Time For Love: Ruby Rose X Male OC

Vol. 1 Ch. 6 Forever Fall

Ace's POV

A Couple Days Later

After dinner, I had gone to the gym and started working out for a couple hours. Once I was finished, I took a shower in the locker room and headed back towards my dorm with my jacket in my hand as I just let my upper body air-dry, especially since I didn't want my jacket to get wet from my still wet hair. As I was walking through the hall, I ran into Ruby, who was in her pajamas, and I said, "Hey, Rubes. What're you doing out here this late?" She looked at me and blushed a slight bit, probably because I wasn't wearing my jacket like normal. Her blush dissappeared after about a second, and she then smiled as she replied, "Oh, hi Ace. I was getting a snack and I was on my way back to my dorm. What about you?" I smirked and replied, "Just coming back from the locker room. I just spent a couple hours working out in the gym, then took a shower in the locker room." She nodded as we continued to walk towards our dorms. When we got there, we both noticed Jaune peeking into his dorm. He looked down and he closed the door, just as a voice interrupted his thoughts as Ruby said, "Hey, Jaune!" Startled, Jaune turned around to see the two of us, and she giggled at his reaction as she said, "Long time, no see! Did you lock yourself out again?"

Jaune raised his Scroll, attempting to laugh as he replied, "Oh, uh, nope! Got it!" I spoke up and said, "So! Where have you been lately?" Jaune just sighed and lowered his head as he answered, "I, uh... I messed up. I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin has me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me, and... I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea." He pressed his back to his team's door and slid down to the floor in depression as he added, "I'm a failure." Ruby responded and said, "Nope!" Looking at her in surprise, Jaune repeated what she had said, "'Nope?'" Ruby replied and said, "Nope! You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure." Jaune responded, "But... what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" Ruby thought about it for a moment, then gave her answer and said, "Nope!" Jaune laughed as Ruby and I joined him on the floor and he said, "You know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff." Ruby replied once more and said, "Nope!" As Jaune leaned into the door some more, Ruby said, "Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid..." Jaune groaned and sunk lower to the ground as Ruby continued, "...and you might've even been a failure the first day we met!" He groaned and went lower still, and Ruby finished and said, "But, you can't be one now. You know why?" Jaune replied and said, "Uhhh, because...?"

I spoke up again and said, "Because it's not just about you anymore. You've got a team now, Jaune. All three of us do! And if we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us." Ruby and I both got up and she placed her hands on her hips as she said, "We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you." She walked over to her door and opened it as Jaune, now slightly inspired by her words, watched her wave. Ruby then said, "Have a good night, Jaune! You too, Ace." Then she went inside, and I said, "She's right, Jaune. Our teammates depend on us to lead them. If we give up on ourselves, then we're giving up on them too. Goodnight, Jaune." I then went into my dorm as well.

The Next Day

My team and I were being led by Professor Goodwitch, along with teams RWBY, JNPR, and CRDL, through the forest of Forever Fall. It was full of red-leafed trees, which allowed the whole area to appear a dust-red color, even with the grass. It was actually quite beautiful. Goodwitch turned to all of us and said, "Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." We all stopped as Goodwitch held up a full jar of sap and continued, "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun!" While Yang and her sister smiled at one another, I looked at Ray and said, "Why do I have a feeling that you're going to collect a sample of your own to study?" Ray rolled his eyes and said, "Ace, this is tree sap and I don't collect sap. In the past, I did collect some rather unusual things, such as spores, molds, and fungus. But I was just observing those things. I'm no longer invested in that field of science, remember?" I nodded and said, "Oh, that's right. Okay, let's go get some sap!"