more brightly lit, and it had been quieter, mostly just filled with the sounds of people talking to their friends and dates. This new bar, however, was much more dimly lit, lending a gentle ambience to the space, and there was loud music coming in through the speakers in the ceiling, rendering it just a little bit harder for Ruby to actually focus on any conversation she was supposed to be having with Mari. She supposed she could see the appeal, but at least personally, she was starting to think she liked the first bar more.

Mari, apparently still not fully trusting Ruby to order a drink for herself, had disappeared up towards the actual counter once again, leaving Ruby by herself in a booth for a minute while she waited for her friend to return. Just like the last time this had happened, she ended up taking the time to look around the space, surveying the crowd and taking note of the other people who were there. She wasn’t sure if Mari had been joking or not when she’d made that comment about Ruby getting her more phone numbers when they’d been back at the dock, but assuming she was serious, it was a challenge she was feeling strangely up for.

“Ruby-chaaaaan!” Even through all the noise that was filling the venu, Ruby could count on Mari’s voice to cut above it all. As she looked over she saw her friend approaching again, one glass in each hand: a very familiar looking glass of what Ruby assumed was once again whiskey, and another much taller glass that Ruby assumed was for her, containing some sort of frozen looking red beverage, topped off with a tiny paper umbrella. “I hope I didn’t keep my little bella waiting too long,” she sang, sliding into the curved booth next to her friend.

“What did you bring me?” Ruby asked, reaching out to take the tall glass Mari had acquired for her.

“Daiquiri!” Mari replied, foreign accent showing through just a bit as she said that decidedly foreign word. “Think of it like an alcoholic smoothie. I think you’ll like it!” Ruby initially seemed a bit skeptical, almost baffled that an alcoholic beverage could even come in this form to begin with. She trusted Mari’s judgement, though, and as she looked down at the glass she carefully leaned in, taking a small sip through the provided straw. She was pleasantly surprised by the flavor- much like the mojito, it was sweet, and she could barely even taste the alcohol.

“It’s good!” Ruby declared, nodding happily after she’d taken her sip. The response made Mari grin widely, and she quickly tossed an arm around Ruby’s shoulders once more.

“You see?” she hummed. “Mari-senpai would never let you down!” Ruby was already taking another sip as Mari said that, quite enjoying the flavor, though as she did so she suddenly got a strange sensation creeping up her spine. Looking back up she found Mari simply staring at her, an unreadable half-smile on the older girl’s face. Ruby wasn’t sure what to make of it, but something about it struck her as just a little bit odd.

“Mari-chan…?” she asked, and Mari was quiet for a moment before she laughed softly, reaching the hand around Ruby’s shoulders up to ruffle her hair.

“You make a cute face when you’re drinking,” Mari replied. Ruby huffed when Mari said that, puffing her cheeks out. Normally she didn’t mind being called cute, but in this situation something about it just bothered her. It felt… Demeaning, maybe. Like Mari still saw her as a child. She was old enough to be sitting here in a bar. She wasn’t a little kid anymore.

Ruby didn’t get the chance to say any of that, though. Not that she likely would have anyway, but before she could respond one way or another Mari was looking out towards the rest of the bar again, hand removed from Ruby’s head so she could prop her own chin up in her hands, elbows against the edge of the table.

“So, think you’re feeling a little more adventurous this time around, Ruby-chan?” Mari asked. “Think you might go out there and talk to a girl for yourself this time?” Ruby didn’t respond to that immediately, still shaking off the last feeling Mari had left her with, though she did take some time to honestly consider the question as well. She tried to imagine going out there and talking to a random girl, trying to hit it off with them, potentially even going home with them the way she had seen it happen so many times before on TV. But hard as she might try, she just couldn’t imagine herself fitting into that position the way Mari could. Something about it felt unnatural to her.

“I don’t think so,” she eventually replied, shaking her head as her lips still hovered against the tip of her straw.

“Aww, what’s the matter? Cold feet?”

“It’s not that!” Ruby insisted. The fact that she’d been able to go up and talk to a girl on Mari’s behalf last time around should have been enough to prove it wasn’t just her old anxiety flaring back up again. It was something very different. “I just… Don’t think I could meet someone that way,” she admitted. Her response caused a visible bit of curiosity in Mari, and almost immediately the older girl had scooted as close she possibly could, pushing herself right up against Ruby in the booth.

“Hmm? How so?” she asked. “Not a one night stand kind of girl?” Hearing it phrased that way caused Ruby to blush faintly, shrinking down in on herself, but crude language aside it was accurate.

“Kanan-chan said… That you’re not looking for someone to go out with, or be with forever,” Ruby started to recall, voice a bit softer than usual now. “Just, people to see once or twice.”

“Here for a good time, not a long time!” Mari replied. “So are you telling me you’re trying to find true love instead?”

“It’s not like that!” Ruby insisted, quickly shaking her head. “But… If I were looking for someone…” she admitted, “I don’t think it would be someone I met like this. I think it would be someone I met more normally, and got to know better first…” Upon hearing that, Mari’s expression immediately turned sly.

“Ruby-chan!” she cooed. “Is this your way of telling me you’ve fallen for someone you already know? Could it be a member of our little group?” she gasped. “Does Zuramaru-chan know you feel this way about her?” The mere implication caused Ruby to let out a panicked noise, face turning a deeper shade of red before she shook her head even more frantically than before.

“That’s not it!” she squeaked. “I don’t have feelings for anyone! “J-Just… Just, if I did … I think it would be someone I know better,” she tried to clarify. After saying that Ruby glanced up, finding that Mari’s skeptical gaze was still upon her, and a jolt of nervousness ran through her. They were both silent for a few seconds while Mari contemplated what she’d heard, but eventually she seemed to believe Ruby.

“Well, alright,” she hummed. “I guess that just means I don’t have to worry about any competition while we’re here!” She said those words with a playful tone and punctuated them with a small giggle, though they did serve to remind Ruby of a large part of the reason they had come here in the first place (after she finished breathing out a sigh of relief over Mari dropping the previous topic). She still didn’t know if that comment about helping Mari get more numbers had been sincere or not, but she decided to assume it was. Leaning forward over the table Ruby narrowed her eyes, looking out over the crowded bar again.

“Do you see anyone you like?” she asked. Slightly caught off guard, Mari raised an eyebrow before she processed what Ruby had said.

“Hm? And why do you ask that, bella?”

“So I can go talk to them!” Once more there was a small pause, and then Mari let out a bit of loud, bubbly laughter.

“Were you really serious about that?” she asked. “Are you planning to be my little wingman again?”

“Not little!” Ruby huffed, despite her physical stature arguing otherwise. “But… It was fun last time! It felt good to set you up with someone…”

“Well if you really want to help me out that badly I would be a fool to say no, wouldn’t I?” Mari replied, her own curiosity getting the better of her. Ruby had been successful last time she had attempted this, yes, but now Mari was eager to see whether this would become a pattern, or whether it had been a singular lucky moment for the girl. Was it a bit mean for a part of her to be betting against Ruby like that? Maybe. But she couldn’t help but wonder.

Regardless of Mari’s own intentions, getting that permission made Ruby’s face light up. Her energy seemed to increase tenfold in that moment, and suddenly her eyes were darting around the bar even more enthusiastically than before. Despite having asked Mari if she had spotted anyone just a moment before, it now seemed that Ruby was determined to find a girl for her before Mari had the chance to answer.

“What about her?” Ruby eventually asked, pointing towards a girl her eyes had ended up drawn towards. Once again, the girl seemed to be older, closer in age to Mari than to Ruby herself. She was sitting alone in a booth, attention equally divided between her phone and the drink in front of her, and there wasn’t a clear indication that anyone else had been at the table with her. Her hair was dark, pulled off to one side, and while it was hard to make out for certain in the dim lighting of the bar, her eyes seemed to have an almost reddish tint to them. Her clothing was dark as well, deep fuchsia dress covered up with what appeared to be a leather jacket that she still hadn’t removed, despite being inside. There was an almost intimidating aura about her based on her appearance alone, and yet somehow, she didn’t feel scary. Not so much that Ruby wasn’t willing to go up to talk to her, at least.

“Oooh, so dark and mysterious,” Mari hummed, leaning in close alongside Ruby to follow her gaze. “Kind of reminds me of Yoshiko-chan.”

“Yeah. But… A cooler Yoshiko-chan,” Ruby replied. “Do you like her?”

“Do I seem like I have a thing for bad girls?” Mari asked, before grinning at Ruby. “Because I do! Excellent choice yet again! So what’s your angle?”

“My angle…?” Ruby repeated.

“I mean, what are you going to say to her? You can’t just go up there without a plan, Ruby-chan!” Ruby supposed Mari had a point there. It was what she had done the last time around, and it had worked out well enough for her then, but now she figured it might be a better idea to actually think through what she was going to do before she did it.

“Well… I could tell her I like her jacket,” Ruby started.

“And then?”

“And then… Ask her where she got it! And if she got it somewhere far away I can tell her about how you’ve traveled all over the world! That’ll make you sound interesting!”

“And if she got it somewhere close by?”

“Then…” Ruby’s enthusiasm faltered for a moment there, face scrunching up as she tried to come up with her backup plan. “Then I’ll tell her about that shop you took me to that one time!” ‘That one time’ was a bit of an understatement in this case. Mari had dragged the rest of her friends, Ruby included, on enormous shopping sprees many times before, and those trips usually ended with Mari buying everyone a whole lot of everything they didn’t actually need (despite Dia’s constant protests). With that in mind, Ruby was sure she could find plenty of good ways to hype Mari up when it came down to it.

“Alright then! If you’ve got your plan, go for it! But just remember,” Mari warned, flashing a wink at Ruby, “I’m counting on you!”

“I won’t let you down! Ganbaruby!” Ruby declared, pumping her fists in front of herself in her signature pose.

“Ganbaruby!” Mari laughed along, imitating Ruby’s actions before clapping her friend on the back. “ Go get ‘em! ” Ignoring that she didn’t know what Mari had just said, Ruby jumped up from their booth, setting her eyes on her destination and beginning to walk forward. Just like last time, it was only once she was actually moving that she started to realize there was still a part of her that really was nervous about this. Her heart beat just a touch faster, and her stomach felt slightly uneasy. Maybe she could blame that on the alcohol, even if she hadn’t had that much of it.

Despite her nerves, Ruby continued to force herself to walk forward, quickly closing the gap between her own booth and the one this other girl was sitting at. The girl didn’t seem to have noticed her, still keeping her attention down on her phone, and it was only once Ruby spoke that the girl looked up at her.

“Hi!” Ruby began. “I like your jacket!” As the girl lifted her eyes from her phone Ruby could see that they were, in fact, a deep shade of pinkish-red. She was silent for a moment, apparently sizing up this stranger that had just come up and started talking to her, but after a moment her lips did curl into a small smile.

“Thanks,” she replied. Seeing that she didn’t seem to intend on saying anything else, Ruby pushed on.

“Do you mind if I ask where you got it?”

“It was a gift, actually. My sister bought it for me.” Shit. Ruby hadn’t planned for an answer like that. Neither of her follow up responses really felt like they fit anymore, and for a second she was left floundering, trying to think of where else she could go from there. But, fortunately, the girl continued talking unprompted. “You actually remind me a little bit of her.”

“Really?” Ruby asked, tilting her head to the side a touch. She knew she was going off script now, but she she had actually become genuinely curious. “How?”

“Well, you’re both…” The girl trailed off there, hesitating briefly before giving a simple answer. “You look similar, I guess. But you already seem a little more outgoing than her,” she added on, laughing softly. Ruby laughed along, but she was quick to shake her head.

“I don’t think I’m that outgoing,” she replied. But her actions spoke to the contrary, and the girl was quick to point that out.

“You walked up to a stranger at a bar and started talking to her, didn’t you? That seems pretty outgoing to me.”

“Well… Maybe,” Ruby agreed. “But I’m only here because my friend brought me here! I probably wouldn’t come to bars at all if it weren’t for her.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not outgoing. That just makes you normal. Coming to bars alone sucks.” That did, of course, invite the obvious question from Ruby.

“But… You look like you’re here alone, aren’t you?” she asked. The other girl was silent for another moment, and then she laughed again, nodding along slowly.

“Yeah, you caught me,” she replied. “I’m not actually from around here. I’m from Hakodate. I’m just down here for a couple of days.”

“Oh! Then… What made you come to this bar?” Once again, there was a little pause before the girl said anything. After a few seconds she laughed again, looking off to the side with a mildly embarrassed expression on her face.

“I kind of figured… I might meet someone here who could show me around while I’m in town. Sounds kind of stupid when I say it out loud like that, doesn’t it?” Ruby didn’t think so, but maybe that was just because it gave her the perfect opening.

“Oh! You should meet my friend Mari-chan, then!” she exclaimed. “She’s the one that brought me here- and to another bar too! She knows the whole area really really well, and she’s a lot of fun!” For a few beats of the conversation there was a look of vague recognition in the girl’s eyes, as if she realized what Ruby was up to. But, ultimately, it seemed that she either didn’t pick up on it, or knew and simply didn’t care. One way or another, she ended up nodding.

“Yeah, alright,” she said. “I’d love to.”

“Great!” From there Ruby looked back in the direction she’d come from, waving a hand up in the air to try to get the attention of Mari, who was still sitting at their booth while pretending she hadn’t been watching. Upon seeing Ruby waving at her, though, Mari did look towards them both, giving a somewhat exaggerated “Who, me?” gesture before finally standing up and approaching, drink in hand. “Mari-chan!” Ruby said, as she finally reached them. “This is…”

“Sarah Kazuno,” the girl introduced herself.

“Pleased to meet you, Kazuno-san!” Mari replied. “Mari Ohara, at your service!”

“Kazuno-san is from Hakodate,” Ruby started to fill Mari in. “She’s just here for a few days, and she’s looking for someone to show her around! I told her you’re the best tour guide in the whole world!”

“Well, Ruby-chan might be exaggerating my talents just a little bit,” Mari laughed. “But I do know the area pretty well! What sorts of things do you enjoy?”

“Well, I like concerts, if you know any good ones going on while I’m here,” Sarah said. “And I’ve heard there are good shopping districts around here too.” Mari was already preparing her response, though before she had the chance to say it she was interrupted by Ruby nudging her slightly.

“Mari-chan, I’m gonna go order that drink I was gonna get,” she said, pointing up towards the bar. In actuality, her unfinished daiquiri had been abandoned at the booth she and Mari had left, but Mari seemed to understand exactly what Ruby was doing.

“Alright! Hurry back!” she replied.

“I will!” Ruby lied. And with that she excused herself from the conversation, turning and beginning to scuttle up towards the bar. She didn’t look back over her shoulder until she had reached it, but by the time she did Mari had already sat down in the booth next to Sarah, and the two of them seemed to be chatting quite enthusiastically. A small smile crossed over Ruby’s lips as she climbed onto one of the stool, getting the distinct feeling she might be going back home alone tonight.

Chapter Text

“I still don’t approve of you using my little sister this way.”

“I’m not using her for anything, Dia! She’s having just as much fun as I am! But if it really bothers you so much… I can return the favor and get Ruby-chan hooked up with someone too!”

“You know that’s not what I want!” As always, Dia’s increasing rage only seemed to amuse Mari even more, causing her to laugh with delight. Kanan had ended herself up between the two of them this time, though she didn’t seem to mind too much. If anything, she was taking amusement from it as well. The three of them were at the dock again, feet dangling over the edge and into the water while Mari and Kanan each held a can of beer in hand. It was supposed to be the last truly warm day of the year before the fall weather came about in full, and they wanted to enjoy it while they could. This time around, though, Ruby was off with Yoshiko, doing… Whatever weird shit Yoshiko was up to this time.

“You know Ruby-chan’s old enough that she doesn’t need you looking after her all the time,” Kanan pointed out, though that didn’t seem to be what Dia wanted to hear either.

“I know that!” she huffed back. “But, she just- Neither of you have little sisters! You don’t understand what it’s like!”

“Ruby-chan could’ve been my little sister if you’d let me!” Mari protested. “But you never would! Any time I tried to get her to call me Mari onee-chan you wouldn’t let it happen.”

“Because she’s not your sister! She’s mine!”

“Sharing is caring, Dia!”

“It’s probably good you never got her to do that anyway,” Kanan said. “Otherwise things would be pretty weird now, huh?” After saying that she was only met with silence, though, and when Kanan glanced to both sides she now realized Mari and Dia were staring at her, both with confused expressions on their faces.

“Weird how ?” Dia demanded.

“Well, how would you feel if Ruby-chan was going around to bars trying to get you laid, Dia? That’s a weird thing for your little sister to do for you, right?”

“Must you always be so vulgar?”

“Sorry,” Kanan corrected. “I should’ve said, ‘Ruby-chan’s going around trying to help Mari smash some pus-”

“KANAN!” Both Mari and Kanan burst out laughing again at Dia’s rage, and while Dia continued to fume, Kanan turned her attention over towards her other friend.

“Who was that last girl she hooked you up with anyway? Didn’t you mention something about her being from Hakodate?”

“Mhmm! Sarah-san!” Mari replied.

“How did things go with her?”

“She was a cutie! But…” Mari trailed off after she said that, expression dropping from her usual devious grin into a smile that was just a bit more distant. “Nothing ended up happening there. Dinner and a concert, that was all.”

“Mari Ohara taking a girl out to dinner and NOT fucking her afterwards?” Kanan asked, wearing an expression of mock disbelief. “I never thought I would see the day!”

“Kanan!” Mari huffed, scrunching her face up into a pout. “I can be a proper gentlewoman when I want to!”

“Well you never seem to want to. So what happened? She not in the mood? Couldn’t get her back to her hotel room?” Mari held her pout on Kanan for a few more seconds (though it was gradually turning into more of a scowl) before she finally looked away, staring out over the water instead. A few seconds of silence followed, during which time the teasing grin on Kanan’s own face started to fade, realizing maybe there was something a little more serious going on than what she had given Mari credit for. Even Dia seemed slightly concerned now, leaning forward to look past Kanan and down at Mari.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been on a real date like that,” Mari eventually said. Her voice was softer now, lacking some of the energy and fluctuation it typically carried. “Normally it’s just meet a girl at a bar, have a few drinks, go back home together, never see her again. But actually going out and doing something together for once… It was nice,” she admitted.”

“Awwwwwwwwwwwww!” came Kanan’s immediate reply. “So you’re finally starting to get tired of the whole wild and crazy lifestyle, huh? Gonna wait a few dates before you bang her this time?”

“There won’t be any other dates.” There was a somber tone to those words, a bit heavier than even Mari herself had intended them to be. She quickly turned back towards Kanan and Dia after speaking, forcing a smile to her face, though they both knew Mari well enough to know it was hardly genuine. “Hakodate, remember? She’s already back home by now.”

“Well… That’s alright,” Dia said. She wasn’t the best with emotions (none of them were), and her words ended up coming slowly because of it, clearly forced out despite her awkwardness, but she was trying. “People always say there are plenty of fish in the sea, right? If you’re serious about actually wanting to find a relationship, you have other options.”

“Some of them might even be right under your nose,” Kanan added on. “You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with Ruby-chan lately, haven’t you?”

“How dare you!” Yeah, that was about the reaction Kanan had expected. But, by some miracle, she managed to avoid the bulk of Dia’s ire, which seemed directed towards Mari instead. She did have to duck down to pull herself away from the crossfire, though.

“Mari!” Dia went on, positively enraged at the mere suggestion. “If you so much as THINK about laying a single finger on my sister-”

“I think she would use more than a single finger,” Kanan interjected, unable to resist the urge to make the situation worse.

“Both of you disgust me!” Dia fumed. “So help me God, if the reason you’ve been taking Ruby out to all of these bars is because-”

“Relax, Dia,” Mari interrupted. Unlike Kanan, she actually seemed like she was being serious about this, and wasn’t just taking the opportunity to poke fun at her friend. “I promise you, I don’t have any plans to snatch Ruby-chan up like that. Besides,” she hummed, turning her eyes out over the ocean again. “I doubt I’m her type anyway. I think I might be a little too wild and crazy for someone like her, you know? But none of that matters in the first place! Just because I had one good date that didn’t end in sex doesn’t mean Mari Ohara the bachelorette is dead!” she went on, voice suddenly perking right back up. “Don’t expect me to stop hooking up and start settling down just like that. You should both know me better! Shame on you! ”

“You’re right, how foolish of us,” Kanan laughed. “But if you do ever decide you wanna start looking for something serious, you know me and Dia would always have your back. I may not be Ruby-chan, but I bet I could be a pretty great wingman too,” she said, elbowing Mari’s ribs playfully.

“And loathe as I am to involve myself in this,” Dia added on, “I suppose it would still be better than you dragging Ruby into this too.”

“Sorry Dia! It’ll take a lot more than that to keep me away from Ruby-chan!”

“Of course it will,” Dia muttered. But, despite all the laughter and the teasing and the smiles, Mari knew she would never actually go against Dia’s wishes on this matter. Even though there was a part of her that was starting to want to do just that.

Chapter Text

Mari had been startled when, for a change, Ruby had been the one asking her when they could next go out to a bar. She had known the other girl had been having fun during their outings, but apparently she had underestimated just how much- especially given that she had ditched Ruby to run off with that girl from Hakodate the last time they had gone out together. After that, she sort of wasn’t expecting Ruby to want to go somewhere with her again, but apparently she had been mistaken on that front.

It seemed that Mari had no shortage of bars to take them to, as for the third time now they were in a place that was entirely new to Ruby. As always, though, Mari seemed determined to only take Ruby to the more classy establishments, and this place was no exception to that. This bar actually straddled the line between a bar and a club, with a small stage at one end of the area where there was live music being performed by some local band. Ruby had chosen a spot for them as far away from the speakers as possible, not wanting their conversation to get drowned out by all the noise, and now they were both seated at a table, drinks already out in front of them. Mari was still sticking with her tried and true, though Ruby seemed to be continuing on with her quest to sample every fruity drink she could get her hands on.

As the two of them sat at the table Ruby’s eyes had already turned out over the crowd of people gathered, and Mari could tell from the intensity with which she was scanning through them that she was sizing up each and every person there, trying to find someone she thought Mari would be interested in. This time around, however, rather than surveying strangers along with her, Mari’s focus was on Ruby herself instead. The younger girl hadn’t seemed to notice that Mari was staring at her, too caught up in her own task to really pay attention to it, but Mari’s eyes had been fixated on her for a while now, simply lingering there as she took occasional sips of her drink.

In the back of her mind, the conversation she’d had with Dia and Kanan the other day was still hanging around. She’d brushed it off like it was nothing, assuring Kanan she was misguided and assuring Dia there was nothing for her to worry about. And in that moment, and the days that had followed, it was easy enough for Mari to start to think that was really true, that her friends had just been assuming nonsense. But now that she was actually sitting here across the table from Ruby, watching the determined look on her face, watching the way her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed themselves together as she focused, watching her fingers drum themselves against the edge of her glass in a subconscious gesture Ruby herself probably wasn’t even aware of… And beyond that, knowing that Ruby was doing all of this for her. Doing it because she wanted to make Mari happy. In the face of all that, maybe it became just a little bit harder for Mari to believe Kanan and Dia had actually been so wrong.

“What about her?” Mari was snapped away from her thoughts as Ruby spoke, and as the other girl looked towards her again Mari quickly broke her own eyes away, trying to pretend she hadn’t been staring that entire time. Lacking anything else to focus on, though, she mostly just ended up doing a perfect impression of a suspicious person trying to act inconspicuous, glancing all over at nothing in particular for a few seconds before her eyes finally followed to where Ruby was pointing. “She’s pretty, and she looks like she’s here by herself.”

“Are those your only criteria, Ruby-chan? Pretty and alone?”

“No! But… She seems like your type! I can’t it explain it,” she mumbled. “It’s just a feeling.”

“And what exactly do you think my type is , hmm?” Mari teased, prompting Ruby to huff.

“I don’t know! You won’t say!” With another bit of laughter Mari finally opted to play along, taking a few seconds to properly study the girl Ruby had pointed out to her. Once again, she looked to be around Mari’s own age, though the two year difference between herself and Ruby really wasn’t that easy to judge on a stranger anyway. She was towards the shorter side, though not quite as short as Ruby herself. Her hair was dark, almost black, pulled into two tails that ran down her back. Her eyes were a greenish color, actually somewhat similar to Ruby’s own, and Mari was able to make them out even from such a distance. And also she had huge boobs.

“She’s pretty, right?” Ruby asked, prompting Mari to nod slowly.

“She is.”

“Do you want me to go talk to her?” Mari kept her eyes on the newcomer for a few more seconds before she ended up turning them back to Ruby, idly swirling her drink around in her glass while she spoke.

“Why are you always so eager to run off and start talking to someone else anyway?” she asked “Do you want to get away from me that badly?”

“Mari-chaaaaan!” Ruby huffed. “You know that’s not it! I just wanna help you find girls you like!”

“I like the little cutie sitting in front of me right now,” Mari replied, and even in the dim lighting she could see the faint blush that caused on Ruby’s cheeks, making Mari’s heart flutter far more than it should have. “I wouldn’t mind just spending the night hanging around with her.”

“But… You said the whole point of coming out to bars in the first place is to meet people,” Ruby reminded her, and Mari had to admit that was something she had in fact said, even though it was suddenly working against her now.

“Well, sure!” Mari replied. “But you can also just have fun spending time with your friends, you know? I don’t want my precious little Ruby-chan feeling like she has to run off scouting for me every single time we go out to bar together.”

“I don’t feel that way!” Ruby insisted. “I’m doing it because it’s fun! It’s exciting to go up and talk to people I’ve never met before. And… It feels good to make you happy, too,” she added on. As she said that she looked up towards Mari with a wide smile, hands squeezing around the edges of her cup a little bit more tightly than before. Mari was quiet for a few seconds, and there was still a part of her that wanted to protest. But seeing Ruby look so damn happy like that… she couldn’t bring herself to ruin it. In a bizarre sort of way it would be selfish or her not to let Ruby pick up girls for her, wouldn’t it?

“Alright,” she ended up conceding. “If your heart is set on this, then… Get up there and do your best! Ganbaruby!”

“Ganbaruby!” Ruby repeated, both of them doing the hand gesture at the same time before Ruby was jumping out of her seat. With even more excitement than usual she started to bounce off towards the girl in question, and Mari was left to lean back in her seat a little bit more, watching what unfolded next. They were, of course, far enough away that Mari wasn’t able to hear their conversation, especially over all of the ambient noise that filled the crowded bar, but just from watching the two of them talk she could still get a decent sense of what was going on.

Ruby, Mari had noticed, had figured out how to use her demeanor to her advantage. She had always been smaller and looked younger than other girls her age, and her personality didn’t always do much to dispel those assumptions either. That had gone away a bit as she had actually gotten older, but even now the bouncers at these bars always looked at Ruby’s ID with far closer scrutiny than they ever did with Mari’s. And if Ruby had been trying to hit on girls herself, that perceived childlike nature might have been a detriment. But in this situation, where she was acting as Mari’s wingman, it actually ended up being her most valuable asset.

As Mari watched Ruby continue to talk to the girl she had set her sights on, she took notice of little behaviors she had subtly picked up on the last two times as well. The way Ruby seemed to shrink in on herself as they conversed, the slight anxiousness written in her expressions, the curious looks and the little tilts of her heads. She was playing up a shyness, a naivety, a childlike nature that she had long outgrown, and in doing so she effectively took herself off the table as a prospect. She was, in the minds of the girls she was talking to, cute, but she wasn’t anyone they would consider going out with or hooking up with. And then, when Mari came around a minute later, she was set up to look like the sweet, kind, caring older friend, taking Ruby out for a fun night and looking after her to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble. Mari wasn’t sure how much of this was conscious, and how much of it was just Ruby going off instinct, but either way she had to admit it was pretty damn brilliant.

Eventually, after their conversation had been going on for a short while, Mari noticed the girl Ruby had been talking to look back in her direction. She quickly pulled her eyes away, trying to act like she hadn’t been watching them the whole time, though she had a feeling she was just a bit too slow to pull that off. Still, out of the corner of her vision she could detect movement, and when she looked back more directly she found the girl now approaching, with Ruby heading off in the opposite direction. As the girl approached she was smiling, though there was something just a little bit off about it. It felt far too similar to the smirks and grins Mari gave her friends when she was being a pain in their ass.

“Your little friend sent me over here.” The girl’s voice cut through the noise of the crowd well enough, and without even waiting for a proper invitation she was sitting down in the chair Ruby had vacated.

“Did she now?” Mari replied, trying to play coy and not make it obvious how orchestrated this had been (though, really, she had a feeling the girl already knew). “I’m sorry if she gave you any trouble. Ruby-chan gets silly ideas in that precious little head of hers sometimes.”

“So you didn’t send her over there to talk to me?”

“Of course not!” Mari replied. And, technically speaking, she supposed that was true. There was a little bit of a tense silence following that, and for a few seconds they were simply staring at each other from across the table, locked into a bizarre silence. The other girl’s eyes had narrowed, and Mari could sense the deliberation behind them, as if she were trying to decide whether to stay and talk or simply get up and walk away. Eventually, though, she extended a hand forward across the table.

“Nozomi Toujou,” she finally introduced herself.

“Mari Ohara,” Mari replied, reaching across the table to give Nozomi’s hand a quick, firm shake before retracting. “So what exactly did Ruby-chan say to you anyway?”

“Oh, that?” Nozomi replied, and that terrifyingly cryptic smile on her face stretched even wider. “She said something about… Her friend Mari-chan being a really good kisser, and told me I should see for myself.” For a brief moment Mari’s heart jumped up into her throat, only for her to realize that for once she was on the receiving end of someone else fucking with her . After a moment she laughed softly, trying to save face by simply playing along.

“It’s true. That was my title in the yearbook: ‘Best Kisser.’ And it was an all girls school too,” she said. “So you know there was some fierce competition.”

“And Ruby-chan knows this first hand?” Another pang of anxiety shot through Mari, and suddenly she was laughing uneasily, shaking her head.

“No, no, nothing like that,” she said. “Ruby-chan is actually my best friend’s little sister. She would kill me if anything like that ever happened.”

“So just don’t tell her.” The smile on Nozomi’s lips curled up more at this point, and suddenly Mari couldn’t tell whether or not she was joking.

“I would never do that to Dia. Besides,” she continued on, “Ruby-chan is like a little sister to me too. Doing something like that with her would be weird! No good! ” After saying that Mari expected a reaction, though instead she was just met with more silence. Nozomi was simply staring at her from across the table again, with prying eyes and an unreadable expression, and Mari wasn’t quite sure how to handle it.

“It’s nice of you to take her out to bars like this,” Nozomi eventually said, the slight change in topic throwing Mari for a loop. “Her big sister doesn’t seem like the sort of person who would do that herself.”

“Absolutely not,” Mari agreed. “She’s not even happy about me bringing Ruby-chan out here like this. If I tried to drag her along too she’d probably have a heart attack. Dia’s always been such a stick in the mud!”

“So you’re just sneaking around behind her back then?” Nozomi asked, causing Mari to shake her head.

“Not quite. Dia knows we’re out here, and she hates it. But getting under her skin is just so much fun!” Mari giggled. “Besides, it’s worth it to get to spend time with a little cutie like Ruby-chan.”

“But you’re not spending time with her right now.” When Nozomi said that Mari fell silent for a few seconds, realizing the other girl was correct. She didn’t how to respond to it either, and for once in her life it actually seemed like Mari had been left speechless- but only for a moment, because soon enough Nozomi was leaning in closer across the table, the smirk on her lips stretched even wider than before. “Hey,” she said, voice quiet now, almost difficult to hear above the din of the bar. “Why don’t we get out of here?”

For some reason, when Nozomi asked that, Mari felt a surge of nervousness rush through her. It was hardly the first time she had been in a situation like this one, having a conversation with an attractive girl at a bar that eventually lead to them going back to her place or theirs, and it was never a situation that made her nervous before. She wasn’t sure why, then, her mind was choosing now of all times to get her worked up about it. Maybe it was because Nozomi had suggested it so quickly, or maybe it was because something about this situation just felt off , and something was telling Mari that Nozomi wasn’t quite like any other girl she had hooked up with in the past. As Nozomi leaned in over the table, bright green eyes staring at Mari in the relative darkness of the bar, Mari’s own eyes ended up wandering away, and they landed on Ruby for a few seconds. Ruby had ended up at the bar counter, sitting at a stool while sipping her drink. She was doing her best to pretend she wasn’t watching, though it was still clear she had been looking out of the corner of her eye. And, when she noticed Mari glancing at her, she gave a big smile and two thumbs up of encouragement. Barely able to contain a bit of laughter Mari turned her attention back to Nozomi, finally giving a small nod.

“Alright,” she agreed. “Let’s.” The answer seemed to satisfy Nozomi, smirk turning into a smile that was a little more genuine, and she was quick to stand up from the table. It didn’t appear that she had brought a jacket, which struck Mari as slightly odd with the weather starting to get as chilly as it was, but she said nothing of it, simply grabbing her own jacket off the back of her chair before following Nozomi out of the bar.

There was always a certain shock that came with stepping out of a bar. The noise of people and music and TVs dropped off so suddenly, leaving a silence that was somehow almost louder than the jumble of sounds, and on a night like tonight the cool air presented a harsh contrast to the stuffy atmosphere of a room with that many people packed into it. Even with her jacket slipped on, Mari still found herself shivering a bit. Nozomi didn’t offer any such reaction.

“It’s beautiful tonight, isn’t it?” she mused, green eyes looking up towards the stars overhead. A lot of them were washed out by the city lights, but enough of them were still visible to make for some nice scenery.

“It’s a little bit cold for my liking,” Mari replied, puffing out her cheeks as they walked. “Besides, I’m less interested in the beautiful night than I am in the beautiful girl I’m spending it with.”

“Even if you’re not spending it with the right beautiful girl?” Suddenly Nozomi had pulled her gaze down from the sky, directing it towards Mari again, and that familiar smirk was right back on her face. Mari froze up for a moment before her eyes narrowed.

“What are you talking about?” she demanded, which only prompted Nozomi to giggle.

“I’m talking about your friend,” she replied. “I have a feeling that if you had a choice between spending this night with me or spending this night with Ruby-chan, you would want to spend it with her.” Mari felt another surge of nervousness shoot through her when Nozomi said that, similar to the one she’d felt back at the bar, and she found herself getting pushed even further onto the defensive.

“And what makes you think that?” she asked.

“There are plenty of reasons,” Nozomi explained, shrugging her shoulders up while she spoke. “You gave a lot of hints while we were talking, and it made it pretty easy to tell. But really, it was pretty obvious from that first moment that you looked over at us.”

“Obvious how?” Mari cautiously asked.

“Simple,” Nozomi replied. “You weren’t staring at me. You were staring at her.” There was a long silence after Nozomi said that, interrupted only by quiet gusts of wind or the sounds of cars moving past on nearby streets. At first Mari’s expression was still hard, narrowed eyes and a twisted up frown that showed her displeasure with the direction Nozomi had taken their conversation. But, as what the other girl had said to her started to fully set in, Mari’s expression started to soften. Her brow unfurrowed itself, her frown relaxed, and eventually she was left with a sad smile on her face, looking down towards the ground between them.

“If it’s really so obvious,” she finally said, breaking the tension that had settled over them, “you would think Ruby-chan would have noticed by now.”

“Maybe,” Nozomi replied, “but I think she’s just a little too earnest to pick up on something like that. If you want her to figure it out, you’ll probably have to tell her.”

“I wish that were an option,” Mari said, punctuating her words with bitter laughter. “But I don’t think Dia would be too happy about that.” No, she thought. It was much better to keep this to herself. After speaking she lifted her eyes back up to meet Nozomi’s, sympathetic smile stretching up a little more. “Sorry,” she chuckled. “I guess you probably weren’t looking to get all wrapped up in something like this tonight, were you?”

“It doesn’t bother me. I wasn’t planning on sleeping with you anyway,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “I don’t think my girlfriend would be too happy about that.”

“You already have a girlfriend??” Mari blurted out, pointing an accusatory finger towards Nozomi. “And you were flirting with me!”

“I just came over to talk to you,” Nozomi replied. “It’s not my fault if you took it as flirting.” With a little shrug she started to walk off down the street again, though this time Mari didn’t move to follow after her. “Good luck with your situation,” she called out behind her. “I think you know what you need to do next.”

“Yeah. I do,” Mari called after her. But that was a far cry from a promise that she would actually do it.

Chapter Text

The bar was more crowded than usual. There were quite a few people packed in- too many for Mari’s liking, in fact- and their combined voices were making it hard for her to even focus on anything, let alone hold a proper conversation. She found the atmosphere to be oppressive, and somewhat regretted bringing Ruby there. But maybe there was more than one reason for that.

Mari had lost sight of the other girl. Ruby had gone up to get their drinks, and in doing so she had disappeared entirely into the crowd. If Mari ever mentioned that she had let Ruby out of her sight for even a single moment Dia would surely have her head, but at the moment there were more pressing matters on her mind; matters like her conversation with Nozomi the week before, which still wouldn’t leave her alone.

On the surface, Mari’s next course of action seemed like it should have been so cut and dry. Just go ahead and tell Ruby how she felt, right? Nozomi had made it sound so simple, and she wanted to believe it could be that simple too. But, unfortunately, there were a whole host of issues preventing her from actually going through with that. The Dia problem was the largest one, and Mari still had to worry about what her friend would do to her in that situation. She had never had any issue with taunting Dia and getting under her skin in the past, but somehow she felt like this would finally be crossing a line, no longer all in good fun. And even beyond that, fears about how Dia would react were based on the assumption that Ruby would return her feelings, which was already a hell of an assumption all on its own. Ever since they had first started coming out to these bars Ruby had been so focused on finding girls to set Mari up with. If she held even the smallest bit of attraction towards Mari herself, she couldn’t imagine Ruby would be so eager about that.

So then the next question that begged to be asked was, why was Mari still doing this? If she really wasn’t going to confess to Ruby- which, apparently, she had resolved not to- why was she still coming out to bars and letting Ruby hook her up with girls in the first place? She knew what an unpleasant situation she was creating for herself. Was she really just that desperate to spend time around Ruby anyway? She was really shooting herself in the foot on that one.

As she had these thoughts Mari saw a familiar head of red hair pop back out from the crowd, and she watched Ruby bounce back towards her table, looking far more excited about this outing than Mari was. But despite her own internal lack of enthusiasm, Mari tried to force a smile to her face anyway. The last thing she wanted was for Ruby to realize something was wrong.

“It’s really busy here!” Ruby said as she sat down across from Mari, having to raise her voice a fair bit more than normal just to be heard.

“That’s because Mari-senpai only takes you to the hippest, most popular bars in the city,” Mari replied. “Only the best for my Ruby-chan!” Ruby giggled, nodding excitedly before saying the thing Mari had been worried about her saying.

“Plus it means even more girls!” Mari’s smile faltered for a moment when she heard that, realizing Ruby was still as committed to this plan as she had ever been. But once more, Mari didn’t want Ruby to think anything was wrong, so she tried not to let her reservation show through too much.

“Maybe,” she agreed. “Although with so many people around it might be hard to actually find someone to go up and talk to at all.”

“Then it’ll be a fun challenge!” Ruby insisted, any implication Mari might have been trying to give off about how she wasn’t really in the mood for another bout of wingmanning tonight apparently going right over her head. Mari hesitated in responding, simply looking at Ruby from across the table for a few seconds before she leaned back in her seat.

“Trying to have a conversation in a place this loud doesn’t seem like a great idea anyway,” she pressed on. “It would be nearly impossible to hear anyone. Too noisy! ”

“Then that just gives you an excuse to leave with them!” Ruby replied, flashing Mari a knowing wink. “It’s perfect!” Again, Mari hesitated for a moment before responding, but she was starting to feel like she didn’t have a great excuse to get out of this. Ruby seemed capable enough of countering any argument she made, and maybe Mari was doing just a bit too much of a good job of hiding that she didn’t really want this.

“How would you even start to pick someone out of a crowd this big?” she asked. “There are so many girls here, it would be impossible to narrow it down to just one you think I would be interested in.”

“It would help if you told me what your type is,” Mari heard Ruby huff from across the table. “You still haven’t done that.”

“You want to know what my type is?” Mari hummed, a slightly more genuine smile starting to pull at the corners of her mouth. “Alright. My type is… Cute girls, maybe a year or two younger than me. Short hair, and I’m especially fond of redheads.” She hadn’t intended those words as a confession, more just hoping that a little bit of blatant flirting might produce a cute flustered reaction from Ruby. Instead, much to Mari’s surprise, any implication there seemed to continue to escape Ruby entirely, and she took the words completely at face value.

“Alright!” she said, putting on her determined face again as she looked back out towards the crowd. “There has to be someone here who matches that!” And then, to Mari’s even greater surprise, it took her all of five seconds to find someone. “Look! Over there!”

As she had done far too many times before by now Mari followed Ruby’s finger out into the crowd, finding that it had landed on someone who matched her description to a startling degree. She looked to be a bit younger than Mari, around Ruby’s age, and she did in fact have red hair, coming down to around her shoulders. She was sitting alone, looking down at her phone between sips of her drink, and largely seemed to be minding her own business and shutting out those around her. At this point, Mari had to feel like god was laughing at her.

“Is she your type?” Ruby asked. “Do you want me to go talk to her?” Now, with all of these pieces suddenly fitting into place as if fate itself were conspiring to keep things from going her way, Mari was really struggling to come up with a good excuse. Anything she did now would probably end up looking suspicious, and there was some part of her that was wondering if it would really even be that bad to just go along with it. She’d had plenty of careless flings and one night stands with girls in the past, right? And she had always been fine with them before. She used to prefer things that way, up until quite recently. So why was the thought of going home with the gorgeous girl sitting a few tables away suddenly so hard for her to stomach?

“Mari-chan?” Hearing her name made Mari realize she’d been dwelling on her own thoughts for too long while failing to give an answer, and as she pulled her eyes away from the girl she saw Ruby looking at her, an expression of concern now adorning her face. Mari floundered for a moment, trying to think up a proper response, and her brain was still telling her it would be easiest just to act like everything was normal, to go along with it like she always had, to let Ruby set her up with this girl and pretend everything was fine. But for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“You know, I uh… I’m actually not feeling so great tonight,” Mari said, and the expression of concern on Ruby’s face deepened.

“Not feeling so great how?” she asked. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, it’s nothing too bad,” she assured Ruby. “Just- lady troubles, you know? So… I might actually get going.” As soon as she’d said that Mari was pushing her chair back and standing up, ignoring the fact that she’d barely even touched her drink. Ruby’s worry continued to grow stronger, compelling her to hastily stand up alongside Mari.

“A-Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked. “Do you need painkillers? Or-?”

“Really, I’ll be alright,” Mari insisted, shaking her head. “I’d just like to be at home laying down right now. But don’t feel like you have to come with me.”

“Of course I’ll come with you!” Ruby said, and Mari was actually a little frustrated to hear that. Being around Ruby now was confusing for her. It was making her overthink everything and get inside her own head, and she had been hoping to be free from that. Apparently, at least for the duration of the trip back home, she wasn’t going to be so fortunate.

“Really, I don’t want you to miss out on a fun night just because I’m not feeling well,” Mari tried to argue, picking her coat up off the back of her seat- the weather outside had finally officially turned cold. “I can get home just fine by myself.”

“I’m coming with you,” Ruby replied, and there was a sternness to those words that Mari wasn’t used to hearing out of her. There were times when it was difficult to see how the Kurosawa sisters were even related, but in that moment, it would have been impossible to miss. And, with nothing else to say and no argument left to make, Mari looked back over her shoulder towards Ruby, simply smiling softly for a moment before she started to walk out of the bar. Ruby grabbed her own coat from her own chair, scrambling to chase after her.

Mari was struck by a biting chill the moment she stepped outside, realizing the air had somehow gotten even colder just in the short amount of time they had been in the bar. It probably didn’t help that, with so many people crammed into that small space, it had been incredibly warm inside, and now the cold night felt even more exaggerated by comparison. Mari pulled her coat tight in front of her chest and hugged her arms around her torso, listening to the sound of Ruby’s feet pattering along behind her.

“Mari-chan…” she heard the girl say, and immediately the warning bells in her head started going off. “Are you sure everything is okay? You’re… You’re acting kind of funny.” Again, Mari hesitated for a moment before she answered, and even when she did speak she didn’t look back over her shoulder to face Ruby.

“I’m alright,” she insisted. “I told you, I’m just not feeling very well.”

“You’re saying that, but…” This time, it was Ruby who paused for a few seconds, silently searching for the right words to say next. “Was it something I did?” she eventually asked. “Did I upset you somehow?” The question instilled a sense of guilt in Mari’s chest; actions had consequences, and apparently she couldn’t just get up and walk away in the middle of a night out without it having an impact on Ruby. In hindsight, that seemed like it should have been obvious. And maybe it was that guilt, or maybe it was the little bit of alcohol she had consumed before leaving the bar working its way into her system, or maybe it was just the fact that she already wanted to do this so damn badly and was only barely holding herself back to begin with. But whatever the reason, Mari didn’t feel like lying any more, no matter what consequences that might bring about.

“Do you want to know what’s really bothering me, Ruby-chan?”

“O-Of course!” she heard Ruby reply, and Mari took a deep breath to prepare herself for what she was going to say next.

“I think I’ve finally gotten tired of this whole ladykiller routine,” she said. “All the random hookups, a different girl every night who I never see again afterwards, it doesn’t feel right for me anymore. Maybe it’s finally time to step away from all of that.”

“Oh!” Ruby said. “Are- Are you saying you wanna find a real girlfriend? Because I can help with that too! That would be exciting!”

“No,” Mari cut her off, and some small part of her felt irritated that Ruby wasn’t understanding this yet. “I already have my sights set on someone. But I don’t see it working out anyway, so it hardly matters.”

“You shouldn’t say that!” Ruby insisted. “Anything is possible! Is it- Is it someone I know?”

“Do you want to know something ironic?” Mari asked, ignoring Ruby’s question as she finally turned her head to look at the younger girl over her shoulder. Ruby looked confused and thrown off by the sudden change in topic, and there was something endearing about the face she made when she was surprised. It made this that much harder. “You’ve been running around this whole time, throwing girl after girl right into my arms, and yet throughout it all I haven’t been able to get you to just stay at the table and spend a night talking to me. A thousand spoons when all you need is a fork, right?”

“Mari-chan…” Ruby said, and the confession seemed to have found its mark. Ruby’s voice was softer than it had been just a moment before and she suddenly looked even smaller than usual, shrinking in on herself the same way Mari observed whenever she was trying to look cute and innocent in front of a girl. This time, though, it seemed entirely unintentional. “What are you…?”

“I’ll see you later, Ruby-chan. Have a good night.” And with that Mari turned around again, starting to walk off down the sidewalk, back in the direction of her home. There was some part of her quietly hoping that this was the scene where Ruby would shout her name more loudly, would chase after her, would grab her arm and spin her around and kiss her in the middle of the street, but she knew she was setting her expectations too high. Ruby wasn’t the sort of person who would ever do something like that. She was the sort of person who was too shy and timid, too uncertain and anxious, the sort of person who would simply stand there frozen as she tried to process what she’d just heard, heart suddenly beating too quickly, feet rooted in place by her nerves whether she wanted to move them or not. There was no chance of her doing anything about this. And that was exactly the way Mari needed it to be.

Chapter Text

Mari hadn’t been especially social the past few days. Ever since the last time she had seen Ruby she had mostly been keeping to herself, spending a lot of the day hiding away inside her room. She hadn’t gone out again with Ruby since then, and even Kanan and Dia’s attempts to get her to hang out at the dock with them had been in vain. It was at the point where they could clearly tell something was bothering her, though Mari was still refusing to talk about what. Mari didn’t know how kindly Dia would take to finding out her sister was at the center of all of this.

As Mari laid back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, she kept telling herself she at least needed to do something with the day. It was mid-afternoon, and while she at least hadn’t slumped so far down into a depression that she’d stopped showering or eating meals, she had certainly wasted the last few days away. There was at least a part of her that wanted to do something productive, so that she could tell herself she was fine and wasn’t feeling like utter shit, but it was so hard to find the motivation to even force herself up off the bed, let alone to go anywhere or do anything.

For days now, Mari had been haunted by the fear that she had ruined everything. She doubted there was any path from here on out that lead to a happy ending for herself and Ruby, but that wasn’t the part that bothered her. That had never been on the table anyway, so it didn’t feel like a real loss. What she was more concerned about was how things would change from here on out: all her life, Ruby had been one of her closest friends. Or at least, she had been the younger sister of one of Mari’s closest friends, and that was reason enough for Ruby to be there all the time. So many of her memories of hanging out with Kanan and Dia when they were younger involved Ruby tagging along as well, and that was a dynamic she had grown used to and gotten comfortable with. Now that she had gone and run her big mouth off, making everything messy and complicated in the process, she didn’t know if they would ever be able to go back to that. But it wasn’t like she could just avoid Ruby for the rest of her life either, so what option did that leave her with?

As Mari pondered these questions, she felt her phone buzz on the sheets beside her. Twisting herself around to pick it up she glanced at the screen, seeing a simple text from Dia: “I’m coming over.” Surprisingly straightforward and to the point, and it caused Mari to let out a soft sigh as she looked at it. As much as she had just been thinking about how she wanted to do something productive a minute beforehand, she really wasn’t in the mood to see any of her friends at the moment.

“maybe tomorrow,” she sent back. “not feeling so good right now.” Mari watched as the “Read” check mark showed up next to her message, and as the small dots along the bottom of the screen indicated that Dia was typing, before her response appeared.

“It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. I’ll see you in ten minutes.” Of course Dia was going to be like this. Mari puffed her cheeks out in frustration as she read the message, and while she supposed maybe she should be glad that she had a friend who was willing to worry about her like that in the first place, she really only came away from it feeling irritated. Just who did Dia think she was, barging into Mari’s home on such short notice like that?

Annoyance aside, however, Mari realized there was no point in arguing with Dia once she had gotten the idea in her head, and instead her focus turned to making sure she was actually somewhat presentable before her friend showed up. While Mari had at least bothered to shower and get dressed that morning, she hadn’t exactly put much effort into her appearance beyond that. Her hair was a bit messy, she wasn’t wearing any makeup, and her outfit was something she could probably just wear to bed if she wanted to. As much as Dia was probably already suspicious of her, given that she had been isolating herself so much recently, she didn’t need to give off such a powerful depression aura.

Shuffling her way into the bathroom Mari stood in front of the mirror, taking a moment to look herself over before she started putting together a proper appearance. Hair was brushed out, a light amount of makeup was applied- just enough to keep the illusion that she really wasn’t wearing any makeup at all- and her pajama-adjacent outfit was swapped for a sweater and a pair of leggings that were at least a bit more presentable. She ended up finishing up just in time, putting her tube of concealer back in the drawer just as she heard the doorbell ring downstairs. Well, time to face the world.

As Mari left the bathroom and started to travel down the stairs, another thought occurred to her: maybe this wasn’t Dia being benevolent after all. Her first assumption was that Dia had gotten worried about Mari after she hadn’t been around for a few days, and now she was coming to check in on her and force her to be social whether she wanted to or not. But, as Mari thought more about it, she realized there was another possibility: Ruby had told on her. If Ruby had told Dia what had happened between her and Mari (which wasn’t that hard to imagine, given how close the two sisters were), there was an entirely reasonable chance Dia was coming here to kick Mari’s ass. It would explain the stern, non-negotiable tone of the messages just as well as tough love would, and it honestly seemed like the exact sort of thing Dia would do. Suddenly, Mari had a new reason to be worried.

With that fresh dose of fear in her mind Mari reached the bottom of the steps, looking at the door just a few feet away. She took a deep breath to prepare herself for whatever verbal lashing she was about to get, stepped forward, twisted the lock, opened up the door, and-

Saw Ruby standing there.

That clearly wasn’t the Kurosawa she was expecting, and when Mari saw Ruby she did a double take, heart skipping a beat or two as a sudden surge of adrenaline shot through her. Some primal part of her brain was telling her to slam the door back shut and book it, but that obviously wasn’t a very useful response in this situation.

“R-Ruby-chan!” she eventually managed to say, doing a very poor job of hiding how caught off guard she was. “I- I wasn’t expecting you!”

“Hi,” Ruby replied, and it was clear from that single word she was just as nervous as Mari. Her voice was soft, reminiscent of the way she had sounded so many years ago. She was fidgeting back and forth on the doorstep, wringing her fingers together in front of her torso, and her eyes were looking down at the ground, rather than up at Mari. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“I don’t know if this is the best time for that,” Mari said. “Your sister is on your way over right now, and she-”

“No,” Ruby interrupted, shaking her head. “I asked onee-chan to send that message. But she’s not coming.” Mari was shocked all over again when she heard that, tilting her head as she tried to make sense of the bizarre turn of events this afternoon was suddenly taking.

“Why?” Mari asked.

“Because… I wasn’t sure if you would answer the door if you knew it was me.” Once she said that Ruby shrunk down even more, and it almost looked like she was about to turn tail and run away. Mari still knew she got nervous from time to time, but this was the most skittish she’d seen Ruby look in ages.

“Ah, I see…” Mari responded, taking a few seconds before continuing. “Was there… Something specific you wanted to talk to me about?” she asked, as if the answer wasn’t already immediately obvious. The question seemed to prompt something inside Ruby, though, and suddenly her expression was turning determined, resolve hardening as she looked up at Mari. When she spoke again her voice was back at a normal volume, and it carried an edge that, once again, Mari found reminiscent of Dia.

“Yeah,” Ruby said. “I wanted to talk to you about the other night. About the stuff you said to me.”

“Right. I figured it was probably that.” Another pause set in there, and Mari forced a soft smile onto her face. Ruby didn’t seem like she was mad, at least, or completely put off by what she’d heard, but it was still impossible to ignore how uncomfortable the situation had become. “I’m sorry for springing that on you,” she ended up adding on. “I probably should have kept that to myself, hm?”

“Did you really mean it?” Ruby asked, and for a moment Mari saw that as an out. It would have been easy enough to bust out a patented “ It’s joke! ” and pretend this whole thing had been a prank that hadn’t gone over very well. But, after not seeing anyone for several days, she felt like she was probably already in too deep. And beyond that, she honestly wasn’t sure going back to keeping this a secret was a preferable outcome.

“I did,” she ended up admitting. “Every word of it. And I’m… Sorry, if that makes you uncomfortable.”

“How long?” Ruby asked. “I mean… How long have you felt this way?” That was a good question, and one that actually forced Mari to look back and try to find an answer to it. She knew that it was newer, that these feelings had started to come about since she’d started spending more time with Ruby and going out to bars with her, but to pinpoint an exact moment? That was far more difficult.

“I’m not really sure,” she confessed. “I mean, I know it was more recent. Something about spending so much time with just you, seeing you talk to all those girls while acting so confident and charming… It was a side of you I’d never seen before. Apparently one I fell for.” Those words made a light blush appear on Ruby’s cheeks, and Mari took that to be a good sign. Things were still awkward, and she wasn’t actually expecting anything to come of this- not in the way she quietly wanted it to, at least. But offhand comments and making Ruby blush, that all felt decidedly normal to Mari. After feeling like she had ruined everything, if she could just get back to normal she would consider that to be a victory. But then Ruby asked the question she was maybe the least prepared to deal with of all.

“Then… Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Mari had figured that would be coming eventually, and yet despite that she still hadn’t formulated a good answer for it. She had thoughts bouncing around in her head, of course, but putting those thoughts into something coherent, and then forcing herself to say that coherent thought out loud? That was asking a lot of her, especially when she hadn’t been prepared to get into this conversation in the first place.

“I did tell you eventually, didn’t I?” Mari pointed out.

“But you could’ve told me sooner,” Ruby insisted. “You talked with a lot of girls and spent time with them. You could’ve said something to me.”

“Well… I wasn’t sure how you would feel about it,” Mari admitted. “I’m older, and I’ve known you basically your whole life, so I thought it might be a little weird for you. Plus, you’ve heard all the things I’ve said about relationships not being for me in the past, and after all that I wasn’t sure how you could ever end up thinking it would be a good idea to be with someone like me. And then of course there’s Dia,” she concluded. “I don’t think she would ever approve of me feeling this way about you. If anything ever happened and she found out about it-” And that was the last thing Mari got the chance to say before Ruby grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, pulled her down, and kissed her.

Mari was so completely thrown off by the sudden gesture that, for a moment, she didn’t even know how to respond. It was like her brain had shut down completely, leaving her body frozen there as Ruby’s lips pressed against her own, too utterly shocked to properly react to it. Her eyes were wide, a startled noise came from her throat, her hands were frozen awkwardly at her sides. She stayed like that for too long, and she was still stuck in that position when Ruby did finally pull away, letting go of Mari’s shirt while still wearing that same serious, determined expression on her face.

“She doesn’t get to make those choices for me,” Ruby said. “I decide for myself who I want to date.” Even after hearing Ruby speak Mari was still stunned for a few seconds. Eventually, though, a small smile started to pull at the corners of her mouth. She laughed softly, reaching up to touch her fingers against her lips, still feeling the lingering sensation of Ruby’s kiss.

“Yes,” Mari eventually said. “I guess you do. And… This is the decision you want to make?”

“It is,” Ruby replied, nodding her head a single time. She sounded sure of herself- sure enough to assuage the lingering fears Mari still had that Ruby didn’t really know what she was doing, that she was being impulsive, that maybe she was just doing this for Mari’s own benefit. “I like you a lot,” she went on. “We’d never really spent time together before, just the two of us. But… I enjoyed it. I want to have more of that.” Mari didn’t say anything in response. The smile lingered on her face a moment longer, and then she stepped forward, reaching out towards Ruby. One hand slipped around the smaller girl’s waist while the other brushed over her cheek, and Mari leaned down to kiss her again.

It was better this time, thanks to the fact that Mari wasn’t standing there completely frozen, unsure of how to react. It occurred to her, now, that Ruby had never kissed anyone before, and that was making itself a little bit apparent. But what she might have lacked in technique or practice she easily made up for in enthusiasm, arms immediately reaching up to drape themselves around Mari’s neck as Ruby pulled her in closer. It was a few long seconds before they broke away from each other, Mari being the one to pull back this time. She let her forehead lean against Ruby’s as they stood there on the doorstep, just barely able to see into the other girl’s eyes. A few seconds passed, and then Mari broke out into soft laughter, unable to keep a smile off her face.

“Dia’s gonna kill me for this,” she whispered.

“No she won’t,” Ruby replied, shaking her head the slightest bit. “I won’t let her.”

“Oooh, my hero,” Mari giggled. She probably would have been content to stay there holding onto Ruby like that for quite some time, were it not for the cold gust of wind that cut through the air a moment later, sending a chill through her body. Warm as Ruby was, Mari had a feeling it would be even warmer if they weren’t left standing outside in the early winter air like that. Slowly, and a touch reluctantly, she pulled herself back from Ruby, opening the door and motioning inside her home.

“Do you want to come in?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Ruby replied, giving Mari a smile and a nod. “I do.”

“After you, my bella,” Mari hummed. She stood to the side to let Ruby pass, watching her new girlfriend step inside her house. And then Mari turned to follow, letting the door swing shut behind her.