Recovery

AN: A thing me and Lone wrote a long time ago that we never put out. I decided, after editing yesterday, to change that. Enjoy.

Jaune hated hospitals. He hated them with every fiber of his being. When he was young, they tried to stick needles in him. When he was a teenager, he needed to get his tonsils removed. And now... now, as if fate was just being an even crueler mistress than usual, he had to lie in a room that felt like the rooms that those events took place in for days, and to make matters worse? He was bored, oh god was he bored. He looked at his casted legs, and wondered if the Grimm that had attacked him from behind was somehow in cahoots with Nora. Of course that would mean she was a traitor. A dirty, stinkin' traitor. And he knew she wasn't, of course, that would be dumb, but the thought still amused him. Amusement was kind of hard to come by when all you had to do was stare out of a window all day and watch news.

A gentle knock on the door told him that someone was here to visit him, and he knew who it was immediately just from the rhythm of said knock. Blake came in carrying a stack of books in her arms, and Jaune flinched when she sat them down hard on the bedside table with a loud thunk.

Just from her stoic expression he could tell she was none too pleased with him, and when she didn't as much as spare a glance at him before taking a book from the stack she brought in he knew she was really angry at him.

"Sorry..." he murmured, looking at the backs of the books to find something interesting to read. He didn't really expect Blake to answer, she always did this when she was mad. She didn't talk, but she still wanted him to see her so he could really take in her disgruntled mood.

"You're an idiot..." she whispered, sighing deeply, eyes still locked on the pages of her book. "Why...? Why do you have to be so stupid sometimes? It was one Grimm, I could have easily taken it, you didn't need to hurt yourself just because of one lousy Grimm..."

The stack of books really was a tower, which Jaune knew meant she wouldn't be staying for just an hour. She was going to stay the whole night. Possibly even more than just one night. This was further back up by one look at her pocket. Her wallet was filled with lien, no doubt a generous donation from Weiss to accommodate for her future hunger and thirst. He wondered if Blake was actually angry that she had to stay here, he seemed to remember what she really liked the food they served in the café. The tea as well was supposedly fantastic.

He pulled a book off the stack and lazily thumbed through the pages, reading a few words on a random page or so, hoping to get a quick read on the writing style before putting his time into it. "You know I have a habit... I didn't notice my aura was low, and I didn't notice that yours was full. All I saw was a giant monster lunging at you at fifty miles per hour, and I panicked." Blake just shook her head. "I'm sorry, Blake, okay? I really am. But I did it, and I admitted that it was stupid, and now I have to suffer the consequences of my idiocy. But even still, I don't regret it..."

"Really, Jaune?" She scoffed, almost sounding insulted, "You don't regret breaking your legs over absolutely nothing? Do you honestly care so little about your own well being that you'd possibly become crippled just so I don't lose a tiny bit of aura?" Blake's words held an almost biting force and yet Jaune couldn't help but chuckle, finally making his ebony haired girlfriend look up from her book to send him a seething glare.

"Blake, I've said this many times and I think it bares repeating again; if I can prevent my friends and loved ones getting hurt I don't care about the consequences. Sure, my legs getting busted sucks, but I don't want to see anyone be hurt on my watch. Especially not you. I would, and most likely will, do it again in a heartbeat. I'm expendable, you're no-" his rant was interrupted as Blake's angry eyes bored into his from less than an inch away.

"Don't you dare suggest you're worth less than anyone else on this planet, Jaune Arc."

He flinched away from her, never having seen her so angry before. This whole thing was really affecting her, and he didn't know if it was because he had gotten hurt, or because he, in her eyes, seemed to think that she was someone who needed protecting. Maybe it was a little bit of both. "Sorry, I... it's hard to re-wire your brain. You know that. I've always thought I was worthless, and now I have the ability to protect the ones I love by taking the hits for them. The ability to do that doesn't go well with my self hate."

Blake's eyes softened slightly, but then hardened again as she turned away from him. She didn't seem to want to carry on the conversation any longer, knowing that there's no way she would win against him and his insistence on being the one in the right at the moment. She shelved that plan for later, and her eyes softened. Still locked on the book, she heard a shifting on the hospital bed, and her ears twitched in her bow. She looked over finally, and Jaune had moved into a more comfortable position on the bed. He almost looked peaceful, except for the small pained expression that seemed to take over his face every now and then.

If it was intentional or not, Blake had no idea, but it seemed like Jaune had scooted over to the edge of the bed, leaving a big, open space for anyone to take... Blake glanced down at her book for a moment, recalling how much more relaxed she usually felt when sitting leaning against Jaune's side as they read together in the library, before making her choice. She got up from her chair, not noticing how Jaune's eyes were tracking her from over the edge of his own book, and silently made her way onto his bed. She had always considered the hospital beds to be softer than the ones in their dorm, she guessed it was to help with students recovering, and with Jaune's warm side against hers as she settled down next to him she felt some of her nerves uncoiling.

Jaune glanced at his gorgeous and adorable kitty from the corner of his eye, happy she still wanted to feel physical contact despite being mad at him. He scooted a tiny bit closer to her, ignoring the stab of pain that coursed through his legs at the action, and Blake settled down even more comfortably as she could now rest her head on his shoulder as she continued to read.

They laid like that for the better part of an hour, just reading next to one another in silence, and soon enough, the sun had begun to fall. Blake looked outside at the sunset and back to Jaune. "You're not going to mind me sleeping on here, are you?" She asked softly. "Those chairs really are uncomfortable, and, you're really warm," she purred quietly, nuzzling into his shoulder.

"You can sleep with me on one condition," Jaune responded, and Blake stopped her nuzzling for a moment to look into his eyes. "You refrain from doing that kicking thing in your sleep. I don't want to know what it would feel like for you to kick my legs right now." Blake blushed.

"W-what kicking thing?"

Jaune sighed before answering, "Blake... I love you, you know that, but you're like an unruly cat when asleep. You can't stay still, it's like you're constantly chasing something in your dreams." Blake blushed harder, trying to hide her face behind her book, her earlier anger having dissipated some time ago.

"J-just hold me tight then..." she whispered as her ears flitted back and forth below her bow, a nervous habit of hers.

Jaune smiled down at her embarrassed visage, leaning down and kissing the top of her head softly, right in between her ears, before sneaking an arm around her side so he could pull her tighter against his body. "It's a deal then. You can sleep with me for as long as you want..."

Blake felt herself grow somewhat sleepy in Jaune's embrace, and she let out a yawn as Jaune did as she said and held her tightly against his warm chest. "But just so we're clear, if you kick my legs you're sleeping on the chair." Jaune added after a moment, and Blake debated on giving him a kick right then and there, but his warmth was too great to pass up for simple revenge.

"Shut up," she settled on mumbling. She was really, really tired now, just feeling the effects from today. With how worried she was about Jaune, she had paced all around her dorm until she had gotten the go ahead to come visit him. And even after that, she had wasted all of her energy trying to be mad with him.

Which never worked in the end. Despite how he drove her up the walls at times with either irritation or plain worry, Blake couldn't deny that Jaune was one of the best things to ever happen to her. He helped finish what her team had started, he helped her get out of her tightly knit shell and for that she was thankful.

"I love you..." she mumbled quietly as the grasping claws of sleep closed down around her, curling up against Jaune's, warm, comfortable, safe side.

"I love you too, Blake." Those were the last words she heard before she fell asleep.

AN: Got a suggestion or an idea for what I should write in this little collection? Leave a review. As much as these stories are for me, I really do like seeing what ideas other people might have.

Until next time.