Jaune just finished wrapping up his favorite show of the new season, only to find out that it ended with a cliffhanger. The only thing on his mind was if there was going to be another season. He quickly fished his scroll from his pocket and smashed as many words into the search bar as fast as he could without being too loud.

But the result he got froze his heart, his hands shaking as the blood drained from his face. His stomach tossed and turned as he felt a bitter bile try to crawl out of his stomach, burning the back of his throat. On his scroll were words he dreaded the most when it came to good shows, words that, when paraphrased said, "No season two, buy the books."

Now, Jaune would be the first to admit that he may have slightly overreacted, but when he read those words, he collapsed from the top of his bed, his head impacting against the end table next to his bed as the rest of his body roughly thudded against the hardfloor below.

"Ah fu-" Jaune yelled, the impact against the ground forcing him to bite down on his tongue. He brought a hand to his mouth, held it firmly shut, and let out as guttural of a scream as he could.

He was lucky that everyone else was out doing their own thing, because if they weren't, it would probably had been embarrassing. Well, more embarrassing than it already was.

As he carefully removed his hand from his mouth, he rubbed the growing sore spot on the side of his head, the sharp pain of the corner of the end table hitting his head still fresh in his mind. "Man, that was dumb. Why'd I do that?" He rhetorically muttered to himself.

But as he laid against the wooden floor, pain subsiding, a moment of genius flashed through his mind. There were books in the Beacon library of all kinds, maybe they had what he was looking for?

Of course, he didn't immediately act on that, mostly due to the fact that he couldn't peel himself off of the floor, and his head still ached. But after a moment or two, the sharp pains in Jaune's head slowly subsided as he pushed himself up with a groan.

What a way to properly wake up, he thought. Wrapping up the last few episodes of a good show, finding out there will be no season two, and then promptly face planting on the ground after slamming his head into the edge of an end table. With a stretch, his arm reaching far above his head, he let out a low yawn before letting his arms fall to his side.

"Alright," he muttered, "time to go find that book." And with nothing more than the t-shirt he wore under his hoodie, along with his blue jeans, he quietly left the room. With the sound of the door clicking shut behind him, Jaune let go of the handle and quickly did his three- well, two pats. He still wasn't used to his scroll being a set of virtual keys.

Scroll? Check. Wallet? Check. With a smile, Jaune began his journey, optimistic that he would be able to find his book. How hard could it be, he thought. There was absolutely no way that the library couldn't have that book, right?

As Jaune strutted between aisles of books, the shelves they sat on nearly reaching the roof of the library, he let out a frustrated groan as he tugged at his blond hair. "Oh come on, it's got to be here somewhere!" He exclaimed before slapping a hand over his mouth, forgetting that he was in a library. Jaune normally wouldn't come here out of his own volition, but desperate times called for yada yada yada.

Maybe he missed it somewhere? That had to be it! There's no way that Beacon, one of the most prestigious schools in the world, would be missing such a small book that carried zero importance to the study of Grimm, History, or Tactics, right? Jaune let out a deep sigh as he realized that his optimism was sorely misplaced, his shoulders slumped as the muscles in his face relaxed.

Unbeknownst to Jaune, however, was the fact that he was being watched by a pair of vibrant auburn orbs. Said orbs watched with curiosity, along with a twinge of mirth as Jaune struggled to find whatever book he was so desperately searching for. Blake found it funny in a sense, but also somewhat annoying whenever he would audibly complain, considering that he did so very loudly.

Blake looked down at the book she was reading, then back at Jaune. She repeated the process twice more, staring at the last 10 pages she had left before letting out a sigh as she took a slip of torn paper she had on the table next to her, placed it between the two pages in front of her and calmly closed the book, the sound of the hard covers thudding against paper resounding in a muffled clap. Blake then slowly stood up from her seat and quietly stalked over to where Jaune was, his hands resting on his head as he stared forward at the shelf in front of him.

She could hear him mutter under his breath, "Man, what a bummer." Which caused the ears atop her head to perk up, her ribbon somewhat bouncing before reprimanding herself. She reminded herself to stop moving her ears outside of the dorm before she got caught.

As she got close enough to be standing right behind him, noticing that Jaune was a little under a head taller than her, she spoke. "What's such a bummer?" Her voice as monotone as ever, and her words caused the hairs on the back of Jaune's neck and arms to stand as he whipped his head around to look at her, a hand resting over his heart, his eyes as wide as saucers.

The feeling of his heart beating loudly came to a slow as he realized who he was looking at, letting out a breath of relief. "Blake, please don't do that anymore." Jaune spoke breathlessly as he leaned against one of the bookshelves, not applying all his weight on the off chance that it decided to teeter over and either crush someone, or cause other shelves to fall over.

Granted, it was nearly impossible, but Jaune wasn't exactly the luckiest guy around.

Blake was confused by his response but took it in stride, "Jaune, you're not going to die from a heart attack because you're jumpy." She spoke, her eyebrows raised slightly as her lips remained a thin line.

Jaune's lip curled to the side in response, "Well, I'd like to see how well you do when you're snuck up on and scared." Jaune pointedly stated, hiding none of his dissatisfaction.

Blake scoffed at that, adding an eye roll for safe measure, "You can certainly try, Jaune. Anyway, what're you doing?" Blake asked, trying to push past the topic of being scared, if only so she could solve Jaune's problem and get back to her book.

Jaune let out a sigh as he broke eye contact, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. "Well," He started, "you see, I'm looking for this book. Kinda western-y, got to do with this guy trying to avenge his Mom and Brother-"

Blake raised a hand and interjected, "Say no more, I know what you're talking about."

Jaune blinked a couple of times, "I- huh? You do?"

Blake snorted under her breath, her eyebrows raising as she held out the book she was reading mere moments ago. Then Jaune realized just why she knew. The book she was holding was written by the same author!

Jaune had to hold himself back from pointing at the hardcover book and nerding out over a similar interest, mostly because of the fact that the rest of his team couldn't understand his fascination with the western series.

"Woah, you read the books?" Jaune asked, his voice full of a healthy appreciation for Blake's taste, and she appreciated it. But there was one detail that she forgot to mention.

Blake shrugged her shoulders as she shook her head, the book still firmly grasped in her pale right hand, "Well, not exactly." Blake started, much to Jaune's confusion, "I've only ever read this book out of the series. I didn't know it was a series until I thought to check if it had a sequel. Turns out, it doesn't, but it does belong to a trilogy." Blake went on, and Jaune let his head drop as his shoulders fell from their previously elevated state.

And here he was so excited to talk about the first book too. But then another idea crossed Jaune's mind, and a wide smile nearly split his face. "Blake," he started, placing his hands on Blake's shoulders, his eyes glowing with emotion, much to Blake's confusion, along with slight discomfort at the sudden physical contact. "Come watch the first season with me."

Blake had to blink at that, her eyebrows scrunched and her head tilted, "Huh? What season?"

"You know," Jaune began, taking his right hand off her shoulder and holding it outstretched to his side, "The first season of the show! It follows the events of the first book, which, if the show is accurate, is really good." Jaune explained, loudly enough that people were starting to stare from their tables and give him funny looks, to which he gave them awkward smiles back as an apology.

However, this didn't stop Blake's ears from ringing. She swore that she was going to contract tinnitus before the end of her stay at Beacon after being around just Jaune. With a glare, Blake drove two fingers from her left hand into Jaune's side, causing him to let go of her shoulder, if only to grab at the sudden feeling. He couldn't call it pain, it was closer to discomfort if anything.

"Stop yelling!" Blake loudly whispered to Jaune as he rubbed the spot Blake jabbed at, right between his ribs on his right side.

"Sorry, I can't help it." Jaune said with that same awkward smile he always wore, causing Blake to sigh, whether it was out of disappointment or aggravation, he couldn't tell. Unfortunately for him, it was both.

Blake only shook her head in disapproval, "Well if you're going to be like this, let's take this out of the library. Come on." Blake said as she was talking to a child she grabbed his wrist, striding towards the entrance to the library. This attracted a fair few eyes, some of them humored, others less so. Not that Blake cared what they thought, of course.

But Jaune did, and he was incredibly embarrassed, whispering a loud "Sorry" as he passed by a table held by a team, in their hands were books, and next to them were sheets. Jaune just hoped that people didn't think any less of him than they already did.

Once Blake managed to lead Jaune out of the library and onto the campus ground, she felt that she didn't really need to, quite literally, hold his hand anymore and let go of it. Much to Jaune's relief, he'd never felt so happy to have blood circulating again.

As they walked the campus, the sounds of birds chirping filled their ears as the occasional green leaf was whisked away by the wind. The sky above was clear and blue, with not a cloud in sight, the sun shined down warm rays of light, providing that comfortable feeling that only natural sunlight could provide. Not that Blake knew much about that, since she was sure she'd burn to a crisp in the daylight if she stayed out too long.

Jaune really liked the springtime, it was always nice and cool, but never cold. The skies were normally clear and sunny, but on the off chance that it did rain, it rained hard and loud, just the way he liked it. Why, back at home, Jaune could remember sitting by his sisters near the window as the sound of the rain impacted against the dirt ground, the sound of thunder banging like a great drum in the sky, the sound of lightning cracking like a whip. It always felt warmer when it rained, since he always had someone, or several someones for that matter, to share it with.

It was then that Jaune realized that he nearly lost himself in thought, and promptly shook out of it.

Blake's thoughts were not too dissimilar to Jaune's. The spring reminded her of her home back on Menagerie, warm beaches with cool seas. It reminded her of the days she would spend with her family at the beach as a little girl. She remembered how her Dad would always pick her up by her small frame and throw her into the sea, not so far that he couldn't help her, but far enough to where she had to swim back. It was always some sort of game between them, the prize at stake being what her mother would have make for dinner. Her Dad never got to win, but she had a feeling that he did that on purpose. And prize always consisted of some sort of Fish, along with plenty of rice to go with it.

But on Menagerie, not all days were warm suns and clear skies. Occasionally, they would have horrible storms that rocked the foundation of her home, large as it may have been. Blake cringed at the thought of how she dealt with thunder, her ears were even more sensitive when she was younger, and so whenever thunder clapped, she would run to her parents' room and hide under their sheets. Not that they minded, but that was because her mother thought it was cute, and she made sure to voice that opinion.

Blake's calm exterior slightly cracked as her eyes wandered. She wondered how they were doing now? She discreetly shook her head, waving the thoughts aside.

She felt now was as good as any time to pick back up the conversation, if only to distract herself from her wandering mind. "So," Blake started slowly, "What's all this about a show?" She asked, her hands swinging along her sides as she strutted next to him.

Jaune hummed in response as he walked next to her, matching her pace, "Oh yeah! So, they made a show for the first book."

"You already said that."

He only let out an awkward chuckle at that, "Yeah, I guess I did. Well, I dunno, do you wanna watch the show with me? It'll be fun." Jaune asked, a smile on his face as he walked alongside her.

It was Blake's turn to let out a hum of her own now as she thought to herself. Watching a show was always nice, but when it came to shows that had book source material, they either ended poorly, or went off track. And she would know, she was numb to the disappointment that came from bad adaptation.

Then again, maybe she was overthinking it? Maybe the show was actually good, and her cynicism was misplaced. But then she reminded herself that she was talking to Jaune, ever so easy to please. Not that it was a bad quality, but it was one that was double edged in her mind. To be simple to please, Blake thought, was to have a lower standard.

Now she was certain she was overthinking it. But maybe there was a way for her to be sure? "How about a compromise?"

"A compromise?" Jaune responded, he wasn't exactly sure what there was to compromise on, but he would at least listen.

"I'll watch the show with you if we read through the first book and compare the two." Blake offered, and Jaune was still confused on how this was a compromise.

He honestly felt like the compromise was skewed in his favor regardless, and he was happy to accept, but on one condition. As they walked side by side, Jaune spoke, "Alright, cool, but only if you read it with me. I uh, I get easily distracted." He mentioned the last part under his breath, somewhat embarrassed at the fact.

Not that it did anything for him, since Blake still heard him quite clearly, and she made no effort to hide that as she looked over at him, a small grin on her face, "I can tell." She started, her voice warm to Jaune's ears, "And here you wanted to find that book on your own." Jaune felt his ears burn up as he turned his head to look away, averting Blake's gaze.

But in a way, it reminded him of how one of his sisters would talk to him whenever he was lost in his own head. It was nice, he thought, to hear that tone again, even if it wasn't from his family. To hear it from a friend was good enough. At least, he thought they were friends? Although, friends knew more about each other than Jaune knew about Blake, and vice versa.

He let out a cough as he brought a hand up to his mouth, trying to shake that ever growing pit in his stomach, along with the burning feeling in his ears. "Right, well I don't suppose you've got any idea as for where we'd find a couple of those books, would you?" Jaune asked, a brow quirked as his embarrassment subsided.

Blake let out a hum as she strutted along the campus path, leading them to the center of the campus, the sight of a massive stone statue could be seen from all angles, a memorial to hunters passed.

Jaune was starting to ask some of the more difficult questions now, "Well, the book that you're looking for is still relatively new, so it's going to be a little scarce." Jaune groaned at her reply, much to Blake's annoyance, her lip curling inwards as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. "But the first book came out a few years ago, so it should be easier to find. Cheaper too." She muttered the last part under her breath, reminding herself of just how tight on funds she actually was.

This time, it was Jaune's turn to overhear something, and he had to stifle a laugh as he heard Blake's muttered words.

He was also failing. Horribly.

So horribly, in fact, that he had to find something to lean on, but couldn't find anything and just ended up using Blake to keep himself standing, much to her quickly growing annoyance.

Jaune's laughter quickly turned into wheezing as he used his left hand on Blake's shoulder to keep himself upright, and pressing his other hand into his stomach. Blake's upper lip twitched as she heard Jaune's wheezing become more ragged, and shrugged off his hand, causing him to tumble to the ground.

"That's not funny!" She yelled out, "None of this is funny!" Her bow falling flat as she glared at Jaune, who was busy coming down from his laughing fit as he laid on the concrete path beneath them.

As Jaune finished laughing, his breathing rapid and shallow, he picked himself back up as he wiped away the tears in the corners of his eyes. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting that." He spoke breathlessly, a dopey smile adorned on his face as he stared down at Blake.

His smile, she thought, his dopey smile. For some reason, it only made her angrier as her eyebrows furrowed, the crease between said brows growing deeper. "Whatever Jaune." She spoke, her normally deadpan voice filled with a fire that Jaune had never heard before. His heart froze as he watched her stomp ahead, and he could've sworn he saw steam coming from her ears.

Then again, that could've just been the lack of oxygen in his brain messing with him.

Still, he did feel a little bad about it, and as he quickly followed after her, he spoke. "Oh come on, Blake. I didn't mean anything by it." He expressed, trying to bring Blake down from her anger. Although, all he got in return for his words was Blake walking slightly faster, along with her looking over her shoulder, eyes twinkling with a malicious gleam. A promise of pain if he continued.

Of course, Jaune never was good at catching signs. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry," he started, a hand rubbing against the back of his head, "I just thought it was kinda cute." He spoke, not an ounce of shame in his voice.

The anger that was rising in Blake's chest quickly froze as she turned around to look at Jaune, stopping in her tracks. Her brows still remained furrowed, but the frown on her face was quickly replaced by a slack jaw, "I- what?" Blake asked, her voice full of confusion, "In what way?" Blake wanted answers more than she cared to admit. Don't mistake her curiosity for interest, she only wanted to know what was "cute" in being a cheapskate.

Jaune quickly had to stop unless he wanted to bump into Blake, and had to backpedal slightly. But after doing so, he let out a hum in a bit of confusion of his own, "I don't know, it just is." He mentioned with a shrug. He really didn't know what it was either, maybe it's because it's a part of Blake he hadn't expected to see, or maybe it's because Blake being embarrassed about something was cute in its own way.

Now Jaune was starting to feel conscious of calling his friend "cute."

Blake let out a groan as she tugged at her hair, the need to shake Jaune until his brain rattled in his skull growing. But it wasn't long before she let the thought slip, letting out a deep sigh as she let her arms fall to her side, "You're right, you are easily distracted." She remarked, any semblance of emotion that may have been in her voice disappearing. Jaune was tiresome to deal with, Blake thought. But unfortunately for her, he was her only way of wiggling out of her commitments to her team.

Jaune only let out an embarrassed chuckle, "Yeah, I told you so. But uh, I don't suppose you know a place for us to get those books, do you?"

Blake only let out another sigh, her shoulders slumped as his words rang through her ears. She certainly did know a place to buy some more niche titles, but she didn't think she would have to see it again.

"Yeah, I know a place." She hoped she wouldn't regret her choice.

As the "couple" walked through the streets of Vale, the once clear and blue sky now turning to a dark grey overcast, Blake repressed a sigh as they grew closer to their destination, Jaune chattering in her ears as they walked side by sider. The place that they were going to was one that Blake knew well, emphasis on the word 'knew.' She didn't know how much the establishment could have changed, if the owner was still there at all, or worse, how she would be received.

Back when she was younger, and more naive, Blake used to find sanctuary in the small bookstore that was snuggly tucked away in the commercial district. It was run by an absolute boulder of a man, standing at a height of 6'5, with forearms the sizes of tree trunks, and with hands that could crush full watermelons, he decided to run a bookstore. He could have been anything else in the world, Blake thought. A bodyguard for an influential person, a fitness instructor, anything else, and he chose to be a bookstore owner.

Then again, Tukson always was a softie.

She only hoped that he would be receptive to her and Jaune being there. Tukson was a known deserter, but Blake was less so, and she wasn't exactly sure if her desertion had wriggled down the grapevine yet. It was a precarious situation to be in, Blake thought.

Of course, that was a fairly easy situation to forget about when Jaune was drowning out her thoughts. "-was amazing! Seriously, Mikey is one of the most badass chara- Hey, you doing alright?" She heard him ask, he must have noticed her spacing out as they strutted through the slowly vacating streets of Vale, whoops.

As Jaune looked over at her, one of his blond brows quirked slightly, she slowly nodded, "Yeah, sorry." She started, her bow falling flat out of habit, "I wasn't really paying attention, could you repeat that?"

Jaune let out a laugh at that as they walked along, "Wow, the ever astute Blake Belladonna wasn't paying attention? I'm in shock." He sarcastically remarked, only to quickly get jabbed in the ribs for the second time today.

"Don't try your luck, Jaune." She calmly stated, her face falling back into her usual impression of a rock, which only made Jaune laugh harder, much to Blake's annoyance.

As Jaune rubbed his side, his laughter subsided, leaving only a grin on his face, "God knows I don't have nearly enough of it to spare." He spoke lightheartedly. Jaune knew that Blake wouldn't actually follow up on her threat. At least, he hoped.

After a short walk, along with Jaune continuing to prattle on about the first season of the show, explaining things like characters and setting, Blake nodding occasionally in response, the two finally came upon the place they were looking for.

Nice and tucked away from the major avenues of the commercial district was what could only be described as a modest store, a simple and basic sign adorning the area above the scratched up and stained semi-glass door. Tukson's Bookstore: Home to Every Book Under the Sun. A wave of emotions washed over Blake as she stared at the sign, a rapidly growing pit growing in her stomach as her face begged to contort, not that she complied.

With a breath, Blake grabbed at Jaune's wrist and pulled him along as she reluctantly made for the door. Blake knew she was afraid, more so than anyone else, but the only way to escape her fear was to run towards it.

It was just such a shame that it was the hardest thing in the world to do.

With a push, the door swung open, the sound of a little bell ringing as they walked through the opening. As she pulled him deeper into the store, her mind went the speed of light, dozens of scenarios flashing through her mind as she tried her hardest to calculate the risks. What if Tukson wasn't in the mood to do business with her? What if Tukson misunderstood their intentions and attacked them? Blake was always armed, and made sure to at least take the blade off her weapon and keep it in its pistol form, but Jaune was unarmed, and Tukson was a very big guy.

But while Blake was lost in her mind, she hadn't noticed that her grip on Jaune's wrist was growing tighter, and it was only until Jaune couldn't feel blood circulating that he felt the need to speak up, "Uh Blake, let go of my wrist." He whispered to her so as to not disturb other customers.

Blake quickly snapped away from her thoughts as she heard Jaune's voice ring through her ears, "Huh?" She muttered as she looked over to him.

"My hand, Blake. I can't feel it." Jaune laid it out right in front of her, his face contorting in discomfort as his hand began to have that odd prickly feeling. Blake's eyes went wide as she quickly let go of his wrist, realizing that she had left a white imprint in his skin, a pang of guilt hitting her heart.

"Sorry." She muttered, rubbing her forearm with her free hand, the normally stoney mask she wore cracked into several pieces, replaced by a frown on her face. Jaune felt his eyebrows scrunch as he looked down at her, her fingernails digging into her forearm as her right hand flexed and relaxed rhythmically.

Jaune let his face relax as he gave her a pat on the shoulder, "Hey, don't worry about it. It's nothing but a thing." He spoke in a carefree manner, a smile resting on his face. Jaune was the first to admit that he wasn't observant in the least, but when Blake of all people was worried about it, she made it obvious. Granted, he didn't know what caused her to be like that, but the least he could do was try and make her feel at ease.

As she stared up at Jaune, the gentle, dopey smile that rested on Jaune's face made her feel... off. When he smiled at her like that, Blake would normally feel many things, annoyed above all else, but it was different this time. Maybe it was because of how fast her mind had been going, but seeing Jaune so at ease made her feel weird, like she didn't have to be so paranoid about every little detail.

And worst of all, she didn't know why.

Blake let out a breath as she let her arms fall to her sides, "Right. Let's just find those books and leave." She spoke as monotonous as usual, but Jaune felt like there was something underlying. He didn't push it though, if Blake had something on her mind, she would bring it up on her own. I mean, it's not like Blake had some kind of history with keeping secrets, right?

After a few minutes of browsing the store, looking between shelves and aisles, moving around the occasional other customer, they gathered the books they were looking for, along with a peculiar black cover book that Blake had thought to pick up. Jaune didn't give it too much thought though.

The whole journey was nearly over now, all that remained was the hard part. At least, that's what Blake thought. As Jaune followed closely behind her, she slowly made her way out of the aisle, dragging her feet as she went. Maybe she was overthinking it all, or maybe she was under thinking things- Blake grit her teeth as she repressed the urge to pull her own hair out. It didn't matter, she was here for books and nothing else, if Tukson had a problem with that, he could stuff it.

Jaune, surprised by the sudden change in both Blake's attitude and speed, nearly tripped over his own feet as he caught up with her, although somewhat relieved that she was feeling better after dealing with, well, whatever it was she was dealing with. It let him smile a little easier knowing that his friend crawled out of whatever short slump she was in. He only wished he could've done a little more, but that was neither here nor there.

And so the two made their way over to the desk, devoid of any life behind it. It was then that Blake glanced down at the desk's contents, a small, hand held bell resting atop it. Although, just as she reached out to touch it, she could hear the sounds of ruffling papers and footsteps from the backroom. "Hang on, don't touch the bell, I'll be right there." A calm voice rang through the door, deep and with a low rumble. The voice was quickly followed by the sounds of shoes thudding against the dark laminate floor, and soon a large figure passed through the door frame. Their back faced towards them as he backed through, carrying what seemed to be a cardboard box filled with various items.

He was huge, Jaune thought. The man behind the counter easily towered over him, standing at least a head over him, his shoulders broad and made of iron, even though his maroon colored jacket did it's hardest to obscure that. As he set the box down onto the floor, it let out a loud thud as the vibrations travelled up Jaune's feet.

Beneath his breath, he muttered to himself, "Looking at him makes me want to do push-ups." His voice filled with awe. This comment quickly earned him a slap in the side by the back of Blake's hand. Well, at least she didn't jam her fingers between his ribs this time.

He heard the man behind the counter let out a breath before turning around, a casual smile resting on his face, thick, yet shortly cut sideburns going along the sides of his face. "Good afternoon, what can I get you today-" He spoke before pausing, staring at Blake through wide eyes before his face went back to its previously relaxed form. Needless to say, Jaune was very confused.

But Blake wasn't, and it was because of that fact that her heart pounded loudly against her chest. But through sheer force of will, she managed to keep that fact to herself, her steely mask still unshaken.

The man behind the counter cleared his throat as he clasped his hands together, "Hello Blake, what can I get you today? The usual?" The smile plastered on his face looked tense and strained to Jaune, but maybe he was seeing things. He was more interested by how they knew each other, was Blake really that much of a frequent customer?

Blake gave the best disarming smile she could, "Not today, Tukson," Blake started before turning to face her Blond classmate, "Jaune, this is Tukson." She introduced her old compatriot to her friend of about a week. Quite the stark contrast, she thought, but it wasn't a bad one.

Jaune's eyebrows shot up as he held out a hand, "Oh, nice to meet you, Tukson. I uh, I like the store?" Jaune fumbled around with his words, trying to find something inoffensive while also seeming charismatic.

He only succeeded at one, though. Tukson let out a breath as he reached out and grasped Jaune's hand, giving it a firm shake, "Likewise," He started before raising his left hand to point at Jaune, "John, right?" He asked, much to Jaune's dismay.

Jaune's grip on Tukson's hand slackened as he let out a groan, "Oh come on, it's Jaune. You know, like Sean, but with a J." He explained, his eyebrows tilted upwards as a firm crease formed between both brows.

Tukson let out a chuckle as he let go of Jaune's hand, "Whatever you say, Jean. So, what can I get you?" The bookstore owner asked, a much easier smile on his face as his arms rested on the counter in front of him.

Jaune didn't bother suppressing his second groan as he tugged at his hair. His name was easy! There couldn't possibly be that many names that sounded like his, right? And here he was so sure that he had gotten away from people mishearing his name after leaving the frontier.

Blake couldn't help but roll her eyes as she patted Jaune on the back, "He's just messing with you, Jaune." Blake calmly spoke, her voice filled with a twinge of mirth, much to Jaune's surprise.

He didn't discourage it though, far from it. He honestly hoped that she would be more willing to share that sort of thing more often. But he wouldn't hold his breath.

He let his arms crumple and fall back to his sides, his shoulders slackening as his eyes met the floor, "It's an easy name." He muttered beneath his breath, not that it stopped Blake from giggling at his sensitivity over his name. And she wouldn't forget it either.

Blake, with a smile on her face, lifted the four books she was carrying and set them out on the counter, two of the first in the series, the second book for Jaune, and the black cover book for herself. Tukson eyed the black book before looking back up at her, quirking a brow. Blake's only response was a wordless shrug, and so Tukson ignored it before reaching under the counter and pulling out a black, plastic bag.

"So," Tukson started, speaking as he went through the motions of ringing up their books, "How long have you been in Vale for, Blake? I thought you preferred to be out on the frontier." He asked as he scanned the first book, placing it into the bag. The mention of the frontier prompted Jaune to pull himself out of his slump, he hadn't figured Blake for someone from the frontier. Then again, there's a first for everything, he thought

Blake's smile quickly fell off her face, replaced by a thin line. She was hoping that he wouldn't bring that sort of thing up. "A few months now. I wanted to get away from the frontier for a bit, stretch my legs and get started with my life."

Tukson's eyebrows shot up for a moment before falling again, "Ooh, so what have you been doing these past few months?" He asked, scanning the second book.

"School stuff."

Tukson let out a hum as he placed the second book into the bag, "Still as curt as ever, I see." He spoke plainly as he scanned the third book, "Good to see that some things don't change." He finished, a smile resting calmly on his face.

Blake only gave him a glare as she crossed her arms, "You know I'm not good with people."

Jaune only chuckled at her words, "She's right, you know? Absolutely horrible with people." Blake's teeth ground together as his words set in, causing her to jab an elbow into his side.

It was at this point that Jaune was getting really tired of getting jabbed in the side. He says something sarcastic? That's a jab. He agrees with her? That's a jab. He disagrees with her and tries to compliment her? That's a jab, followed by a remark on how he's blind to the obvious. He just can't seem to win with Blake.

As Jaune rubbed his side for what felt like the third time today, he clicked his teeth, "Man, damned if I do, damned if I don't." He muttered to himself, not that it did him any favors, since it only made Blake's glare more intense. He still didn't know how she kept catching him like that. Maybe his Mom was right, maybe women do have some kind of special perception.

Or he was just not good at keeping his mouth shut, but he'd rather it be the first one.

Tukson couldn't help but laugh, leaving both Blake and Jaune confused as to why. Neither of them thought what they had done was very funny. Quite the opposite, since both of them were fairly annoyed with the other.

Tukson had to hold onto the counter in front of him just to keep himself upright, using his left hand to cover his mouth as he came down from his laughing fit. "I'm sorry, that was just too good. You both bicker and fight like a couple of newlyweds."

Blake's eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she stared at Tukson, a large, toothy smile plastered onto his face. "I- what?" Blake couldn't even try to articulate the words she was looking for to explain how dumb that statement. A quantum supercomputer with a million and one ways to answer any question wouldn't even be able to guess what Blake would have responded with, because in truth, neither did she.

However, whereas Blake kept her confusion to a manageable minimum, Jaune was panicking. He didn't want to give off the wrong vibe to Tukson. He and Blake hadn't even known each other for all that long, and for someone to just say something like that made Jaune's head move the speed of light. He had to set the record straight.

Luckily for Jaune, his mouth was already on it.

As Jaune looked over to Blake, then back to Tukson, he raised and shook both hands. "Whoa now, newlyweds? I don't think I'm all that ready for a step like that! I mean, we've only been at this sort of thing for like a week now, and I don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment!" He yelled out, only for Tukson to quirk a brow at that, leaving Jaune to wonder why.

And then it hit him.

"N-not to say that I wouldn't be happy to marry Blake at some point down the line! I mean, she's a really pretty girl, and she can be nice when she wants to, has long hair, and we share some interests! But I just want to get to know her better before- hmph!" Jaune rambled until he felt a hand clasp over his mouth, unfortunately not one of his own.

As he looked over to Blake, her hand held firmly against his mouth, her eyes wandering quite possibly anywhere around the room except right in front of her, he watched as she bit into the inside of her cheek. "Just… stop talking Jaune." Her voice came out quietly and uneven.

Jaune was a special kind of idiot, Blake thought. Instead of taking the comment in stride and ignoring the very obvious bait that Tukson had laid, he had stepped right into the trap, and instead of trying to escape, decided to apply some kind of extra seasoning to the trap so that he would taste better when cooked. Blake wanted to be upset, she really did, but she knew that it really sold the whole "couple" thing they were sort of going for.

Then again, it wasn't exactly fair of her to call Jaune an idiot, because he wasn't, but there wasn't much else that she could think of when it came to shining a negative light on him other than he's a little slow on the pickup.

She only wished that Jaune could've been more calm when he said it so that it didn't sound so honest to her. It would make thinking back on this event a lot easier for her.

But Tukson, he found the situation fairly humorous, it reminded him of when he and his wife were still just dumb kids in a world that wanted nothing to do with them. Oh, how he missed those days. But there was one thing that caught Tukson off guard about the whole situation.

As he took the final book and scanned it, he let out a hum, "Still, I'm a little amazed you went for a human, Blake. Not that that's a bad thing or anything!" Tukson swiftly corrected himself, he thought it was good that Blake was looking past the whole 'lack of extra appendages' thing, it meant she had a good head on her shoulder. You know, looking past the whole "racial divide" that everyone kept talking about. Not that it really existed all that much anymore, since the sentiment died after the Great War.

A few million deaths tends to change how people think, both as individuals, and as societies.

But Tukson's statement only caused Blake's eyes to widen substantially, along with causing Jaune to quirk an eyebrow. It was clear to Tukson that he had severely misread just how far their relationship went. Well, damn.

"What's so weird about Blake liking a human?" Jaune started, not bothering to mask his curiosity. But then, a jolt of electricity shot through his mind, "Wait, does Blake have some kind of preference in Faunus guys?" He asked, that had to be it. After all, Blake was a human too, he was sure of it. She had no tail, or extra ears that he could see, so there was no way that she could be a Faunus.

But if she were, Jaune thought, she'd probably be a cat. They were both antisocial, demanding, and quiet. The only thing a cat had Blake beat on was the fact that cats were more consistent with their affection.

Tukson let out a forced chuckle as he put the book in the black plastic bag, "Oh, you have no idea. Do yourself the favor of never going through her bookshelf-"

"I think we're done here, Tukson." Blake spoke through gritted teeth, a dangerous fire burning behind her golden eyes that made Tukson's hair on the back of his neck stand up. He knew that look, and it reminded him a lot of his wife. He'd nearly crossed into No Man's Land, and had barely escaped with his life.

Tukson took the opportunity to clear his throat, dislodging that weird lump that was growing in his throat, "Right, well with the four books you plan on buying, that should tally up to…" Tukson spoke as he crunched numbers onto a small monitor, typing away at a keyboard as he spoke, "122 Lien." He finished, a broad smile on his face.

Blake nearly choked as she heard the price, her shoulders slumping as she reminded herself of how light her pockets were. She had barely enough to pay for half of the price, and she didn't want to make Jaune pay for more than he was getting. It just didn't sit right with her, making someone else pay for something that was hers.

Maybe Tukson had some kind of discount somewhere?

Blake's annoyance dissipated as she tried to put on the least forced smile that she could, and failed miserably, "I don't suppose you have a friends and family discount, do you?" She asked as politely as she could.

Tukson only laughed, "Aha, no." He responded carefreely, much to Blake's dismay. "However, we do have a couples discount."

This piqued Blake's interest, her bow perking up slightly, "How much of a discount?"

"20 percent."

A twinkle lit up in Blake's golden eyes, "What do I have to do?" She asked as she leaned against the counter, looking Tukson in the eye.

Tukson had to lean backwards, despite being quite a bit taller than Blake, if only so that he wasn't accused of some kind of crime, "You just have to bring your significant other-"

"Done." Blake spoke as she wrapped an arm around Jaune's left arm, pulling it, and by extension, Jaune closer to her. This came as a very quick and uncomfortable surprise to Jaune, and so he did what came naturally. He stuffed his right hand down his pocket and dug his fingernails into his thigh. Just as a precaution.

"You didn't let me finish, Blake." Tukson spoke monotonously, giving off his best Blake impression as his lip made a straight line.

"Well, finish your instructions; I want my 20 percent."

"Do I not get a say in this?" Jaune asked.

Blake only looked up at him, and with a smile that carried no mirth, she spoke. "No."

Tukson let out a sigh, "You just have to prove that you're actually a couple. Nothing serious mind you," He said as he raised a hand, "Lord knows how teenagers can get." He muttered the last part to himself, and while Jaune and Blake may not have properly heard him, it was obvious to them both that he had said something mildly annoying.

To Blake, those were simple instructions, and she planned on carrying them through. After all, 20 percent is 20 percent. But for Jaune, it was something that just wasn't sitting right with him, maybe it was the suddenness of it all, or maybe it was the fact that Blake was really warm, and how soft her skin was- he made sure to dig his nails into his thigh a little harder at that thought.

"Okay." Blake started before turning to look at Jaune, "Jaune, I need you to lean down a bit." He heard her say, her voice falling back into its normal monotony.

"Uh, why?"

He heard Blake scoff at his question, and he felt an eyebrow twitch. Being around Blake was starting to get exhausting, mostly because whenever he asked a question, it was always followed by some half-baked, disappointed response.

"Just do it." He heard her demand impatiently, and he let out a sigh as he resigned himself to her demand, he only hoped that it wouldn't be anything horrible.

Now, Jaune didn't actually lean down all that much, and it certainly didn't help sell what Blake was hoping for. With a deadpan stare, Blake yanked downwards on Jaune's arm, surprising him and pulling him down far enough for what she had in mind. Seeing how everything fell right into place, Blake took her opportunity to strike.

In the blink of an eye, Jaune felt something hit the side of his face, something small and warm, but as soon as it came, it left. Truth of the matter was, Jaune felt like he had thought it up, and it took him a few blinks to set in what just happened. Once, twice, then thrice, it hit him.

After Blake's cold and calculated strike, she quickly let go of Jaune and stepped a foot away, her hands dangling by her sides and her stone mask remained uncracked. That was lucky, because if it had, it would have been slightly embarrassing.

Blake really didn't want to kiss Jaune, not because he was a bad person or anything like that, but because she honestly felt like it was dropped on her. But she did it, if only for the sake of appearances.

The 20 percent discount didn't hurt either.

As Jaune's brain finally managed to reboot, he heard Tukson let chuckle as his hands typed away at the keyboard in front of him. "Well, I'll be. I guess you did get someone stuck to you." Tukson stated in disbelief, "Alright, well with the discount, that should tally you up to 96 Lien." He finished, the mile-wide, businessman smile that Tukson wore made Jaune extremely uncomfortable.

Blake mentally fistpumped, the incredibly awkward feeling that gripped at her heart loosened as she congratulated herself on a nice 20 percent saved. 24 Lien, she thought, and all it cost her was a quick and very awkward, heart pumping kiss.

Yeah, Blake was still very uncomfortable about it, but she didn't bother to display it. After all, if she did, it would ruin the illusion that both of them were going for. At least, she thought so. She could mope in her dorm room about it later when she was alone.

Blake dug through her pocket and quickly pulled out the last of her Lien, barely enough to pay for both of her books, but it was enough. This little fact made Blake smile, days of entertainment, and all for just 60 Lien, what a bargain.

But she noticed that Jaune just sort of stood there, as stiff as a board- that sounded better in Blake's head. His shoulders were tense and tall, his chin tucked into his shirt collar as he stared down at the ground, biting into the side of his cheek as both of his hands were stuffed into his pant pockets.

This was a moment where they both shared a similar thought. Man, was it awkward.

To put it bluntly, Jaune was having a lot of trouble keeping it together, and it showed.

Blake could only give Jaune a single pat on the back, and she felt him jolt as her hand touched his back, "Huh, what?" He suddenly asked, seeming to snap out of whatever funk he was in.

"It's 96 Lien, Jaune."

"Oh." He muttered, pulling his left hand out of his pocket with a fistful of Lien, putting down- 100 Lien?

Blake quickly hit swat in the side with the back of her hand out of pure instinct, her eyes wide, "Jaune!"

"What?"

"You don't even have to pay half of it. My books cost more!" He heard her say, and he noticed how her bow seemed to dip down whenever she glared at him. Not like it happened once or twice, but almost consistently. Maybe he was still out of it.

As he blinked and looked down at the counter, he noticed that he indeed did put down a little too much, "Oh, whoops." He muttered before taking 40 Lien off of the counter.

This time around, Blake only shot up a brow at him, "Jaune, you're still paying too much."

He only shrugged, "It's fine."

Truth was, Jaune didn't care how much it cost, he just wanted to get out of the store, if only to escape the horribly awkward feeling that was growing in his chest.

She only let out a sigh as she put the leftover Lien she had on the counter back into her pocket. Okay, now she was going to have to talk to Jaune about his financial decisions.

With that, Tukson took the Lien off of the table and into a nearby cash register before holding the black bag out in front of him, "Alright, you two have yourselves a nice day," He spoke as Blake took the bag from his hand.

But as Blake let the bag dangle by her side, she heard him speak again, "And Blake, it's been good seeing you again." Tukson spoke earnestly, the mile-wide smile that once sat on his face was replaced by something more honest, and simple. A genuine smile.

Blake only nodded in response before grabbing ahold of Jaune's wrist, "Come on, Jaune. We should get back to Beacon before it starts raining." She stated as she started making for the door, Jaune following behind her.

But as Blake and Jaune got to the door, she could hear Tukson ask something as he leaned against the desk, "Wait, Beacon?" He asked incredulously, his voice bouncing off the walls.

Blake smiled to herself for a moment before opening the door and walking out, the sound of bells jingling as the door flung open. And as the door shut behind them, she could hear Jaune let out a deep sigh as his shoulders fell, "Man, who would've thought getting books was such a pain?" He muttered, but an even bigger question that he kept to himself was one he never would have thought about if he hadn't started hanging out with Blake.

Who would have thought that faking a relationship would take so much effort?

Blake snorted at Jaune's moping, "Shut up." she spoke, almost sounding playful, but then Jaune remembered that it was Blake he was talking to, so it couldn't be that. Maybe he was just mentally taxed? Yeah, that was probably it.

"Now come on, if we waste anymore time, we'll get caught in the-'' Blake calmly started, only for her to feel something hit the top of her head. Something small, something light, something wet. Blake stretched out a hand in front of her and felt small droplets of rain hit her hand, and as she looked up, the sky looked much darker than it had walking into the store, the once light grey skies turned a darker shade, and slowly sprinkles of water start to sparsely hit the concrete in front of them.

"...Rain." Blake finished her sentence, the little energy she had after her run-in with Tukson being siphoned from her body.

Jaune felt Blake's grip on his wrist slacken before her hand fell limp, which would have been a blessing if he hadn't entirely agreed with what it entailed. "We should probably start running-" he started, only for Blake to bolt down the sidewalk.

Okay, he supposed he was going to have to chase after her now.

You have no idea how much of a pain in the ass this was to make work. Initially, I planned on maybe doing something closer to 5k words, but ended up making something damn near twice the size.

Fuck me, I guess.I honestly wasn't expecting this to be something I'd have to commit to, you know? I had to spend maybe three or four days after the first post coming up with an actual plot and shit, which was more fun than I'd like to admit.

But, since I do have to commit, expect a chapter to be out every one or two weeks. Just trying to provide some transparency so as to not just drop off the deep end on you folks. And I'm only saying this now because I'm never gonna say it again. God knows this A/N is long enough as is.

But yeah, follow, favorite, review, do all that shit if you want to, I don't particularly give too many fucks if you do or don't, I'm still gonna keep making this shit as long as it's fun.

And remember: buy Leonid Afremov paintings, and praise be to T.D. That is all, now get the fuck out.