Knight

A very eye-catching man graced the streets of Vale one weekend evening. He cut an imposing seven-foot figure with a neatly styled mop of golden blond hair. Sapphire blue eyes graced his fair features complemented by a jawline that may as well have been chiselled from fine Mistralian marble. He wore a light blue shirt that hugged his very well-built musculature tightly with a spiffy looking unbuttoned brown aviator leather jacket over it with simple black jean pants. He walked with a confident gait that masked uncertainty and innocence, a brilliant genuine smile always graced his features as he walked down the shopping district waving to familiar passers-by and on occasion reluctantly accepting merchandise gifted to him by lonesome housewife-vendors trying to get in his good graces.

This man was Jaune Arc.

Huntsmen Extraordinaire, S-Class. Graduate of Beacon, Valedictorian. Part time male model for Adel Project clothing line, as a favor for a friend of-course. Publicized Faunus-rights advocate and activist. Public hero and beloved symbol of peace.

Twenty-three years old and single.

In his left hand he held a brown khaki bag holding a variety of food stuffs ranging from freshly baked bread sticks, locally farmed produce such as apples, greens, handpicked strawberries and the like. Most of which had been gifted to him by the very nice ladies of the shopping district, the reason for which he surmised was for his celebrity status however small time he thought it was (oblivious fool). In his right hand he held onto a dog leash attached to a small black and white corgi.

In exchange for temporary residence in his old friend Ruby's apartment while she was away on a mission, he had promised to occasionally take Zwei on walks and keep the house clean. As a man of virtue, he held true to his promise.

…

Vale at midnight was a magnificent sight to behold, the dull lighting of the setting orange sun only seemed to accentuate the city's white-brick structures. Unlike Atlas, Vale was relatively less tech-reliant therefore less light pollution, which made the sky clear unveiling a blanket of stars and constellations. It was now nearing closing hour and shops to his left and right were packing up and shutting their doors for the night. The sun was still visible so Jaune headed for the docks to watch it set before heading off to Ruby's apartment, as was routine for him.

While drinking in the sight of the starry night he loosened his grip on Zwei's leash, a momentary weakness which was expertly exploited by the pocket hell-hound as it ran off towards the docks ahead of him.

"Dammit Zwei," he cursed as he took off after the dog. Somewhere along the way he lost sight of the corgi and may have gotten a tad bit lost as well. Putting his trust in is instinct he headed for the docking bay in hopes of finding his bearings at least.

"Bark…Bark…Bark."

He could hear a familiar barking coming from the docks. Originating from the far right of the docking bay where the sitting area was situated. Every time he strolls through downtown Vale he ends the day by going to the docks, always with Zwei, he figured Zwei must have tired of his pace and ran off ahead.

Turning around a bent which led to a clearing, he found Zwei by one of the dock benches that overlooked the ocean. Seated on the bench was a woman about his age if not older with a tuft of orange hair styled into a bob with a pink bow rested top her head. She had glowing green eyes, pale skin peppered by freckles and wore a white old fashioned blouse with an overall skirt that stopped short mid-thighs, jeweled by a black and green collar with matching thigh high stockings.

She looked unperturbed by the rude interruption of Zwei as she looked out into the sunset, the street light situated behind the bench flickered off and on for a moment and she turned around. Jaune was approaching her at a brisk jogging pace and stopped a good meter away from her when she turned around to face him. He was momentarily stunned by her beauty before kneeling down close to Zwei and secured the leash handle.

"Zwei, stop it," he reprimanded the corgi who stopped barking promptly.

"I'm so sorry about that miss, are you okay," he asked, "seriously, he never does that."

The woman turned to him and emerald eyes met sapphire eyes and with a smile she replied with exaggerated excitement, "I'm quite alright, thank you for asking sir."

Taken aback by her jovial response and almost textbook speak he flashed her back a smile with equal joviality. He excused himself before seating himself on the far end of the bench and placed the grocery bag in the small space between them. Moments passed as the two sat in serene silence as they watched the sunset.

"It's beautiful isn't it," he finally broke the silence.

"Quite so, I've never seen anything quite like it before," she replied in kind.

"Never seen the sunset before…," he mused to himself before concluding, "you must be from Atlas." He'd asked the good General at his graduation some time ago what home was like to which he replied, and I quote, "a freezing arctic-wasteland where the sun don't shine". As intoxicated as the man was he surely wasn't expecting his answer to hold this much truth to it.

"Why, yes. I am from Atlas."

"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude ma'am. I haven't even introduced myself and I'm already asking you where you're from," Jaune excused himself.

He stood up from the seating and with exaggerated flourish took a bow and introduced himself," Jaune. The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue. Ladies love it." He cringed at the cheesy introduction and kept his head low to avert her probably now judgemental stare.

Instead of bursting in a fit of laughter 'at him' as he expected, as was to be expected from anyone really, she coyly giggled to herself with a light blush peppering her pale visage. She stood up from the bench and stood in front of Jaune, with equal flourish she grabbed the seams of her overall and took a light courteous bow.

" Penny. Full name Penelope Polendina. Charmed to meet you, Jaune," she introduced herself with a dip of the knee and a beaming smile.

Craning himself upwards from the bow, Jaune stood straight up to meet Penny still in a bow facing him with a sugary smile. He returned the smile and motioned for her to seat before settling himself down as well next to her, closer now and not teetering off the edge as he was before.

"Sorry about that, it's a nervous tic. It always comes out as a cheesy pickup line," he said to her as he scratched the back of his head, showing yet another one of his nervous tics.

"Apology accepted Jaune. Besides, I agree with you. It is a short and sweet name, and quite pleasant to enunciate. I can see why the Ladies love it," she said. To which he replied with a hearty confident laugh, betrayed only by the red that now covered his face.

With that awkward affair put behind them, Jaune and Penny conversed the night away with topics ranging from Jaune's trainee days at Beacon and Penny's own in Atlas to their mutually-shared profession Hunting Grimm. They would have talked till past midnight had it not been for Penny's scroll and Zwei interrupting them. The two parted ways for the night, with renewed hope Jaune walked the rest of the way with bounce to his step with a sanguine anticipation of the following day, hoping maybe just maybe, he might meet Penny again.

And meet her again he did, the very next day at the exact same spot always at the same time for the whole week and the one after. Each time they met, Penny never failed to greet him with a jovial "Salutation" and with time she took to calling him by the moniker "Friend! Jaune".

Often times they would deviate from their sunset watching opting instead to take a walk by the pier as per Jaune's suggestion.

An unfamiliar feeling took root in Jaune's heart as the week went by and with the occasional accidental brush of the hand and that smile of hers that seemed to melt his heart it germinated till eventually it bloomed into…something akin to love.

He eventually mustered the courage to invite Penny on a date later that following weekend. In a haze of elation blinded by either excitement or nervousness, he had set up a time and location before he panicked and ran off before appropriating a response from her.

"Most Sensational", was her unheard response and acceptance.

A/N: Something I had in a notebook that I thought i should share with y'all. It'll be in three to four parts, don't really know how long I'll make it but it'll be short. I'm kinda just winging this.

I have a horrid habit of not being able to adhere to a timetable so expect updates to be irregular. They'll never be an update gap longer than a month,that i promise, but the lapse will be there.