"He's waking up. Hurry."
Jaune didn't know if someone had just spoken or if he was dreaming. With his eyes closed all he knew was that he was under the most comfortable and reassuring blanket he'd ever felt in his life. It may have been summer, but the cold air conditioned room made a blanket a necessity in order to sleep. It was a blanket he never wished to leave his body.
He didn't know how much time had passed in his state of in-between consciousness. His sleep had been disturbed, though he was still on the edge of dreamland as noises penetrated his mind. It was the sound of a closing door, however, which fully stirred the young man from his slumber and forced his eyes open.
The room was still dark thanks to the blackout curtains of the hotel room he was staying in. Slowly but surely memories returned to a sleep-addled mind. A night of dancing and fun with his sister had forced him and Yang to crash in their hotel room. It had forced him to share a bed with his friend. On the other side of the bed lay a beautiful young woman whom he had grown closer with over the past several days.
Jaune tried to move, to slip out of the bed he shared with his female friend, only to find that his escape was thwarted not by a heavy and comforting blanket, but rather a heavy and comforting embrace.
The very real and terrifying feeling of another body pressing against his back was suddenly very apparent to the teenage boy. All at once the reality of it all came crashing down on him. Not only was Yang's chest pressed up against his back, but her arms bound him in place, constricting around his body like a python. Her forehead pressed against the bottom of his neck, and on his back he could feel the hot and rhythmic breaths from Yang's nose as each peaceful exhale came out of it. Her bare legs rubbed against his own, and in this moment Jaune realized in equal parts horror and delight that he was trapped in his beautiful friend's loving grip.
As any boy was to do in such a situation with his platonic female friend, his first instinct was to panic.
Jaune leaned and attempted to roll away from the blonde girl, but much like a Mistrali finger trap, he quickly found that Yang's arms around him only constricted tighter. A guttural whine hummed in her throat, stopping Jaune in his tracks lest he accidentally wake her up in such a compromising position.
"…stay…" he heard her mumble.
Jaune froze. Was Yang awake? Or was she talking in her sleep.
For long seconds he lay still, wondering if Yang would say anything else. Wondering if maybe, just maybe, Yang was indeed awake and conscious, and wanted to keep her hold on a young man who perhaps meant something more to her than as just a friend.
He let a breath pass through his nose and his head shook in disbelief ever so slightly. No way that would ever happen, he reprimanded himself. She's just a friend. That's all you are to her.
That's all he'd ever expected of her as well. However, here in this moment, here in her arms, his mind couldn't help but wander. He couldn't help but imagine the girl who he'd spent so much time with over the last few days, the girl who was pretending to be his girlfriend, to in fact be his real one. He couldn't help but think about how incredible it felt to be cuddling with Yang Xiao Long. He couldn't help but imagine doing it for real. Maybe even being the one to be holding her tightly against him.
Was that wrong? Was that stupid? Was it completely out of touch with reality? Or was it merely natural for any guy to think when they woke up in the arms of attractive girl?
Jaune swallowed, and after building up another burst of courage attempted to once more break free of his beautiful blonde prison. As before it was to no avail, and Yang's grasp on him was absolute.
"…please…" she pleaded softly.
Once more Jaune froze. The yearning in his friend's tone sounded almost sad. If she was awake she must have truly enjoyed the feeling of having him in her arms. If she was dreaming, however, he could only wonder what kind of sorrowful dream the girl was experiencing.
Another breath slipped from his mouth, and Jaune took another deep breath before making his next move. Engaging with the girl clinging to his back.
"Yang? Are you awake?" he asked softly. Enough to not wake her if she was sleeping, but loud enough to hear if she was awake.
Seconds ticked by, as did his heartbeat which raced in his chest. He'd never been in bed with a girl like this before. He'd never been held by one. How could it not be wreaking absolute turmoil on his or anyone else's body if they too were in the same position as himself?
She didn't answer his question, but in doing so it was answered nonetheless. She was asleep. Yang, sometime in the middle of the night and in the midst of some dream, had seen fit to cuddle up against Jaune and wrap him in her tight embrace like her life depended on it. Judging by her sleepy words when he'd attempted to escape, perhaps her hold on him truly did matter to whatever unconscious desires were playing out in her sleeping mind.
What could he do then? If he summoned all of his strength he could tear himself, and likely Yang with him off the bed, sending both teens crashing to the floor and waking Yang up in what was sure to be an angry and confused mess. Or he could lie still, basking in the moment as much as he panicked, and wait for his friend to wake up and hopefully roll over and away from him before she registered exactly what she was doing with him. The safer option likely was the latter, but in doing so he would condemn himself to more time alone with his thoughts. Alone time tainted by the body of his fake girlfriend surrounding him like a real girlfriend might.
A humorous breath shot through Jaune's nose at the thought. Here he thought he would have been the big spoon in such a relationship. Then again this was Yang. She was as strong and assertive as they came. It was no surprise that she would be the one holding her partner tightly as they slept in bed together.
As he laid there he couldn't help but think. Of all the new and wonderful experiences he'd gotten a taste of thanks to his and Yang's lies, this was by far the best and the worst. It was one thing playing the role while up and about with his family. Words and actions were chosen and deliberate. Pet names and feeding each other was all just part of the act. This, however, this taste of relationship bliss he felt in the arms of another, was not.
It was everything he could have ever hoped it would be. Yang was warm. Yang was comforting. The very feeling of her body pressing against him and her arms clinging lovingly around him was the most amazing feeling in the world. The only problem with it was that it wasn't real. Yang wasn't really his girlfriend. She wasn't even doing this out of her own conscious desire. By tomorrow it would all be a sad and distant memory, one which he would mournfully remember until the day he was finally able to find a real girlfriend to share this sort of intimacy with.
And that, sadly, was never a guarantee. Not for him or anyone else.
He didn't know how long he laid there, but when he finally felt Yang shift away from him he felt that she might have finally woken up. The soft, almost sensual groan in his ear only added to the belief, and the feeling of her coiling arms moving around him, as well as her delicate hands caressing his chest as she adjusted herself, sent wonderful chills down his spine.
Then her hands froze, as did her entire body. For a few seconds she stayed that way until all at once the warmth which encompassed him was removed entirely. A lone sheet and blanket never felt so cold as when Yang removed herself from his back.
A shuddering breath left his lungs as he braced himself for what was to come.
"Jaune," he heard his friend speak softly from behind him.
He didn't budge. He didn't so much as acknowledge the word. He wanted her to believe he was still asleep. Maybe then she wouldn't say a word about this, and both would play it off as if it had never happened.
"Jaune," she repeated.
Sticking with the plan, he didn't move a muscle.
"I know you're awake," she said, and another chill ran down his spine. "I could feel your heartbeat before…"
He could control his breathing. He could control his muscles. One thing Jaune couldn't control, however, was his body's reaction to the personification of beauty wrapping him in her tender embrace. He'd been betrayed by his own beating heart, and all he could do now was wonder what would happen as a result.
Jaune rolled over onto his back before sitting up. At his side and still underneath the covers, Yang sat up as well, her back leaning against the bed's headboard as she stared down at her covered lap.
"Hey," he greeted, not wanting to say much. After all, there was clearly something on Yang's mind if she had insisted upon him admitting to being awake.
Yang cleared her throat, and was still unable to look at him as she leaned her head back against the wooden board. "Um, sorry about… that," she apologized vaguely, though Jaune knew full well what she was apologizing for.
He shook his head in an instant. "It's okay," he assured her. "We were sleeping, and we can't really control what we do in our sleep." It wasn't idle reassurance either. There really was no one at fault for how they'd woken up in the morning.
Still, that didn't seem to give the girl too much comfort. "I know, but, like, if it had been the other way around and I'd woken up with you up against me and you, um, poking at me…" she trailed off, leaving Jaune to fill in the obvious blanks.
He couldn't look at her when he was forced to respond to such a hypothetical scenario. "Yeah. That would have been awkward." An idea suddenly came to him, and Jaune thought maybe a little humor could defuse the awkwardness of it all. "I'd freak out if I woke up with some guy poking me too."
Yang snorted a laugh, and in an instant Jaune smiled. Finally able to look at her face again, he saw that she was indeed amused by the remark. He'd learned many things about Yang in his time as her fake boyfriend, and one of them was that she appreciated a good joke regardless of how off-color or taboo it might have been. In fact it seemed as if she especially liked those kinds of jokes.
"For what it's worth I'm glad you don't have one of those," he added. "Would have made things a whole lot weirder."
The bizarreness of the statement seemed to lighten the mood even further, and Yang's lips curled up into a smile as she finally met his gaze with her brilliant lilac eyes. "Oh? And how do you know I'm not packing down there?" she asked amusedly.
How did he know? Very easily. Just being a guy he woke up with a certain problem girls didn't have to deal with when waking up. "If you did then you're not much of a grower in the morning, if you get what I mean."
Whether it was sleepiness or inexperience, it took Yang a couple seconds to fully realize what Jaune was insinuating. Her eyes lit up even more, and in an instant she chuckled heartily at the comment. "Wow. Way to insult my junk, Jaune," she laughed.
Jaune laughed with her. Had it really been that easy to defuse the awkwardness of waking up in her arms? Or were they just good at hiding it with humor?
Finally throwing the covers off of himself, and glad that he was in fact finally rid of the natural male reaction he'd woken up with, Jaune spun around and planted his feet on the rough carpeted floor. Reaching down to grab his pants, he slipped them on before standing up fully. Turning around he saw Yang still in bed and beneath the covers, and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. Like a girlfriend or wife still in bed waiting for him to make a fresh pot of coffee, Yang peered up at him with the blanket covering her lap, showing him only her bare arms and low cut black tank top. This was a sight he could get used to waking up to each morning. Sadly this would be the one and only time he would be able to take in such perfection.
"I'm gonna go see if Saphron and Terra are up," he announced, taking a step toward the door. It was open, but he could have sworn that it had been closed when they'd gone to bed.
Yang nodded, understandably remaining underneath the covers. "I'm gonna take a quick shower," she said.
Jaune knew he could probably use one too. Despite only having one set of clothes, just as she did, he'd worked up a good sweat the previous night. It was a wonder they'd been able to sleep together and not be kept up by the smell. It was strange, in fact, that he hadn't noticed any kind of unpleasant odor at all.
"Sounds good," he smiled, taking note that he would need to get out of the room before she felt comfortable in doing so. Each bedroom had a small attached bathroom, and he would leave both of them to Yang alone while she handled her personal business. "Then we could figure out what we're going to do today."
She nodded once more. "Right. School. What time is it even?"
Grabbing his scroll from the small bedside table, he opened it up to find a number of messages from different people.
"A little before nine," he said. Far too late to make it back in time for their first class. "We're kinda screwed aren't we?"
She hummed an amused laugh. "Yeah. Kinda."
Jaune shrugged, slipping the scroll into his pocket before moving to the doorway. "Oh well. We'll just call in sick like Saph said, I guess."
Yang smiled weakly. "Yeah. Guess so."
"So," he said, looking back one more time. "Guess we'll go do our things then."
"Yup."
Jaune left, closing the door behind him and stepping out into the cold living room of the hotel suite. He was greeted with silence, and for a few seconds he thought that his sister and sister-in-law might still be asleep. That all changed though when he found a piece of hotel stationary on the table with a message written on it.
Jaune,
Went out for breakfast. Didn't want to wake you and Yang up when you looked so cozy. Text us if you want us to bring you back anything.
Saphron
The boy frowned. Yeah, they certainly had been cozy. Apparently Saphron had seen it. Had the words he'd heard before waking up truly been a dream? Or had they been those of his sister? If it was the latter did it even matter? After all, he and Yang were dating. The fact that they'd been cuddling in their sleep was nothing to bat an eye over. It was almost certainly expected.
Jaune ran a hand down his face. What a way to wake up. He still had to face the rest of the day too. He had to face his family. He had to face Yang. The last thing he wanted or needed was to go to class, and he was really glad he wasn't planning on doing so.
The only question now was, what were they going to do?
Maybe he would think of something in the shower. With the others gone he was sure they wouldn't mind if he used their shower. Much like Yang he could use a quick one as well. Maybe a little alone time in there would do him some good, too.
Yang slipped her vest over the low-cut black tank top she'd slept in the night before. The clothes may not have been clean and pristine, but at least her body was. It would be enough to get her through the day before returning to Beacon.
Portions of her hair which had gotten wet in the shower were haphazardly brushed with her fingers, as she currently lacked any of the items she usually used when getting herself ready for the day in the morning. She'd chosen not to wash her hair for this reason. She doubted Jaune would mind. She wondered if he would even notice.
Planting her hands on top of the sink vanity, the blonde girl stared into the slightly steamed up mirror in the hotel room's bathroom. It felt weird, to be perfectly honest. Despite nothing having happened the previous night, it almost felt like she was in one of those drama movies where a woman woke up uncertain of herself after a one night stand. Like she had made a mistake in the throes of passion and now doubted whether it had been the right decision.
She shook her head softly as she peered at her reflection. "Come on," she whispered. "You didn't do anything. Neither did he. All we did was cuddle…"
Correction, all she had done was cuddle. Waking up with her arms wrapped around the larger boy's body and her own pressing up against his back had been the surprise of the year for Yang. What had been more surprising was the fact that it had felt good. He had felt good…
"Yeah, well, a pillow would have felt good too," she argued with her own mind. "That's all he was. A big, warm pillow. People buy body pillows all the time. Even Blake has one."
Naturally Yang would never let her best friend in on the fact that she knew of her secret possession. He was some dark and moody character from one of her favorite books or animated series, no doubt. There was nothing wrong with it. Sometimes people just needed comfort. Sometimes people just needed to be held. Sometimes people needed to hold onto something. To someone. To never let them go…
Yang sighed and tore her eyes away from the mirror. She didn't remember specifically what she'd dreamt of last night, but she knew without a doubt that it had been something. Apparently it had been something enough to roll over and cling to the closest body to her. To wrap him in her tight embrace and not let go.
She could only imagine what was going through Jaune's mind right now. She wondered if he was showering too. She wondered if he would rub one in there out thanks to her actions. If he would be thinking of her while he did so…
Another harsh sigh signaled the end of her daydreaming. It was time to stop thinking about these sorts of things and get back to living in the present. A check of her scroll had revealed numerous texts from her sister and friends, and she'd made it clear to them that she wouldn't be attending classes today. She likely wouldn't be able to get back to Beacon for at least another hour, and she would need to do all sorts of preparation before she would be ready to show herself to her peers. She would be in trouble regardless of when she got there, so why not just skip the day entirely and have one last bit of fun before she had to face the music?
Yang pulled open the door and stepped back into the bedroom where she gathered the last of her belongings and slipped on her boots. After one more deep breath she opened the bedroom door and entered the suite's living room.
Jaune sat on the couch, fully dressed and judging by his appearance, also freshly bathed. Unlike her his hair was still damp, having far less of it allowing it to dry quicker and easier. Also unlike her he put much less thought and effort into his appearance, and so would be fine going around with a bit of unkempt blond hair.
"Good morning," he greeted, perhaps wishing to start the day fresh and new rather than how they'd actually woken up. "Saph and Ter went out for breakfast. They asked if we wanted them to bring us something back."
A sudden rumbling in Yang's stomach answered the question for her. However, she didn't feel like waiting around at the mercy of another's timetable. She was hungry now.
Yang shook her head as she moved over to sit on the other end of the couch. "How about we go out too?" she asked, pausing briefly before catching the wording that only she realized had been uttered. "For breakfast," she clarified.
A small smile formed on Jaune's face and he nodded. "Yeah, we could do that." He stood up, prompting Yang to do the same. "Anything in mind?"
"Nope. How about just the first thing we see?"
"Sounds good." He walked over to the door and paused before fishing his scroll from his jeans pocket. "I'll let them know we're headed out too."
Yang followed after him, pulling out her own scroll to check the time. A little before nine thirty. Everyone else was stuck in Dr. Oobleck's history class right now. Meanwhile she was playing hooky and about to have breakfast in downtown Vale. Honestly, it felt kind of cool. Today she literally was too cool for school, as she'd always claimed to be.
Why not make a whole day out of it? Times like these wouldn't last forever, and that was especially true when it came to hanging out with Jaune and his family. If they were going down today for skipping classes, then they might as well make it a blaze of glory. They truly would go out with a bang. Or as Jaune had so marvelously put it, out with a Yang.
Going out with a Yang. Like on a date. Up until this point they'd all been fake. There had been plenty of stories but no reality. The only reality had been deception. An idea struck the blonde girl. Why not at least make some of the lies real? If nothing else than just for the experience?
With a plan in mind the two teens exited the room on the prowl for breakfast.
The two teens had come upon a small diner outside of the hotel. With empty stomachs and limited funds, Jaune and Yang had opted to eat there rather than the overpriced hotel restaurant.
It didn't take long for their orders to be prepared, and two sets of eyes eagerly followed a young waitress carrying a tray with a number of plates resting on it. She set the meals in front of their respective owners, and wished them well before moving off to tend to another one of her tables.
Jaune licked his lips at the sight and aroma of three freshly cooked waffles, along with a side of bacon and scrambled eggs. Without wasting a moment he reached for the glass container of syrup, only to find that Yang had the same idea as him. Both stopped short of grabbing the handle.
"Oh, after you," Jaune said, motioning to the contested holder with his outstretched hand.
"No, it's cool," she insisted. "You first."
With a light shrug of his shoulders Jaune grabbed hold of the syrup and began pouring it all over his waffles. "Thanks."
He made sure to give the amount a good look before he went all in. Not wanting to be a jerk and take more than his fair share of syrup, he dumped around half of it onto his breakfast. Sure they could always ask for more, but it would be far easier to simply be polite to his friend and have her interests in mind after she had generously allowed him to go first.
"I can't believe you ordered waffles," she commented offhandedly.
Once he was finished Jaune pushed the syrup back in Yang's direction. One glance at her face showed a small frown as she stared down at his food.
"What's wrong with waffles?" he asked.
Yang began dousing her own breakfast, pancakes, with the sweet and sticky goodness. "They're just so… blah," she argued. Not very thoroughly or convincingly, but she got her point across nonetheless.
Jaune frowned in turn as he eyed her own breakfast. "And pancakes aren't?"
"Absolutely not!" she argued. "Pancakes are a special treat. They take time and effort to make, and you can usually only have them on the weekends when your dad's willing to take that time to make them. You can have waffles anytime. Just pop 'em in the toaster."
Jaune's eyes narrowed. So that was her game, eh? "Well obviously you've never had any good waffles," he countered. "Of course if all you have are frozen Schneggo brand waffles you're gonna have a bad opinion. But once you've had the secret Arc waffle recipe on a cast iron waffle maker, you'll never want to go back to crummy pancakes."
Yang glared daggers at him. "Crummy pancakes," she echoed dangerously. "You mean the food with literal 'cake' in the name? Something so soft and moist that it just absorbs the syrup, leaving every bite with an explosion of sweet flavor? Those crummy pancakes?"
"Who needs to absorb syrup when waffles have premade syrup pockets cooked right into them? Or butter, or jam, or whatever else you want to put inside those glorious food pores. And you can't screw up waffles, unlike pancakes." Jaune felt a shiver run through his body remembering his last run in with the inferior breakfast food. "There's no such thing as… ugh, spinach waffles…"
Yang's brow furrowed as her faux anger turned to confusion. "Spinach?"
He wanted to gag just remembering the incident. Nora may have hyped up their teammate's cooking abilities, specifically pancakes, but Lie Ren possessed a secret which could lead to the downfall of kingdoms and the destruction of friendships.
"Spinach pancakes," he explained. "Ren. He's kind of known as the team cook. But the last time he made pancakes, they were green."
Yang's face blanched at the mere mention of the word. "Green?" she repeated in very justified disgust. "He made green spinach pancakes?"
"Yeah. It was… it was gross. Ren's a bit of a health food nut." He stared Yang dead in her eyes, his expression never more serious than it was right now. "Do not try one of his smoothies. They're not the smoothies you think you know."
The combination of his face and tone must have been grim, and Yang could only laugh in response to such a dire warning. Taking her knife and fork in her hands she began cutting into her pancakes. "I'll keep that in mind," she smiled. "I'm sorry you went through so much trauma. No one should have pancakes ruined for them by having them laced with vegetables."
He could only nod mournfully in agreement. He picked up his silverware and began cutting too, looking forward to sinking his teeth into his freshly made waffles.
Yang took a bite of her pancakes, and in an instant her face lit up with pure joy. "Mmmm!" she moaned, closing her eyes and chewing with an even larger smile still plastered on her lips. "So good."
Jaune followed suit and ate a forkful of waffles. While not as good as the stuff made back home, and he could hardly blame the diner for that, they were still fluffy and clearly made from batter rather than frozen. "Great waffles too," he agreed. "We definitely chose right in coming here."
Yang was too busy stuffing her face to reply verbally, and could only nod and hum in approval. After a few seconds she swallowed, and wasted no time stabbing another forkful of pancakes.
"Jaune, you need to try these," she said, offering her fork out to him from across the table. "You need real pancakes to make up for Ren ruining them for you."
He eyed the food carefully, seeing the moist and spongy cake dripping with syrup. "No spinach?" he asked fearfully.
She shook her head. "No spinach," she confirmed. "Just a sweet delight from your sweet delight."
Trusting in his friend to not betray him, Jaune opened his mouth and leaned across the table, allowing Yang to place her fork inside his mouth. Her food slid off the fork and Jaune chewed, surprised by just how much syrup the pancakes were able to hold inside them. True to her word, an explosion of sweet flavor detonated inside his mouth, and his eyebrows rose in surprise by how good they were.
"Wow," he said after swallowing. "Those are good," he agreed. "I guess maybe I was wrong about all pancakes being gross."
"And he's seen the light," Yang stated smugly as she leaned back in her chair, fingers locking behind her to form a makeshift headrest. "Another non-believer converted to the pancake side. You can thank me later." The self-confidence on her face was off the charts, even for Yang. It only spurred Jaune on to want to prove her wrong.
"Okay, we'll see about that," he said seriously, accepting her challenge and gathering up some of his waffles. Holding out his full fork at her as if issuing her a challenge to duel, he was determined to show her the superiority of waffles over pancakes. "Your turn. Time to see what real waffles taste like."
A haughty laugh slipped through Yang's lips, and she didn't hesitate to mimic his earlier actions and leaned over to accept his food just as he had hers. Yang chewed a mouthful of waffle carefully, her eyes narrowed and pointed up to the ceiling as if examining all the subtle nuances of flavor like a wine taster might.
The verdict came in when she swallowed. "Okay, that's not bad at all," she admitted. "Way better than Schneggo, that's for sure."
Jaune nodded. "So you agree that waffles are the superior breakfast food."
The look on Yang's face alone would have been enough to shoot down such a comment, but she went all in. "Let's not go that far," she protested. "All you've proven is that waffles don't have to suck. They've still got nothing on pancakes."
He hummed in thought. "Then you'll have to try my mom's waffles someday. You haven't truly had waffles until you've eaten a custom order of them at the Arc house. Vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, doesn't matter, you can ask for any ingredients you want and she'll make them. And they're a hundred times better than any pancakes could ever be."
"Oh yeah?" Yang countered. "Well that just means you'll have to try my dad's pancakes. Put some chocolate chips or blueberries in them, or top them with jam or whipped cream, they're the best. Way better than any waffles could ever hope to be."
"You know what? Maybe I will someday! So there!"
"And maybe I'll try your mom's someday! So there!"
Two teens stared at each other from across the table, their angry words saying one thing, but their amused faces threatening to break into all out laughter saying quite another. After only a few seconds of a stare down both broke into spontaneous laughter, and if any of the other patrons in the diner been worried that a true fight was about to break out, their fears were quickly quelled as the two blondes grinned and laughed at each other over their breakfasts.
Jaune took a sip of water as the two resumed eating their own breakfasts. Yang's gaze was cast downward on her plate as she ate, but a warm smile remained on her lips the entire time. Whether she was still thinking about their mutual outburst or something else, Jaune couldn't say. However after only a few seconds of chew-inducted silence Yang spoke again.
"Jaune."
He glanced up. "Yeah?"
"Let's go rock wall climbing."
As far as random statements went, this one was pretty high up there. That was saying something considering that Nora Valkyrie was one of his teammates.
"What?" he asked in very visible confusion.
"Well we've got the whole day to ourselves, right?" she asked. Jaune nodded, his affirmation prompting her to continue. "So what are we gonna do? I don't want to just go back to Beacon and hang out in my room all day. We're already down here in Vale, so we might as well do something."
He could see her logic in that, but there was one thing he was still confused over. "Okay, sure. But why rock wall climbing of all things?"
"Remember our cover story for Saph and Ter?" she asked. The moment she mentioned it he did indeed recall one of their little white lies. "Well, why not try it out for real? If it was good enough to be one of our fake dates don't you think we should try it?"
From that perspective it made sense. Why not make their little falsified story into something real? If nothing else it would give more authenticity to their fake relationship. They would actually be able to describe in detail what it was like to go out and actually do it. It would be a legitimate memory rather than a simple story.
"I guess," he agreed. He wasn't against the idea, but out of all the things Yang could have suggested they could do in Vale today, this was one that never would have entered his mind.
"Also," she continued, folding her hands on top of the table as she peered into his eyes. "We should get them a gift."
Now this was something that needed no explanation for the boy. "As thanks for letting us crash at their hotel?" he wondered.
"That, and as a baby shower gift," she clarified. "I don't know when Terra's due, but since they live in Argus there's a good chance we won't be there to celebrate with them. No shower either. So we should get them something while we still have a chance to give it to them in person."
A baby shower gift. Jaune felt stupid. Why hadn't he thought of that? Was he still in some sort of shock or denial that he was going to be an uncle at his young age? Could he blame the fact that he was a guy, and therefore not used to thinking about things like baby showers? Or perhaps even just youthful inexperience in this sort of thing? After all, at his age the last thing on his mind was anything related to babies. Regardless of the reason, he was suddenly very happy that Yang had thought of it.
"That's a really good idea," he smiled. "Did you have anything in mind?"
"Not off the top of my head, but we've got pretty much all day to think and shop. Oh, actually do you think we should get two gifts? Something for them and something for the baby? We'd just have to think of something that could be good for either a boy or a girl."
Jaune couldn't help but smile at how much thought Yang was putting into this. Aside from it being his family she was fussing over so much, she was clearly just a genuinely thoughtful and caring girl. She was far more than the talented huntress she was at Beacon. She was even more than the fun and funny fake girlfriend he'd come to know over the course of their fake relationship. Yang Xiao Long was a kind, caring, and loving young woman who was a perfect ten out of ten in every facet of her being. She truly was the kind of girl he would have loved to take home to meet the rest of his family. To meet his mother and eat her waffles.
"Wow, that kid's already gonna be spoiled by six aunts. Guess one more couldn't hurt, could it?" he joked.
The cold realization that Yang wasn't going to be one of his unborn niece or nephew's aunts hit him suddenly.
He forced out a laugh at his own joke. Yang did as well. In the end though, it wasn't the same as before. It wasn't that sort of genuine, feel-good humor they'd shared over their breakfast debate. The laughter they shared now was almost… sad.
"I mean, not that you'd actually be their aunt," he clarified. "But you could still always be an honorary one. Same with Ruby and everyone else."
"Heh, yeah," she agreed. "I guess sometimes it's hard to turn off the act, isn't it?"
It was. Despite the fact that they'd only been doing this for around a week, Jaune found it very easy to get caught up in the lie even when Saphron and Terra weren't around. After all, here he was eating with her after just spending the night together in a hotel room. Just the two of them eating breakfast after waking up to the feeling of her spooning him. Being in the arms of this beautiful and wonderful girl who his family adored, and from everything he'd witnessed, adored his family in turn.
"Yeah. I guess it is."
Wouldn't it have just been so perfect if they were actually a couple? The groundwork was already in place. They were already friends. They were already comfortable with each other. All they needed was that spark of attraction to light up the flames of romance.
One look at Yang Xiao Long was as much of a spark as anyone needed. Knowing her on a personal level, and knowing just what kind of an amazing girl she was, would fan those flames into a raging inferno.
Jaune would never assume she would feel the same way about him. They were after all just friends. She was only doing this to help him out with his sister. Come tomorrow it would all be over, and they would be back to being just friends again.
"So, yeah," she said, getting the conversation back on track. "After breakfast we could look up a place to go climbing, and maybe hit up a few stores in the area for gift ideas."
Jaune nodded. That was as good of a plan as any. "Yeah, that sounds good."
Yang smiled softly and nodded. "Good. Now… now hurry up and finish your inferior waffles so we can go, Jaune," she joked.
Blue eyes narrowed amusedly back at her. "I don't see you eating your soggy pancakes any faster," he said back. "Those things must feel like waterlogged wood now after soaking up all that syrup."
She stuck out her tongue mockingly at him. "If yours are so much better then why are you eating slower than me?"
"Maybe you're just a pig?"
Yang's jaw fell and her eyes opened wide. "You… you little…"
Jaune grinned at her reaction. Just as he'd hoped for. Yang may have been the baddest girl he'd ever known, but she still valued her femininity. One look at her gorgeous hair was all he needed to know that she cared about her appearance. Scarfing down her breakfast definitely didn't do wonders for either of those two things.
"Race you."
Those brilliant lilac eyes of hers narrowed in response to those two words, and Yang gripped her knife and fork like a warrior readying herself for battle. "You're on."
A competitive nature was just one side of the many-faceted Yang Xiao Long, and in a snap decision she abandoned all pretext of class and charm in order to engage in an eating competition with Jaune. The winner didn't matter, and there was no prize for victory. In the end all that could be gained from finishing their breakfast first were bragging rights, and the very unscientific proof that their chosen meal was superior to the other.
Both teens began stuffing their faces, giggling stupidly as they did while the other people in the diner looked on.
Downtown Vale was filled with stores they would be able to explore in greater detail later, but for the moment a quick stop to a clothing store was what they needed. Climbing in slacks and leather pants wouldn't be good for either Jaune or Yang, and so the pair each purchased a cheap pair of athletic shorts for the next part of their day. It wasn't a total waste anyway. Jaune knew thanks to his training sessions with Pyrrha that he could never have too many training outfits. Along with his undershirt and the black tank top Yang wore, they were ready for a day of physical activity.
It had taken a little bit of time and research on their scrolls, but eventually the two teens discovered a rock wall climbing place in Vale. It was an experience in and of itself to get there, but Jaune knew how excited Yang was to try it out. It was important for the girl to experience it for real after what they'd told his sister, and if Jaune was being honest with himself it would be kind of cool to try something new like that. More importantly, however, he wanted Yang to be happy.
So far she seemed very happy indeed.
Jaune stood below the girl, arms out and hands at the ready to guide her fall to the cushiony mats in case she was to lose her grip and fall. Not that this seemed particularly likely, however. Yang was a natural climber by the looks of it. She showed absolutely no signs of struggle or apprehension as she ascended higher and higher up the wall.
Giving Jaune a prime view of her backside in those tight athletic shorts of hers.
Almost as if she was reading his thoughts, Yang called down to him from her spot up on the wall. "So how do I look from down there?"
Eyes darted away from a particular part of her body, instead focusing on all the colored foot and hand holes which dotted the wall. How did she look? As a whole? As a person? In the end only one description came to mind.
"Like a bug," he answered honestly.
Indeed, just like an insect climbing up a wall. A beautiful blonde insect, but an insect all the same.
For the first time since she'd started, Yang turned her focus from the wall and peered down at him. Narrowed eyes showed clear displeasure with his answer. "Wow, rude!"
Jaune couldn't help but grin up at her. "Sorry. Would monkey be better?"
Judging by her harsh glare, no. No it would not. "I'm a freaking goddess and you know it!" she shouted down at him. There was no strain in her voice, and Jaune wondered just how easy this was for her if she could focus all her attention on him rather than maintaining her grip on the wall. "You can only hope you'll do half this well once it's your turn."
Honestly? Maybe. However, that didn't mean that Yang would get any breaks from him here and now. "Goddess of what?" he called up to her. "Climbing walls? What's your name? Climbia? Climbradite?"
He had no idea what he was teasing her about this, it just came naturally. It was part of the rapport they'd developed over the past week. And if he had to go by Yang's reaction to it, it was completely normal and not at all out of place for his friend.
"Climbradite's gonna do some smiting once she gets down from here," she shot back at him. "Or maybe she'll send a few thunderbolts down from the heavens and nail you in the face."
Translation, she was going to spit on him. Jaune took a deliberate step back so he wasn't directly under her anymore. Yang laughed triumphantly as she turned back up to the holes in the wall and resumed climbing.
"Yeah that's right. Cower before Climbradite, goddess of rock wall climbing who's kicking all kinds of ass her first time doing this."
Jaune was more than ready to admit that she was doing fantastic. Whether it was natural athletic ability, her physical strength, or the power that just came from being a huntress, Yang showed no signs of fear nor struggle as she made her way as high as this particular wall would go.
Once she'd reached the top she let out a roar of triumph, pumping her fist before she began lowering herself back down. Once she'd made it to a lower height she willingly let herself go, falling back first and landing on the thick and bouncy floor mat, bouncing once before sinking in. Yang laughed joyously to herself as she lay there for a few seconds taking in the moment.
When Jaune moved over to extend a hand down to her, he saw the huge smile plastered on her lips as she stared up at the ceiling. Eventually she took his hand and was helped back up to her feet. She was living in the moment and having a truly wonderful time, it seemed. That alone made the price of admission worth it, just to see that genuine smile on his friend's face.
"That was awesome," she gushed, standing up and practically bouncing in place with overflowing energy. "Okay, your turn now."
Jaune peered up at the wall Yang had just climbed. A small bit of anxiety gnawed in his stomach. Surely it couldn't be that bad, right? He was a strong guy. He even had Aura. It wasn't like a fall would hurt him. Especially with Yang down there spotting him.
A smack on his back sent him forward a step, and Yang stood there grinning up at him expectantly. "Come on, let's go! No time like the present. Seize the day. No pain no gain. Other inspirational words and phrases."
Jaune snorted a laugh at the last 'phrase' and shook his head softly. "Right, okay," he said, trying his best to ready himself as he stared up at what from his perspective looked more like a mountainside than a manmade wall.
With a deep breath Jaune took hold of the first hold and began climbing. He was slow and clumsy, not at all taking to it like Yang had. Where she had practically bounded up the wall one hold after the other, Jaune was more slow and deliberate. Just like he was at fighting, he wasn't fast or flashy. He was solid. Sturdy. Each grip on the wall was solidified before he moved up to the next one.
His purposeful movements seemed to do nothing to dampen Yang's enthusiasm, however, as she cheered him on from below. "Wooo! Yeah, Jaune!" she shouted up encouragingly at him. "You can do it! Let's go! You've got this!"
He was glad she couldn't see his face, because as she cheered her praise up at him he felt his skin growing warmer. How utterly embarrassing. Yet she showed absolutely zero hesitation in making a scene for his benefit. Or maybe it was entirely for her own, and she wanted to embarrass him just as he had messed with her while she climbed.
"Jaune, Jaune, he's my man! If he can't do it no one can!"
He froze on the wall. It may have just been a generic cheer, but he was by no means her man. At least not while they were alone, away from the presence of Saphron and Terra. And yet here they were spending a whole day by themselves doing the kinds of things they would have normally only done for his family's benefit. To keep the lie alive.
He was having a great time doing it too. Apparently so was Yang. There was something, however, that he believed could make it even better. Something that could make his friend even happier.
He wasn't so high that he posed a danger to Yang if he were to fall, especially with her having Aura. It was time to make her fantasy a reality. She'd wanted the genuine date experience that she'd told Saphron and Terra about. He was going to give it to her.
"Oh no," he yelled exaggeratedly. "I think I'm slipping. I'm going to fall, Yang."
He gave the girl a few seconds to digest the words before he deliberately let go of his hand holds. Falling back he felt the brief rush of air around him as he fell, only to land not on a soft mat, but in the arms of his 'date'.
His breath was forced from his lungs at the impact, and a moment later he gazed up at the quirked eyebrows of Yang, who held him in her arms in a stereotypical princess-type carry he'd seen in so many sappy TV shows and movies growing up.
"Oh, Yang, you saved me," he practically deadpanned as he stared up at her grinning face. "I'm so happy you were there to catch me when I fell."
Yang snorted, holding him briefly before lowering him back onto his feet. "You're such a dork," she laughed, forcing Jaune to smile as well. She ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head in disbelief as the smile on her lips threatened to split her face in half. "You didn't have to do that."
"But you told Saph that I fell off the wall and you caught me," he reminded her. Not that she needed any reminding, judging by her reaction. "Is it everything you hoped it would be?"
He saw how her arms came up to wrap around herself, softly hugging her own body as her gaze dipped down to her feet momentarily. A second later her gorgeous lilac eyes flicked back up to meet his, and her head tilted ever so slightly before speaking. "Everything," she confirmed.
If nothing else Jaune was thrilled that he was able to make her day with such a stupid gesture. What was a little bit of public humiliation versus making Yang smile? As far as he was concerned he would make a fool of himself every day if it meant getting to see that bright, happy smile on his friend's face. That was a sight he would never get tired of seeing. One he wanted to bring out every day.
"But I want you to try for real too," she continued, her expression softening, though still full of glee as she looked at him. "Have a great time for yourself, I mean, and not just trying to make me happy."
Was it odd that he had a great time in making her happy? The fact of the matter was that nothing made him feel greater than when he made other people smile and laugh. Up to this point in his life he hadn't had a whole lot of talent or success, and so making other people happy was one of the few things he could do all on his own. Of course that had changed once he'd come to Beacon, and he was more capable now than he'd ever been before, but that part of him which loved helping others persisted.
"Well maybe making you happy makes me happy," he told her earnestly. He only realized how cheesy that sounded once the words had left his mouth.
He was about to clarify what he'd meant, or even take the words back, until Yang beat him to the punch. "Oh," she said bashfully, and Yang glanced down again as a smile persisted on her lips. "Well then… you know what would make me happy?"
"What?"
"You getting back up there and going as high as you can go," she said, pointing up to the ceiling. "And me being down here watching."
Jaune peered back up at the wall. He wasn't sure how high he could go, but for Yang's sake he would try and get to the top.
As he once more began to find the holes with his hands and feet, Jaune began his ascent again and got a few feet up before glancing back down. Yang looked up at him, teeth sinking gently into her lower lip as she watched. Was she nervous for him? Afraid that he might fall for real? Whatever the case, Jaune was going to give it his all and do his best to impress her.
If this made her happy, then who was he to deny her?
Author's Note: I have so much planned for this particular day in the story that it needs to be split up into two chapters. So the second half, as well as all of the fallout from spending a night away from Beacon, and with each other, will come next chapter.
I knew they would wake up spooning, but the decision to make Yang the big spoon was actually a last minute one. I feel it does a good job of showing her abandonment issues in an unconscious way. Better than the stereotypical thing of the girl waking up feeling something hard poking against her, in my opinion.
Speaking of something hard, I posted some Knightshade smut a couple days ago called Cat Got Your Tongue?. So if that sort of thing interests you, go give it a read!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, thanks for reading.