Chapter Twenty-Five: The Second

First Date or Dateception

Part Uno

Fate: Here's Chapter 25, we'll keep the banter short this time.

Check it out, people! Keep tabs on the story, talk with us, and generally just have fun!

Reviews: ¡Con El Prick!

Valyrym: Heeeeyyy! We were just kidding buddy! I totally didn't think the paper bomb in the mail worked…

Guest(1): Dude, here's the Lancaster part you came for!

Guest(2): Is eleven days soon enough for you? I hope it was.

RPGPersona: Yet another repeating reviewer, thanks so much! Ever astute as always, all those things are true. You and the rest of the world want to know what that secret is, don't you? Near death experiences do do that, yes. The powers...yes, question them. Hmmm…. And I'm glad to see you appreciated the awkwardness that is Jaune's obliviousness. And come on, Rita is just trying to get some, is there anything wrong with that?

Momijifan Low-Ki: Yeah, Jaune has this way about him, where he's all charming unknowingly and what not, until he isn't, and then he's just exclusively infuriating. And Ruby can indeed be savage.

CaptinGrevious: Rita is most certainly a wrench in the gears, to some people. Specifically, redheads. Who like spears. And sniper-scythes.

Prick: Not as many reviews this time, guys! Come on, was it the long wait that occurred with 23? I hope to see more of you guys come back and show your support! Anyways, I hope to see your thoughts on my hand at making an OMAKE! That's right, an omake! Hopefully, you guys take to it. I'll be doing more, and I'll even do fan requests!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jaune drummed his fingers on the table. He coughed into his fist, looked over to his left, gazed but didn't focus on anything specific, then turned to the right and let his mind wander, just for the sake of balance and to assure Pyrrha he wasn't checking anyone out. Speaking of Pyrrha…

Jaune smiled, a sheepish and awkward smile that showed enough teeth to have him question whether or not he was flashing too many, directed at his lovely date.

Pyrrha returned the smile, completing their ritual for the fifth time. The Arc found her smile out of place, the bustling activity of families and screeching children mixed with clearly overworked staff rushing to provide service with a smile just didn't fit.

Maybe it was the lighting? The blond wracked his brain, trying to remember whether or not his Mother had ever commented negatively about the lighting in a buffet-style restaurant, but failed as the attempt only brought flashes of food-splattered sundresses and his Father shielding him from a fate Jaune only now was beginning to fully conceive.

The wrath of a scorned woman.

"That, uh...that really sucked." Jaune sighed aloud to his only companion in the descending elevator.

"Yeah. On the bright side, it looked like Professor Goodwitch was mostly the one upset!" Ruby pointed out, managing to put a bit of pep into her words. She closed the distance between the two and bumped his shoulder when he seemed to hesitate just as he was about to say something.

"To be honest, I think it didn't seem as bad because she was reprimanding us through her Scroll." The Arc timidly admitted, the thought of having to face a pissed off Goodwitch in person sending shivers down his spine.

"You...have a point there. Oh well, at least Ozpin seemed kinda impressed. I think today seriously caught his attention for you, congrats!"

"Thanks." He grinned at her, though it faded a bit when he saw her her biting her lip, eyes glued to the floor. Before he could question her about it, she leapt forward, though there was hardly any distance to leap, and wrapped her arms around him.

Jaune returned the hug when he realized he was receiving one, his arms easily looping around the younger girl's thin frame. It was actually rather common of Ruby, as he had learned when the redhead persisted to give him them, awkward attempt after awkward attempt.

The Knight unknowingly took a deep breath, not moving to end the hug. It dawned on him that Ruby had stopped hugging of late, and he sort of missed it.

It wasn't until the one minute mark passed did Jaune become aware of how long the hug had lasted. Much to his surprise, when he tried to step back from the hug, Ruby's grip on him tightened. Before he could question it, he felt the younger girl bury her head into his chest, and the sounds of her whimpering reached his ears.

"Ruby, what's wrong?"

"Jaune...what was it?" The terror in her shrill voice was clear.

"I...I don't know." The Arc pulled her closer, returning the gesture out of compassion just as much as he did so out of necessity. After all, he was scared too.

It went without saying that the two were referring to the time spent in the dark abyss that didn't seem to exist. It had saved their lives, yet they had no idea what it was or by whom it was created, if it was created at all. Were it not for the knowledge they had exchanged inside of it, they would've assumed they had gone mad and hallucinated the entire event; assuming it never happened, since that's how it seemed to everybody else.

Both of them had questioned their teammates on their landing under the guise of practicing what they would report to Ozpin. Everyone agreed, Jaune slammed into the ground, Aura flashing dark grey of all colors, and absorbing the fall. They had been skeptical, and Jaune had chalked it up to another factor of his newfound Semblance. He was met with the same amount of reluctant resistance, and it had been Pyrrha once more who came to his defense, reminding everybody that Semblances could honestly be anything imaginable, and it would be redundant to question his anymore.

"W-why didn't you tell Ozpin about it, Jaune?" Ruby managed to sound both needy and betrayed. She knew the headmaster wasn't infallible, but he always seemed to have the right answers to just about everything. And she so desperately wanted to know…

"I didn't think it was a good idea…" He admitted, unsure of why, only aware that he was. "Why didn't you tell him about it?" The question came out of his lips as quickly as it popped into his head.

"I trust you." The words came easily from her, far too easily, in Jaune's opinion, considering how much weight those words carried. She, Ruby Rose, the prodigy of the prestigious Beacon Academy, trusted in him wholeheartedly.

"But why?" Jaune had never revealed so much vulnerability so willingly. He hated the thought of being weak in front of anyone, especially after training so hard to reach a modicum of strength and skill. But it wasn't an issue, not with Ruby Rose. Never with her.

"Because I do. I know I can count on you. You're strong, you're smarter than anyone thought possible when we need it, and… and you're my friend. I'll always be there, and I know you'll always be here for me. You, my bumbling Knight, made it here, in Beacon, of all places. It's reserved for the best of the best, you know?"

It was only after she finished speaking did Ruby begin to step out of the hug, to Jaune's surprise. And to his much more immense surprise, she separated so as the last thing in contact wasn't their chests, or their hands, but their faces. Specifically, a kiss, from her, to him.

It was on the cheek, but Jaune swore it reached the edge of his lips.

"W-what was that for?" The blond bumbled out, his hand reaching to touch his cheek where the lingering presence of her lips remained.

"What? That? I was just congratulating you." Ruby replied nonchalantly, the Arc expecting her to flutter her eyelashes innocently.

"But with a… a kiss? You've never done that before, you caught me off guard is all." Jaune chuckled weakly, scratching his chin. He realized he had a bit of a wet spot on his cheek, and rubbed it with his thumb. Staring down at the light pink smeared digit, he realized it was lip gloss.

"It was just a friendly kiss, nothing wrong with that, right? That's all it was."

Jaune found his focus divided, unable to remove his gaze from Ruby's shiny lips, and couldn't decide whether or not she had asked two questions.

"Y-yeah."

"Good, I'm glad we settled that." Ruby's words didn't seem to be aware of her body's actions, as she stepped into his personal bubble once more to nuzzle his chest, head eventually craning to look up at him.

"That's great, me too!" The Arc slowly added, taking her hands off of his chest and into his own, firmly nudging her to take a step back. He had to resist the urge to shiver when her impossibly soft fingers caressed his hands. His hands had become sensitive from having his gloves on from early in the morning to about five minutes before they had visited the infirmary and Ruby's hands felt heaven sent because of it.

Despite being disappointed about her relocation away from his chest, she still counted it as a victory when she got to hold Jaune's hands. She wondered if Jaune liked the gloss she had snuck on when they were finishing up with that slut of a nurse. He did seem to look at her lips for a bit, after all. At least, she hoped he was looking and she didn't have something in her teeth or something. She was tempted to check but was suddenly distracted by the sensation of Jaune squeezing her hands, which pulled her eyes up to meet his. When silver met cobalt, the young Huntress-in-training felt her heart flutter. As she held her gaze with him, she couldn't stop herself from moving back towards him. She smiled when her advance was met with a mutual, if only slightly reluctant smile. The close but silent proximity allowed her to feel the warmth of his body and drink in his scent, rousing a sigh of content from her soft and glossy lips.

While Jaune loved her presence, he felt the urge to step back again or try to keep her from getting further into his personal space. Even with the nagging voice in the back of his head, he let her move back in towards him. They both had a long day after all, and he did make it worse for everyone - especially her, if the bandages on her head were an indicator. While the sight reminded Jaune of the that bastard that hurt her, may he be mauled by a Ursa on his way back to Beacon, the Knight couldn't help but find seeing her hair being mildly obsured was oddly alluring. Her dark red strands had been framing the sides of her face like usual, but now a few long strands had been resting gently around her cute nose. She'd look great in a hat.

"Jaune…"

A beat.

"Ruby.."

Hearing him say her name like that, even though he didn't quite return the exact same feelings, told her that he was certainly not against whatever was happening right now, it caused Ruby to give in and pull her hands out of his and give him a tight squeeze, resting her lips ever so gently near the base of his neck and near his collarbone. She felt Jaune shudder as she breathed against his tender skin, bringing a smile to her lips. His reaction gave her an idea. Without so much as thinking about the consequences of the situation, she decided to kiss and gently nibble along his collarbone.

Jaune was reeling from the feeling of Ruby's heated breaths and her oral ministrations. He felt his heartbeat spike as he held her closer and much more firmly. She could hear his breathing and he could feel her small and soft body pressing against his. Once she was held against him so snuggly, she let out a sound that could only be described as a cross between the soft sigh of someone who could die happily and the purr of someone who wanted to experience some sort of satisfaction before that.

"..Ruby…" Jaune whispered her name, not as if he was afraid anyone else could hear, but with the intent that only she could hear him in such a way. And that intoxicated her.

The Reaper found her head beginning to swim and her body growing warmer from the sensory overload of feeling him completely as he slowly trailed his right hand along her back and hearing the masterpiece of his lungs working, his heart beating, and his voice so hushed that each word was treasure to her ears. She gently bit her lip to make sure she wasn't hallucinating it all from some sort of concussion.

Her smaller hands trailed up his body to grip into his blond hair with tenderness to show affection but firm enough to convey she wanted more. And more is what she would have. Without wasting another second, Ruby turned her beautiful silver eyes to meet the deep blue of her best friend - and maybe more? - before standing on her toes, causing them to grind a bit against each other, and pulling his head lower to hers.

The combination of her sweet breath filling his nostrils, her intoxicating touch, and the sight of her soft, glossy lips made the Knight forget about everything, but her. The world outside their embrace didn't matter and couldn't even make it into his after thoughts. His body, mind, and very being was answering the call of Ruby's, a call he felt he simply couldn't deny any longer.

Both of them had began to slowly close their eyes as their lips came from inches to milimeters away from one another, so close that he swore he could taste the strawberries...

Then the door opened.

With a start, both Ruby and Jaune all but threw themselves from each other with terribly red faces. The blond found himself rubbing the back of his head while the red head bite her lip. Neither of them moved or gazed at the same location for more than a brief moment.

'I can't believe I did that.' The thought flashed through both of the elevator's occupants' heads. They both tried to cease the labored breathing and the heartbeats in their chests that had become nearly painful.

Ruby wanted more, she wanted the kiss that she was just denied. She could feel it in her bones. She wanted to press the highest button on the damned elevator and pin Jaune against the wall, kissing him the entire time up there until she literally died in his arms from lack of air.

Jaune wasn't certain of what he wanted, he was conflicted. He knew he'd be happy to slam the emergency stop button and spend the time that'd buy them continuing what they started, whatever that was. While he knew that, he also knew he shouldn't. They were friends, best friends, and he couldn't cross that barrier. Could he? It didn't even dawn on him that he was already in the works of a relationship with another prominent redhead in his life.

Eventually, they calmed their bodies, but they failed to calm their minds. Seconds went by and not a word was uttered while they continued their game of who could look everywhere but at each other.

It wasn't until the door began to close that they willed their bodies to move. Unfortunately for them, they both decided to move at the exact same time with the exact same plan. Now they were donning the same expression as they ended up bumping into each other by the hip while their hands met once again when they both tried to stop the doors from shutting them into their awkward prison.

Rather than panic, both leaders slowly turned their eyes back towards each other and spared a dorky smile to one another.

"This is my stop." Jaune joked, hoping to lighten the mood with an awful joke.

"Oh, what a coincidence, mine too." Ruby went along with a small laugh. The joke was terrible, but it was his joke so her body couldn't help but laugh.

"Is that so?" The Arc then decided to gesture himself as if he were holding the door open for her while simultaneously bowing. "Then please, after you."

"Why thank you, my dear Knight. Yours is truly a kind gesture." Ruby placed one leg behind the other and curtsied to match her mocking regal tone before stepping out of the elevator. Once she was out, she turned and waited for him with a wide smile.

"Pfft, dork." Jaune snickered out as he joined her as they stood in the lobby of the tower.

"You're one to talk, dork!" The young girl yelled with her cheeks puffed out as she gave Jaune a stern look.

"What, me? My dorkiness is charming." The blond dork feigned being hurt by placing his left hand over his chest. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he loved the way she looked at him.

"Ha, sure. Whatever you tell yourself." Ruby teased, lightly bouncing with each step before she turned towards him. "Then what is mine, Sir Charming?"

'Utterly fucking adorable.' Jaune immediately thought to himself. "Your dorkiness is cute, Ruby."

The two students of Beacon traversed the prestigious academy slowly, traveling in the general direction of their dorm rooms. The late evening at Beacon usually proved a quiet one, as the majority of its alumni moved either to their dorms to escape the chilly air, or were busy enjoying their free time away as most their age were apt to; a night out in the town of Vale.

Tonight proved an exception, as most things including Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose seemed to do. The halls echoed with their light chatter, giggles and hearty chuckles bouncing from wall to wall, and if the noise bothered anyone, they didn't make themselves known, for as far as the traveling duo were concerned, they were the only people in the world at the moment.

The infamous speedster seemed to have spontaneously grown a deep appreciation for architecture, as she slowly shuffled along, seemingly absorbing in all the details of the halls she'd walked again and again for the past few months. There was, however, more than a fair share of glances thrown at her blond companion, and vice versa, though the constant eye contact would seem to imply they were doing more than glancing.

This continued for the entire trip, and neither one of them would've had it any other way. They did, however, settle into a companionable silence when their dorm building came into view. A word wasn't uttered as Jaune held the door open for Ruby, to which he received an appreciative nod for his troubles. It was only until they rounded the final corridor that would lead them to their hallway did the redhead deem it appropriate to break the silence.

"Back to the ol' dorms then, huh?"

"Yeah. Sure our teams are missing us and all that."

"That's true. Plus, you have your date with Pyrrha and all that."

She had said it so casually, Jaune almost missed it. He practically spun in place, turning to question Ruby.

Pyrrha, what happened in the elevator, everything in between… it all came to him. He brought his hands up to lips both in horror and to keep him from letting anything out as a sense of dread churned in his stomach. His mind reminded him of the lush feeling of Pyrrha's lips on his own, and the electric shocks that rushed across him when Ruby's own lips danced along his skin.

Jaune's head was swimming. He felt his knees buckle, and closed his eyes, body clenching as he prepared to meet the firm embrace of the floor. Instead, he blinked his eyes open a moment later when he realized the slowest fall ever wasn't really happening. His hands went to the two already holding him firmly and used them as support to pick himself up. Ruby had apparently cau-

"Oh! Jaune, are you alright?!" He'd recognize that polite tone anywhere, be it a battlefield, a crowded auditorium, or the hallway outside their dorm room.

"I-I'm fine. I'm good, I mean. Everything's all right." If his words sounded half as guilty to them as it did to him, then they'd surely know he had done something wrong.

"That's good to hear. So, it must've gone well?"

A beat.

"I think it went great. Better than I thought it would." Ruby eventually answered Pyrrha's question, sending Jaune a smile.

"Is that so? Ozpin and Glynda weren't upset with you?" The Champion asked, continuing to timidly stand in the spot in the doorway.

"Well, Ozpin didn't seem very upset. Concerned, more than anything. And… I don't know, interested, I guess, would be the word." Jaune knew that wasn't what Ruby was referring to, but Pyrrha didn't need to know that. He rubbed his arm, unable to meet Pyrrha's gaze.

"That's good to hear." It took the Arc a moment to realize Pyrrha was pulling his head up by the chin with her finger. A weak smile was flashed, and it was returned with a genuine one so full of charm it honestly hurt him. His chest tightened painfully as Pyrrha pulled him into a gentle hug.

He shook his head violently when he compared the feeling of his partner's body to Ruby's own soft body.

"Jaune! Are you certain everything is alright?"

'That's the Nikos for you. A cosmic force to be reckoned with in an arena, and a caring soul who couldn't harm a fly outside of it.' Jaune thought bitterly, upset with himself.

"I'm just...really tired. And glad to be home." The blond quietly muttered, his eyes meeting hers. There truly was exhaustion in his eyes, that much was clear.

"I'm glad you're home too, you know." Pyrrha whispered, her hands slowly moving to caress his face. His breath hitched as she leaned forward, their lips meeting quickly.

The Amazonian wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer into the kiss. She almost ended it when a few seconds passed without any interaction from him, but, before she could pull away, he suddenly seemed to spring into the kiss. His own arms locked around her waist, and the kiss became a lot more passionate and firm. It only lasted for a moment though, and Pyrrha made it known she wasn't expecting it to be so brief when she looked at him in question.

"Save it for the date tomorrow, right?" Jaune smiled warmly at her as he side-stepped a shocked and blushing Pyrrha and entered his dorm, the door closing behind him. No one noticed that he had stopped in the frame of the door for a moment, throwing a gaze over his shoulder at a redhead, more specifically, her red and black shoes; he couldn't manage to look any higher.

The Champion of Mistral stood in the hall, stunned into submission, until the quiet sound of team RWBY's door closing brought her out of her trance.

'Was she there the whole time?'

Coughing into her fist, the armored Huntress-in-training turned to enter her own dorm, her mind entertaining a thousand thoughts, almost all of them about tomorrow's evening. And one lingering thought about Ruby.

Ruby walked into her dorm room with a solemn expression that suggested the last hour, or the better part of it, wasn't possibly the best time she'd had in the entirety of her time at Beacon.

The room's occupants were quick to pick up on it.

"Hey there, why the long face, sis?" Yang asked, voice boisterous with fake cheer. The only difference between this and the fake smile Ruby gave her in response was that Ruby fell for it.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"You looked upset." Weiss quickly added in, turning on her bed to face Ruby and Yang.

"I'm fine, seriously." Their leader said, sitting down on her bed after having quickly climbed it, in a manner that made it clear the conversation was finished.

"It's not the only thing you seriously think is fine, is it?" Yang asked, this time with a legitimate hint of teasing leaking into her voice. Ruby had made it clear she thought the conversation was over, but Big Sis cared to disagree.

"Yang…" Blake's quiet reprimand earned her the stares of both the busty blonde and her smaller half-sister.

"What? I'm just saying…" The casual shoulder shrug almost made it seem like that's all Yang was doing.

"Saying what, exactly?" Ruby openly glared at her older sister, the venom in her words shocking her entire team.

"Whoa, where's all the hostility coming from? And here I thought you were coming back from a long trek with the guy of your dreams." Yang mumbled aloud, watching Ruby from the corner of her eyes, studying her face, ready to gauge her reaction.

"A walk sounds lovely, Yang! I'm glad you brought it up. Let's go." Blake stated, dropping from her bunk and grabbing the blonde by her arm. Her gaze narrowed and stared unflinchingly at the hard stare being sent her way, courtesy of her partner.

She relented, pushing past Blake to exit the dorm, her temper quickly rising. Said faunus spared her leader a quick look before rushing out to follow after Yang.

Ruby remained seated on her bunk, scowl slowly dissipating as silence enveloped the room.

"Is it true, then?" Weiss, the only person besides Ruby left, asked quietly. The scowl returned full force.

"I don't want to talk about this, Weiss. Especially not with you, I'm not in the mood for you to berate me or berate Jaune."

The Heiress was visibly shocked by her words, and Ruby stiffened a bit when she saw the genuine hurt in her own partner's eyes.

"I-I'm sorry! That was mean, and I had no reason!" The anger that had been dominating her mood since before she stepped into the room was apparently smothered by guilt, as Ruby was quick to climb down from her bunk and take Weiss into her arms.

"It's...it's alright. You're upset at someone else, and you're lashing out at whoever you can. I understand it, I really do." The white-haired girl calmly explained, returning the hug, which was as soft as her tone.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I did the same thing to Yang…"

"And you'll tell her you're sorry and she'll forgive you because you truly mean it. So don't worry too much about that. Now, I'm asking as your friend, not your teammate, or anything else, what's going on? Yang said something was happening between you and Jaune?"

"There's nothing happening there, Weiss! At least...not anymore, he's with Pyrrha now. Everybody knows that." The defeat in her voice was obvious, and had the pale girl hugging her even tighter.

"Oh, Ruby, you dolt… I'm not going to say you made a mistake picking Jaune, you like who you like. I will admit though, I'm worried that seeing them together would hurt you. And not in the sense that your team leading skills or any such thing will suffer, I mean you'll be hurt, sad, upset."

"It...it does, a little more than a little, honestly."

"And it will, for a while anyways. But you shouldn't give up on him."

'I never did.'

"What do you mean, Weiss?"

"For whatever reason, you like tall, blond, and scraggly," the Heiress giggled to herself at the glare she received for breaking her promise, "and he's with Pyrrha now. That means there are certain things you have to respect about their relationship. Now, I doubt I have to tell you what those things are, right?"

'Oh, I know what the rules are. I may not be following them, but I don't need you to tell me what they are.'

"Of course."

"Good. So, that being said, be there for, Jaune, as a friend, and should Pyrrha, for whatever inconceivable reason, leave him, then you'll have your chance. I know you've learned your lesson and won't hesitate to prove to Jaune how you feel when you get the chance, right?"

'I promise.'

"I promise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Omake#1

The blond found himself rubbing the back of his head while the red head bite her lip. Neither of them moved or gazed at the same location for more than a brief moment and the elevator's ambience turned into silence as their labored breathing died down.

Eventually, they calmed their bodies, but they failed to calm their minds. Seconds went by and not a word was uttered while they continued their game of who could look everywhere but at each other.

It wasn't until the door began to close that they willed their bodies to move.

Ruby made to wedge herself in between and stop the door from closing, but found she had another obstacle to overcome first; Jaune's arm. She'd never move quite as fast in the rest of her life as she did in that one moment.

Her hands were quick to roam his body as their lips finally met in a spectacular crash. An overload of senses had the Reaper in bliss as only the sensation of his warm, soft lips against her own filled her world. She tugged at his golden locks as his own strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled their chests, as well as the rest of their bodies, together.

Ruby didn't even realize she had let go of Jaune for the briefest of moments in order to slam a fist into the top floor of Beacon Academy.

Heat flushed her face as her body reacted to Jaune's actions, and she could feel his body's reaction too.

She wanted to make it obvious what she thought about that and how far she wanted this to go, and reasoned that she'd go big, since Jaune was known to be rather dense.

Or maybe she just wanted an excuse to grind her body on his. The grunts coming from her best friend suggested he didn't really care one way or the other.

The scythe-wielder let out a moan when she tried to pull away for air, just for a moment, only to be roughly pulled back into the kiss by a passionate Jaune.

He ravished her mouth in a way that she could only describe later on as hungry, needy, and fucking sexy, since not many thoughts were currently buzzing through her head. Not a single one was left however, when she felt his tongue brush against her lips, begging for entrance.

So enraptured in the kiss Ruby was, that when the time came, and the motion of the elevator lifting their bodies up into the sky in its grueling duel against gravity ended, that she didn't hear the distinct ding.

The only thing she did perceive, at first, was the distinct lack of warmth. Sure, the warmth had a name, it was Jaune, but her mind couldn't differentiate an Atlesian-Knight of the 130 models from a Atlesian Paladin-290 at the moment.

It wasn't until she reached for Jaune's hands, her first instinct was to feel his skin against hers once more, did the rest of her senses begin to make themselves known to her once more. She could feel the panicked breath of Jaune hitting her incredibly warm body, see him staring off at something past her shoulder.

She could hear the soft footsteps slowly but surely making their way to the elevator, with the occasionally click.

Ruby turned around to see none other than Professor Ozpin himself, stepping into the elevator. Then she felt the hands of the man she'd she been locking lips with, pushing her away from, as if to act as a shield; the traitorous bastard.

The Reaper clasped her hands behind her back nervously, giving the Headmaster the most innocent smile she could manage at the moment. Admittedly, it would've looked better, if she could have alleviated the prominent blush on her face, or the slight swelling of her lips, or calm her breathing.

"Evening again, students. Are you having trouble with the elevator? I could've sworn I heard you two descend successfully."

"N-no, sir, everything is working fine."

Ruby turned to see that it had been Jaune who nervously squeaked out the response. He truly was courageous, to be able to play Ozpin's twisted game of Cat and Mouse. Because that's what the man was obviously doing, toying with them!

"Ah, I see. You've a fear of elevators, then? Judging by your state, I think it's fairly obvious. And it seems Mr. Arc suffers from the same affliction. Worry not, children, I'm not one to judge, I've my share of fears, and mistakes, after all. I'd escort you to the stairs, but… there aren't any. Professor Goodwitch wasn't around at the beginning, when we were renovating Beacon into a school, and I knocked out the stairs to make room for the giant gears...so many mistakes…"

Ruby and Jaune watched on in silence as the famed Huntsman stood in place, in silence, for a full minute, before taking a sip from a small cup of coffee and finally pushing a button. They both craned their necks to see he had chosen Basement Number Three.

They looked to one another, with baited breath, as he continued to stand there, facing the doors and seemingly content to spend the elevator ride down in silence.

Finally, they allowed themselves a sigh of relief as it seemed that merely observing the act didn't jinx them. Which they sucked back in when they arrived at their destination.

The elevator doors slid open to reveal a dark, windowless room, only illuminated by a single bulb that didn't reach the walls of the room, making it seem as if the room was a void.

Underneath the single bulb was a single table, two chairs, and a thermos at one end of the table, with an empty seat across it. Their view of the disturbing room was cut off as Professor Ozpin obscured it. He had exited the elevator, and turned to face them.

"I'm not a fool, children. Do not take my acceptance as ignorance. The only reason I'm not taking action against you - well, it's simple. I, too, know the passions of love." Ozpin explained slowly, his wise words swelling with obvious wisdom.

"R-really, Professor Ozpin? I always thought you and Glynda had a professional relationship." Jaune remarked, shocked at what he was hearing. He was flabbergasted when his question was met with hearty laughter from Ozpin.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. Glynda… just no. I'm seeing someone else. Have been for a long time. She's been with me longer than even Professor Goodwitch herself, believe it or not. My true love, actually, is already awaiting me, as you can see. I'll leave you two be, good day." With those words, the ever regal Ozpin walked into the bare room, a loving smile on his face as he walked to the table.

"...was he talking about the Thermos?" Ruby asked in bewilderment, dumbstruck as Jaune mindlessly hit the button for their floor. That's why they were surprised when the elevator began to descend.

The elevator descended down one floor and stopped at Fort Port, as Jaune and Ruby both observed. They were uncertain of what to say when the doors opened to reveal one Glynda Goodwitch.

The strict blonde coughed into her fist before marching in between both students, hitting the button that would send them to the Art Gallery. Jaune and Ruby's gaze both switched between Glynda and the No Girl's sign on Fort Port. Their honed Huntsmen survival skills however managed to save their lives as they both came to the conclusion that it would be best not to ask.

No words were exchanged, even after Glynda exited at the Art Gallery. Ruby just stepped forward, and hit the button for the ground floor. They just sighed when the door opened prematurely at the second basement. Jaune only took a single glance at Professor Oobleck, who was lugging a large, black garbage bag that managed to twitch three times in the short second he had been looking in its direction, before he slammed the close doors button repeatedly.

They sighed in relief when the doors opened to reveal the ground floor.

They never saw one another again, as both had gone off on a search for a respectable academy.

Ruby had ended up making a living for herself as the best Huntress in Mistral since the era of Pyrrha Nikos, and had eventually worked her way through the tournaments until she shattered the record The Four Time Champion of Regional Mistral Tournament had painstakingly set. This of course, prompted a match for the centuries, which had both teams reunite for the first time in years. The loser didn't hold a grudge against the victor, and all of them spent the night celebrating, remembering the good times, and honoring the memory of one Jaune Arc, who had decided to try his luck at Shade Academy, and promptly died on his trek through the Vacuo Desert, all because he refused to take the 16 hour airship ride.

The End

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Prick: Spoilers, that's actually the ending to this story. Just kidding, Ruby actually went to Atlas with Weiss to live out her life as a lesbian. Jaune still died trying to make love to a cactus in the desert though.

Fate: Over your dead body. So, we'd like to apologize by saying that the date actually was going to be in this chapter, but we got carried away and changed the whole thing because we both had different ideas that completely went well with each other. We were at 4,400 words before we even thought of touching on the date.

Prick: I mean, I wrote my things, you added to my things, your thing was better than my thing, so I had to write more things to even it out since fuck you, and then...well, I ended up writing my very first omake by myself and I take things too far.

Fate: I just changed the initial elevator scene to… entice.

Prick: I think my elevator scene was slightly better.