Cinder Falls... For Ruby Rose (ch14)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY HIGH-PLEDGING PATRONS!

So the request for this month was to speed up Ruby's return home and then bring the whole team back to Haven with her for her next visit to Cinder's team!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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												Chapter 14. Training The Huntress

Unfortunately, Ruby and Yang couldn't stay at Haven for very much longer.

They enjoyed one more day with their respective girlfriends and their new friends before packing their things and departing for Vale once again. But not without tight hugs and deep kisses from their girlfriends, promising to come back to see each other again as soon as possible.

Ruby and Yang traveled back to Vale and back to their partners who inquired all about their little vacation, and together they all laughed about the initial mishap of Cinder, Ruby and Yang all trying to surprise visit each other.

Classes resumed for both schools for a while, but the next small break was coming up in just a few weeks. This time, Ruby and Yang made plans to go back to Haven, but they arranged to bring Weiss and Blake along as well so they wouldn't feel left out.

Cinder and her team welcomed the idea, though Mercury was politely ordered to prepare to sleep on the floor for those nights.

And before they all knew it, their next little meet-up was on the horizon.

Team RWBY woke early on the designated day of their departure. Thanks to Weiss having insisted they pack and double-check everything the night before, they didn't have to rush around worrying about last-minute things before their ship took off.

The four of them left Zwei in Team JNPR's care as they made the trip to Haven. All the way there, Ruby babbled about how amazing and historic Haven was. Weiss nodded and listened attentively while Blake snoozed against her shoulder. Yang was playing games on her scroll, waiting for Neo to wake and message her.

The same morning, Cinder woke first as she often did, only she immediately remembered it wasn't like every other morning. The air felt a light lighter, as if it was sparked with energy because she'd be seeing Ruby again.

She went about her morning routine showering, freshening up, and getting dressed, making sure she was still acting like the leader of her team by responsibly getting up first.

The next one awake was Neo, who was equally excited about getting to see Yang again. Then Emerald and Mercury roused themselves and stretched, greeting their teammates groggily. Neo read the messages from Yang and told the others that Team RWBY was on their way.

Cinder and her team made it to the air ship docks on time to see their ship land.

Naturally, Ruby was the first one off, running at the speed of light directly at Cinder who was waving calmly. Ruby dropped her suitcase and threw herself at her girlfriend with a high-pitched squeal.

"Ciiiinddeeerr!" Ruby hugged and cuddled her like she hadn't seen her in years, not weeks. Cinder couldn't resist the urge to pull her in for a hug and a kiss. Ruby grinned against her lips. "I'm back, I'm baaack! And I brought my whole team with me!"

"Welcome back, Ruby." Cinder felt justified in holding onto her girlfriend when Yang stepped off next and met Neo halfway in a running hug.

And as the four of them shared their moments with their respective girlfriends, Weiss and Blake greeted Emerald and Mercury politely.

"Welcome to Haven," Emerald said.

"We're very glad to be here," Weiss smiled and glanced over at Ruby. "We've heard all about it."

"Wanna come with us?" Mercury offered. "You can drop off your bags and get settled."

"Thanks," Blake replied.

As everyone got acquainted and introduced, the eight of them began heading back inside to let Team RWBY deposit their things.

They got to rest for a little while, making casual conversation and making sure everyone had eaten breakfast. But Ruby's excitement couldn't be contained for very long.

"So!" she blurted out. "What should we do today? I'm fine with anything!"

"Well the weather's nice," Emerald said. "I think it'd be a waste to stay inside. We should go out somewhere."

"Like where?" Mercury mumbled. "Boss pretty much showed little red the most interesting place in all of Haven already."

"Aw, c'mon," Yang said. "Don't downplay your home kingdom so much. I'm sure there's tons of stuff to do!"

Not much we could do within a day's traveling time, Neo comments.

With that they all fell silent, pondering. Some of them were still a bit exhausted from the early-morning flight, while others were bursting with energy. They needed to do something that would accommodate everyone's needs.

It was Cinder who finally spoke up in the end.

"There is... perhaps one place we could go."

"The beeeeeeaaach!" Ruby squealed, throwing her arms up toward the bright blue sky as she finally jumped down into the hot sand. "We're at the beach!"

After Cinder's suggestion earlier that morning, her teammates had been surprised that Cinder of all people would mention such an activity. She typically didn't like to go outdoors in the heat if she could avoid it due to her sensitive skin.

So the fact that she'd actually suggested going to the beach told them she was really pulling out all the stops while her girlfriend and her team was here visiting.

Ruby had made everyone pack bathing suits just in case, and now she was glad she did. Everyone had been in agreement for the beach, and so they'd all changed and put on their swimsuits under their clothes, and gotten ready before taking a ship together.

And now here they are.

Of course, Ruby is the first one to jump onto the beach itself, throwing her arms up and shedding her surface layer of clothing immediately to reveal a pink-and-white polkadot bikini suit and ruffled pink mini-skirt piece.

Cinder hadn't been prepared for it so suddenly, to see so much skin on her girlfriend. Especially Ruby's surprisingly-toned stomach. Cinder quickly looked away.

Almost everyone else followed Ruby's example and took off their top layer of clothing right away, eager to get onto the beach. Only Cinder herself, Blake and Weiss hesitated to reveal their longer skirts and top pieces.

Weiss was already scolding Ruby and Yang for jumping into the blazing hot sand without footwear and quickly dug out two pairs of flip-flops to throw at them. Blake and Cinder each took out a parasol to protect themselves from the sun, and Neo shyly stepped in between them. Mercury tried to dump a handful of sand onto Emerald's head and got a jab to the gut in return.

All in all, everyone was very excited to be here together. They walked onto the beach and laid down their towels under a large blue umbrella, which meant Cinder Blake and Neo could relax in the shade.

Weiss grabbed Ruby and Yang by the back of the bikini tops and forced them to put on sunscreen first and foremost. Ruby pouted and whined but accepted the bottle nonetheless. But she got everything except her back, which she coyly asked Cinder to do for her.

Cinder had never done anything remotely close to this before, especially not with someone she was dating. She tried to remain composed as she lathered a bit of the lotion in her palm and coaxed Ruby to move closer and turn around to reveal her back.

Cinder ignored everything and everyone else in the world as she ran her fingers over Ruby's taut bare back. She didn't breathe for a good minute or so, but when she was finished she looked around to realize there was nothing to be ashamed of.

Neo and Yang were applying sunscreen on each other as well, and so were Weiss and Blake. Mercury squirted a bottle messily onto Emerald's arm and got a face-full of sand in return.

With a smile, Cinder finally relaxed a bit. That was when she felt Ruby tapping her shoulder and looked to her.

"Turn around! Lemme do your back for you!"

Cinder swallowed. Her bathing suit consisted of a longer red skirt and a bolero-like top part that covered most of her back so she wouldn't need sunscreen for it. But nonetheless, she turned away from Ruby and waited.

That was when Ruby clearly saw her dilemma and realized she couldn't do much for Cinder in terms of sunscreen. So she merely brushed Cinder's coal-black hair aside and rubbed a bit on the back of her neck and the top of her shoulders before declaring she was finished.

"There! Okay, so what do you wanna do first? Wanna play in the water? Or build a sand castle? Or play a game?"

Cinder was taken aback by all the questions. She'd never done anything like this before, so she wasn't quite comfortable with doing such activities. She offered Ruby a small apologetic smile.

"Perhaps later. For now I think I'll stay here."

Ruby's shoulders slumped a little bit.

"Are you sure? Okay. Come join any time if you wanna!" Ruby pressed a quick kiss to Cinder's cheek before scampering off, calling for Yang.

Cinder watched her run out into the shallow waves with Yang and Neo on either side of her. Blake and Weiss sat nearby, enjoying the shade and reading a book together.

But on Cinder's other side, Emerald and Mercury were staring at her incredulously. Mercury was keeping his prosthetic leg out of the sun until now, but he stood up at present and gave his leader a raised eyebrow.

"You not comin', boss?"

"Yeah." Emerald decided it was too hot for tanning too and she got up with him. "Y'know she came all the way here just to be with you. You sure you wanna stay here?"

Their gentle prodding pointed out what should've been obvious to Cinder from the very start. She only had precious little time to spend with Ruby nowadays. And she was wasting some of it right now.

Cinder straightened up right away and pushed herself up off her towel, stepping into the sunlight.

"You're right."

With a grin, Emerald put a hand on her leader's shoulder and gave her a push.

"Go get her, chief!"

Cinder moved forward toward the water, her sights set only on Ruby. She was splashing around in the shallows, squealing every other second, running away when Yang threatened to throw seaweed at her.

Neo was the one who noticed Cinder's approach first. She grabbed Yang's arm and caught her attention, and Yang then had her little sister turn around.

"Looks like someone changed their mind, sis!"

Ruby whirled around and a giant smile spread across her face.

"Yaaay! Cinder! Come on, come on!"

She ran through the water until she reached her girlfriend on the sand, then took both of her hands. With a happy hum, Ruby tugged her forward into the water.

Cinder shivered a little, but that didn't stop her own smile from curling up on her lips.

She followed Ruby into the water and prepared herself for the best beach day she'd ever have.

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A/N: So sorry to cliffhanger it, but we'll continue the beach shenanigans next chapter!

Chapter title is referring to Cinder, who this fic makes 'predatory' in a joking manner. Since she's never been to the beach like this before, it's like Ruby and the others are 'training' her (to have fun).