Street Lights Flicker On Long Walks

by Rum Aficionado

Blake was forced out of her room by her Partner. Jaune was forced out of his room by his teammate's antics. Blake was aggravated, and Jaune was bored. One trip to a fancy restaurant later, and that was soon to change. Now, what happens when you put two Socially Awkward people together? Well, nothing at first. The cover art was done by Leonid Afremov. Please buy his paintings.

6. Chapter 6

Life felt different to Blake, but also felt like it hadn't changed at all. Around a week ago now, Blake had told Jaune one of her most closely guarded secrets, if only to tame the guilt that tore at her every day that she spent with him. And to her surprise, he took it better than she could have ever hoped for. He was open minded to it, calm- no, he wasn't just calm, he was elated. Ecstatic that she had opened up to him, and even said so himself.

But in return, Jaune had told a secret of his own, one that carried with it as much volatility as hers. Maybe more so. It actually made Blake feel a little bad, she didn't tell him her secret because she wanted one in return, but because she was comfortable enough to tell him. He told her that he forged his transcripts, that none of his credentials carried any weight, that he was no better than a fraud.

Of course, Blake argued that claim, and she meant it too. Jaune at least deserved to try his hand at Beacon's trials, to see if he had what it took to be a Hunter.

Blake let out a breath as she laid casually in bed, wearing her grey hoodie, along with her baggy polyester shorts. It was Sunday, she was allowed to dress however she wanted, and today she felt like wearing something comfortable. In her hands was the book that her and Jaune had been reading for so many weeks now, and she was just finishing it up now.

The story came to a close, not with a bang that echoed throughout the badlands, but as a quiet fizzle, the spark of their desire to rescue their mother snuffed out by the worst news they could have ever gotten. Their mother died in the captivity of their oldest enemy, dying of starvation and thirst. The brothers two grieved for long periods of time, the eldest of the two not bothering to hide his anger, his sorrow, his pain. But the youngest, he was beyond quiet. He never spoke a word at the end of the book, not when he found his mother, not when he found out how she'd gone out, not even when he'd learned why she died in the first place.

Not a word.

It was an ending that left Blake hollow on the inside. The whole story was about hoping and helping, traversing the wastes in the search of their mother, and to put down the man that had started the whole conflict. Instead, their story ended with their mother dead, and the rat that saw her dead with his tail between his legs, scurrying off into the desert. Blake's lips curled inwards as she set the book down on the end table next to her, pushing down the acidic bile that burned at the back of her throat.

To call it a bad ending would be putting it lightly. Nothing had gone to plan for the Morado brothers. All the months of tracking the rat they hunted, a man named Vincenzo R. All of the time they spent helping others, dismantling this massive operation that spanned all of the Badlands, wasted. Blake couldn't help but feel that all of the investment she put into the book was used against her.

Blake let out a sigh as she placed her right forearm on her forehead, staring up at the bunk above her. Although she heard the sound of something shuffling above her, the mattress above her creaking as the weight shifted. In her right peripheral, she could see the sight of a long golden mane hanging upside down, along with a pair of mischievous, lilac eyes that she was so used to seeing stared back at her.

"What's up, Blake? You sound more angsty than you normally do." She heard Yang ask, to which she deadpanned in response. Although, she saw Yang's eyes trail away from her and over to her end table, "Oh, you finished reading that new book you got?" She heard Yang rhetorically ask.

Blake nodded silently, crossing her arms as she laid on her back, kicking one leg over the other. Much to her surprise, however, she watched as Yang stuck an arm over the edge of her top bunk and grasped at the book on the end table, pulling it up to eye level. "Huh," She heard Yang mutter to herself, "Hey, I didn't know you were into the whole 'western genre' thing?" Yang asked.

Yang thought it was odd that Blake would bother going through the western genre, she'd never shown interest in it before. That, paired with the fact that she stuck to more Mistrali centered stories, left Yang wondering.

Blake shrugged her shoulders, "I wasn't until Jaune showed me the book-" She offhandedly stated, but the sight of the grin stretching ear to ear on Yang's face made her cut herself off, giving her partner a stern glare, "If I hear you say anything about Jaune and I, it'll be too soon."

Yang only rolled her eyes as she snorted, "Come on, Blake! You can't tell me that Vomit Boy of all people got you into reading a book?" Yang asked in disbelief, her voice high pitched and inquisitive as she quirked a brow. Yang didn't believe that Jaune, the person that would rather openly binge comics in a library, convinced Blake to read through a fully fledged novel. Blake was notoriously nitpicky with her literature, so Yang took her words with a grain of salt.

Blake glared at Yang with twice the intensity, her brow leaving a creasing in her forehead, "What's so bad about Jaune getting me to read this book?" Blake asked, somewhat annoyed by her partner's jabs. This hadn't been the first time that Yang had harassed Blake at the first instance of her even mentioning Jaune in passing, and knowing her, it wouldn't be the last.

"All I'm saying is that it seems a little convenient." Yang explained, and there was no way in hell that anyone could convince her otherwise. Think about it, two teenagers go on a date (which Yang was guilty of setting up), and they come back as though they were best friends, always talking about reading books or some other nerdy stuff. And then, not only are they caught sharing a bed and cuddling, but her quiet, easily annoyed, feline partner opens the door to their dorm and asks- no, demands that he go back to bed with her.

It was just too good to not use as teasing fuel.

Blake had given up on the idea of expressing herself through facial expressions, and thus fell back into her deadpanned mask. "I'm not even going to humor that, Yang." Blake mechanically droned out, her voice sapped of all energy.

This caused Yang to snort again as she rolled off her top bunk, landing on her feet as she stared down at Blake with her arms crossed over her chest. "Why not? Does talking about Tall, Blond, and Noodly get your heart up in a tizzy?" She heard Yang ask.

Although, before Blake could get a word out, she could hear Weiss scoff from her lower bunk across the room, her textbook in her lap as he eyes continued to skim over the texts, "As if he could make anyone's heart skip a beat." Weiss spat out, not bothering to disguise her dislike of the blond boy across the hall.

Blake quickly changed her center of attention, briefly forgetting that Yang was even in the room, "What's that supposed to mean?" Blake asked, her voice seemingly uncaring. Of course, Blake cared quite a bit, considering this was her friend Weiss was talking about.

Weiss only shrugged as her eyes trailed along the pages, flipping a page as she went, "I just don't see anyone falling for a dunce like him. He's awkward, pushy, clingy, and all in all, a nuisance." Weiss continued on, and Blake felt an eye twitch, if only for a moment. Sure, Jaune could occasionally be some of those things, but he wasn't all bad, there were plenty of good things about Jaune. Like his unparalleled optimism, willingness to improve, determination to succeed. She could go on, but she was afraid that Jaune's ego would simply inflate at the sheer thought of too many positive things.

Then again, it wasn't like Weiss would know anything about Jaune, much less his positive points.

Blake's lip curled inwards as she faced away from Weiss, she couldn't even stand to look at her right now, her heart beating faster as she felt a vein in her forehead swell. But still, Weiss went on, "And that's not even considering his natural ineptitude for his position. How he of all people managed to become a team leader is beyond baffling."

Weiss still couldn't understand why the headmaster had bothered choosing the blond fool, maybe his mind was starting to fail him? Then again, it was also possible, if only unlikely, that Professor Ozpin had seen something that she hadn't. She knew it sounded arrogant, but she couldn't help it, she had spent years studying for some kind of leadership position, and if there's anything her many years of sleep-deprived life had taught her, it's that Jaune of all people was not leader material.

Blake had to take a breath after that remark, in through the nose, out through the mouth. She was okay, "I think you're just bitter that he's a leader and you're not." Blake let slip, but committed to it either way. She knew it was petty, but she just couldn't help but be petty after Weiss' layers upon layers of insults.

Weiss tore her eyes away from the textbook and made eye contact with Blake, her eyes wide as her mouth was slightly ajar, "I've been over that for months now! Why bring that up now?" Weiss yelled out, her voice filled with indignation as she stood up from her bed, her arms stiff by her side. Not that Blake cared.

Blake only quirked a sole eyebrow, her face as unfeeling as a stone, "Apparently not." Blake stated monotonously.

Weiss only scoffed at her statement, her eyes rolling as she placed her hands at her hips, "Why are you getting so defensive over that idiot?" Weiss jabbed a question at Blake, yelling her question loud enough that she was certain that if team JNPR was in their dorm, they would have heard it. And quite frankly, Weiss didn't care if they did or didn't, it wasn't any of their business anyway. Despite the fact that she was talking about their leader, but the heiress wouldn't dwell on that fact.

"Because he's my friend, Weiss! Why are you getting so heated that I'm defending him?" Blake spat back, her voice heated as she ground her teeth together, and if looks could kill, Blake's glare would have killed Weiss 12 times over.

It was at this point that Yang had stepped between her and Weiss, holding her hands out between them, "Okay, bad topic! Let's move on!"

Blake was honestly thankful that her partner had stepped in, because she was on the verge of saying some very hurtful things. Who was Weiss to insult her friend while she was around? Just because she had a stick up- she cut that train of thought off. There wasn't much point in staying mad at a conversation that had already come to an end, especially if Weiss was involved. As much as Blake enjoyed Weiss' company as a teammate, she had her… moments that drove Blake closer and closer to the edge.

Although Blake noticed that Ruby hadn't said a word throughout the entire conversation, usually it was her team leader that would cut off arguments, what changed? As she set her eyes on the top bunk across the room, she noticed her team leader laying on top of her bed, her elbows digging into the surface of said bed as she used her hands to keep her head propped up, a smile threatening to split her face in half.

That's… weird, but okay.

"Uh, Ruby, what's with the big smile?" Blake asked carefully, trying not to set off any traps. Her leader had a way with words, and how she could twist them into something else entirely. As much as Blake had hated to admit it, even she was subject to falling for them on occasion.

Her leader's Goblin-like smile only grew wider, a dangerous twinkle dancing behind her silver eyes, "I just think it's really cute that you're sticking up for Jaune. It's really wholesome." She heard Ruby say, and bit back a sigh. So that's where they were going now?

Blake fell back into her stoic facade, but before she could retort, her partner got a dangerous look on her face. Oh no, they were teaming up. "You know, Ruby, now that you mention it-"

"You take that sentence any further and we're taking this to the training rooms." Blake calmly threatened, not that Yang was deterred by the threat, her smirk getting wider as she quirked a hip, placing her right hand on said quirked hip.

"Blakey," she started, her voice playful and lighthearted, and it already made Blake want to jump out of the window, "you shouldn't be ashamed that you're sticking up for your boyfriend." She heard Yang say, emphasizing a very specific word as much as she could, and it made Blake extremely uncomfortable. It was technically true, but it was also untrue.

Blake only turned away from the two siblings, tucking her head into her left shoulder as her right hand dug into her forearm. In a way, she was backed into a corner. If she denied that she and Jaune were dating, the jig would be up, but if she acknowledged that they were dating, then Blake would never hear the end of it from the two siblings. And maybe Weiss too, if she ever got over her bitterness towards the blond leader across the hall, but Blake wouldn't hold her breath.

So, Blake picked an unspoke, third option. That is to say, absolute silence.

Although, despite her silence, she could hear the two sisters snickering to one another, "So Ruby," she heard her partner start, "how long before we're going to be seeing socks on our door knob?" Yang's words caused a chill to go up Blake's spine. Blake wanted to die, she wanted to die so much.

Much to her dismay, she heard her team leader laugh from her top bunk, "Yang, that's gross!" She yelled out before laughing, clasping a hand over her mouth for a moment, "I give it a month." Blake turned onto her side, facing away from her team as she pulled her pillow to her face. She was lucky she had, too, because if she hadn't, the groan that slipped from her mouth would have been incredibly loud.

"They better not leave socks on the door! If they're going to be doing anything… depraved then they had better take it somewhere away from Beacon." Weiss had yelled out, and as Blake turned to look back at the prim and proper heiress, she saw her face contorting as though she had eaten a lemon, her head tucked deeper between both of her shoulders.

Blake only stuffed her face deeper into her pillow, letting out a whimper as her nails dug into the pillowcase. "Can we please not talk about this sort of thing?" Blake pleaded, her voice muffled by the soft cushion that was pressed against her face. But the message was received.

Unfortunately, it was duly ignored.

"So," Blake heard her Ruby start, "how'd you and Jaune start, you know, going out?" Ruby asked, an innocent question to be sure, but was somewhat difficult to answer. Blake pulled the pillow down from her face and let out a hum, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought to herself. Oh well, honesty never really hurts in situations like these.

"Well," Blake started quietly, her lip curled to the side before continuing, "Your sister set Jaune and I up without telling either of us-" before Blake could finish her explanation, she watched as Yang's head turned on a swivel, staring at her through wide eyes, her face a pale white.

Before she even noticed, the younger sibling of the two had appeared behind the older, her hand gripped around her shoulder, her palm turning a pale white from the pressure, "What did you do?" Ruby asked coldly, and it threw Blake through a bit of a loop as her Blonde partner's eyes started darting around the room.

"I thought it would be funny!" She yelled out as she pried the young reaper's iron grip from her shoulder.

"Yang, messing with other people's relationships isn't funny! That's something private!" Ruby scolded her elder sister, a finger pointing up at her from under her chin. Needless to say, she hadn't expected such a set of events. Wasn't Yang the older sibling? Then again, Ruby was their leader, so it made sense that she had some sense of authority.

It still didn't make it any less funny.

Blake bit back a giggle as she stared at the sisters, but Yang continued on, "I just wanted Blake to go out and get some sun!" Her partner yelled, her arms outstretched by her sides as she made her defense. It was a fair concern, but now that she has somewhere to be, and someone else to be with, it feels like everyone wants to get on her case about it.

It was at this point that Weiss decided to chip in, sitting on her own bed as she crossed her arms, "Yang isn't wrong, you could do with some more sun." She heard Weiss say, and Blake couldn't help but quirk a brow at the irony of her suggestion.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black." Blake calmly stated, a small smile on her face as she stared at the heiress of a company she admittedly had little love for. But Weiss herself wasn't that bad.

Weiss only rolled her eyes at the comment, "Well, I'm sorry I lived in a place that gets no sun for three fourths of a year." Weiss sarcastically remarked, a smile of her own resting on her face. Blake couldn't help but laugh at Weiss' smile, gently laughing as the two sisters in the room continued to bicker among themselves.

"-And now look where they are, sleeping in the same bed, doing gross things together! L-like holding hands, and kissing, and stuff!" She heard the youngest in the room squeak out, her face as crimson as the late afternoon sunset that.

"Stop saying that! That isn't what we do!" Blake yelled back, her own face feeling a tad too warm. Why did everyone insist that Jaune and her did something unsavory? She understood that they were in their prime years, and the fact that this was the weird, hormonal time in their lives, but come on, it was getting ridiculous!

At that, Yang only laughed as her sister's hand slipped from her shoulder, her leader throwing her hood over her face before letting out a muffled scream, all the while Weiss sat on her bed and tried her hardest to ignore the sight in front of her. Blake didn't blame her, because she wished she could ignore it too.

But truth was, Blake really wanted to keep the conversation going, if only to get away from the horrible misunderstanding that her team still held over her. "Anyway," Blake said a little loudly, her own ears twitching at the volume of her voice, "weren't you asking about how Jaune and I started, well, you know…" Blake muttered the last bit to herself.

Ruby then peered up from under her hood, her eyes wide as the blood rushed away from her face, "Oh yeah!" She heard her leader blurt out, seemingly forgetting about whatever it was that had her so flustered, "So, Yang set you and Jaune up on a date?" Her leader asked, her eyes sparkling with this odd child-like wonder, her hand holding onto the collar of her hood as she leaned forward in her place.

A strange warmth radiated in Blake's chest as she stared at her leader, the fact that she was so interested in her relationship with the Blond across the hall made her smile. "Yeah," Blake started, shrugging her shoulders as she shook her head, "your sister said that she wanted to treat me to some 'classy restaurant food' or something like that. Well, it turns out the restaurant was a bit of a flop." Blake explained, a shaky grin plastered onto her face as she went on.

She heard Yang let out an awkward laugh as she brought a hand up to the back of her head, "Yeah, that one's my bad." The blonde brawler said, scratching the back of her head as she went on. But much to Yang's surprise, Blake shook a hand back and forth.

"It's no big deal, even if that place was less trashy, I don't think I would have liked it much anyway." Blake said, a small smile on her face. The Blue Moon was hardly a restaurant, much less a high class one. Even thinking about that restaurant gave Blake chills. But if there's one thing that Blake was thankful for, it's that it gave her and Jaune something to complain about to one another.

Although, Blake heard her young leader snicker to herself as she brought a hand over her mouth, "Sounds like a bad first date." The young reaper said, failing to contain her giggles as her shoulders shook up and down.

But before Blake could respond, she heard Weiss scoff for what felt like the twelfth time just today, "It's absurd that either of the two of you degraded yourselves into going to such a stain on prestigious fine dining establishments." Weiss went on, making her feelings on the restaurant known. "If the two of you ever plan on going on another nice outing, let me know. I have a list of good restaurants on my scroll." Weiss offered, and Blake couldn't help but feel a little touched. And mostly confused.

"Uh, weren't you talking about how you couldn't stand Jaune just minutes ago?" Blake asked, her right eyebrow quirked high, to which Weiss only rolled her eyes.

"I may not like him personally, but it's clear as day that you do. Who am I to get in the way of an honest relationship, even if I think that that blond dunce isn't good enough for you." Weiss explained. Blake's thoughts on her explanation were conflicting to say the least. On one hand, she appreciated the roundabout support, but on the other, she really didn't like how Weiss insisted that Jaune was dumb. He was, don't get her wrong, but it was an appealing kind of dumb, if that made any sense.

It probably didn't, Blake thought.

Blake watched as her leader's head turned to face the girl in all white, a smug smile draped across her face, "Look at you, Weiss, being all supportive and stuff!" Ruby yelled out as she rushed over to her partner's bed, rocking Weiss back and forth as her hands rested on the heiress's shoulders.

However, Weiss was quick to swat away her leader's hands, "Don't get the wrong idea, I don't have much affection for that fool, but if he makes Blake happy, I'll put up with him. Until the time that he doesn't, I'm willing to be… understanding." Weiss strained out the last word, avoiding any kind of eye contact with the three other girls in the room. She was an heiress to one of the largest companies, if not the largest, in the world, so she had to keep a stiff upper lip on matters like these.

In response to that, Ruby only rolled her eyes as she sat down next to her partner, leaning forward as she focused her eyes on Blake, "So, you guys got food at a shabby restaurant? I can't imagine it made for a good date." Ruby joked, laughing to herself as she finished her statement.

Blake's smile grew a little wider as she stared back at her leader, "It really didn't," Blake stated, Ruby's eyebrows shooting upwards as her eyes widened, "But after getting something to eat, we both thought that going for a walk was the right idea. And boy was that the right idea."

Blake watched as Yang's eyebrows shot up, another cheshire grin weaseling its way onto her face, "Ooh, a romantic walk late at night?" Blake heard Yang say, and in a way, she was right. To the average person, it would have been one of the nicest nights for a date, but Blake honestly just enjoyed the walk because of how serene it was, and she imagined the same went for Jaune.

Blake only shrugged as she tilted her head to the side, "Kind of, but not really. We both ended up spending the whole walk in our own heads. Eventually, we ended up outside the park, and I dragged Jaune in so we could sit down." Blake explained, and it seemed that even the Heiress of the SDC was intrigued, leaning forward in her bunk as her hands were clasped in one another. Her ice blue eyes had some kind of curiosity dancing behind them, an eyebrow quirked.

"That sounds extremely romantic, actually. I can see now how you could have fallen for him, but I don't see the why." Blake heard her prissy teammate say, and she only rolled her eyes. As if one date can make someone fall in love.

"You didn't even let me get to the star gazing." She jokingly remarked, only to see Weiss bring a knuckle up to her mouth as her eyes darted around the room. Blake didn't bother trying to decipher what that meant, it would be too much effort anyway.

Her leader, however, let out some kind of quiet squeal as she brought both hands over her mouth, "When's the marriage?" She could hear Ruby ask, and Blake sputtered for a moment as she tried to find the words to bring everything back down to reality. She couldn't believe her leader's words, and she had an even harder time trying to figure out if she was serious. The way her eyes shone with wonder, her hands under her chin as she sat on the edge of the bunk.

Blake had to swallow a lump forming in the back of her throat before coughing, "That's not happening." Blake spoke in a deadpan and even manner, her face returning to its normal state of stoicism, "We only started hanging out maybe a month ago now, to ask if I'm going to marry him so soon is ridiculous."

In response, she heard her leader snort to herself, her smile growing wider, "In a couple of years, got it." She said to herself, much to Blake's dismay. What made it even worse was the fact that her teammates were laughing, Weiss holding a hand over her mouth as she tried to suppress her laughter, but Blake's partner didn't even both to hide the insane amount of amusement she took from the situation, laughing loudly as she held onto her sides.

Blake could only let out a sigh as her shoulders slumped, "I don't get why you're all so interested though. I mean, it's not like it was something that couldn't have happened." Blake muttered as rubbed her right forearm with her left hand.

Although this only got an eye roll from Yang, "Blake, I don't think anyone thought you would actually hook up with Jaune. I mean, even when I set you both up, I didn't think it would actually stick." She heard her partner say before taking a seat on the chair next to the desk in the corner. "Plus, you never really talk about any of the stuff you do with Jaune, so we have to drag it out of you."

Blake only scoffed at her partner's words, "I don't talk about it because I know my team." Blake responded as she tapped her fingers against her forearm.

This caused Yang's smile to widen, "Aw, but Blakey," she heard her partner start, the tone she used was teasing and light, and it made Blake's heart rate rise, her heart thumping loudly against her chest, "Would a bad teammate get you this cute photo?" Yang finished, pulling her scroll from her short pocket, flashing a photo.

The photo was of her and Jaune, sleeping in his bed as she clutched the back of his shirt, her head leaning against the crook of his shoulder. Blake couldn't help but feeling her face heat up as she jumped from her bed, swatting at the scroll. But, unfortunately for Blake, Yang knew she would react in such a way, and stepped aside.

As Blake tumbled to the ground, she tried to push herself back onto her feet. Yet, as her palms brushed against the carpet, the friction giving her a slight feeling of carpet burn, she watched as Yang squatted down next to her, facing the screen towards her. "Come on, Blake, you can't tell me that you don't think this picture is cute." She heard her partner say, a smug smile resting comfortably on her face.

To put it bluntly, it pissed Blake off.

"Where'd you get that picture?" Blake asked through gritted teeth, her eyebrows furrowing as she spoke. If looks could kill, Blake was sure that Yang would have been dead a hundred times over, her innards burning with the fury of a thousand suns.

This, however, did nothing to deter Yang. "Nora took it and sent it to me," she casually said with a shrug, "But still, when I got this picture, I just couldn't help but think, 'oh yeah, you get him, Blakey!' You just love to see it." Her partner finished, a face splitting smile on her face as her eyes shut, her head tilting to the side.

"Ooh, ooh! Let me see!" She heard her leader yell out as she shot up from her seat, and all Blake did was let herself flop to the floor, covering her head as she let out a quiet whimper.

It wasn't long before the white wearing heiress stood from the edge of her bed and strode over to Yang, looking past her shoulder and looking at the photo. Blake, all the while, took this as a wonderful sign to find some peace and quiet, away from her team, if only for a moment.

"I'm going for a walk." She muttered as she pushed herself onto her feet, trudging her way out of the door.

---

Jaune thought his life couldn't be any better. Really, he did! Whereas his life a month ago consisted of nothing but classes, training, then studying, followed by more training, had been jumbled up like… he didn't know! But it was like something was jumbled up. He'd gone from getting used to the monotony that consisted of his time at Beacon, to being surprised every once and a while by his time around Blake. Whenever he was around her, something different happened.

Now, to some people, that might not sound all that incredible, but for Jaune? It was all he could ever ask for! Life on the frontier had been similar to his time at Beacon, if only slightly more monotonous and dreadful. On the Frontier, life consisted of the same old, regular chores, followed by helping his Dad with stuff around the ranch, then going into town and buying things for the week.

But now? Life was different, and a good kind of different too, which only made it better!

He couldn't help but smile as he lounged around on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as his hands rested on his abdomen. A breath escaped his mouth as he embraced the strange calmness that washed over him. To his left, his partner sat on her bed, meticulously cleaning her blade as she quietly played music through a pair of earbuds she was wearing.

Through his peripherals, Jaune noticed that Pyrrha had a frown on her face, her eyes dead focused on the xiphos in front of her, slowly dragging a wet rag over the top of it. Pyrrha had been like that all week, quiet, meticulous, distracted, Jaune could use so many different words to describe how Pyrrha looked. But the best one he could use was, well…

She looked tired.

Jaune pushed himself up to a seated position, letting his legs dangle off the side of his bed. "Hey, Pyrrha." He started, but she didn't pay him any mind, continuing to wipe down her blade. "Pyrrha," he said again, reaching over before giving her shoulder a light shake.

This got a jolt from her, her head shaking slightly before she looked up, her eyebrows furrowed slightly before taking her earbuds out. "Huh, oh, yes Jaune?" He heard his partner ask, and he only gave her a small smile.

"Nothing, just thought you looked a little tired is all. Have you been getting enough sleep?" He asked lightly, and he watched as her eyes trailed back down to Milo, her xiphos. Her eyelids seemed to sit heavily on her, thin, dark rings forming around her emerald eyes as a strand of red hair dangled in front of her face.

The truth was, Pyrrha hadn't been able to sleep well over the past week or so. Her mind seemed to race whenever she nearly fell asleep, her thoughts spiraling downwards into a pit of self-pity and despair. There were several things that weighed on her mind, mostly questions that she could never bring herself to ask.

Jaune heard Pyrrha let out a fatigued sigh before looking back up at her leader, a small smile of her own plastered onto her face. "I… not really, but I'll be fine." Pyrrha said, her voice shaking slightly as she spoke. Seeing his partner like this left Jaune upset, to say the least. Normally, it was Pyrrha that would drag him out of a slump, not the other way around, and it's how it should have stayed.

"Well, hey," Jaune started, his hands clasped together as his forearms rested on his knees, "If you ever need to talk, the team is always around." He offered with a smile. He didn't know what had Pyrrha in a funk, but he knew that a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen always helped. After all, it worked for him.

Her eyes seemed to dwell on her weapon for a moment, dragging the rag up and down the blade for a moment before she let out a sigh. She set the rag aside before holding the blade in front of her, one hand resting on the handle, and the other on the flat side of the blade. As she stared down at the blade, she could see her own reflection from how clean it was. She looked awful, her eyes surrounded by a dark shadow as bags formed beneath her eyes. She hated seeing herself like this, but there was little she could do about it.

But, as she looked back up at her leader, she could feel her heart race as she stared at the honest, caring, yet goofy smile that rested on his face. The words sitting on the tip of her tongue, but the more she tried to push them back down, the more they clawed their way back up. A vicious cycle that would continue, unless her tongue had its way.

"Jaune," Pyrrha stated, her emerald eyes staring up at him as her head tilted downwards, "Do you mind if I ask you something personal?" He heard her ask. He saw little reason why she couldn't.

He shrugged as he looked back at her, the smile on his face unwavering, "Sure thing."

He watched as her eyes darted around for a moment, as though she was searching for something. As for what, he couldn't tell, but he only hoped that she found what she was looking for. "What was it that… Well, that led to you and Blake being together?" He heard her ask, and his eyebrows shot upwards in surprise.

Well, it wasn't what he was expecting, but he would answer honestly. He let out a hum as he brought a hand up to his chin, "I mean, it just sort of… happened. Nothing super special about it." Jaune explained, unclasping his hand and rolling his wrist as he went on. "Why do you ask?"

The spartan only shook her head at that, her flowing red locks shaking behind her, "It's just something that has been on my mind as of late." She responded, her voice low and dry, as though her throat was doing its best impersonation of what a desert would sound like. "I hope I'm not being too intrusive?"

Jaune quickly shook his head from side to side, bringing his smile back onto his face, "Not at all. If anything, I'm surprised you're not being more pushy about it." Jaune said, chuckling awkwardly as he finished. He was honestly shocked that his team wasn't being more pushy about his relationship with Blake. After his time with her from a week ago, they had all the ammo in the world to lob at him, what changed?

He wouldn't dwell on those thoughts for too long, snapping his mind back to the conversation at hand. "Wouldn't it be rude if we asked questions about it?" He could hear his only male companion say from across the room, looking over the top of his scroll as he lounged on his own bed.

Jaune only rolled his eyes at that, "Ren, since when has that ever stopped you?" Jaune retorted, and he could see a small smile stretch across his friend's face, shrugging as he set his scroll aside.

This, however, caused the ginger bomber in the room to bounce from her seated position on her bed, and onto her feet, her teal eyes sparkling with joy, "Ooh, does that means we get to interrogate you on all the goodies of your relationship?" He heard the Valkyrie yell out, and Jaune didn't even bother hiding his discomfort at the word 'interrogate.'

"Uh… sure?" Jaune responded, but this only prompted Ren to slowly shake his head from side to side, his eyes shut as his shoulders slumped.

The only response Jaune got from the Valkyrie was maniacal cackling as she darted over to Pyrrha's bed, nestling herself in a spot between the four time champion and the foot of the bed. "So," Nora started, a wide smile threatening to tear her face in two as her eyes shined with a mirth that could never be snuffed out, "How long before I'm an auntie?"

Jaune watched as his partner's face considerably darkened, leaving her complexion a deep shade of crimson at the implications at the hammer wielding bomber's words. The blond in the room, however, only laughed. "As long as I can help it." He jested, causing Nora to snort.

"Aw, so we're not going to see any little baby Jaunes?" He heard his teammate ask, but Ren quickly plopped down on the bed to Pyrrha's right, shaking his head at his childhood friend's question.

"Maybe that's for the best, Nora. After all, teenage pregnancy is a very big deal, with most young couples rarely being able to afford such a drastic shift in responsibility. This leads towards either many children growing up without two parents, or children being put up for adoption." Ren explained, and Jaune found himself a little shocked at the suddenness of the topic. Along with the fact that his teammate was highly aware of such topics. "And if, by chance, the child does grow up with the parents, they rarely spend time with them due to them working so hard to pay for bills, expenses for the child, and various other amenities. The child is nearly left unnurtured, and is raised solely by their environment."

Jaune was busy wondering why that statement hit so close to home?

"We get it, Renny," Nora started, her voice droning out as she looked away from the dark haired boy, "You do research on depressing stuff." She finished.

"It's only depressing because everyone refuses to do anything about it." Ren retorted, and Jaune couldn't help but both agree with Ren, all the while laughing at him. And here he thought they were going to lay it on him thick.

"As enlightening as that conversation is," he heard Pyrrha start, her voice tired, yet carrying a twinge of mirth, "aren't we supposed to be asking Jaune questions?" She asked.

Jaune, however, only waved his hand from side to side, "Oh, don't mind me, I can wait." He responded with a laugh, he was just glad that his team didn't need him to pitch into the conversation. After all, he didn't really have a whole lot to say in the first place.

At least, not about teenage pregnancy. He didn't know the first thing about it, much less being involved with it.

Nora only gave Jaune a look, "Oh no you don't, Mister! You get to spill all of your funny little secrets, starting with how you started going out with our local cat lady."

"Nora, for the last time, that was a dream. Blake isn't a cat person." Ren calmly spoke, and Jaune couldn't help but feel a cold sweat trail down the back of his head. Well, at least he wasn't the only one that thought Blake was a cat lady before, you know, knowing it. But it scared him that the only other person that shared his thoughts was Nora of all people.

Was Nora psychic, he wondered?

"Not important," Nora waved aside her closest friend's comment, "Now, spill the beans! I want to know!" He heard Nora yell out as she bounced in place on the bed, rocking Pyrrha back and forth, getting a light laugh out of her.

"Well," Jaune started, an uneven smile wobbling on his face as he scratched the back of his head, "Where do you want me to start? When Yang knocked on the door, or when I started the date? Because as nice as this story may be, I don't want to waste anyone's time." He explained as his eyebrows tilted upwards.

Truth was, Jaune didn't want to go into detail of the story because now that he was going to tell it, it felt kind of… wrong, in a weird way. Like he was exposing something private.

He watched as his partner leaned forward, her hands clasped in one another as her eyelids sat heavily on her, "The beginning works fine enough, Jaune." He heard his partner say somewhat lightheartedly as a tired smile sat on her face.

Jaune could only chuckle as his hand fell from the back of his head, setting it calmly on his lap, "Alright," he started, "So no joke, there I was, hanging out in our dorm room. Nora was freaking out, night stands were flying, and I was running on four hours of sleep. But, the sound of the door knocking woke me up a bit." Jaune rambled on, touching on even the most minute details, if only to save himself the future harassment.

Although, Jaune noticed his male companion quirk a brow, "Even more so than Nora throwing night stands?" He asked, and Jaune couldn't help but be a little embarrassed to admit just how accustomed he was becoming to Nora's hysteric antics.

"She does it once every few weeks, Ren. You get used to it after the first four times."

"Can we please not talk as if I'm not here?" Jaune heard Nora interject, her mouth tilted to the side as her eyebrows furrowed. Needless to say, Nora was unamused by the treatment that she one hundred percent, honest to goodness did not deserve.

Jaune found himself quietly laughing alongside Ren for a moment, which only led to Nora's eyebrows furrowing a little more. "Right, well, I got up to get the door, and bam! There was Yang, standing there in her normal outfit. We talked for a while, and she eventually brought up how her team was going to this fancy new restaurant that opened up in Vale." Jaune slowly explained, stretching his arms far above his head as he suppressed a yawn, the feeling of his ears muffling as the muscles in his face tensing as the yawn passed giving him an odd feeling of serenity.

He could hear the sound of Nora laughing under her breath, a mischievous smile crawling its way onto her face like a caterpillar along a tree branch. Slowly, but surely, it made its destination. "So," she started, her eyebrows tilting upwards as her smile grew wider, "You got to go out with four girls for the price of one? Look at you go, Leader."

Jaune could only sigh at the statement, his head falling as his shoulders slumped forwards, "No, Nora, I'm sorry to say that that's not how this story goes." Jaune spoke. Honestly, he really wasn't that sorry, he knew just how difficult it was to be constantly surrounded by women, if his seven sisters were anything to go off of. So, needless to say, Jaune was happy that he was stuck with- maybe not stuck with per se, but just left with Blake.

He heard the bomber of the team let out a whine as she physically deflated, much like a balloon with a tiny hole in it. "Aw, and here I was hoping that Leader would have tons of babies. They would have been so cute too!" Nora yelled out, and he wasn't sure whether he should laugh, or be concerned that his teammate was so adamant on him having kids.

"Why do you keep bringing up me having kids?" Jaune asked, feeling like he should nip that in the bud sooner, rather than later.

He heard Nora blow out a raspberry as she rolled her eyes, "Because kids are cute, Jauney, duh!" She said matter-of-factly as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, I know," Jaune retorted, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, "But why is it that I have to have kids? Why don't you go out and have kids?" The visible response this got out of Nora was her face puckering, almost as though she had taken a bit out of a lemon.

"Ew, me be a Mom? I would suck at that, no thank you!" Nora yelled out, and Jaune couldn't help but laugh at the reaction he got. "Plus, Renny said that he wouldn't give me one, so I have to wait." He heard her finish, to which he quirked a brow to his male companion.

Ren, however, seemed like all of the color from his body was drained, quite literally. Even the color from his clothing had disappeared. Jaune knew exactly what that meant, the very obvious sign of Ren's semblance in use left Jaune's face deadpanned.

Coward.

"Can we please stop talking about people having children?" He heard his partner plead, her face still a fair shade of crimson as her hands firmly grasped one another, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of his partner. What could he say, he always thought his partner being embarrassed was funny, a sight he rarely saw.

It was here, however, that Jaune remembered that he was telling a story. He awkwardly chuckled at the fact, "Sorry, I get-"

"Easily distracted." He heard his partner finish, an awkward smile of her own resting on her face, to which he smiled back.

Man, Jaune was lucky to have such good friends.

The blond took a moment to clear his throat, bringing a hand to his fist before coughing, "Right, well, where was I?" He calmly asked, because honestly, Jaune had forgotten. Really, he had! It wasn't his fault that the conversation had derailed so spectacularly, thankful for it as he was.

As Ren's semblance came down, the sight of color returning to his form, he heard him quietly hum, "I'm fairly certain you made mention of a restaurant in Vale." He heard Ren say, and honestly, that was a good enough reason to skip ahead in the story.

Jaune nodded towards the dark haired boy before rolling his head, hoping to get a pop out of his neck, but nothing came of it. "Right, well, I got dressed up all nice for this restaurant, and figured I'd use the tux I'm saving for the dance in a couple of weeks to get into the Blue Moon. Oh yeah, the restaurant was called the Blue Moon, I forgot to mention that." Jaune rambled for a moment, his hands flailing as he tried to use his body language to set some sort of mental stage. But truth be told, he felt as though it wasn't working.

"Jaune," He heard his male companion start, his head tilted to the side, "the dance isn't going to happen for another month."

"Huh?" Jaune let out as his head snapped to his partner, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he stared at the Martial Artist.

He watched Magenta eyes blink for a moment before Ren's own eyebrows furrowed, "It's not until after spring break. I thought you knew?" Ren asked, and Jaune wanted to curl up into a ball and die. No really, he did. He was so certain that the dance was going to happen in a few weeks too.

Well, this put Jaune in a bit of a precarious situation, because now Ren was giving him a bit of a weird look, "The dance always happens before the Vytal festival, regardless of the academy or training school. How could you forget that?" The eastern boy asked, and Jaune couldn't help but feel a bead of sweat trickle down the back of his neck.

"Oh, uh, well-"

"Jaune was homeschooled for the earlier parts of his training." He heard his partner interject, her voice firm and confident, "He never really attended the dances for the Vytal festival."

Jaune needed a moment before he could answer, sitting there dumbly before nodding, "Uh, yeah! Training on the frontier was… something else. A lot of time in the woods." Jaune added to his partner's statement. To some extent, he wasn't lying. He really did spend a lot of time in the woods, but it had nothing to do with training. He mostly spent that time with his Dad hunting actual game.

Ren gave him a funny look for a moment before nodding, "I see," his voice came out with a low, calm tone, as his eyebrows gently rose, "That isn't entirely dissimilar to the way Nora and I trained. Although, I'm sure you've noticed the lessons we learned are… different, to say the least."

At that, Nora only gave off what could be described as a gremlin-like laugh, "You see, that's Renny's special way of saying that I'm not afraid to hit things."

"Nora, I'm not afraid of conflict, I just prefer to handle it with a more subtle approach." Ren retorted, to which Nora only laughed harder. Jaune wasn't sure if they were teasing, or if they were serious, and at this point, he didn't think he would ever know.

"Right…" Jaune drawed out as he quirked a brow at the two, "Anyway, I walked through the streets of Vale, which were really pretty by the way, seriously, the streets lit up by street lights, long expanses of starry sky, it was crazy-"

"You're rambling, Jaune." He heard his partner cut him off with a smile, to which he brought a hand up to the back of his head.

"Right, sorry." He quickly apologized, his hand rubbing the back of his head, "I eventually ended up outside of the Blue Moon, and I saw Blake sitting on a bench by the riverside, and I figured I'd go talk to her." Jaune could still vividly remember the scene, Blake and her raven locks gently blowing behind her, dressed in her purple dress that just fit her so well as her foot tapped against the cobblestone road that lined the whole riverside.

It wasn't until he heard someone ask a question that he was snapped away from his thoughts, "Huh, what?" He quickly asked, blinking rapidly for a moment before being grounded to reality once more.

He watched his partner quirk a brow at his reaction, "I asked, what did she say?" Pyrrha asked, and Jaune couldn't help but chuckle beneath his breath.

"Oh, well, the first thing she asked me was, 'What are you doing here?' In that sort of deadpan voice that she's so good at, you know the one I'm talking about." Jaune rambled, his face mimicking Blake's signature deadpan as he did an impression of her voice, laughing to himself afterward. "Now, I was a little shaken up, because I figured that Yang had told the rest of her team that I would be going."

Jaune heard the Mistral-born male in the room let out a hum, "Is it safe to assume that she didn't?" Ren asked, and Jaune was starting to get really tired of everyone in the room suddenly being a psychic. First Nora, now Ren, when did it end?

The leader of team JNPR blinked at his only male companion for a moment before tilting his head, "Uh, yeah. How'd you know?" He asked.

Ren only shrugged his shoulders, his face neutral and seemingly unfeeling. "A lucky guess, mixed in with context clues." He stated, his hands resting atop his lap, "So, what did you tell Blake?"

Jaune felt his lips curl inward as he hummed to himself, "Well, I told her that her team invited me to go to the Blue Moon, and she stood up, got in my face, and asked me how I knew she was there. That's when everything clicked- well, no, that's not true, everything clicked when Blake and I got a text from Yang." Jaune quickly corrected himself, the last thing he wanted to be was a bad storyteller.

Although, before he could continue, he could see Nora bouncing in her seat, seemingly impatient at the slow nature of Jaune's storytelling. "Can we skip ahead to the fun stuff? I want to hear about the fun stuff!" Nora yelled out, to which Ren only raised his eyebrows in apology.

He watched as his partner looked at the eccentric ginger with wide eyes, "Nora, don't be rude!"

"I'm sorry!" She yelled out in response, "But I'm starting to get bored!"

Jaune only laughed at the interaction as he waved a hand back and forth, "It's not that big a deal, I can skip ahead a little if you want?" Jaune offered, and truth be told, he really hoped they'd say yes. Because as fun as this story was, it was dragging on for too long.

"Please! I beg you!" He heard Nora's pleas for an end to the admitted monotony, and he figured that he could at least answer them.

Jaune only smiled as he slouched in his spot, "Okay, okay, I'll speed through it. Blake and I, despite our hesitation, went in and got dinner. The restaurant was gross, smelled like cheap alcohol, and tons of smoke. It was terrible, and I don't recommend anyone go there. After that, we paid our bill, and talked about how much it sucked for a while." Jaune sped through the story, going through the cliff notes of it all, if only for the sake of time.

"What about afterwards?" He heard his partner ask, an eyebrow quirked as her mouth rested as an even line.

Jaune shrugged in response, "Well, after that, we went on a nice walk along the riverside-"

"Ooh!" He heard Nora interrupt, her hands under her chin as her elbows rested on her knees, "A romantic walk after dinner, and on the riverside too? Leader, you're too smooth." Nora stated, and Jaune couldn't help but bring a hand to the back of his head, awkwardly laughing in response. He really needed to break that habit, you know, with the one, and the hand- it didn't matter.

Jaune only brought his left hand up and shook it from side to side, "It wasn't anything like what you're thinking," Jaune started, closing his eyes as he forced a smile onto his face, "It was more like we were both walking alone, and just so happened to be going in the same direction."

He only heard Nora let out a deep sigh, her shoulders slumping forward as her head fell forward, "Geez, Leader, you just can't let me have fun." Jaune heard her mutter, but only tilted his head in exchange. What did he do wrong? Was it something he said? He hoped not, because then he'd have to apologize for something he wasn't sure he did, and that was always embarrassing.

"Right," He started, his eyes trailing away from Nora, and he couldn't help but think about how interesting the color of the walls in their dorm room was. Wow, look at that beige, what a pretty… beige. "Anyway, uh, after that, Blake led me towards the park and we took a seat, stared at the stars for a while, and the rest is history." Jaune neatly wrapped up the story, letting out a breath as he finished.

Jaune didn't know how the long room sat quietly for, but the silence was eventually broken by his partner chuckling quietly, a strained smile on her face as she stared at him. "Ah, well, that sounds like it was quite the night." He heard her say, and while her words came out naturally, something just didn't sit right with Jaune, but he couldn't figure out what. Maybe he was overthinking things?

Yeah, probably.

Jaune responded at the chuckle with one of his, a strange cramping feeling knotting in his chest left him breathless. All of a sudden, it almost felt suffocating to be in the same room as his team, but he couldn't tell for the life of him as for why. "I mean, it was okay. Could've been better." His voice came out shaky, and Jaune punished himself mentally for it. What was there to be so nervous about? They hadn't said anything bad to him, or be hostile in any way, so why did Jaune feel so… exposed?

He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Of course, he did what he always did whenever he found that gnawing feeling. He ignored it as best as he could.

He watched as Ren's eyes widened a tiny margin before snapping his head towards Nora, "Nora, I need you for something." Jaune heard the normally quiet boy urgently say, rushing to his feet before grabbing her forearm, much to Nora's confusion.

"Huh?" Nora confusingly muttered as she stared at Ren, and eyebrow quirked as her mouth sat slightly ajar.

He gave her forearm another tug as he stood in front of her, and Jaune couldn't help but take a semblance of amusement at the suddenness of it all. "Nora, it's Sunday."

It was then that Jaune watched Nora's eyes widen like saucers, dashing to her feet, gasping as she stood, her mouth forming a wide smile, "It's discount day!" She cheered as she dashed for the door, dragging the Mistrali boy behind her.

The sound of the door slamming against the wall could be heard as the pair of friends dashed out of the door and down the hall, and Jaune could only blink quietly. Uh, what just happened? Was there something he was missing?

Jaune tore his attention away from the door, its doorknob lodged into the drywall, and turned to face his partner. Pyrrha's eyebrows rose slightly out of what seemed like surprise, her mouth making a small 'o' shape, blinking occasionally as she stared at the door.

"Uh," Jaune couldn't help but let slip out his confusion as he stared at his partner, "What was all that about?" Jaune asked, pointing towards the door with his head tilted. There had to be something he was missing, no doubt about it.

Pyrrha quickly jolted as she turned away from the flung open door, staring at her blond leader with an apologetic smile, "Ah, sorry," He heard her quietly say, her shoulders tensing upwards she seemed to sink into said shoulders, "Ren and Nora found this lovely little food place run by an old couple, and on the weekends, they sell most items on the menu for a discount. Ren and Nora took quite the liking to them, too."

He chuckled at the short story, but for some reason, he felt this odd, empty feeling tugging at his chest. "Oh, aha, uh," Jaune felt like an idiot. Of all the things he could have said, he ended up saying nothing. "How come I'm only hearing about it now?" Jaune managed to find the words he was looking for.

Pyrrha's head tilted to the side as she brought a hand to her chin before her eyes widened, "Oh, well, that's because every time they went, you tended to… not be here for the story." He heard his partner hesitantly say, and he felt his awkward smile fall from his face.

Damn it.

Jaune let out a sigh as his shoulders slumped, "Geez, I'm sorry. I get so caught up hanging out with Blake on the weekends, I guess I forgot to hang out with-" He found himself quickly being interrupted by his partner, who was vehemently shaking her head from side to side, her long ponytail flowing behind her.

"Don't ever be sorry for being preoccupied. Besides, the two of them rarely ever talk about it." He heard his partner follow up, a shaky smile on her face, and a strange emotion dancing behind her emerald eyes that Jaune couldn't quite pinpoint.

Jaune tried to laugh it off, really, he did! But he just couldn't' find the emotion to make it seem genuine, and it showed. His eyes trailed down towards the ground as his tongue prodded against the inside of his cheek, his teeth gently biting down on said tongue. He didn't know how long it was before he let out a sigh, but he felt this odd pressure slowly subside in his chest.

"Well," Jaune started, bringing his dangling head up to look at his partner, "I don't suppose you have any more questions, do you? I'll even let you throw a jab or two my way, on the house." Jaune jokingly offered, giving off the best smile he could.

Of course, it was still a bad smile, but he was trying.

He heard his partner giggle at his joke before she brought her arms over her chest, "I'll have to think about that one, Jaune." Pyrrha spoke, her words sounding soft and gentle, like clothes fresh out of the dryer. Or something generic, like the finest velvet in Vale, or something.

But Pyrrha did mean that she needed a moment to think about her question. There were so many things that she wanted to ask in rapid succession, but she didn't want to overwhelm her leader! Goodness knew that she didn't want to see that, it was already hard enough watching him try to keep up with Doctor Oobleck lectures.

She had a few choice questions in mind, but hopefully they wouldn't be too intrusive. Things like: what made her leader keep going back to the quiet, social recluse of team RWBY? Or perhaps something more tame, like: what sparked his interest in the stoic girl?

Pyrrha let out a hum once more before coming to a decision. "Well, what makes you keep going back to Blake?" She asked, and Jaune only tilted his head, an eyebrow quirked at the question.

Jaune didn't quite know how to respond to that. It was as easy to answer as why he kept hanging out with his team. Because he had fun being around them. "It's fun, why else would I hang out with Blake?"

"Because you're dating her, Jaune." He heard his partner say, her voice even and calm.

He only lightly laughed at her statement, "I'd have never guessed, Pyrrha." He sarcastically responded.

"Well, the last time I brought it up, you told me you weren't." He heard Pyrrha calmly state, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, hey, I was still trying to figure out where we stood!" He retorted, but Pyrrha's eyebrow only rose higher.

"Even after sharing a bed?"

"Can we please stop bringing that up? That was one time." Jaune stated, his face heating up as he fought the urge to curl up into a ball and die.

"It happened twice, Jaune."

"That first time had nothing to do with me!"

He heard his partner only laugh at him, her emerald eyes glimmering with amusement as she placed a hand over her mouth. Jaune only let out a breath as he leaned backwards, placing his right hand behind him on the mattress to keep himself upwards.

"But still," He heard her continue after coming down from her laughing fit, "The two of you don't seem like you show a lot of affection." He heard his partner continue, and as time went on, he found himself begging whatever higher power there was to save him from this dreadful situation.

"We do! It's just not in a way that most others do it." Jaune retorted, his face turning into a scowl. He didn't know what it was, but something about how this conversation was going made Jaune get a little defensive.

He heard his partner let out a hum as she stared at him, her face falling into a neutral expression, her eyebrows lax, and the muscles in her face left untouched, "Well, how do the two of you show affection? If you don't mind me asking, that is." He heard her ask, and it left his stomach churning. That horrible feeling that he got whenever he stepped onto a bullhead suddenly hit him, as though he was spinning in place without moving.

Jaune brought his left hand over his mouth as he took a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth. He repeated this process twice over before letting his left hand flop to his side, the sudden nausea passing as quickly as it came. "I mean, the same way that most friends do, you know? Talking, the occasional arm over the shoulder. Every now and again, Blake might deck me on the shoulder or smack me upside the head for saying something dumb, but I know she doesn't mean anything by it." Jaune sat through and explained Blake's… he wanted to call it a weird way of expressing affection, but it wasn't exactly the first time that he'd been treated that way by someone of the fairer sex.

After all, his sisters, much like himself, were also all raised on the frontier. Rough housing was to be expected, and Jaune did his fair share back home.

Pyrrha's eyebrows seemed to form a crease between them as they furrowed, her eyes shining with what felt like concern. "Jaune, that doesn't sound very affectionate."

He only shrugged in response, "It might not sound like it, but I know it's not malicious. I mean, my sisters always did something similar when I'd say or do something stupid." Jaune reminisced on his family for a moment, and nearly let a laugh escape from his mouth. He could remember very choice events in his life that his sisters would slap him upside the head for doing something tactless, or asking a question that was better left unasked.

Pyrrha only let out a reluctant hum as her eyes wandered away from her leader. The room had suddenly gotten quiet, and Jaune felt something heavy rest on his chest as he stared at Pyrrha's face, her eyebrows tilted upward as her face seemed to contort inwards, almost as though she had suckled on a lemon for too long. The silence was almost palpable, and Jaune could have sworn that if he had Crocea Mors, he could have cut through it. Not like butter, though, but like thick sugarcane.

Jaune tried to swallow back the knot that formed at the back of his throat, but it just wouldn't leave. He tried again, and again, but to no avail, the knot still remaining like a parasite to a woodland shrub creature.

"Jaune," He heard Pyrrha start, "is it fine if I ask you an honest question?" Pyrrha asked, her voice hesitant and quiet, and the way her eyes darted away from him made that pit in his stomach grow that much more.

He had to clear his throat before responding, a terrible, scratchy feeling being all that remained. "Y-yeah, go ahead." Jaune tried to sound positive and upbeat, but this conversation was getting to him.

Jaune didn't know how long it took for Pyrrha to look at him, but it felt like an eternity. But when she finally did, he noted that her face was tense, as though she too was on the verge of misplacing her innards. Her eyes had a hard time keeping contact with his own, but he kept to the lessons his mother taught him, maintain eye contact, make sure to show that you're paying attention.

"How long do you think a relationship like that can last?"

He froze.

What could he even say to that?

Was there even anything to say?

Jaune felt his throat close up on him, his breathing feeling shallower as thoughts shot in and out of his mind. He knew that his and Blake's relationship was just one of mutual benefit, and that they only hung out because of similar reasons, but he thought that they'd grown close enough to not really need those reasons anymore. At least, he hoped so. But it was always possible that Blake would just up and leave at the first sign of- no, no she wouldn't.

Would she?

Jaune felt his eyebrows tilt upwards as a crease formed between them, a breath he didn't know he was holding escaped his mouth, shaky and uneven. "I…" Jaune's words died in his mouth.

Fuck…

He tried to swallow back the knot once more, but failed. Well, he wasn't even surprised by it anymore, but he was hoping that he could have gotten rid of it. It would have made dealing with the situation that much easier.

"I'm going to go take a walk." Jaune muttered as he pushed himself to his feet, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked to the door with a slouch, his shoulders slumping forward as he pulled a hand from his right pocket, pulled the door open, and walked out as he closed the door behind him with a click.

The room was left dreadfully quiet, and the only member remaining being the Spartan at the top.

Like always, Pyrrha was left alone.

---

As Blake pulled shut the door behind her, the sound of the lock clicking behind her my causing her to let go of the door knob, she turned around to see a very familiar figure. With her right hand now free, she used it to tap the blond haired boy on his shoulder, brushing her hand against the black fabric of his hoodie.

She heard him let out a quiet huh as his head jolted, turning his head to look over his shoulder. Blake only gave him a quiet wave as his blue eyes met her own. "Hey Jaune." She casually greeted the leader of Team JNPR.

The way his eyes widened slightly made Blake smirk, her eyebrows rising slightly. "O-oh, hey Blake." She heard him respond, his voice shaky and dry. Something about the way he spoke made Blake's smirk fall from her face.

Jaune didn't exactly feel all that lucky right now. First, he had to deal with his partner asking him questions he couldn't bring himself to answer, and now he has to deal with being around the subject matter of said questions. If there was a God, he was one cruel bastard. Or she, Jaune didn't really judge.

Didn't change that they were a bastard, though.

Although, he noticed his faunus friend's eyebrows furrow, a crease forming between the brows as she stared at him, "What's going on, Jaune?" He heard Blake ask, and he could only sigh in response.

"Just… tired. I figured I'd go out for a walk, get my mind off some stuff." Jaune droned out, giving a tired smile as he stuffed his hands back into his pockets.

Needless to say, Blake had a lot of trouble believing that someone tired would want to go out for a walk of all things. She didn't press him on it, though. No, instead, Blake shrugged in response, "Then I hope you don't mind if I go with you, right?" She asked, and watched his tired eyes light up with surprise.

"Uh," She heard the blond boy mutter for a moment, his eyes wandering up towards the ceiling. "I don't know, I might not make for very good company right now." Jaune muttered, her bow twitching as she had to strain herself to hear his words.

Blake, however, only rolled her eyes as she tugged at one of his sleeves, dragging him behind her. "You'll be fine." She spoke, and she heard Jaune let out a breath behind her. She felt like something was up with him, but Blake knew he would talk about it whenever he felt like it. If there was something wrong with him, that is. After all, he had done it when he brought up his family, and he would more than likely bring it up later.

Hopefully.

Eventually, though, them walking through the halls of Beacon brough Jaune's right hand out of his pocket, and Blake opted to grab gently from his wrist. Granted, Blake could have reached lower, towards his hand, but something about that felt… weird to her. She couldn't describe it, but the thought left her somewhat uncomfortable.

As for Jaune, though, he really did want to be alone. To have some time with his thoughts, and find some way to either cope with what Pyrrha had blindsided him with, or to just ignore it entirely. He knew that someday, whether it was tomorrow or years from now, he and Blake would probably not share this sort of weird relationship they had.

Of course, they'd always be friends! Probably. But that was just it, probably. Something about that strange doubt gnawing at the back of his mind irked him. He knew they'd more likely than not be friends until they were forced to not be, considering everything they've shared in just a short span of time. In a month's time, they shared stories about their homes and their families. Hell, Blake had even trusted him enough to keep her most closely guarded secret, even if that secret was known by three others.

But still, none of those thoughts laid Jaune to ease. There was always some possibility that something would blow up in his face. That he would mess something up, say the wrong thing, make the wrong gesture, something! There was always something!

Always something.

Before he knew it, however, he felt Blake's slender hand grip his wrist a little tighter as they came to a stop. HIs head jolted for a moment as he was torn from his thoughts, and as he looked down at his wrist, not only did he notice Blake's hand wrapped firmly around it, but also noticed small red droplets drip towards the ground, originating from his clenched fist.

Jaune slowly let his fist uncurl as he faced his palm upwards, four small, nail sized holes remained. He let his aura flow to his hand for a moment, quickly sealing the wounds within a second, but it didn't make the expression on Blake's face change. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as the corners of her face dipped downwards.

Now Blake was certain that there was something wrong with her false significant other. She thought his unnatural quietness was just him being actually tired, and lord knew he looked the part, with the way his eyelids sat heavily on his face, or the way he slouched the whole time they walked.

Even the way that he wouldn't even look at her was a dead give away. Was it her that had done something wrong? Did she say something at some point, or do something? No, she couldn't have. Jaune was like that when he had gotten out of his room, and had seemed to only worsen when he found out he was in the company of someone else.

There was something wrong, that much Blake knew. But she couldn't force it out of the leader of team JNPR. She knew the Blond boy well enough to know that he was somewhat prideful, and stubborn too. If she had confronted his problem from the front, he'd just wave her off like he had moments ago, claiming something like fatigue, or stress. So, Blake would wait.

It didn't make her happy, though.

Blake took a moment to look at the aspiring huntsman's hand and noticed that the wounds had sealed as quickly as they appeared. That was good, a sign of a healthy and strong aura, meaning that whatever altercation he had gotten into wasn't physical. Blake kept a mental note of that.

Jaune watched as Blake's eyes flicked away before turning her head back towards the hall in front of them, "Come on," He heard her say, her voice sounding more deadpan and emotionless than usual.

It wasn't long before the two had eventually made it outside of the dorm building, stepping out into the late night, chilly breeze. The stars above danced as they always did, shining and slowly swaying with the music that was played by the crickets, accompanied by the occasional lyric or two from a perched owl, all the while they danced under the shattered ball that was the moon. The sound of their footsteps against the concrete sidewalk that lined trailed away from the large, open center of the Beacon Campus.

The stars were all that captivated the boy's attention, how they seemed to flicker to and fro, as though they swayed to the quiet harmony that was the world's sounds. How the gentle breeze brushed against his face, how the night time air filled his lungs. There was a serenity that Jaune always loved taking in, basking in it for as long as he could.

Of course, he made sure to trail alongside Blake, but he never really paid her any mind, keeping his mind as occupied as he could. He wondered how his family was doing? He hadn't called them since before he went in for his initiation. He hoped they didn't think he was dead.

Then again, would they really lose much if he died in initiation? What was he thinking, of course they would! He was their son, and they loved him as much as they did any other child they bore.

Right?

Right.

Okay, another topic. Uh, home! What was life looking like at home, he wondered? Was it the same as it had always been? A nice, large market that stretched from one end of the town square to another, various stands selling bags of grains, or maybe even firearms that were cobbled together with various different weapon kits that only barely managed to work. He hoped so.

Was Miss Gertrude still making those incredible pastries in her bakery a block or two from his home? What about the Artois family, were they still taking care of their little girl? He wondered if little Cerise had taken her first steps yet?

But while Jaune was lost in his own mind, Blake spent her time trying to do as little thinking as necessary. If she did bring herself to ponder on anything, she'd have only ended up thinking of Jaune and whatever problem he was dealing with. And so, Blake focused on the world around her, breathing in the calm, spring air as lightning bugs gently floated above the vibrant green grass of Beacon's campus.

The way how as they walked by, one of the luminescent creations gently floated by her nose made her smile softly, the sound of their footsteps against the concrete being starkly contrasted by the night time sounds of owls hooting, or the occasional bird chirp.

Although, as Blake let her eyes wander around the Beacon campus, the world seeming relatively colorless, despite the green glows of the lightning bugs, Blake noticed a large oak tree that stood proudly a ways away from the trail the two followed. Blake didn't know why, but she felt compelled to take a seat beneath it. Maybe it was the way the moon seemed to cast down it's heavenly hues upon it, or maybe it was the way the lightning bugs seemed to gather around it. It could have also been that the starry sky seemed to dance so beautifully above the gargantuan, possibly ancient tree.

But what Blake did know was that she wanted nothing more than to sit beneath it.

And so, without a word, she tugged the boy behind her along as she led them away from the concrete path that trailed along the outskirts of the campus and onto the freshly cut, green grass. Jaune hadn't even noticed that they'd stepped off of the concrete, being too much of a prisoner to his own thoughts to be anything but lost.

As the two stood in front of the tree, Blake let her grip slip from Jaune's wrist, taking a seat on the soft, green grass with a sigh, leaning against the rough bark. It may have been uncomfortable in any other piece of clothing, but when Blake was wearing the thick hoodie that Jaune had bought her, it felt comfortable. Bumpy, but comfortable.

Jaune, however, didn't seem to register any of what was happening, his eyes mostly trailing too and fro as his face rested neutrally. The way he just stood there, almost mechanically, bothered Blake to a degree she wasn't even sure existed. Well, she was now, but she meant before that.

"Jaune?" She asked, but this failed to get the boy's attention. And so, she tried again, "Jaune." But to no avail, he simply wasn't living in the present. The way his eyes seemed distant, the way his mouth slowly started to dip downwards, she knew the signs of being caught in the tangled webs that were a string of memories.

His hands hung limply by his sides as he continued to still stare up at the stars. Well, she thought, there were other ways of getting his attention. She just hoped it wouldn't have been as awkward as she thought it would be.

Blake let her hand sit on her lap for a moment before reaching out for his, giving it a light tug. This, however, seemed to pull Jaune away from his aimless wandering for a moment, his head snapping down towards his hand. Blake's hand then made a slow retreat from his own, and as he looked down at her with a quirked brow, she only responded by looking down at the empty spot next to her.

His eyes widened for only a moment before he took a seat next to her.

The two sat under the tree for more time than either of them could really tell. It was somewhere between minutes, to maybe even an hour. But neither of them bothered to break the silence, Blake wouldn't because it wasn't hers to break, and Jaune refused due to the simple fact that he couldn't bring himself to hold a conversation.

And so, the two sat in complete silence, the only sounds being the gentle breeze, the chirping crickets, and the occasional owl.

Jaune didn't know how long it took, but he realized just how much he had gone through in his own head, if only to avoid the issue sitting next to him. He'd gone through every minute thought, every tiny detail. He'd even gone so far as to remind himself of all the exam days for the next few weeks. But now, he was running out of things to think about.

He could always get up and leave, but he felt a little too comfortable for it. A yawn slowly escaped his mouth as he leaned against the rough bark, rubbing his eyes with his forearm for a moment.

Jaune took a moment to breath for a moment, in through the nose, out through the mouth. There was nothing else that he could do to run from his current issue that didn't seem over the top. Sure, he could just bottle it up and toss it into the sea, but that wouldn't stop it from showing back up on the shore.

"Hey, Blake?" He started.

In response, Blake only let out a hum.

Jaune felt his heart rate quicken for a moment as he tried to find a way to say the words he so desperately searched for. The knot in his throat grew tighter and tighter as he felt his breathing grow shallow. He couldn't back down now, he was already half way through it, he just needed to finish it.

His eyes trailed down towards the grass for a moment, his thoughts kicking into fifth gear as he looked for something, anything at all! But couldn't find anything.

Instead, Jaune let out a sigh, his head dangling in front of him for a moment, "You know what, it's nothing, forget about-" Jaune started, but he was quickly interrupted by the feeling of two hands pressing against the sides of his face, turning his head to face Blake.

Her face, which was normally neutral, had a small smile gracing it. The way her eyes shined as she stared at him, they reminded him of his mother. That weird feeling that he could say anything, do anything, and she'd never really think less of him for it. The kind of face that not only screamed that it was okay, but showed it. His words died in his throat as he stared at Blake's accepting expression.

She didn't even know what she was accepting, and yet there she was, willing to listen.

Jaune felt his eyebrows tilt upwards as a crease formed between in his brow, a shaky breath escaping his mouth for a moment. But after a second, he let his eyes flit shut, a deep breath going in through his nose, and out through his mouth. This was the last time he'd ever have to do such a thing, of that he was sure.

"How long do you think our friendship will last?" He asked, his voice as even and calm as he could make it, his eyebrows forming a straight line as he tried his hardest to keep neutral. And remain neutral he did, at least, to the best of his abilities.

Blake's eyes widened, if only slightly, at the question. Well, that was a dumb thing to get hooked up on. She couldn't help but laugh at the blond boy's serious face, which failed to match the question in severity. This, however, didn't seem to change how he looked. If anything, his face became more stone-like than before, and Blake couldn't help but feel like she was a negative influence on him.

Blake only quietly laughed again before letting her hands trail off of his face before resting on his shoulders, "As long as I can help it."

Jaune's facade instantly fell as those words fell on his ears, a weight on his shoulders being lifted. He felt like he was floating on clouds, now that his self-consciousness was laid to rest. At least, for now.

Jaune couldn't help but smile at the faunus girl. It was a small smile to be sure, but to Blake, it radiated like the sun. To see Jaune smiling now was something more comforting than anything she could really think of. She was just glad that her friend was out of whatever rut he was in.

Blake let her arms fall from his shoulders and turned back to face the dance of the lightning bugs, how they so calmly and slowly waltzed together along the air, dancing to the melody played by an orchestra of crickets and a band of owls.

For a moment, they both sat there under the ancient oak, resting against the bumpy, brown bark, basking in the silence once more. If only to let everything simmer.

"Hey," Jaune muttered as he stared at the lightning bugs in front of them.

"Yeah?" Blake responded, observing the very same show that Jaune was.

"Thanks." She heard him quietly respond.

She only replied with a yawn as she let herself lean on the taller boy for support.

What a messy day, they both thought.

---

Okay, let me first start this Author Note off with a sincere apology. I was so certain that it would have only taken me a week or so to plot everything out, and that I'd get back to writing as soon as I could. But, as life does, a little something threw a wrench in my plans. I had to go out and pick up a better computer, which kind of slowed down my writing process, along with the fact that a lot of the people that I talk to for the sake of writing stuff have been equally, if not more so busy than I.

So yeah, a lot of little things got in the way of me working on stuff. But hey, at least Papa Rum is home with the milk, right?

Anyway, I hope that me writing a 15k word document full of dialogue from characters I probably won't draw from too often is a good enough peace offering. Because as much fun as I had writing the last 5k words, the first two scenes between Blake and her team, and Jaune with his, were just absolutely dreadful to write.

Now, that's mostly got to do with me not really caring to write about them. Now, that's not to say that I don't enjoy their characters, but it's got more to do with the fact that they aren't the centerpiece of the story. If anything, they're entirely tertiary to the main events, following the story of Blake and Jaune.

Writing team RWBY was honestly refreshing, but writing team JNPR, specifically Pyrrha, was just horrible. Like, you wouldn't believe how many times I've had to delete several thousands of words for the sake of making that scene work. Sure, you could always say something like, "Well, why not just cut the scene out entirely?"

My only response is thus: You've missed the thematic impact.

Anyway, I hope all of you beautiful ladies and gentles have a wonderful week, and I will ensure to not be so late again. And buy Leonid Afrimov paintings, seriously. Like, none of you have mentioned it all, and I'll keep saying it until someone acknowledges it, you know. Anyway, I'm done, Buenas Noches.

Edit: Fanfiction thought it'd be funny to delete my line breaks as I transferred over the file. Bruh.