RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth
Snow fell calmly and silently, covering Beacon in its magical awe and wonder. The nighttime air was cold and harsh but left a feeling of serenity all over Beacon. It was a fitting tone for the time of year, Christmas. Most students had already left for their Christmas vacation and retreated home to be with their families. Team JNPR and team RWBY were among one of the few teams to actually stay at Beacon. The two teams had already gone home early to celebrate with their families but immediately returned to Beacon to celebrate the holiday with their team. The two teams had decided it would be a good bonding experience to spend the day together. Everyone except for Blake…
It wasn't that Blake particularly disliked the holiday or any of her friends; it was more of the fact that the date it was celebrated on was an inconvenience. She had the misfortune, or fortune depending on how you look at it, of being born on Christmas.
She had always celebrated her birthday alone, which meant that she always spent Christmas alone. This wasn't because she was lonely or didn't have anybody to spend it with; it was more of a decision made on her part. Every year she would spend the whole day reflecting on how her year was and what's changed. This year she had a lot of thinking to do and couldn't be bothered by anyone, including her teammates.
She had left early in the morning and a note that told them not to worry about her and that she would be back in the morning. This way she could be by herself and not have her teammates worry about her. She had spent most of the day wandering around Beacon and admiring the sights, heavily pondering on what direction her life was going. She decided to rest on one of Beacon's rooftops
Her thoughts always returned to a particular person no matter how hard she tried to get him out of her head, a boy that continued to surprise and astound her.
Jaune Arc, a clumsy but kind-hearted boy. At first when she met the knight her initial impression was that he was just another idiotic and clumsy person who just happened to have a kind heart…but as the year went on she discovered that was not the case with him. She had watched him closely ever since the incident with Cardin just in case a problem arose with the bully again.
She instead found that Jaune was a complicated person. He was indeed a clumsy fool sometimes but when a situation became dire he never failed to face the challenge with a certain ferocity, determination, and seriousness that she never knew he had. This wasn't the only time he would act differently. Whenever someone was in trouble, no matter who they were, he rushed in and displayed the traits of a true hero. He became calm, focused, and the thing that surprised everyone, deadly.
He was also one of the only people at Beacon that would openly defend a faunus out in public, in truth he didn't really care what other people thought about him defending a faunus. He gladly took the risk of being ridiculed and mocked for his actions if it meant that their attention was on him and not on whoever he was defending.
Blake had questioned him one day on why he defended the faunus. She could still hear his words echo in her head. They sent chills down her spine. She could still feel the power and determination that flowed off of his voice.
'…I defended them because I would rather die than ignore a voice pleading for help…'
She would never forget those words for as long as she lived, the very words that sent a jolt through her heart.
She found his overall existence confusing and intriguing at the same time. His very being was something Blake had a hard time wrapping her head around. Despite her confusion she found herself strangely attracted to the boy.
She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice the silent footsteps sneaking up behind her. The footsteps came closer and closer until finally they came to a complete stop.
"Hey Blake" a voice called out.
She was so surprised at the sudden rupture of silence that she almost jumped before completely turning to face whoever it was that dared to interrupt her. Her heart almost stopped when her eyes took in the whole scene.
Jaune stood there in a casual white T-shirt and jeans, a Santa cap sat upon his head; he was holding a sloppily made cake that had 'Happy Birthday Blak' written in icing, apparently the last letter didn't fit. Eighteen candles stood atop the cake, shining brightly in all their beauty. The light of the candle flames illuminated the darkness of the night and shined off of Jaune's face and eyes.
She looked directly into his blue orbs. She could see the playfulness in them, like a child that was trying to surprise his friends.
"Happy Birthday" He whispered in a tone that made Blake shiver.
After she had recovered from her shock, she composed herself and let the usual frown take over her face. She was completely touched by the action but she couldn't let herself act any different than usual.
"What are you doing here and how did you know it was my birthday?" She growled.
"Uuh uuuh…So-sorry to bother you but Ruby told me all about yo-your birthday and that you wanted to spend it by yourself so I-I uuh I made you a…cake…you can do whatever you want with it but I think everyone at least deserves a cake on their birthday…sorry if it's a little crummy…I'm not very good at this…" Jaune stuttered out. He sat the cake down on the ground and bowed. "So-sorry for disturbing you…I'll go away now…" Jaune said glumly before turning around and walking away.
"Jaune wait…" Blake blurted out.
The blonde knight froze in his tracks and slowly began to turn, a smile on his face. The whole action itself was a little creepy but managed to get a laugh out of Blake.
"Yeeeessss" he spoke out like a child.
"I suppose…you could join me…if you want" Blake averted her eyes to the ground, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.
Jaune didn't notice this however. He took a seat on the ground and signaled for Blake to join him. She sat down next to him and remained silent.
"Make a wish and blow out the candles" Jaune said with a bright smile.
The cat faunus paused for a second, silently pondering on what to wish for. After several seconds of thinking she finally came up with the perfect wish. She blew out the candles and smiled contently to herself.
Jaune pulled out a knife and began cutting the cake. He picked up the first piece with his hands and gave it to Blake.
"No plates?"
"Oh sorry I forgot that's what normal people do. My dad and I always eat the cake with our bare hands. I'll go grab one if you want"
"No it's alright" Blake took the piece and began eating. Jaune soon got his piece too and the two sat in silence.
The cake was vanilla with chocolate icing. It was sloppily made and the taste wasn't good but it wasn't bad either. None of these things mattered to Blake though. The fact that someone had taken the time to make her a cake meant a lot.
This is probably the first time she actually celebrated her birthday. She could've celebrated her past birthdays with Adam but he was more of a coworker than an actual friend. She looked over at Jaune; he was looking deeply at the moon.
'What goes on inside that head of yours…' She thought.
"Hey Blake you don't have to wear that bow if you don't want to…"
"Wha-what do you mean?" Blake was shocked and scared at what he had said. She hadn't revealed her faunus heritage to team JNPR just yet. She wanted to do it when the time was right.
"I mean that you don't have to hide your ears if you don't want to. Nobody's gonna come up here"
"H-how did you know?" Blake stuttered out.
"Your bow um…twitches…sometimes"
Blake blushed furiously. She started wondering who else knew.
"Also Ruby is not very good at keeping secrets"
Blake's embarrassment was replaced with anger and a thirst for vengeance.
"So it's alright, I won't judge you"
Blake's blush returned as she remembered her current predicament. She thought about turning him down but before she knew it her hand started creeping up towards her bow.
"I-I guess" She stuttered out. She slipped off the bow with one tug.
Her ears twitched at the sudden change in temperature. She looked over at Jaune who was now staring at her.
"What is it?" She asked
"Can I touch them?" He asked innocently
Blake was surprised at the question; nobody had ever asked to actually touch her ears before. She was either ridiculed by humans or respected by faunus but Jaune's reaction was unexpected.
She nodded her head and remained silent. Jaune slowly reached his hand out and patted her ears. He rubbed them gently. Blake's instincts kicked in and she silently began to purr. She tried to fight the urge but it felt too good.
"You shouldn't try to hide your ears. I think they make you look even more beautiful"
At that moment Jaune's scroll went off. She was slightly disappointed when Jaune retracted his hand to check his scroll.
After reading the message he sighed and got up.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked worriedly. She didn't want him to leave quite yet.
"Nora's escaped and she's terrorizing the kitchen. I better go stop her" he said
"Oh…" Blake responded disappointedly.
"Bu-but don't worry. I'll be right back!" Jaune exclaimed.
"Hey Jaune"
"Ye-" He was interrupted by Blake's lips meeting his own.
The kiss was gentle but was full of passion. After getting over his shock he returned the kiss. It lasted a couple more seconds before they finally broke apart.
"Hurry back" she whispered taking Jaune's hat and putting it on herself. The blush on her face was as red as Ruby's cape.
"Ye-yea…I-I-I'll be ri-right back!" He stuttered out. His face full of bewilderment, he turned around and rushed towards the door, stumbling the whole way.
Once he was gone Blake let a smile grace her lips. She continued eating the cake that to anybody else would've been bland, but to her it was the most delicious cake she had ever tasted. Tears of joy strolled down her face. She touched her lips and stared up at the broken moon.
"I guess birthday wishes do come true…"
Written for Airchampion- I hope you enjoyed!