Ruby Rose | Team RWBY (eyesofsilver) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-06-11 08:05:00 |
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Really good and amazing thing? Ruby getting honored at school for a project she had made. Not so good and amazing thing? It was to be a super fancy event and that meant she needed to wear heels and Ruby didn’t know how to walk in heels. So here she was, trying to get around town in the things so she wouldn’t fall on her face when she accepted her award because her dad and Uncle Qrow had told her that it would be good for her to practice wearing them like this.
Ruby was beginning to think that they had said that to mess with her.
Her goal had been to get a new book on engineering projects that had been released but she was currently struggling to just stand upright.
“How do people walk in these things….”
Each step was hesitant and wobbly. No, but really. Ruby had no idea how people could walk in these things like it was perfectly natural. It was so far from perfectly natural. It was death.
One step… two step…
And straight into a person, causing Ruby to stumble back and fall down as the guy she ran into dropped his books.
“Ohmigod, I’m so sorry!”
“Watch where you’re going!”
Cringing, Ruby started to move forward to help with gathering up the books.
“I don’t need the help of some idiot who can’t even walk properly.”
Yeah. Ruby was pretty good with the floor swallowing her up whole right now. She knew the guy was still yelling at her and how she was an idiot, a klutz, and whatever else he wanted to throw at her but she was just staying where she was and tense. Any attempt to placate the guy which only seemed to set him off more. Maybe she should..just stop talking.
While work hadn’t been overly strenuous, Blake was relieved to be done for the day. She had plans to go curl up with a book somewhere. She wasn’t certain if she’d go sit in a park, or go back to the apartment she shared and read there. She stepped outside the shop and stretched a little, trying to decide what to do when she heard the commotion. Looking over she saw the young woman and the guy and she frowned slightly.
Blake didn’t precisely think that she should get involved, she had problems handling men that were angry and worked up. But at the same time, she didn’t like seeing some asshole yelling at a woman like that for making an honest mistake. So she sucked up her nerve and walked over there.
“Why don’t you leave her alone? Clearly you don’t know what it’s like to walk in high heels. Or do you?” She asked, looking the guy up and down. “I suppose you could have the ankles for it, but it’s not easy walking in heels. So unless you want to try her shoes on and understand how horrible society’s expectations of women actually are, I suggest you stop talking, apologize for yelling at her, and take her apology for running into you.” Whether that would actually work or not, she didn’t know, but she was doing her best to remain brave.
And like any guy who liked to yell at girls, the second there was more than one, he shirked some, though shot Ruby a look of disgust.
“Whatever, she’s not worth it.”
Getting up with his books, he headed to the cash register, muttering under his breath about uptight bitches and klutzes who shouldn’t be let out in public.
As for Ruby? She just looked at Blake in awe.
“That was amazing, thank you so much, you didn’t need to do that, I would have been okay.”
Okay, maybe not. She didn’t like how small she had felt. It had just...happened so fast and he wasn’t listening and it wasn’t like he was hurting her or anything. Rubbing the back of her neck some, Ruby’s eyes widened as she realised she hadn’t introduced herself and so held out her hand.
“I’m Ruby!”
Blake just watched the guy head off. She hated people like that. Shaking her head a little, she looked back at the young woman. And she was hit with a sense of deja vu. Which only grew stronger when she introduced herself. Ruby. Was she the same Ruby that was in her dreams? Yang’s younger sister? Blake tried not to stare as she was realizing this, and she finally blinked.
“Blake.” She responded, shaking Ruby’s hand. She really found this surreal. And a lot like the first time she’d met her in the dreams. Only that time had involved Weiss Schnee, not some asshole guy. “You’re welcome. People like that aren’t worth the trouble.”
That’s what Blake had come to realize. She’d dealt with her share of assholes, some worse than others, and she didn’t like seeing others being treated like trash. She was starting to get a bit of a backbone, though she wasn’t certain if it was a result of the therapy or if it was some of the dreams bleeding over. Either way, she liked being able to stand up for herself and others.
Blinking some as Blake stared at her, Ruby had tilted her head to the side slightly in confusion and was about to ask if she was okay when Blake gave her name and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Blake!” And it was. A part of Ruby seemed to think this was something that was supposed to happen, not that she really believed such things but it was a nice feeling.
“Oh, I know. I mean, I should have been better at sticking up for myself.” And depending on the situation, she probably would have been, like with people at school. Men in STEM were still jerks and she could handle that and their jealousy and everything that came with it. But this had just been so…. Overwhelming. The guy had gotten so angry and she’d only been trying to help after apologising that it had thrown her and made her feel not so great.
“Um. Can I get you coffee or tea or something in thanks? I mean. You don’t have to if you think it would be weird but I still want to as a thank you.”
And this was probably why Ruby struggled at actually making friends. While she was friendly, she was also awkward and tended not to really see the point when she had her family. But it was still polite at least. And she felt like she was supposed to know Blake (which again, crazy but it was what it was) so she should at least try, right? Yang would want her to try.
Ruby seemed just as energetic as she was in the dreams. Blake also didn’t mind the awkwardness, she could handle that. She herself didn’t exactly make friends easily, and tended to prefer keeping everyone at a distance from her.
“It’s alright, I’m not good at sticking up for myself either.” Blake was trying to find her strength again, wanting to be more like she was in her dreams. But that would take time. Longer than Blake would like, but it wasn’t something that could be rushed either.
“It’s not weird at all. I never say no to tea.” Ruby wasn’t the only one who needed to work on her people skills. Blake, for whatever reason, was trying to be more open. Trust was in short supply for her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be nice and just see what happened.
And considering she was half convinced Yang was purposely running into her, chances were she’d be seeing more of Ruby around anyway. And she just felt more at ease around her. Maybe because of when Ruby had asked her what she was reading in the dreams and seemed genuinely interested in it. This felt right. The same kind of right when Yang was around, though it still made her feel a little weird because she wasn’t used to fitting in somewhere. And it felt like she fit with Yang and Ruby, despite having just met Ruby.
“Usually at school I’m okay at it, but this was all just so… Rawr,” at the comment of saying ‘rawr’, Ruby used her hands as if attacking her face with the suddenness of the yelling and how overwhelming it had been. Then again, the situation had also been completely different. She wasn’t in competition for awards or projects where that sort of animosity might come up (stupid, but it was what it was), instead it had been so random.
But as Blake said she’d like tea, Ruby’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together. Victory! She hadn’t made a complete fool of herself in wanting to thank Blake and just getting walked away from. Which… was probably what she should have expected.
While it would be like Yang to purposefully run into someone, Ruby wasn’t. Too bad it was getting warm, she could have seriously used some hot chocolate after what had happened. Oh well. She knew of a nearby cafe that had a really good frozen hot chocolate that also had an amazing selection of teas.
“Yay!” Yes she was nineteen years old and saying yay. Still, despite how awkward she was when trying to meet people, she was also upbeat. “Have you ever been to--” only to stumble which caused her to grumble in annoyance. “Stupid lady stilts….” Oh well. Shaking her head, Ruby smiled to Blake to show she was okay. “The cafe I really like is down the street.”
“We can’t always be prepared for every situation, no matter what we might want.” Blake knew that sentiment all too well. She hadn’t been prepared to be out on the streets with nowhere to go, but she’d found her way. She had a place to stay now, though she was aiming to one day get her own place, especially if she was going to actually stick around here. She didn’t want to leech off of Logan at all.
As Ruby stumbled, Blake acted on reflex to try and help steady her, though she stopped short of actually putting a hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “Just take it slow,” she said, knowing it took some getting used to to wear heels. Blake wore them on occasion, but lately she didn’t have any reason to wear them.
“I think I know which one you’re talking about. Do you want a hand to help steady you as you walk?” Blake put the offer out there. She was rather skittish when it came to touching, but she was okay with it when she instigated it like this.
“This is very true.” Because that was life. Ruby knew that, she tended to be more sheltered given the fact she was socially awkward and sooner would be building or reading or just being around family. A mix of smarts while being naive, but she did know that sometimes things just happened that there was no control for. Like Yang’s accident and being unable to help her. Like her mom dying.
“Right. Slow. Slow and easy….” Not so easy as she stumbled again, though at least she hadn’t fallen on her face. And then the question. About to say she’d be fine, Ruby thought better of it and nodded.
“Yeah, that might be good.” Feeling awkward she scratched the back of her head before smiling in thanks. “If anything came of today at least we got to meet!” because as stressful it had been, meeting Blake was a good thing in Ruby’s mind.
Things definitely happened that were out of people’s control. There were a lot of things Blake would definitely have changed if she could. But it was all said and done and all she could do was live with the consequences of them. Which was all that anyone could do, really.
Blake did start to move help catch Ruby if she fell when she stumbled again, but when Ruby caught herself, she stopped. Heels certainly could be deathtraps at times, which she had found out when she was younger. She had a better knack at wearing them now, but she rarely wore them. She had no reason to, and she didn’t like dressing up if she didn’t have a reason to.
“That is true. I’m glad that I was able to help you out.” Blake said with a smile. She held her arm out so Ruby could brace herself on it if she wanted. She’d be more than happy to give more support than that if needed, but she knew some people were touchy about pride and such, so she let Ruby decide.
Smile brightening, Ruby nodded as she took Blake’s arm and headed to the cafe with her.