Dunno why I wrote this. Guess I wanted to try writing fluff. Anyway, just a short piece.
Ruby hummed and helped herself to another strawberry snickerdoodle. Her favorite! "Mmm..." She chewed on the warm, soft snack and closed her eyes appreciatively. Between everything that happened recently she never had time to bake anymore and Weiss kept trying to limit how many sweets she ate.
Okay, maybe she kept the whole team up all night cause of a sugar high, but only did that once! Once! Denying her cookies was cruel and unusual! And it wasn't like that test detention they got was the end of the world or anything. Not even Yang helped her, her big sister and the one persons she trusted most. She betrayed her just like all the rest and no amount of pleading, puppy dog eyes and promises that it wouldn't happen again would sway her.
Traitor!
And then her savior came. Jaune Arc, her fellow leader, best (guy) friend, and, as she found out, really good baker. Apparently seven sisters with most of them having sweet tooths made him really good at making the good stuff. She didn't even ask him. He saw her distress and, like the knight he wanted to be, decided to bring her out of her slump in the best way possible.
Waking up to him knocking on their door with a plate full of cookies felt like a dream. She hugged him so hard that they both nearly toppled over. Weiss was confused for a second before she saw the cookies in his hands and tried to take them. Never! She grabbed them out of his hands and sped off to the roof, Weiss screaming about how she shouldn't have those. Ha, she said, ha! Just cause her traitorous teammates were her second family didn't mean she'd let them make her miserable.
The tenth cookie came and went. The pajama-clad reaper squirmed in her seat and kept a close eye on the door. Weiss, Blake and Yang were probably looking for her now but she was going to take her time with this. She went three days without a single sweet or strawberry! Three! The only person who got away with doing that to her was her dad and no one else.
The door cracked open and Ruby's eyes widened. She grabbed the plate and prepared to either run off again or shove all the remaining cookies down her throat when Jaune came out with both hands up, "Hey, easy, it's just me." His mouth curled up in that awkward smile and he shut the door behind her, "Figured you'd be up here."
She swallowed the eleventh snickerdoodle and wished she had some milk, "Where's everyone else?"
"Weiss is at the cafeteria and Yang's in the courtyard. Blake's back at your room cause she figured that you'd come back when you realized you were still in your pajamas." Ha. They underestimated her, then, "But really I think she just wanted to go back to sleep."
Thank the gods for lazy partners.
Jaune sat next to her, "So...any idea what's going on? I didn't think bringing you some cookies would make them freak out like that."
"They're being dumb." Another cookie down the hatch. Yum, "I made a single teeny, tiny mistake and they mutinied! They wouldn't let me have anything with sugar in it. They should be arrested for torture, I tell ya!"
"Is that the reason why you were so bummed? I thought it was cause of that detention you got."
"What? Nah." She waved a free hand lazily, "Weiss is the one making a stink about it. You think she's never been in detention or something."
"I mean...you did kinda tackle Professor Port when he was opening that Grimm cage..."
"Whose side are you on?" Ruby pouted. Sure he had a crush on Weiss for a while, but after the dance he didn't do anything. She figured it was over and done with.
"Just saying, you kinda left me holding the bag back there. Thought Snow Angel was gonna kill me." Snow Angel. Weiss stopped complaining about the nickname, though she didn't exactly like it. She probably thought it was cool since he didn't use it to flirt with her again, "Yang was pretty mad too, but I think that's just cause I woke you guys up so early."
"Yeah, uh...better hope you don't get either of them for Professor Goodwitch's class." She cringed.
"Oh, I know." He laughed and leaned back, looking up at the early morning sky, "Ah well, it's worth it. Least you're smiling again."
Her face heat up slightly and she grinned back. Yep, totally worth it. Just like she'd expect from her first ever friend at Beacon, "W-Well, if we get paired up then I'll go easy on you!" It was only when the words were out of her mouth that she realized how bad it sounded. Like she was pitying him, "N-Not that you need me to! You've been getting way better and you totally don't need me to-"
"Hey, it's cool." She looked for any sign that he was offended and trying to hide it. Nothing. Then again she wasn't exactly the best at looking for all those suble signs, "Anyway, we should probably get back to your dorms someone sees you out in your jammies."
"Right."
She finished off the cookies and went back to her room. Just like Jaune said, Blake was sleeping and barely stirred when she closed the door. At least she got first dibs on the shower. Usually Weiss and Yang went ahead no matter how early she woke up.
A half hour later she felt better than she had in days. She'd barely put on her uniform when the door crashed open again and both Weiss and Yang trudged in, circles under their eyes. Her partner and bestie scowled when she saw her sitting in bed and pointed an accusatory finger, "You're going to pay for that, Rose." Ooh, last name. Weiss always did that when she wanted to be serious. Or whenever she wanted the shower first.
"Ugh, just leave it alone, Weiss cream." Yang yawned and grabbed her uniform, "Of course her boyfriend was gonna get her a fix. It's our fault for not doing something about it before."
Wait, what?
"If I'd known Arc was a baker I would've dealt with this." Weiss put a hand on her chin, "Well, I suppose the punishment has been meted out at this point. Still, it's good to know for future reference. I failed to take Ruby's significant other into account."
She wasn't imagining that, right?
"I told you he was gonna be a problem," Blake said, getting up from the bed, "We probably should've told her boyfriend why we were doing this. He had no idea we banned her from snacking."
There was that word again!
"He's not my boyfriend!" He was a boy who was her friend, but there was a space between those two!
Everyone, even Blake, looked at her like she was an alien. Yang had a pitying look on her face and ruffled her hair, "Rubes, it's okay, you're a growing young girl and this is totally normal." Was she...she was was using her 'mom' voice! Oh, heck no! "I mean I would've liked it if you told me you were going out with VB, but hey, it wasn't like you were being subtle about it."
"Subtle about what?! We're just friends!"
Blake raised a brow while Weiss - Weiss - patted her head like she was Zwei, "I don't see any reason why you're hiding it. While I personally can't see the appeal of Arc, it's not as if we would judge you too much for your choice in partners."
"But...But-"
"Can we stop talking about Ruby's relationship already? I don't wanna be late for breakfast." Blake tied her bow back to cover her ears and began brushing her hair.
"We're not-"
"You're just saying that cause we've got tuna sandwiches." Yang grinned. Blake rolled her eyes and didn't say anything, "Anyway, VB better hope he doesn't get me for Goodwitch's class. I really need to let off some steam now."
"Hold it!" Ruby stamped her foot and jumped onto the closest chair so she could tower over her traitorous teammates, "Me and Jaune aren't going out!"
Yang raised a brow, "Uh-huh, sure," she said, clearly not believing her. Ruby's cheeks puffed up, "Right, so that guy you're 'not' going out with just decided to bake you cookies first thing in the morning?"
"He saw I was depressed cause some people were being jerks. Friends do that."
"Mm-hm. And I suppose friends also go out with you to buy weapon parts every weekend?" Blake asked, brow also raised.
"Well none of you guys went with me." She crossed her arms and pouted. Sure, she could get a little intense with how much she loved to spoil her baby, but that didn't mean everyone could just ditch her like that, "And who cares anyway? Every time I ask any of you you always make excuses."
"We don't care, you're the one in denial." Weiss scoffed. Ruby was so tempted to speed over there and wipe that look from her face, "And FYI, keeping us up all night because you wouldn't stop talking to him on your scroll is also rude."
"Yeah, Rubes, we know it's your first boyfriend but come on." Yang grinned.
"He's not...we're not- argh!" Ruby let out a frustrated cry and sped off out of their room. She couldn't deal with this now. Everyone was being dumb. So what if Jaune did all those things for her? She did things for him too! She helped improve Crocea Mors and helped him with his training too whenever Pyrrha was busy. They were friends, friends did stuff for each other.
Okay, and maybe she spent more time alone with him than anyone else, but so what? He got her. They were leader buddies and he was her first friend in Beacon. Even if Weiss was her bestie there were things she couldn't do with her that she could with Jaune. Blake was too busy reading books and Yang...well, as much as she loved her sister, there was a reason they didn't have the same friends back in Signal. And it was just cause they were two years apart.
Yep, was just her friend. Her best friend. A guy friend. Her boyf-
...
She stopped and huffed in front of the cafeteria. Whatever, her team was being dumb.
Weiss Schnee liked to think that she was as good as the rest of her peers. Months ago she would've said she considered herself better than them, and in some avenues that was true, but her pride had tapered off in the months she spent at Beacon. Still, one thing that couldn't be denied was that she was in the upper percentile when it came to knowledge. She'd never once gotten anything below a 90 in every single class and she fashioned herself an analytic mind even outside of the classroom.
That was why she found it so frustrating that Ruby - her partner and, much as she'd never admit it out loud, best friend - was so willing to deny what was right in front of her. The red cloaked reaper was stubborn to a fault, to both her benefit and detriment, but she was never willfully ignorant.
"Red like roses...fills my head with dreams and finds me..." Her partner sang as she packed the basket full of food. She spied some sandwiches and more than a few sweets before she closed the basket. Oddly enough most of it looked handmade. While Ruby was hardly so terrible that she couldn't make sandwiches, she always preferred to buy them from the cafeteria or down in Vale.
"Going somewhere?" Weiss asked. It was just the two of them in the room. Yang had gone to town to try and find some excitement while Blake went to a book signing. Zwei was also gone for some reason, thouhg whenever she asked Ruby just smirked.
"Yup!" The younger girl smiled brightly, "Having a picnic! I've been looking forward to it all week."
"A picnic?" Hmm, Ruby didn't seem the type, though she supposed that was her own misconception. Living in Patch with its dense woodland must've made eating out a fun weekend activity, "Would you mind if I came with you? I don't really have anything to do..." She would've called Winter but she was busy with work. She was suddenly reminded of the rather sad fact that, outside of her team and team JNPR, she didn't really spend time with anyone.
Ruby froze for just a moment, her smile becoming stiffer, "Ahaha...well, I'd really love to, Weiss, but I was kinda hoping I could go alone." Her eyes widened, "But we can totally go on one next week, promise! I'll even make a cake!"
"Calm down, you dunce. I'm hardly so fragile that one rejection will break me." She scoffed, though her lips still quirked up in a smile all the same. That Ruby cared so much for her friends was just one of the reasons she cared for her partner, "I'm surprised you're planning to go solo, however. That doesn't seem like you."
"Uh...I'm not going alone, exactly." Weiss blinked when Ruby mumbled someone's name under her breath. She continued louder when she saw Weiss' look, "I'm going out with Jaune. I thought I should pay him back for those cookies and a picnic sounded like a good idea."
"I...see." She blinked again, "I just don't understand why that requires you two to be alone. Is my presence so offensive?" she asked lightly. Weiss wasn't as prone to teasing as Yang or even Blake, but already she could see the gears spinning in her partner's head as she scrambled for an excuse.
"W-Well, it's just..." Ruby swallowed and held the basket like a shield, "I only packed enough for two people! Yeah! I don't want you or Jaune to go hungry or anything!"
"I could just buy some food from the cafeteria. After all, when it comes to picnics it's the company, not the pabulum."
"The what? You just made that word up." Weiss rolled her eyes. The girl's vocabulary still needed work, "But you still can't go. Jaune's already there and I don't wanna make him wait any longer."
"You could just tell me the location and I can catch up. It's no bother." Weiss had to stop herself from grinning as younger girl again tried to scramble for an excuse. Eventually she just zoomed out of the room, leaving her alone. She rolled her eyes again and picked up a book to get started on next week's assigned readings.
Honestly, if Ruby just said she wanted to go on a date she wouldn't have pressed. Why she insisted on denial, she had no clue.
Blake Belladona liked to observe people. People watching, she liked to call it. Yang called it being lonely and creepy, which the cat Faunus refused to acknowledge with a reply. Her partner thought that was creepy but somehow saw nothing wrong with wrecking a nightclub. Clearly her standards for normal behavior was biased.
Her team were the most frequent 'victims' of her habit. It was easy with them. No matter how different Ruby, Yang and Weiss were, they all tended to wear their hearts on their sleeve. Even Weiss, for all her attempts to appear prim and proper, didn't take long before she was just as open as the others. And even before that she wasn't exactly subtle.
One teammate in particular drew her attention for the few weeks. Ruby Rose was never one to lie even when it would've been for her benefit. She chalked that up to having Yang as an older sister. Between the two, one of them had to play the role of the good kid.
Which was why she found it so odd that she insisted on doing so now. Ever since the day Jaune baked for her she'd squawked and screamed about how the two of them weren't dating. Even when they made it clear they didn't care she still refused to admit it, continuing to deny, deny, deny until even Yang stopped got tired of bringing it up. Which was saying a lot considering how patient the blonde could be when it heckling people.
"Who's a good boy? You are, Zwei, yes you are!"
Blake closed her book - Ninjas of Love II: Kunoichi Kitty's Love Quest - with a sigh and gave a withering look to the only other occupant of the room. She'd decided to stay in to get some reading done when Ruby, today of all days, decided to do the same. Not to read, of course, but rather to pet the little monster huffing and puffing at her lap. She rued the day he came in the mail and she no longer felt safe in her room.
She debated going out and possibly being caught by the ignorant masses reading the pinnacle of literature when Ruby's scroll rang. Her face brightened and and she pressed it to her ear, "Hey, Jaune!"
Of course, her not-boyfriend. Blake sighed and stood to leave. Dealing with Ruby cuddling the hellbeast was bad enough, doing it while she gushed about her fellow leader was too much.
Sadly her plans went up in smoke. Ruby's grip on her nemesis slackened and, seeing her movement, jumped towards her with a fierce war cry. Blake screamed and they both rolled on the floor, fighting fiercely. He attacked her face with that disgusting tonge of his and resisted all of her attempts to pry him off, barking that ungodly sound as he did. This was how she died.
And through it all Ruby was no help, giggling and snorting at whatever Jaune said while she fought for her life. Eventually the conversation ended and she cut the call, "Aww, Blake, I knew you liked Zwei!"
"I do not!" She finally managed to pry the stubby terror and shoved him back into Ruby's arms, "Ugh, you know if you want to talk to your boyfriend-"
"Not my boyfriend!" Ruby squawked just a bit too quickly.
Blake sighed. Any other time she would've let it go, but the fact that she was so dopey about Jaune that she let her suffer meant she was vindictive, "Really? You do know that no one's being fooled by that."
"You can be 'not fooled' all you want, I'm telling the truth!"
"So everything you're doing is normal?"
"Yup! Just something friends do for each other."
"Uh-huh...so, when you and Jaune were sleeping together in the common room?"
"We were both tired."
"And all those picnics and movies you both go to and refuse to let anyone come with?"
"Come on, like you wanna watch X-Ray and Vav."
"You stayed the night in Vale with him at a hotel last weekened."
"We missed the last bullhead. Were we supposed to sleep on the streets?" Ruby crossed her arms and looked up at Blake confidently, "We're friends, Blake. Friends do stuff with each other."
Really? Blake sighed. Alright, she was asking for it, "Ruby...you were staring at him in the showers yesterday."
Her team leader's eyes widened and she squeezed the monster tightly. Good, "S-So what? The showers are co-ed like the dorms! And I was just worried about him since he got a really big hit from Cardin!"
"Uh-huh. And what part of that worrying included you licking your lips and drooling while staring at his chest?" If Yang were here she would've said Blake looked like the cat that ate the canary. She never liked that saying, but she had to admit seeing Ruby's face turn red and her squeezing her nemesis like a stress toy was satisfying.
Ruby didn't say anything and, as was becoming all too common nowadays, she zipped out the door as fast as her semblance could carry her. She took the little monster with her too, meaning she was alone. Blake smiled and picked up her book again.
Yang Xiao-Long was a lot of things. A kickass fighter, a bombshell, an awesome friend and, most importantly, the best big sister in the world. She was sure Weiss would disagree and put up her own big sis as an example, but facts were facts and it was indisputable truth that she couldn't be beat there.
Of course being the best big sis in all of Remnant meant some assumptions. Like the idea that she hated the idea of Ruby dating. Correction, she hated the idea of Ruby dating some scumbag who'd take advantage of her. She hit one creep who wanted in her sister's skirt after the first date and suddenly everyone thought she was a weirdo who wanted Ruby to die an old spinster.
Which was why she approved of Ruby dating vomi- Jaune. Sure he wasn't the strongest and Ruby could probably spank him even without Crescent Rose, but he was a good guy and she trusted him not to hurt Ruby. Ruby made him happy and she made him happy. Win-win.
Which was why she found it so weird that, even months after that fateful day, she still refused to admit it. Was Ruby scared that she'd flip out or something? That as soon as she actually told the truth she'd come storming over their, hair alight, give Jaune the Overprotective Big Sis Talk™ and ruin things? Cause she wouldn't! She'd just make sure to break his balls if he ever actually did hurt her, but until then she was totally cool.
Now they were just a few days away from spring break and making plans. Weiss planned to go back to Atlas while she and Ruby were heading home to Patch. Blake was staying in Beacon and waved off their offers to come with them. Apparently she had plans in Vale and the break was as good a time as any to do them. Oh well, it'd just be her and her little sis going back home.
Or at least it should've been before Ruby dropped the bombshell that he was going back to Jaune's hometown for the first week. Meeting his family, she said. Weiss and Blake stared at her but didn't say anything. At this point they were convinced Ruby would never spill and until today Yang would've joined them.
Yang grabbed her gushing sister and dragged her to the corner of their room, "Rubes, we need to talk." She sat her down and held her hands. Silver eyes blinked and she looked up at her, confused, "Listen...you know I love you, right?"
"Uh...yeah?" She blinked again.
"And you know I want you to be happy, right?" Yang smiled and squeezed the smaller girl's hands.
"Sure...?"
"So I need to know why you won't just tell me you and Jaune are dating-"
"Oh my gods, Yang!" Ruby huffed and pulled her hands back. She threw her hands up, a frustrated look on her face, "How many times do I have to tell you that me and Jaune aren't dating? We're just friends!"
"Ruby..." Yang sighed and held both of Ruby's shoulders. She wasn't gonna zip out of the room again, "Ruby, you're gonna spend a week over at his house. Just the two of you. I know you're awkward but you know how it looks, right?"
"But we're not gonna be alone! There's his mom, dad and all his sisters! Except Saphron cause she left home."
"You know that's not what I meant."
"It's not a big deal." She puffed up her cheeks and Yang had to resist the urge to pinch, "And besides, it's not like I'm gonna spend the whole break there. We'll head over to Patch the week after."
"Ruby. He's introducing you to his parents and you're introducing him to ours. That's what you're saying right now." Dad would like Jaune. Which was a good thing cause Ruby would've been pretty mad if he turned her first boyfriend to mush.
"Arrrghhh!" She shook off Yang's hands and stood, stamping her foot as she did, "That's enough! I dunno why you guys think me and Jaune are dating, but I'm done talking about it! If you three are gonna keep being dumb I'm sleeping over in JNPR's room!"
She stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind her as she went. Yang, Weiss, and Blake looked at one another and she sighed. Okay, that didn't go well, but what the hell was she supposed to do? Her sister was so massively in denial that it actually hurt. Blake said a week back that maybe Ruby wasn't lying and she was actually so deep in denial that she honestly believed she was telling the truth. Yang didn't really buy it, but what if she was onto something?
The blonde sighed again and stood up after half an hour passed. Fine, if Ruby wanted to make it that way she'd play along. Better than her little sis holding a grudge over the break.
She opened the door and saw JNPR's room door ajar. Convenient, "Hey, Ruby, I wanted to-" She stopped and stared, eyes wide, at the sight that greeted her. Ruby - her sweet, innocent little sister - practically eating Jaune's face while she straddled him. Their clothes were a mess, buttons hastily undone while both of her hands grabbed at his abs. Man, Pyrrha deserved credit for those.
"Y-Yang!" Ruby yelped and fell off the bed, hands windmilling as she crashed. The reaper groaned and looked up at her, "Wh-What are you doing here?!"
"Wanted to say sorry and that you were right about you and Jaune totally not dating." She gave a wide grin when Jaune coughed and tried to shrink in on himself, "I'm just gonna leave you and your totally platonic friend to do what you guys want. 'Kay?"
"...Okay." Ruby nodded, face still blazing.
She was almost out when she looked back, "Don't worry, Rubes, I'm sure dad's gonna love him."
"Get out!" She tossed a pillow. Yang cackled and ran out. Oh yeah, she was gonna milk this for weeks.
Just trying to experiment with this kind of pairing. Not sure if this is gonna be a oneshot or I should make another chapter either showing Jaune dealing with the same thing from Pyrrha, Ren and Nora or maybe even writing them meeting each other's families. What do you guys think?