Content.

For the first time in forever, the blond boy felt content. A laugh slipped between his lips as he pulled into a free parking spot, braking before pulling the e-brake. His car let out a quiet alarm as he unbuckled his seat belt, slouching in his seat as his head leaned against the headrest.

Jaune let his eyes flit shut as he rolled down his window, letting the autumn wind blow against his cheek. He wasn't sure what his life was going to be like in a few years, but he was hoping that he could feel as good about them as he felt today. Then again, he supposed that line of thought could apply to any duration of time. A few months, a few weeks, even a few days, was all it took for things to change.

He hoped life didn't change too much. The blond driver was already accustomed to his schedule, he knew just what there was to expect out of his daily life. But if his life suddenly changed, that meant everything was out of his control. It meant that just about anything could happen.

The driver shook his head as he forced open his eyes, pulling his keys from the ignition before stepping out of his car. This was followed by the process of getting his groceries out of the trunk, locking up his car, and carrying all of the bags into his apartment. Two months ago, the task might have proven a little difficult, but he got used to it. After all, the last time he left his trunk open to bring in his groceries, someone stole his toolbox.

Yeah, Jaune learned how to bring groceries in quickly after that.

His apartment itself was exactly the way he left it. Severely under-furnished, dirty, and dark. A thought crossed his mind as he stepped through his front door, using the back of his foot to shut it. He could probably afford to clean up around his place. Maybe he could buy some sheets and a blanket for his mattress later?

Dragging the several bags in his hands over to his fridge, he carefully put away his groceries. Everything that needed to be cold was thrown in his mini-fridge, and everything that didn't was thrown into a series drawers and cupboards. Though, as he finished putting the last of his groceries away, he found himself staring down at a sheet of paper taped to the top of his fridge.

A series of digits scribbled dirtily on the paper sent a memory jogging through Jaune's mind. "Oh, that's right." He muttered, pulling the piece of paper off of the faux-wood surface.

The blue-eyed boy felt odd. On the one hand, it was a chance to make an actual friend, someone that he could spend his free time with on those slow days. On the other, there was the chance of spending money where he didn't need to, if only for a bit of a thrill.

A hand roughly scratched at the side of his head as he let out a groan. "But it was really fun." He argued, though the only person he had to convince was himself. "What the hell's the matter with me? I'm my own man. I can make my own decisions if I feel like it." It wasn't like anyone was going to stop him.

So, he pulled his scroll from his pocket, pulled up his contacts, and typed the digits in. As he stared down at the fully typed out number, a part of him wanted to stop, to think about the what-ifs. What if it wasn't actually Yang's number? What if she just gave him a fake number to get herself out of hanging out?

Then again, that would have been particularly sadistic. Despite having only known her for maybe a few hours, Jaune didn't think she was like that. If she was, she would've made him pay for her lunch.

He mindlessly hit the call button as he brought his scroll up to his ear.

As his scroll numbingly rang, the blond boy could only shrug. Besides, if she gave him a fake number, then there would be no sweat off his back. It would kinda suck, but it wasn't some end of the world situation.

Ten seconds passed, and still no answer. The blond boy let out a breath as he rolled his eyes, yep, just as he- "Hello?" A voice rang through his scroll, blue eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets.

Jaune blinked hard as a dumb, drawn out 'uh' mindlessly left his mouth. "Hey, it's Jaune. You know, from a few nights ago."

He heard a hum come from the other end of the call. "Oh! Hey Blondie! I was wondering when you were gonna call? You really shouldn't keep a girl waiting, you know? What's up?" Jaune could almost visualize the smirk on her face. As a matter of fact, he could hear it.

"Oh, just on my daily grind. Just got off work today, so I figured I'd go out and get some decent groceries, you know?" And boy was he happy to have new groceries in his house. Some new, exciting cereal, some pork strips for dinner, and a bag of rice to go with it.

Yang laughed through her scroll. "Nice! So, get this, the school I wanted to go to accepted my application!" The sheer glee in her voice was infectious, a wide smile coming over his face.

"That's awesome!" He yelled out, shoving his left hand into his pocket as he held his scroll against his ear. "That's huge! How do you plan to celebrate?" He imagined she probably wanted to go out and dance or something. He wasn't sure why, but it just felt like a very Yang thing to do.

"Uh, I think you mean, what are we going to plan to celebrate?" Her correction sent his mind into a loop. "What, don't tell me you thought I wasn't going get you in on this?" Okay, but why?

"Uh," he started, blinking rapidly as he shifted his scroll from one ear to the other. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you want me there, but why?" It's not like she really knew him. He liked being around her, let that be clear, but he couldn't help but feel weird about it.

"Actually, I was kind of hoping you could get me a gift for the occasion?" The sight of puppy dog eyes flashed before his eyes, only for him to snort. It was a little funny, thinking about Yang doing puppy eyes, but only because he knew she wouldn't.

Jaune let out a breath as he shook his head, placing his free hand on his hip. "Well, that all depends on what you want. You've seen where I live, and you know what I drive." He felt the rest of what meant was better left unsaid, if only for his pride's sake.

An awkward laugh came over the line. "You mind lending me your hands? They might come in handy for what I've got in mind." Huh?

"Huh?" His thoughts manifested themselves into a singular word.

"Huh?" A masculine voice came over the line.

"Yeah, I still need a bit of help working out a few kinks."

"What?!" The masculine voice screamed from the background, this time louder than before.

Jaune, in his desperate attempt to catch a break, ended up having spit go down the wrong pipe. "This is all a little sudden!"

"Oh come on, Blondie. I'm not asking for a lot here, just a pair of firm hands to jam a rod in place." The blond boy's heart pounded against his chest as his jaw shook in place. When the hell did she get the idea to do… that?

"Excuse me?!" Jaune was sure he heard the sound of a tea kettle going off, because whoever it was on the other side sounded more than upset.

"Geez Dad, relax, I'm just talking about my bike. My con-rod, remember?" Came Yang's relaxed reply.

"Oh God, I think I need to step outside. I think my blood pressure shot up." Whoever it was on the other side, the blond driver couldn't agree more. He was sure his heart was going to burst any second now. Shoot, his ears felt like they were on fire.

The sound of a sliding door opening before closing came over the call, and Jaune was sure he heard the buxom girl let out a sigh. "Sorry, my Dad's a little weird sometimes. He's kind of forgetful like that." She followed her statement with an awkward chuckle.

Yeah, Jaune didn't think her Dad was being forgetful. If nothing else, he was sure that he understood her Dad better than he should.

With a deep breath, the blond driver tried his best to release whatever stress he could. "So, let me get this straight. For a gift for you getting into this school, you want me to help you with your con-rod?"

A short period of silence came over the line, "...That's just about the size of it, yeah." She could have just asked him to help with the con-rod, rather than have him just go through a hoop of innuendos and misunderstandings.

Jaune dragged a hand down the side of his face as his heart rapidly pounded against his chest. "I- Yeah, alright. Sure. Meet me at the ferry in forty minutes?"

"Hell yeah! I'll meet you there." Came her instant reply, followed by the sound of the calling blipping out. With the call over, the blond boy let out a groan as he let his forehead hit the counter next to him, sinking to his knees as he quietly whimpered to himself.

As strange as it might sound, a part of him couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Wait, didn't he say that he'd meet Yang in 40 minutes? Wasn't a drive from South End to the ferry a half hour drive?

Yeah, Jaune didn't waste much more time thinking as he stuffed the last of his groceries in their respective places before rushing out the door. He locked his apartment door, ran out to his car, started it up, and before he knew it, he was racing time. The only thing that kept him truly on time was the fact that traffic was light.

Once he got to the ferry, he paid his price and a little extra to get his car on the ride, and soon after, he was on Patch.

Truth be told, Patch was everything that he expected. It had that rustic feeling that he got from being on the frontier, but it was close enough to Vale proper to actually get some decent infrastructure. Electrical lines, asphalt roads, and concrete sidewalks contrasted by sturdy wooden structures.

Lucky bastards.

As he pulled his car off the ferry, driving closer to Patch's sole town, he saw a mane of gold sticking out like a sore thumb among the thin patches of people. Jaune watched as the girl sauntered over to his car, pulling up to his driver side window as rolled the window down.

As Yang leaned against his door, he couldn't help but smile as he stared up at her. "Can I help you, ma'am?" He asked, letting a joking tone slip into his voice.

Yang rolled her eyes as she got a little lower, holding perfect level eye-contact. "Yeah, I was hoping to find a man who's good with rods and his hands. Don't suppose you'd know someone like that, would you?"

Jaune snorted as he shook his head. "Sorry, Miss, but you're going to have to buy me dinner before I'll ever accept something like that out of the blue." If there were ever a time to make a joke like that, it would've been now. After all, Jaune was subject to innuendos during his call, the least he could do was return the favor.

He watched a singular blonde brow rise on her face, "What-" she started, only to pause as she rolled her eyes. "You're such an ass."

The blond driver only laughed, letting his head hit the back of his headrest. "Oh come on, you can't tell me it's my fault that you set that up so well." After all, she'd set up that joke more than enough times in the last hour than he could count on one hand. Granted, that wasn't a lot, but it was enough to take note of.

Yang's lips curled inwards. "Right, well I don't suppose you want to stop making jokes at my expense? Because I'd really like to go fix my bike some time today." He wasn't sure why she'd need him to stop making jokes to go fix her bike. Jaune was sure he could keep making jokes while fixing her bike. After all, he was raised with seven sisters, if he couldn't do that, then he was worthless.

A smirk came over his face as leaned over and opened up his passenger side door. "Hey, don't wait on me. I can sit here and talk all day. But if you ever feel like sitting in the passenger seat, then I'm more than willing to go help you with your bike."

The buxom blonde stared down at him for a moment, only to let out a sigh. She recognized a deflection when she saw one. "Alright," She muttered, marching around the hood of his car before plopping down on the passenger seat. "But for the record, I didn't set anything up."

As the passenger door slammed shut, the driver stared at the blonde from the corner of his eye. "Are you sure? Are you really, really sure?" Either Yang was playing the ignorance card, or she really was unaware of her own phrasing. Or Jaune was looking at things a little too closely, which was equally as possible.

Yang shook her head as a chuckle slipped between her lips. "Follow the road ahead, then take the second left." Ah, the old 'ignore the problem until it's forgotten' tactic. The Arc Matriarch was quite the master of such a maneuver. Though, Jaune remembered more than one occasion where it backfired, but that had more to do with his Dad than him. It was better to let the rat slip away than to lure it into a corner.

Not that he was trying to call Yang a rat.

Jaune did the only thing he could in this situation. He followed Yang instructions until it led him to a dirt path, leading him farther from Patch proper. The path itself reminded him of home, if he was being honest. The road was bumpy, lined with foliage, and secluded. It was scary how similar to home the road actually was, come to think of it.

So scary, in fact, that he needed a distraction. "So, your Dad, huh?" He asked, albeit half-heartedly. Jaune wasn't sure how to approach the situation, and he was barely sure if it was any of his business, but it was the only thing he could think about.

He heard Yang let out a hum as she stared at him from the corner of her head, her head leaning against his window. "Oh, him? Yeah, Dad's… Dad, you know? He gets like that sometimes. Though I'm not sure what set him off this time." A slim hand came to rest on her chin as her eyes stared up at the roof.

Blue eyes blinked in confusion as he took a moment to stare at the side of her head. "You don't? You can't think of anything as to why your Dad would freak out like that?" She had to be joking, right? There was no way she was doing it all by accident!

She paused, letting seconds tick by before she brought her head to scratch at the sides of her head, groaning loudly as she slumped forward. "If you've got any ideas, I'm all ears." Oh, he had more than a few ideas, he just wasn't sure how many of them he should share.

He really didn't know how to approach that. "Uh, I might have a few clues, so long as you're willing to play a game." It was all that he could think to say. It was something his eldest sister would do whenever there was a subject she felt was awkward.

Yang crossed her arms as she slouched in her seat. "Weird time for a game, don't you think? Whatever, sure." The most she had to look forward to was the drive home before showing off her bike in the shed. She could afford to play a little game, if only a little.

"Alright, so, riddle me this. What's something that teenagers do when they're left alone for too long?"

"Uh, talk shit? Maybe play a game or two?" She really didn't get the big deal about it. Teenagers weren't exactly the most prone to get themselves into anything too dangerous.

Jaune let out a sigh as he shook his head. "You know, that's on me. I set the bar too low." He muttered, not noticing the pair of lilac eyes staring curiously at the side of his head. "Okay, what do two teenagers of the opposite sex do when left unattended for too long?"

From the corner of his eye, Jaune watched as the gears in Yang's head slowly cranked and shifted, only for her eyes to widen. "Wait, really? He thought we were doing that?" The blond boy only nodded as he shifted his eyes back onto the dirt road. "No offense, dude, but I've only known you for four days, and we only hung out for the one."

Yang heard the blond driver let out a snicker. "I totally get it. Don't get me wrong, you're cool and all, but I don't think I'd be ready for a jump like that after four days." Well, at least she could rest easy in that regard.

Jaune heard the blonde girl next to him let out a giggle as she propped her elbow against the window, leaning her head against her hand. "Amazing, you've managed to take the words from my brain and make them come out of your mouth. Are you some kind of mind reader?"

Now it was his turn to laugh. "I kind of have to be with as many sisters as I've got." Some days at home were harder than others, but taking care of his younger siblings was always a blessing. Even if they were annoying from time to time.

A cheeky hum reverberated from the back of Yang's throat, her eyebrows reaching for the sky, "Really now? How many sisters? Three, maybe four?" Jaune had to be honest, it was the farthest some people have been from guessing how many sisters he had.

"Let me put it like this," he started, a smile stretching across his face. "I am the only son of my family, and I am the fourth child of eight. I'm pretty sure you can do the math." At least, he hoped so.

A brief moment of silence came over them, the sound of wheels turning against dirt being all that Jaune could hear. "Uh, wow." A chuckle escaped Jaune's lips as he continued his leisurely cruise along the dirt path. "Your folks must've gone at it like rabbits, huh?"

He wished it was that simple. "Not really. Turns out that my family line has a history of being… Let's just say my family has an issue with fertility, but not in the usual sense." It wasn't something that Jaune liked thinking about, but it was the truth. He only hoped that he didn't have quite as many kids as he had sisters in the future.

Before Yang had a chance to remark on the Arc house's fertility, the sight of her family homestead came into view. The structure was entirely composed of wooden logs, a series of windows marking the walls with curtains blocking sight into the home. The driver had to admit, it looked homely.

He made sure to pull away from the main path. The last thing he wanted to do was block anyone's way up. As he pulled up alongside the house, he brought his car to a complete stop, stuck it in gear, pulled the handbrake, and pulled the keys from the ignition.

The blonde let out a sigh as she turned to face the driver. "Home, sweet home. Come on, I'll show you inside." A smile stretched across her face as she pushed the passenger side door open. The cool wind brushed against her hair as she stepped out of the door, stretching her arms above her head as she yawned.

She heard Jaune let out a laugh as the driver side door shut behind him. "Lead the way, because I'm not sure if walking in ahead of you will keep me safe from Papa bear." Her lilac eyes rolled at the joke. Her Dad wasn't that bad. Sure, a little overbearing, but it wasn't like he was going to maul him.

Probably.

Jaune watched as the blonde girl shook her head, quietly giggling to herself. "Don't worry, if my Dad tries to take you out back and shoot you, I'll make sure to step in. Ooh, maybe I could give him a heart attack with another innuendo?" Her thinking out loud only scared him more.

He made sure to walk behind her at a respectable distance, because if Yang's dad was anything like his, he wanted to make sure that there were no misunderstandings. It wasn't long before Jaune was following the girl through the front door. A set of stairs in front of the door led up to the second floor, to the left was the living room, and to the right was a window.

Jaune was right, it was homely.

"Dad, I'm home." Yang announced, dusting off her boots on the welcome mat before walking towards the living room. As she approached the sofa in front of her, she vaulted over it before comfortably landing on the cushions. The blond boy only shook his head as he closed the door behind him, dusting off his shoes before setting them aside. After all, he didn't want to track any dirt inside the house.

"Welcome home," Jaune heard the voice of Yang's father come from deeper in the house. Presumably a kitchen, but he couldn't tell from where he was standing. "Hang on, I'm just wrapping up lunch now. I'll be out in a second."

Yang heard the sounds of quiet shuffling come from behind her, and as she turned her head to look over her shoulder, she saw Jaune standing behind her couch. "Are you gonna take a seat or am I going to have to drag you?" She snipped, smirking at the shuffling boy.

The driver couldn't shake that feeling of dread. You know, the kind that bubbled in his stomach and made him feel sick. "So, weird question, right? What should I expect from your Dad?" If he was asking that to anyone else, he might've thought that he was meeting a significant other's parents. However, he knew better, and he knew how overprotective parents could be when it came to their daughters. His source: the Arc Patriarch.

The lilac-eyed girl let out a hum as she placed her index finger on her chin. "He's a little overbearing, and he used to have a pretty bad temper, but he's a big softie. He might've gotten the wrong impression, but I'm sure a bit of time around you will bring him around." Her words brought a semblance of relief to his mind.

He couldn't stop himself from letting out a sigh, placing his hands on the edge of the sofa as he let his head dangle forward. "Well, that's good to hear. I don't want to miss out because of a misunderstanding." As sad as it sounded, Yang was the only thing he had in Vale that resembled a friend. Deryl didn't count, he was his boss, and all the other friends he had were back at home. So yeah, he was a little reluctant to lose out on this budding friendship.

He heard Yang snort to herself as an arm hooked around the back of his neck, pulling him forward as he tumbled over the back of the couch. "Aw, that's sweet." A teasing tone coming from her as her other hand ruffled his hair. "But honestly, Dad couldn't stop me if he tried. Like I said, he's a big softie. He'll warm up to you, whether he wants to or not."

An awkward smile tugged at his lips as he lay sprawled out on the couch, staring up at Yang. Yeah, the more he thought about it, the more she reminded him of his older sisters. She was stubborn, headstrong, confident, and carefree. Maybe that was why he was so comfortable pursuing this friendship?

Before he had a chance to sit upright, he heard a cough come from behind him. Turning his head to look beyond Yang, he found a tall, blond man with broad shoulders, and blue eyes- "Why does your Dad look like my Dad?" He mindlessly muttered. Granted, there were a few differences, the fact that Yang's Dad didn't have a full beard was one of them, or that his hair wasn't nearly long enough. But generally speaking, he looked uncannily similar.

Instead of answering his question, Yang only pushed him up before he could sit up properly. "Hey Dad, this is Jaune." She started, gesturing to him with her left hand. "Jaune, this is my Dad, Taiyang. But I just call him Dad." Really? No way. He would've never guessed.

Jaune waved his hand as he stared at the older man, trying his best to appear as harmless as possible. "Nice to meet you," he started, giving off the most disarming smile he could. "Yang and I met at an auto parts shop, and when she offered to help me fix up my car, I figured I'd return the favor, you know?"

The now named Taiyang stared down at the two of them with a quirked brow, crossing his arms as he silently judged them. Or rather, as he judged him. "Right," slowly drawing out the word as his brow rose higher. "Well, you kids have fun working on the bike. Just make sure you keep the shed door open."

Before Jaune could bother mustering a question as to why the shed needed to be open, Yang stood up from the sofa, hooking her arm under his before dragging him to his feet. "Yeah, yeah, shed door and all that. Come on, let's go!" Another question Jaune suddenly found himself wondering was, 'what was Yang eating?' Because she had the strangest habit of dragging him around with ease.

Soon enough, the blue-eyed boy was dragged out the front door, taken out towards the shed, and before long, he was staring at a brown tarp. Well, not just a brown tarp, but a brown tarp over what he assumed was her bike.

Again, before Jaune could question anything as of the last minute, Yang unhooked his arm before strolling over towards the tarp. "Lady and Gentleman, I present to you one of the finest wonders of Remnant. The beast from Patch, the Danger of all things allergic. The one, the only," Her hand tore away the tarp with swiftness. "Bumblebee."

The bike itself was sleek, elegant, yet all the while maintained its rugged nature. If nothing else, it looked like a dirt bike with the fiberglass panels of a superbike. Though it'd probably look better without all the extra fiberglass.

The blond boy let out a hum as he stared at the bike. "I'll be honest, it actually looks good." If there were any critiques he could give, he certainly didn't know them. After all, he was more of a car guy than a bike guy. "Though, I can't help but feel it'd look cooler without all the extra plastic on the front." A smile stretched across his face as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Yang placed a hand on her hip, quirking it to the side as a single brow rose on her face. "First of all, you say that as if there was any doubt. Second of all, the fiberglass isn't just there to look cool. It's got some practical application involved… I just don't know how." You know, some part of Jaune wasn't that surprised.

"Oh, well, it's meant to help with the aerodynamics of your bike." He quickly shot back.

The blonde-haired girl paused for a moment, letting one of her hands run through her locks as she kicked the floor beneath her. "Yep, I totally knew that. That was a test, and you just passed." After all, how wasn't she supposed to know how aerodynamics worked? The fiberglass did the thing with the thing, and that translated into going faster. Obviously.

Yeah, she didn't get it.

Jaune shook his head for what felt like the umpteenth time today. "Well, aerodynamics aside, how do you want to approach this? Do you want to leave the engine in-frame, or do you want to take it out and plop it on the bench?"

Yang curled her lip to the side as she stared down at her bike. "I mean, I was able to get in there easily enough. Just gotta take the cover off from here, then we've got access to the crankcase cover, a few 10 mills later, and she's bare and ready."

"Gross," Jaune muttered, despite knowing full well what she meant. "Well, there's no point standing around and thinking about fixing it. Let's just get to work." Yeah, it wasn't as easy as either of them were expecting it to be. It took an odd hour or so to just get the crankcase cover off, and by the time it was off, a whole new problem presented itself.

Yang may have neglected to mention how much was in the way. It wasn't anything like working on a car, considering there were so many gears, parts, and bits and pieces that just fed into each other. It was like staring at a car engine, but without any of the uniformity.

"Yang."

"Yeah?"

Jaune let out a sigh as he stared at the interior of the crankcase, letting his head fall forward. He knew he was in for a doozy, but he wasn't expecting for everything to be so cramped. He figured it would have resembled something like a car, and not… A monster, really.

"We should've probably taken the engine out and put it on the table." He muttered, kneeling as he stared at the root of the problem.

Yang let out an awkward chuckle as she stuck a hand to the back of her head. "You know, in hindsight, you're probably right." There was just too much in the way of the root problem, so they'd have to do the unthinkable. Or rather, they had to do the most annoying thing ever.

They had to take it all apart, piece by piece, before finally getting to the con-rod.

The blond boy whimpered into his hands as he pressed them against his face. "This is gonna fucking suck." He knew his way around cars, but this was ridiculous.

In response, Yang only had one thing to say. "Yep." She muttered, feeling the bags grew heavier beneath her eyes.

So, the two of them worked on taking the engine out, putting it on the bench, carefully disassembling it. Though, by the time they were half-way through the block, Jaune realized they should have probably been taking pictures. Yet another growing issue to throw atop the pile.

It took them hours before they finally managed to get to the actual con-rod. Yang was right when she said that it was in a pretty little 'S' shape, because it was bent in two separate directions. The only saving grace of the whole situation was that the bearings were salvageable, though only barely. It was honestly a stroke of luck that they still worked at all, but the pair of blonds took their wins where they could get them.

Soon enough, the afternoon sun began to shift and lean towards the evening, and before either of them knew it, the sun had set. But with the sun gone, Jaune's chances of taking the ferry were gone with it. Of course, neither of them wanted to stop then, otherwise it would have all been for nothing.

So, they continued to work on the engine block, carefully piecing everything back together by memory, intuition, and a bit of good fortune. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Yang had calibrated torque wrenches, along with a decent set of micrometers. With the block put back together, all that needed to be done was start it back up.

Jaune stared at Yang from the corner of his eye, the sound of his heartbeat rapidly beating against his ears. He was exhausted, covered in sweat, grime, and a bit of oil. Needless to say, he felt horrendously bad. But it wouldn't matter, so long as the bike worked.

Yang swallowed the knot that threatened to form in the back of her throat as she stepped towards her bike. The engine was back in place, and hopefully, everything would run smoothly. All she had to do was take a seat, kick it on, and hope for the best.

Her heart pounded against her chest as she let her hands rest on the handles. She took a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth, and with a stomp, her bike roared to life. There were no sputters, no strange sounds, nothing out of the ordinary. Her lower lip quaked as a shaky smile took hold.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as a smile spread across Jaune's face, his shoulders sagging as a jovial laugh escaped his lips. "Fuck, that sucked so bad." Even with his complaining, the sound of his voice carried with it a feeling of euphoria.

The bike soon quieted as the engine shut off, and before long, Yang had thrown her arms around his shoulders. He was far from against the hug, and it wasn't long before he spun with her in the embrace. It was finally over. The pain and suffering of manually disassembling an engine was done, and it was all done in a day.

The sound of Yang laughing was enough to put his heart at ease. "I don't ever want to do that again. God, what time is it?" She muttered, her words quietly brushing against his ear. He wasn't sure, but looking outside of the shed was enough for him to know that it was late.

He felt Yang's arms slink away from his shoulder, so he made sure to follow suit, pulling his arms away from her back. His hands awkwardly fumbled from his scroll as he reached into his pocket, and as he flicked it open, he wasn't surprised to see the time read 3 AM. They had spent nearly 12 hours working on an engine.

Yep, that settled it, Yang's house was exactly like home.

Jaune wasn't surprised to find the buxom blonde staring down at her own scroll, her clothes covered in as much grime and soot as his own. His jeans were marred by black splotches, Yang's face was covered in dust and dirt, and it was obvious that both of them were just done.

"God, I'm so tired." She muttered, and Jaune could only agree.

"Yeah." He nodded, his words barely coherent.

Yang paused as she stared at her family cabin, the lights shut off on all floors. "Hey, weird question, but do you want to just stay the night? It's late, and the ferry's already left. Plus, I doubt you want to sleep in your car." She tried her hardest to keep up her joking demeanor, but she just couldn't. The fatigue was just too much.

Though, it didn't stop Jaune from laughing. "It wouldn't be the first time I've had to sleep in my car." He mumbled, leaning against the workbench behind him to keep himself propped up. The only source of light was a lightbulb that carelessly hung from the ceiling.

Judging by the frown on the blonde girl's face, she wasn't nearly as amused by his comment as he was. "Yeah, no, you're staying the night. I'll run everything by Dad in the morning, but for now, you can just bunk with me."

"That'll give him the heart attack you were hoping for." He quipped, the sound of Yang's laughter filling him with a short burst of energy.

"Yeah, but it might end up killing him. I'll just slip a note under his door for him tomorrow, I'm sure he'll understand." Yang didn't really see the big deal about Jaune staying over, and if her Dad had any problems with it, then she'd just have to make it up to him later. But for now, her Dad was sleeping, and she was exhausted.

The blond boy didn't have the necessary strength to dispute her claim, wobbling alongside her as she shuffled outside of the shed. He helped her close it up, locking it properly before following her to the door. If anything, they were helping each other, using one another as supports to stay standing.

The door quietly swung open as Yang led the way, and Jaune made sure to shut it behind them. The worst part of it all was the fact that stairs were in the way between them and sleep. Though, with great effort, the two of them managed to make it up the stairs without hurting themselves, so that was a net gain.

Some part of him wanted to fall limp and pass out on the floor, but Yang kept him upright as she walked him down the narrow hallway of the second floor. "Hang on, Blondie. The bathroom's right there. We'll rinse off the grime, and then you can crash when you want." The blonde girl's voice quietly brushed against his ears, his eyelids heavy as the world around him blurred.

Blue eyes flitted shut for a moment as he heard the sound of a door creaking open, and as he peeled the back open, his vision was blinded by white light. As a moment passed, his sight pulled itself back together, thin lines of light disappearing and making way for the bathroom. Yang pulled him towards the sink, and only when he looked in the mirror did he realize how filthy he actually was.

His arms were filthy, his typically blond hair had splotches of black from the grease, and the collar of his hoodie was soaked from the sweat of working all day. Yep, he looked like a mess. Just like home.

Then there was Yang, who had it just as bad as he did. Her clothes were just as marred by stains of grease and sweat alike. That wasn't even getting into the fact that they both smelled like pigsties. The only thing made Yang's case worse than his was the fact that there were long streaks of grease in her long locks.

Jaune did not envy her.

The blonde girl let out a groan as she stared at her reflection. "Just peachy." She muttered, her brows furrowing as she gripped the edge of the sink with her free hand. "That's going to be fun getting out."

The Arc boy only nodded, "Well, it could be worse. You could be washing antifreeze out of your hair." He knew it probably didn't help, but it could always be worse. After all, he would know, because he'd been at rock bottom for… A month? Two?

Yang chuckled as her arm wrapped around his shoulder, lightly shaking him. "You say that like you've had to wash out antifreeze."

"Do not get me started." The thought of having to wash out something as sticky as antifreeze was enough to make his blood pressure spike. It wasn't like there was a time he accidentally water-boarded himself with antifreeze when he was trying to replace the water pump on his car. Nope, no sir.

He still remembered the taste.

The blonde girl only chuckled louder. "Right, well, I think now's as good a time as any to catch a shower before bed. Hang on, you stay here, I'll see if I can't get any clothes that fit you." She said, leaving him to hang onto the sink. The sound of her footsteps soon left his range as she snuck away from the bathroom, and all Jaune had for company was his dirty reflection.

It wasn't all that bad, all things considered. Sure, his knees buckled from the lack of sleep, but it wasn't all that bad.

A few minutes later, Yang returned with a t-shirt and some shorts, and a towel. "Alright, here's some clothes. There's a shower downstairs, just underneath the stairs. If you need anything else, just shoot me a text and I'll get it when I'm done."

The blond boy numbly nodded, taking the stack of apparel from her as a small smile graced his face. "Nice, now all I've got to do is not fall down the stairs." It sounded easy when he said it out loud, he just wasn't very confident about the trip.

In response, he felt Yang give him a pat on the shoulder. "Good luck with that. Now, you mind giving a girl some privacy? Because as much as I'm sure you'd like a show, I'm not the girl for that sort of thing." Jaune couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes as he brushed past the blonde girl.

"Aw, what a shame." He sarcastically replied. "And here I was hoping to see some nasty silhouettes." Truth be told, Jaune didn't really care for the idea of watching Yang shower. It was too late for those kinds of thoughts as it were, and as pretty as she was, he wasn't interested.

As he stepped through the door frame, he heard the lilac-eyed girl snort to herself. "Hey, if you ever feel like throwing a girl some Lien, I'm sure you could convince someone to do that." Why would he ever do that? That was wasted Lien. He needed to pay bills.

Before he could reply, the door shut behind him, leaving Jaune laughing to himself.

The rest was a bit of a blur. He barely managed to get downstairs without falling, walked into the guest bathroom, and caught a shower. It took a bit, but he managed to scrub all of the grease off of him. The stiffness in his shoulders rapidly disintegrated as leaned against the shower wall. The only thing that kept him awake was the fear of falling and breaking something. It wouldn't be the first time he fell asleep in a shower.

Upon feeling satisfied with his shower, he closed the key, dried off, and got into a clean pair of clothes. He wasn't sure where Yang might've gotten it, but he imagined that it probably belonged to her dad.

With his fresh pair of clothes, he walked up the stairs to the sound of the shower running. It didn't really surprise him. Yang had gotten it worse than he did, so it was only natural that she would take longer. But it wasn't like he could just walk around her home like he owned the place. So he did the next best thing.

He took a seat next to the door, pulled out his scroll, and mindlessly scrolled through the internet. It wasn't like he was looking for anything specific, just something to occupy his attention.

There were supposed to be a ton of new game releases coming up soon. Some new Zombie Apocalypse game was coming out within the year, having to do with building and managing a community to survive. There was also a new game coming out soon, T.R.A.C.K.E.R or something like that. Had to do with a dust plant incident in Atlas which led to the creation of some sort of Zone.

It looked atmospheric, but Jaune didn't have the money to get a new game, much less a computer to run it. The best he could hope for was being able to watch a playthrough of either games when they came out. He knew it wasn't the same, but it was the best he got. There wasn't any point in complaining about it.

Before he could continue scrolling through the list of articles on new game releases, he heard the door beside him click open. He watched as a pair of long legs appeared in his far peripherals. As he turned his head to look at the door, he watched as Yang smiled down at him, a small towel wrapped around the back of her neck as water dripped from her hair.

An orange tank top clung to her chest, a pair of shortly cut basketball shorts hanging loosely around her hips. "Kept you waiting, huh?" Something about that question sent him into a giggle fit. He wasn't sure if she did it intentionally or not.

"Hnng, Metal Cog." He muttered, making a stupid impression as he pushed himself to one knee, flicking his scroll shut. "I guess that makes us even. I kept you waiting at the ferry, and you had me here."

Yang's brows rose to touch her hairline as she helped Jaune up to his feet. "I didn't think you'd get a Metal Cog reference." The only reason she knew about Metal Cog was that her dad kept the old game around for his console. She wasn't sure where he left it, but it was probably in a box somewhere in the attic.

"Hey, when you've got as many sisters as I do, you learn to make do with the stuff you find taped away in a box." He tiredly replied. He was lucky his dad had the old Metal Cog Solid cartridge lying around.

Yang snorted as she rolled her eyes. "Geez, the more we talk, the more I feel like we're somehow related."

The blond boy chuckled as he shook his head, "I hope not. The last thing I need is more extended family." Instead of getting an active reply, Jaune felt the blonde girl nudge his shoulder.

"Alright, I think we've been awake for long enough. Do you mind taking the couch?" She asked. Well, it wasn't like there was anywhere else for him to sleep. Besides, he doubted that she was going to offer him a place at her bedside.

"Well, it's not like there's anywhere else for me to sleep, right?"

Yang let out a hum as she stared at him from the corner of her eye. "I mean, I wouldn't mind sharing. The last thing I want is for you to sleep on the floor or something."

Jaune awkwardly chuckled as he tugged at his collar. "As nice as that is, I choose life. The last thing I want to do is wake up next to you with your dad staring at us."

Now it was Yang's turn to awkwardly laugh, finding the closest wall to stare at. "You know, that's a good point. Uh, here, you go and get comfy on the couch. I'll find you a pillow and blanket." It tended to get a little chilly at night, especially in the living room.

The blond boy weakly smiled as he felt her brush past him. "You're the boss." He muttered, making his way slowly down the stairs. Much like last time, it was a bit of a struggle to make it down, but he found his balance.

As soon as the couch came into range, Jaune was quick to flop onto it. He felt like he was going to sink into the couch cushions, and he didn't care if he did. As long as he got decent sleep, it didn't matter. The sound of quiet footsteps against wooden stairs filled his ears as the sight of a blonde mane poked out from the corner of his eye.

"Here," Yang started, throwing a neatly folded blanket and pillow atop his chest. "These should hopefully get you through the night." Despite the darkness of the living room, her smile still shined in the dark. It was almost admirable. In the few days that Jaune had come to know the blonde girl, he'd rarely ever seen her in a mood outside the realm of joy.

He couldn't stop himself from smiling back, "Hey, uh, thanks. For everything, I mean."

The blonde girl felt her brows rise as she stared down at the driver. "Right back at you, Blondie. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have fixed my bike. So, let's just call it even and be friends, yeah?"

A laugh slipped between his lips as he put a thumb up. "Then it's even."

Before she stepped away from the couch, Yang had one last thing to say. "Goodnight, Jaune. We can get some breakfast tomorrow. I know this sick diner down in Patch propre with the best waffles." Her voice barely retained its usual excitement, but the fact that she could share it at all was astonishing.

As Jaune unfurled the blanket and wrapped himself in it, a smile spread across his face. "Goodnight, Yang. I'll hold you to that breakfast offer. Lord knows my wallet could use a break."

Yang's laughter was soon followed by the sound of footsteps, Yang making her way halfway up the steps before stopping. "Don't worry, it'll be my treat for a job well done today." He wasn't sure why she was being so nice to him. It felt like any second now, the rug was going to be pulled out from under his feet. That this was all some sick joke meant to lower his guard.

But, for some reason, he couldn't stop smiling. It was the first time that he'd said goodnight to someone in weeks. The sound of footsteps continued, and it wasn't long before they stopped entirely, a door clicking open upstairs before shutting.

With that, Jaune let his eyelids fall shut, the world around returning to the state of nothingness that it always did.

Today was a good day.


Alright, that's gonna do it for this chapter. I honestly can't wait to see how all of you react to what I'm putting down, because it's either going to be awesome to see, or particularly underwhelming. I hate to say that, but I just get the feeling that this story isn't gonna get very spread around. Either that, or I haven't made it easy to get invested. But that's alright, nothing another couple of chapters can't fix.

Anyway, in a review or two, I remember someone brought up a question involving if this story still followed the 'Beacon-verse,' whatever that means. That's not me being demeaning or anything, but it's more a lack of understanding of the question. But, assuming that the question involves Jaune going to Beacon, then I'll just let the story show for itself. It's not very sportsmanly of me to just spoil the surprise.

Anyway, that's all for now. If you liked what you saw, feel free to follow, favorite, review, et cetera. If you ever want to do more than just read and feel like shooting the shit, the discord link to the Goblin Industries is still functional and good. I'll leave it down below.

Buenas noches, y ciao.

Discord: /7ksPCNs3ZM