Ruggie has a crush. A serious one. On a girl way out of his league.

She went to an all-girls school—not too different from NRC, except, well... it was all girls. Their schools were allies, close geographically and historically. When her school hosted open festivals, letting in students from NRC, Ruggie met her and was immediately head over heels. He knew right away she was out of his league, but he couldn't help himself.

Her schools had a good history together, and nobody minded the mingling. So Ruggie started showing up. A lot.

"Hey, uh..." Ruggie scratched the back of his neck, ears twitching as he stepped up.

Before he realized it, he'd been following her around for weeks—just like a hyena in courtship. He only left when he had to run back to NRC or handle his usual odd jobs. But whenever she moved, he did too. He hadn't watched her sleep or anything weird like that—he always went back to campus by then. But weekdays? He'd find a way to check in. Weekends? He was back again, like clockwork.

It had become... a routine.

"I, uh... I got ya somethin'." He held out a small bundle of flowers—dug up carefully, still perfectly intact.

"They ain't fancy or nothin'," he muttered, glancing away, "but I thought they might make ya smile or somethin'..."

He was nervous. Just a little.

"Geez, you're really somethin', huh? You got me doin' all this weird stuff... tch, don't get used to it, yeah?"

But the thought of making her happy? That made it worth it.