Arslan could hardly contain her excitement as the airship finally touched down at the docks of Beacon University, the weather alone made the hard work to get there worth it. The dreadful jungle heat of Anima was just, well, dreadful. Vale proper had it all really, great weather, a great university…

...and very cute girls…

Stepping out of the airship, Arslan came upon a young student. It looked like she'd dropped some of her school supplies, yet no one seemed all that inclined to help her out.

Bunch of jerks.

She walked with a purpose toward the shorter girl and kneeled down to help, "Here, let me," and she began getting the sheets within reach, a cursory glance showed that they were the syllabus for a couple of courses. Huh, guess she's helping out one of her professors, cute and nice.

"Oh, thanks so much! I don't want to be later than I already and my sister took forever doing her hair and I had to drive her here because her bike hasn't been fixed yet and I just really really need to make a good first impression!"

Arslan took in the girl with the impressive lung capacity, she was wearing a black and red pantsuit of all things, she pulled it off in a young, sexy teacher kind of way. Her hair was dark, almost black, the tips dyed a crimson red and all of it framed a gorgeous face with silver eyes. She stuck her hand out to return the papers, "I'm Arslan, what's your name?"

The sweet girl took the papers, "I'm Ruby. It's nice to meet you." she blushed lightly, unable to hide it on her porcelain white skin, so far from her own mocha tone.

Arslan smiled at the young woman, "You wanna walk up to the atrium with me? I'm kinda new around here and haven't had a tour of the place yet."

Ruby's eyes lit up, "Of course! Just let me…" Ruby proceeded to stuff her wayward papers into a quality letterman bag. "Okay! I'm ready, follow me!"

After taking in a second look at Ruby, Arslan quietly glanced around at the other students milling about the massive campus, nope, everyone seemed to be wearing pretty standard clothing. Looking at her own getup, beige cargo shorts, an orange tank top covered with her favorite yellow and red jacket, she wondered if she should've dressed up a little more. Ruby made her look rather homely in comparison.

"Arslan?"

She came out of her musings to see Ruby giving a questioning glance, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Ruby smiled, "I was asking what you're taking?"

This was always an embarrassing conversation for here, "Oh, I'm… actually not sure. I've always wanted to come to Beacon, I got here on a sports scholarship - Mixed Martial Arts, actually. And… after working to get here I never really thought about what to take, so I'm poking around a few different areas to see if something sticks, I decided I'd just work it out with a course advisor before classes start."

If it was possible, Ruby smiled even wider, "MMA? That's great, my sister is here on that scholarship as well! She was made captain at the end of last semester, I think you two will get along great!"

Arslan smiled widely while inside she debated cringing, this could be great or terrible. Maybe I can fish for some intel? But if it doesn't work out that could bad. Hmm, food for thought. "I hope so, especially if she's gonna be my captain."

Ruby gave her a beautiful smile, "Come on, the main building is this way."

The pair walked side by side along one of the many pathways of the massive campus. They both enjoyed the calm quiet between them, the chatter of other students rolling through the air. Closing in on the main building, Arslan turned to Ruby, "So what are you interested in?"

"Oh, I've always had a fascination with the religion courses. All of the different mythos that came from all across Remnant, it's fascinating how similar such differing ideologies can be!" Ruby beamed.

Arslan smiled at her enthusiasm, "I never was very religious myself."

Ruby quirked her head like a small puppy, it was adorable, "Me neither, but you don't have to be religious to enjoy the stories for what they are, and they can't be simply defined as one thing or another, that's what makes the Religion course so great to me!"

"Huh," Arslan glances around to see that they had reached the main building, "maybe I'll look into it then."

"Really? That's great!" Ruby glances to a clock on the wall, "Oh gosh, I'm gonna be late! The Student Advisory Office is down the hall on left and I recommend the Intro to Mythological Studies if you want to take a look!" Arslan watched in admittedly dumb silence as Ruby all but teleported with how fast she was running. How she managed to do that in those heels and very form-fitting suit pants, Arslan would never know; or care. Ruby looked amazing.

I'm so ruined and I didn't even ask her out.

ooOOoo

The sound of fists and legs beating against heavy leather was like music to Arslan's ears. When she walked into the reserved room for the MMA team, it felt like she was home. It was a surprisingly small facility though. But they made up for it with clearly above average training equipment, and from what Arslan could see at first glance, very much above average fighters.

There were only a few people on the team, six, if Arslan included herself. An orange haired girl was performing a myriad of exercises while a brunette seemed to be spotting her. The other three were focused on the training ring, two fighters seemed to be having a bout while the only male member of the team, watched the fight.

The two in the ring were definitely skilled, they danced around each other like it was choreographed. One was blonde and the other a scarlet redhead. The pair had very different fighting styles that stood out as they battled on. If Arslan were to guess which would win, she would have bet on the redhead, her footwork was better than the blondes' and that could be devastating if it could be taken advantage of. Good thing my legwork is my strongest point. Arslan smiled softly to herself.

But it would seem that she wouldn't get to see the victor as the Mistrali man called the fight before anything serious could happen.

The team noticed her presence then, and they all came forward to greet her. The first one to reach her was the orange haired girl.

"Hiya, how's it goin'? I'm Nora!" the girl held her hand out in greeting which Arslan took easily, only to be shocked by the monstrous grip that dragged her closer. "And just so you know, Renny over there is my boyfriend, he's too polite sometimes."

"Nora," the man sighed, "please don't try to start something. She's only been here a few minutes," he gave her an apologetic smile, "My name is Lie Ren, everyone calls me Ren."

Arslan stretched out her hand before clasping Ren's much gentler hand, "It's okay, and Nora has nothing to worry about, you're not my type."

The next two people to come up were the redhead and the brunette, "Hello, I'm Pyrrha Nikos, this is Coco Adel. It's a pleasure to meet you, we're quite happy to have you as a part of the team."

"Yeah, what the Invincible Girl said," Coco added.

"Coco, be nice. And I am not invincible."

"Says the girl who doesn't have a single loss on her official records."

"That's the keyword Coco. 'Official.'"

Coco just waived Pyrrha off with a smirk almost fond, "I tell ya, Pyr, if you were gay I'd have been all over that."

Pyrrha sighed, but her smile was genuine, "And what would your dear Velvet have to say about that?"

Coco grinned, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"All right ladies and Ren, how about we let our new member have a moment, yeah?"

Arslan looked to the busty blonde woman, frankly put, if Arslan wasn't already keen on a certain girl with red highlights, this blonde would be very much a potential partner. "Thanks, my name is Arslan," she held out her hand for the blonde to take in a firm shake.

"No big, I'm Yang, the team captain."

Arslan's blood pressure shot through the roof, "You're Ruby's sister?" she blurted out before thinking better of it. The already firm grip tightened as Yang gained a new glint in her eyes.

"Yes. Ruby is my sister, you've met then?"

The hostility was unexpected, "Yeah, we met. I asked her for directions earlier today. She's very passionate about her subject." Arslan glared, only noticing that the gym had gone quite quiet afterward.

Yang just glared back, looking her right in the eyes, "You and me, in the ring."

"You just finished a match. Hardly seems fair."

Yang's grin was a little terrifying, "I figured you could use the handicap while I decide if it was worth it to get you here."

Arslan's heart leapt into her throat. Of course the captain of the team must have had a say in whether or not she got the scholarship, and if Yang decided she wasn't worth it…

"All right. Have it your way, then," Arslan pulled her hand away, heading for the changing room to get ready. Oh yeah, this is a great start. No pressure. It's just your future riding on this.

As she wrapped her hands Arslan's eyes hardened, I'll show you just how worthy I am, Blondie.

ooOOoo

Arslan is gasping for breath as she stares down Yang, the woman has definitely earned her role as captain. But like Arslan had said, Yang was already tired from the get go. Which made the fact she hadn't beat the blonde soundly yet so frightening.

They circled each other for the umpteenth time trying to catch a breath when Arslan noticed Yang's footwork was off again. She didn't think as she reacted, she moved like a viper and struck. And in the end she just managed to put Yang in a solid hold. Oh she struggled though, and she burned the last of her reserves trying to get out of it. But Arslan had her - barely.

Gulping huge lungfuls Yang spoke, "All right people, show's over, the newbie and me'll clean up here."

Arslan watched as everyone else left with varying degrees of reluctance as she let go of Yang as gently as possible, falling back as she realized just how close that match was.

"Hey, I… just wanted to say sorry."

Arslan looked to Yang lying on the ground, eyes closed and drawing in steady breaths, "I shouldn't have threatened your scholarship. That wasn't cool of me. You wouldn't have gotten it in the first place if it wasn't a done deal."

Arslan leaned against the chain of the rings wall, "Why then?"

Yang opened her eyes and got this constipated look on her face that would have been funny if Arslan wasn't already pissed about the not so subtle threat before the match. "Ruby." Arslan waited a moment for Yang to go on, but, it seemed the blonde thought that was sufficient.

"...Okay… And, what? You're telling me you got angry and threatened my future because I talked to your sister?" Arslan stood up, her incredulousness obvious by Yang's wince.

"Okay, yeah. That sounds real bad."

"You think!?"

Yang sat up, raising her hands in calmly, "Yeah I know, I went from one to superbitch on you. Not cool. I'm just… protective about her, all right?"

"Why? From what I could see, aside from some time management issues Ruby seems to carry herself well."

Yang gives her a stink face, "You've known her for all of fifteen minutes, there's more to it."

"Do you feel like sharing? I know it's not really my business but I'd like to get to know Ruby, and I'd frankly prefer you don't try to pummel my sorry ass in the ring every week."

Yang raises her hands in concession, "Okay, look, I won't go into details but Ruby was bullied a lot when she came to Beacon. She's wicked smart, always has been, and all of the high school drama still hadn't filtered out of the new students yet. They're all just jealous that she got in two years early." Yang chuckles for a moment, "Hell, some of them end up getting tutored by her when she has the time."

"Two years? Wow," Arslan's tone is something like awe, "so Ruby must almost be finished her first degree then, huh?"

Yang gives her a funny look, then her eyes widen...then she starts laughing hysterically.

Arslan quirks her brow, "And what's so funny?"

"You, hah! You don't know, I totally forgot that you're not from here." Yang's holding her stomach as she falls to her side, "Whew, ha ha! No way am I ruining this, you get to figure it out yourself."

Arslan just stared for a moment, thinking hard about what could be so funny about the young woman…

…

"Oh Dust, please tell me she isn't a minor!?"

Yang just laughed even harder.

ooOOoo

After she cleared the air with Yang the day before, Arslan really appreciated the blonde's company. She was a great listener and, after some verbal maneuvering, wasn't outright hostile to the idea of her pursuing Ruby romantically. Much to her chagrin actually, Yang just kept laughing, saying how her life had turned into a romcom and she got to be a supporting character.

It left Arslan a little on edge.

She was getting ready for her third class of the day, Introduction to Mythological Studies. After Ruby had endorsed it so passionately, Arslan felt she could give it a chance… knowing that she could possibly get Ruby to tutor her privately had no bearing in the decision, of course. So without even checking the name of the professor, Arslan signed up for the only class that was thankfully in on of her spares.

The professor was running late though, not the greatest first impression of how the class would go but, Arslan was determined to keep an open mind about it. After all, she needed the credits anyways so she was going to try her best regardless of how tardy this professor seemed. Her biggest hope was that they wouldn't have caffeine for blood or bombastic tales of grandeur like Oobleck or Port.

The fairly large class was murmuring to each other at a dull roar when the doors crashed open. Looking back to see who was late had Arslan's jaw drop. I thought Ruby already finished this course.

Ruby must not have noticed her at first as she speed walked to the front of the class. Little pieces were starting to click in her head as a bundle of dread and embarrassing arousal built up when Ruby dropped her letterman bag on the desk up front.

"I am so sorry that I'm late long story short is I slept in and was running all over the place forgetting the syllabus my laptop and…" Ruby trailed off looking across the hall loaded with students, took a breath and started again, "Hello, I'm sorry I was late but I think we should get started. I am Professor Rose and I look forward to working with all of you. I'll start by handing out the syllabus and going over the course goals for the semester, and if we get through it early you can all head out before the lunch rush."

Arslan just stared. The words coming out of Ruby's mouth like white noise as all the clues came together, of course she wouldn't have thought of it, she was older than Ruby!

Oh Dust. Yang was right. My life just became a romcom.

Arslan came to as she watched Ruby strut confidently across the lecture hall as she spoke with a crystal clear voice that rang true for all to hear, making even the monotonous task of the syllabi engaging. Dust, that pantsuit…

Arslan nodded to herself as she focused on the words and took some point notes for study, I accept it. My life is a romcom and I wanna bang my teacher. Now I know why Yang was okay with this though.

She doesn't what to pay for cheesy TV when she can live it. Damned sadist.

ooOOoo

Arslan pushed the...whatever it was around her plate in the cafeteria, the drone of students milling about cutting off the approach of Yang as she none-too-subtly crashed into the seat beside her with her annoyingly pretty grin, "Helloooo!"

Arslan groaned, "Hey, Yang."

"Soooo, how are things in the romcom life?" If she could, Arslan was sure she would orchestrate Yang's untimely demise if she knew it wouldn't devastate a certain hot professor.

"Everything is fine,Yang."

"Pfft, as if! It's been like, three weeks, and all you've done is talk to her in class - which I will say she enjoys with how much she brings it up, so where is the steamy teacher-student scandal?"

Arslan just stared at Yang's expression for a moment, "You do realize just how insanely creepy it is that you are trying to get me together with your sister, right?"

"You want to get together with her!" Yang huffed.

"That's besides the point! You're supposed to be all...territorial or something. Not...this!" Arslan gesture lamely.

Yang wrapped her arm across Arslan's shoulders as she replied, "Look here you, I will have you know that I have impeccable senses for ones character and in the time that you have tiptoed around my baby sister, I've determined you are a really good person. And my sister deserves the damn best. And you, Miss Atlan are quite the catch," all joking gone from her tone as she lets Arslan go and devours her food in record time.

Arslan thought heavily on the words, why was it such a big deal? Sure, Ruby was her teacher but the age gap was hardly anything. Was it the fact that she is the teacher? Possibly, they could probably get in some trouble if it got out that she was trying to hook up with the woman who grades her assignments. An easy fix would be to just not take any class that she is teaching and avoid be overt in school. Easy.

Arslan ran her hands through her messy hair in frustration. Of course it isn't easy! There's so much that could go wrong with this!

"You're overthinking things, Arslan."

She's pulled form her musings by Yang smiling at her, "And how is that? I could ruin both of our lives if we were to get together."

Yang chuckled, "It's not that bad. Ruby is only teaching the class because she's so damn good at it and they couldn't find anyone else to do it. She's still technically a student, so they can't penalize her for dating a student. The worst is they would do is either make you leave that class or find a replacement to teach for her. But right now, both of you are where you are because the school wants you there. They won't do anything. Professor Ozpin is really slack like that. The only time he'll ever get involved is if someone is in actual trouble. And if he's involved, he already has everything he needs to remove the problem. So don't sweat it."

"How are you so casual about this?"

"Well, I'm not. I already know how things could go down. But this is nothing like the past," Yang stands up and waves her along.

Arslan followed along until Yang sat on a bench in one of the campuses many parks dotted across its expanse. Sitting beside Yang she looks at Yang's phone when she's prompted. On the screen is a very attractive woman. Raven hair, skin with a light complexion. Her eyes like gold dusted with purple eyeshadow, wearing a small smile as her eyes were riveted on some book in her hands.

"This is Blake, the love of my life."

"She's beautiful."

"She's a sassy bookworm is what she is," Yang retorts with zero malice.

"...So?"

"How does this relate to the conversation? I'm not going to tell you more than that Blake and I have had a real tough road getting where we are. We both have are our scars for it, but, we're happy. I've got plenty of regrets though. Blake doesn't have any regrets though. Not anymore. She says she's so much stronger for it, but I still wonder: Could she have been as strong as she is now if I had been there. Or did it need to happen the way it did?" Arslan noticed that through Yang's speech that her grip on both her knee and phone got tighter as she spoke. Yang was silent for a moment as she took some big breaths, "What I'm trying to say I guess, is that waiting isn't always the right answer. But I can't make you do something you aren't ready for either. Just that not everyone is lucky enough to be able to wait, sometimes you need to take that chance for yourself - and sometimes, it's for them too. Think about it, blondie," Yang got up and started walking away.

Before Yang got too far Arslan hollering, "Hey! Who are you calling blondie!?"

Yang just pointed at her full locks, "I totally have the right to say that."

Arslan chuckled as she stared at Yang's back and thought on her heavy words. It was definitely a lot to think about. She was surprised when she saw Yang running back with a face that said, 'I can't believe I forgot!'

"Also, you totally have an edge Arslan, Ruby gets the biggest lady boner for muscles."

"Yang Xiao Long!"

Yang just laughed her ass off as she ran from an irate Arslan.

ooOOoo

Arslan was ready. She had the whole thing planned out. An awesome line about how they first met and all the cheesiness that went with it. And she definitely didn't mean to take Yang's advice by wearing a sleeveless shirt. Its was hot out that day and it was practical. Definitely. All that was left was finding Ruby and-

"Oh, hello Arslan!"

Speak of the angel and she shall appear.

"Pyrruby! I mean Profes- Ruby! Hey! How's it going? Everything's fine! How are you?"

Ruby just laughed, "Hi, Arslan. I'm great, thank you for asking… Um," Ruby's eyes were drifting a bit, "how is your assignment coming along?"

"Do you want to grab a coffee sometime?" Arslan was going into a meltdown inside as the words came out of her mouth unbidden.

"W-what?"

"I, um, damn, you can forget I asked that-"

"No! I mean yes! Yes I'd love to go for coffee I thought you weren't interested but Yang kept saying you were and I wasn't sure because sometimes she jokes and I didn't think it would be good of me to ask you out because I'm your teacher! Oh my Dust I'm your teacher!"

Arslan grabs Ruby by the shoulders and feels a little pride when she notices Ruby's eyes blow wide in lust as she stares at Arslan's muscled arms. "Hey, Ruby calm down. It's okay, I've already thought about it. How bout we start with coffee and go from there? And if we want to go further, I transfer out of your class so there isn't anything anyone can say about it. Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah, I really like those arms- plan! I like that plan!"

"Yeah?" Arslan was all hope in her tone.

"Do I like chocolate and strawberries?" Ruby retorts.

Arslan just gives Ruby a blank stare.

"Oh, um. Yes. The answer is yes, Arslan."

Arslan smiled fully, "All right! So, are you doing anything right now?"

Ruby smiled coyly, "I don't know, are we going for that coffee?" Ruby gently moved from Arslan's grip and walked with a little extra sway to her hips.

Arslan literally wiped some drool from her mouth as she followed with two thoughts on her mind: One, Ruby was a little seductress, and two, chocolate and strawberries were going to be her new favorite food.