Today started out so well. It was Valentine's Day, and for once, Jaune thought he had everything perfect for Blake. He had gotten flowers, set up a reservation at a local restaurant down in Vale, and even prepared some battered fish that were shaped like hearts. Plus, he had a card that Yang reassured that she would absolutely love, involving a cat saying "Meow You're the only one for me!" Granted, it wasn't his first choice, but she had picked it out when he was stressing over a couple other potential cards, hemming and hawing endlessly until she shoved it in front of his face. Things had seemed like they would go well, right up until Blake opened the envelope and saw his valentine, frowning rather intensely over the card.
"Er… happy Valentine's Day?" he said nervously, scratching the back of his head. This didn't get much of a response out of her, at least at first. Instead, Blake was boring a hole through the card paper with her eyes. Jaune swore he could see smoke rising out of the paper. Then, Blake turned those eyes on him, making him swallow nervously.
"What would make you think I would like this?" She whispered, voice nearly a hiss. Jaune winced in response. Already, he could feel like he was melting and beginning to cave, the urge to try to explain himself threatened by his rapidly growing need to get out of this situation. Still, be it due to his resolve, or the fact that his legs were shaking too much to move, he stayed as he started to nervously muster a stuttering explanation.
"W-well, Ya-" wait, no what was he thinking?! He couldn't admit to Blake that Yang had bought the valentine. That would be like admitting he hadn't gotten her anything! "I-I was looking through cards, and, um, one of our friends told me you might like, uh… this one?" After a beat, he hung his head. "Geez, I really screwed up, huh?"
He heard a sigh, but he wasn't willing to raise his head to look at her, afraid of what he might see. Instead, he chose to examine the laces on his shoes. Before she could speak up, he turned away.
"Look, I'm sorry for… getting you such a crappy valentine, Blake. I'll make it up to you somehow. You can just throw it away if you want." he said, voice quiet.
Dejected, he began making slow steps towards the door. However, he didn't make it three steps before his hoodie got caught by something, pulling him back and threatening to add the embarrassment of falling on top of what was an already a sucky Valentine's day. Arms turned him around, and he was surprised to see the top of Blake's head on his chest as she gave him a tight hug, complete with the bow that she always seemed to be wearing tickling his chin. He heard a quiet sigh.
"Don't be so hard on yourself," she lightly scolded him. "It's not like one bad Valentine's Day card is going to make me hate you."
He hesitantly returned the hug. His eyes closed as he sighed. "I know that, it's- it's just that this is our first Valentine's Day as, you know, a 'thing'. I just wanted it to be perfect. You deserve that much at least." His hug grew tighter as he went on, matching hers by the time he was done.
For a little while they just stayed like that: standing in the center of the room, holding each other, the offending Valentine's Day card all but forgotten on Weiss' bed. They were shrouded in silence. Jaune felt as much as heard Blake take a deep breath, before she broke the silence.
"Jaune, there's… there's something you should probably know. About me, that is. It… might help explain why I didn't find that card amusing." She began hesitantly.
The blonde's brows furrowed after hearing this, confused and curious what she was talking about. He pulled back just enough to see her face again, though not quite far enough to break their embrace. It was Blake who pulled away and stepped back, fidgeting with the hem of her jacket.
"What do you mean?" he asked, a little concerned. His eyes searched her face for anything that would hint to what she was talking about, but to no avail. Her hands went up to her bow, beginning to undo the knot in the center.
"It'd be better if I show you," she said, not meeting his eyes. As unobservant as he was, even Jaune could see that something was making her anxious. Her normally deft fingers were fidgeting, stopping and going every so often as the bow started to come undone. Slowly she pulled the ribbon off of her head, revealing…
Oh.
Jaune blinked as he saw two small, black, and admittedly adorable cat ears on top of her head. They twitched a little once they were free. "Huh… that explains all those tuna bowls we get."
Blake's face turned a burning shade of red, and she smacked him on the arm. "Jaune!"
"Sorry, sorry!" He rubbed his arm, a little laugh managing to escape his lips. "Was that all you wanted to show me?"
Blake blinked as she stared up at him in disbelief. "Was that… all?"
He nodded. "Yeah? Not like something like this is gonna change how I feel about you, Blake. You're still you, whether or not you have cute little cat ears."
Blake looked down at the floor now, cat ears drooping with some emotion that Jaune couldn't decipher. "You mean it? You don't mind?" she almost whispered, her bangs falling down and resting in front of her eyes. Jaune grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into another embrace, one hand resting on the back of her head.
"I don't, why would I? You're still you, and honestly… I'm happy you shared this with me." He gently brushed her hair out from her face and pressed his lips softly against her forehead, before resting her head on his chest. "There's just one thing I gotta know."
She didn't move her head from its position. "Hm?"
"Can I touch them? Please?"
A quiet, exasperated, and secretly amused sigh escaped Blake's lips.