Chapter 13

The burrito place was not much of a walk away, and it was neither uphill nor down. In all the stroll provided a pleasant bit of exercise. Velvet had long legs however. She strode before Ruby and Coco at a distance that Coco was only barely interested in closing. She seemed content to walk by Ruby's side. Arriving at the restaurant, it almost felt out of place. It was nestled between two larger establishments with far cushier, pristine decors. This hole in the wall was clean but homey, cramped but cozy, and most importantly, the smell was thick and mouth watering.

"Hey Red." Coco laughed. "Close your mouth before you catch flies."

Ruby felt a finger poke at her cheek and she snapped out of her daze. Her stomach rumbled loudly at the intoxicating scent - fresh meat, spices and a variety of cooked and cooking ingredients wafting through the air. Someone was gaining several pounds today. Approaching the teller, Velvet called for her usual, a bean and rice vegan burrito with extra salsa. Ruby chose barbeque chicken. Those two found themselves a booth while Coco stayed behind to make sure her order was done right.

"Whoa." Ruby breathed as Coco set her order down on the table. Nestled in a foil bowl lay what could only be described as a burrito that had eaten another burrito.

"Seriously?" Velvet laughed.

"Muh baby." Coco joked as she took her seat beside Velvet. "My delicious, juicy, meaty baby."

"How are you even gonna' eat that?" Ruby wondered, taking a bite of her own meal.

"I am going to put it in my mouth." Coco deadpanned.

"It's definitely big enough." Velvet teased.

"Gotta' be for this award winning grin." Coco smiled wide and bright. "So Ruby, engineer huh?"

"Uh yeah, well I was supposed to be." Ruby nodded.

"Mmm." Coco lifted the monstrous burrito, and true to her word took a massive bite. "Mng gods dis is gud." She moaned blissfully before swallowing. "Never met an engineer so young. Pyrrha plucked you right outta' uni right?"

"Yeah, it was really a shock." Ruby replied. "I thought maybe I'd get something small somewhere, maybe wouldn't be taken that seriously...instead I was told I'd be working for the biggest company in the world." She shrugged. By now it almost seemed as normal as she made it sound. "It's only been a few weeks since then."

"So what, you got hired and like a week later you were here?" Coco asked.

"Yeah, it all happened really fast." Ruby confirmed.

"And then your job got delayed, bet that was scary." Coco suggested.

"Oh gods, don't remind me, I nearly had a panic attack." Ruby groaned. "A continent away, barely enough money to last a week, and I get told that I'm a month early now? I don't know how I kept it together."

"I reckon there's a point where you're so scared shitless you aren't really scared at all." Velvet mused.

"Like the eye of the shitstorm." Coco added.

"Pyrrha said you were getting paler and paler." Velvet continued. "She thought you were gonna' pass out."

"I'm just thankful it's working out." Ruby managed a smile. "I was a bit shocked to meet Weiss on my first day though."

"Oh yeah, I bet that was an experience." Coco smirked. "How was the first impression?"

"She was angry about someone called...Cardin?" Ruby remembered.

"Winchester, asshole head of security." Velvet nodded.

"Racist blue blood prick." Coco sneered. "Weiss' father gave him a sweetheart contract, so Weiss can't fire him without valid cause."

"Being racist isn't enough?" Ruby pressed.

"He's racist, but good enough at his job that there's no real reason to get rid of him." Velvet explained. "He doesn't act up often. He knows Weiss has her eye on him. He used to target me, I think it's the ears. They always draw attention." Velvet twitched one for emphasis. "I can deal with the attention, it's the pulling I have an issue with."

"And if he ever touches them again, I'm going to literally murder the bastard." Coco smiled through her teeth, reaching over to lightly stroke one of the appendages.

Velvet sighed, leaning into the touch. "Reign it in babe, you have a career to salvage."

"Fuck my career, you're more important." Coco ended with a light scritch around the base. "I'm making up for lost time."

"We'll lose even more time if you keep pulling moves like that." Velvet warned.

"I like the sound of that." Coco grinned, returning to her burrito. "Weiss likes you ya' know? Says you make great coffee."

"I try my best...Penny says you're longtime friends with Weiss." Ruby responded.

"Longest time friend, followed by Velv we're basically family, nearly literally once." Coco boasted.

"Literally?" Ruby quirked her brow.

"Yeah, our families wanted us to marry one day, combine business empires and such." Coco grimaced. "They penned us together and told us to get along. It was a rough start." She smiled fondly. "But once we stopped resenting each other and started talking, we got along really well. But then I started acting out and it wasn't socially acceptable for us to be together. Did it anyway, just in secret."

"You were together together?" Ruby was taken aback.

"We were, 'til things changed." Coco waved her hands over herself. "Better to have a strong friendship for life than a crazy relationship for however long it lasts before burning out. We're volatile people Ruby, penning us up together for too long causes trouble. We need people to keep us grounded. Weiss has Pyrrha and Ren." She slid her arm around Velvet, flashing a sappy grin. "And I have Velv, thanks to Weiss."

"Weiss introduced us." Velvet explained.

"Took her long enough." Coco snickered.

"Because we weren't really friends for the first few years." Velvet excused. "Weiss and I met when she was appointed head of what was at the time known as the Faunus Assistance Program."

"FAP." Coco laughed, receiving a nudge for her trouble.

"It was a response to the Fang's protests, a publicity stunt really, but we did what we could with what little power we had." Velvet continued. "I'd been working there for a year when suddenly we get told Weiss Schnee, heiress of the SDC was taking over, just like that." She clicked her fingers for emphasis.

"Why did that happen?" Ruby inquired.

"Because she asked to be." Velvet replied. "Said she went to her father and pitched it like the program was wasted PR potential, that we could be better utilized with her name and power attached to us." She chuckled. "Truth was she was just trying to make a difference."

"Clever bitch, lied to Jacques Schnee's face and got away with it." Coco laughed. "The asshole was always too overconfident for his own good. Probably why he's dead."

"Anyway, we were called into a meeting." Velvet resumed the story. "It was a massive waste of time. Everyone was either scared or angry, and here comes Weiss, manila folder in hand, nervous as shit, and says straight up 'I'm aware of the sudden change, but I promise I am not here to cause disruption. My name is Weiss, and if you will have me, I'd like to work alongside you.'"

"As if you had any say in the matter." Coco jabbed.

"That's what we thought, but now I think she would have made good on her word either way." Velvet admitted. "Her first move was to change the name to Faunus Outreach Program, so her first impression was a good one. FOP wasn't great, but it was infinitely better than FAP. She asked me for help after, said she knew what she wanted to do, but not how to do it...I like to think that was the start of our friendship, but back then there was still a massive divide. I was a Faunus in Atlas, she was heiress to the SDC. It just seemed impossible, and I kept waiting for the hammer to fall, ya' know? The rug to get pulled out from under us, but it never came. Things actually got better, slowly, but still surely...and then she became CEO, and things just took off."

"It was around then Weiss finally introduced us, and even then it was basically by accident." Coco reminisced.

"Big miss barge into the office with a bag of clothes." Velvet nudged.

"Excuse you, it was luggage, and I nearly bit off some douchnozzle's hand when he went to search it." Coco huffed.

"Coco made a great first impression." Velvet rolled her eyes.

"I made a few good first impressions…" Coco leered, waggling her brows.

"Eat your baby Coco, before it gets cold." Velvet deadpanned.

"Eh, I can always make another one." Coco laughed, obeying nonetheless. "Sho, no one shpeshal in your life Wed?"

"Not really." Ruby admitted. "I liked Neon but...I don't think anything will happen there."

"Plenty of fish in the sea." Velvet encouraged.

"Not many fish Faunus though." Coco joked.

"They are a rare breed." Velvet grinned.

"I wonder if they taste diff-" Coco started.

Velvet slapped her partner's shoulder. "Stop."

"Aw, Honeybun, I was only curious." Coco pouted. "Hey Ruby, if I hook you up can you let me know?"

"Uh-" Ruby managed.

"You're unbelievable." Velvet grumbled.

"I know, right?" Coco preened. "Absolutely unimaginable. I'm just too hot!"

"Hot headed." Velvet jabbed.

"You love my hot head." Coco smirked.

"Ugh, I'm going to the bathroom." Velvet groaned. She stood to slide out of the booth, squeezing past Coco. "Calm your head down before I get back."

"No promises!" Coco laughed, staring at her girlfriend's rear as she walked away. "Red, make sure your next partner has a great ass."

"I'm usually too busy looking at their chest." Ruby chuckled.

"Ooh, tits gal huh?" Coco perked up.

"I guess." Ruby shrugged.

"I guess...you gay or bi?" Coco asked.

"Bi." Ruby answered. It was probably one of the few things in her life of which Ruby was sure. Male of female, she had never really preferred one or the other. They both had their ups and downs.

"Best answer, best of both worlds." Coco cheered. "Guys have washboard abs down-pat, but the hips on gals, mph!" She fist pumped. "Hey, here's a quiz, what's your comfort clothing?"

"Uh...like, hanging out?" Ruby asked.

"Alone in you room, you don't give a damn what anyone thinks, you just wanna' feel comfortable." Coco confirmed.

"Oh, hoodie and boyshorts." Ruby answered.

"No bra?" Coco pressed.

"No bra." Ruby nodded.

"Alright, going out shopping?" Coco moved on.

"Singlet, hoodie, skinny jeans and flats, or boots...but I need to get new boots." Ruby rambled.

"What kinda' boots?" Coco inquired.

"Lace up knee highs." Ruby replied.

"Black?" Coco suggested.

"Yeah." Ruby confirmed.

"Studded?" Coco added.

"Yeah." Ruby responded.

"How do you feel about lace?" Coco asked.

"I like it." Ruby stated.

"Skirts?" Coco continued.

"I like 'em short." Ruby smirked.

"Corsets?" Coco was almost bursting with glee.

"Pretty, but expensive." Ruby sighed.

Coco grinned, lowering her head to rest on her hands. "Closet goth?"

"Yeah...it was a phase." Ruby admitted, somewhat mournfully. A pair of worn boots in the corner of her room were the last remnants of what she thought was her identity at one point.

"Pfft, phases." Coco scoffed. "Phases like the moon? Those pass, yeah, then they come again. You really want it to just be a phase?"

Ruby was surprised at the sudden change in tone. Coco was not being blase about this, and to be honest Ruby appreciated having someone to talk to about it. Because no, she never wanted it to be a phase. "I wanted it to be who I was, I felt comfortable dressing like that...but everyone either laughed or looked at me funny. Even Yang thought it was silly, but at least she didn't really say anything."

"I think you'd have looked beautiful." Coco encouraged. "Do you have any pictures?"

"No." Ruby smiled. "But thank you for thinking that."

"I can see it anyway, black and red, white top, cute corset, frilly skirt, stockings to show off those legs." Coco worked herself up. "You're giving me ideas Red."

"It's a bit cold for stockings." Ruby noted.

"Leggings are always an option." Coco suggested. "It's more about the curves than showing skin, and curves are what catch the eye." She winked.

"Maybe...when I get a few more paychecks I might look around." Ruby thought aloud.

"I'll show you a few good places." Coco volunteered.

"I'd appreciate that Coco." Ruby thanked her.

"Gimmie' your scroll, I'll give you my number." Coco reached out.

"Oh, sure." Ruby dug around in her purse, unlocking and placing the device in Coco's waiting hand."

"Hey!" Coco exclaimed. "You know Yatsuhashi?"

"Uh...the big Mistrali guy who watches the employee entrance most of the time?" Ruby asked.

"Isn't he cute?" Coco grinned.

"He's kinda' nice, a bit scary though." Ruby admitted.

"I can give you his number." Coco offered.

"Uh…" Ruby hesitated.

"He's really sweet!" Coco encouraged before shifting to a whisper. "And I heard he's packing." She winked.

Ruby blinked, then turned bright red, hiding her face. "Oh gods Coco, now I'm not gonna' be able to look him in the eye!"

"It's not his eyes you've gotta' look at." Coco smirked.

"Nnnnnnngh!" Ruby whined.

"I'm gonna' put you down as a maybe." Coco chuckled.

Ruby let her head drop onto the table, just as Velvet returned. She looked from the collapsed girl to her mate with a blank stare. "What did you do to her?"

Coco finished saving the contacts in Ruby's scroll. "Matchmaking."

After knocking on the apartment door, Ruby unlocked it and pushed inside. To her surprise and relief, the apartment was relatively silent, only the dull sound of the shower droning down the hall. She sighed, heading for her room, lazily kicking off her shoes before flopping face first onto tbe bed. She buried her face in the new blanket she had purchased over the weekend. It was soft, imitation mink, black with a lovely big rose in the middle. It was like destiny that she had come across it, on special even!

Ruby's phone vibrated, but her purse lay discarded too far away for her to care. She hoped it was not something important...she really hoped it was not something important. Things were going smoothly again. Right now she just wanted to change into some comfy clothes and lounge around without a care in the world. No pain to bother her, no duties to attend to, no anxiety to hold at bay. Just Ruby, alone with her existence.

It was kind of lonely.

Ruby was not used to being alone. She had always had Yang or Zwei by her side, and either Summer or Tai would be around depending on the time of day. She never felt wanting for someone to be with, but right now all she could focus on was that Blake and Sun were leaving, and she would be alone again, all night.

Maybe Ruby should actually text Coco. She seemed nice. It helped that she reminded Ruby a lot of Yang - loud, proud and unashamed of her sexuality. She would probably be less crushing in a hug though. But Coco was the former CEO of a fashion company. Yes, former CEO, but Ruby could not help but feel intimidated by that. Do you really just text someone who probably still has enough money to buy your family home, demolish it, and rebuild it without breaking a sweat? What if Coco thought she was only after her friendship because of her money? Or her status? What if she messed up and made Coco angry, which would make Velvet angry, and Weiss, and probably Pyrrha too. All those bridges burned and her career over before it even began.

Ruby's head hurt. She really needed something to drink. Just as the thought passed through her mind, two firm taps on the door rung out. "Come in." Ruby called, rolling over to pull herself upright.

The door opened and Blake stood in the doorway. "We're going. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, today was weird." Ruby replied.

"Weird?" Blake pressed.

"Yeah, Velvet was looking at me funny this morning." Ruby explained. "Then she found my scratches and thought something bad happened to me." Blake tensed, skin paling. "Then we had lunch with Coco, who's also really nice. It just felt weird sitting with someone so big as if it was nothing."

"What do you mean by something?" Blake asked sternly.

"She thought you did it." Ruby answered. "She said she'd seen the signs before, humans who had bad relationships with Alphas. I told her you'd never do that, you've only touched me when I asked you to." Ruby assured. "Are the scratches really that bad?"

Blake heaved a sigh, leaning against the doorframe to rub her eyes. "The scratches alone weren't the issue." Blake explained. "I marked you this morning, with my scent. You smell like me, like Alpha. Other Faunus would smell you and know you are marked as kin, under my protection." She grimaced. "Or in this case, seemingly my mate."

Ruby blinked, brows shooting upward. "Your mate? Velvet thinks I'm your mate?"

Sun chose the moment to duck into the room. "Think love bites Ruby. You showed up to work with love bites and someone else's perfume on."

"Ooh...why didn't you tell me you marked me?" Ruby asked.

"I didn't think you'd mind." Blake shrugged.

"I don't mind Blake." Ruby responded. "I just want to know these things in case they come up. You know, like if one of my few sorta' friends happens to deal with Human/Faunus relations for a living?"

"Alright, I'm sorry." Blake sighed. "I'll come in tomorrow and make sure she understands."

"What!?" Sun spluttered. "What ever happened to I'll step foot in the SDC when it's rubble?"

"I found a better reason than visiting your dumbfuck friends." Blake growled.

"They're not dumbfucks!" Sun protested.

"I have twenty videos that prove otherwise." Blake insisted. "The least of which involve a suction cup dildo."

Ruby snorted. "What?"

"Hey, they work all day." Sun threw up his hands. "They can goof off every once in a while."

"There's goofing off, and there's a fucking miracle that they haven't been fired yet." Blake grumbled. "I thought the SDC had higher standards."

"If you spent five minutes giving them a chance-" Sun started.

"I'd lose an ear." Blake cut him off. "Goodnight Ruby, sleep well." She bid before leaving.

Sun scoffed, grinning. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just tired." Ruby replied. "I might have an early night."

"Alright." Sun nodded. "Hey, tomorrow I'll meet you at lunchtime. I'm gonna visit Neptune and the boys. You could come along if you're not busy."

"Maybe, we'll see what happens." Ruby smiled. "G'night Sun."

"G'night Ruby." Sun waved, closing the door as he left.

Ruby sighed, shrugging off her button-up, flinging it into the corner followed by her singlet. Then, with a satisfied groan, she removed her bra. Gods she hated wearing anything firmer than a sports bra. She did not know how Yang stood it. Perhaps it was the satisfaction of removing it at the end of the day that drove her. Her scroll chimed, twice in succession, and she finally gave in, sliding to the floor and crawling to her bag. Pulling her scroll free, it showed texts from two people. The first was Yang, which was unsurprising. The second gave her pause.

"Big Choc: Reeeeeeeed, Velv won't pay attention to me! I'm bored"

Caught between surprise and amusement, Ruby flopped back onto the bed, flicking to Yang's messages. It was not too dissimilar.

"Yang: I miss my Ruboo"

Ruby snickered, rolling her eyes at the name. It seemed at least she was not lacking for attention. Maybe it did not matter that she was physically alone. Maybe she needed to focus more on socializing with the people she knew. "Big Choc...pfft." She laughed at the name Coco had entered for herself. Coco definitely did not take herself too seriously, which was not hard to know already. Maybe she should put her in contact with Yang someday...maybe Coco was taking the first step for her, in case she had cold feet. And Ruby did like Coco. She should try to treat her like any other. Maybe Coco did not have many close friends either. She did say it was hard to find genuine people in Atlas. The only way to know for sure was to try, but first she had to reply to Yang.

"Ruby: I miss my Yangarang."

Family comes first after all. She shifted to Coco's text.

"Ruby: That meanie :("

It still felt weird just stepping into the role of a friend, as if she had always been there.

"Big Choc: I'm wasting away! If I don't get fed attention I shrivel and die D:"

But it felt damn good to be there.