Chapter 15

"I am so unbelievably uncomfortable right now, Summer."

"Tough shit. Stand there and take it."

The changing room lights bore down on them like theater follow spots, making the top of her partner's ebony black hair glimmer like a mirror.

"I don't even know why this is necessary? I own clothes!"

"Right, and we've already explained this to you darling, if you wear any of them to your date I will remove your skin with a potato peeler. You are getting new clothes whether you like it or not, capische?"

Raven stuck her head over the top of the stall door to glare nervously at her.

"I heard you the first time, Mere. Please don't hurt me."

"Just try on some clothes and I won't."

"I am! But why did you have to put her in here with me!"

Glynda spoke up from inside the stall.

"I'm here to make sure everything fits, and to make adjustments when necessary. Please stand still, Miss Branwen."

"Ow! Quit jabbing me with those things!"

Ruby giggled into her comic book, kicking her feet up onto the adjacent chair. "Make sure that woman comes out looking a million lien, G."

"That is my intent. Please raise your arms above your head, Miss Branwen."

There was some grumbling from within the stall, followed by compliance as Raven raised her arms above the top of the door. The sounds that followed were a lot of shuffling and pained grunts as poor Raven was shimmied into something probably a little too small for her body. Lucky for her, the stylist she was being abused by was the expert and knew every facet of fashion and knew exactly how to make anyone look presentable.

"This feels," she struggled out. "Too tight."

"That is how it is supposed to sit. Now put this on."

"Ugh."

Ruby set her comic down in her lap and stared at the door. "Everything alright in there, G?"

"Mm, your friend is a little taller than most of these clothes are made for, but we are making it work."

"Fuckin- where the hell do you buy clothes, then?" Raven demanded.

"My family's tailor. There is no store-bought for me, save for my school uniform. None of this would fit me."

"Pfft-yeah, not with those tits."

"Would you like my assistance, or are you just going to make more snide comments on my figure?"

There was a pause. Ruby snickered.

"Sorry."

"Thank you. Put these on."

"B- I can't! They won't fit over the brace!"

"Take the brace off."

"But my leg!"

"Miss Branwen, please."

The circular arguments that Glynda and Raven had been having for the last hour were endlessly amusing. There was a huge sigh followed by the sound of the clasps being let go again and the brace fell to the floor. It was quickly picked up, likely by Glynda, and slung over the top of the door with a clatter.

"Ow. Please, I can't-"

"There is always sacrifices with looking good. Sometimes that includes brief pains in the legs. Put these on."

"These are high heels. I- no."

"You can just say 'heels', Miss Branwen. Put them on."

Ruby winced, thinking of her partner's injury. "Actually, Glyn, maybe don't make her wear those, I don't want her shattering her ankle any further."

"Do you have an alternative, then?"

"Rae, you're what, a women's size twelve?"

"Eleven."

"Right, right, one second."

She got up and skipped back into the store, directly towards the shoe section. Raven was gonna need something with a steep, high top to cover her ankle if she was wearing the pants that Glynda had insisted she try on. Ruby mused over the styles for a moment, feeling her way past some rather tacky looking bejeweled sneakers. God, how anyone would even consider them would be a freakin' miracle, they were hideous. Eventually she brushed passed them to the boots, finding herself face to face with a rather stunning pair of brown ankle-high leather boots, vintage style.

"Ooh. I might buy these for myself." she said, picking up the display and turning it over. "No, bad Ruby. No spending money on yourself."

She put the display down and crouched, scanning the boxes of product beneath it for the right size. Of course, the size she needed was quite literally the bottom box, which had to be extricated with care to avoid the whole shelf falling onto her and making a mess of the store. With a wiggle of her wrist, the box came free without incident, leaving a box-shaped gap at the bottom of the pile. Neat.

She hurried back and handed the box over the top of the stall, where one of the two of them took it.

"Wh-, these are Doc's, Mere."

"Yeah." she said, sitting back down and picking up her comic book.

"These are gonna be expensive."

Ruby shrugged. "Sometimes you gotta spend a little on the good things. Those boots'll last you until you're like, forty if you take care of them."

The sound of a box being opened grabbed her attention back to the stall.

"Oh my."

"Yeah, they're nice, aren't they?"

"...and you're sure about these?"

"Very."

"If you say so."

After a few more moments of fussing and the sounds of shoelaces being tied, no doubt by Glynda since Raven couldn't bend over to do it herself, they were ready. With a creak of poorly-oiled hinges, the change stall door swung open and Raven was pushed out into the hallway.

"Well, I'll be damned." Ruby looked her partner up and down. "I knew I called the right person."

"This is humiliating. I feel like a doll."

"And today, you are."

Glynda strode around her and took a seat next to Ruby, crossing her legs and putting her chin into her hand.

The look was excellent. The navy blue off-shoulder sweater hung just so on the woman's long torso, exposing only her left shoulder to the air. The elastic bando underneath meant that shoulder was completely bare, free from intrusion of a strap or sleeve. The deep black cotton chinos hugged her muscled legs like they'd been made specifically for her, flared out at the bottom to cover the very top of the leather boots, but leaving enough of them exposed so they could see the brass eyelets shimmer back at them. The subtle touch of the deep brown belt around her waist didn't go unnoticed, neither did the sliver of midriff that the sweater exposed whenever Raven moved her shoulders.

"I love it." Ruby said, trying to contain her excitement.

She noticed that Raven seemed to be keeping all her weight off her bad leg, since she didn't have the brace on anymore. Glynda seemed less impressed with the outfit, however.

"Mmm, I'm not so sure. It's a little… middle school, don't you think?"

"No, don't be ridiculous. She looks like a freaking model, G. Hell, if she showed to dinner with me looking like that, let me tell you, I'd be letting her smooch on the first date."

Raven seemed to flush red. Ruby paid her no mind as Glynda pondered her statement.

"Yeah, maybe that's not what we're going for. Perhaps more of a country girl aesthetic would be more suited. She is quite the buff body, if I'm honest. She could easily pass for a Valean native. If she was blond. Miss Branwen, may we colour your hair for tomorrow?"

Raven recoiled, careful of her bad leg.

"No! Abso-fucking-lutely not!"

Ruby perked up. "Okay, but what if I helped you dye your hair?"

There was a pause from the tall woman.

"Okay, maybe, but not today. And not blond. I'm going on a date with a blond boy, don't you think that would be weird if I showed up and we matched?"

"Actually, that's a fair point, I had forgotten who you were going out with for a moment there."

"...How? You were the one who orchestrated this!"

Obviously, she couldn't admit to fantasizing about scrubbing her hands through her partner's beautifully luscious hair, so she just bit her lip and held up her book.

"I was distracted."

"You're always distracted, Summer."

"Sorry. You look stunning as you are."

"I'd really like to wear my leg brace, though.

Ruby shrugged. "Sacrifices, Rae."

The woman winced, hobbling back to the little stall and sitting down on the bench, leaving the door open. She rubbed at her leg.

"I do like those boots, though. Did they have them in my size, by chance?" Glynda questioned, leaning over to her.

"Uh, no, eleven was the biggest."

"Hmm, a shame. They're super cute."

"Hyeah, I want a pair of my own." She paused, doing a mental inventory of the outfits they'd chosen. "I have an idea, wait here."

Ruby got up, tossing her comic book into Glynda's lap. She sauntered across the change room and folded herself into the changing stall with Raven. She closed the door with a soft click and turned to the row of clothes hanging off on one side.

"Raven, take your pants off, please."

"Uh, yeah, okay." she mumbled, anxiously fiddling with her belt. She stopped halfway. "W-wait, why?"

Ruby turned her head with a wicked smile.

"I'm curious to know what you think I want to do with you."

Raven shivered.

"I need an adult."

"No, you don't. You do need to take off your pants, though."

"Why me?" she mumbled, kicking off the boots and pulling the belt all the way off.

Ruby diligently kept her back turned so Raven could de-pant in peace, listening for the sound of the woman's winces and gasps as she stepped out of the black chinos and left herself bare from the waist down.

"The sweater and the bando too, Rae-Rae."

"You just want me to be naked, don't you."

"I'll admit that was one part of my plan, yes. Please get naked."

Raven whined behind her as she pulled off the sweater. Ruby rifled through the rack of clothes until she found one particular blue polka-dotted garment and pulled it off the hanger it was on. She fiddled with it in her hands, pressing it to herself and looking down her body to check its length. Very, was the result.

"O-okay… I'm undressed."

Ruby turned, only to immediately flush red and turn back around.

"Whoa! Sorry, I should have clarified, you can keep your underwear on!"

"What?! Why didn't you say that?! Fuck!"

Ruby laughed into her hands.

"Sorry!"

"Damnit, Summer!"

"Hey, wait, I have something for this!"

Ruby did another pass of the rack, grabbing a pair of lycra undershorts and a grey strapless bra, both made by Krieg, a brand she favoured in her underwear for their durability under stress and supportiveness. She handed them back to her nude partner without looking.

"Wear these, you'll need them."

There was a pause as Raven took them.

"But… these don't match."

"They're not supposed to, just put them on."

"Uh, okay."

There was a few moments of struggling as Raven put on the underwear, apparently not quite sure the correct way to put on a strapless bra. Not that Ruby blamed her, since being a nomadic bandit didn't exactly lend itself to fashion opportunities in the undergarment department. Or shopping at any mall, since there were no malls in The Middle of Nowhere, Sanus.

"You in?"

"Uh huh."

"Kay, I'm turning around."

Raven was still sitting on the bench, in her new underwear with her arms crossed under her breasts to support them. She didn't exactly seem trusting of the bra she'd been given. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Stand up."

The order was followed, but the woman didn't move her arms, proving her point.

"What, afraid it's gonna fall down?"

"Well, yeah, it is."

"That's 'cause you're not wearing it right. Turn around."

"Okay, but don't unclip me."

Raven did as she was told. The garish rash across her back was still there, having not healed in the last few hours since she'd seen it. Ruby winced. Maybe Raven did need a chiropractor sooner than later. She ignored the injury for now, focusing instead on the clasp that drew across it.

"See, this is why, you have this on the lowest setting. Here, let me-" she reached for the clasp and undid it, pulling as tight as possible to the fourth set of loops. "There, that better?"

Raven gasped as the air was forced out of her lungs. She tried to swear, but found herself without the necessary wind to do so.

"Too… tight… Summer…"

"Okay, maybe one less."

She set it back to the third set of loops, seeing her partner visibly inflate again. The issue with Krieg products, specifically their bras, was the material they used was unbelievably stiff, almost like silk, meaning it had no elasticity or stretch to it. So yanking it tight over one's chest tended to result in asphyxiation much like this. It meant the damn stuff never broke, but you did have to make sacrifices like this.

"Uhhhh that's better."

Ruby chuckled. "Sorry. You can turn around now."

Raven turned, facing her in the small stall. Ruby tried her very hardest not to stare into the eye-level cleavage of her partner, instead focusing on adjusting the collar of the item in her hand.

"You want me to wear… that?"

"Yes, darling. I do."

"That's a dress."

"...yes, it is."

"I can't wear a dress!"

Ruby looked at her incredulously. "Why the hell not?"

"I just… I just can't!"

"You wear a skirt at school, don't you?!"

"Well, yeah, but… I just…"

Ruby pursed her lips and put her hand on Raven's cheek. "How about you just try it on, and if you decide you don't like it, we'll change it, okay?"

Raven sighed. "Alright, fine."

She smiled. "Awesome! Put your hands on my shoulders if you want to balance."

Her partner did as she was told again as Ruby bent down with the top of the dress facing up in her hands, holding it low to the ground. Raven stepped one foot in, nearly losing her balance as she did the other, her bad leg still not up to the task of holding her weight yet. Once both legs were in the dress, Ruby pulled it up her legs, past her hips, and up her torso.

"Keep your arms up, Rae."

"Uh huh."

She fiddled with the neck of the dress, settling it just over the edge of the bra cups, leaving the entirety of her neck, shoulders, and collar exposed.

"There we go. Now, I might have to get a little friendly with you here to get it to sit and stay."

"But, wait, where are the straps?"

Ruby blinked.

"This is a strapless dress…"

Raven looked down at herself, seeing that indeed, there was no straps. She panicked.

"Oh no, no no no, I can't wear this!"

Ruby stepped back to admire.

"Why not, you look fucking adorable, Raven."

The way that the white and blue dress hung off Raven's body was something else. The narrowness of her waist and wide-set hips meant that the dress had exactly the right flare along the bottom of the hem, the pleats falling oh so naturally against her legs and sitting just so above her knees. And the way it hugged her boobs? Ruby was sure she would go cross-eyed.

"I'm showing way too much skin, Mere, this is absurd, I can't wear this, people will look at me and think I'm a floozy, my knees are showing, my boobs are hanging all over the place, Taiyang's gonna think I'm some kind of… some kind of…"

Ruby stopped her with a raised finger.

"Number one, shut up, number two, shut up, number three, holy shit do you even see yourself right now?"

"Buh-b-b-buh-"

"No, I said shut up. Put the boots back on and turn around."

Raven pouted, but complied, slipping her feet back into the boots and spinning around on the spot. Ruby reached the long way up and carefully pulled her partner's long and feathery hair back away from her shoulders. The dress had a ribbon tied around the back to act as a tensioner for thinner women, but with Raven's burly and muscular build she didn't need the dress to be any tighter, so she removed the ribbon.

"What are you doing back there?"

"Just hold still, you'll see in a second."

She took the ribbon in her teeth and held it there, pulling carefully at the locks again. She got them pulled up as high as they would go on the woman, holding it in place with her hand and grabbing the ribbon again. With a deft hand, she tied the ponytail up in place with the little blue ribbon, making a perfect bow just as Penny had taught her. Or rather, would teach her sixteen or seventeen years in the future. She paused a moment, realizing she couldn't remember Penny's Date of Manufacture. This puzzled her, since she always knew all of her friends' birthdays.

"There, excellent. Turn around."

"I'm gonna get sick from all this spinning."

"Tough shit."

Raven turned. Ruby gasped.

It was perfect. In every measurable way. The bow holding up the shiny black locks, the cute ankle boots, the almost immaculately hanging dress. Ruby, admittedly, was in love again.

"Summer, you're looking at me weird…"

"Oh my god, Rae, you have to wear this. This is so much better than I expected. C'mon, let's go show Glynda."

"Okay…"

Ruby nearly burst the door down with how excited she was, dragging a limping Raven out behind her and back into the hallway. Glynda was still there, reading the comic so rudely tossed her way with her glasses off, lounging her tall frame over the two waiting room chairs. A curious sight, given her future thoughts on posture and reading comics.

"G, take a look at this, and take a look now." Ruby demanded, pushing her partner out in front of herself.

Glynda put the book down and slid her glasses back onto her face, standing slowly up. As she did, the change in her facial expression seemed to span the entire wavelength of impressed, concerned, intrigued, infatuated, and obsessed as she looked the woman up and down.

"It's beautiful."

"I know, right?" Ruby chittered, giddy.

"More to the point, she's beautiful. It's exactly what I wanted us to focus on. Everything about this serves to accentuate. If it wasn't for the bruise on her ankle, you'd be hard-pressed to convince me I wasn't looking at a model right now."

"Guys, c'mon…" Raven tried, to no effect.

"The only thing I'd change would be to add some white calf socks, just to make the little bit of thigh you can see just that much more interesting."

"You can see my thighs?!"

"Only about two inches. That's the cut of this dress, after all."

Raven went red in the face. "This dress is too short. This dress is too slutty."

"No, it's not." Ruby chuckled, coming over and carefully adjusting the bust straps so it would stay all the way up. "It's cut this way on purpose to show off the legs and the collar. Have you never worn a strapless dress before?"

"No! I wear… t-shirts and coats. Things that all have sleeves."

"Well, then, today you learn that you can pull off things without sleeves as well. And personally I think you should do without the socks."

"That's because you want to look at my legs."

"That… is factual."

Raven gave a dry chuckle and rolled her eyes. "You're weird, Sunshine."

"Yeah, but you love me."

"Unfortunately. Do you really think this is necessary? This… dress?"

Ruby nodded slowly.

"Yes, Raven, I think it's extremely necessary. Don't tell me you're having second thoughts about this date."

"I'm not, I just… don't know why we have to put in so much effort."

"It's a side effect of falling in love, Rae. We decide that it's worth it to show that we care for someone else. To put all this effort in shows that you want to display yourself in a method that you're uncomfortable with to make someone else happy. I'm sure you'll find Tai doing the same thing, putting on a nice fancy shirt and pants to impress you. That would impress you, right?"

Raven raised her eyebrows. "Taiyang in a dress shirt and pants? That would be certainly impressive, yeah. I didn't think he had the mental capacity to imagine something beyond cargo shorts."

"Yeah, me neither. But he promised me he would. You see what I mean, though? It shows that you care. And if you're both incredibly uncomfortable in what you're wearing, that gives you all the more reason to laugh about it and make conversation."

Raven blushed. "Yeah, see, I thought you were going a way different route with that sentence, Mere. You had me for a second."

"What, you thought I was gonna say 'all the more reason to rip them off each other', right?"

"I plead the fifth."

"We can talk about that at a later date, darling. For now, you look absolutely stunning. All we have to do now is paint your nails and find you some better lipstick and then we'll be all set for your date!"

"You're not painting my nails."

"Yes, I am. You're not leaving the house tomorrow with a Huntress's beat up hands. You're getting some enamel whether you like it or not. I just haven't decided the colour yet."

Glynda interrupted, her arms crossed.

"I think I'll leave the two of you alone now. You seem like you've got this under control, Summer."

Ruby shrugged. "I'll do my best. Thanks for your help, G."

"Call me anytime."

With that, the tall blonde turned and departed, leaving them in the silent light of the changing area. Raven sputtered for a moment, confused.

"Wait, isn't she our ride home?"

"Nah, we can grab an air transport back to the school. They leave every fifteen minutes from the docks."

"That's… across town, it's gonna take us like an hour to walk there."

"We'll stop for dinner first, then." Ruby suggested. "But first, we gotta buy you that dress. And the underwear. A-and the boots. And you know what? Everything else on that rack. You need a new wardrobe. I can't be seen with you if all you have is the same thing over and over again, even if it is astonishing."

"Uh… thank you?"

"You're very welcome. Now strip. Again."

"Ugh."

/…/

"That'll be nine hundred and seventy six, twenty-three, ma'am." the cashier said, gleefully.

Raven coughed and gripped at her chest, clearly blindsided by the final bill. Ruby just smiled and pulled out her wallet, grabbing her credit card and handing it over to the cashier. It swiped through with no problems, showing the little approved sign on the front of the register. She took it back and slipped it back into her wallet, pocketing the little brown leather pouch.

"Thank you for shopping at Eclair's, we hope to see you again soon!"

"You very likely will, thanks!"

Ruby turned and took the three bags of clothes off the counter and strutted for the door, her partner hobbling along behind. They pushed through the glass doors and back out into the mall, sparse at this time of day since most everyone had gone home by this point and many of the other store were closing. Ruby took a deep breath, strutting away and towards the big glass elevators right near the middle of the mezzanine.

"Sunshine, I don't think you should be spending so much money on me, it's unfair."

"What are you talking about, it's perfectly fine."

"Summer, that was nearly a grand. I don't have any way of paying you back."

"Yeah, and you needed a grand worth of clothes. And don't worry about paying me back, you don't have to. I bought this for you so you could look pretty on a date with Tai, it was a necessary expenditure."

"Yeah, but I thought you said we were only going to buy one outfit."

Ruby stopped in front of the elevator, reaching out to hit the down button.

"You're right, that's what I said. Then I saw you in all those clothes and decided you needed all of them."

"I thought… I thought you already thought I looked good…"

"I do, but you need more options. You can't always just put on your red coat and expect to look a million lien. You have to look just as good when you take off that coat."

"But I like my coat…"

"I like your coat too, I just realized you needed even more stuff to look good in under the coat."

They stepped into the elevator and hit the 1st Floor button, hearing the doors whoosh shut behind them. Ruby's mild claustrophobia wasn't affecting her today, especially not with her best friend with her in the glass enclosure. She sighed as the elevator sank them down to the lowest level, opening up to the food court, which smelled rich with the harsh flavours of the tofu restaurant at the corner. She scrunched up her nose as she got out of the lift, careful to not smack her bags of clothes on the doorframe.

"C'mon, we need to find something to eat."

Raven stumbled along behind.

"Can you please slow down, I'm having a hard time walking over here."

"Well, I'm hungry, I haven't eaten since cereal at eleven, and then we had chocolates in the bath, which aren't exactly a steak dinner, now are they?"

"Please, I'm in pain, and I don't want you to skip off and leave me behind."

Ruby halted, spinning in a circle while she waited for her partner to slowly catch up.

"Alright, fine, I will not leave you behind, but only because I care about and respect you."

"That's- uh, nice, I think."

"D'you wanna hold hands?"

Raven seemed to frown at her, squinting through her bangs.

"No? I can… walk by myself just fine, I'm just much slower now."

"Are you sure?" Ruby held out her hand for Raven to take. "I can keep you upright."

For a moment, her partner seemed to reach out for her, before smirking and strutting past towards the exits.

"Nah."

"Aw, man. I almost had you there."

"Why, did you want to hold my hand?"

Ruby flustered. "W-well, no, I just wanted to help you if you needed it."

"You went from confident to fumbling idiot in no time at all, Sunshine."

Ruby paused, clenching her still-empty hand tightly closed.

"Shut the fuck up, Raven."

They laughed as they left through the big glass main entrance and into the arcade, the fresh, clean air filling their lungs and fluttering through her hair as the cool breeze swept through the narrow street. Ruby loved the arcade, from its quaint shops to its cobblestone sidewalks. It was really a great place to hang out. And with Chez Gaston on one end and Bastion's Baked Breads on the other, they were certainly spoiled for choice when it came to food. But that wasn't the sort of thing she wanted today. Ruby bore a hard right, peeling off towards the west end of the arcade, where the street opened up into a big courtyard.

"Where are you taking me? I thought you said you were hungry, we just passed like three restaurants."

"I'm not in the mood to sit down and eat today, Rae-Rae."

"...Uh, isn't that… kind of a part of eating? Sitting at a table?"

"At a restaurant, yeah. But we're not going to one of those. I'm instead going to introduce you to another one of my old friends."

Raven groaned. "Not another mob boss, is it?"

"Of course not." She chuckled. "Just an old man, who's very good at his job."

The road opened up as they passed Bastion's, revealing the huge octagonal courtyard. The massive fountain in the middle still blasting away with its polished bronze turtles and leaves statue, and the three-tier concrete bowls rising up from the middle. It always reminded her of the birdbath at her dad's house, just significantly larger and with less pigeons in it. Not to say there weren't pigeons around, there were, just none of them were in the fountain.

"This place is nice, Sunshine."

Ruby nodded, strolling calmly around the outside of the courtyard in a counterclockwise direction.

"Yeah, I used to come here a lot. My friend Penny used to love sitting on the edge of the fountain and seeing how high she could toss dimes."

"That sounds fun. D'you have any dimes?"

"Nah, I don't carry change on me. It rattles too much. Penny used to, though."

Raven was quiet for a moment as they strolled.

"Was she your girlfriend?"

"Hmhmm, no, she was an experiment I was asked to run for the Atlesian army."

"She was what now?"

"Penny was a prototype android made by the AAF Science Division to test high-impact electromechanical components, and fitted with a stripped-down version of the Army's warmind AI program."

"An… android?"

"Yeah, the Atlesian Army is way ahead of all the other countries in terms of technology and infrastructure. They wanted to see if it would be possible to design a machine that could have a Semblance just like you and me. So they made Penny, and I was tasked with keeping her company while they improved on her design. She liked this courtyard a lot, and we'd come here once a week, every thursday at six."

"That's fuckin' cool. You got to meet an android?"

"Yeah, she was my friend."

"What did you guys do?"

Ruby sighed, trying not to remember why she couldn't have thursdays at six with Penny anymore.

"Well, I'd usually grab something to eat, then we'd play board games at one of the little tables over there, usually Risk or Chess. Turns out a warmind AI is really good at Risk, so she'd generally always win. She was also a surprisingly good piano player. Every spring, the city council does this thing where they put twenty pianos around the city for anyone to play, and they're all painted with interesting bits of art and whatnot, and one of them gets put here in the courtyard."

"That's cool as fuck, Mere. I want to meet an android."

"Hey, maybe someday in the future, we'll be able to meet Penny again."

"Well, what ever happened to her?"

Ruby winced, not wanting to reveal the whole story.

"Decommissioned, put into storage, I don't really know. That was considered 'classified information' that I wasn't privy to. A soldier showed up one day with a severance check and informed me that the project wouldn't be continuing. So I left it at that."

The lie was perfectly crafted to continue the narrative she had been building for herself with her friends. It honestly pained her every time she had to think about any of the people she knew back in the future, especially people so kind-hearted and innocent like Penny. Because every time she did think about them, she had to also remember her sister, her best friend, and Weiss, all people she still wasn't sure if she was ever going to see again.

"But, I kept coming back here, if only just for the food. Because this food truck here helped me get over it."

"Food truck?"

Ruby gestured grandly to a large yellow and blue truck that was trundling up the alleyway next to them. They stepped out of the way as it pulled slowly into the courtyard, turning towards the picnic benches that were set up next to the edge of the fountain. Ruby bounced along behind it as it rolled to a slow stop, squeaking on its brakes as it did.

"C'mon, I'll introduce you to Glen."

"How the hell did you know this truck was about to show up?"

"It's ten to six, that's when he rolls in." She pointed to the clocktower at the north end of the courtyard. "Always has, always will. He's consistent."

"I… see."

Ruby pulled herself up to the truck's window, which wasn't even opened yet.

"I hope your heart valves are ready, because they're about to take a pounding, Rae."

"And I was watching my cholesterol. Oh well."

The big window on the side of the truck slowly cranked open, and the smell of boiling oil and peeled potatoes wafted out and into their noses. Ruby was glad to see the old man she knew from the future was still himself, only a fair bit younger and with more hair than she remembered. He still seemed pleased to see her.

"Hiya, Glen!"

"Hhhhelloh." he said, his voice thick with the far-eastern accent she was used to. He pulled his hat down over his hair, the truck's logo facing out. "Whhat can get for you?"

She turned to Raven. "What d'you want, Rae? Corn dogs? Hot dogs? Perogies?"

"Uh, hot dog, I guess."

"One or two?"

"Uh…" Raven looked down at her stomach, which growled angrily back up at her. "Sounds like two."

"Cool." she turned back to Glen. "Four hot dogs, two sodas, and an order of poutine, my good man."

"What is pou-teen?"

Ruby paused, squinting up at the man. She checked his menu, written in chalk on the wall of the truck next to the window. There was no mention of the cheesy goodness she was used to buying from this place.

"Uh, it's a polular snack from Patch. Man, I was sure you had it."

"Never heard."

Ruby just shrugged. "Do you have gravy?"

"Da."

"And cheese curds?"

"Also da."

"Okay, so put a handful of cheese curds on a small fries, then dump a ladle of hot gravy over it. I thought you had that, I remember it being like four lien."

"I do for you, small girl. Food ready in five minute. Total eleven lien."

Ruby pulled out her wallet and handed over a crisp twenty, receiving back a five and some change, which she stuffed back into her pocket with her wallet. She stepped back and sat against one of the picnic tables nearby, her partner leaning next to her. The wind blew the smell of oil and gravy around them, replacing the dull and dusty air in the courtyard. It was nice.

She'd been meaning to get out of the dorm eventually, and maybe find her way back to the arcade. It had all the little shops she liked, including a place that sold only artisanal cheeses and crackers. She wasn't the biggest fan of expensive cheese, but that store tended to have a taste testing booth out on the street every day, and she'd often stop by to try the fare. This was apparently what rich people did, cheese and wine tastings in the high vineyards of coastal Anima and Vale. Rich people like the Schnees, actually. Ruby had even been on a wine-tasting with Weiss a year ago, seventeen years in the future. She sniffled.

"Food ready, little girl."

She perked up, glad to be away from her thought.

"Awe, sweet." she bounded over and took the steaming plastic plate. "Thanks, Glen."

"Come again soon."

She smiled back up at the old chef as she turned away, carrying the small tray of food over to where Rae had sat down on the edge of the fountain. Ruby carefully placed the tray down and sat as well, pulling her legs up and crossing them.

"These are for you," she said, handing over the plate with two hot dogs, all dressed.

"Thank you, Sunshine."

"You're very welcome, my friend."

Ruby took the little plastic fork she'd been given and dove it into the brand new poutine that apparently Glen had never made before. Funny, she was sure it was his signature item. People came from neighbouring continents for Glen's award-winning poutine. She took a bite.

"Oh, yes."

Now she remembered why it was award winning. Raven was busy with her hot dogs, being careful to not drop relish on her uniform skirt or her sweater. She was being surprisingly dignified with the sloppy food, a sight Ruby wasn't exactly used to yet.

"Y'alright, there?"

"Have a bite. Now."

Ruby forced the little box of sin towards her partner's face, who tentatively reached out and grabbed a cheese-covered fry, nervously eating it. The change in expression on the woman's face was almost museum-quality, mind you.

"Holy fuck. What did you say this was?"

"Poutine. Country snack back in Patch."

"I want. Forever."

"It's really not good for you when you think about it. Super high in starch and milk fat."

"I don't care."

They sat for a moment, eating their respective dinners and watching the small crowds of people meandering in and out of the arcade and around the big courtyard. The bells struck six o'clock slowly and sonorously as the big hand clicked over, filling the air with the deep tonal music from up in the tower. Ruby looked back over to her partner, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin.

"So about tomorrow…"

"Aw, I was hoping we weren't gonna talk about that."

"What was your plan, Rae? Wing it and see what happens?"

"I mean… kinda. I don't really know how to date."

"That's fine, it's okay if you don't." Ruby paused a second to have a bite of hot dog. "How's this, think of this as our first date, and we can prepare you from there."

"Wh- what? Are you saying this is a date?"

Ruby shrugged.

"Kinda is. We spent some time looking at clothes at the mall, we talked about my friends and interests, we found some cheap and cheerful food and are now eating it at the edge of a fountain that has emotional meaning to one of us. It's pretty much 'First Date 101', Rae."

"But… we're going to Chez Gaston tomorrow…"

"Yeah, because Taiyang is aware of how much you like that place because of how much you were hyping it last week. He listened to what you said, and made a decision based on that. He might be pretty stupid, but he is observant."

"Well…"

"There are some things you gotta know about Tai beforehand, however." Ruby mused a moment. "He's completely selfless to a fault, he's charming, he's very silly, he's the most honest man I've ever met, he's a fantastically bad cook, and he really really puts his family ahead of everyone else. And news flash, Rae, that's you, me, and Qrow now."

"It is?"

"Absolutely. Honey, look. Taiyang is my best friend, and the sweetest guy you'll ever meet. You fussing about your outfit whether it's good enough means you actually care what he thinks, and I know for a fact exactly what he thinks about you."

Raven narrowed her gaze, nervous of the answer to that.

"Wh-what's that?"

"Well I'm not gonna tell you, you have to find that out on your own?"

"Fuckin' how?!"

She gestured to their surroundings.

"Exactly how you see us doing here. Casual, friendly conversation on a nice day in a nice part of town. You don't have to go on romantic dates every time you see him, that's just an extravagant waste of money. Simple stuff. A walk in the park, a bike ride, cheap movie night at the Apollo Theatre. That's tuesday nights, by the way."

"But…"

"I know what you might think, but that's really as simple as it needs to be. Tomorrow is an anomaly, where you're going out to a medium-nice restaurant. The next one can be as simple as a date to the Beacon Cliff with a picnic."

Raven blushed into her hot dog.

"That sounds really nice, actually."

"See? You're worrying yourself over nothing. Besides, Tai is harmless. You feel perfectly comfortable around me, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"He's exactly like me, only much taller and a guy. And blond. A-and with a poor sense of style. But otherwise, we are one and the same. I would swear to you that man was my twin brother if we didn't have vastly different hair colours and body types. We have the same sense of humour, the same table manners, the same everything, except appearance. It'll be like dating me, only heterosexual."

"Uh… I guess I'm okay with that?"

"Youfugginbetterbe." she mumbled into a forkful of poutine.

"Excuse me?"

She swallowed.

"Don't worry about it. Tomorrow will be fine, and you'll look beautiful the whole time."

Raven nodded assuredly.

"Okay. I've got this. I think I can do it."

"That's the spirit. I'll even help you with your hair and makeup again tomorrow."

"Awesome. Only one more question."

She gestured for her to ask, mouth full of poutine.

"When is the right time to kiss him?"

Ruby blinked a few times and lowered her fork.

"Second date."

"Damn it."