Chapter Text
“Ohmygod get off!”
“Gee, Neo, I think I'm sitting on someone.”
“Get your stupid butt off me, I can't breathe!”
Ruby was squirming underneath Roman, who had decided to flop across her while she was having a nice time with Neo. Not that the other girl was much help- she was just sitting there with a small grin.
Finally, Ruby managed to shove Roman off, who fell onto the floor with uncontrollable laughter. “Oh, hi Red! Didn't see you there! How are you this lovely night?”
Ruby took several deep breaths, Roman was heavy. She glared down at the floor. “You big jerk. You're lucky Yang isn't here yet.”
“Why do you think I tried it, Red?”
Snorting, Ruby gave him a kick to the ribs. “You're a jerk.”
Roman giggled before he hopped back up and onto a seat that wasn't occupied, throwing an arm around Neo. “You love me anyway. What's up, ladies?”
Neo lifted up her whiteboard. 'Sign language lesson. She's picking up very well.'
“Nice. Well, anyone want pizza? I got coupons.”
Neo put up both thumbs. Ruby pumped both fists into the air. “All right!”
~*~
“Soooo, where is everyone? I thought last week's game went really well, even if I had to bail for half of it.”
Mmmm, the gooey cheese, the hot sauce, the perfect crust, and the right amount of pepperoni. Ruby was in heaven. After she swallowed, Ruby thought for a bit.
“Cinder said she had to rework some plotlines, Neptune wants to hop in and I might've ran us off track. Yang said she'd meet me here-” Ruby got cut off as her phone pinged. She fished it from her hoodie pocket. “Oooon second thought- Yang and Blake are going to catch a movie! So it's just us tonight.”
“Gaaaaaaaaaaay.”
Neo whacked her boyfriend's shoulder, giving him an annoyed look. Roman yelped and grabbed his arm. “What, I meant it in the gay-gay way, not the bad-gay way! Does your sis even float that way, Red?”
Ruby snorted. “Uh, did you miss the time she wore her pansexual tanktop to a game night?”
Neo lowered her pizza and signed so quickly Ruby couldn't keep up, but Roman understood. “Oh, right, wasn't there. What about Blake though?”
Now that was a question Ruby couldn't answer, so she just shrugged. “Noooo idea.”
~*~
“That… was a little…”
“A little awesome?! That was fantastic! And hilarious! And there were lasers, you can't hate lasers.”
“It was called Lazer Team. Lasers were expected.”
Yang snickered as she balled up the popcorn bag and threw it into the nearby trashcan like a basketball. “Thanks for coming to see this with me- Dad would've flipped if he knew I'd gone with Ruby. All the dick jokes, he still thinks Ruby's his 'good little girl'.”
Blake raised an eyebrow, pulling out the final liquorice stick from her snacks and taking a bite. “He's aware she's playing a game with college students, right?”
“I just let him live in his fantasy that they don't act their age around her.”
Blake chuckled, shivering a little as they walked into the parking lot. Yang didn't miss that. “Cold?”
“A little. It's fine though, we're almost to your-”
Yang took off her jacket and draped it over Blake's shoulders. “The car takes too long to heat up anyway.”
Blake felt her cheeks grow a little warmer, but she let a smile escape onto her face. “Thanks, Yang.”
“Don't worry about it. We're totally going to see Lazer Team 2 together though.”
“… Is there a sequel?”
~*~
Neo had now taken out her whiteboard. Taking a sip from her hot pink drink that Roman had mixed for her, she lifted up the whiteboard.
'They would make a good couple. I'm on Team Yang/Blake.'
Ruby giggled while Roman shook his head. “So they're going to happen- what about Pyrrha and the boy klutz? What's their plans tonight?”
“Jaune? I think they're doing more work on his backstory.” He wanted to make it perfect and Pyrrha was the best person for that.
Roman snickered before taking a swig of his ridiculously orange drink. “Sure they haven't gotten distracted?”
“Er, with what?”
~*~
“Aha! I won!”
Pyrrha did a little dance in front of the claw machine, overjoyed that she'd managed to get her prize. Jaune shook his head, in complete shock.
“The quarters I've spent. The hours I've spent at this arcade. And you get the Tuxedo Bear. On the first shot.”
The redhaired girl fetched the adorable teddy bear in the white tuxedo from the door, lifting it up. “You collect these things, right? They're very cute.”
Jaune laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Eheheh, casually? If you can call having forty eight teddy bears 'casual'.”
Pyrrha looked mildly surprised before she smiled, offering the Tuxedo Bear to Jaune. “Here, Jaune. Your collection is now forty nine.”
Jaune gasped before he took the bear. Dammit he wasn't blushing. He was definitely not blushing. “Wow, Pyrrha, thanks. Thanks a lot! Hey, if I give you a few more quarters, think we could make it an even fifty and go for the Fairy Bear in the right corner, there?”
Pyrrha snorted before uncontrollably giggling. “One try. Then I want to try that dance game with you.”
“Oh, you did not just challenge me to Dance Dance Revolution. Prepare to be amazed!”
The whole arcade got to be treated to Pyrrha's wonderful laughter.
~*~
'She's totally in love with him. Which is odd- he's completely out of her league.'
“I think I heard Yang say you were out of Roman's league too, buuuut maybe I heard her wrong.” Ruby grinned as she sipped her Sprite, watching Roman sputter.
“I- hey! I am definitely in Neo's league!”
Neo erased the board as she seemed to contemplate the accuracy of this statement. Roman ended up just taking another slice of pizza, holding it up in the air. “So, they're making out somewhere- what about motormouth and her silent boyfriend?”
Ruby nearly choked on her breadstick laughing. “Nora and Ren? She says they aren't dating.”
“Riiiiiiiiiiiight. I'm not buyin' it. Neo?”
Neo lifted up her whiteboard again.
'They said they had to practice for their martial arts meet.'
“… Short, pink, and never-shuts-the-fuck-up knows how to kick my ass?” Roman looked impressed. “That'll probably turn into making out too. Everyone is making out tonight, face it.”
Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Ummm… Roman?”
~*~
“Hah! I win again!”
Nora did a dance in place as Ren picked himself off the mat, taking a deep breath. “Good job. Think we'll win the next meet?”
“I got a plan to make sure we'll win!” Nora grabbed her Gatorade bottle and took a swig. “We'll switch out their bottles with your puke juice! They'll be so sick, they won't be able to compete and we'll win! Plus we can enjoy the enemy's misery.”
Ren gave Nora a long look. “… I'm not wasting my perfectly good health mixes on the competitors next week.”
“They'll be healthier if they don't drink it.” Nora pulled a face before she sighed and headed over to the bag. “I'm totally done tonight, wooh! We worked really hard tonight, Ren, we're going to show the world who's boss tomorrow! I got a question though.” Ren didn't need to respond.
“Can we wear our matching ace bands to the meet next week? On our arms. It'll be a good luck charm.”
Ren looked a bit surprised before he nodded. “I think we can do that.”
“Yippee! And Ren?” Nora skipped back to him before standing on tiptoe and tapping him on the nose. “Boop!” With a giggle, she skipped into the girl's room to get back into her street clothes.
It was nice, having someone who understood how you felt.
~*~
“… I'm really confused, is that really a thing? OW!”
Roman gritted his teeth in pain, gripping his knee under the table while Neo innocently finished off her drink. “Sorry. They're both asexual though?”
“Nora has an ace pin on her purse. I asked her about it. They're all open for the romance department though.” Ruby wasn't that surprised- all Nora cared about was kicking butt and anything sweet.
Neo scribbled on her board. 'So they're NOT making out tonight. Everyone is either making out or not making out, there is no inbetween. Who would you be with tonight, Ruby?'
That smile was too innocent. Ruby spoke without thinking at first. “Well, since Yang's hanging out with Blake, I'd probably be hanging out with Penny- not like that! There… there would be noooo making out!”
Roman mockingly 'aww'd' while Ruby went as scarlet as her namesake. “I'm serious! Penny's… just a friend! She's just a friend!”
~*~
“How are you enjoying your Remnant game?”
“Oh, I love it, father!”
Penny looked up from her character sheet, beaming proudly. “I have a friend now! Her name is Ruby Rose. She likes chocolate and marshmallow ice cream. And she's very sweet.”
“I see.” Her father just walked away after that. Penny shook her head before she flipped to the pictures she had drawn. She was working on something very important.
Everyone had such amazing characters, and Penny remembered each and every description. Ruby Rose. She was such a powerful character. P.E.N.N.Y. might've been created to help save the world, but Ruby's character was the one that would.
She remembered Ruby telling her about earlier in the campaign that she'd killed a giant Nevermore. It was such a powerful mental image, the image of Ruby Rose at the top of a cliff, rose petals swirling about while her cloak flapped in the wind… and she was almost done with it.
Penny lifted it into the air. Her friend Ruby was going to love this.
~*~
“Penny and Ruby, sitting in a tree, K-I- OW!”
Ruby had successfully kicked Roman in the knee. Neo looked so proud. Roman grimaced before he huffed. “So, that leaves everyone but-”
Knocks on the door. Ruby got up and answered the door.
“Weiss?”
Weiss cleared her throat. “Ruby. Hello. Um… my father's being a little… unpleasant tonight. I'd like to stay here for a few hours, if that's all right with Cinder.”
That was weird, but Ruby decided questions weren't appropriate. “Sure, you can stay at my house tonight if you need to!”
“I don't think that's necessary, but thanks, anyway.”
Roman raised an eyebrow as Ruby walked in with Weiss but Neo discreetly pinched his thigh. He drew in a sharp breath before he pushed the pizza box over to Weiss. “We have a slice left, if you're hungry. We're talking about what everyone's doing tonight and who's making out with who.”
Weiss raised an eyebrow before she stole the last slice. “Why is that interesting?”
'Because it is. Plus, all the couples are adorable.' Neo lowered the white board and got up to fetch more alcohol from the fridge.
The white haired girl just shook her head. “Ruby, you're surrounded by bad influences. Ignore them. Where's Cinder tonight?”
“Upstairs. Working out campaign plans.” Roman pushed the last breadstick towards Ruby, who fist pumped and tore into it.
Weiss looked confused. “Then why isn't her car in the driveway?”
~*~
Cinder was at the train station, that's why. Looking at pictures in her phone. The girl glanced up on occasion, watching people get off the train.
Where were those two? They said they'd come in tonight. Maybe they missed the train. Again.
Any fears she had were relieved when a head of green hair came into sight. “Emerald?”
The girl looked over and lit up. “Cinder!” She ran over and wrapped her arms around her old friend. “We made it.”
“Mercury? Did it work?”
Emerald just grinned and pointed behind her. There was Mercury, striding up, gray spiky hair and casual smirk. It was like the accident hadn't happened. He pulled behind him both his and Emerald's suitcases. “Cinder, where's the giant card you should be holding in front of you? The balloons? The party to invite us to our new home?”
“You're lucky I'm not making you get a taxi to the house, Mercury.” Cinder sighed before looking down. “Well? How are they?”
Mercury beamed before he lifted up his pant leg to reveal the shiny metal of his new legs. “It's like they were never gone. Docs say in a month I'll be running like old times.”
“Then I expect you'll be running a week sooner than planned.” Cinder beckoned them both on. “Hope you don't mind, Roman's housing with me too.”
“Uggghhhh!” Mercury overdramatically groaned, dropping to his knees. “I have come so far, only to be trapped with the bastard of bastards, the orange haired dick, the-”
“If you don't get up, we're leaving you behind, Merc.” Emerald deadpanned, following their old friend.
Mercury huffed before stumbling to his feet, almost losing his balance but managing to keep up. “You're no fun today.”