Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yang couldn’t help but smile back at the toothy grin from the girl looking back at her from the screen of her scroll. It was a photo of her, from something like ten years ago now, posing in front of her dad. She swiped the screen to the next photo, this time to her holding an ice cream cone, grinning ear to ear. After that was a image immediately taken just minutes after, showing her face covered in splatters of purple, blueberry-flavored sugary goodness. The sight of it was enough to get a laugh out of her as she recalled that sunny day.

“What’s got you laughing?” Weiss snapped from across the room, buried in textbooks as always.

“Nothing, I’m just looking at some pictures my dad took of me when I was little. Not to brag, but I think I was a pretty cool kid.”

“Oh,” Weiss paused, “can I see?”

Yang sat up, “Sure.” She hopped out of her improvised bunk bed, landing with a thud, before striding over to the desk Weiss had colonized to show off.

Weiss’s face lit up upon gazing at the magnificence of Baby Yang “Awwwh, you weren’t kidding! Look at that winning smile.”

“Hey, the smile didn’t go anywhere!”

Weiss rolled her eyes, “I don’t know, it looks a lot less smug on her than it does on you.”

Yang returned the gesture as she swiped to another photo, “Sure, whatever.” 

The door to the dorm opened with a creek. “I’m back, and— What are you two up to?” Ruby asked.

“Oh, hey sis, just showing Weiss some old family photos.”

Ruby’s tone turned suddenly sheepish, “O-oh, uh, sounds fun, don’t get too carried away, okay?”

Yang nodded, knowing very well what her sister meant by that. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Yang continued to scroll through the old pictures, most were of her alone, some with her dad with her, and Weiss cooed endlessly over each one. The compliments towards her past self were flattering, even if Weiss had to walk it back with a jab to the Yang standing next to her after every couple pictures. A walk down memory lane was always nice, even with the peanut gallery talking about their butlers and servants the whole time. 

“Hey if your childhood was so much nicer than mine, how come I’m the one showing you my memories, huh? Now I’m curious, where’s your old family pictures, Weiss?”

“I… don’t have them on my scroll, or not this scroll at least, I’m sure I have them somewhere, I just don’t know where. Why does it matter to you anyway?” Weiss’s smile had disappeared from her face, maybe this wasn’t a good door to go knocking on. 

Yang shrugged. “No reason.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, turning her focus back to Yang’s scroll “You know, you and Ruby are sisters, but I’m only seeing you in these pictures, are they from before she was born?”

“No, she’d been born, but she was still just a baby when we took—”

“Who’s that?” Blake queried, apparently having snuck up behind the pair of them without making a sound. 

Yang jumped from shock, “Son of a— Who’s what?”

“That.” Blake pointed at a corner of the screen. Sure enough, standing behind Baby Yang was a boy clutching onto a red hood, holding it over his face to hide it from the camera. Yang had gotten carried away. “Is that your brother or something?”

“You never mentioned you had a brother,” Weiss’s voice was harsh and judgemental, well, more harsh and judgemental than usual.

Yang quickly shoved her scroll back into her pocket, “You know what, I think that’s enough family photo time, I’m tired, I think I’m gonna get some sleep.”

Ruby chimed in agreement from her bed, clearly having surmised what just happened. “Yeah, I think we should all go to sleep and never ever talk about that ever again.”

Weiss grabbed Yang by the arm as she attempted to retreat. “What happened to no more secrets?”

“It’s not a secret, it’s just uh, he’s…” Yang stumbled, trying to think of a believable lie. “He’s a friend Ruby and I had growing up, but we didn’t keep in touch. There, mystery solved.” Yang wrested her arm from Weiss’ grip. “Can I go to bed now?”

Weiss had folded her arms, “Do you honestly expect me to believe that? Tell me the truth. Who was that? Why are you hiding him from us?”

Ruby zipped from her bed to get between Yang and Weiss, “Look,  it’s not a big deal, okay? Let’s all just go to bed, it’s late.”

“I’m not going anywhere until the both of you stop dodging the question. Who’s the boy in that picture?”

“Weiss,” Blake had also joined, doing her best voice-of-reason impression, “it’s clearly personal, you can just leave it be.”

“We all agreed on no more secrets,” Weiss snapped, cold as ever. 

“It doesn’t matter who he is, it’s none of your business!” Yang shouted, clenching her fists tight

Ruby covered her face. Uh oh. “Please, Weiss, just leave it alone…”
“I’m not going to leave it alone until you both give me a good reason why there’s a boy in that photo that you’re both refusing to talk about.”

It was clear that Ruby was not taking this well. Reflexively, Yang put her arm around her in a vain attempt to comfort her sister, but it was clearly too late. Ruby pushed her away as she began to cry. Weiss had tried to cut another word in but was blocked by a terrible sob. Yang tried to reach out to her sister, but before she could so much as blink, Ruby had bolted out of the dorm room down the hallway, leaving behind only a trail of rose petals. 

Ruby ran, and ran, and ran, until she found herself pressed against the railing of the dormitory’s balcony. Tears streamed down her face, refusing to stop no matter how hard she tried to choke them down. She hated thinking about him, more than anything in the world. She was sick of seeing him in the mirror every day, of feeling his presence every time she had to shave her legs or when she got dressed in the morning. Ruby had tried so hard to bury his existence away, forget about him entirely, but now Blake and Weiss had seen him too. Soon, they’d know who he was, and what that made her. The idea made her feel sick to her stomach, she wanted to curl up into a ball tight enough that she’d never be seen again. Weiss and Blake would see her for what she really was now, a fake, an imposter, someone who pretended to be something she never could be. She would never really be a girl, would she?

The name “Ruby” felt like a misnomer now, like it had just been a mask she was wearing this whole time, but she couldn’t bear even thinking about his name again. Maybe this was all inevitable, maybe sooner or later, this facade would’ve come crashing down eventually. Why couldn’t it have happened later, though? Why, in her first year at Beacon, of all times, did her teammates have to find out what she really was? Ruby felt like she was going to run out of tears, choking on her own anger and sadness.  She’d have to face them eventually, she knew that, but she couldn’t, not now. She wasn’t ready, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready. Her brain felt like a carousel going out of control. It was all dizzy, all spinning, all too fast, she couldn’t take it, it hurt too much, it was— The door behind her opened.

Ruby spun around to face it, wiping away her tears. “Look, I can explai—,” she started, before she saw it wasn’t Weiss, it wasn’t Blake, it wasn’t even Yang. It was Nora. “Oh, h-hi, Nora.”

“Hey, Ruby,” she frowned, “You look rough! Did something happen?”

Ruby sighed, relieved she didn’t need to talk to the others, at least not yet. “Yeah, it did, but it's not really a big deal.”

Nora came closer, leaning onto the rails next to Ruby, “Big deal or not, it’s still bothering you. I know we’re not teammates, but you know you can always talk to me, y’know.”

“Thanks, but, I don’t really think I wanna talk about it. Thanks, Nora.”

“Well I’m not just gonna let you mope here, either! I know, maybe you just need one big hug to get it all out!”
Ruby backed away a bit, “No, no thank you, I think you might actually crush me to death.”

“Well it’s either talking, or hugging, so you either talk now or I’m gonna squeeze the words out of you!”

Ruby couldn’t help but laugh, at least a little, “Do you ever feel like… like you’re lying? Like you’re pretending to be something you’re not, and deceiving your friends, your teammates, even yourself? Like you’ve constructed this big facade around you, just to hide yourself from some ugly truth you hate about yourself?” Ruby sighed. “Does that make any sense at all?”

“Yep!”

Ruby did a double take. Nora had always seemed so chipper and self-assured to her. “You… do?”

In an instant, Nora’s demeanor completely shifted, taking on an anxious, panicked tone, speaking rapidly. “Yeah, sometimes I feel like I’m living a in a huge facade and that everyone around me knows it, and one day the other shoe’s gonna drop and everyone’s gonna turn against me because they’ll know what I really am, and soon even Ren’ll leave me because he wouldn’t want to be associated with a freak like me and I have no family, so I’ll have nobody to go to and then my life’ll basically be over and—” she took a deep breath, and suddenly she was back to her normal, peppy self, quickly laughing off what she had just said. “Anyways, where was I? Right, you’re not alone, and I’ll be here for you if you need it.”

Ruby smiled a bit. “Thanks, Nora.”

“Well duh, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t wanna be there to help you out?”

“Yeah, you’re right, being there for one another is what friends are for.”

“When I feel like everything is crumbling like that, I normally go to Ren for help, he always knows what to say. But it’s not like he’s always around, so when that’s not an option, I like to do something fun to get my mind off it and repeat to myself that I’m not lying. After all, I’m not just gonna turn back into a boy just because my thoughts went all weird.”

Wait, what was that last part?

Nora stared at Ruby blankly, until a spark of realization seemed to hit her with impressive force. “Whoa, wait, oops, that wasn’t supposed to come out!” Her cheeks reddened with embarrassment, the first time Ruby had seen Nora anything like this. “You’d better plan on keeping that secret to your grave, Missy, I know where you live!”

Ruby nodded, giving a thumbs up, “Of course, your secret’s safe with me, that’s also what friends are for.” Her heart told her to spill the beans now, tell Nora she was the same, but though she tried, the words just wouldn’t come.

Nora brought Ruby in for a sudden, crushing embrace, “Awwh, you little softie! I shoulda known I could trust you.”

Her breathing constricted, Ruby squirmed for an escape. “That’s right! Dependable is my middle name! Now please stop squeezing me before my ribcage turns to dust!”

Nora promptly released her victim, “Whoops! Got too excited, sorry.”

Ruby laughed, “It’s no problem.” There was a pause for a moment then, a silent moment as Ruby looked at Nora. This was it, the perfect time to come out and say it, she was once a boy too… but she couldn’t. The words just wouldn’t come. “Well, I’m feeling a lot better, I should probably head to bed, see you tomorrow!” Ruby headed for the door. 

Nora waved, beaming brightly, “See ya!”

Wait a minute. Ruby hesitated at the door, turning back, “Hey wait, why did you even come out here anyways?”

Nora bore a mischievous look as she revealed a bottle of maple syrup, “I was gonna chug this and didn’t want Ren to yell at me, but then I saw you looking upset and of course I had to check on you.”

Ruby laughed at the absurdity of it. Though, what wasn’t ridiculous about Nora, anyways? “Yeah that sounds about right. Don’t stay up too late, you’ll wake up cranky!”

Ruby headed back towards Team RWBY’s dorm, still smiling. Nora’s companionship made her feel warm, she could hardly remember what was upsetting her in the first place. As she reached for the doorknob, though, that feeling of dread hit her again. No doubt, Weiss was waiting behind that door, with a million accusatory questions lined up. That feeling of spinning and disorientation started to swell back up, Ruby felt her chest tighten, it all started to feel crumbly again… but Ruby knew she could do this. She was not lying, she was a girl, she always would be, none of it was untrue. Having given herself the pep talk she needed, she opened the door with a creek, peering inside. Immediately, the door was thrown open and she felt herself in another tight embrace, though one she was much more accustomed to.

“I’m sorry, Sis” Yang whispered, “I didn’t mean to show them that picture.”

Ruby returned the hug, “I know you didn’t, I’m not mad at you. What happened while I was gone? Is everything okay?”

Weiss peeped up from her bed, “We agreed to… discuss it in the morning, with cooler heads.”

Yang sighed, “You don’t have to tell them if you don’t want to, sis.”

Ruby shook her head, glancing between Weiss and Blake, the latter of whom was very obviously asleep. “Actually, I think… I’m ready.

Yang took a step back, “Really?”

“Yea—” Ruby cut herself off with a yawn, “In the morning, I think I’m too sleepy to be pouring my heart out.”

Yang nodded, “If that’s what you want, you’ve got it,” she sighed again “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to…”

Ruby hugged her sister once more, “I know I don’t, I want to.”

Chapter Text

  Ruby fidgeted in place, gripped with anxiety and anticipation, desperately fighting to build the courage she needed to speak. Her chest felt tight, and the ground below her felt as though it were a pottery wheel, as it always did at times like this. Still she refused to let herself buckle, she wouldn’t let herself run away twice. Weiss and Blake stood before Ruby, looking at her expectantly. Weiss seemed somewhat impatient, while Blake remained stiff, glancing around the room, clearly expecting some sort of fight to break out.  Beside her was Yang, standing imposingly tall with her arms folded, as if she were standing guard. Ruby took a deep breath. It was time, there was no backing out now. Gathering the last ounce of courage she could possibly muster, Ruby let her breath go, and she spoke.

“S-so, I called everyone here today because you wanted to know who was in that photograph.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow, but didn’t speak. Yang’s posture tensed up in response, anticipating some snide comment that, fortunately, never came.

“Well,” Ruby continued, “in order to tell you that… I need to tell you something about me.” She winced, not fully willing to recall such memories. “When I was little, I didn’t always look like… this. I wasn’t always called ‘Ruby.’”

Weiss chimed in, “I don’t see wha—”

Blake interrupted her, “Let her finish.”

“I used to look a lot different, and sound different, I had a different name.” Even now, she refused to say his name, refused to even think it. “I thought of myself that way for a long time, but it always felt… wrong, I guess. I-I didn’t like how I dressed, I didn’t like looking in the mirror, I always hid from family photos, I just felt like I was wrong…” Ruby gulped, shivering.

Yang spoke up, reflexively protective as always, “Do you need a minute?”

“N-no, I’m fine…” Ruby took another deep breath, trying, unsuccessfully, to maintain eye contact with her teammates. “I felt bad, weird, kinda gross, but that was the only way I had ever felt, so I just thought it was normal. Until… when I was eleven, Yang dared me to wear a skirt because I lost a bet. It was supposed to be a joke, but… when I put it on I felt… happy. Really happy. I didn’t wanna take it off ever, for the first time I just felt like… like me…” Ruby blinked her tears away. She could cry later. “So I started to dress like that all the time. Yang and Uncle Qrow didn’t mind… Dad said it confused him but that it was okay, he just wanted me happy. Until one day when… when…” Nope, crying couldn’t wait, the tears needed to come, now.

Ruby felt Yang’s arm wrap around her as she elaborated in her stead. “One day, we were out shopping, and an old lady said Ruby was a pretty girl.”

Ruby cut back in, this was her story to tell after all, even if she’d have to tell it through tears, “It was the happiest I’d ever been. I’d been called pretty before, a couple times, and that always felt great but… a pretty girl, it felt perfect. It wasn’t long after that, I decided that… I wanted to be that, for real. It… it took a long time, a lot of medicine and paperwork and…” she choked on a sob, “B-but I became… I became pretty, like I wanted to be, I changed my name to Ruby, and… I finally was able to look in the mirror, and have my photo taken, and put on my clothes without feeling like garbage.” Ruby sniffled. “That boy in the photo… was me, from before that… And that’s why we both tried to hide it from you. I didn’t want you to see me as… him… I wanted you to see me as Ruby, I want everyone to just see me as Ruby…” She buried her face in her hands, finally submitting to her sobs.

Ruby felt a pair of arms hug her close, the familiar embrace of her sister, soon followed by the ever-cautious Blake, and eventually even Weiss’s stiff gestures of affection joined the huddle. There, they stood in silence for a moment, letting Ruby cry her feelings out, only splitting when the sobbing regressed to only the occasional sniffle. She looked back up at her teammates, whose demeanors had sharply changed. Yang had remained close, though her combative stance had given way to one of affection and listening. All traces of suspicion had thawed from Weiss, an uncommon softness had found its way to her eyes. Blake’s golden eyes radiated with a kind warmth, a rare break from the guarded, perceptive gaze that was typical of her. 

“Guess I wasn’t the only one with something to hide, huh?” Blake laughed a little. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a person’s actions that make them who they are. Human, Faunus, man, woman, how you’re born isn’t what makes you, and you’ll always be Ruby to me, no matter who or what you used to be.”

Ruby managed a smile, “Thanks, Blake.” She glanced over to Weiss, who failed to meet her gaze, looking regretful.

After a moment of silence, Weiss managed to speak. “Ruby, I’m… sorry. I didn’t realize I was touching on something so personal, I…” She sighed, “Blake’s right, you’ll always be Ruby to all of us, myself included.”

Ruby gave Weiss her own personal hug of encouragement, “It’s okay, Weiss. You said it yourself, we agreed to no secrets. I’m… honestly glad I could tell you two. This went… a lot better than I ever would have expected.”

Nora groaned, slowly becoming aware of Ren standing over her, shaking her awake. Groggy, she sat up in her bed, looking around and feeling a little, well, more than a little, disoriented. “H-huh? What’s going on, Ren?”

“Finally awake, I see.” Ren’s voice shone through her half-asleep daze

“Ugh, just five more minutes, please.” She flopped back into bed, ready to embrace sleep once more.

“Not so fast.” Ren quickly shook her sharply back into reality “I’ve let you sleep in enough already. You stayed up late last night, didn’t you?”

The events of last night slowly crept back into Nora’s mind, and she laughed. “What? Psh noooo. Only a little late…”

“Really? Then what is this empty bottle doing by your bed here?” He picked up a completely empty plastic bottle in the shape of a maple leaf, one that had previously held the sugary ambrosia known as maple syrup just the night before.
“Okay, so I had a little bit, but it’s no big deal.”

“Nora, we’ve talked about this.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Nora shrugged it off. “It's not a big deal. Besides, that was hardly the craziest thing I did last night anyways.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “What else did you do?”

“Well, I talked to Ruby, had a heart-to-heart, came out to her on accident, downed a bottle of syrup in three seconds flat, got a massive sugar rush, ran out into the woods, killed a beowolf with my bare hands, celebrated, then came back here and crashed.”

Ren blinked, “Wait, you what ?”

“Killed a beowolf with my bare hands?”

“No, before that. You ‘came out’ to Ruby? Does that mean what I think it means?”

“Oooooh.” Nora nodded. “Yep! But don’t worry, she promised she’d tell no one.”

“And you trust her?”

“Of course I trust her, she’s Ruby, she wouldn’t backstab a fly.”

Ren sighed, clearly not entirely in agreement. “Well, if you trust her, I will too. I just hope that trust isn’t misplaced.

Nora sat up in her bed and put a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “I promise, I know I can rely on her.” She flashed a smile.

Ren managed to smile back, with another sigh. “If you say so.” After a moment, he quickly glanced at the wall, towards the dorm room’s clock. “Now, come on and get dressed, it’s almost time for class.”

Hearing this, Nora quite literally jumped out of bed. “Oh, crap! Gimme a second.” In an instant, she had bolted to the bathroom to get changed into her uniform, before zipping back in mere moments. “Wait a minute, where are Jaune and Pyrrha anyways?”

“In class. I… might have lied when I said it was ‘almost time’”

“What?!” Nora’s jaw dropped to the floor.

“You’re a heavy sleeper, I tried to wake you up sooner. This is what happens when you stay up like that.”

“Well, we can’t just keep being late, can we? Let’s go!” With that, Nora grabbed Ren’s arm, and charged out towards the lecture hall. 

School was always boring, without a doubt, but it was somehow even harder to focus today. Professor, uh, Doctor Oobleck was rambling at high speeds about something or other, but for all her efforts, she couldn’t bring herself to tune in to anything he was saying. Her mind didn’t want to focus on history, all it seemed to care for was her coming out. It kept coming back to that hug, to Weiss’s apology, to the unconditional support her and Blake had promised her. It made her heart feel warm and fuzzy and happy, she just wanted to spend time with them outside of a dull classroom. Nora, she wanted to tell Nora, too. Could they be trans buddies or something? She didn’t know, she just wanted to have someone to talk to about it finally. Ruby was on the precipice of finally being able to have a friend who got it, the idea alone was able to get her excited. Sitting in this seat, half-listening to a lecture only made her feel more and more impatient. Waiting this long to have a chat with her teammates suddenly felt like some form of torture.

The school day somehow managed to be a blur and a slog at the same time. Nothing quite came into focus, but she remained keenly aware of every minute that passed, each one feeling like an eternity. Mercifully, after waiting what must have been centuries compressed into minutes, the lunch bell rang, and Ruby sped off to the cafeteria, eager to talk to her teammates. Hurriedly, she grabbed a tray of food, and took her seat at the table her team always sat at. Of course, it was yet more waiting, because her team didn’t seem to be in nearly the hurry she was. Blake was the first to arrive, as usual, thanks to her appetite, and she sat opposite of Ruby.

“Well you seem excited about something.” Blake commented on the bouncing girl opposite her, sharing a gentle smirk. 

“Duh, of course I’m excited. My teammates turned out to be super cool and accepting of me and my…” She realized she was shouting and lowered her volume accordingly. “My past, and stuff.”

Blake laughed, just a little, “Glad I could be that for you. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

Ruby shook her head “Not really, I just… I guess I wanted to spend more time with you guys.”

“We already hang out all the time, Ruby.” Her words were as blunt as ever, but her tone was playful. 

“Well, yeah but… Oh you know what I mean.”

“I do, don’t worry. You sure you don’t have anything on your mind, though? You looked super spaced out during Prof— Doctor Oobleck’s class, and Professor Porter’s class too, now that I think about it.”

Ruby buried her face in her hands. “Ugh, yeah, I was super zoned out, wasn’t I? There’s really nothing else I want to talk about, I’ve just been finding it hard to focus.”

Blake nodded, “I don’t blame you. I couldn’t focus on anything for a couple days after showing you guys that I…” she lowered her voice into a whisper, “am a faunus,” her voice returned to normal volume, “for the first time. I can give you my notes to copy off after school.”

“You will?” Ruby beamed “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” 

“No, problem.”

“What's up?!” shouted Yang, crashing down onto the seat next to Ruby.

“Classy.” Blake commented before a sip of water.

“Oh, hey sis, not much, just waiting for the school day to be over.” Ruby replied.

“Yeah, not much here, either.”

“Neither of you are worried about the assignment Professor Oobl—”

“Doctor.” Ruby and Blake corrected in unison.

“Right, whatever,” Yang rolled her eyes, “Neither of you are worried about that?”

Oops. “Wait, what assignment?” Ruby asked, apparently having completely missed the homework announcement. 

“There’s some paired field assignment Oz’s gonna be splitting us up for in a couple days,” Blake noted. “Probably won’t let us choose partners, so I haven’t been thinking about it too much.”

“Exactly. Aren’t you worried you’ll get some crappy partner like, I dunno, Jaune or something?” 

“If I get a bad partner, I’ll just have to work twice as hard. If we want to be huntresses, we have to be prepared for that kind of thing.”

Ruby groaned, “A group project?! Is there anything else I missed?!”

“Book report due Thursday next week for Porter’s class” Blake added dryly.

Ruby cried out in agony. 

“What’re you screaming about?” Weiss finally joined in, taking a seat next to Blake.

“There’s a book report due next Thursday and I didn’t even hear about it.”

Weiss shrugged, “Fair enough.”

Yang laughed, “It’s about a book on weapons, you’ll do fine, ace it probably.”

With that, Ruby’s mood reversed in an instant, suddenly cheery as can be. “A book about weapons?! Nevermind, this is the best day of my life!”

“And then I took its arm in both hands and yanked it right out of its socket and tugged till I heard a cracking noise and—”

“Nora, I think we get the picture.” Pyrrha chuckled in her ‘please calm down’ voice.

“I didn’t even know a Grimm could feel anything, let alone fear.” Jaune commented.

“They sure can when I’m done with them!” Nora laughed triumphantly.

“They’re not the only ones…” he alluded.

There was a lull in the conversation for a while. The rest of Team JNPR didn’t seem as thrilled for Nora’s tales of her sugar-high exploits as she was, so she decided to focus on her food until Pyrrha spoke again. 

“Soooo… What do you all think about that paired assignment, any partners you guys have in mind?” Jaune asked.

“Oh, oh! I know who I want to partner with!” Nora shouted.

“As always, I’d be happy working with you, Nora.” Ren replied, anticipating Nora’s response.

“Ozpin doesn’t normally let us pick for this kind of thing, but I suppose if I could pick, I have someone on my mind.” Pyrrha’s cheeks reddened, and her gaze was fixated on… someone in the distance behind Jaune, probably.

“Awwh shucks, Ren. What about you, Jaune? Still hoping for some alone time with you-know-who?” Nora teased.

“Who, Weiss? No, my ideal partner would be… okay, yeah, it’s Weiss.” 

Pyrrha’s smile faded suddenly, “Well, I suppose it’s not worth worrying about, as I said, Ozpin never lets us choose partners for these projects.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Jaune agreed.

And so, lunchtime continued, with the same laughs and snacks as always, until eventually the bell rang again and it was time to go back to classes. It was as boring as ever, save for Professor Goodwitch’s class where Pyrrha, as usual, kicked some major butt. Nora found herself thinking about Ruby more and more as she performed her usual routine of zoning out, and what felt like an ‘itch’ began to form in her mind. Had Ruby spilled the beans to her team? She didn’t know why she felt that way, but she did anyway. Ruby was trustworthy, she knew that, but there was no way she could know how Nora felt. Maybe it didn’t feel like a big deal to her? Nora wanted to trust Ruby, but she just needed to know. The thought gnawed at her mind, and she found herself unable to completely ignore it. She’d have to ask after class. 

It wasn’t too long until that final bell rang, and Nora sped over to Ruby, just to make sure. It wasn’t too hard to find her, given she always wore that adorable red cloak everywhere.

“Heyyy, Ruby, can I borrow you for a second? I need to talk to you about something very very important.”

Ruby glanced around at her teammates, who all nodded in sequence, “Sure, what do you need?”

Nora lowered her voice “It’s, uh, personal.”

Ruby blinked, suddenly realizing what she meant. “Oh, of course!” Ruby turned to her team, “Meet up at the library, okay? I’ll catch up with you.”

“Sure thing, Rubes!” her teammate, Yang, replied. 

The pair retreated to an isolated part of the campus, and Nora scanned their surroundings for any potential eavesdroppers before speaking. “You didn’t tell anyone, right?”

“What? Of course not, you told me not to. What kind of friend would I be if I broke a promise?!”

Nora sighed, “You’re right, I just thought maybe you didn’t think it was a big deal because you don’t really know what it’s like, so maybe you let it slip and even though I know I can trust you but I got in my own head and started worrying that you told your team or somebody and—”

Ruby cut her off with a hug, “I understand, it’s okay, sharing secrets isn’t easy. In fact, earlier today, I…” her voice trailed off, leaving a long pause. 

“You… what?” Nora inquired.

“I… nothing, it’s not very important.”

“If you say so, but you know you can tell me anything.”

“I know, but… it’s weird. Maybe another time.” Ruby was blushing, averting eye contact. Nora opted not to mention it, nor the fact that she looked… kinda cute like that.

“Alriiiiight, if you change your mind though I am all ears.”

“Thanks, Nora.” Ruby smiled, her cheeks still a rosy pink tint. “Did you have anything else you wanted to talk about?”

Nora shook her head, “Nope!”

“I should get back to my team then, see ya, Nora!” Ruby turned to the library, waving over her shoulder as she left.

“Bye-bye!!” Nora shouted, returning the wave. 

Watching Ruby run off, Nora smiled. She was glad to have a friend like her, someone she could trust. Pyrrha and Jaune were fun and nice, but they were never exactly thick as thieves with them, even as teammates. The only other person Nora had ever felt that kind of trust for was Ren, and they’d known each other nearly their entire lives. Putting that kind of faith in someone was nerve-wracking, and even now, just moments after being reassured, she couldn’t help but worry it was misplaced. In the end, though, that was just paranoia speaking, Nora knew that much, and Ruby had never done anything to hurt her in the past, why would she start now? No, if anything, Ruby had proven to be relentlessly genuine and helpful at every turn so far. Nora hoped she’d be assigned as Ruby’s partner for that project, that’d be fun.

Chapter Text

The auditorium was filled with the indistinct noise of chatter as students continued to pour in through the doors, forming a sea of different conversations which melded together into one big ruckus. Ruby waded through the ocean of students, eager to get a spot close to the stage, her team tagging close behind. After a lot of ‘pardon me’s and more than a little shoving, Team RWBY had managed to snag a spot near the middle of the auditorium. Nearby stood Nora and the rest of JNPR and the two teams exchanged waves and hollers, well, one singular holler from Nora anyway. Ruby bounced in place, her mind flooded with possibilities. Maybe another mission like last month? Oh, or it could be a big training session! Team-based sparring? If Ozpin was announcing it, it had to be something cool. She could hardly wait.

Nora beamed brightly as she waved to Team RWBY, her heart jumping for joy to see Ruby again. Despite Nora’s own enthusiasm, Pyrrha remained stiff and guarded as she always tended to be when in crowds like this. Patting her on the shoulder, Nora shot her teammate a reassuring look, which seemed to calm her, at least a little bit. Looking back up to the stage, Nora caught sight of Headmaster Ozpin striding towards the microphone, flanked by Professor Goodwitch as always. Gradually, the rest of the students recognised his presence, and the cacophony progressively died down as he’d begun to speak.

“As always,” Ozpin announced, “I’ll try to keep this short. As you were informed Monday, there will be a paired field assignment this week. Exact details of this project will be clarified on a pair-by-pair basis, but you can expect your combat studies and training to be relevant, and for the duration of the project to be three to four days.” He paused, and for a moment, the crowd began to speak to one another, until he spoke again. “Typically, with these kinds of assignments, we would split teams into two pairs or assign teammates randomly, however, this time, we have opted to allow you, the students, to choose.”

Nora heard an audible gasp behind her as the crowd’s discussions grew louder. Turning to take a look, she saw Pyrrha smiling, looking at Jaune, who didn’t seem to take notice. The noise died down once more as Ozpin continued. 

“You and another student will be permitted to mutually select one another as partners. However, your selected partner cannot be a member of the same team as you.” Pyrrha’s face dropped, seeming disappointed. “As hunters, you will not always be able to rely on the strength of your team to help you, but that does not mean you must go alone, either. It can be just as important to forge alliances and friendships with hunters outside of your team as it can be with those inside of your team, and this assignment hopes to test your ability to work alongside someone you might not be as familiar with. I trust you will all make good, wise decisions, and will not make us regret giving you all this privilege. Partner selection will take place in the courtyard and will be open shortly following this assembly. Take this time to assess who you would most like to work with. That is all.”

As the doors to the auditorium were opened, and the students began to pour out into the courtyard, Nora couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Her sight remained locked on that red cloak as everyone was slowly funneled out. She wanted to keep an eye on her future, well, hopefully future, teammate. Once in the courtyard, Nora quickly made her way over to Team RWBY, her own teammates trailing shortly behind. 

“Ruby!!!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “I want to be your partner!”

Ruby turned to face Nora, her face bright red for some reason, “You want to be—” something seemed to click “o-oh for the assignment.”

“Of course for the assignment, silly, what else?” No, really, what else?

Ruby shook her head, the blush quickly fading away, “Nothing, I thought you meant uh…” her voice trailed off for a moment, “nothing, nothing. Yeah, I think that’d be fun!”

Yang, stood next to Ruby, chuckled and patted her on the back. “Well, that was fast.” Turning to Nora, she spoke again, “Just make sure to take good care of my little sister, okay?”

“Aye, aye, captain!” Nora performed an exaggerated Mistrali salute to which Yang laughed and responded in kind.

“Well, if we’re partnering up already,” Weiss spoke up, approaching Pyrrha, “I’d like to ask if you’d be my partner, Pyrrha. After all, with you and I, it would be an easy A.”

Pyrrha glanced over to Jaune, frowning, “I think someone else here wanted to ask you.”

Clearly not prepared to be thrust into the spotlight like that, Jaune puffed up his chest and strutted over to Weiss, “You know, I’ve been training extra hard latel—”

“No.”

“Oh come on! You didn’t even let me finish!”

“Come on, Weiss, he’s been at this for half a year now, you can give him one chance.” Yang interjected.

“Aren’t you the one who said he’d be a ‘crappy’ partner yesterday?” Weiss snapped back.”

“I… Well, this is different, okay?”

Thus began a futile circle of argument: Weiss refusing to associate with Jaune in any way while Pyrrha and Yang attempted, fruitlessly, to convince her to give him a chance. After a couple minutes of this, Nora and Ruby traded knowing looks and slowly retreated from the group, soon joined by Blake and Ren. 

“Do you think they’ll notice we’re gone?” Ren pondered aloud.

“Those two are stubborn enough they’ll keep going even if they do notice.” Blake replied bluntly.

 Looking at Ren and Blake standing side by side, Nora gasped as she was struck with sudden inspiration. “Hey, you’re both ninjas! You should be partners too!”

Blake looked over at Ren, seeming to size him up, “Sure, sounds good to me.” she shrugged, before offering a handshake.

Ren accepted, “Looking forward to it.” Nora grinned, proud of her own genius.

“Woohoo, that’s half of us partnered up now!” Ruby joined.

“What do you think this assignment is anyway?” Nora wondered.

“Ozpin said each group would have it explained to them individually,” Ren analyzed, “it probably won’t be the same for everyone.”

Weiss shouted in the distance, apparently the argument had boiled over, “If he’s been training so hard, why don’t you choose him as your partner?!”

“Maybe I will!” Yang retorted at an even louder volume.

A short while later, Yang found her way over to the missing members of the group, trailed by Pyrrha and Weiss, holding her shoulder around a very bewildered Jaune.

“Sup, guys, looks like we got things all worked out. Isn’t that right, partner ?”

Jaune visibly gulped, “Haha, yep, everything’s worked out.”

“I guess that makes us partners, too, Pyrrha.” Weiss commented with a smug air about her.

“I uhh,” Pyrrha backed away, “don’t remember agreeing to that.”

“What?! Well… who else, then?” Weiss was taken aback by Pyrrha’s rejection.

“I bet Sun and Neptune are still looking for partners,” Blake noted.

“Oh, and Penny, too!” Ruby added. 

Pyrrha paused, “I’m… not sure I’m familiar.”

“Awh,” Nora interjected, disappointed, “you two would make great teammates. You both wear ponytails, that’s gotta count for something.”

“I… guess that makes some kind of sense,” Pyrrha laughed. “Weiss, how about this, I’ll agree to be your partner, if you promise to give Jaune a chance next time. Deal?”

“I— but—...” Weiss sighed, “okay, it’s a deal.”

“Wait, really?! Oh my gosh thank you! I promise I won’t disappoint you!” Jaune cheered.

Immediately, Yang went to reel him in, “Whoa there, she said ‘next time’ remember? You’re still with me for this one.” 

“Well, guess we got that settled pretty fast, huh?” Ruby commented, smiling. 

“Guess we did,” Yang replied, “We should probably go get signed up then, huh?”

Shortly after signing up, teams RWBY and JNPR had parted ways to begin packing and preparing for their next day. Ruby was excited to work with Nora in the morning, wanting to treat it more like a camping trip than anything. She’d packed some clothes, a set of pajamas and some non-perishable food. Her sleeping bag was accounted for and Nora said she’d provide the tent… oh, she’d need to pack her hormone medication as well, very important. Zwei would probably be helpful for this kind of thing, and she should probably pack some doggie food for him too. Hmm, she was forgetting something. Ruby squinted, ran over her mental list again. Clothes: check, food: check, sleeping bag: check, tent: Nora’s on it, doggie food: check, hormones: check… no there was something else she needed. What was it, what was it?

“So what did you guys get for your group projects anyways?” Yang asked, derailing Ruby’s train of thought. “Jaune and I are supposed to help with the damages in the southeast or something lame like that. I was hoping to get to fight something. Maybe there’ll be some stragglers we’ll get to take out.”

“We’re supposed to track down a missing shipment of dust meant for Beacon. Apparently all signs point towards a Grimm attack or an accident, not foul play.” Blake replied.

“They wanted Pyrrha and I to work on developing a team attack together,” Weiss added, “apparently they’ll have us demonstrate it on an Ursa in three days and grade it based on that.”

“Oh!” Ruby exclaimed, struck with inspiration, “You could call it something cool like North Pole!”

“That’s… not bad, actually. What’d you and Nora get, anyways?”

“Nothing super exciting, we’re supposed to camp out in Emerald Forest and write a report about the Grimm population there.”

“Isn’t that the place where we got initiated?” Yang queried “Why do they want the Grimm cleared out from there? I thought the whole point was that it was dangerous.”

“Yeah, they just want a population report so they know it’s not too dangerous for next year’s first years. We were told to not kill any Grimm except to defend ourselves.”

“I guess that explains the camping gear,” Yang shrugged. 

The conversation fizzled out, and Ruby turned her attention back to her packing. Everything… looked to be in order as far as she could tell. She zipped up the backpack and placed it next to the door to the hallway. It felt a little light without more sleeping gear, but she… probably packed enough food. Better to be safe than sorry though, and Ruby quickly jammed in another handful of granola bars. That should be it, everything else is accounted for. Satisfied with her work, she decided it’d be a good idea to get some rest and wake up early. Ruby couldn’t wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the perfect time come out to Nora and they could be trans buddies. The idea sounded awesome, and she promised herself she would.

“And that’s that!” Nora shouted with triumph as she managed to clip the belt around her travel pack. Setting the bag down, Nora giggled, it looked kinda like a squirrel with its cheeks stuffed, albeit with canned food and an oversized tent instead of nuts. 

“Are you sure that’s safe?” Pyrrha’s voice carried an air of anxiety to it.

“Probably. It didn’t blow up the last time.”

“Are you sure you need all that?” Jaune asked, sounding similarly nervous. 

“Yep!” Nora replied, her voice filled with pride. “Everything’s accounted for!”

Ren nodded, “She’ll be fine.”

“See? If the responsible one says it’s good, it’s good!”

Pyrrha sighed, “As long as you’re sure you know what you’re doing.”

“I always know what I’m doing… most of the time.”

“With that settled,” Ren said, “we should all get some rest. And Nora, no sneaking out for syrup tonight.”

“Fiiiiine, you’re right, I don’t wanna let Ruby down by sleeping in again.”

Nora flopped into her bed, with a smile spread across her face. She was looking forward to spending time with Ruby, even if it was for some lame ‘population report’ thingy. She’d been thinking about Ruby a lot lately, huh? Well, she’d only recently come out to her. It’s only natural she’d be drawn to someone she trusted like that, right? Maybe, but there was definitely something else about Ruby lately, something that made Nora happy just for being near her. It was kinda like how Ren sometimes made her feel. Maybe that’s just how it feels to be around someone you trust. Yeah, that was it. Probably.

Chapter Text

Gentle winds rustled the treetops and Ruby’s hair alike as she looked out across Emerald Forest. The last time she’d seen this view, it was her initiation. It was just some forest then, but it felt nostalgic now. Ruby fondly remembered getting paired with Weiss here, even if she was a bit of a jerk at the time. She glanced over to Nora, perched next to her in the canopy, holding a notepad and pen, she seemed to be enjoying the view as well. Looking down, Ruby saw Zwei laid down near the base of the trunk, he was just as adorable as always. The forest had some tranquil quality about it. Even knowing this forest was filled with Grimm, the serene atmosphere was undeniable. They weren’t here to sightsee, though, it was time to get down to business.

“You all set, Nora?”

“You betcha!” Nora gave her a big thumbs up.

Ruby nodded, and began to scan her surroundings with the aid of a pair of binoculars. She’d look for any signs of Grimm, and Nora would jot down what she reported. In the distance, Ruby caught sight of an alpha beowolf, flanked by a small pack of its lessers. They were too far away to pose any threat, thankfully, but it’d be good to keep an eye on them. In another direction, there was an Ursa, thankfully also quite a ways away. This continued for a while, a Grimm here or there, some nearer, some farther, but none quite close enough to be of much threat. They’d decided to rely on Zwei as an alarm of sorts in case anything got too close so they could focus on scanning the forest instead. It quickly dissolved into a routine of sorts, but it wasn’t long until that routine was broken by the sound of something… flapping behind Ruby.

Before she could process what that sound could be, Nora suddenly pulled her close. “Okay, Ruby, I need you to just take a deep breath and stay calm.” Her voice carried an unfamiliar calm sternness to it.

Ruby did as she was told, she closed her eyes and took a deep, long breath. Stay calm, just stay calm. The flapping sound got closer and closer, until it was directly overhead. Whatever it was, it was big. Nora’s grip on her grew only tighter as the sound grew louder, only loosening when it started to fade again. The air was filled with a piercing screech, the unmistakable cry of a Nevermore.  Just stay calm, it won’t see you. Ruby took another deep, steady breath, this is the kind of thing she had been training for. Stay calm. That horrible flapping sound slowly faded until it was replaced by the breeze again. Ruby opened her eyes.

“Is it gone?” Ruby asked.

“Looks like it.” Nora confirmed, still in that unusual tone.

Nora didn’t let go for a moment, and now that the danger was gone, it started to sink in. Nora’s embrace was warm, it was comfortable, it was… nice. She suddenly wanted Nora to hold her like this for longer. Was she getting a fever all the sudden? Why did her cheeks feel so warm? Why was her heart racing so much?

Suddenly, Nora let her go, “Whoops!” Her voice was back to normal. “I, uh… Welp! Back to work!.”

Ruby’s face was burning. “Y-yeah, you’re right.”

She tried to go back to scanning the forest, but her mind continued to wander. That feeling of Nora holding her and keeping her safe had suddenly become all she could think about. Focus, Ruby, Focus. In the distance there were… trees, uh, clouds, no sign of Grimm that way. Okay, down to the south, there was a cave, should probably check that for Deathstalkers or Ursas. There was also uhm, uh… Ruby glanced over to Nora, only for her cheeks to suddenly burn up again. She had to look away. 

“You okay over there?” Nora asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine… I think I just need a break.” 

“Alright! Break Time it is!”

The pair leapt off the treetop, a well-timed slash from Crescent Rose catching Ruby’s fall. Next to her, Nora landed on her feet, apparently completely unphased by the height of the jump. Nora really was always so cool, huh?

“I’ll go make us some lunch!” Nora offered, putting on a grin.

“That sounds good. I’ll feed Zwei, it’s about his lunchtime, too.”

Nora wandered back to the camp, the tent was still only halfway pitched, but… nah she could fix it later, it was lunchtime. She dug through her bag, looking for something Ruby might like. Pancake mix, candy bars, pancake mix, some packages of ramen, maple syrup, pancake mix… After a short while, Ruby caught up with her. 

“Hey Nora, have you, uh, decided on anything?”

Nora turned to look at Ruby, she had that cute blushy look again, “Uhhh, I might have overdone it on the pancakes. Oh! I packed some of Ren’s favorite ramen! He’s crazy about the stuff, you wanna try?”

Ruby smiled, “Oh, oh, I love ramen! I’ll try some!”

“Woohoo! My genius strikes again!”

Ruby giggled at that, and Nora got to setting up a pot over the campfire to boil and meanwhile, Zwei and Ruby played catch. Nora couldn’t decide who was cuter. Sure, Zwei had his little poochie charms, but Ruby had been in a league of her own lately. She wasn’t just puppy cute, she wasn’t even kitten cute, Ruby was something even more. Oh. Oh, she was Ren cute. As if she knew Nora was thinking about her, Ruby promptly ran over to Nora, brandishing a tennis ball, a big grin on her face.

“Here, you wanna give it a try?”

Nora took the ball in her hand, “Try playing catch with your little puppy dog? Hell yeah!” She held the ball in front of Zwei’s nose. “You want the ball, little fluff-man? You want it? Go get it!” Nora hurled the ball into the forest. The ball quickly whizzed out of sight into the trees. Undaunted, Zwei immediately ran in pursuit of his toy.

Ruby looked shocked, “Nora, how hard did you throw that?”

“As hard as I could, why?”

“Nora!” Ruby sighed, “That was the only ball I packed!”

“Awwh come on, he’ll find it, he has the heart of a champion, like you!”

The water began to boil, and Nora got to making the ramen while Ruby ran off to go track down Zwei’s ball. It wasn’t long before everything was sorted, Zwei got his ball back, as Nora predicted, and the pair were eating freshly cooked… microwave ramen around the campfire. Ruby gave a glowing review to the food, much to Nora’s gratitude. They shared stories of their respective teams and had a good few laughs. Ruby always looked so proud of her teammates, she definitely made a good leader. Team RWBY had always looked so put-together to Nora, but as it turned out, they were a bunch of goofballs just like JNPR. Lunchtime couldn’t go on forever though, as much as Nora wanted it to, especially with Ruby around, and so it was time to get back to work

They decided to investigate that cave Ruby had spotted. Outside the entrance were warnings and depictions of what was definitely a Deathstalker. Ruby advised that they leave it alone but Nora just had to see if there was one in there. Venturing into the cave, Nora took it upon herself to make plenty of exaggerated ghost sounds. Sadly, as they reached the end of the cave, it was evident that there was nothing living in there. Why all the drawings of Deathstalkers, then? Probably just something to spook new students during their initiation. Eventually, the sun began to set, and they decided to settle in for the night. When they got back to the camp, though, the tent was still only half-done.

“Oops.” Nora laughed, “Looks like I forgot something. I’ll get right on that!”

“Oh, I’ll help!” Ruby offered.

“Naww, it’s fine, you’ve worked hard today, I’ve got this!”

“Hey, you have too,” Ruby insisted, “I want to help.”

“Awwh, alright, you win.”

The pair quickly got to work finishing the tent, Nora took the opportunity to hammer in the pegs using Magnhild, while Ruby did things far more by-the-books. Then again, a giant scythe isn’t gonna be much help in pitching a tent, anyways? Maybe they should make a tent that uses a scythe, that’d be cool. Ruby’s smart enough, she could probably invent something like that.

Ruby had insisted on taking the first watch of the night after her and Nora agreed to sleep in shifts. While Nora slumbered inside the tent, Zwei had found a ‘bed’ in curling up at Ruby’s feet as she sat on a rock. Looking around at the trees, illuminated by the warm campfire, the forest carried that very same serene quality it had emanated that morning. Maybe knowing Nora was nearby made her feel safer. But then, why didn’t she feel that way around her teammates? Speaking of Nora, she was much sounder of a sleeper than Ruby expected. For someone so animated all the time, she sure did sleep like a rock. All that bubbliness must tire her out. 

Ruby hadn’t come out to Nora that day. Tomorrow, she promised herself, she’d do it for real. She just hoped that the words would come to her this time, that she wouldn’t freeze up again before she could say it. Why was it so hard, anyway? Obviously Nora would be understanding, she was trans too, but somehow that didn’t make it any easier. There had to be something else there, something that was stopping her. Ruby buried her face in her hands. What was it? Why was it so hard to come out? That answer never came.

After a while, all that thinking started to exhaust Ruby. Her eyelids felt heavy, and her movements sluggish. Probably not the best state to be fending off any Grimm in. She made her way into the tent, where Nora still laid sound asleep. Getting down onto her knees, Ruby shook her companion awake. 

“Nora, hey, Nora.” she whispered.

Nora’s eyes opened up a little bit, “Oh, hey, is it my turn?”

Ruby nodded, “Yeah, I’m feeling sleepy.”

“You get some rest then, I’m on the case!”

Ruby laughed a little bit. Nora somehow always had a joke ready, huh? Relieved of her duty, Ruby crawled over to her sleeping bag, promptly curled up, and let sleep take her.

Wow, she even slept cutely, go figure. Nora decided to watch Ruby a little bit, appreciate the cuteness, before stepping out of the tent flap. Ruby’s little poochie was curled up at the base of a big rock, probably wouldn’t be a bad place to sit. Grabbing Magnhild, Nora took a seat at the rock and took out her scroll, intent on passing the time with some good old fashioned Mantelian dash cam videos. No signal, that made sense. Tucking her scroll away, Nora decided the next best thing would be to twirl her weapon like a baton. Clumsy, simple twirls quickly developed into even clumsier throws and catches, and the hammer fell to the floor more than a couple times, but it certainly helped with passing the time. 

It wasn’t long, though, before her mind drifted back to Ruby and to Ren. Ruby was Ren cute, it was the exact same feeling. She’d never felt that kind of thing for another girl before, but then again she hadn’t really felt it for any guys besides Ren. Maybe it was just trust. Was this what everyone went through when they trusted someone? Did everyone want to hug the people they trusted close and tight forever? Did everyone want to spend all day with the people they trusted, even if that meant just sitting together in some canopy in the middle of nowhere? Did everyone want to make a tower of pancakes for the people they trusted? Did everyone want to smooch the people they trusted all over their cute little faces? Nora’s cheeks started to feel warm just thinking about that last one. No, they probably didn’t. This was definitely something deeper than just trust. But what?

The pair had traded shifts back and forth until early dawn, when Ruby said she’d take the final watch while Nora slept. In truth, she’d just wanted the morning to herself for a moment. It’d been a couple days since she’d shaved, and as she had suspected, her chin was covered in coarse little hairs. Knowing they were there hurt enough, she couldn’t imagine how mortifying it would be for Nora to see the hideous beard she was growing. Quickly, Ruby hopped over to her pack to search for her razor. It… wasn’t in the front pocket, maybe one of the side ones? Not there, either. Maybe she’d hidden it under her clothes for some reason? Nope. Uh oh. Ruby began to panic, ever so slightly. Her razor wasn’t in there, was it? Frantically, she pulled everything, every last bit of clothing and food out of the backpack. There was no razor in there. That familiar, horrible spinning feeling hit Ruby with the force of a train as realization crept in.. She was growing a horrible manly beard and she had no razor to keep it in check. Oh gods, why?

Chapter Text

For whatever reason, Ruby had decided to wear her hood over her head that day. She’d said it was because the sun was hurting her eyes, but her tone made it clear that something else was on her mind. Nora decided not to push the subject out of respect for Ruby’s privacy, though it did hurt not getting to see her smile. The pair agreed to start the day off in the canopy again to do some more scouting. Nora was eager to be the scout this time and let Ruby take the notes, although part of her just wanted to mess around with the binoculars. With a running start, Nora fired Magnhild at her feet, propelling herself upwards. At the peak of her jump, she reached out and caught one of the higher branches on one of the trees before climbing up to the top. Ruby met her shortly, having similarly launched herself using her scythe. 

Nora turned to Ruby, flashing a smile, “You ready?”

Ruby responded with a half-smile of her own, “Yup.” 

Over to the west were a pack of beowolves, probably the same ones Ruby had mentioned yesterday. They were a lot closer than Ruby had said they were a day before, but still not close enough to be an immediate threat. It would probably not be a bad idea to continue keeping a close eye on them. The job quickly got boring, nothing was within attacking distance, but she and Ruby were told not to fight except in self defense so she couldn’t go looking for a fight herself. Still, she persisted, even if just for the sake of her and Ruby’s grades, as dull as scouting could be. Eventually, though, she did spot something cool. In the distance, there was a lone, familiar, circular stone structure. Nora immediately recognised it as the place where all those artifact thingies were back during their initiation.

“Oooh, I think there’s something we should check out to the north over there,” Nora commented, lowering the binoculars.

“Oh? What is it, Nora?”

“It’s a surprise! Come on, let’s go!” Nora hopped out of the canopy, eager to lead the way.

“Hey! Wait up!” Ruby called out from above her.

Ruby followed along a short distance behind Nora as she marched through the forest, Zwei happily trotting alongside her. Nora’s pace was quick, she carried such pep in her step she was practically skipping the whole way there. What kind of surprise did she have in mind, anyway? Did she set something up during one of her shifts last night? This deep into the woods? Only one way to find out, Ruby supposed; She was bored of writing notes anyways, so this was a welcome distraction. Without warning, a gust of wind blew the hood of Ruby’s cloak off her head, driving a panicked gasp from her as she moved to quickly yank it back on. She breathed a sigh of relief that Nora hadn’t turned to see her, she needed to keep this horrific beard hidden until she could get it tamed.

After what felt like way too much walking, the pair had eventually arrived at their destination. Situated in the middle of an isolated clearing was a familiar circular structure built of cracked gray stone. Flanked by a crumbling gray wall stood twenty pedestals arranged in a crescent shape. Immediately, Ruby was overcome with nostalgia.

“Surprise!” Nora shouted in a singsongy tune.

“Oh man, these are the ruins from our initiation!” Ruby squeaked, “that feels so long ago!”

Nora ran ahead into the ruins, inspecting the pedestals, now devoid of any prizes. “What do you think those ancient guys wanted to do with those giant chess pieces anyway? Oh! Do you think they had a giant chess board somewhere around here?”

Ruby giggled, “I’m pretty sure those were put there by Ozpin for us to find.”

“Oooh,” Nora laughed, “That makes a lot more sense, he seems like the kind of guy who’d like chess.”

Stepping into the ruins, Ruby walked up to the pedestal that had once held the golden knight piece her and Weiss had taken more than half a year ago. As she took her walk down memory lane, she was suddenly struck with a spark of realization.

“Hey, this is the place we met, isn’t it?”

Nora gasped, “Whoa, you’re right! That really was the luckiest day ever, huh?”

Ruby’s cheeks reddened, “What makes you say that?”

“Well, duh, I made first eye contact with Ren which made him my partner and then my teammate which was super awesome. I don’t know what I’d do without him oh my team. I think I might’ve actually exploded if I had to be on a team without him . ” Nora paused for a moment, “And then I got to meet you, which was also super awesome.”

Ruby felt as though her face was burning and found herself unable to speak. Was she really that special to Nora? As special as the person she had known all her life? The thought alone was enough to make her feel dizzy. Ruby’s heart pounded as if trying to break free from her chest. Her arms and legs all felt like jelly, she had to lean on the pedestal for support as everything around her felt as though it were floating. It was fortunate she was already wearing her hood, given how red her cheeks had become. 

“Hey, you feeling alright?” Nora placed her hand on Ruby’s shoulder, though this attempt to comfort Ruby only made her face burn brighter.

“U-uh,” Ruby fumbled for a lie, “Yeah, I think I’m just tired, I don’t think I got enough sleep last night.”

“Well then, let’s get you back to camp so you can take a nap! Need someone big and strong to carry you?”

“No, no!” Ruby half-shouted, panicking, “I-I can walk, you just lead the way.” The idea of Nora carrying her sounded like it’d make her explode out of sheer force of embarrassment. 

It was a bit of a walk back to the camp, but eventually the tent did come into view amidst the crowd of trees. Ruby had to keep her face hidden the entire journey, as not only did she have that horrific facial hair to hide, but every time she looked at Nora, she could feel herself blushing. Once they’d arrived, Nora had insisted that Ruby take a lie-down in the tent and get some rest. While she wasn’t really all that tired, Ruby decided that a quick nap might get everything off her mind. Leaving Ruby alone in the tent, Nora said she’d be leaving to do a round of the camp to check for Grimm. As she lay there alone, Ruby’s thoughts remained of Nora, however much she tried to think of something else. Eventually though, even with her mind racing, sleep did eventually find her.

Some time later, she woke from her nap. Her heart wasn’t racing anymore, thankfully, and neither was her mind. For a second, Ruby felt perfectly normal… until she once again felt the bristles on her chin. Her horrible manly facial hair was still there. She desperately needed a razor, the thought of having to keep her face hidden until they were back at Beacon was agonizing. Wait a minute. Nora was trans, too. Ruby quickly sat up, moving to peek out of the tent, her eyes locking onto the bag Nora had packed for the trip. Nora was still gone, but maybe she had packed a razor. It’d be impossible to stomach the embarrassment of asking to borrow it, but maybe she could snag it for just a minute to deal with her beard. Take it, deal with the facial hair, then put it back, easy. Nora will never find out about her gross beard.

Nora continued to march through the forest, reckoning she had nearly completed a  second full lap around the camp. Figuring Ruby was probably done with her nap, Nora had only just resolved to head back when she heard a growl behind her. Turning, Nora came face to face with an agitated beowolf. Instinctively, Nora immediately scanned her surroundings for an ambush, but there was no sign of this thing’s pack. Nora stood off with her opponent, circling one another, until the beowolf’s patience wore thin, charging at her with its full force. With a quick sidestep, Nora met the Grimm’s advance with a forceful swing from Magnhild, sending it soaring into a nearby tree, colliding with a loud thud. The beast scrambled to get onto its feet, but its injury had rendered it sluggish, and it met its end in a rosey-pink explosion. Self defense. Probably. Nora hesitated, expecting its pack to arrive soon, but the forest remained quiet. Strapping Magnhild onto her back with a shrug, Nora decided it was probably just a lone wolf. Grimm were pretty stupid, after all, it probably had no idea it stood no chance alone. Satisfied with her patrol, she triumphantly returned to the camp, where she was greeted by an unusual sight. There, Ruby sat hunched over Nora’s bag, digging through it.

“Hey, Ruby! Do ya need something?” Nora asked, confused.

Ruby yelped, suddenly backing away from the bag, “U-uh, nothing. Uhm, sorry, I’ll just, uh, go back to bed—”

“Ruby,” Nora frowned, “What’s the matter? You know you can tell me, you’re here for me, I’m here for you.”

Ruby let out a shaky sigh, “O-Okay, the truth is… well, it’s better if you just see it, I guess.” Ruby let down her hood, revealing… nothing?

Nora raised an eyebrow, “See… what? Oh, don’t tell me! Did you get a cool scar like Weiss last night? That’s so cool! Where is it?”

“No, I— You can’t see it?” 

Nora shrugged, “All I see is your cute little face.”

Ruby buried her face into her hands in an attempt to hide her blush. “I-I” she stuttered, “I was looking for… your razor.”

“You forgot to pack yours? You know, you can just ask to borrow mine. What’s that have to do with you hiding your face, anyway?”

Another sigh, “I felt… stubble on my face, and needed to deal with it, because I thought you’d see it and think I was.. Less of a girl.”

Nora tilted her head, “Why would I see you as less of a girl?”

“Because… because…” Ruby’s voice cracked. She was crying.

Nora drew near, offering a hug. Seeing Ruby like this ached her heart, even if she didn’t quite understand why. 

Ruby immediately accepted, finally choking out the words. “Because I’m like you, Nora, I’m… like you.”

Like her?

Over the last few days, Ruby’s mind had seemingly cataloged and obsessed over every outcome that could possibly result from her coming out to Nora. These scenarios ran from generally plausible to entirely realistic to wholly apocalyptic anxiety. Maybe she would just say ‘okay’ and leave it at that. Maybe they’d hug and be trans buddies! Maybe Nora wouldn’t think of her the same way and they’d drift apart. It was scary, Ruby had no idea how she would react, and every single nightmare scenario she could dream up only made the prospect seem even more terrifying. But even despite all of that overthinking, there was one scenario Ruby had never even considered, one reaction she never would have expected. She never for a moment thought that Nora would kiss her after she came out. But she did.

Ruby’s cheeks were beet red, her heart pounded, everything was dizzying, everything was perfect. Ruby clutched onto Nora tightly as she returned the kiss, holding onto her as if her world was going to fade away. Nora’s embrace was as tight as ever, but what had once felt suffocating and uncomfortable now only filled Ruby’s heart with unadulterated warmth and joy. In an instant, all of Ruby’s anxieties and self-loathing evaporated, replaced only by one absolute truth. She loved Nora. With all of her heart. Breaking from the kiss, the pair only stared at one another. It seemed neither could find any words for what had just happened. For a moment, everything felt perfect.

But of course, it could only last for a moment, as Zwei’s barking suddenly snapped the two out of their trance and he ran to Ruby for protection. Rustling from the bushes gave away the presence of prowling Grimm. Immediately, instinct kicked in, and Ruby separated from Nora, drawing Crescent Rose and unfolding its blade

“Does this count as self-defense?” Nora asked.

Ruby replied with a nod, “Yeah I think this is okay.”

“Alright! Time to kick some Grimm butt!”

A quartet of beowolves sprinted from the bushes, splitting into two pairs towards Nora and Ruby respectively. Ruby cleaved the first one in twain with an arcing slash, flipping out of the way of its partner’s pounce. As the beast dove for the followup attack, the only thing its jaws met was a high-caliber dust bullet. Ruby glanced over to Nora, who was having similar success, slamming a Grimm into the ground with her hammer.There was no room for respite, as another group of beowolves descended upon the camp. As three new beowolves made their advance onto Ruby, she heard a snarl behind her. Launching herself in the air with a shot from her weapon, Ruby crashed down onto the would-be ambusher, using it as a platform as she sliced through the beowolves who had initially charged at her before ending its misery in a single shot. 

A loud, more monstrous roar rang out from the forest. Without warning, a mass of fangs and claws hurled itself towards Ruby, who only just managed to dive out of the way with a Petal Burst. Turning to look at the abomination that lunged at her, it made itself known as the alpha of the pack. The beast didn’t so much as flinch in response to Ruby’s bullets. In the periphery of her vision, Ruby could see Nora was taking the brunt of the pack. She showed no signs of being overwhelmed, but probably wouldn’t be able to help, Ruby would have to deal with this thing one-on-one. The alpha once more flung its massive body towards Ruby with a powerful leap. Stepping out of the way, Ruby went for a slice at its stomach, but found her scythe intercepted by its tough, armored claws.

Nora laughed triumphantly as she swatted away yet another beowolf as it attempted to charge at her. The twisted creature flew up into the air, promptly dissolving into ash when it hit the ground. Another growl from her left revealed two more lambs for the slaughter. Nora dove out of the way of their pounce before greeting one with a downward swing of Magnhild. The other lashed out with its fangs, clamping its jaw around the handle of Nora’s weapon. 

“Bad doggy, drop it!” Nora shouted, attempting to wrestle the weapon out of the Grimm’s grip. A sharp kick to the head proved to be enough to loosen its grip, and Nora paid it back with a spinning swing that launched it over the tent. Another loud roar echoed across the camp, and Nora turned to see the alpha bearing down over Ruby. With a slash of its claws, it knocked Ruby into a tree, causing her to drop her weapon. In a moment of sheer adrenaline, Nora could only see red.  

“You!” Nora screamed, “Don’t even think about laying a finger on my girlfriend!” With all the force she could muster, Nora threw Magnhild at the abomination. The hammer collided with a direct hit to the alpha’s head, causing it to collapse onto its side. Not giving it time to recover, Nora dashed to retrieve her weapon and climb on top of it. With a loud grunt of effort, Nora swung her hammer down onto the alpha’s head with all of her might. The creature’s head made a terrible cracking sound, and its body went limp. After a moment, the alpha’s faded into nothing but ash. What remained of its back barked at one another before making a hasty retreat, disappearing back into the forest. 

Nora knelt down, helping Ruby back onto her feet. “Are you okay?”

Ruby nodded, “Yeah, I’m-I’m fine. Uhm…” she paused for a moment, blushing as cutely as ever. “Girlfriend?”

The tables had turned, and now suddenly it was Nora’s face burning up, “Uh… Oops. What I meant to say was… uh… not that?”

Suddenly Ruby pulled Nora into another hug, “I-I like it, though…”

“You… do?”

“Yeah I’d-I’d,” Ruby stammered, before shouting all at once, “I’d love to be your girlfriend!” 

Nora gasped loudly, unsure of what to say at first, before settling on squeezing Ruby as tight as she could and said the only words that came to mind. “I love you, Ruby.”

“I love you too, Nora.”

For another moment, everything felt perfect.

Chapter Text

As she woke up, Ruby almost didn’t recognise the ceiling of the Team RWBY dorm. After a moment of contemplating returning to the embrace of sleep, Ruby instead decided to sit up and scan the room for her teammates. Weiss was sitting at the desk, sipping coffee and looking over a textbook, as usual, while Yang sat lounged in her bed, dangling her legs over the side, idly absorbed into her scroll. Below Yang, Blake was hunched over, completely immersed into one of her dozens of novels. It seemed everyone had settled right back in, you could barely tell they’d all been split up just a couple days ago.

“Hey guys.” Ruby yawned, “Morning.”

“Oh hey, Rubes.” Yang responded.

“Good morning.” Weiss briefly diverted her gaze from her book.

“Morning…” mumbled Blake, her gaze locked onto the pages of her book.

Ruby hopped out of her bed, stretching, when she glanced at the clock. “Oh, shoot, Nora’s gonna swing by here and pick me up.” Ruby froze. Did she really just say that out loud?

“Oh yeah,” Yang said, “you’ve got that report thing to write, huh? Going to the library together?”

“Oh, uh, yep, that’s it.” Ruby ran with the easy lie. “Just going to the library.”

“I’ll be going to the library too,” Weiss added, “I’m getting a head start on that book report, you’re all free to join me if you’d like.”

“Yeah, that’s a hard pass from me,” Yang replied, “What about you, Blake, any plans?” 

“...Nope.” Blake remained entirely invested in her literature.

“Well then, I’m just gonna go… get dressed.” Ruby walked over to the armoire to grab her clothes. Briefly, she considered the dress she wore to the dance. Would that be too much for a first date? Probably. She opted for her normal outfit before speeding off to the bathroom. After a quick change, Ruby found herself hovering over Weiss’s makeup. She didn’t know the first thing about makeup, but she should look nice for Nora, right? Those bottles there were… eyeliner, and those squares in that rectangle thing were… foundation? Or blush? Or both? Only when it sank in how hopeless it was did the door open behind her. 

“Where did I leave my— What are you doing?” Weiss’s surprise entrance made Ruby nearly jump out of her skin.

“Nothing! I was… uh… I was just looking at your makeup because uh… oh, I thought it’d make me feel girly.” It was only half a lie. “Sorry.”

Weiss approached Ruby, “I only wish you asked me, first. Here, I’ll help you.” Nudging Ruby to the side, Weiss began to appraise her makeup stash. “Let’s see, I don’t think any of my foundation will match your skin… Do you want to just try some lipstick and eyeshadow, or…?”

Ruby nodded, smiling, “Y-yeah, that works.”

“Alright, hold still and close your eyes.”

“O-okay.” Ruby did as Weiss asked, shutting her eyes tight in nervous anticipation.

“Close them a little gentler, I can’t do anything with your face all scrunched up like that.”

Again, Ruby did as she was asked., relaxing her face. Weiss had quickly gotten to work, rolling what felt like a tiny wet paintbrush over her eyelids one at a time. Shortly after, she ran a stick of what kinda felt like chapstick over her lips. After a short delay, Weiss turned Ruby around towards the mirror. 

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

Ruby’s face lit up as she looked into the mirror. Shiny black eyeshadow around her eyes made her silver irises pop, and her smiling lips were a vibrant red color. “Oh my gosh! It even matches my outfit!” Ruby squealed, “Weiss, thank you so much!” She pulled Weiss close into a squeezy hug.

“Well, you’re welcome, it’s nothing, really. I could teach you how to do your own makeup sometime… let’s get you your own set.

“Yeah, you’re right! Oh! Oh! We could go shopping later after my da—” Ruby stumbled over her own words, desperately hoping Weiss wouldn’t notice, “study session with Nora!”

“I don’t know, I’m going to be pretty busy with…” Weiss paused, “ personal business for most of the day.” 

“Oh, okay. Another time then. Uh, thanks again!”

Weiss nodded with a smile, “Any time.” She walked back to return to her coffee. 

Ruby took an extended moment to admire herself in the mirror. She had been right, it definitely made her feel way more girly. Hopefully Nora would like it, she wanted to look pretty for her. Oh! She should show Yang!

“Yaaaang!” Ruby shouted, her voice full of glee. “Look at this!”

Yang hopped out of bed, “Look at wha—” she blinked, “look at you all fancy. Trying to look nice for your ‘date’ with Nora?”

Wait, did she know or was she teasing? Did she know or was she teasing? “D-date? I uh…” Oh no, Ruby was blushing, wasn’t she? “I was just… It made me feel girly?” The same lie, she prayed it would work. 

Yang laughed, “Relax, Ruby, I’m just teasi—”

Suddenly, as if it were on cue, the door to the dorm slammed open, revealing Nora and… someone hiding behind her.

Nora practically vibrated in place, filled with sheer enthusiasm as she sat on her bed. After getting dressed and prepared as fast as she could, she had nothing else to do except wait and watch the clock, grinning ear to ear. Patience wasn’t something she was very good at.

“Well you seem excited about something,” Ren noted. 

“I am!” Nora shouted, caring not for volume, “I’ve got a date today! Soon! I’m barely keeping it together here, I can't wait!” She resumed bouncing in her seat.

“Oh.” Ren shrugged briefly before doing a double take, “wait, what?”

“I’ve got a date! I’m supposed to pick her up in an hour. Come on, clock, go faster!!!”

“‘Her?’ Don’t you mean…” Something seemed to click in Jaune’s head, “Oh, you’re like Saph?”

“Who’s Saph?” Nora tilted her head

“Oh, she’s my sister and she… her wife… uh, actually, just forget about it.” 

Nora shrugged, returning to her staring contest with the clock.

Pyrrha, who had been oddly silent all morning suddenly spoke up, “Aren’t you at least a little nervous?”

“Nope! Should I be?”

Pyrrha sighed, “No, no, I just wish I had your nerve.”

“Awh, come on, you’re like the bravest person I know! Well, besides Ren but, you know, he’s super brave, but you know, besides him…”

Pyrrha chuckled a little, “Second place, huh?” she sighed, “I know what you’re trying to say, though, I’m just not sure it’s true.

“Of course you are! What’s got you all tense about this anyways? I could almost swear, it’s like you had a date of your own coming up.”

Pyrrha’s cheeks reddened, and though she opened her mouth to speak, no words came out.

“Wait.” Nora gasped loudly, “You do?! Oh my gosh! Tell me more! Is he cute? Is she cute? Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!” Nora bolted over to Pyrrha, practically sparking with a refreshed wave of enthusiasm.

“She’s uhm… beautiful. I can’t say I expected her to ask me out…”

“Beautiful?! Oooooh! What’s her name?! Is it someone I know?! Wait wait wait, can I guess? Give me three guesses!”

Pyrrha laughed, “She… asked me to not go around telling people.”

“It’s Weiss, isn’t it?! You fell in love with your group project partner like me, didn’t you?!”

Pyrrha blinked.

Realizing what she had said, Nora cupped her hands over her mouth. “Shoot! I wasn’t supposed to say that.”

“Wait, you're going out with Ruby?!” Jaune interjected, seemingly in utter disbelief.

“Uh, what? Pshh, no… I uh…” Everyone was looking at her. “Okay fine, yes, it’s Ruby! There, the cat's out of the bag!”

“Good for you… then”” Jaune replied awkwardly.

“I suppose… congratulations.” Ren added, though his voice had some trepidation to it.

“And while we’re here letting cats out of bags, you haven’t denied the allegations, Miss Nikos!” Nora pointed at Pyrrha, posing dramatically.

As before, Pyrrha’s only response was a sudden blush.

“Wait, you’re going on a date with Weiss?! I thought you were wingmanning for me!” Jaune yelled.

“Jaune, I’m… sorry, one thing just led to another, and…”

He sighed, visibly frustrated, “No, it’s… it’s fine, whatever, I didn’t stand a chance anyways…”

Nora turned to him, “Hey, wait…”

“Look, just… make her happy, okay?”

“I… of course, I’ll do my best.”

“Well, uh…” Nora tried to break the tension, “Oh, Pyrrha, we should go pick up our dates!”

“Wait, mine’s not until tonight!”

“Plans change all the time, come on! Double date!” Nora yanked Pyrrha off of her bed towards the door. Dragging Pyrrha all the way, Nora charged now the hall towards the Team RWBY dorm, slamming the door open upon their arrival.

“We’re here to collect our girlfriends!” Nora shouted into the room.

“Nora!” Ruby shrieked, “You weren’t supposed to— wait, girlfriends?”

The person stood behind Nora revealed herself to be Pyrrha as she sheepishly peeked her head out from behind her companion. “Uhm, hi, Weiss.”

Immediately, Weiss spat out her coffee, her face rapidly turning a bright shade of red. “Pyrrha?!”

“I-I’m sorry…” Pyrrha looked about ready to die of embarrassment.

“Double date!” Nora shouted, as energetic as ever, “Come on, let’s do it! It’ll be fun!”

“Wait, back it up a bit,” Yang hopped out of her bed, “Ruby, since when were you dating Nora?”

“Since um… ye-yesterday. I-I was gonna tell you.” Ruby lowered her head, thinking the worst.

Yang approached Nora and put a hand on her shoulder. “You know she’s my little sister right?”

Nora nodded in reply, “Yup! But… what’s that got to do with anything?”

“Then you know what’ll happen if you break her heart, right?” Yang glanced back to Ruby with that protective look in her eyes. 

“Okay,” Nora laughed, “First of all, good luck beating me up, and B…” her tone softened, “I love her, duh. Why would I do that?”

Ruby hid her face, drowning in her own embarrassment. 

“Good.” Yang replied,  stepping back and leaving Nora alone. 

“Wait, you’re not mad…?” Ruby winced.

“Why would I be mad? It’s your life, Ruby. The only thing I’m mad about is the fact that you apparently have more game than me.” Yang punched Ruby in the shoulder playfully.

Ruby smiled, “Thank you, Yang.”

Nora darted over to Ruby, enveloping her in another one of her big, tight hugs. “Soooo… double date?”

Ruby laughed, “I think that’s up to Weiss and Pyrrha.”

Weiss glanced over to Pyrrha, both of them smiling at one another and blushing in turn. “That sounds… nice,” Weiss replied, only after some invisible deliberation between the two.

“Yes! Nora whooped, “Double date! Double date! Double date!” she chanted, continuing to feed off her own excitement. 

Ruby smiled, unable to resist the urge to plant a kiss on Nora’s cheek. “Right, guys! Let’s go! Double date!” Ruby led the charge out of the dorm, followed closely by her girlfriend, Pyrrha and Weiss trailing behind the two of them together..

As they all stepped out into the courtyard, Nora couldn’t stop staring at Ruby. ‘Ren cute’ didn’t even begin to summarize it anymore, Ruby was in a cuteness league entirely of her own. Every time Nora looked at her, she could feel the color rushing to her cheeks and a grin spreading across her face. She loved Ruby so much and she wanted to pick her up and squeeze her like a big stuffed animal. Settling for holding onto Ruby’s arm for a moment, the pair smiled at one another as they kept their pace to… wherever it was they were going. Nora admittedly hadn’t paid much attention to the plans Ruby had made, the idea of a date alone had her over the moon. Deep down, there was a part of Nora that told her she was lying, that she was somehow deceiving Ruby… but that didn’t matter, not really. In that moment, Ruby had not only made Nora feel like the luckiest girlfriend ever, she had made her feel entirely like a girl. For a moment, everything was perfect, and that was all that mattered.