Ruby allows Jaune to order some cocktails

"Hit me..." Ruby says provocatively as she looks at Jaune.

The waiter stands glancing at his watch as Jaune and Ruby both turn to him. His name badge reads Tsukino Ume (He/Him). They have long hair, wide hips, a round face and lovely red lips. He is so beautiful that he could cause straight men to question their sexuality!

"One passion fruit gin and fizz," Jaune requests.

"For you or the little ladyboy?" Tsukino replies.

"Excuse me?!" Ruby says coldly.

"You must be from Vale with that accent. Here in Mistral, referring to a futanari as 'ladyboy' is less of an insult and more like an invitation," Tsukino replies with a wink.

"Oh! Right..." Ruby responds, blushing as she's caught off guard by Tsukino's forwardness.

Team RJNR smirks to break the tension while Tsukino laughs naughtily to himself. His voice was broadly androgynous, but flirtatiously ladylike in his inflection.

"That drink is for her. I will have a bramble please!" Jaune chuckles.

"Okay handsome!" Tsukino comments while jotting down their orders.

"A pink lady for me!" Nora adds.

Very appropriate to go with that nice skirt of yours! What about the pretty boy sitting next to you?" Tsukino says.

"Gin and tonic please," Ren answers.

"How did you know I'm futanari?" Ruby asks Tsukino.

"Your neck! You have an Adam's apple, like me!" Tsukino comments.

"Wait, are you..." Ruby says, hoping that Tsukino will catch her drift.

"A futanari? Yes! I lean towards my masculine side more these days, though I still embrace my androgyny," Tsukino replies as he holds up his name badge.

"I thought the term futanari only applied to feminine presenting hermaphrodites," Ruby comments.

"In Vale perhaps! Would anyone like something to eat? Besides me?" Tsukino teases.

"You need to simmer down!" Jaune replies jokingly.

"I've been bored all day staring at the time! I have to make my job interesting somehow!" Tsukino comments.

"We'll order dinner after the first round of drinks!" Ruby exclaims.

"Very well. I'll be back!" Tsukino says.

Ruby catches a peak at Tsukino's behind as he turns around and walks off. Damn he's thick! Delight and merry banter circulate around the dinner table once the drinks start flowing. With all the spicy conversations Team RJNR has been getting into recently, Nora felt the need to talk more on the topic of relationships from a futanari's perspective!

"Ruby, I have been needing to ask you this question for a long time! Are you into girls?" Nora asks, having down her second pink lady.

"I'm gonna need to get more tipsy before I start answering those kinds of questions!" Ruby replies, finishing her first cocktail at the end of sentence.

"Come on Ruby! How tipsy do you need to be to say what you want?!" Nora exclaims.

"This isn't Vale, remember? You can talk more freely about queer love here as a futanari," Ren adds, relaxing back in his chair with his legs crossed.

"I will have to order some cocktails because I'm interested in learning about the futanari dating experience too! One of my sisters is married to futanari and I feel like there are more things I don't know about futanari than I do know," Jaune says as he swirls about his second cocktail in hand.

"Fine! If Jaune insists on knowing what makes a futanari tick, I'll spill the tea! Yes, I am attracted to girls. But, I lean more towards men and futanari than women," Ruby replies.

"How does a relationship between two futanari differ from a futa/female relationship?" Nora asks.

"Futa/futa romance is an entirely different level of intimacy than futa/female! That being said, I lean towards men more than futanari," Ruby answers.

"If you dated a guy, would you expect them to be okay with pegging?" Nora asks with irreverent cheer.

"Too many guys are under the impression that dating a futanari means you have to take one up the rear end! That could not be further from the truth! Personally, I have never been into butt stuff. Even futanari that are into it wouldn't see no pegging as a deal breaker. I read a study done last year which said 3/4 futanari prefer receiving over giving anyways," Ruby declares.

"Only 1/4 prefer giving? I'm surprised! Why is that?" Jaune asks.

"Well... If I am on the receiving end, I can play with myself easily. If I'm giving, then it's harder for me to play with lady parts. The bottom line is most futanari date girls to give and guys to receive!" Ruby explains, using her hands for a visual demonstration of sex and masturbation. Ruby seemed particularly keen to answer this question for Jaune.

"Why do you prefer guys if you can give and receive from a futanari?" Jaune asks.

"Besides the social stigma of futa/futa romance in Vale, there are two other reasons why I prefer the idea of dating guys. Firstly, futanari are harder to find! Secondly, men make the first move," Ruby replies, patting on the Jaune thigh as she emphasizes the word men.

"Are you afraid of rejection from girls specifically?" Ren asks.

"Terrified... I'm scared of rejection in general- girls and guys. Even if guys chase me, there is no guarantee they will want me when they find out I have dick. Being chased is a whole lot easier than making the first move. What can I say? I am kind of shy on the topic of romance... but I'm hoping to come out of my shell!" Ruby responds, turning to Ren as she answers.

"So statically speaking, only one member of Team RWBY prefers giving over taking... Who is the giver of the Team RWBY? I'm betting that would be Yang, right?" Nora prods.

"I do think so... Yang has been with a lot more guys than girls. I think Weiss is the giver of team RWBY!" Ruby replies.

"Weiss?!" Jaune shouts.

"No way!" Nora squawks.

"I thought she would be the straight one on your team!" Ren comments.

"Weiss is such a useless lesbian! She likes girls way more than boys!" Ruby yells.

"Then why did she go to the Beacon dance with Neptune?" Ren asks.

"Neptune was the exception that proves the rule! He was the only guy Weiss met at Beacon that interested her. Ever since Neptune lost interest in her, Weiss has been a pure lesbian as far as I see it. She just won't admit it!" Ruby explains.

"You're telling me that Weiss was never really into guys now?! After I tried to serenade her?!" Jaune interjects.

"If Weiss wasn't prepared to tell you that herself at Beacon, I wasn't going to. But now you know! Weiss fancied basically every girl that she, or our team, interacted with more than once!" Ruby announces.

"Does that include me?" Nora asks.

"Waiter! We need more drinks!" Ruby shouts, realizing she may have said too much.

Nora goes into speculative overdrive, prying Ruby to answer more questions on how interested Weiss was in the girls of Beacon academy (especially herself). Ruby insists on remaining tight lipped on this topic, refusing to elaborate further. Nora, Jaune and Ren are **** to reevaluate every interaction Weiss had with girls at Beacon after this bombshell drops! Weiss becomes the focal point of discussion in between Team RNJR loading up on more drinks. Ruby is bombarded with questions on Weiss' feelings towards other members of Team RWBY. She shuts down theories of relationships happening within her team. However, Ren quickly points out that Ruby doesn't know what her own sister is up to half the time!

Jolly laughter resounds throughout the inn as Nora weaves nonsensical narratives of Weiss screwing Yang and Blake behind Ruby's back. Jaune adds to the womanizer Weiss tapestry of tipsy banter by insisting she must have tried sleeping with Beacon's staff as well as the students! Ren paints a picture of Weiss taking women from every team she faced during the Vytal tournament into her personal harem! Downing drinks and blabbering without a care in the world bring back a surreal sense of ease which Team RJNR had not experienced since the Fall of Beacon. It felt nostalgic even as they were living in the moment. Their pork dinner was an upgrade to Beacon's cafeteria food though!

"Jaune, I’m telling ya' Jaune, you dodged a bullet with Weiss!” Ruby says with a hiccup, drunkenly slurring her words.

"At this rate, I could argue Weiss might have wanted to peg me if I took her to the Beacon dance!" Jaune replies.

"Weiss wouldn't peg a guy... but I know Yang would!" Ruby quips.

“That is way too much information!” Ren comments.

“Be careful Nora- Ren is the kind of guy Yang would love to top!” Ruby adds.

Nora bawls out with laughter as she slams the table with her fist! Her belly aches from roaring glee! Jaune and Ren are both gob smacked that Ruby would say something crude. Ruby cackles like a witch at their reactions!

“We are never letting Ruby drink again! She’s too much!” Ren laughs.

“I take after my uncle!” Ruby says with a hiccup.

"Okay, one more round of the womanizer Weiss chronicles! This one is for all the marbles! No bullshit, who was Weiss' biggest girl crush at Beacon academy?"

"Oh, you don't want to know..." Ruby says dismissively.

"I need to know! If you don't answer, I will assume its you!" Nora prods.

"Are you sure that you want to know?" Ruby replies anxiously.

"Give us just one piece of confirmed lore to the womanizer Weiss chronicles!" Jaune requests.

"Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee?" Nora begs.

"If you don't answer, Nora will make you regret it," Ren warns.

"Weiss' biggest girl crush... was Pyrrha..." Ruby answers.

The mood of Team RNJR's table does a sudden 180.

"On the day of the Beacon initiation, I saw Weiss talking in the locker room with Pyrrha. I knew from back then she must be interested in girls. Weiss insisted that they would make a great team. Weiss wasn't good at flirting, but I caught the undertones of what she was suggesting. During the early days of Team RWBY, Weiss would rant about how much better things would be if they were our team leader or if she was Pyrrha's partner... she was in love with the idea of Pyrrha. The high profile celebrity babe from Argus. Far away enough from Atlas to not inherit its prejudices against futanari. Close enough to home as a major trade port for things to feel familiar. The invincible girl. But your team knew who Pyrrha was away from cameras. Weiss envied that, knowing she would never get to know Pyrrha as well as her team..." Ruby continues.

"Do you think... Weiss would have confessed her love if I took the fall instead of Pyrrha?" Jaune ponders.

"I can't speculate on what ifs. I can speak to what is in front of me. Forget what could have been. Let's just live. Day by day. And not be conquered by our sorrows," Ruby encourages.

"...Let's just live," Jaune responds, raising his glass for a toast.

"Let's just live," Ren echoes.

"Let's just live!" Nora shouts.

Team RNJR chug down their drinks. Ruby's words install the courage to simply forget their problems. The strength to be happy in the face of tragedy should not be underestimated. Despite it all, Team RNJR finds time to dance and laugh as the innkeeper plays folk songs on the radio.

Very soon, they will find time for love too. Ruby had plans in mind for it once Jaune asked for the bill for their dinner...