Wow, so...this kinda blew up. I was expecting maybe 10-13 reviews at most for a little fluff piece. So here's the next chapter from Jaune's POV. Might do another chapter for the family meet-up.

I've also got another fic idea of all of team RWBY being Maidens and Jaune more or less forced to be their babysitter by Ozpin so they don't destroy the city with their antics. Poor him.

Jaune Arc liked to think he was a good person. Not flawless, but a good person anyway. So when he saw Ruby - one of his first Beacon friends and fellow leader - looking like she was just told Crescent Rose had to be dismantled, he was rightly worried. This was Ruby, the girl who smiled and kept her head up no matter what happened. Roman Torchwick attack? No problem. Teammate was former White Fang? Didn't matter.

So he made it a priority to bring that smile back. A depressed Ruby Rose was just wrong. It was like a Nora that hated pancakes or a cheerful Ren.

But what, he thought. He wasn't good at building weapons and she wasn't the kind of girl that you could cheer up with buying something that would cost more than his entire stipdend for the term. It had to be something he could give her that wouldn't bankrupt their team.

And then it came to him. Baking, of course. Ruby loved cookies and strawberries so why not give her exactly that? And Jaune, just to toot his own horn a bit, was a damn good baker. Had to be when six out of seven sisters had a sweet tooth. Especially Lily. His youngest sister was into any kind of dessert as soon as she had teeth to chew and what kind of big brother would he be if he didn't spoil her just a bit?

The dentist bills were his parents' problem anyway.

So it was that he woke up extra early, even before the perpetually sugar crazed Nora Valkyrie, to enact his plan to cheer up his fellow leader. Thankfully Beacon's kitchens were already open and all students were free to use the facilities. Something about helping foster independence and training them for when they had to take care of themselves once they were fully trained Huntsmen. Didn't matter. All he knew was that hopefully by the end of the day Ruby was back to her normal, cheerful self.

It took a couple of hours to get everything done. Making everything from scratch complicated things, though thankfully all the ingredients were already there. When the snickerdoodles were out of the oven the smell made his face break out in a smile. Oh yeah, Ruby was gonna love these. Hopefully it'd cheer her up after that detention. Detention with Ms. Goodwitch was bad enough. Detention with Professor Port and his 'extra steamy' stories was enough to break even the stongest of wills.

He waited for them to cool a bit before transferring them to a plate. Jaune hummed all the way back to team RWBY's dorm. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face. The rest of team WBY would be happy to have their cheerful leader back too.

Jaune knocked on the door and grinned when he saw Ruby's groggy face greet him, "Morning, Rubes." He raised the plate and her confused look turned to one of sheer surprise and relief when she saw the pile of strawberry snickerdoodles, "Thought you could use a little pick-me-up."

"Jaune..." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes before she screamed and tackled him in a bonecrushing hug. Er...wow, he didn't think she was that hungry.

"What's going on...?" Snow Ang- Weiss said, blearily sitting up on her bed. She rubbed her eyes and looked to him and her squealing leader, "Arc, what are you-"

And then her eyes went wide when she spotted the cookies he was holding. He was about to offer some of them to her too when she suddenly screamed.

"Arc, no!" She stumbled out of her and fell on her face, legs still tangled in the blanket, "You don't know what you're doing! Stop!"

"Wha-"

"You can't stop me, Weiss!"

Ruby grabbed the plate and zipped out of the room in a flurry of rose petals. Jaune could only watch her go in utter confusion while the B and Y of team RWBY finally woke up from the sudden screams, "What's going on?" Yang grumbled, her hair looking far messier than any time he'd ever known her. Blake looked the same, hair covering her face so much that only one golden eye peeked out. She looked like a ghost from a Mistralian movie.

"It's too early for this..." Blake growled.

"Ruby has absconded with a plate full of cookies!" Weiss yelled.

That woke them up. Or, well, it woke Yang up. Blake just groaned and and covered her face with a pillow. Was...Was she crying?

"No...no!" Yang raised both hands up and looked at them, her eyes shellshocked. What the hell?

"Yes, it's true..." Weiss was on her hands and knees on the floor, banging her right fist like a woman who was just told she had only hours to live, "This...This fool has given Ruby a plate full of confections. I...I tried to stop her." She choked back a sob. What the hell was going on? Did everyone snort crazy dust while he wasn't looking?

"Huh. Well, it's a good thing the culprit chose not to leave the scene of the crime." Yang stood up and cracked her knuckles, eyes red and a murderous smile on her face.

"Woah, hey! Stay back, Yang!" He almost bolted then and there before he remembered that the other blonde was way faster than him. If he made it back to JNPR's dorm he could survive, but that wasn't a bet he was willing to take, "I-I just wanted to cheer up Ruby! I thought you guys would be happy!"

"Happy?! Why would we be happy?!" Weiss cried again, "It's because of her mad sugar rushes that we received that week-long detention from Professor Port." His former crush tucked her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth, "He's already told us about the time he saved that village of Vacuo warrior women and how they expressed their 'gratitude'! I am not going to risk another week, Arc!"

"What does that have to do with anything?! I thought she was bummed cause of the detention and I wanted to cheer her up!"

"She wasn't sad because of that." Blake groaned, voice still muffled by the pillow, "She was sad because we all unanimously agreed that for the entire week Ruby was banned from eating any kind of sweet or strawberry. Which you've now broken."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, oh." Yang's eyes were still red, though she at least made no move to come closer to him, "Ugh, please tell me you controlled the sugar intake in those things, at least. If Ruby comes back with her Semblance working 24/7 I really will kill you."

"Of course I did." He had to learn how once Lily came back from her fifth dentist appointment.

"Then maybe all hope isn't lost." Weiss sighed and stood up. In any other situation seeing Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao-Long in their pajamas might've drawn his attention. Now he was focused on getting out of here with his legs intact, "Still, it wouldn't do to let her indulge so openly. We should try to find her and see if we can limit the damage, at least. I'll check the cafeteria. If my hunch is correct she would've gone there for some milk."

"I'll check the courtyard. Rubes always did like to eat out," Yang said.

"I'll stay here just in case she doubles back," Blake added last. Honestly she looked like she was just going back to sleep but he knew better than to call her out. At least they calmed down now.

He got out of their room before they remembered how much they hated him for violating Ruby's punishment. He found himself going up to the roof soon after. It was Ruby's 'secret spot', though how secret it was he had no clue considering anyone could just go up there.

He chatted with his fellow leader for a bit, acting clueless all the while. A part of him hoped that this was all some elaborate joke and that the rest of her team were just stressed from Port's detention, but no. Apparently Blake told him the exact truth and it took everything he had not to slam his face against the wall for how close he came to dying just cause he wanted to cheer Ruby up.

Oh well, it was worth it to see her smile again.

He went back to his room just in time to see the rest of his teammates waking up. Pyrrha always woke up early to get a headstart on training while Ren and Nora...well, they did whatever Nora wanted and Ren had to be there to make sure she didn't blow up the school.

"Morning, Jaune. You're up early." Pyrrha yawned and gave him a sleepy smile.

"Yeah, uh...something came up." He scratched the back of his head.

"Hold on a second..." Nora got up from her bed and walked closer to him. And then she sniffed him. Jaune had to resist every urge to push the short ginger away as she sniffed and hummed all over him, "You smell like cookies!"

"Nora, what-"

"You made cookies!" His sister from another mother shouted, "Where are they, Jaune-Jaune! Your queen demands her tribute!"

"Nora, please..." Ren sighed.

"You woke up to bake?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes, but it's not what you think." Jaune sighed too. He should've made extra for them, now that he thought about it, "Look, I'm sorry, but I gave it all way to Ruby. I wanted to cheer her up and I thought some cookies would help. I'll make some for you guys next time, I promise."

Nora looked crestfallen for a bit before her face lit up in a gigawatt bright smile, "Aww, it's okay, fearless leader! Of course you'd try to make your girlfriend happy!" Wait, what? "Ruby's so lucky to have someone like you!" She cooed and gently slapped his left cheek like a proud mom.

He looked to the rest of his teammates. Ren just nodded, happy that Nora had calmed down again. Pyrrha - his partner, best friend, and another girl he considered family - looked...sad? No, it was more melancholic. When she caught his gaze she smiled softly and nodded, "Indeed. I expect the rest of team RWBY is happy now that everything's back to normal."

"Yeah, you'd think so." He still remembered Yang's implicit threat to break his limbs, "By the way, Ruby's not my girlfriend."

Nora scoffed. Loudly and with a force to rival Magnhild's blow. Ren hummed, which Jaune recognized as 'I don't believe you but I'm not going to argue'. Pyrrha just looked uncertain though he caught a hint of hope in her eyes. Weird.

"I'm serious, she's not."

"Aww, no need to be so shy! You two look cute together." Nora's eyes flickered to Pyrrha before the smile came back, slightly more forced.

"And I'm telling you we're not dating." Jaune sighed. He'd been through this enough times to not get flustered. Four older sisters meant they thought every single female friend he had was a girlfriend in the making.

"Jaune-Jaune, you baked her cookies."

"And Ren makes you pancakes. Is that what you mean when you're together?" He smirked slightly.

"Of course not! I mean we're together, but not together-together! That'd be weird." Norah shot back. Again, Ren just nodded, all too used to Nora's assertions, "And that's totally different! Me and Ren have been together for years! You've known Ruby for months and you're already baking for her!"

"I did say I'd bake for you guys too- wait, was this all to make sure that I'd actually do that?"

Nora smirked, "I confirm and deny nothing. I expect my tribute in a day's time."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Nora Valkyrie was someone who wore her heart on her sleeve. Sometimes it got her in trouble, cause Ren said some situations were better handled with 'tact', but it was something she refused to change. Honesty was the best policy, after all, and if you had to lie to cheer someone up then was it really better than telling them the ugly truth? No, she thought, honesty was the best.

Which was why she had to be honest with Pyrrha. She knew about the girl's crush on their fearless leader. Heck, it seemed like the entire school knew about it...except for Jaune-Jaune, of course. How the guy could come up with strategies but still miss what was right in front of him she had no idea.

It was a long and...awkward talk. Jaune was Pyrrha first love and she knew it was hard to let that go. Maybe it was hypocritical of her. After all, she was too scared to take the next step with Ren cause of the chance that he didn't feel the same. As long as they were still just 'together' she could keep pretending that it could last forever and the chance of breaking what they had wasn't there.

"I know I should move on. It's clear the two are together," Pyrrha said.

"Yeah..." Jaune-Jaune could deny it all he wanted but it was obvious what they were. All those picnics and movies? The way he went with her to do what she wanted even when the rest of her team bailed? It was just like her and Ren, "But hey, I mean there's other fish in the sea!" She did her best not to say anything about how Pyrrha had a sea (heh) of people to choose from considering who she was. Pyrrha hated being reminded of it.

"Yes. Thank you, Nora- woah!" The shorter redhead surged forward and tackled the champion in a tight hug, "What are you-"

"Me and Ren are here for you!" Nora shouted. Babbling now, she continued, "We can totally have a girls night! We'll go out on clubs, get guys to buy drink for us, set the whole town on fire! Literally! Team RWBY did that once!" Still had no idea how they didn't get in trouble for that, especially considering how traumatized Blake was. Headmaster Ozpin was definitely playing favorites.

Pyrrha laughed softly and returned the hug, "Thank you, Nora. I appreciate it."

They stayed that way for almost a minute. Nora smiled. It would've been better if he and Pyrrha got together, but she wasn't gonna hate Jaune for liking who he did. Love worked in mysterious ways and all that.

The door opened before they could separate and Jaune stepped in. He barely stepped inside before he saw the two of them, her head on Pyrrha's chest, and his face flushed. Ooh! "Uh..." He coughed, "Should I come back later?"

"Aww, jealous, Jaune-Jaune?" Nora wiggled, making Pyrrha blush, "You know you can join us! Bring Ren, too! We can make it a team bonding activity!"

Jaune coughed again, though this time he laughed. Success, "Uh, I don't think he's gonna agree to that." He closed the door behind him while she and Pyrrha separated. The mood was lighter than before, though she still saw a hint of melancholy in Pyrrha's smile.

"Out on another date with Ruby?" Nora grinned and put her hand on her chin, laughing like a dirty old man. No lying. She wasn't going to pretend it didn't happen. The sooner Pyrrha got that the better.

"We went to the movies, yeah." Jaune rolled his eyes. He stopped saying they weren't dating, but it didn't mean he agreed whenever they said the two were dating. He just liked to give 'neutral non-answers', as Ren called them, "The new X-Ray and Vav came out and she didn't wanna go alone."

"Yeah, nothing sadder than going to the movies alone. You're a really good boyfriend, Jaune."

"Whatever you say, Norah."

Lie Ren was often misunderstood. As Nora's designated best friend/caretaker/warden he had to keep a calm front in order to deal with his childhood friend's hyperactivity. That wasn't to say he didn't care, but all too often people thought otherwise, mistaking his reticence for apathy and silence for unfriendliness. This led to more than a few people choosing to keep their distance from him.

Which was why he appreciated it when Jaune treated him as family. His brother from another mother, as he called it. He would've appreciated it more if he did it when Ren hadn't just come out of the shower in nothing but a towel, but he appreciated it all the same.

Which was why he thought it was his duty to help Jaune through his...relationship issues.

"I don't know how much more I can keep going, Ren." Jaune sagged on the bed, hands covering his face. Ren sat next to him, thankfully fully clothed, "Everyone's convinced me and Ruby are together. No matter what I say everyone just ignores it!"

"Hmm." Ren nodded. He liked to think that he was good at reading people's emotions, perhaps partly due to his Semblance's abilities, but even he was confused as to the reason for Jaune's complete denial. It was clear to all that the two were in a deep and loving relationship. Except for them. They simply refused to even acknowledge the idea and denied or brushed away any and all insinuations to the contrary.

"I mean, it's like people have no idea what friends are like!" He threw his hands up, "We go to the movies? Friends do that! We stayed at a hotel? Friends can do that too! Friends can do a whole lot of things without it being weird!"

"I'm sorry for being presumptous, but didn't you share a bed in that hotel?" Ren asked.

"Th-That was just cause we didn't have money for a double bed!" Ah, of course. Absolutely sensible, "I mean I tried to sleep on the floor, but then Ruby felt bad and said she'd sleep on the floor. And I when I tried to sleep down there anyway she got a pillow and did the same thing! So it was either we both slept on the floor or we both slept on the bed! That makes sense, right?"

"Of course." He didn't bother pointing out that Ruby joined him on the bed despite offering to sleep on the floor before. No doubt he'd come up with a practical reason for that. Probably something about sharing body warmth in the room that had a thermostat.

"So yeah, I dunno why everyone's making such a big deal about it!" Jaune groaned, "I've been trying to act like it doesn't bother me, but there's only so much I can take! Yang's grinning and telling me how her dad's gonna love me and Weiss gave me a formal congratulations! She had it mailed by envelope and everything! We live across the hall!" He waved the offending envelope. Ren caught the hint of Atlesian Orchid in the paper. No less could be expected from the Schnee heiress.

"It sounds as if our friends are supportive."

"Yeah, of their weird shared delusions..." Jaune grumbled.

Ren sighed and put a hand Jaune's shoulder, "Jaune?"

"Yeah, bro?"

"You have a ring." He gestured to the small box on his close friend's lap. A box he'd been extremely protective of once Nora pointed it out hours before, "You bought Ruby a ring."

"Yeah?"

"And...you do not see the implications of this?"

"It's a friendship ring. For best friends," Jaune said, not a hint of awareness on his face. Had Ren been another person he would've slapped Jaune silly for that. Instead he kept calm and chose his next words slowly and carefully.

"Jaune, you claim that ring is wholly friend related without any other purpose."

"Yup," he said, popping the p. He was even taking from her habits. Oh dear.

"So would you give Nora or Pyrrha the same accessory? Or me?" Going roundabout wasn't working. He had to be blunt.

"Jaune's eyes widened, "What, no! Of course not."

"So you understand-"

"I mean, you, Nora, and Pyr are family!" Jaune continued, oblivious to Ren's falling expression, "You don't give a ring to family, but for a best friend? Yeah, that's cool." Ren uttered a silent prayer for Pyrrha's last hopes, "See? Friends do things for each other."

"..." Ren looked down at his lap and closed his eyes, a man defeated.

Jaune's scroll rang and he suddenly stood, "Oh, I gotta go! I told Ruby I'd pay her back for installing that gravity shroud on Crocea Mors' shield." His face broke into a lovestruck (though Ren was sure he'd deny it) smile, "Man, she's gonna be so pumped when I give her those chocolate covered strawberries. Can't wait to see the look on her face."

"Now? Jaune, it's 7 AM on the weekened."

"Yeah, figured a little breakfast in bed would be the perfect thing to start the day." He nodded like an eager puppy, again missing the implication, "That reminds me, you think I should give her the ring before or after the food?"

"...I think she will be happy regardless of the time." He knew better than to think that Ruby would catch the implications either. The two were seemingly trying to one-up each other in increasingly flimsy denials.

"Ah, you're right! See you around, dude." Ren waited till his brother from another mother left the room before he hit his head on the wall just once.

Pyrrha Nikos was known by many times. Mistral's Prodigy, the Invincible Girl and, by some of her more hardcore fans (and her agent...), the Goddess of Victory. Titles she once held with pride before the adoration turned to unintentional ostracization. While she never quite lost her pride in the victories she achieved, it was a double edged sword. The more she won the more her peers considered her above their reach. And for some that adoration turned to jealousy and spite.

Despite it all she refused to lose. Perhaps getting defeated would taper off the image, make her look more approachable, but despite everything the idea of holding herself back was never more than a half-baked idea. She earned her wins. While others claimed she was a prodigy gifted with natural talent she'd worked to achieve her skill. To throw it away on a false defeat spat in the face of all her efforts.

Which was probably why her loss felt so bitter right now.

Pyrrha sighed as she brushed her hair. She was being dramatic. After all, could it truly be called a loss when Ruby hadn't even realized they were competing in the first place? As downcast as she felt right now she couldn't find it in her to be angry at either her or Jaune. They were both good friends and deserved to find happiness. And while she would've loved it if Jaune found it with herself, she couldn't deny that the two brought out the best in each other.

If only they realized it.

She sighed once again and lowered the brush. At first she'd taken their denials with a tentative hope that perhaps the two weren't in a relationship. As the weeks passed and they continued to claim they were nothing more than friends, however, hope turned to acceptance and then eventually irritation. It was obvious to everyone that the two were together, officially or not, and their behavior around each other had only gotten more excessive. Just a couple of days prior they'd already made plans to visit each other's families and even opined the idea of visiting his sister Saprhon in Argus over the summer. Just the two of them.

It was hard to take defeat in grace when the winner kept claiming she hadn't won.

"Oh! Hey, Pyr." Jaune stepped into their dorm room, a smile on his face. Pyrrha smiled back. It was easier now. The irritation helped her from feeling sad, "Any plans today?"

"No. How about you, Jaune?"

"Eh, nothing much. I was gonna hang out with Ruby, maybe go out in Vale." Ah yes, another one of their not-dates that would likely end with them staying the night at another hotel.

"Hm. Jaune, could we talk." She looked him in the eyes. He blinked, surprised at the sudden seriousness in her tone.

"Uh...sure? Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong, per se, though I am confused about something." She put her hands on her lap, "You've claimed time and again that you and Ruby aren't in a relationship, correct?"

"This again? Come on, we're just friends! Best friends!"

"Would you ever think about becoming more than that?"

"...What?"

"Let's say you two are 'just friends' and we're all wildly imagining all the implications. Would the thought of dating her cross your mind? How does it make you feel?"

"Uh, I mean, that's just..." He coughed and pointedly looked everywhere but her, "R-Ruby's one of my best friends, you know? I can't just think about it."

"Why not?" Pyrrha said, voice growing firmer, "How different would it be if you two were together? Would you really have to change how you're acting?"

"I...well..."

"I'm sorry if I'm overstepping my bounds, Jaune, but as your partner I do want you to be happy." And Ruby made him happy, more than she could, "Think about it, okay?"

Pyrrha left the room, leaving Jaune to stew on her words. Dating Ruby. He'd be lying if he said he never considered it. She was a cute girl. Younger than he was but so much braver and stronger than he could ever be. It didn't matter if she was facing down a Nevermore or fighting a thief inside a stolen Atlesian mech, she never gave up and did everything she could. He admired that about her. Lov-

The door opened with a bang and Ruby stomped inside, face set in a fierce pout.

"Ruby, what's wrong?"

"It's Yang." She let out a frustrated breath, sitting close to him on the bed, their legs and sides touching, "She's making a stink about me visiting your family for the break and now she's saying we're dating again." She threw her hands up, "Cause friends can't visit each other's families, right? Ugh, I really hate her right now."

"Yeah..."

Ruby gave him a worried look and touched his right arm, "Something wrong?"

"H-Hey, would you, um..." Gods, why was this so hard? He asked out Weiss and even serenaded her, so why couldn't he just bring it up with his best friend? "When you got mad at Yang saying we were dating. Is...the thought of it really so bad?"

"What?"

"Like I know I'm not that much of a catch, but-"

"No, Jaune! No, no, no!" Ruby grabbed the sides of his face with both hands, "You're great catch! An awesome one! Any girl would be lucky to have you!" Their faces were so close now. Weird, they were just as close before this but suddenly his face felt warm. Ruby's did too, her cheeks dusted a pretty shade of pink, "It's not you that's the problem. It's Yang and the others butting into everything."

"So the two of us dating...what do you think?"

"H-Huh? Well that's..." She still hadn't let go of him, "I...I dunno, I've never really dated anyone before so I didn't r-really think about it."

"Really? Never? Not even back at Signal?"

Ruby huffed, "Puh-lease, Yang always got all the boys. And girls." She rolled her eys, "A bunch of people back then made friends with me cause they thought I'd be their ticket in. I was just 'Yang's little sister'. The awkward little girl who liked weapons, not like her cool big sis."

"Well, they're idiots then. Anyone would be lucky to be friends with you." He raised his right hand and gripped her wrist gently. Not to try pry her off, just to squeeze her warm skin, "...You know, you never really answered."

"Huh?"

"Us dating. Is it really that bad?"

"...Not if you don't think so."

He leaned forward and kissed her. It was brief, just a quick peck on the lips before they separated like they'd both been burned. Ruby's face had gone from a cute pink to a blazing cherry red that matched the shade of her cloak, "...That was my first kiss," she mumbled.

"Oh..." It wasn't his, not that it was anything to write him about. He shared his first one with a girl back in Domremy. Isabel, a girl who lived a few houses from him, back when he was fifteen. The relationship lasted maybe a couple weeks. Still, the feeling of fire in his lips from the kiss he shared his Ruby was nothing compared to the awkward fumbling with his first crush.

"...So, we're dating now?" Ruby asked, face still flushed.

"If you believe everyone else, we've been together for weeks now." He grinned weakly, Ruby doing the same in turn, "...Ruby Rose, do you wanna go out with me?"

"Yup."

He expected their next kiss to be soft and hesitant. Instead Ruby pounced on him and acted like his lips were chocolate covered strawberries. He barely managed to catch his breath when the five foot nothing girl pushed him down on the bed, both hands grabbing at his uniform while her tongue pinned down his and made it cry uncle.

Everything was a blur after that. Yang barged in at some point and Ruby yelled about being interrupted, but honestly he was still in a daze. All he remembered was Ruby jumping on top of him again as soon as Yang was out the door.

Man...his family wasn't gonna believe this.

Got kinda angsty there with Nora and Pyrrha's segments. Nora was originally gonna be lighter with her trying to barge in on Jaune and Ruby's picnic but I thought it was too similar to Weiss' segments and re-wrote it.

Anyway, next chapter has two options. Either I go ahead with the recently coupled not-couple visiting Jaune's family or I do another POV chapter from people around Beacon (Goodwitch, Cardin etc etc) reacting to Jaune and Ruby's increasingly unrealistic denials. What do you guys think?

I'll also try to write up the 'Jaune forced to keep an eye Maiden team RWBY' fic. Good thing he has high Aura or he'd probably be dead on day 1.