It's a new year at Beacon Academy and that means new students. Ace Dodger is one of those new students. Despite having lost both of his parents 6 years ago, he kept following his dream to be a Huntsman. With his childhood friend, Ray, he looks forwa...
After Ruby and I woke up and got ourselves ready for the day, I started making breakfast while she woke up the others. After breakfast, I went over to Oscar and said, "Hey, Oscar, there's two things I want to talk to you about." He nodded and I said, "Firstly, I want to apologize for how I acted towards you last night. Secondly, I wanted to let Ozpin know that Ruby and I will be out on a date today, and won't be here training." Oscar nodded and said, "I understood why you were so protective of Ruby last night. I mean, with everything you guys have gone through and you being her boyfriend, I can understand why you did that. As for today, Ozpin says that he understands and wishes that you two be safe and enjoy yourselves." I smirked and said, "Thanks, Oscar. See you later."
I walked over to Ruby and said, "You ready, Rosebud?" She nodded and followed me out of the house. On our way to the Dust shop I had mentioned yesterday, Ruby said, "So Ace, what's so special about this particular Dust shop again?" I smirked and said, "You'll see. Trust me." After about an hour or so of walking around the City of Mistral, we finally reached our destination. It was a decently sized Dust shop located alongside some other shops. Its appearance was somewhat similar to some of the Dust shops in Vale. Above the door, there was a comic book themed sign that read Dust In Time.
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Ruby looked at me and said, "Ace, I'm still confused. Why did you want to come to this specific Dust shop?" I just smiled and said, "You'll see." We approached the door and went inside as a small bell on the door rang to alert the employees that someone had entered. I then heard a familiar voice call out from the back as it said, "Be with you in a moment." I turned to Ruby and whispered, "Just go along with what I say. Trust me." She looked at me confused for a moment before she nodded slowly. I made my voice sound different and said, "Take your time, I'm just curious about what kinds of spectral and supernatural products you have." I heard the voice reply with some confusion in their voice as they said, "Supernatural products? Sir, this is a Dust shop, not an occult shop. I'm afraid you're at the wrong place..."
The person trailed off as he came out from the back and saw who he was talking to. He looked at me and said, "Ace?! I should've known!" I smirked and said, "How are you, Ray?" He came around the counter and we shared a quick bro hug. Then he said, "I'm doing fine. What are you doing here?" I gestured to Ruby and said, "I told you that she'd want to go after the people who were behind what happened at Beacon." Ray turned to Ruby and said, "Ruby! It's so good to see you." She smiled and said, "You too, Ray." He smiled and said, "Let's go to the back. We can catch up some more there."
Ruby and I followed Ray into the back and sat down on a pair of chairs as Ray sat in a chair facing us. I looked around and saw a plaque that had Mason's revolvers mounted on it. I smiled weakly at it, before I turned back to Ray and said, "So where's Bella?" Ray smiled and said, "Oh, she's probably upstairs still sleeping. Her parents are letting Bella and I stay in the apartment upstairs." I nodded and said, "How's she doing?" Ray sighed and answered, "She's doing better. She still has some moments where she struggles with dealing with Mason's death, but she been getting better with it. I'm sure she'll be overjoyed to see you two." I nodded again and said, "We could catch up with you two as well." Ray smiled and led Ruby and I upstairs to his apartment.
Once we had settled down on Ray's couch, Ray went to wake up Bella. Ruby started to smile a little as she turned to me and said, "So, this is why you wanted to come to this specific Dust shop. To be honest, I was beginning to worry that something bad was happening." I sighed and answered, "I'm sorry I made you worry. I just don't think that I'd ever be okay if I didn't visit Ray and Bella while we were here. No matter how much I try to force myself to not think about that night, I'm constantly plagued by the nightmare of that moment. I just hoping this will give me some closure, or at least enough to stop the memory from haunting me." Ruby squeezed my hand to comfort me and said, "Ace, you will be okay, because I'm here for you." I smiled and said, "Thanks, Ruby."
About a minute later, Ray came back from the other room with Bella. When Bella caught sight of Ruby and I, she ran towards us and gave us each a hug as she said, "Ace! Ruby! What are you two doing here?" We sat back down and started to explain everything to them, from our journey here to the Maidens to Ozpin's reincarnation. Then they told us about how they've been doing here in Mistral. Once we were all caught up, I decided to ask them both a difficult and awkward question. I looked at Ruby for a second before I turned back to Ray and Bella and said, "One last thing, we pretty sure that Salem plans to attack Haven Academy before the students return, which is approximately one month away. Now I know that I'm asking a lot from you two, but would you two be willing to help us defend Haven? I'm not asking as your ex-team leader, but rather I'm asking as a friend."
Ray and Bella looked at each other for a moment before Ray answered and said, "We'd be happy to help out our team leader." Then Bella spoke up and said, "My brother may be gone, but Team AMBR is not. I think we should fight in his honor to defend Haven Academy." I smiled as I felt a tear run down my cheek. Then my teammates and I shared a group hug.
When we pulled apart, I saw Ruby smiling at us. I turned to Ray and said, "Ray, could you and I talk in private for a bit?" He nodded and led me into the other room. He closed the door behind us and said, "Okay, what's up?" I smirked and said, "I couldn't help but notice the nice engagement ring that Bella was wearing, so I got to ask two things. Firstly, when did you propose?" He smiled as he scratched the back of his head and replied, "I proposed about 2 months ago on her birthday." I smirked and said, "Congrats, man. The second thing I want to ask is, were you nervous or even the slight bit hesitant before you proposed?" Ray nodded and said, "Honestly, I was extremely nervous about it. But when I got to that moment, right before I did it, all of that nervousness and hesitancy disappeared. Why do you ask?"
Ruby's POV
I turned to Bella and said, "I see that Ray proposed. Congrats." She smiled and said, "Thanks. You know if I didn't have Ray here with me, I doubt I would have made it this far without my brother. Ray has helped me get through it all just by being there for me. But it does make me wonder, has Ace proposed to you or even hinted at the possibility?" I smiled lightly and let out a sigh before I replied and said, "As much as I wish, he hasn't. I'm not entirely sure if he even plans to. And if he does, I don't think it'll be anytime soon." Bella smiled and said, "Well, Ruby, you can always hope for the best." She gave me a hug as Ray and Ace came back to the room.
Ace's POV
After we said our goodbyes, Ruby and I headed towards a nice restaurant nearby. We walked in and I said, "Table for two please." The waiter nodded and led us to a table by the window. We sat down and Ruby said, "Ace, this place is nice." I smiled and said, "I thought you'd like it." We looked through our menus and ordered some food. The waiter brought us our food and drinks, and as we ate, Ruby and I talked for a while. After we finished our food and I had paid for the two of us, we walked along the streets of downtown Mistral, holding hands. Eventually we reached a nice and secluded spot that overlooked the entire city near the top of one of the mountains. Ruby and I sat down and watched as the sun began to set on the horizon.
As we watched the sun set over the city below us, Ruby said, "This is a great view." I sighed as I saw her beautiful silver eyes start to seemingly glow in the remaining light from the sun and said, "Not as nearly as beautiful as mine." She looked at me and said, "Really?" I smirked and said, "I stand by what I said." Ruby smiled as she rolled her eyes and said, "Honestly, it's the wonderful moments like this that make me even more determined to stop Salem. Tonight was so perfect, Ace. Is there any way this night could possibly get any better?" I smiled and said, "I think I might know a way." She looked at me slightly puzzled and said, "How so?" I smirked as I pulled a ring box out of the inside pocket of my jacket, got down on one knee, and said, "Ruby Rose, will you marry me?"
