Ruby vs The Machines. . . Not Really Chapter 22
Team RWBY wake up one seemingly normal morning only to find that Ruby isn’t alone in bed. She’s surrounded by five strange girls who came out of nowhere. Who are these girls? And why are they fighting over Ruby? (RubyxHarem) (rated M for suggestive/sexual themes)
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Chapter 22
It was noisy.
People were yelling.
It made her anxious.
XXX
The day started out like any other, Ruby woke up to Bumblebee and Crescent Rose on either side of her, but thankfully they both had clothes on. The pair as usual had snuck into her bed at night while she was asleep. They were by far the most consistent among the weapons that professed their affections to her. Myrtenaster would occasionally do so as well, though she would show much more restraint.
At first Ruby was apprehensive at first, always blubbering out in surprise whenever she found them sleeping next to her. Weiss had attempted in laying down the law, forbidding them from all sleeping in Ruby’s bed. Her excuse was that she didn’t want a repeat of Ruby’s bed falling on top of her, but she did have her own reasons in stopping them as well. But both women were so stubborn that they ignored Weiss’s demands and kept sneaking into Ruby’s bed in the dead of night that she eventually conceded and resigned herself to just making sure that no funny business occurred in the night.
But soon enough, the whole affair ultimately became part of the morning routine. Ruby had gotten used to waking up to Crescent Rose and Bumblebee both sharing her bed, but what surprised her was that Myrtenaster had snuck into her bed as well, right between her and Crescent Rose.
Myrtenaster’s eyes fluttered open, her eyes a deep azure color. The moment their eyes met, Myrtenaster smiled her usual charming smile that made Ruby blush, “Good Morning, Ruby.”
“M-morning.” stammered out Ruby, No matter what, she always manages to make my heart race. . . thought Ruby.
They both laid there in comfortable silence until Crescent Rose snorted loudly in her sleep, throwing an arm over Myrtenaster’s face. Myrtenaster scowled at the sudden interruption, turning around so that she faced Crescent Rose and promptly shoved her off the bed. Ruby’s hanging bunk swung lightly from the force as Crescent Rose fell to the floor with a dull thud followed by a yelp of pain.
Ruby leaned over Myrtenaster to peek over the edge of her bed to see Crescent Rose sitting on the floor and rubbing her ass.
“Hey Toothpick! What the hell was that for!?” shouted Crescent Rose.
Myrtenaster humphed in irritation and pushed herself up to look down on Crescent Rose, “You were taking up too much space, so I remedied the problem.” replied Myrtenaster simply.
In the commotion, Bumblebee had also woken up. She got to her knees on the bed, and rested her voluptuous bosom right on top of Ruby’s head to see what had happened. “Whut’s going on?” she asked, rubbing the sand out of her eyes while holding back a yawn. The moment she saw Crescent Rose sitting on the floor Bumblebee started to laugh loudly, “Serves you right!”
Crescent Rose continued to glare at the two remaining women, “Serves me right, huh?” she growled, then sprang to her feet to reach up to grab Myrtenaster and Bumblebee to drag them out of Ruby’s bed.
While the three argued and fought, Blake’s ears pulled low to her head as she growled in irritation at the racket the three were making.
So noisy. . . she thought, At least Gambol isn’t as much of a handful. Blake lifted up her blanket to see Gambol Shroud curled up by her feet at the end of the bed. Though I wish she’d stop doing that, it’s so. . . stereotypical.
Gambol Shroud hugged her knees tighter, her ears were pressed flat against the top of her head as she shook slightly at the commotion going on the other side of the room.
Blake sighed, but I guess it can’t be helped. she dropped the blanket down and crawled out of bed, “You can stay in the dorm if you want to, there’s no combat class today so just relax here, alright?” Blake said.
A lump underneath the blanket, which Blake assumed had to be Gambol Shroud’s head appeared to nod. Blake reached out a hand and gently patted the shivering lump and after a moment her shaking calmed somewhat. Blake smiled in satisfaction and walked off to prepare to go to class.
XXX
It was quiet.
Gambol Shroud’s ears stood straight as she strained to hear if anyone was left in the room.
She peeked out from underneath the blanket she was hiding in. Her eyes scanned the room for several moments, trying to detect any signs of movement. When it appeared that everyone had left, Gambol crawled out from beneath the blanket. On her hands and knees, she languidly stretched, lowering her head while keeping her hips up as she arched her back, her tail swaying back and forth happily at the peace and quiet.
Gambol rubbed the grit from her eyes as she shook off the last bits of sleep from her body. She glanced out the window to see that the sun is much higher in the sky than she thought, turning to look at the clock it showed that it was already a couple of hours before noon.
She began to wonder what she could do to pass the time in the tranquility of the empty room when her stomach growled. Gambol’s ears flattened in embarrassment as she blushed heavily, despite no one being there to hear it, while wrapping her arms around her stomach.
I need find something to eat. thought Gambol.
She stepped off the bed and tentatively walked towards the door. She knew exactly where Blake hides her cans of tuna in the dorm kitchen, but she didn’t want to leave the safety of the room. At this time the dorm would be mostly empty and nobody should spot her, but the thought of going out by herself made her anxious.
She stood there motionless in front of the door, her conflicting thoughts keeping her there for almost a minute. That is, until her stomach growled again.
Her stomach won over her brain.
Gambol tiptoed to the door as she opened it slowly, peeking out of the crack, looking out to see if anyone was in the hallway. Her ears pricked up as she tried to listen for any footsteps. When she didn’t hear anything, she slowly opened the door wider and Gambol slipped out, closing the door behind her.
Her eyes darted quickly, glancing between both ends of the hallway. When nobody seemed to approach, she dashed towards the direction of the dorm kitchen.
It didn’t take her long to reach the kitchen as she hopped on to one of the counters to reach up to one of the high shelves to extract a large can of tuna that was hidden behind the baking supplies. The tip of her tail twitched in anticipation as her mouth began to water when she hopped off the counter. Gambol quickly pulled the tab and opened the can, revealing her prize. Not even bothering with a fork, she used her fingers to take out large chunks of fish and bringing them to her mouth. Gambol hummed happily at the slightly briny flavor of the tuna, her tail swishing back and forth.
Gambol made quick work of the can of tuna and with her belly full she let out a satisfied sigh. Delicately placing the now empty can into the trash bin, she was ready to head back to Team RWBY’s room when a noise caught her ear.
Gambol froze, her tail stood straight up, her heart racing as she strained her ears to listen for the sound, hoping that she had just imagined it.
She heard it again, this time more clearly now and it was the definite shuffling of feet. Panicking, Gambol dashed underneath the table, crouching down and hugging her knees, her ears pressed flat against her head as she screwed her eyes shut.
Please, please, please, please don’t come here. . . thought Gambol as she heard the footsteps grew louder.
As the sound of the footsteps grew ever closer, Gambol peeked one eye open hoping against hope that whomever this is won’t walk into the kitchen and find her underneath the table. Her heart jumped to her throat when she spotted a pair of legs standing just out of the door frame of the kitchen. Her whole body was shaking now, her hands snapping up to her neck, where the choker with the bell that Ruby chose for her rested, not wanting it to give her away. The choker quickly became a source of comfort for her and at times Gambol found herself idly playing with it, but as of this moment it was a source of unease as the sound of its bell may alert this person to her presence.
The next few minutes felt like an eternity to Gambol as she waited for the person to leave. Her eyes were glued to their feet as she waited for them to leave.
When the pair of legs finally moved away from the kitchen and the sound of footsteps growing quieter as they left. The moment Gambol couldn’t hear their footsteps, her heart slowed and she took a deep breath of relief. One of her hands went to her neck as she rolled the little bell in her fingers. It would seem like her little charm was lucky as well.
But this wasn’t the time to be thinking about such things. Now was her chance to sneak back to the room without anyone spotting her.
Gambol crawled out from under the table and creeped up to the kitchen’s threshold, taking a look on both sides of the hallway, making sure that the person had left. With the coast clear, Gambol darted out of the kitchen and made a beeline right back to the room.
After several tense moments, Gambol finally reached the door of Team RWBY’s room. She was just about to turn the doorknob and open the door when something moved out of the corner of her eye.
Gambol looked down to see a thin strand of bright green thread that seemed to move on its own. Her eyes widened in curiosity and a unfamiliar urge seemed to take over. Her hand dropped away from the doorknob, her eyes transfixed on the thread.
“Ah!” voiced out Gambol, her bell jingling softly as the thread slipped out of her view as it turned the corner.
All thoughts of going back to the room forgotten, Gambol crouched down and silently walked towards the corner where the thread disappeared. Peeking out from around the corner, she found the thread moving quickly further down the hallway. Still not making a sound Gambol rushed to catch up with the thread.
Once she was close enough, she leapt forward to pounce the thread, but it slipped between her fingers. Gambol continued to follow the thread, futilely trying to catch it, but whenever she got close it would slip through her grasp.
This went on for much longer. Gambol’s entire focus was on the thread that she didn’t notice that her surroundings began to change.
X
It was the seventh reconnaissance mission.
The target’s movements are in line with her schedule and the deviations are within acceptable parameters.
The target is alone, none of her teammates or the others were nearby.
The target still appears to have not detected her presence.
This is the perfect moment to initiate contact.
Penny hid behind one of the large pillars, patiently waiting for Ruby’s class to end. She had been observing and following Ruby several times after she had officially met Crescent Rose.
Winter was surprised when Penny suddenly came back asking about the hot, tight, unpleasant feeling in her chest. After several minutes of describing what she felt Penny learned that what she felt was jealousy, and while it wasn’t a very good emotion it was all part of being “human”.
Penny then asked Winter for advice on what she should do. As far as she knew she was in love with Ruby, and she wanted Ruby to respond to her feelings, but she’s just too scared to go for such a direct route. Ruby is her most precious friend after all.
Winter then made the wonderful suggestion of learning more about Ruby, such as her likes and dislikes, before attempting to grow closer until the time was right. Obviously she couldn’t just go and ask Ruby directly, Winter told her that her best bet was to spend more time with Ruby and slowly learn those things over time or she could try other methods, though Winter wasn’t specific on what those other methods were.
So that’s why she was here right now. Penny figured that one of the other methods for learning more about Ruby was to use the reconnaissance and information gathering techniques she learned from Mr. Ironwood and other Atlesian agents.
Penny spent several hours following and observing Ruby, noting down the things she did and conversations she had. During that time Penny had learned so much about Ruby that she previously didn’t know about. One of which was her love of sweets, chocolate chip cookies to be precise.
All those hours spent collecting information culminated to this exact moment. Once Ruby’s class ends, Penny will approach her and invite her to spend a day in Vale that weekend, just the two of them. It wasn’t particularly odd that the two of them would spend time in each other’s company in the city, but their meetings were usually coincidental and this was going to be the first time that Penny will actively invite Ruby to the city.
Sixty more seconds. thought Penny as she waited for the bell to signal the end of the class.
That was until she felt a tug on her dress. Looking down Penny noticed that a loose thread hung off the edge of her skirt. Her eyes followed the thread back to the bush that she previously hidden in.
Penny tilted her head in confusion when she spotted movement from within the bush. Curiously she left the pillar she was hiding behind and walked towards the bush. Parting the leaves and branches, Penny spotted a dark skinned faunus girl with a grin on her face as she idly played with the thread in her hands, her tail swishing back and forth.
“Salutations!” Penny greeted, then asked, “What are you doing in there?”
The faunus girl froze, her eyes looking up back directly at Penny in pure shock. It took Penny a moment to realize that it was one of the girls that occasionally accompanied Ruby and her teammates. Perhaps she was also one of their weapons that turned human like Crescent Rose.
But the faunus girl didn’t respond to her question, but she was no longer staring at Penny, instead she looked around frantically as if only realizing where she was.
Before Penny could ask another question, the school bell rang and students began to mill out of their classrooms. Penny panicked, whipping her head around to see Ruby stepping out of the classroom and spotting her.
“Hi Penny!” She called out over the noise of the other students, “What are you doing in Beacon?” asked Ruby, walking over to where Penny stood.
“S-salutations, Ruby.” greeted Penny in return, then looked down at the faunus girl whose ears seemed to perk up at Ruby’s voice.
“What’cha looking at?” Ruby asked once she reached Penny, peering down into the bush. Her eyes widened when she spotted just who was hiding in it. “Gambol Shroud?” Ruby asked surprisedly.
Penny quickly put two and two together and unceremoniously picked up Gambol underneath her arms out of the bush and held her out in front of her to Ruby.
“I think she belongs to your team.” said Penny simply before depositing Gambol in Ruby’s arms, “I’m sorry Ruby, *hiccup!* but have somewhere I must be.” then she turned and walked off in a random direction, leaving a confused Ruby carrying Gambol Shroud in her arms.
“O-okay, take care!” Ruby called to Penny’s back.
Penny had quickly lost her nerve, she had been distracted by the faunus girl that she lost the courage she had built up to ask Ruby to spend the day with her in Vale. She didn’t blame Gambol in particular, but the timing and situation were all wrong for it. But that was alright, she could at the very least try again tomorrow.
As Ruby watched Penny walk off she thought, That was strange. She had to remember to ask Penny about it the next time they meet.
Gambol wrapped her arms around Ruby’s neck, burying her face into her shoulder, shaking slightly.
“So Gambol, what were you doing out here and what were you doing in that bush?” Ruby gently asked.
But when Gambol didn’t immediately answer, Ruby made soft hushing noises and stroked her head gently, “It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything.” As she did that Gambol’s shaking slowly stopped, “Feeling better?” asked Ruby.
Gambol nodded.
“Are you hurt anywhere?” asked Ruby.
Gambol shook her head.
“Okay, lets get you back to the dorm before my next class starts.” said Ruby, letting Gambol down from her arms. Ruby took Gambol’s hand in hers as Gambol shuffled closer to her and they walked back to the dorm together.
XXX
Ruby hummed happily as she walked with a spring in her step to the dorm kitchen, having just arrived back from Vale carrying a few bags of groceries. She was excited as she had something very special planned for tonight. While Beacon did provide the students with meals in the great hall every day, the dorm kitchens were free to use for those who wished to cook their own meals because of personal preferences or to prepare something from their home town. So long as they clean up after themselves that is.
The second was the exact reason why she was making her way to the kitchen. The weather has gotten colder lately and she was craving something that would be just perfect to warm up everyone’s spirits.
She entered the empty kitchen, glad that there was no one else using it today. She set down the groceries on the counter and began to take them out of the bags, making sure that she had everything she needed.
“Hmm, let’s see. . . potatoes, leeks, garlic, green beans,tomatoes, corn, lemons, parsley, and chicken broth. Yup that’s everything.” said Ruby to herself as she brought out each item from the grocery bag. Miscellaneous things such as salt and oil were already stocked in the kitchen.
Just as she was going to look for a knife and cutting board, Ruby heard familiar a soft jingle behind her. She turned around to see Gambol Shroud looking over her shoulder at the ingredients she bought.
“Hey Gambol.” greeted Ruby, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she saw Gambol’s tail swishing behind her. “You wanna help out again?” she asked.
Gambol smiled nodding, the bell on her choker jingling with the emphatic movement.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” said Ruby.
Ruby’s smile broadened at Gambol’s adorable enthusiasm. Ever since Gambol had helped her bake some cookies, she somehow always managed to know whenever Ruby would bake something and help her out. It was nice having someone help her whenever she made snacks and treats. Her baked treats also began to taste even better these days somehow.
When Gambol looked past Ruby and saw the ingredients on the counter, her head tilted in confusion then looked over at Ruby.
“Oh! I’m not baking today, Gambol.” explained Ruby, then said, “I guess this is the first time you’ve seen me cook, right? Well have you noticed that the weather’s been chilly these days, right?”
Gambol nodded in agreement.
“I’ll be making a vegetable soup that dad would always make for us whenever he was home on cold days.” explained Ruby.
Upon learning that they weren’t going to bake something, a look of apprehension grew on Gambol’s face, her tail drooping to the floor and her ears lowering.
“I know that it’s a bit different from what we usually do, but it’s easy enough that I’m sure you can do it.” said Ruby encouragingly.
Gambol’s expression didn’t change very much, but at least now her ears weren’t lowered after hearing Ruby’s words.
“And don’t worry, I’ll be here to show you how to do it if you’re having trouble, okay?” said Ruby.
It took Gambol a moment before she showed a resolute expression and in her usual quiet voice said, “Okay.”
Ruby grinned at that, it was rare for Gambol to speak openly, she usually responded with nods or shakes of her head. Ruby felt special because she was the only one aside from Blake whom Gambol would occasionally speak to.
“Alrighty then, help me unwrap the vegetables and let’s wash them in the sink, okay?” said Ruby, grabbing onto some of the ingredients and carried them to the sink.
Gambol nodded, picking up the rest of the vegetables and followed Ruby.
With the two of them working together, the vegetables were unpacked and rinsed in no time at all.
“Well since this is your first time helping me cook, let’s start you off with something easy, okay?” said Ruby.
Gambol simply nodded her head in response.
Ruby handed a bowl of now rinsed green beans to Gambol. “For now I just want you to do this.” said Ruby, then she took a bean out from the bowl. Gambol watched closely as Ruby pinched the stem end of the bean and pulled away the string, then repeated the same for the other end before snapping the green bean in half and discarding the string. “You got it?” Ruby asked, and Gambol nodded smiling. It seemed simple enough, Gambol was sure that she could do it. Ruby smiled back and said, “Good, while you do that I’ll deal with the other vegetables. Just tell me when you’re done, alright?”
When Gambol nodded in affirmation, she set down the bowl on the counter and took out a bean. Imitating Ruby, she pinched the stem end first and smiled happily when the string came away easily like Ruby had shown, she then repeated it on the other end as well. When the string was gone, Gambol held the bean between her hands and broke the bean in half with a satisfying snap. Gambol’s smile widened at the sound, her tail waving back and forth as she went to work to clean the rest of the beans.
When she finished snapping the last bean Gambol found herself grinning at the good job she had done. She then turned to Ruby and proudly show her she was done with all the beans. She excitedly placed a hand on Ruby’s shoulder to grab her attention causing Ruby to jump.
“Ow!” yelped Ruby, dropping the knife and potato in her hands.
Gambol’s eyes widened and she gasped as dread began to pool in her gut when she saw the blood drip from Ruby’s thumb.
“Shoot, I got cut. . .” said Ruby, looking closely at her thumb before sticking it on her mouth to suck the excess blood, “You really surprised me, Gambol did you finish cleaning the. . .” Ruby began to say before trailing off as she finally looked at Gambol.
Gambol’s face was twisted in a grimace with tears welling up in her eyes.
Upon seeing this Ruby’s mind went to overdrive and she removed her thumb from her mouth to immediately give Gambol a hug, whispering soothing tones, “Hush, it’s okay. It’s okay, it looks worse than it is.” said Ruby.
In her ear she heard Gambol’s quiet voice whispering, “I’m sorry.” over and over again between sobs.
“Shh, it’s okay, you just surprised me that’s all.” whispered Ruby gently, rubbing gentle circles on Gambol’s back. “It’s not your fault, it was just an accident. You don’t have to be sorry.”
Gambol sniffled and her sobs slowed while Ruby kept whispering softly in her ear.
Once Gambol calmed down enough Ruby asked, “You okay now?”
Gambol was about to shake her head, but halfway through she nodded.
“Alright, can you go get the first aid kit in the cupboard over there, while I wash my cut?” asked Ruby.
Gambol nodded in response and Ruby released her from the hug and Gambol rushed to get the first aid kit. Ruby on the other hand went over to the sink and washed her cut with soap and running water while she waited for Gambol to retrieve the kit.
When Gambol came back, the bleeding on Ruby’s cut slowed significantly, but she still needed a bandaid. Gambol quickly returned and hurriedly opened the kit and retrieved one from the box of bandaids. Without any prompting, she took hold of Ruby’s hand and dried it with a paper towel, before peeling the bandaid and placing it on the cut.
Ruby took a close look at the bandaid that Gambol placed and saw that it had a strawberry print on it. A small smile found its way on her lips when Gambol continued to stare at the cut, avoiding Ruby’s eyes. With her other hand, Ruby gently patted Gambol’s head.
“I’m sorry. . .” Gambol said again.
“It’s okay, Gambol. I’m not mad, really.” said Ruby gently, “And thanks for patching me up by the way.”
Gambol looked up at Ruby through her bangs, her eyes still showed that she was unsure of Ruby’s words.
Ruby gently pulled Gambol’s head to hers so their foreheads were touching and she continued to pat Gambol’s head.
“If it makes you feel better, then I forgive you even if there’s nothing to forgive, okay?”
Looking into Ruby’s eyes up close, even Gambol could tell that Ruby’s words were sincere. In the end, Gambol quietly replied, “Okay.”
Ruby smiled and pulled her head away, “Alrighty then, in that case let’s get back to cooking. We still have some soup to make after all.”
With that Gambol nodded at Ruby’s words.
X
It took a while for Gambol to get over the incident, but an hour and half later she looked into the large pot with interest as Ruby ladled a small portion for them to taste. Their progress had been slow at first, but when Gambol finally calmed down, the act of cooking definitely helped her forget what had just happened.
Soon enough, the entire kitchen was filled with the smell of sweet vegetables and savory broth.
“Here you go, Gambol.” said Ruby proudly, holding out a small bowl to her, “How does it taste?” she asked.
Gambol took the bowl with both hands, and delicately sipped at the steaming soup. The moment the hot broth touched her lips a smile spread over them as she happily finished the contents of the bowl humming appreciatively.
“So is it any good?” Ruby asked.
Gambol nodded enthusiastically, basking the warmth that spread within her chest. Whether it was from the soup or Ruby she couldn’t tell, but what she did know was that the soup was delicious.
Ruby grinned, giving Gambol a thumbs up.
She couldn’t help but notice that it was the thumb that Ruby got cut by accident and the warmth of the soup couldn’t suppress the small mote of unease in her heart.
“Anyway, you can grab another bowl if you want. I’ll call the others so we can all enjoy it.” said Ruby excitedly and she ran out of the kitchen.
Gambol stood next to the stove where the pot simmered.
I have to make it up to her. . . thought Gambol, looking down at the slowly cooling bowl in her hands.
Author’s Notes: Hey everyone! I know it’s been a while, but after last chapter I had to take a bit of a break since it was midterms and I got a bit busy. Anyhow, hooray a new Gambol Shroud chapter! It has been far far too long since we’ve seen our little cinnamon roll. I do hope you all enjoyed it!
Volume 6 by the way holy crap it’s amazing!! I’m so hyped for chapter 3 I can’t wait! Though, it’s a bit difficult to get some inspiration from cannon since it’s so far removed from the setting of this story, but it’s still great to see the latest volume of RWBY as well. Lots of new story ideas, but that’ll have to wait until this behemoth gets done.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it got way longer than I anticipated, but hey more for you guys, right? Anyway, also don’t forget
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