Check on Rica

"Mr. Knight," the nurse greets you in a friendly manner.

"How's Rica?" you inquire.

The nurse sighs. "That Xiao Long girl really needs to control her strength better. Miss Peridot is doing fine, her bruising has come down and her cracked ribs are mending quite well, but I would advise against any sort of strenuous activity of any sort. You can go see her if you like. Miss Greene and Miss Everhart are already with her."

"Thanks," you reply gratefully. As you approach Rica's bed, all three girls are watching you eagerly. "Hey..."

"Well?" Papaya asks eagerly.

"Well... What?" You ask dumbly.

You are well aware of the information they want, but you're not even sure where to begin to discuss it with them. Or if you even want to. It always feels so awkward, even after so many years of being a team, to discuss your relationship woes (which has solely consisted of pining after Ruby Rose for the last several years) with them as they are all female. It's not as if any of them can give you any real insight into a girl like Ruby, as none of them even have anything remotely in common with her. Even adorably sweet and shy Papaya is more worldly than adorkably, awkward Ruby. Plus, neither Papaya nor Seneca are even remotely attracted to girls and while Rica herself is bisexual, Ruby isn't even remotely her type.

"So help me..." Rica began to threaten.

"Pax!" you declare, holding up your hands in surrender. "I have a not quite a date with Ruby at six, with a curfew of ten."

"Does Yang know yet?" asks Seneca.

"Yeah. She originally wanted to set a curfew of nine, but without thinking, I negotiated," you reply.

"Wow! And you're still alive!" Seneca jests.

"She also knows that you and Belladonna all but set us up, so if I'm going down, I'm bringing you both down with me, Sen," You respond.

"What ever happened to team loyalty?" Seneca complained.

"Sen, I damn near had a heart attack when you spoke up. I thought for sure you were gonna sabotage my chances with Ruby," you state.

"I wouldn't do that! None of us would!" Seneca argues back.

You sigh. "I know, but... It's just... It's one of the few times I've been able to get up the nerve to even talk to her, and I'd been hyping myself up to ask her out all morning and suddenly everything was taken out of my hands. You all should know by now how hard it is for me to put myself out like that."

Seneca looked downright miserable. "S-Sorry..."

"Sen..." You take your partner into your arms, holding her tight. "I'm grateful for your help, even if you did give me a mild panic attack. And I'm even willing to admit with all honestly, that given the way I was fumbling, it would have probably have taken me way too long to actually ask her out and I may even have lost my nerve. It wouldn't have been the first time. But you have to let me fight my own battles off the battlefield."

"If you were more confident off the battlefield, we wouldn't feel the need to butt in," Rica shoots back, coming to Seneca's aid.

"I-I'm trying. And you gals help, a lot. When I'm with you, I feel we can take on the world, no matter what it throws at us," You tell them.

"E-Even team RWBY?" Papaya asks with a mischeivious grin.

You laugh. "Even we have our limits. Our teamwork is awesome, no doubts, but their's is freakishly good. For all she doesn't look it sometimes, Ruby is an awesome leader."

"She'd have to be, considering she was admitted two years early," Rica points out.

"And we even can say the same about you, since Ruby wasn't the only early admission," Seneca adds on.

"Guys..." You start to say, but you can't come up with the proper words to reply. You're not sure if you want to downplay your achievements or thank them for believing in you. A feeling of confidence swells in your chest drives back your crippling self doubt, though it doesn't completely erradicate it. A small sliver remains in the dark corner of your thoughts, eating away at your self image, but for the time being, you're as relaxed as you're going to get.

"W-We're just pointing out, you have a lot more to offer than you realize," Papaya adds.

"Besides, if your date..." ("Not a date," You mutter in protest, though you're ignored.) "With Ruby goes well, maybe you could put in a good word for me with her sister, wink, wink. " Rica says suggestively. Her over exagerated facial expressions let you know she's kidding, mostly. She admitted early on to having a crush on both Blake and Yang, though not to the obsessive levels of your own crush on Ruby. While you have pretty much lived like a monk, Rica has actually dated around, though very rarely do any of them get a second date and never a third.

You take a deep breath. You're not sure yet on whether or not you're going to regret this course of action, but you're committed. It also doesn't help that your team is something of a safety blanket for you, an emotional crutch. "So, Rica, any idea of when you're getting out of here, because I could use some help getting ready for my... Captain's meeting (*DATE!* ALL three of them say with badly disguised coughs) with Miss Rose."

"Shouldn't be too long. I think I just need to get my meds and I'll be right as rain to help you get ready for your... Captain's meeting... With Ruby," Rica replies with a smirk. You feel your cheeks heat up due to the suggestive emphasis she put on 'Captain's Meeting'.

Seneca then starts fake sniffling and grabs onto Papaya. "Oh, Paps! Our team captain FINALLY growing up!"

"G-guys... I-It's not l-like that!" you stutter, vainly fighting down your embarassment.

"Not with that attitude it won't be," Rica huffs.

The self doubt starts gnawing away at you with a vengeance as you gulp nervously. The prospect of actually going on a date, that isn't actually a date with Ruby is daunting, and you can't imagine how much more frightening going on an actual date with her might be like.

"Rica, be nice," Papaya scolds her in that soft manner that is unique completely to her. "It can be hard for some people to put themselves out there. I can relate, it's not exactly easy for me either. But he's taken the first step, even if he did need a slight nudge or two. We need to support him like he has us."

You smile grately and affectionately at Papaya. Sometimes you wish you felt for her what you did for Ruby, but neither of you have ever felt anything more than simple kinship between the two of you. She was the first person you'd met when coming to Vale and Beacon Academy, and the two of you were fast friends- much in the same way you and Seneca had easily bonded after becoming partners.

Unfortunately, most people who know you seem to either really like or really hate you. You and Rica, being near polar opposite in nearly every way, was a great source of friction for the first several weeks of being a team. Particularly, since she had wanted to be Team Captain and was denied by Headmaster Ozpin. It had taken several bouts of you defeating her in combat class and an incident where her ignoring your orders had almost gotten her killed by a Berengal, only to be saved by you personally, that got through her prickly exterior.

Still, while she more often than not could be a pain in your ass, unlike either Seneca or Papaya, Rica, more than anyone, pushed you to leave your comfort zone. So while she was a bitch, you knew she only had the best intentions, even if it didn't always come across that way.

"I am, but he had a point a bit ago," Rica counters. "A lot of this is gonna be on him, but it won't become an actual date-date if he doesn't do anything to make it one. Keep in mind, I did let myself get beaten to a pulp by Ruby's overprotective big sister, just so he could have this opportunity. I just don't want him to squander it and blowing smoke up his ass won't help him."

"It's fine, Paps. I know she means well. Besides, I'm not sure I'm gonna be anything short of terrified until after this is all over anyway," You tell them.

"You'll be fine," Seneca assures you. "Just think of it like a run of the mill combat situation, only you want to kiss you objective at the end of the night instead of killing it."

A blush once more lights up your face as you look away. "N-Not helping..."

The other three merely laugh good naturedly at you.