Inspiration brings forth… more prompts! Let's keep this going!

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BOLD - SPEAKER

Italicized – Inner Thoughts

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Rising Prompt

Cologne

Ruby sighed audibly as she pressed the button once more for the elevator. It was bad enough she had to come into the office on her day off, but now she was stuck filing reports after her meeting with the higher-ups. Who knew being Huntress involved so much paperwork? Not her, that's for sure.

She looked up to see the elevator was finally beginning to descend as she sighed again. So much for a Saturday off and relaxing in bed playing video games. It didn't help that she was leaving for another mission on the upcoming Monday, bright and early. Weiss wouldn't have it any other way either. Hopefully if she finished up quickly, she could salvage what remained of the day.

That all starts by this slower-than-Port's-lectures elevator hurrying up!

As if the gods were listening, the elevator dinged loudly, announcing its arrival to the floor before the doors parted to each side. That's when she was greeted by a sight she wasn't expecting.

"Jaune?" She questioned.

The blonde wasn't paying attention prior to the redhead calling his name. He seemed pre-occupied by thoughts and paperwork of his own, holding a stack of files as tall as hers. He blinked a few times, as if confused seeing Ruby here, before offering her an awkward smile.

"Hey Rubes," He responded. "what are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know." She answered, shaking the hefty folders she was currently holding.

"You too, huh?" Jaune replied with an exasperated sigh of his own. "I guess they somehow got us both here filing."

The girl walked onto the elevator, nearly waddling with the numerous folders she was carrying. "Yep. I also had a meeting with the supervisors too."

"How'd that go?"

The doors closed behind Ruby as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder, or rather, shoulder-to-head with the knight as the elevator began to rise.

"About as well as expected." She groaned. "Finish your reports properly, stop eating over pages, don't doodle in the narrative portions, etc."

Jaune giggled slightly at the girl's recounting of her meeting with their bosses. Only Ruby Rose could get away with such things and still be employed. It just showed the stock that the department had in her, similarly to rest of her team.

"Well, let's see if they think they can break you from your doodling." He offered as rebuttal, shooting her a grin and narrowing eyes.

"Hah!" Ruby returned with a confident smirk. "That'll be the day." Her sass on full display as she openly mocked her superiors. "Also, they're not doodles. They're accurate depictions of what happened without all the words!"

"…in crayon."

Ruby pouted as she turned to Jaune and his sarcastic comment. "I'd like to see you try—"

As she was attempting to reply, the elevator came to a roaring halt, catching Ruby of-balance. The sudden shift caused the poor girl to drop her stack of papers as she flailed her arms in an attempt to remain upright.

In response, Jaune dropped his files as well, opting to snatch the girl before she fell to the ground. The problem with that is when you're already off-balance and try to save someone else, well, it doesn't always pan out as you want. Add to it, the now mess of papers on the ground doesn't create the best traction.

When you combine all these factors, you get a tall blonde bracing the both of them against the elevator wall with one arm as he clutched the smaller girl against his chest.

The stillness lasted as the elevator remained at a standstill. Jaune exhaled a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes momentarily. He had indeed succeeded in neither of the two falling to the floor, but he had also succeeded in well…

"Uhh, Jaune?" Ruby squeaked as the lights flickered in the small lift.

Jaune opened his eyes once more to understand where he had left the both of them- and that was about two inches from their respective faces. He blinked a few times as his cheeks matched hers, a light pink.

"I… I didn't…" He attempted.

Ruby continued to stare up at the boy's face, her silver eyes lost in a sea of blue. Jaune and Ruby had hugged plenty of times in the past, but he had never held her like he currently was. She couldn't describe the emotion she was feeling currently. Secure probably made the most sense with his noticeably thick arm wrapped tightly around her tiny frame.

As Jaune continued to stutter and Ruby trailed off in her own mind, she was interrupted by something else, in particularly, an aroma. She inhaled the scent once more after taking notice of it. She couldn't help it, honestly. There was something alluring about the nearly intoxicating fragrance.

Is that cologne?

She couldn't describe the odor as much as she continued to try and smell it. All she knew is that it was pleasant. So pleasant, she didn't mind leaning in a little further… and further… and further. Before she knew it, she found herself sniffing right at the side of his neck. And while she may not have noticed, Jaune was more than paying attention to the breathing he felt on his nape.

As much as he wanted to say something, Jaune couldn't form any words. His initial embarrassment from their position now passing as they found themselves in another compromising spot. All he needed now was for the doors to open and someone to find them like this. Him huddling over her, and Ruby breathing into his neck.

"R-Ru…"

Jaune attempted once more as she continued to grow closer. Ruby figured the only smell that she would ever be entranced by was the smell of fresh baked treats, cookies mostly, but she found herself nearly powerless to the boy's aroma. It engulfed her senses as she continued to take longer between each inhalation, enjoying the stimulation of it.

Even as Jaune's grip relaxed slightly, Ruby didn't pull a way, instead leaning her body against him. His legs shook intensely as he tried to make sense of this whole thing. What is going on here?! He tried to reason.

"You smell really good." Ruby spoke, breaking the awkward silence, only to raise the levels of other, further awkwardness.

"I… do?" Jaune inquired as he could feel the sweat trickling down his head.

"Yes," She stated, now looking up towards him. "you do."

"W-Well, thank you?" Jaune answered.

Jaune attempted to pull back slightly, unsure how much longer he could resume this stance. As he did, Ruby grabbed his shirt, refusing to let him go. Jaune gulped as he looked back towards the girl's face, her eyes now concentrated on him fully.

"I-Is there something else?"

"I wasn't done." Her grip on his shirt becoming tighter.

Jaune squirmed slightly in her grasp as she held him there firmly, unfazed by his attempt to pull away. He fought against her one hand, all the while cursing the girl's scary strength. He wasn't against her being against him, but the whole ordeal only made him sweat further. No girl had ever… smelled him before.

Jaune attempted once more to back away, taking a long step backwards with one foot. Unfortunately, scattered papers once again are not the best for traction, and with her now having the firm clutch on him while he was the one off-balance, sent them both to floor, undoing all his hard work from earlier.

"Oww." Jaune winced as he rubbed his head with one hand. Ruby, are you ok-"

What Jaune expected to be Ruby toppled over, was actually quite the opposite. She had braced herself with one hand against the floor, meanwhile her other hand remained crumpled within his shirt, unmoved from where it had been, as she continued to stare at him. It was as if the fall had never happened at all, or at least, not in her reality.

Jaune again tried to back away as Ruby's grip remained intact. He wasn't going anywhere.

What the hell is going on? He thought to himself. While Jaune had once hoped the doors to the elevator didn't open, he now found himself begging for them to release him so he could get some distance. Something about the look in her eyes made him feel—

"Good afternoon. We apologize for the inconvenience. There seems to be a power outage with the building. Please stay calm as we attempt to restore power. This could take the upwards of twenty minutes. Again, please stay calm and we will have power restored momentarily. Thank you."

Jaune stared upwards at the speaker that had just made the overhead page. "Twenty minutes?..." he spoke to himself, meanwhile looking back at Ruby who still remained focused on him, now moving towards him once more.

Oh gods.

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To be continued in the next prompt, "Fall". That's right, it's a two-parter!

GodRealm