All the Warmth We Need

by Cosmic Sky

When it came to helping people, Jaune Arc tended to push himself. Ruby admired that about him, but at the same time it could be a hassle to deal with. Luckily, she was that sort of friend to stick by him. She was the sort of friend who made sure he didn't spend all Christmas Eve working, or going out into a blizzard. Taking all that in, maybe she was more than a friend to him.

Hey, everyone. It's been a long time since I did a solo Lancaster story. A burst of inspiration came to me as I was watching "Baby It's Cold Outside" animatics and decided to give it a go with my favorite RWBY story, mixed with a little bit of holiday cheer. Well, some cheer after a little bit of angst because I've been in the mood to write an AU story and this story idea satisfies that urge pretty well. I hope you all enjoy this little story!

I do not own anything.

---

All the Warmth We Need

---

"Jaune…Jaune…wake up. Come on, wake up, pretty please."

He felt like he was clawing his way through darkness. His nails were marred in darken taint, yet he kept on going. With the sound of the voice, he could have sworn he saw a flicker of light. It empowered him to dig deeper through the darkness. The light grew brighter and brighter until it was practically bathing his entire being.

The light was silver.

"Oooohhh, R-Ruby…" He slurred. Subconsciously, he pushed his arms upward, his jaw stretching open in a yawn. "Hey, sorta forgot that you were still here."

The redhead's expression went from troubled with jubilant. "Yeah, I sorta figured that. I mean, it looks like you've forgotten a lot of things. Like how late it is."

Instead of looking to his computer or his phone, he looked to his watch. It was one of the few things in his life that he considered unfailingly reliable. He wouldn't admit it, but the woman in front of him was another one of those things. "Oh, it's only a couple of minutes to…midnight! Seriously! When the hell did I fall asleep?"

"Hmm, according to Nora, about half an hour ago." Ruby answered in a sing-song voice.

Bolting upright, he looked around the office. Though he saw a couple of familiar faces, he noticed that a great many were missing. He knew that didn't bode well. Urgency pumping through him, he looked around more and more, failing to spot his two closest friends on the force. Sighing, he sank back down in his chair. Only when he heard Ruby's giggles did he look up. Blinking in surprise, he took the folded up piece of paper that she held for him. Upon opening it, he immediately recognized Ren's handwriting.

We're trusting Ruby to look after you for the night. See you in the morning, and try to get some real sleep while you're at it.

-Ren & Nora

P.S. You should totally-

Jaune's cheeks turned slightly pink as he recognized Nora's handwriting at the bottom. He also knew full well exactly what she'd bee trying to tell him before Ren cut her off. Sometimes he felt like he was underserving of a best friend like him. He counted his blessings everyday that the two of them had became friends in school and their friendship had remained strong throughout the years. Hanging his head back, he let out a heavy-hearted sigh.

"Sooo…" Ruby said. She was leaning over his desk, her face advertising the curiosity eating at her. She was terrible at hiding how curious she was about things that piqued her interest.

Not that Jaune thought that was always a bad thing.

"Thanks for staying here to look after me." He finally said while giving her a tired yet heartfelt smile.

She returned it with an ear-to-ear grin. "Hey, that's what friends are for. Besides, I'm kind of returning the favor since you've done the same for me a couple of times."

"Yeah, pretty sure I have a list here somewhere." They both laughed at his light-hearted jab. Jaune sat back up, stretching his arms up while letting out another yawn. Even after awakening from his nap, he still felt exhausted. Not too surprising considering his stomach let out a little rumble, one that was heard by his coworker. "Hehehe, um, guess I'll be stopping to get something to eat before heading home."

"Yep, luckily for you, I know a few places. Now, come on, pack up your things, you're done for the night and I'm taking you out to eat!" The shorter girl proclaimed. Jaune merely stared at her for a few seconds before throwing up his hands in surrender. Ruby promptly did a little cheer for herself. It was echoed by the murmur of approval from their coworkers. With a miniscule smile, Jaune looked back at all of the, several rolled their eyes in an attempt to downplay it while others flashed him thumbs up. Geez, is my social life still really that much of a big deal? He wanted to believe that come Christmas and New Years, everyone would have moved on and found a new topic of discussion.

Within minutes, Jaune was dressed and packed. His desk would be as it was when he returned to work tomorrow morning. Another day on the force, another day spent helping people however he could…and quietly hoping for a lead.

Unexpectedly, the minute he stood up, Ruby grabbed his hand and off they went. "H-H-Hey, R-R-Ruby, what's the hurry? Is this place close to closing or something?" Jaune shouted in response.

"Nah, I just want to go now! I know you need food, and trust me when I say I know all the right places!" She shouted as she literally hurried him through the hallways, giggling all the way. Ruby knew for a fact she was going to get chewed out in the morning, she'd been told over ad over again not to run in the halls, but sometimes she simply couldn't help herself. After seeing her run, many had joked that it was a waste for her to stay cooped up in the forensics lab. She would have been better off literally chasing down bad guys. She'd done so before.

But she was a ballistics analyst, that sort of thing fell to officers like Jaune. He may not have started out at being not too good at it, but time and experience had changed that.

"Oh, fine! Gets since I already said yes! But slow down once we get outside, it's snowing out there! And cold!" The blond detective called to her. As he did so, he had a smile on his face. Ruby was sorely tempted to do nothing but stare at that smile. Were she younger a little more impulsive, that's exactly what she would have done. Again, time and experience had changed her, preferable for the better.

They emerged outside to the frigid winter air. Like Jaune had said, it was snowy and cold. Many had praised the onset of snow in the leadup to Christmas, others, not so much. Jaune himself was normally neutral, but his opinion could swing either way every year. This time around, he was swinging more toward the direction of enjoying it. In the back of his mind he knew that was because of Ruby, who continued to hold his hand in hers. Together, they stared up at the dark night sky; if they looked hard enough, they could have sworn they saw snowflakes beginning to cascade from the sky. Ruby held out her hand and caught a handful.

"Heh, think it'll keep on snowing on Christmas day?" Jaune calmly asked.

"I wouldn't mind it if it did. I've had my eye on a set of roller skates that would make for an awesome Christmas present." He chuckled as she shot him an aside grin. Jaune had been the recipient of dozens of them over the years. Only over the last year or two were they enough to make him start blushing, as he was doing now. "What about you? Anything special you're hoping for on Christmas?"

"Ruby, you've asked me that question six times now." The blond police detective responded with a smile.

"Six? Really? That's all it's been? And you've been keeping count?"

"I'm a detective, remember?" He jubilantly hit back. "Since you asked me now, I'll admit…I wouldn't mind a new pair of socks, specifically that new brand of thermals that Nike just rolled out."

"When you say that, it makes me think that you're planning on going jogging in a blizzard or something." Ruby admitted. A minute later and she raised an eyebrow at him. "You're totally thinking of doing that, aren't you?"

"If I have to, then yes." Came his answer.

"Jaaaaune!"

"Hey, it's my job! Besides, you know I can be pretty sturdy!" Jaune retorted. Within seconds, he regretted his response as Ruby moved her free hand up. His cheeks burned red driving away the winter chill as she filled up his body. He was baffled as to why he didn't try to stop her, especially since they were walking past dozes of people. "You've been hanging out with Yang too much." Was his only reply.

"She's my sister. What do you expect?" The redhead grinned.

"She's always tried her hardest to keep you sheltered away." As far as big sisters went, Jaune was biased regarding his own. That said, he wasn't averse to acknowledging others. Yang was without a doubt, one of the coolest, strongest, overprotective, and downright scariest big sisters he'd ever met. Ruby was lucky to have her, and to a degree Jaune considered himself lucky to have gotten to know her. "Speaking of Yang, are she and Izaak any closer to finally admitting that they like each other?"

Ruby looked up to the gray sky with a whimsical smile. "I've got a plan to push them."

"You wouldn't also happen to have a plan for Neil and Weiss, would you?" He asked with a grin.

Her sweet laughter made his heart flutter, a fact that Jaune kept to himself as he always did.

"I may have one…though it's looking like Weiss may be closer to admitting it than we think. When I stopped by her office, I noticed her smiling a lot, she'd been talking to Neil on the phone." Jaune's face broke out into a grin just like hers. Together, they shared a short laugh regarding their two friends. It didn't take much to see there was an attraction between the mining heiress and the Airforce pilot that they'd all gone to school with. The pair themselves seemed aware of the attraction they shared, it was just a matter of getting them to act on it. "To be honest, I'm hoping that they admit how they really feel about each other. Weiss could use the company, and so can Neil. He's practically always been her knight in shining armor."

Jaune nodded at that statement. Neil Liath had been one of the more popular kids at Beacon Academy, albeit for a number of reasons. As far as Jaune was concerned, he was well-liked because he was a likable and noble person. It's what helped the two become friends. He was always happy that he grew out of his somewhat childish crush on Weiss as he noticed that the Irishman had developed feelings for the German heiress. Practically everyone had seen it happen, especially as the two shared a few dates that they genuinely enjoyed. The first few had hurt Jaune to see, but in time that pain had lessened as he realized what he felt for Weiss was different than what Neil felt for her.

He felt that way for someone else, someone who was no longer with them.

As if to push the knife in and twist it, they passed a myriad of holiday decorations, which included a great deal of the color red. While the knife went I, the pain wasn't as severe as it had been before. Jaune was slowly stopping to wonder if the pain would ever go away. It was, but it wasn't something that he could force like everyone had told him he could. He'd tried his damnedest to force it away though, which had only made things worse.

"We're not…I'm not…I'm not going to do it, Jaune! There's no way in hell we're going to stand by and let you kill yourself! This isn't what Pyrrha would have wanted!"

How many times had he heard those words echo in his head over the past year? It'd been a year of taking them to heart, and realizing that they were right.

But it took Ruby screaming them at me for me to accept them. Ruby, He continuously mused in his head as they waited at the light. This had been one of those days where he'd walked to work along with Ruby. As fun as the snow was, if it really picked up then they would both drop that and use their respective cars. Or…you know, you could ride with her. You've done it before. A part of him whimsically offered. His cheeks heated up at the thought. It's not like he hadn't rode with Ruby before. She was a decent driver…better than her sister who loved speed. Given this was New York City, she wasn't exactly free to satisfy her desires. No wonder she on and off again mused about moving out west. Ruby often told her that she and the rest of their friends would be more than happy to come visit her. Even Jaune, who didn't exactly have the best experiences with arid savannahs and deserts.

The one hiccup would be if Yang moved out west and he decided to go see her, he'd more than likely have to fly. Jaune made a face as he imagined trying to endure an hours' long flight.

"Hey, hey, don't think about it. It's just a possibility, not a certainty." The woman beside him offered. He didn't question how she knew what to say; Ruby had seen him make so many expressions she'd learned how to read his mind by deciphering them. "Besides, I'm sure one day we'll be able to overcome your airsickness! I mean you endure it almost every year when you go visit your family in France, so you've got to be building up some sort of resistance by now!"

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Ruby." The blond said with an exhausted yet happy smile. "I…guess you may have a point. Sometimes I do notice that the sickness isn't so bad."

Grinning, Ruby seemingly focused her full attention on the road ahead. It was a good thing too as the crowds seemed to thicken the further they walked, then there was traffic. With every step, Ruby amassed her confidence until she felt it strong enough to act.

As they crossed the road, she interlocked her hand with Jaune's. She heard his sudden gasp, yet she was happy he didn't let go or bat her hand away. Instead, he squeezed back.

Behind her small smile, Ruby was sighing in relief and jumping for joy. "You know…if you ever want to drive anywhere, I'd be for up going with you."

From the corner of her eye, she saw him smile. "I'd appreciate the thought, but you don't have to, Ruby."

"Hmm, I'd do it because you're my friend, one of my closest friends." She responded in a sing-song voice.

Jaune secretly liked that voice, he always had. He hadn't been surprised by her response. Whenever it came to him, Ruby seemed willing to drop what she was doing to help him out. For Ruby Rose, that wasn't an easy thing.

In the entire department, she was deemed one of the best ballistic analysts, something she took a great deal of pride in; every bit of it was warranted as Ruby could look at a wound and tell you exactly what sort of bullet, explosive, or knife did the deed. Sometimes it was joked she was a one-woman forensics crew herself, but she more often than not downplayed the praise. There were times when even she'd been left stumped and could use a little help. Of all people, Jaune had sometimes been the one to help her. He always felt happy in doing so, feeling like he was giving back to her after all the years of friendship.

Sometimes it was hard to believe their first encounter had been during the first day of high school so many years ago. It was rather unforgettable as she'd caused a chemical explosion blowing a small crater in the courtyard earning herself the nickname "Crater Face". As for Jaune, well, agreeing to be the test dummy for the engineering club's miniature helicopter had turned out to be a bad idea. Even if it could only carry two people and get no more than fifty feet off the ground, his air sickness had been triggered and he'd vomited upon touching the ground. Which he promptly clung onto afterward due to being scared out of his mind from the whole experience. Amazing how two embarrassing incidents could happen on the same day of school.

Still, as time passed, both the blond and redhead found themselves looking back on their first day at Beacon Academy with increasing fondness. They'd certainly made their first day memorable.

---

"And here we are!" The forensic scientist proudly proclaimed pointing at the rather spacious double floored dinner.

Jaune took one look at it and immediately recognized it. His mind jumped back five months to the summer. A bright sun bearing down on the City of New York leaving hundreds of people sweating. He'd been one of them, looking outside the restaurant-turned crime scene with a half-rumbling stomach. Jaune remembered he'd skipped breakfast that morning, again. Some might have argued it was a good thing given the murder that awaited him, but Jaune wasn't as squeamish as some people would have assumed. Nor was he the type to half-ass a case just because the victims were Faunus.

"Ruby! Jaune!" Shouted the ram-horned waiter who greeted them. Throwing caution to the wind, the redhead leaped forward and hugged him. Jaune watched with a smile, then gave a hug to the waiter as well.

"Good to see that everyone's doing well, Julius." Jaune remarked as he and Ruby were guided to their table. He was a little glad that they ended up on the second floor by the window. They had a good view of the streets below. It was steadily filling up with snow.

"Hey, it's only thanks to you guys. If not, we'd have been shut down…or worse, under bad worse management." The black-haired Faunus remarked as he handed them their menus. "What you guys did, what you did, Jaune…you saved this place. You saved all of us."

The detective's cheeks turned bright red, much to the amusement of the woman across from him, their waiter, and several of his colleagues. In fact, once news spread that Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose had shown up, they noticed a number of the staff dropping by to say hi. Especially to Jaune.

Ruby kept her emotions regarding that in reserve. At the very least she was happy their waiter was Julius, the ram-horned Faunus who they'd first met on the day of the Silver Achille Case back in the summer.

Briefly looking around, it was hard to believe the restaurant had been the sight of a massive shootout. Thankfully, a generous donation from the Schnee Dust Company and a few weeks of nonstop repair had made the place as good as new. Still, it wasn't like everything was as good as new. Achille Pearson Jr, the restaurant's rightful owner, was still dead. But at the very least his killers had been brought to justice. Thanks to the man-

"Ruby? You spacing out on me again?" Jaune called with a smile. Ruby blinked, snapping out of her reminiscing. Her surprised expression made the detective and their waiter chuckle.

"You know, if you want to keep on staring into his eyes, I can always come back later." Julius laughed.

"N-N-No! I'm good! I'm ready to order!" The redhead proclaimed, which only made the two males chuckle even more.

"Same here, but lady's first." Jaune responded.

Even at late night, he was in the mood for a meatball sub, and the Silver Achille could make some of the best ones in New York City. As for Ruby, she went with an out and out small pizza; the order left Jaune wondering if she'd eaten dinner before this. Like him, she had a habit of skipping meals; in a way, it made her nagging him come off as hypocritical. To Jaune though, it was never that simple, it was just Ruby putting his well-being above his own.

She often told him that he did that a lot himself. While she'd told him that she liked that aspect of him, Ruby had never told him just how far that likeness extended.

Maybe the holidays would have been a good time to tell him, maybe now would have been a good time to tell him.

"Just so you know…I don't plan on trying to track Cinder over the holidays. I'm taking a break like you and everyone else told me to." His voice again snapped her out of her deep thought. Jaune seemingly recognized that. "Sorry if I broke your train of thought."

Ruby shook her head. "No, I'm just happy to hear that. You shouldn't let her occupy that much space in your mind, especially during Christmas. I mean…she doesn't deserve it."

His face darkened leading Ruby to mentally kick herself. Again, Jaune noticed this. "It's alright, Ruby."

"Jaune,"

His smile was a mixture of sadness and slight optimism. The ballistics expert was quietly taken back seeing it. "I'm the one who brought it up first. You brought me here to help me clear my mind and I'm going getting all obsessive and depressed, again." Jaune reached forward, offering his hand. Smiling, Ruby stretched forward and placed hers atop of his. They felt an immediate spark between them. "Thanks to you though, I'm not that way all the time."

She wanted to say that she'd never let Jaune go back to being that way, that dark vengeful person he was after Pyrrha's death. Still…it was hard to blame him for becoming that way. Losing a loved one is never easy, as Ruby knew a good deal about loss herself.

"Alright, what cases are you going to be working on over the summer?" Ruby questioned, retracting her hand to cross her arms. A small part of her hated breaking the contact, but she wanted to look as imposing as possible.

It never worked with Jaune, but she kept on trying anyway. At the very least doing so always managed to make him smile.

"If I tell you, will you promise to let me work it alone and spend your Christmas break with your family like you're supposed to?" The blond detective coolly fired back.

Ruby held her faux-stern expression even though he'd struck the nail on the head. "…Nope. Just tell me which case we'll be working on together."

Jaune hung his head. "Oh, Ruby."

"Come on, Jaune, you know me. Just because I'm not your partner out in the field doesn't mean I'm going to let you run off on your own. Especially over the holidays when you should be enjoying yourself! You've got plenty of people for that, even without your family!" Ruby hadn't said it, but she'd felt an odd mixture of sadness and even happiness when she learned Jaune wouldn't be able to spend Christmas with his family. It sucked because Jaune had a big family, and from what Ruby had seen, a nice family. She loved his older sister Saphron and her wife Terra, oh, and their son. While she was sad about that…she was happy since there was a possibility, she'd be able to keep Jaune to herself. At least for a little while.

"You know, your family would probably have something to say about spending Christmas with me."

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic! My dad doesn't hate you, and Yang doesn't either! Sure, she loves teasing you, but she's fine with me hanging around you. Plus, she gets to spend some time alone with her own-" Crap! Almost let it slip!

She's…talking about Izaak. Yang definitely likes him. So…when she's making that comparison…crap. Crap! Crap! Crap! Oh crap! Doing his best to keep a calm expression, Jaune looked out the window to the road. The snow had started to pick up again meeting that when they did leave, it was going to be a cold journey unless they took a cab. He'd definitely pay for it.

An uneasy silence fell over the pair. These awkward silences weren't new to them, it was practically part of their makeup, and their relationship. Both of them were awkward people and they'd bonded over that. Whenever they found themselves in this familiar vacuum, they took the time to mule over their thoughts.

Unknown to both, their thinking ended up leading them back to the same destination.

"If it'll make you feel better, I'll…take the time off." Jaune finally whispered.

"Really?" Ruby pressed looking directly at him.

All the Christmas decorations he'd seen in the past month, yet none of them compared to Ruby's eyes. Her silver eyes were rare, something she'd inherited from her mother. Whenever he stared at them, Jaune always felt himself being captive by them, then Ruby's voice, especially when she was excited. Finally, there was her face. Her…sometimes cute, and sometimes beautiful face. Flawless skin, silver eyes, shoulder-length black-haired tipped red at the ends. They were natural instead of dyed, something else she'd inherited from her mother.

"She's an amazing woman, just like her mother." His father, a former police officer himself, had declared.

"Yeah, she is…a real incredible woman." He'd responded with a smile. Like Ruby had said, her dad didn't hate him, but he could definitely sense something in Jaune. Or maybe it was more accurate to say even as far back as one five months ago, he knew something that Jaune was still struggling to accept now. "I…I…I don't want to drag her down. She deserves more than that."

"She does…but you're someone she cares about, Jaune. Since she cares so much about you, would you be kind enough to return the favor?"

"Always, sir."

He'd always cared about Ruby, but the question that always gnawed at him was…how much? To what extent did that care go?

Sitting across from her after she'd dragged him out, Jaune found himself asking that question again. Right across from him she sat, her shoulder-length red and black hair, her silver eyes twinkling, and her cheeks looking just a little flushed. Even as his stomach gave a slight rumble, his gaze didn't waver. The longer he looked at her, the faster he felt his heart beating in his chest. Jaune had felt his way before, and it'd always involved Ruby.

Have I…really fallen in love again? He asked himself. Jaune saw Ruby's eyes flicker; he impulsively looked back to the window. Through the window, he saw Ruby herself look away too. Jaune felt like a jerk, but he knew he wasn't ready. Not yet.

"Yo! Your late-night dinner has arrived!" Julian called. He had no idea just how relieved the two were to see him. "Let me know if you two need anything else! From the rest of the staff, expect nothing but the best! This is our Christmas gift to you guys!"

"Thanks! And don't overwork yourselves!" Jaune called as he went to go tend to the next set of customers. When Jaune looked back at Ruby, he caught the ear-to-ear grin on her face. "What?" He questioned with a smile of his own.

Instead of quickly answering him, she raised a glass. "To accomplishing our dreams of making the world a better place, even if it's only little by little."

For a hot second, Jaune was caught off-guard.

Then he smiled. "Yeah, little by little."

From a distance, given how they smiled and laughed with each other, it was easy to deduce the detective and forensic scientist as friends. Or lovers. The latter was especially given how the pair gazed into each other's eyes throughout dinner and dessert. Of course, that was from an outside perspective…though the pair in question had some inkling of it. That inkling would stick with them throughout the rest of the night.

---

Ruby let out a near exhausted sigh as she let her body hit the mattress, shaking the whole thing as she did so.

"If I'd said something…I wonder if he'd be right here with me." The twenty-five-year-old quietly whispered to herself, turning her head to the side. Just her, like it'd been every night for the past several years. That wasn't unusual, but…Ruby wasn't sure she wanted to be alone.

Sighing, she sat up and hugged her legs against her chest, a common habit of hers once she got indoors. That definitely hadn't changed now that she'd moved out into her own place. One of the perks and downsides was that it just left her alone with her own thoughts.

Now, she could do nothing but focus on the fact that she was in love with Jaune Arc.

She could have looked at the number of books she'd amassed and DVs on what she could do to confess to a guy who'd lost his first love. It didn't matter that said loss had been almost three years ago, the pain was still there…but Ruby believed that it'd gotten better. Not just for Jaune, but for all of them.

Against her better judgement, she got up and left the bedroom, walking back into the hallway. She took a lot of pictures, though not nearly as much as Velvet, who was a professional photographer. Drawing had always bee her thing. Ruby reached forward and grabbed one of her favorite photos that hung on the wall.

Going into law enforcement could be a dangerous business, even if you worked behind the scenes like her. Still, it was a career goal that united several people that she now cherished, people she called friends and even a secondary family.

Unfortunately, one of those people was no longer with them-Pyrrha Nikos, the best of them all. Ruby's hand fell over the image of the lot of them: Jaune, Ren, Nora, Blake, Yang, Weiss, Ruby, ad Pyrrha herself, all on the day of their graduation from Beacon Academy for the Future. Even if Weiss hadn't gone into law enforcement, she'd learned the knowledge needed for it, and as CEO of Schnee Industries, she was willing to provide law enforcement with some support. Even back then though, it was clear that Pyrrha would go the furthest of them all. She was smart, athletic, and most of all, dedicated.

All those things just made her death less than a year into the police force all the harder to bear.

Ruby would never forget coming up the scene of the crime, seeing Pyrrha's charred body with an arrow sticking out of her chest. In a heartbeat, the logical side of her knew she was dead, yet her heart struggled to comprehend it. Immediately after the shock came the sense of failure.

Jaune had called her mere minutes earlier as she tried to catch up to Pyrrha. He'd begged her to help her. And she'd failed to do that.

And here she was, having fallen in love with Jaune just as Pyrrha had. Her hands trembled as she held the photo. Quickly putting it back up on the wall before she broke it, Ruby quickly tried to think of something else she could use to distract from the pain.

Her art studio was the place she commonly went for that. The window was, of course, covered in snow and frost. If she looked hard enough though, Ruby could see through to the outside as she had done before.

Sitting at her desk, she stared at one of the many sketchpads she had in her possession. Around this time of the year, she sold her drawings for money. Not for herself, but so she could donate it. Ruby always knew she was lucky, but there were millions of people around the world who weren't. Like she'd said to Jaune, if they could help those in need, even if it was only a little, it was a victory in her book. That was a victory for what she believed was the greater good, but what about personal victories?

Was that really how she wanted to think of Jaune accepting her feelings? A knot of disgust formed in Ruby's gut, yet at the same time her heart fluttered at the possibility of him accepting her feelings.

"Oooh, this feels harder than it is in the books or on TV." Ruby bemoaned. "Even if it's been a couple of years, what if he's not ready for a relationship? Or what if he is and he…doesn't want one with me?" The latter idea seemed to cause her more fear than the former. She could stand Jaune not being ready, but him choosing someone else just made her heart ache in so many ways.

Thinking more about the blond detective probably wasn't the best way for her get ready for bed, but Ruby couldn't help herself. Instead of sketching something new, she went back to her old ones, several of them in fact.

When she was younger, she loved drawing anything related to the fantastical and otherworldly: monsters, castles, enchanted forests, and of course, dashing heroes of all sorts. She hadn't stopped as she'd gotten older and matured. Gaining friends had given her inspiration. With Jaune, she always seemed to find herself drawing a blond knight riding off into danger to help the weak and defenseless. Frankly, it wasn't too far off from the truth.

Looking through the various sketches, she found herself retracing how Jaune had gone from the dorky but well-meaning kid she knew back in school to the five-eleven police detective who was not only quite a looker, but also very good at his job. As far as she was concerned, he was a modern-day knight in shining armor.

Now, if all she could work up the nerve to tell him that and add in she wants to be his-

Ring! Ring! Ring!

"Coming!" Ruby instinctively shouted even though it was just her. In a heartbeat, she broke away from the desk and raced back toward her bedroom. Checking the caller ID, she felt her chest tighten seeing it was Jaune. "Hello?"

"Still up?" Came his kind voice.

"Heheh, um, yeah. I was about to take a shower." It wasn't a complete lie as she was going to take a shower…after she was finished contemplating rather or not to confess her feelings to the man she was currently speaking with. "What's on your mind?"

"Remember how you told me you planned on helping out at the Wellings Center for Christmas Eve? I was, um…is that offer for me to help too still on the table?"

If only she could see the grin on her face. "I'll pick you up tomorrow!" She shouted.

There was a laugh on the other end. Come tomorrow, she wouldn't be the only one hearing it, so too would a lot of other people who could use a helping hand. Still, Ruby had a feeling that she would treasure that laughter the most.

---

"So, anymore photos you'd like to take?" Jaune jokingly called spreading his arms out before the ballistic analyst waiting for him.

"No thanks, I think I've gotten enough for the night." The redhead jubilantly responded.

Jaune was a little happy to hear that. Ruby wasn't as much of a camera fiend as Velvet, but she could still get…snap-happy. He knew that more often than not it was so she could have some inspiration for her drawings. Jaune was pretty sure that she got some good inspiration tonight, and he was happy to do so.

"You did great as one of Santa's little helper elves. Thanks to you, kids now know that tall elves exist!" Ruby cheered.

"Yeah, well, they exist alright." When the first child, a girl, had asked him how he could be an elf if he was so tall, Jaune was flabbergasted. Had all the people who'd volunteered really been shorter than him or were this batch of kids just special? Ultimately, it didn't matter as he went with the flow, with Ruby's help, and did what he came to do-put a smile on people's faces. "So do cute little elf girls bearing cookies."

Ruby's cheeks turned red, making Jaune smile even more. His heart spun and he felt a dozen words forming in his head. They all fought for the right to be voiced, but in the end none of them were. Jaune forced them back, not wanting to spoil the moment. He'd been in this position before, tongue-tying himself so he didn't ruin the moment, or ruin his friendship with Ruby.

"So, um…it's pretty late, guess we should start heading home, huh?" There was a note of uncertainty in her voice, even though her words were entirely accurate.

"Y-Y-Yeah, r-r-right. I-I-I mean it's probably for the best we don't stay out too late." He'd been the one to drive her to the center and he'd driver her back home, just as he'd done a dozen times before. Jaune had honestly lost track of how many times they'd done this routine. Neither of them ever got tired of it though.

Their first clues came from the walls. Thick as building standards required, but the howl of the wind was a faint echo. It grew louder as they approached the doors. Upon opening them, Jaune and Ruby were hit with the full force of winter air.

"Craaap! They said something about a winter storm blowing in, but I didn't think it'd hit until tomorrow morning!" Ruby shouted as she felt dozens of snowflakes hitting her in the face.

"Guess the storm decided to hustle! Come on, we can warm up once we're in my car!" Jaune shouted. Out of instinct, he wrapped an arm around Ruby to help guide her. He kept his eyes focused on the car and not on Ruby, thus he missed the smile she wore as he guided her there. Even when they got in the car, he didn't spot it as he was too focused on turning the heat on and warming up alongside Ruby. When he looked at her, she played her smile off as being happy for the heat. "Um, better get ready. With the weather like this, it's probably going to take a while to get back to your apartment."

"Yeah, I know, but hey, look on the Brightside…I have you and the radio." She responded.

Jaune looked at the dashboard then back at Ruby.

He could chase down murderous criminals and even the occasional terrorist, he could stare down the barrels of guns, the counting down denotators of bombs, vicious attacks dogs, cars on the verge of splattering him across the ground like a grape, and even cranky neighbors and colleagues, but Jaune Arc was utterly helpless before the pleading stare of Ruby Rose.

At least this time he had the excuse of it being Christmas.

---

"Aaaahhh, that seriously hit the spot. Just like always." Ruby cried with a heavenly look on her face.

Grinning, Jaune rose from his seat and gave a mock bow. "I always aim to please, especially with my dearly beloved Crater Face."

"That you do, Vomit Boy." Ruby hit back wearing a slight grin. Within seconds, both of them were laughing at the table, the soft nose of the snowstorm outside and the TV providing an oddly soothing background for them. "Seriously though, thank you, Jaune."

"Well, you know, nothing like a nice cup of hot chocolate after coming in from the snow. Especially for a girl who loves everything chocolate-related." Jaune affirmed with a chuckle. His gaze quietly shifted from Ruby to the window. A look of contemplation overcame his face.

Ruby didn't like it. "Jaune, you're not seriously thinking of going out there, are you?"

Looking back at her, Jaune felt two different impulses at war within him. "Ruby, this isn't my-"

"Jaune, it's cold outside, it's practically a blizzard." The redhead pressed, her face taking on a determined hardness to it. Ruby could see him still attempting to muster up a retort to her words. Pushing her chair out, she stood up and put both hands on her hips. "Jaune Arc, I am not letting you leave this apartment just so you can freeze yourself trying to get home. Spend the night here."

"R-R-Ruby!" He shouted in response. His cheeks were turning redder by the second. "I-I-I can't stay here! I-I-I…I…I don't have any clothes."

"Yeah, you do." Came her quick response. The detective watched her leave with wide-eyes, his heart silently thundering in his chest. He sat perfectly still at the table as she walked to the living room where her Christmas Tree lay. Jaune hadn't been surprised to find it decorated from top to bottom with the finest ornaments she'd been able to find, a bright start shining at the top. When she returned carrying one of the presents, he noticed how her determined expression seemingly crumbled. "I…um, I know Christmas isn't until tomorrow, but…well, merry Christmas, Jaune."

He had a feeling that it was clothes based on the rectangular shape. Jaune briefly looked to the redhead for confirmation and got it in the form of a cute smile. Giving her a smile back, he began to pull away at the wrapping paper to reveal a set of a white box whose top he pull away. His jaw dropped as he gazed at what lay inside.

"R-R-Ruby…" he stammered again. "Y-Y-You…y-you got me…" His words trailed off as he held up the extra-large-sized Pumpkin Pete thermal pajama shirt.

"Let's just say I know a guy who knows a guy." She giggled hoping to sound as cool and mysterious as possible. She felt she was succeeding with the awe-struck look her friend was giving her. "You told me how you gave away all of your old ones to charity…so I decided to go out and see if I could find you some new Pumpkin Pete merchandise.

At first glance, most people would have laughed their asses off at the thought of Jaune still wearing such clothes, but then again those people didn't quite know how far reaching the food brand was. After all, it said something when pro-athletes all over the world as well as a few military officials were willing to become mascots. Some outright joked that the Pumpkin Pete Food group was secretly a mega corporation and no one knew. Or some knew and they'd been "silenced", look no further than the darkest depths of the internet for such conspiracy theories.

To Jaune Arc though, none of that mattered as he held up the pajama shirt and matching pants that went along with it. Ruby took her original seat across from him while Jaune looked over his Christmas gift.

When he looked back at her, he practically had tears in his eyes. "I…I…Ruby…I seriously don't know what I ever did to deserve a friend like you."

"You were a friend to me, through thick and thin." She gently answered.

Personally, Jaune didn't think that was true. After Pyrrha's death, he'd practically shut everyone off, including Ruby. Ironically, she was one of the people who tried the most to reach him during his mad quest to find the woman known as Cinder Fall. She'd willing jumped in front of a bullet for him and risked getting beaten to a bloody pulp by her henchman, Mercury for him. She'd done…so much for him.

Looking back out at the window, he once again took stock of the fact that the snow was coming down pretty hard and the air was cold enough for ice to form. They'd left the Wellings Relief Center at nine and hadn't gotten back until almost eleven, almost two full hours trying to transverse eight simple blocks. His own apartment was almost the same distance and by the time he got back home, he'd be exhausted.

"So, you've got clothes to sleep in." Ruby offered. He could tell she was nervous, and so was he. "I-I-I've got plenty of food to eat if you want a late-night snack. A-A-And in the morning I've got some food y-you can eat for breakfast."

"And…if I wanted to cook you a nice Christmas breakfast?" He suddenly offered. Her eyes lit up like the Christmas lights she had wrapped around her tree. "Well…it was a hassle just getting here. Not to mention it is pretty cold outside."

"Really, really cold." Ruby added. "Besides, it's all warm in here, so…just stay the night." Her chest tightened and her fingers curled against the wooden table. Jaune saw the tension in her body and felt his own heart quicken. "Just…stay the night with me, Jaune. Please?"

Almost immediately, Ruby regretted her decision. She saw the way his eyes widened, shock filling them to the brim. Mumbling an apology, she grabbed his mug and headed for the sink.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why couldn't you have just not said anything! Now he's probably going to insist on going home! Or we're going to spend the rest of the night tiptoeing around each other! She chastised herself. If she could rewind time, she would have.

"Ruby,"

Everything about the voice made her stop. The gentleness of it as well as the proximity. The latter was explained as she felt Jaune's strong and warm body pressing up against hers. Ruby shut her eyes and let the warmth consume her. It spread to her hands, which became overlaid with Jaune's own. They were far warmer than the water she was running the mugs under.

"I'd…love to stay the night with you." Jaune whispered. "I'll…I'll sleep on the couch. Wouldn't be the first time that I've done it." He added a bit of humor to the last statement; he was able to get a laugh out of Ruby as she knew it was true. She'd caught him sleeping on a couch multiple times, and he'd often woken up with a blanket curtsy of her.

Both their hands submerged in the water, Ruby moved to interlace hers with his. Hearing her heartbeat continuously pounding in her ears, she twisted her head back to find Jaune staring at her. His lips curved into a smile with Ruby's following suit.

A second later and their lips met in a short but tender kiss.

Both broke away almost as quickly as they'd leaned in, red-faced at their actions. Then they laughed.

"Um, h-how's about I fix you another cup of hot chocolate?" The blond offered.

"I-I'd love that."

For both of them, the sudden kiss could be blamed on the mistletoe that hung above the kitchen. Ruby had always considered it a sacred place and so had Jaune. They both had their cooking talents, and when they put those talents together, they could create some amazing meals. Then there were those times they put their talents to us for each other, something they both quietly took great joy in.

Both of them had a feeling that there'd be more of that joy in the future.

-O-

All things considered, this was turning out to be a far better Christmas Eve than Jaune had ever imagined. It was ironic to that he had the cold weather to think for that. Usually when it got cold, his already low luck plummeted even lower.

Not this time.

He had a beautiful woman snuggling up to him as the night slowly ticked away. With her, he felt himself actually able to truly enjoy the marathon of Christmas movies that had been playing nonstop for practically a full month. Jaune had never felt that way before…not since…Pyrrha.

The blizzard outside had been reduced to a dull roar in the ears of the police detective and the forensics analyst.

"Ruby…I'm glad that you stayed."

"Hmm?" She turned her attention from the TV to him.

"I'm glad that…you stayed with me, throughout all the years…throughout…everything." He clarified.

"Like I said, Jaune, you're my…you're one of my closest friends. In fact, you're…" Locking eyes with him was a mistake, yet it was also an opening. In doing so, they were both forced to confront the feelings that had been building within them.

They knew this song and dance. All the evidence was pointing in one direction, albeit it was one that they weren't quite ready to face. Now they were, and there was no pulling away from it.

"My family told me…I'd love again. Even if the pain never really went away, I'd learn how to pick myself up again and move forward. They were right. Heh, so were a lot of other people, including Ren, Nora, Sun, Neptune, Cardin, Izaak, Neil, Chicahua, and…"

"All of your guy friends? And some of the female ones?" Ruby inquired.

"Well…yeah, though none of them really tried to force me into realizing that." Jaune corrected. "Frankly, what they said was…scary to me sometimes, but looking back…I'm realizing they were all scared for me. They were scared I was going to bury myself in the past." He concluded.

Without hesitation, Ruby reached forward and took Jaune's left arm. "We all felt that way, Jaune. We'd all lost Pyrrha, but…we couldn't afford to lose you too. I…I…I couldn't afford to lose you too."

"…And somewhere along the way, I realized the same for you. I already lost one woman that I loved…and I was scared of losing the second." The detective confessed. "I don't want to lose her to death…or to my own reluctance to admit my feelings."

They stared into each other's eyes, speaking a hundred words through their gazes. The silent conversation ended as they slammed their lips against each other again. This time, the kiss was intentional on both of their ends from start to finish. In-between those two things was…bliss, happiness, things that they both wanted to grab onto. They did. As the next kiss raged, they held fast onto each other, a near desperation gripping the two of them. Not even the separation for air made them let go of each other. Their lips slammed together again, their tongues following suit in an erotic collision that sent a cascade of sparks through both of them. They fed into the fire that had long since been burning within both of them. Those flames had turned into raging wildfires.

As they kissed, their bodies moved, instinctively grinding against one another. The heat born from that grinding further fed the flames inside of them. Gone was the very concept of coldness. All Jaune and Ruby knew was warmth, and the epicenter of it was each other. That was only the firs personification that the other had came to represent.

Gently pushing away so he could peer into her eyes, Jaune wondered how on earth he went the last year and a half without really noticing how beautiful Ruby Rose was. Again. He'd had the thought before. He'd had it in the morning. He'd had it before, during, and after dinner, and dessert. She was…Ruby was…

"Jaune," his introspection was broken by the soft whisper of his name from her lips. He'd never seen them so red before. As air rushed in and out of them, he deciphered what she was saying, what she was asking. With calm eyes that belayed the erotic desire within him, he nodded. Her lips fell upon his like a lightning bolt, they carried all the force of one. Jaune shot up, feeling all the nerves in him being fired up. He gripped her even tighter, making Ruby moan in what was undoubtedly sexual gratification. The moans continued as their kissed dragged on for what seemed like hours.

In reality, it'd only been a few minutes at best, but time was rapidly losing its meaning for Jaune and Ruby. Both of their lips were red from the intense kiss. It wasn't like their previous kisses, not even close. The only question was if they wanted more. If they did then they both knew where it was going to lead.

That's why Jaune sat upright, still holding Ruby by the waist. He stared down at her with his azure blue eyes and panting mouth. She stared back, her silver eyes twinkling with romantic and erotic affection. She looked ready to speak again, but Jaune moved faster than her, taking her lip in a sweltering kiss. The redhead tenderly moaned into it. She enjoyed this new position, being wrapped in his arms while he was sitting up and holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

My Christmas wish…has come true. She whispered in the depths of her mind. It felt like it was being filled with mist, pure pinkish-red mist that carried with it the taste and smell of chocolate. Ruby basked in it, feeling a pair of arms reach out and encircle her. Jaune's face materialized in the erotic fog. Sharing a mutual smile, the two of them embraced on that spiritual plain, just as their bodies had been doing.

When this kiss ended, Ruby moved her face into the crux of Jaune's neck. Her lips fell onto his shoulder, sprinkling it with soft kisses. The blonde police detective let out a masculine groan that rumbled through his whole body.

"Ruby, aaahhh…" He whispered to her. Throughout the entire day and dinner, the scent of her perfume, sweet strawberries, persisted. Now that they were so close, he could get such a whiff of it. It was more arousing than he ever thoughts possible. "R-R-Ruby…I…I want to…"

"Take me." She was blind to how his eyes widened, but she wasn't deaf to the twitching between his legs. The latest twitch made her rock her body against his. Jaune bit his lip and groaned. "Take me, Jaune. I…I…I've felt this way about you for a long time, and I'm sure that I want it to be you." Pulling away from his shoulder, she stared into his eyes. Her silver eyes glowed with silver determination that had him enchanted. "Take me…and let me love you. I promise, I'll do my best as your girlfriend! I'll do whatever I can to make you happy!"

Air rushed into his lungs. "You already have, Ruby." For the second time, he initiated the kiss, taking her lips in a passionate kiss. Ruby eagerly returned it. He raised his right hand up to her cheek, gently caressing it with his thumb. She always had such soft and tantalizing skin; never had he felt such a strong desire to touch it, to mark it with his fingers, mouth, and even teeth. "I'm going to make you mine." The words slipped out of him, propelled by the primal desire that had been building within him.

"Please," she responded in a surprisingly erotic voice. To incentive him, she rocked her hips against his. Jaune bit his lip in a vain attempt to suppress himself. Ruby sensed it, and smirked in knowing that she now had completely dominion over him. "You know, that's going to go both ways, Jaune." He gasped against her neck, babbling incoherent words. Control had shifted to her; Ruby found that she liked having dominion over Jaune in this way. As she rocked him though, she could feel moisture in between her legs building up. Her mind flashed with images of clothing being stripped away and their naked bodies pressing together. Like she said, they had all the warmth they could ever need inside.

He knew what she was planning. Jaune was quietly surprised at how open he was to the idea of having sex with Ruby. Well, to be fair, the idea had always been dancing around in his head. It'd been like a moon orbiting the planet labeled, "Jaune Arc likes Ruby Rose". One couldn't be had without the other. Sucking in another breath, he bit down on Ruby's neck. Not too hard as he still was unsure of how to do this, but he was letting whatever primal instincts he had guide him. Ruby's rocking slowed as she was hit with a wave of euphoria. He was quietly happy as her slowing down gave him a reprieve. Jaune used it to gather his thoughts.

Ruby gasped as she suddenly found herself lifted up. Blinking in surprise, she realized that Jaune had stood up from the couch, holding her in his arms. Her cheeks blazed redder than her hair. Locking eyes with Jaune, Ruby realized that he wasn't content to take her on the couch. As her mind reeled, a thought popped into her head, a realization that somehow, made her cheeks blush even redder.

Neither of them broke the other's gaze as the blond moved them toward the bedroom. He knew the way, and he showed no signs of slowing down as he carried her there. Ruby's heart was a nonstop thunderclap, never once ceasing its beating. Everything that was happening almost seemed like it was out of a dream or one of her stories.

This was the story that she'd always quietly loved, the brave knight carrying away the princess to their happily ever after.

Was this their happily ever after? A younger Ruby would have said yes, but she knew better. It was the start of a happy life together, but one that she knew they'd have to work for. Happiness could be lost just as easily as it could be gained. The thought was scary sometimes, so scary that it may have seemed like it was better to not even reach for it at all. Ruby knew Jaune had been in that place once, after Pyrrha's death. She worried that he'd never be able to leave that abyss…that she'd never be able to pull him out of it.

Well, here she was, being lowered onto her bed via his arms. Jaune Arc loomed above her, for real this time instead of in a dream. She could see him clearly through the light through the curtains. His blue eyes sparkled more so than they ever had before. "Jaune," she called out to him."

"Ruby," he called back, slowly descending. The kiss was tender. They enjoyed it, basking in the softness that was no doubt the calm before the storm. He shuddered as he felt her hands moving across his backside. Jaune knew she was going to take his clothes off, starting with his shirt. To do that though, they'd have to break their kiss. He didn't want that, not yet, so he kept it up for as long as he could. Ruby agreed with his intentions and pushed her tongue against his in a loving war.

With a gasp, they broke apart.

Ruby sat upright, hooking her fingers beneath the bottom of his shirt and pulling it upward. Jaune lifted his hands up and allowed her to do so. She dropped it by the side of the bed, completely forgetting about it. Her focus was entirely on Jaune's naked upper body.

"So…um…I'm not too wimpy, am I?" Suddenly, the nervous and goofy Jaune that she'd come to know and love was back.

Except Ruby now knew what lay beneath his shirts, sweaters, and coats. An athletic body dotted with a handful of scars that she traced her fingers across. Bullet wounds and blades, she recognized them on immediate contact. She was glad that there weren't ay burn scars; Ruby quietly promised herself she'd never let that happen to him.

Spying the continued look of nervousness on his face, Ruby looped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up. "Man, oh man, I'm one lucky girl, having a big strong guy like you as my boyfriend." He stared at her with widened eyes. Though her smirk was undoubtedly seductive, her silver eyes held nothing but the truth of how she felt. Once his face bore a relieve smile, Ruby kissed him. He immediately returned the kiss, once more tightening his arms around her waist. She peered in delight at the gesture, and responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. They both felt like they were complete, finally, truly complete.

Once kiss turned into a never-ending one. Hands moved up and down, Ruby's hands scratching and clawing at his back. Jaune shuddered under the touch of her nails. He intensified the kiss from his end, and Ruby responded in kind. When they separated, air couldn't come fast enough. One minute they were gasping for breath and the next their lips were on each other. Their bodies rolled across the mattress as well, ruffling the sheets like ocean waves. Ruby was on top, then she was back on the bottom with her now boyfriend looming over her. He could always feel at least one of her hands on his backside. The constant presence was further arousing to him for some reason. Was it because this was his first time doing this, or was it because it was Ruby doing this to him?

At some point, the blond policeman ended up on the bottom, looking up at the panting redhead. "When…did you become so beautiful?" Seconds after speaking, Jaune's eyes widened and his mouth sealed shut, only to open a second later. "S-S-Sorry. I-I-I'm sorry. That was-"

"Just what a girl wants to hear." Ruby cut him off. She wore a smile that could have melted the snow outside. It grew closer and closer until it was practically right on top of his lips. "Especially a girl who's in love with you. Saying those things makes me want you even more, Jaune. Hehehe, imagine that." Before he could say another word, their lips were connected again. Her tongue had more force, thus forced its way into his mouth. Jaune closed his eyes and welcomed the intrusion. His right hand came to rest atop the back of Ruby's head, deepening the kiss. "Mmmmmhhh…mmmmmh…mmmaaaaahh." She pulled away with a pop of their lips. "Jaune…my…Jaune."

"I guess after tonight I will be yours." He coolly remarked. Where the hell was he finding this swagger? At the very least it was coming out at the right time, and he was sure for the right woman.

Separating from him again, Ruby leered at him with a predatory glint in her eyes. "Yes, you will be." Jaune was so focused on her eyes he failed to keep track of her hands. A moment later and he realized where they were. She seemed to enjoy the erotic gasp that burst from his mouth as she gripped his cock through his pants. "Lie back and enjoy, Jaune. Oh, and make sure to give me a lot. I've been a good girl this year, haven't I?"

As he stared at her face, Jaune Arc quietly questioned for the first time exactly what he was getting himself into. Yang was supposed to be the wild and seductive one, but damn, was Ruby proving she had a seductress in her as well. And it was an absolute turn-on for Jaune.

His cheeks red, he nodded. "Y-Y-Yeah, y-y-you have."

First came the light peck on the lips. Jaune wasn't left wanting for long as she sprinkled more kisses down his cheek and eventually the side of his neck. Ruby kept on descending down further, marking him with her lips. Blue eyes blinked open and shut, erotic sparks dancing along Jaune's every nerve. In the midst of the rapid-growing blaze, Jaune warned if he'd actually go into shock once Ruby got down to his cock. His eyes flew open wide as the realization dawned on him-a girl was about to see his penis. Not just any girl either, Ruby Rose.

Oddly, instead of thinking about the immense pain her sister would visit upon him, or the fact that he'd known Ruby for years, since high school, he felt only one thing, happiness.

Peering down, the reason why manifested. She was a kind, funny, and beautiful woman that had always bee there for him. Even before Pyrrha, she'd bee a supportive friend, and she'd sure as hell been there for him after he lost her. Ruby had become more than a friend to him overtime, she became someone he wanted to love and cherish, and he wanted her to do those same thigs to him in return.

His belt buckle was undone followed by the zipper of his pants. Jaune silently counted his breath as she began to pull his pants down. There was a bead of sweat on his brow. His jeans were thrown off to the side leaving him in his boxers. He was so glad that he'd gone with a plain solid-colored black pair instead of something more ridiculous. Then again, his boxers had a rather large tent forming. Ruby looked at it with intrigue, then she did away with the last article of clothing left.

Her jaw dropped.

Jaune wanted to look away out of embarrassment, yet his eyes were positively glued to the sight of Ruby gaping at his cock. It was amazing how he felt a mixture of embarrassment…and pride in the clearly awe-struck look on her face. There was no doubt it was awe; he'd seen the look on Ruby's face before.

Mustering up his courage, he found his voice. "So…do you…like your Christmas present, Ruby?"

Eyebrows rising, Ruby was seemingly snapped out of her stupor. She gathered her own resolve in grabbing his cock with her hands. They were warm. "Hell yeah…I like it." Jaune gasped as she felt the first pump. "And I promise, I'm going to enjoy it, and take very good care of it for the rest of my life." Even before she'd finished, she was pumping his member, feeling its fullness with her ow hands. It was magnetic, once her hands were attached, Ruby realized there was no pulling away. Some of that was she simply didn't want to. That same pull called to her lips. Catching one last glimpse of Jaune's panting red face, Ruby dove down. Her lips fastened themselves to his tip.

"Rubbbbby!" The blue-eyed blond shouted. His body acted in impulse, his hips shooting upward thus pushing his member deep into Ruby's mouth. She adapted accordingly, flicking her tongue all across his tip. "Aaaaahhh! Aaaaaahhhh! R-R-Ruby! R-Ruby, m-m-more! P-Please, more!" She muttered something to him, but he couldn't hear it. Whatever it was, his wish was granted as the redhead began to suck his member with all the vigor of a child with a lollipop. His mind nearly crashed at the sight, yet again, Jaune found he couldn't look away.

His body began to respond before his mid could fully comprehend what was happening. As Ruby went down on his member, his hips rocked upward, continuously pushing his dick into her mouth. Her moans were undoubtedly ones of pleasure. She was enjoying having her mouth filled with his girth, and Jaune was enjoying her tongue slithering its way across his member. Teeth gnashed then separated as he let out erotic grunts and screams. They bounced throughout the apartment, finding their way back to his ears. For Ruby, they were all reasons to keep on going, and reasons for her to be proud of herself.

Seconds after taking Jaune into her mouth, she decided that she'd let no one else have his cock, or him for that matter. He was hers. Working her mouth and hands in tandem, she brought him closer and closer to the brink of an orgasm. It was going to be a pleasurable experience for not just him, but her as well. Like she said and he'd affirmed, she'd been a good girl this year, so she deserved her present. She wanted the most delicious present of all.

"Aaaaahh…R-Ruby…Ruby!" I-I-I'm going to…shit!" His right hand shot out, roughly gripping the top of her head to hold her I place. He thrusted upward with his hips, feeling his member hit the roof of her mouth. Again, Ruby moaned in delight. Regardless of his grip on her head, she moved, lifting her head up, dragging her tongue across his cock as she did so. "Aaaaahhh…R-Ru-Ruby!" The second she came down, he felt himself struck by lightning again. Pure ecstasy blasted every portion of his body. "Ruuuubbby!" Jaune shouted as his restrain vanished in a colorless haze. Cum jetted out of his member straight into her mouth.

Ruby felt it coming and tried to brace herself. It was still more than she expected, way more…but that just made it all the better. After gulfing down as much of Jaune's cum as she could, she broke away, letting the rest splatter across her face. Her gag reflexing kicking in, she ended up coughing and hacking. Upon hearing the sound, Jaune bolted up, a look of concerned on his face.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Ruby! I-I-"

"Jaune!" She called after swallowing a few gulps of his cum. "It's, you, are amazing." His expression immediately went from weird to a mixture of relief and surprise. Flashing him a wink and a smile, she went down to his cock, whose eruption had been steadily ongoing. With her throat and mouth emptied, she was able to take in more of his cum. Once her lips clapped down around it, Jaune howled again, his back hitting the mattress again as he was hit with another wave of ecstasy. More of his masculine juices inevitably followed, much to Ruby's pleasure.

For several long minutes, Jaune groaned and howled until Ruby had her fill. Sweat glistened down his body as he laid atop her bed, arms spread out. It was certainly not a position he ever thought that he'd be in, but in the haze of euphoria that followed after his orgasm, he felt happy that life had worked out this way. He muttered a silent prayer of thanks before shutting his eyes and seemingly dozing off.

"Hey, Jaune? You're not finished yet, are you?" Came a familiar voice.

Popping one ye open, he grinned. Ruby had a few seconds to giggle in delight before her boyfriend jumped her. She was taken up into his arms and rolled onto her backside.

"Guess I was faking it a little longer than I thought, since you're all cleaned up." He mused.

"Remember, I move fast, especially when sweets are involved." She giggled. Hiking her leg up, she grinded against him. "Jaune Arc, you taste amazing, and this is coming from a connoisseur. Ruby laughed at how his cheeks reddened. Reaching up to cradle his face, she kissed him. Without hesitation, Jaune returned the kiss, leading the two to share a passionate make out until they broke for air. Once they did, Ruby giggled and cuddled up against her new boyfriend. "Your body's warm as always."

"Looking back, you always did some to love cuddling…with me." As he spoke the words, Jaune's cheeks turned red. His mind became a newsreel of memories. Given everything he and Ruby had just done over the past several minutes, he felt like he was finally deciphering the true meaning of them.

"You're a great person to cuddle up to." It was the second time she'd told him that tonight, although this time he was wearing decidedly less clothing. Somehow, Jaune's body seemed warmer now than it had been before. As she cuddled up to him, Ruby wondered what he would think of her naked body. The more time passed, the deeper the thought took root in her, not like it hadn't begun to sink in already. From the moment they shared their first intimate kiss she knew she'd be getting just as naked as Jaune currently was. Her mind flashed back to several scenes she'd came across in her more erotic books…and some she'd seen on TV. The thought of recreating them with Jaune sent an excitable jolt through her.

Ruby straddled him, her actions catching Jaune by surprise. He'd hardly seen her move, which made him think back to her most recent mark about her being fast. Indeed, she was, especially when she wanted something. Looking up into her silver eyes, he saw that she wanted him. Enticed by those eyes, he sat upright, his right hand stretching out to touch Ruby's face. His touch made her pause. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before mutually leaning in. Their kiss was sweet ad short, almost like they were both testing the waters.

Without a word, Ruby raised her arms up allowing Jaune to lift her shirt up. In the low light of the room, his eyes saw her perky breasts held back by her crimson-red bra. Jaune's mind temporarily went on the fritz, yet again struggling to accept what was happening to him at the moment. He was struggling to truly accept what he was seeing right in front of him.

"S-S-So…um…a-a-are they better up close?" The redhead whispered with her cheeks turning the same shade of color as her hair…and her undergarments. Amazingly, she met his gaze full force when he stared at her in shock. "I-I-I caught you staring at me during our trip to the beach, Jaune. You were staring a lot more than any other guy, even though you tried hard to hide it. I acted like I didn't notice." Jaune's eyes widened even more. He silent propped himself up on his hands, staring straight at her with a smoldering intensity. Ruby felt herself melting under it, yet she pressed on. Both of her hands clasped his cheeks, "Deep down…I liked it. The way you stared at me, I knew it was because you liked me…maybe the same way that I liked you."

"I was staring at you because you were beautiful, more beautiful than you normally are, Ruby." Jaune declared while his heart thundered in his chest. In spite of that fierce beating, he felt surprisingly calm.

Smiling, Ruby cocked her head to the side in that adorable way of hers. "Would you say that to me even when I'm in the forensics lab? Dressed in my coat, gloves, and sorting through God knows what to give you guys the details you need?"

"Yeah, even then. In fact, watching you do that is one of the things that made me fall for you." The blond detective jubilant responded. "Watching you do that, I realized just how much of a strong and smart woman you were. Heh, I also thought there was something weirdly attractive about watching you at work."

"Well, I wouldn't say it's too weird. I mean, I've always thought you looked good while doing your job. Watching you always inspired me to work a little harder." The kiss was sudden, but they both accepted it and made it last. Breathlessly, they pulled apart. "Like I said before…when I thought of you, it gave me a little extra motivation. Well, actually a lot. I wanted to help you solve the case in any way I could."

For a minute, Jaune was silent. The hum of the city outside the window hung in the air around them. Ruby was curious as to what her blond lover was thinking. She got an answer when he rolled her over. It came as a surprise to her, looking up into his azure blue eyes and seeing the pure intensity of them staring back at her. She felt aroused, more so when he leaned down and kissed her. Ruby shut her eyes and lifted her legs up, grinding her hips against Jaune's naked waist. He was hard, and she was wet.

"My rose-scented wind." He whispered down to her. Jaune laughed as her cheeks turned perhaps the reddest shade of the night. "Hehehe, thanks for not finding that too corny."

"Hey, you know me. I'm a girl who likes her drama and her romance." Her hands moved across his back, her nails gently digging into his skin for the second time. "Jaune," she called to him.

He moved to the nap of her neck. Placing first a soft kiss there. A second later and that soft kiss turned into a nibble. Ruby let out an erotic gasp as she felt his teeth biting into her skin. This was what she wanted, what she'd been earning for. Her fingers bore down harder on his back. Jaune remained undeterred, finding pleasure in the pressure of her nails. He didn't stop moving his own hands either. Though he'd never done this before, he knew enough from…second hand experience. When he undid the clip of her bra, he pulled away. Jaune didn't spare it a second glance as he kept his focus entire on Ruby's newly revealed breasts. Dropping it to the side, he slowly moved his hands atop of them.

"Oooohhh…m-more, Jaune. C-C-Come on," pleaded the redhead. Her silver eyes sparkled amidst the sea of red and black that was her hair. Just the sight of it alone was enough to motivate Jaune. As Ruby opened her mouth to cry out again, Jaune leaned in close. In doing so, he felt her sweet moans intensify in his ears.

"They're perfect, Ruby." He whispered to her. Holding his position, his blue eyes locked with her silver orbs. The light of ecstasy was reflected in both. Without a sound, Jaune took her lips in a kiss. He kissed her and fondled her breasts, two actions that he admittedly never thought he'd do with a woman, at least not after his first love. The pain from that loss was distant in his mind. Jaune knew what he wanted to do-focus on the present and the future; Ruby was both of those things. He gave her the first of what would be many moments of erotic cherishing.

Ruby was only faintly aware of her hands moving atop of Jaune's. Even when they fell atop of his, they kept on moving. His massaging of her breasts was unlike anything she ever thought possible. It just felt so…so good, beyond what words could describe. The feeling was beyond anything she'd read about in her books or seen on TV or a computer. As the minutes seemingly blended into hours, she found herself wanting more. She thought she whispered that urge to Jaune, or shouted it, she honestly couldn't tell.

When he pulled away from her breasts, Ruby felt it. Through teary eyes, she looked down to see him having moved between her legs. Her panties were slowly pulled down and discarded with the rest of their clothes. Panting, she spread her legs out, whispering his name as a final form of encouragement.

"Jaaaaunnnne," She moaned again feeling his lips making contact with her vagina. "So good…aaaaahhhh…aaaahhhh…" It was like she could feel every flick of his tongue against her lower lips. The sensual stimulation had the potential to be the death of her; she'd happily welcome that sort of demise. "Jaaaaune…yes…ooooh, yessss…m-more….more, baby." His flickers grew more intense in accordance with her pleas. "Oooohhh!" Then he thrusted his tongue straight into vagina. "Jaaaunnne!"

Once he was in, he didn't stop, he sped up. Jaune moved his hands up both of Ruby's legs, feeling her shudder beneath his touch. It was a reversal of her earlier clawing of his back. She seemed to enjoy the favor being returned to her, as did Jaune himself. He moved his hands back and forth across her silken-smooth skin. The legs that he'd often seen running like the wind were practically his to play with. He'd felt them grinding against his sides all night, and now they were grinding against his head. Jaune's voice was muffled by Ruby's pussy, but he was sure that she could understand his moans. Like her, he was liking what he was tasting.

Ruby gave him more, wrapping her legs around his head and rocking her hips in tandem with his togue, or at least trying to. Her mind was an ever-increasing storm of pleasure and colored lights. The latter left her utterly blinded as she was carried up higher and higher. Whenever she could blink open her eyes, it felt like the stars in space were within her grasp. Instead of reaching for them though, she continued to cling to the rocket that was propelling her upward.

It was ironic as Jaune had said that she made him feel like he could do the impossible, including touch the sky.

Jaune put her on a direct course with a star in the last stages of its life, mere seconds away from going supernova. Ruby felt like she was about to explode as well. Her breathing grew rapid and her body heat rose. The myriad of colors grew faster as well as the whirlwind battering her. It was all so…enchanting, mesmerizing. As she sucked in air then breathed out, she prayed for the feeling to never end, but alas, it did. It ended with a bang.

"Jaune!" She gripped his head tighter than she had before, squeezing it as her vaginal lips expunged love nectar straight into the detective's face. Ruby could hear his muffled moans, sweet sounds of ecstasy that made her cum even more. Tears that had accumulated in her eyes rolled down her cheeks. "Jaune…oooh, Jaune…" She whispered again and again. "Amazing…you're…totally amazing." Lifting her head up, Ruby stared at the mop of blond hair between her legs. Smiling, she rocked her hips against it, she got a fierce, powerful tongue thrust in return. "Oooohhhh!" She cried slamming her head back against the pillow. The scream went along with her orgasm, which made her feel like a hundred fireworks were exploding inside of her body.

As the last of them exploded, Ruby cracked her eyes open to see a myriad of colors dancing in her vision. Suddenly, outshining them all were two pools of bright blue. She reached for them and felt a pair of warm cheeks underneath her fingers. Her vision gradually cleared revealing the face of the police detective that she'd fallen in love with, and who apparently loved her back.

Without a word said between them, they both knew what was about to happen next. They couldn't end the night without going the final step of the way. In the quiet limbo they lay in, they gathered their strength for that final union. It was a subtly amazing experience for both of them. Both of them had a tendency to trip over their words from time to time, but this time there weren't any words needed.

Ruby silently climbed atop of Jaune, her silver eyes leering at him. She raised her hips up, placing her vagina directly above his erect member.

"You're mine, Ruby." The blond whispered seconds before bringing her hips down atop of his.

"And you're mine, Jaune." The redhead answered back. She grimaced as her boyfriend's member tore through her maidenhood. That was reaction enough for Jaune sprang up, wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay." She whispered while held in his embrace; it was another reason why she loved him. Without a doubt, he was going to be he ever-faithful knight. "J-J-Jaune, you can start moving now. It's fine."

He seemed to linger for a few minutes, as if trying to ascertain how true her words were. Ruby proved them by looking up into his azure eyes and smiling. Jaune smiled back, then laid back and began to thrust his hips upward. Shutting her eyes, Ruby made the last adjustments to her lover's girth and began to moan in genuine enjoyment. She'd seen how big he was, felt it with her fingers and mouth, and now she was finally feeling it with her pussy. The missing piece had been added making her complete. Jaune had been made complete as well.

His hands had clapped down on her hips, a feeling that Ruby actually enjoyed. In turn, her hands rested atop his chest. She could practically feel his thundering heart through her palms; it was an addictive feeling. So too was the friction born from Jaune's cock sliding in and out of her folds. Ruby closed her eyes and moaned, just as Jaune did feeling that same erotic heat. He felt like he was in heaven; he knew he was at the lowest level and would only rise further up. As he rose, he'd be holding the silver-eyed angel who'd always supported him. He was glad to see those silver eyes open again and stare at him with naked desire. Smiling, Jaune rocked his hips upward, harder than he had before. The forensic scientist's eyes slammed shut again, her mouth stretching open in a lewd howl.

Jaune thrusted up into her again, and again, and again. Each time, Ruby's screams grew louder. Amazingly, he didn't care one bit about them making too much noise. The at times overly polite and self-conscious part o himself had been submerged, the desire to make love to his girlfriend was now the sole motivator keeping him going. Based on the heavy blush on Ruby's face, he was succeeding at making her feel loved. That's what Jaune wanted, he wanted Ruby to feel like the most special girl in the world, just as she made him feel like the most special man in the world.

Digging her palms against her boyfriend's chest, Ruby fought to regained some bit of motor control. Following another powerful, piston-like thrust, she did. Quickly inhaling a gulp of air, she locked eyes with Jaune and dropped her head. He continued to fuck her while they kissed, their tongues sliding against and beside each other in the lewd oral embrace. When it ended, they looked to each other and smiled. Naturally, another kiss backgrounded by their continued lovemaking followed. Ruby moved her hands up from Jaune's chest to his face, and he tightened his hold on her hips.

"Mine," The redhead whispered as she pulled away. "You're all mine, Jaune Arc."

"Happily so, Ruby Rose." The blond whispered back. Grinning, he lifted her up, feeling her vaginal lips sliding past his member. He was ready to bring her back down after a few seconds, but Ruby wanted to be as active as him. "Aaaaahhhh!" Jaune cried feeling her slam herself back down onto him.

Her face twisted in a seductive grin, Ruby repeated her actions several times, just like Jaune did. She'd let him have his fun, but it was time for her to have a turn at the steering wheel. The up-close view of Jaune's ever-changing face was engrained into her mind. Now that she knew she could make it, Ruby looked forward to seeing how many variation of it she could create in the future. The artist in her had been…inspired, no, aroused.

"Ruby," Jaune grunted.

"You're…going to cum…aren't you?" She deduced with a hungry smile. "Ooohh!"

His thrust caught her off-guard. Seizing on the moment, Jaune shot up, ensnaring her lips in a searing kiss. "So are you." He deduced when it ended. It was too short for Ruby's liking, so she kissed him again. Expectedly, Jaune leaned into the kiss, gently rubbing his girlfriend's hips all the while. He moaned into her mouth as he felt her vaginal walls tighten around his member. She didn't need to verbally answer him, her body was doing the job for her. "Ruby," he growled.

"Together," she responded. Ruby felt the pressure building up within her just as Jaune felt it in his body. Neither of them had any intention of stopping, not when they were so close to sweet release. "Let's…cum together, Jaune. M-My first time…with you."

"Same." The single word was spoken with no regrets. Though it was crystal clear, the fire burning within him could outdo the sun. Jaune felt its heat pulsating through his body, and Ruby's. With every thrust of their hips, it grew.

Looping her arms around his neck, Ruby raised her hips up, then slammed them down against her boyfriend's hips. She thought that would be it, but it wasn't. Gnashing his teeth, Jaune held on. The redhead found something commendable in that. Their eyes met, the forensic scientist's lips were taken in another kiss; this one too ended too quickly for her liking, but she was compensated with the thrusting of his hips. Squeezing her eyes shut, Ruby felt her womanly center filled with Jaune's girth.

One more. She thought.

After this…she'll be…

He'll be…

"JAUNE!"

"RUBY!"

Upon contact with her core, the redheaded woman's walls burst. Her feminine nectar spilled out onto the detective's penis. Near simultaneously, his tip erupted, shooting forth thick ropes of his seed into her. Within the forensic analyst's cunt, their juices mixed together. The couple held one another as that mixing took place, feeling it right down to their bodies. Holding onto each other, they finally reached the summit of erotic heaven. They christened it with a kiss that dragged on for what felt like hours. Though they were small breaks between them, it continued on in unison with their orgasm.

The detective's back hit the bed causing the pillows and sheets to bounce. Their lips separated, but their bodies remained joined at the hip. Ruby lay atop her boyfriend, naked and held in his arms as they panted in the aftermath. She was hyperaware of everything, especially her still-filled pussy and her boyfriend's deep breaths. Feeling them caressing her hair, she looked up. Jaune sensed her gaze and stared down at her.

A loving smile spread across his face. Ruby mirrored it with one of her own.

"So…you're definitely staying the night, right?" She innocently asked.

He chuckled and shrugged. "Well, you said you had some clothes here for me, food, your place is pretty coxy, and finely I'd really, really like it if I woke up to your face first thing in the morning." There was a short pause as she basked in his reasoning. "I'd also like to go to sleep tomorrow night…kinda like this. Is that the kind of answer that you want, Ruby?"

Leaning up and kissing him, she answered, "Yep. Exactly what I was hoping for and more." Almost after she finished speaking, her mouth opened in a yawn. "Woah, I…didn't think I'd feel this tired."

"Tired because of the day, or tired because of…ya' know." Jaune inquired with a blush.

"Mmh, maybe both." She responded in a sing-song voice. "Guess I'm going to have to work on my stamina so I can keep up with you." Ruby grinned as Jaune's blush deepened. Oh, he definitely got the double-meaning of her statement. "I'm soooo looking forward to this, Jaune. I mean…that is…if you'll seriously consider moving in with me next year. I-I-I-It's okay if you're not! I-I-I mean sure, w-w-we're together, b-b-but maybe this is moving just a little too-mmmh!"

It was quite a reversal of their previous positions. She'd been the one to silence his nervous stuttering with a kiss. Jaune returned the favor in spades. He turned them over so they were lying on their sides; the blond held her against him as he reassured her through his lips. Moaning into his mouth, Ruby curled up against him.

Breaking from her, he stared at her with that same intensity that she loved. "Ruby…I don't think I'd be able to sleep without you close by. Waking up to you every morning would definitely put a smile on my face."

"Same here." She smiled back. Her heart was pounding with such joy it felt on the verge of exploding within her chest. "So, I guess this is where we…say goodnight and see you in the morning?"

Giving her one final kiss to the forehead, Jaune answered, "Definitely. Goodnight…and merry Christmas, Ruby." When they woke up, Jaune knew he'd have a lot of explaining to do, especially to Yang. Oddly enough, he wasn't scared at all. "I promise…I'll always protect you, Ruby." Jaune whispered.

"I know you will." She whispered back. "And I'll protect you. From here on out…we're in this together." Ruby clung onto him a light tighter, her way of cementing her promise to him. Jaune did the same, cradling her against him like she was a precious flame. That's exactly what he was to her as well. One's warmth fed into the other, and would continue to do so for the rest of winter, and into the spring, summer, fall, and next Christmas.

---

There's my second RWBY lemon, and really second straight RWBY lemon as well as my first straight AU story. It was kind of fun to write mixing it with a bit of the holiday spirit. I name-dropped a few characters from my current on-going RWBY story so I hope no one minds. Depending on things turn out, I may add a sequel to this story since I liked writing the RWBY cast in a modern crime drama setting.

I hope you all enjoyed this little story and have a merry Christmas and happy New Year!