Convincing May Zedong to come out and shop with her had taken a LOT of courage, a lot of patience, and a lot of sugar. Surprisingly, Jaune and Penny had been the most help there. May and Jaune just kind of clicked easily and Penny's encouragement had driven Ruby to seek out the shy sniper from Vacuo.
They actually had a fair amount in common. Both took great pride in their weapons, both enjoyed comic books, and both were constantly exasperated with their teams. Once they'd broken the ice, they were actually getting along great in the costume store in Old Town Vale! It wasn't very elaborate: Most of the year it was a thrift shop, actually. But that was all the better! Ruby loved thrift shops and combining them with a costume store just made them even better!
"I guess I'm still a little nervous," May admitted as she looked through the racks of various costumes in plastic bags under the glare of cheap LED lights, "We uh, we don't have Halloween persay in Vacuo."
"Persay?" Ruby asked, looking through the accessories section, "What do you have instead?"
"Well, Hispania has the Day of the Dead," May explained, "Which is somewhat similar. Parties, parades, costumes..."
"Sounds neat!" Ruby enthused. May hummed.
"It also had an old ritual where you would dig up your dead ancestors and bring them in for a meal."
Ruby made a face. May nodded in mutual disgust.
"Yeah," the Vacuoan said, "Thankfully most people don't do that anymore. Nolan couldn't eat for a week after that mission."
"I can't blame him," Ruby agreed, shuddering a bit. She spied a costume and lit up. She picked it up. "Ooh! This one looks great!"
May looked at the costume and blushed a bit. It was the costume of a pirate queen.
"Um... Are you sure it would look good on me?"
"Sure I'm sure!" Ruby said cheerfully. "Go ahead! You already have an eyepatch!"
"I just wear my beanie over one eye for night vision," May mumbled. She took the costume and headed towards the dressing room. It was a simple stall with a latched swinging door for privacy. She entered, Ruby giving her one last thumbs up before she shut the door.
"Let's see," Ruby mused, "I did the whole 'I'm Crescent Rose and Rose is me' costumed last year... Maybe I can recycle it! But I'll have to update it a lot..."
She checked herself out in the mirror with a big smile. Screw what Weiss said, she was definitely developing! All that milk was definitely going to the right places!
The dressing room door swung open.
"I'm ready!" May announced nervously. Ruby swung around, a compliment on her lips...
That died in shock as she got a look at the sniper. Her eyes bugged out.
May's pirate queen outfit was certainly... Revealing. Tight tan breeches that visibly strained to contain her hips and bottom. A red top tied up beneath her very impressive chest with a vest that did nothing to cover it up. A bandanna and eyepatch completed the look as May bashfully tried to keep her hands in front of herself.
"I... Wha...?" Ruby managed. "Wh-Where did... All this come from?! You were just this-this baggy shapeless girl!"
May blushed harder.
"S-Sorry? Um... That's part of why I dress like that," she mumbled. "I know I look... W-Well... Fat and weird-"
"No! Nonono! You don't!" Ruby insisted, her shock giving way to compassion for her friend. She reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder, making May jump and look up. "You look great! S-Super great!"
So great Ruby's good mood from before had basically evaporated. That said, Ruby was not going to let May feel bad if she could help it!
"Really?" May asked, hopeful.
"S-Sure!" Ruby agreed, "But um... Maybe something more covering? It's gonna be cold."
"You're right!" May nodded, already shivering, "This place is chillier than I'm used to already."
"Yeah, I can see that," Ruby muttered petulantly.
"What?"
"Nothing!" Ruby said quickly. She beamed and pulled a classic witch's costume from the rack. "Here! This is... A size up! Give it a shot!"
May beamed.
"Thank you Ruby. I really appreciate it!"
"Think nothing of it!" Ruby said with a grin.
May once again went into the dressing room. Ruby sighed and looked at herself in the mirror.
"It's fine," she said quietly, "You're still growing. It's not a big deal... Why do I care about that stuff anyway? Not like we're competing for a boy. Boys are dumb. Except for Jaune. He's nice..."
She recalled him in that dress at the dance. It had been great of him to dress up to cheer Pyrrha up, and he'd even given her a spin or two around the dance floor after all the chaos and shooting! He'd even introduced her to May, and now she had another friend who also struggled with normal people things!
She really shouldn't feel jealous of her. Not at all.
"Okay!"
Ruby once again turned. Her face fell. May stood there in the black witch's dress with a wide smile.
"So uh... What do you think?" May asked.
Her neckline was plunging. Her curves were all fully visible. The hat seemed to emphasize everything else.
How is she sexier with more covered up?! Ruby thought angrily.
"That's... That's really great," Ruby managed.
"I think I might need a cloak or something," May said, "It's still pretty chilly-"
"That's a great idea!" Ruby pounced, grabbing onto May and pulling her along, "A nice thick cloak! Perfect!"
May smiled back and let Ruby lead her on.
"Thank you Ruby!"
Ruby scanned the racks. Her eyes lit up. She reached out and seized the thickest, fluffiest cloak with faux fur lining she could see and handed it to May.
"Here! Try it!"
May pulled it on... And it fell open naturally, making her look as regal as a queen. Her bust and hips all seemed even more majestic thanks to the pale fur lining of the cloak.
May beamed at Ruby happily.
"It's perfect! Thank you Ruby! You're a great friend!"
"Y-Yeah... The greatest," Ruby mumbled, despondent. May hugged her tightly.
"I'm serious," May said firmly, "It's nice to-to have a friend who doesn't just make me do their chores or homework and then never listens to me. You and Jaune are... Are wonderful. Thank you!"
Ruby slowly smiled back. She hugged May tightly.
She really was getting worked up over nothing. She was young. She would grow up and fill out. She knew she would. And she'd still have a great friend like May along!
"You're welcome," Ruby said earnestly.
May then blushed.
"Um... Also... Do you... Do you think Jaune would like my costume?" She asked nervously.
Ruby's silver eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Well, um... A-A Halloween date... Might be fun!" May stuttered. "If-If he was interested, I mean. I don't know if he would be, but-but I think it might be fun... M-Maybe... I-I don't think I could ask him but... Could you, um... Maybe...?"
Ruby's good mood once again fell, and hard.
"I'll... See what I can do," she grumbled, not even sure why she felt this way.
Still... Maybe her Crescent Rose costume could use some modifications. To show off a bit more.
Just to show off how much she'd grown!
Definitely not anything to do with Jaune! No siree!