Cinder Falls... For Ruby Rose (ch7)

EARLY RELEASE FOR HIGH-PLEDGING PATRONS! THANKS AGAIN TO s22132!

The next addition: their first real date! I know you've all been waiting for it!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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													Chapter 7. Hunting Party

The air ship ride into Vale was a little nerve-wracking, a little confusing, and a little exciting.

Naturally, they sat next to one another.

Typically, Ruby would get the window seat if at all possible, but tonight, she held back and insisted Cinder choose her seat first, and she chose the window. Ruby thought that was all right, because if Cinder could be her personal view, she wouldn't need the window seat anyway.

As the ship took off, they seemed to be the only silent people on-board. Ruby fidgeted, racking her brain for something to say, while still trying to keep her cool.

/I can do this! I can't let things get awkward so soon!/

She'd planned out with Yang what to say in situations like this, and by some miracle, Ruby remembered one of the questions.

"S-So!" she piped. "Cinder, have you ever been to Vale before?"

It wasn't too personal of a question, but it was relevant to their intended activities tonight, and it was a good question to start things off.

Cinder turned to her, but didn't answer right away. She'd never been this close to Ruby before, especially when she was dressed in such fancy clothes. Cinder stared for a moment before remembering she needed to provide an answer.

"Yes," she finally managed. "I have been to Vale before while traveling. But for the most part, I was only ever passing through. This will be the first time I'll really be staying there long enough to enjoy myself."

Since Ruby had done the job of getting the conversation started, Cinder decided to do her own part and keep it going.

"I've never eaten in Vale before. What is the food like?"

"Oh! There's tons of variety and stuff! We're next to the ocean so..."

Ruby easily went off on a tangent about that, and it wasn't long before the awkward air around the two of them began to fade altogether. Each girl found herself asking as many questions as she answered, and they each offered little comments or tidbits in between.

After Ruby talked a bit about Vale, she talked about Patch. Likewise, Cinder got to discussing Haven.

By the time the air ship landed, they were at that point of a conversation where both are eager to listen but also to share more themselves. The announcement of the landing causes both of them to pause and refocus.

"Oh, we're here!" Ruby jumped up from her seat, but stumbled a bit in her heels. "Whoa-"

"Careful." Cinder stood right away to steady her by the shoulder. It was obvious Ruby wasn't used to heels. And the uneven sidewalks and pavement of a town wouldn't be easy for her to traverse.

Therefore, Cinder wordlessly slipped her hand down to find Ruby's and curled their fingers together.

Ruby stiffened for a second, before she realized she was the one who would need to be leading Cinder off, since Ruby was the one who knew where the restaurant was. She didn't address the hand-holding, for fear that if she did, Cinder might take it the wrong way and let go.

Clearly, neither of them wanted that. So they didn't suggest otherwise.

"O-Okay!" Ruby straightened up, and began leading Cinder to the doors. "The restaurant should be just a few blocks from here! I think you're gonna like it!"

Little did she know she could have planned to take Cinder to a hot dog stand on the side of the road and she still would've enjoyed herself, so long as she was with Ruby.

Ruby led the way onto the busy sidewalks, while Cinder kept pace beside her, holding onto Ruby's hand. Maybe it was just because she wanted to keep the girl from tripping. Or maybe it was just because they were on a date, so it was acceptable. Either way, neither girl let go.

The afternoon air was warm in the heart of Vale, where there were so many people and so much activity. As they walked, Ruby talked about whatever she knew of Vale, explaining where she'd gone with her teammates in the past and things like that.

Cinder listened and observed as they walked, occasionally needing to pause and tighten her grip on Ruby whenever the girl wobbled a little. Ruby always thanked her with a sheepish grin.

After about ten minutes of walking, their destination was in sight.

"Oh! We're almost there!" Ruby announced.

Cinder scanned the place from the outside. The windows were tall and large, and there were many potted plants decorating the entrance. They crossed the street together and made it to the doors without a hitch. Only then did Ruby let go of Cinder's hand, just so she could hold the door for her.

Ruby had gone out with her teammates before, but she'd never been the one to ask for the reservation. She just tried to mimic what she'd seen Weiss do in the past as she went up to the server behind a small podium near the entrance.

"Two for 'Rose'," she said as maturely as she could.

The woman nodded and began leading them into the seating area. Ruby lost all air of maturity in a second as she whirled around and grabbed Cinder's hand again.

"This way, this way!"

Cinder couldn't help but hide a chuckle as she was pulled along.

They were lead to small but very nice table, where there was one chair on either side. Ruby made sure to pull Cinder's out for her in an act of chivalry Cinder had never been on the receiving end of before. She wasn't sure what to say or do other than dip her head in thanks. Ruby took her own seat, then opened up her menu.

"They have a lot of great stuff here! I've only been here a couple of times, but their seafood is really good! Do you like seafood?"

"If it's prepared correctly," Cinder replied, opening her own menu. When their waitress came over to inquire about drinks, Ruby replied instinctively.

"I'll have a chocolate milkshake, please!"

The drink was a total contrast to the atmosphere of the restaurant, and to the clothes Ruby was wearing. But somehow, Cinder couldn't see her drinking anything else.

Cinder asked simply for a glass of water, which Ruby thought suited her until she was of-age to order wine.

The waitress left to bring their drinks, and when she returned took their orders for meals. Cinder asked for a salad and a seafood dish, while Ruby asked for soup and a pasta dish.

Once the waitress had collected their menus and left them once again, Ruby reached for her milkshake and noticed the waitress had given her two straws for it. Ruby clutched her dress to keep her hands from shaking, but then realized she needed them to open the straws.

She put one into her drink at first, then took a sip to allow the familiar chocolate flavor to soothe (or just numb) her nerves. Cinder was taking a drink from her glass as well. Ruby gulped down her liquid ice cream before picking up the other straw and offering it to Cinder.

"Do you wanna try some?"

Cinder was surprised by the offer. She'd never been one for treats such as milkshakes, and she knew Ruby probably wouldn't take offense if she refused. But for whatever reason, Cinder accepted the straw and nodded.

The table was small enough to allow them both to lean forward and be able to drink from the glass in the middle. Ruby chewed on the end of her straw as she waited for Cinder to take a sip. The dark-haired girl sat back a moment later and put her napkin to her mouth. Ruby gulped down a mouthful.

"What do you think?"

Cinder mainly put the napkin to her lips to hide the fact that she was biting them due to an intense numbing sensation.

"It's good," she said tightly. "And very cold."

"Oh, did you get brain freeze?"

"It appears so..."

"Ahh okay! Push your tongue to the roof of your mouth!" Ruby was taking this so seriously, but Cinder just ended up laughing again.

"It's all right. It was certainly a new experience for me."

"Oh... Then I'm glad!"

They laughed it off after that, and it was then Cinder realized they were drawing a bit of attention from the people around them.

Almost everyone else here was older, also formally dressed, and minding their own business. But a few tables' worth of customers seemed to be close in age to Ruby and herself, and just because they were wearing suits didn't mean they were any less immature.

Cinder sent a glare at the table of boys not far from them, not intending to make eye contact, but merely to observe them. Of course, one of them ended up turning around and saw her, then winked and blew a kiss.

Cinder narrowed her eyes like a hawk honing in on prey, and a slight rise in temperature made the entire restaurant shift a little. Ruby glanced briefly at the boys, but didn't want Cinder to get upset. So Ruby quickly tried to gain her attention back.

"Do you want another sip? Once you get used to brain freeze, the milkshake tastes better!"

Cinder tore her gaze away from the boys and gave her full attention back to her date.

"Thank you."

Not only did the flavors really taste better now, but the milkshake also served to cool her down a bit. When Ruby leaned forward with a smile and a giggle, and began drinking from her straw too, Cinder internally melted all over again.

Their food was soon brought out, and they began enjoying themselves. Ruby asked her how her food was, to which Cinder replied approvingly.

They chatted casually in between bites of food, sips of drinks, and dabs of napkins. Their first real date together was going extremely well.

That is, until one of those boys decided to interfere.

He sauntered over to the table, and Cinder saw him coming before he himself even knew what he was going to do. She put her utensils down and squared her shoulders to face him. If he spoke so much as one word to Ruby, Cinder was prepared to do anything to chase him off.

To her slight relief, he passed Ruby.

And to her utter annoyance, he stopped right beside Cinder herself.

"Excuse me, miss?" he said with a smile. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but you're not from around here, are you? Why don't I give you the grand tour?"

Cinder let out a sharp, hot breath. She didn't want to set the place of her first date with Ruby on fire, but she would if she had to.

However, before she could open her mouth, something surprising happened.

Ruby noisily slapped her fork onto the table, drawing the boy's attention. She stood from her seat and cleared her throat loudly.

" Excuse me, but um, we're kind of in the middle of dinner."

She wasn't trying to be confrontational. Rather, Cinder could tell she was putting on an act to appear innocent and timid with her speech, but her eyes were clear and stern.

The boy turned to look at her, only mildly interested.

"Oh, pardon me. But I believe I was addressing this young lady here-"

"Oh, and I believe..." Ruby cut him off. "She was enjoying her meal with me before you butted in."

"Hey listen, she was sending me signals-"

"Oh, was she?" Ruby laughed. "Because the last time I checked, glaring at someone wasn't an invitation to come flirt with them. It meant to stay they heck away and leave them alone. So you can go tell your buddies to keep their money, because placing bets and daring each other to ask people out for money is probably the lowest you can go. How about you use that money to pay for your meal instead of eating and running like you were planning?"

By then, they had drawn a lot of attention, from customers and staff alike. Ruby was firm and unwavering in her accusations, and the boy recoiled and started to sweat. Some waitresses approached the other boys to confront them and demand they pay their bill.

The one Ruby was staring down didn't say another word before limping back to his table. She watched him go, then sat down once again and faced Cinder.

"Sorry about that," she said with a pout. "Guys like that are the worst. My partner always gets harassed, so I learned how to deal with them from her. Compared to her, I think I was pretty nice about it, though." Then, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay, Cinder? I'm sorry. I hope he didn't make you upset."

But Cinder only shook her head.

"Not at all."

"You sure? Okay. That's good. Sorry. I know you could've handled him on your own, but this date was my idea and I wanna make sure everything goes smoothly so I felt I kinda had to-"

"Ruby." Cinder smiles calmly. "It's all right. Thank you."

With that, both of them calm down and get their bearings back.

As they finish their meals, Ruby apologizes to their waitress for causing a bit of a scene. But the woman tells them the boys were indeed intending to eat and run, so they made sure to address that and ban them from the restaurant. All in all, things worked out somehow.

Eventually, they took their leave, and Ruby even covered the bill. As Cinder took her hand again and followed her outside, she realized she'd never had her meal paid for on a date before.

She'd been flirted with many times before, but never had her date stood up for her as Ruby had. Ruby had acknowledged the fact that she knew Cinder could take care of herself, but she hadn't made her do so.

Cinder couldn't accurately describe how nice it had felt to have someone else – especially someone like Ruby – stand up for her.

Ruby could sometimes give off the impression that she needed to be taken care of. But that certainly wasn't the case.

Well, at least in terms of boys and monsters.

But there were two things Ruby seemed defenseless against.

Those heels of hers kept tripping her up on their walk back, to the point where Cinder needed to put an arm around her back and guide her every step. Ruby chuckled nervously and clung to her arm.

"S-Sorry..."

"Don't be. Your feet hurt, don't they?"

"Yeah. I just... wanted to dress nice and look fancy for you tonight. But I guess I'm no good at it, huh?"

"Nonsense," Cinder says. "You were rather good at it in all regards. I'll admit I've been on many dates before, but never one as enjoyable as this."

"R-Really? You mean it?"

"I do."

To spare Ruby more pain in her ankles, Cinder hailed a cab for them to take them back to the air ships.

On the way back to Beacon, they chatted a little more softly, their hands in each other's all the while. They landed, and Cinder helped Ruby back inside, following her instructions and taking her to her dorm room.

Cinder dropped her off outside, but not before reminding her what an enjoyable night she'd had.

"Thank you, Ruby."

"It was my pleasure! Trust me!"

And with that, Cinder was ready to take her leave. But Ruby reached out to take her hand again and stopped her.

Cinder turned back, looking down into her eyes curiously. Ruby swallowed, then strained up onto her tiptoes. Cinder leaned in a little and closed her eyes.

Ruby kissed her cheek, very softly and very sweetly.

Cinder felt herself stiffen a little and heard Ruby make a small squeaking sound, as though she couldn't believe what she'd just done.

Cinder also needed a moment to regain her composure, hiding her face behind her hair to conceal her blush. Ruby wobbled back to her door.

"W-Well then, I'm... glad you had a good time, Cinder. G-Goodnight!" Ruby opened her dorm room door and stepped inside, but not before flashing Cinder one last bashful look.

Cinder merely lifted her hand in a small wave.

"Good night..."

Thus, their first date concluded.

Cinder wandered back to her dorm room in somewhat of a daze, her fingers naturally touching the spot where Ruby's lips had pressed moments earlier.

When she got back to her room, she was bombarded with questions, to which Cinder gave minimal, but positive answers. Her teammates let her relish in her quiet glee, and decided to wait until tomorrow to press her for details.

That night, Cinder changed clothes and curled up in bed. Her panther plushie was already packed away. But tonight, she felt she didn't need it.

After all, she was perfectly warm and happy without it.

And she had been the one to receive a kiss tonight.

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A/N: Finally they got their proper date! I had fun writing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading!