You can do this, Ruby, you can do this. You've TOTALLY got this! You've faced Grimm and survived a world-ending cataclysm, what's one girl?

Ruby was vaguely conscious that she was hyperventilating. She could see Yang across the street, peeking over the top of her totally-not-conspicuous newspaper that was two weeks out of date as Blake sat on the other side of the picnic table, twirling her hair around a finger as she read. Weiss was there, too, a short distance away, talking on her Scroll with Neptune. Date planning again, if Ruby had to guess. The city park was bustling around them, midmorning foot traffic steadily rising and falling as parents came through with their children, college students bustled through on their way to classes, and bikers sped past, following the bike trail that stretched from here to the beach.

Her face reddening as she turned towards the Bean and Gone coffee shop, Ruby inhaled deeply and yanked the door (the handle was cutely shaped like a coffee bean) open. Yang had adored the pun, which is what had led them to the cafe in the first place, but the coffee… honestly, it wasn't great. Ruby was fine with that, though. It wasn't like her coffee ever tasted like coffee when she was finished mixing it. Or, as Weiss called it, 'destroying it.'

As ever, the shop had a lovely, homely atmosphere. Immediately to her left was a corner with two plush armchairs, upon one of which a young woman with short orange hair was sitting with her legs folded. She was always there, Ruby noted. She'd have to go and talk to her sometime. Just not this time.

Behind the chairs was a small bookshelf that the patrons of the coffee shop were allowed and encouraged to use as they wished, so long as the books were returned. Ruby herself had now 'read' many of the books, though that 'reading' consisted of staring over the lip of the book at the counter as a certain barista bustled behind it. To her right was a collection of tables that stretched around the bend in the counter, to the back of the shop. The entire affair was lit up with natural light, full-length windows running the walls and interspersed only with support beams when absolutely necessary. Little knick-knacks adorned the tables. Toy trucks. Bundles of herbs. Seemingly random objects, but Ruby had been assured in passing that each of them had significance to the owner.

She had yet to meet them. Not that it mattered, she mused. As callous as it was… well, she wasn't here for them!

Shaking her head, she approached the counter, and was almost immediately greeted by a warm, familiar voice.

"Hello, and welcome to Gone and Be-Oh, hello again, Ruby!"

"H-hey, Pyrrha!" she greeted, already blushing as she failed to stop the goofy grin spreading across her face. No, no, no! Stupid! Stop smiling like an idiot, Ruby!

"What can I get for you today?" the taller redhead asked politely, already knowing the answer. Her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle with mirth, as if she half-knew Ruby's inner dialogue. Her crimson hair, as ever, was tied back in a ponytail that poked out of the back of her work hat. "The usual, I assume."

Ruby gave a mute nod, face burning. This happened every time. It'd been going on for weeks! She always came in with the intent to ask Pyrrha out, and only left with a coffee in hand and a heavy heart. Even now, as she paid, she couldn't seem to force her mouth open other than to mumble a 'thank you.'

"Is that all today?" questioned Pyrrha, smile as brilliant as ever. Ruby nodded again. "Well, then, I'll have it right out! Thanks for your business!"

"N-no problem!" squeaked Ruby, taking her usual seat by the window in the back corner of the cafe.

Minutes ticked by. Ruby fiddled with her scroll, playing some random game she'd downloaded the day before. It managed to amuse her for a few minutes, until she heard her name called, and made to stand up.

As she did so, however, she noticed something unusual; Pyrrha, lacking her work clothes, walking towards her, a coffee in each hand. Instead of her uniform, she was wearing a pair of rather tight-fitting jeans and a brown jacket with a plain white v-neck beneath it. Resting on top of her bust was a necklace Ruby had never noticed before; she supposed it must've been hidden beneath the woman's uniform. It was in the shape of an arrow, resting atop a circular shield. On the taller woman's shoulder was a brown satchel, with Ruby supposed must've been where she stored her uniform.

"Sorry," Pyrrha said breathlessly, sitting down across from her as Ruby looked on in confusion. "There were a few people after you, so I had to shift around a little to make sure yours would still be warm when I got to you!"

"Still be… warm?" Ruby echoed, glancing down at her phone. Shocked, she realised that half an hour had passed, as Pyrrha set the coffees down, one labeled "Ruby" and the other "Pyrrha."

"Mm. We've been so busy lately," the other continued, as Ruby tilted her head this way and that, still confused.

"Yeah… shouldn't you be… w-working?" she stammered. Pyrrha chuckled, shaking her head, crimson hair shaking with the motion.

"My shift just ended," she said, sipping her coffee, raising her cup to her lips and raising an eyebrow as Ruby failed to do the same. "Is something wrong?"

"O-oh, no!" Ruby squeaked, quickly raising her own up and sipping it, cringing as it burned her tongue a little.

"Say, Ruby…" Pyrrha leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and setting her coffee aside. "Can I ask you for some advice?"

"Advice?" Ruby asked, puzzled. Pyrrha, the strong, radiant art student who knew everything, wanted her advice? "About wh-what?"

"Well, there's this girl I've been meaning to ask out for a while now…"

Ruby's stomach dropped like a stone. She felt all the warmth drain from her cheeks, and had a momentary flash of bitter pride as she forced tears from forming in her eyes. "O-oh… who is she?"

"Well… she comes into my work almost every day. She's got this gorgeous smile, and she's always reading something new. She always sits in the same spot, and if someone takes it, she'll sit as close to it as possible while glaring daggers at their back."

Ruby's stomach dropped even further. The girl by the window did have a nice smile, she supposed…

"...Ruby?"

Ruby looked up. Pyrrha was looking at her, concern clearly evident on her features. It slowly morphed to horror.

"Oh, oh my god, I said something wrong, didn't I? I'm sorry, I'm really new to this, and I…"

"Something… wrong? New to what?" Ruby uttered, confusion returning full-force.

"I've never asked someone out before," confessed Pyrrha, looking at the floor, her face as red as Ruby's favourite cloak.

There was a pause. The realisation hit Ruby, poor, dense little Ruby, like a freight train. At first, she couldn't do anything. Then, ever so slowly, the largest, silliest grin she'd ever grinned spread across her face.

"Oh," she said. "Oh."

"O-oh?" Pyrrha mumbled, still looking at the floor. "I'm sorry…"

"P-Pyrrha, I…" Ruby fumbled for words, the happiness currently overloading her brain making it hard to speak. "I… yeah, me too!"

"...what?" Pyrrha looked up, now as clearly confused as Ruby had been a few moments before.

"I-I've been trying to ask you out for weeks!" Ruby declared loudly.

Perhaps a bit too loudly. Activity in the shop momentarily ceased, and various customers gave Ruby a disapproving eye, before returning to their books or phones.

"...oops. Hehe." She gave a nervous laugh, voice weak with embarrassment. Pyrrha, seeming to get over her own confusion and embarrassment, began to chuckle. Ruby felt a warm hand take hers, and Pyrrha gave a shy smile.

"Well, now I really feel quite dumb," murmured Pyrrha. "I… I take it you'd be up for a date, then?"

"Y-yeah!" returned Ruby in an excited whisper. "B-but how will I contact you?"

"Ruby…" Pyrrha's brow knit. "Do you not take coffee holders off when the drink gets cold?"

Ruby looked at the circle of brown cardboard around her coffee cup, tilting her head and squinting in confusion. "Um… no?"

"Please…" Pyrrha gestured at it, now smiling with a slight mischievous glint in her eye. "Do so."

Carefully, Ruby slid it off, and as she did, noticed a string of black numbers on the cup, neatly hidden by where the holder rested.

A scroll number?

A realisation dawned. "Oh…"

Pyrrha was now grinning widely in amusement, another chuckle escaping her. "I've been writing it on there every day for a month, Ruby. I wasn't sure whether you were ignoring or not noticing it… so I kept writing it."

"Wh-why didn't you just give it to me on a napkin?" asked Ruby. Pyrrha shifted a little.

"Well… this way you wouldn't see it until you were gone…"

Oh my god, Pyrrha is shy.

The realisation almost made her squee, and her fingers wove into Pyrrha's in a gesture that was perhaps a bit too intimate for people who only agreed to go on a date thirty seconds before, but neither of them could find it in them to care.

"So… does this mean we're, like, a thing?" Ruby queried, playing with the hem of her skirt shyly.

Pyrrha blinked, nose crinkling cutely in thought. "I mean… I hope so. I'm fine with it if you are…?"

Ruby let out the most girlish giggle she'd allowed herself in years. She was so excited, so utterly filled with happiness at the prospect of dating Pyrrha-

Pyrrha…

WHAT'S HER LAST NAME?!

"Nikos," said an amused voice.

Ruby squeaked, looking back at Pyrrha, who was smiling at her, emerald eyes twinkling with the same look they'd had when she walked in. "Do you realise that you mumble to yourself?" she asked, squeezing Ruby's hand.

"S-sorry…" Ruby muttered, face burning.

"Don't be. It's cute." Looking around, Pyrrha sighed. "Hey… I hate to be a bother, but… I do spend all day in here, and it's a beautiful day. Maybe… we can keep talking as we walk?"

"Oh! Oh, yeah!" replied Ruby excitedly, all but shooting to her feet. Pyrrha laughed, their hands weaving together again as each of them picked up their coffee cups.

Together, they exited the coffee shop, hand in hand emerging into bright sunshine, and, Ruby hoped, a bright future together.