The coasts of Menagerie with their soft sandy beaches sloping gently down to clear blue waters were, in Jaune's opinion, the closest to paradise one could get to on Remnant. He lay back on his lounger, content to simply kick back and soak in the brilliant sunshine. His friends, all visiting Menagerie as Blake wanted to properly introduce her found family to her parents, were scattered around, either playing in the shallows or relaxing in the sun like him. He dozed quietly, completely unaware of Ruby, Yang and Nora whispering and giggling to each-other in the water nearby.

"Hey Jaune," suddenly came a voice. Jaune cracked his eyes open, seeing Ruby standing a few steps in front of his lounger.

"Oh hey Ruby," he replied, sitting up, "What ya need?" Ruby smiled shyly, glancing down at the ground momentarily. It was one of her many ticks Jaune couldn't help but find adorable, reminding him of the awkward teen girl he had first met even though Ruby was now a grown 20 year-old woman, with the looks to match.

"Well, I left my lien card back at the house, and I was wondering if I could borrow yours?" she said as she looked back up.

Jaune raised one of his eyebrows. "What do you need it for?"

"I, er, want to grab an ice-cream but Blake says the vendors move around during the day so by the time I get back from the house they may have gone so can I borrow your card please!"

Jaune smiled, reaching down towards his bag, "Sure thing!"

Ruby smiled again, "Thanks Jaune, my great and wonderful friend!"

Jaune looked back at Ruby. That was oddly complimentary...he spotted her eyeline looking over his shoulder, and realised a moment too late, she had just been a distraction.

He yelped in shock as cold seawater was dunked over his head and down his back, followed with a loud splotch as something slimy landed in his hair. Laughter from behind him immediately told him that Yang & Nora were the culprits. In front of him Ruby had descended into guffaws, both of her arms wrapped around her gut.

With a frustrated sigh, Jaune stood up and turned towards his assailants, but Yang & Nora had already made their escape, disappearing down the beach. As Jaune turned back around, he reached up to his hair to pull out what he discovered was a piece of seaweed. Ruby was still chuckling, her eyes closed in mirth and blissfully unaware of the evil smirk that was now forming on Jaune's face.

Ruby's laughter suddenly ended with a gasp as she felt Jaune's wet arms wrap around her and hoist her onto his shoulder. As Jaune began to stride towards the water, Ruby chuckled again, this time nervously as she said, "Hey Jaune, er, no hard feelings eh?"

Jaune didn't say anything, but continued on his march, entering the water. Ruby struggled, kicking her legs and banging her fists on Jaune's back, "Jaune, don't you dare!"

As Jaune reached waist height in the water he smiled and said, "Sorry Ruby, but as you should know, all's fair in love and war." He lifted Ruby from his shoulder and went to throw her into the water. Unfortunately for him he underestimated the strength of Ruby's grip, and as Ruby fell, she pulled Jaune down with her, both of them splashing down and disappearing under the water's surface.

The rest of the gang watched with amusement as the pair of them struggled to stand, continually pulling each-other back under the surface. Finally Ruby managed to break free, dashing back to shore and making it to the sand just as Jaune caught up and knocked both of them down into the sand.

"Ah! Jaune, the sand!" Ruby cried as the dry sand stuck to their wet bodies. They were still laughing however, and they finally relented their fight as they both laid back and caught their breath.

"Hey Jaune?" Ruby said after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"You're an ass."

Jaune chuckled with the rare display of bad language from Ruby. "Takes one to know one."

The two laid back and soaked up the sunshine for a few minutes as they dried. Finally Ruby stood up and said, "So, can you still buy me an ice-cream?"

Jaune, stunned speechless, stared at her for a few seconds. Then he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Sure, my treat."

Ruby smiled and held out her hand to help Jaune stand. Sure, Ruby may sometimes be a little brat (though who knew how much of that was Yang's influence), but Jaune wouldn't change anything about her for the world.