Street Lights Flicker On Long Walks

by Rum Aficionado

Blake was forced out of her room by her Partner. Jaune was forced out of his room by his teammate's antics. Blake was aggravated, and Jaune was bored. One trip to a fancy restaurant later, and that was soon to change. Now, what happens when you put two Socially Awkward people together? Well, nothing at first. The cover art was done by Leonid Afremov. Please buy his paintings.

8. Chapter 8

Jaune felt out of shape.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. He hadn't been in better shape in all his life, why, his abdomen was more defined than he ever thought it would be! However, this didn't change how he felt. Sprinting halfway across the city for who knows how long was killer. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that he and Blake walked around for the better half of two hours.

As Jaune gulped down as much air as his body allowed, he nearly crumpled forward as he stared up at the building in front of him and Blake. It was generic as it could be, a bowling ball and two pins next to the sign, as the name showcased itself proudly. "Big Al's Bowling," it stated.

He stared up at the sign, and he could hear Blake swallowing down breaths of her own. Jaune turned his head over to look at Blake, whose palms were placed on her knees and face slightly flushed from all the running, equally as drenched in sweat as he was.

"Blake," Jaune started between aching breaths. He could feel his legs threatening to give out on him, but he remained upright. "What time is it?" he asked.

In response, Blake let out a whine as she shook her head from side to side, "I don't want to know, Jaune." she strained, her breathless form pleading for her to breathe, and she was more than happy to oblige.

Blake hadn't run like that since… well, since days that were long past. But if there was anything that she learned from this, it was that she needed to get back into doing cardio. Granted, she never had to sprint through half a city with no rest, but if she ever had to do it again, she would rather be ready for it.

Jaune stuffed his shaking hand into his right pocket and reluctantly pulled out his scroll. As Jaune tried to take his left hand off his knee, his legs buckled, landing him back-first on the concrete beneath them.

Blake heard the sound of Jaune letting out a groan, and as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. He was sprawled out on the concrete, his legs spread as his arms rested on his chest. A detail that Blake could have gone without noticing was how Jaune's shirt was dragged up, revealing his toned abdomen, if only a little.

Needless to say, Blake followed his lead, stumbling next to his prone form before taking a knee. However, her right leg trembled beneath her weight, and the faunus girl ended up flopping onto Jaune, her side meeting his chest. The blond haired boy could only grunt as he felt her impact against his chest, "Sorry." He heard her mutter as she slid off him.

Well, for the most part, the only part of Blake that leaned on Jaune was her head.

Jaune didn't know how long he sat there, sprawled out on the concrete sidewalk with Blake's head on his chest, his heartbeat racing as he slowly came down from the adrenaline rush. But, after a moment, he felt his scroll buzz in his hand as he held it close to his chest. As he continued to gulp down as much air as he could, he brought the scroll up and checked the time. It was only then that he whined.

"Blake," Jaune drew out, not bothering to hide his exhaustion, "We ran for half an hour." He muttered as he let his scroll close, bringing it to his chest once more, not bothering to chest whatever notification he'd gotten.

He heard Blake let out a groan as he felt her head lean deeper into his chest, "We sprinted for that long?" Blake asked, her eyebrows tilted upwards as a crease formed between both brows, her mouth slightly ajar as she took in deep breaths. "We should've showed up late."

"Later. We're already late." Jaune corrected, only to feel Blake's hand limply impact against his side, laughing in response to the lack of actual power in the strike. "But honestly, yeah, we should've."

He felt the back of Blake's hand slide slowly off of him, but not before feeling her brush against his slightly revealed bare skin, feeling his muscles tense up at the sudden contact, his mind going blank as a sudden wave of goosebumps hit him, trailing along not just where Blake had brushed against him, but along his arms, the back of his neck, anywhere really.

Blake felt Jaune's form stiffen for a moment before she turned her head to see just what could have led to Jaune getting so jumpy. As her head tilted to the side, she noticed her hand tracing along Jaune's lower abdomen.

"Oh," she muttered, taking her hand away from his as she stared away, her shoulders tensing up as she brought her hand to her side, "Sorry." Blake quietly apologized, and Jaune could only nod in response.

"Uh-" Jaune started, his voice cracking for a moment before he cleared his throat, "It uh- well, you know, stuff happens." Jaune muttered, fully aware that Blake heard him. If Jaune had learned anything from being around Blake, it's that he couldn't really hide anything from Blake. Whether it was because she was a faunus, a woman, or a faunus woman, he couldn't tell. But what he did know was that all of the aforementioned beings had an innate ability to just know what Jaune was thinking.

Or, in this case, muttering.

Jaune hadn't noticed it until then, but his breathing had returned to its natural state, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Slow, and deep breaths. However, what he had noticed was the fact that his heart refused to slow, despite the exhaustion fading away. It was such an uncomfortable feeling, the feeling of his heart pounding against his chest as the adrenaline slowly faded away, that sharp aches in his chest and legs dissipating, but his heart refused to slow.

Jaune, however, wasn't the only one to notice. No, Blake could hear his heart loudly thumping against his chest, she could have sworn that she felt it too, and truth be told, Blake wasn't all that much better.

Jaune felt Blake slowly bring herself away from his chest before sitting upright, staring ahead at the odd sign. But Jaune, he preferred being on the concrete at that point, it was uncomfortable, and distracting. Very distracting. Which was good, because Jaune needed it, especially after all… that.

However, he felt his scroll buzz against his chest once more, and with a groan, Jaune unfurled his scroll once more. Although, the notification he hadn't bothered to check, along with the new one that he had just received, were distressing to say the least. Jaune only groaned louder as the back of his head scraped against the rough concrete.

Blake turned her head and looked over her shoulder, quirking a brow at the seemingly aggravated boy. The way his eyebrows furrowed as his lips dipped downwards were signs enough, but the way Blake confirmed it was how Jaune's nose would wrinkle for a moment as he sat in silence. It was one of the few ticks that Blake could identify, now that she had been around the boy enough.

"So," Blake started, turning her body towards him before facing him entirely, her legs crossed as her black pants scraped against the rough sidewalk, "What's got you so mad now?" Blake asked, she thought it would be better to nip it in the bud while it was fresh.

She watched as Jaune visibly deflated as he let out a long, drawn out sigh, his chest falling as his brows relaxed, but the frown on his face remained all the same. "Well," Jaune started, his tone firm, but annoyed nonetheless, "it seems like we aren't going bowling after all." he finished.

And he was looking forward to it too. Jaune only let out another breath as he dragged his left hand through his now sweaty hair. Right, they had been sprinting merely minutes ago, he'd forgotten about that.

"Huh?" He heard Blake ask, her tone light, but still laced with disappointment, "Did we-"

"Miss the whole game? Yep." Jaune calmly finished, and heard Blake let out a sigh of her own, her head dangling as her shoulders slumped forward.

As one would expect, neither of the two were all too pleased by the sudden change in plan. Granted, they were both gone for several hours now, but… Well, neither of them had a real excuse. At the end of the day, they were both just being picky about food.

"Hey Blake?" She heard Jaune ask, and let out a hum in response, quirking a brow as she stared back at the blond boy, "Next time we go out for food, can we just do something cheap and easy?" Jaune asked, and Blake couldn't help but chuckle a little at the question.

"Next time." Blake agreed with a nod. A smile slowly crept onto Jaune's face as he stared up at Blake, and she couldn't help but smile back.

He watched as Blake pushed herself off of the sidewalk, brushing her pant legs as she stood up. Jaune didn't bother copying the movement, he would have rather stayed on the concrete, life was pain after all of that running.

Although, as Blake's shadow casted over him, he watched her reach out a hand, "Come on," He heard her say, a small smile on her face, "just because we missed the game doesn't mean we can't meet up with our teams." Blake spoke, and he couldn't help but reluctantly agree.

Jaune only let out a sigh as he stuffed his scroll into his left pocket, using his right hand to grab at Blake before being pulled up onto his feet. "I know, but is it so bad that I want to stay on the ground for… I don't know, forever?" Jaune asked, and got a quirked eyebrow in response.

Blake snorted at his question, rolling her eyes at Jaune, "Okay, now I know we both need a little bit more cardio in our lives." Blake stated, which drew a laugh from Jaune. Blake wasn't sure what it was, but hearing Jaune laugh always put her in a good mood. It was always just so carefree when Jaune laughed, as though none of their problems existed.

It was a good feeling.

"What can I say," Jaune started, shrugging his shoulders as he gave Blake an awkward smile, "I mostly focus on swinging my sword arm. It's all I'm really good for." Jaune expressed his thoughts on his physical prowess. He wasn't exactly the endurance junky his partner was, nor was he as agile as his only male companion, and he sure wasn't the muscle monster that was Nora. He was… inadequate by comparison.

So, Jaune did the only thing he could really think of when it came to train. He lifted, he swung his sword, and repeated the process until he was left with a feeling of accomplishment- okay, that wasn't quite it. It was closer to a horrible, numb feeling that left him in pain for several days, but hey, it was fulfilling.

He heard Blake hum to herself as her eyebrows furrowed slightly, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of her face, "Well, how about we both start doing a little bit of cardio?"

"Huh?" Jaune muttered, and Blake could only deadpan as the blond leader of team JNPR tilted his head to the side.

"Jaune, it's clear that the both of us need to start running a bit more often, and I plan on doing something about it. And let's be honest, you certainly stand to gain from doing some more running." Blake stated straightforwardly, "So yeah, I think that it would be nice if you joined me on a couple of morning runs." Blake wrapped up her offer. Blake was going to go running regardless if Jaune joined her or not, but she could already imagine the lengths that they could push each other to go farther.

Well, that, and she also just wanted to go running with Jaune. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she enjoyed the exhausting sprint, and Jaune only made it that much more fun.

She watched as Jaune blinked for a moment before letting his eyes flick to and fro, and Blake recognized it as one of the things Jaune did to arrange his thoughts. She heard the boy hum quietly as he brought a hand to his chin, his eyes squinting for a moment, "I mean, we'd have to do them really early."

Blake only shrugged, "All the more reason to develop a better sleep schedule." She retorted, and noticed Jaune's brows furrow a bit more.

"We might end up skipping breakfast at the cafeteria if we do that." Jaune put forth his rebuttal, only for it to be swatted away by a look of indifference from Blake.

"That's fine, we can just go find a little breakfast place in Vale." Blake replied through her stoic mask, and she mentally fistpumped as Jaune's face softened with a sigh.

"Man," he muttered to himself, "my body's gonna hate me." She heard the blond boy's statement and couldn't help but laugh lightly. There was just something about how he handled the idea of physical stress that made Blake's stoic mask crumble apart.

"Relax," she responded easily, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We'll start easy and work our way up. Besides, I'm sure that we'll have both built up a fair bit of endurance before a handful of months." She offhandedly stated, and watched as Jaune's shoulders sagged as his eyes traced the sidewalk beneath them.

"Well, there goes my restful sleep." Jaune said with a shrug of his shoulders. Oh well, it's not like he did anything productive with his early mornings anyways, might as well do something with them. Besides, he thought, he was going to be hanging out with Blake in the early morning. Blake was fun!

It would be worth it. Probably.

Although, Jaune felt his scroll vibrate in his pocket for the third time in the past 20 minutes, and slowly drew it out of his pocket and unfurled it. If Jaune was to be frank, he had gotten nothing but bad news for the past hour or so, and it always started with a text, so to say that Jaune wasn't enthused by the prospect of more bad news was putting it lightly.

But as his scroll unfurled, he had gotten yet another message from Ruby. But this one was different from all the others, and in the unlikeliest of ways, too. The message read, "Hey Jaune, if you guys want, you can keep going out and doing couples stuff. I already told the teams that you two were already back at the dorms. Just make sure you're back before late, midterms start tomorrow." The message ending with a cat giving a winky face.

Jaune let out the usual 'uh' that a situation like this deemed necessary before noticing Blake, who looked over his shoulder with her curious amber eyes. Jaune leaned closer to Blake, bringing his scroll down to let her read the message in full. He watched as Blake's eyes calmly drifted along the message, but at some point, her eyes began to race along the words written on his scroll, her eyes wide as they flicked from side to side.

Blake went through the message again, and then again, if only to make sure that she hadn't misread anything. But after the third read through, it was clear to her that neither she, nor Jaune, were going to be doing any activities with their teams. The idea behind that was fine, they spent six out of seven days a week with their teams, reserving Sundays for their weekly retreats into solitude. But today was supposed to be the day that they all would spend time together, preparing for Midterms to pass before… Well, before spring break started.

Before everyone went home.

Blake suppressed a sigh as she stared at the message, but she couldn't stop her bow from falling flat. It was something that Jaune certainly noticed, but he didn't press it. "So," Blake began, keeping her eyes on the unfurled screen, "I guess our teams don't really need us." Blake stated, her tone even sounding to the common ear.

"I mean," Jaune started, letting his scroll flick shut before stuffing it back into his pocket, placing his right hand on the back of his head, "I'm sure Ruby thinks what she's doing is best. Our teams probably think we're off doing- well, you know." Jaune didn't bother finishing the sentence, leaving it up for interpretation.

Not that Blake needed to interpret it as anything else, she already knew what he was going to say.

Blake let out a deep sigh as she let her shoulders slump forward, "Oh well, we can always go back to the dorms." Blake resigned herself to the idea that her leader put forward, "Maybe we can get started on reading the second book that we got you?" Blake offered with a half smile, but Jaune knew better than to take it at face value.

Jaune let the corners of his mouth dip downwards for a moment, several thoughts shooting through his mind. There had to be something he could do to make today at least enjoyable enough to make a week of suffering and crunching worthwhile. Not just for Blake, but for himself too, as selfish as it sounded.

The blond leader of three let out a quiet hum as he brought a hand to his chin, he had to use his head and think. What would his Dad do if family plans fell apart. Jaune flicked through all the old memories he had of his family, which was more full of failed vacations than he'd like to admit. But one of them stood out to him. There was a time that his Mom and Dad planned to take him, along with his sisters out to one of the larger, more commercial towns on the frontier, maybe a hop, skip, and a jump away from Vale.

The idea was to book a hotel and spend several days taking in the sights. Sherwood, the place was called, a little slice of heaven on the frontier after being subjected to Grimm attacks, Bandit raids, and even the odd bit of sabotage, if he remembered some of the stories right. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, like the odd beringel showing up maybe a mile away from the town, his Dad cancelled the trip.

But that didn't mean that he didn't have a plan.

No, instead his father made use of the things around him, and his family ended up spending the better part of three days camping at the edge of a lake an hour away from home, swimming with the family, along with occasionally taking Jaune out to hunt a little bit of game.

Jaune shook himself away from the rest of the memory. That part wasn't quite so important, Jaune realized, even if it was his favorite part of the story.

Blake watched as the blond boy suddenly tore his scroll from his pocket, despite having put it away moments ago. She couldn't help but quirk a brow at the sudden behavior, but before she could bring anything up, she watched as Jaune unfurled his scroll and brought up a rough map of Vale. His eyebrows furrowed as he skimmed over the map, dozens of various icons pulled up on his screen, dotting all over the map as Blake looked past his shoulder to see.

Suddenly, Jaune's eyes widened for a moment before zooming in on one of the icons, tapping it before it brought up another screen, his eyes skimming over the new information as a smile slowly crept onto his face. With that, his scroll snapped shut before he stuffed it into his pocket.

"So," Jaune started, turning his head and looking at Blake, "how would you feel about going for a little swim?" Jaune asked curiously, a brow quirked as the smile rested on his face.

Blake tilted her head in response as she stared at the blond boy, "Dressed like this?" Blake asked, using her hands to gesture at herself, then to Jaune, repeating the process a few times to get her point across.

She watched as Jaune rolled his eyes before feeling his hand gently grasp at her wrist, "Come on, I'll explain as we walk." He said as he started making his way down the street, and Blake followed him with a sigh and a shake of her head.

As the two made their way down the street, the sign to the bowling alley shrunk smaller and smaller as Jaune led them further away. "You know," she started, turning her head away from the bowling alley behind them, "I don't remember saying yes to your idea." Blake said, her tone unchanging and flat as she stared into the side of his face.

Jaune only laughed at her statement before looking down at her as they walked, "But you didn't say no." Jaune replied, getting an eye roll in response.

"Just because I haven't yet doesn't mean I won't." Blake quickly retorted, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she stared at him, "Now, what's this idea you have?"

"Well," Jaune began, his eyes trailing away slightly, "promise you won't laugh?" She heard him ask, quickly quirking a brow. Well, now Blake was certainly interested in the idea.

Blake rolled her left wrist a few times, gesturing for him to continue as she heard him let out a breath, "Okay, so no kidding, what me and my family used to do growing up was book hotels in towns closer to Vale, but making sure not to go to Vale itself. And when we booked these hotels, we'd always spend every second of free time using the facilities there-"

"Like the pool?" Blake interrupted. Jaune's eyes lighting up for a moment as he pointed at Blake with his right hand.

"Yes, exactly!" She heard Jaune yell out, her ears falling flat as she gave him a glare, the loud ringing of her slowly deteriorating tinnitus kicking in. Well, it was probably tinnitus, but she wasn't really sure. She'd never gone to see a doctor about it, and probably never would.

Blake quickly jabbed his side with her free hand as she glared at him, "I'm standing right here, Jaune." Blake reminded the blond boy of their distance, watching as he rubbed his left side with a free hand of his own.

Jaune awkwardly chuckled as his shoulders slowly rose, "Uh, sorry." Jaune quietly apologized as he stared up at her flat bow. It was something to get used to, he realized. He'd been treating Blake like she was just a normal human- not that being a faunus wasn't normal! It just wasn't Jaune's kind of normal, if that made any sense. But if there was a lesson that Jaune learned, it was that he needed to learn how to be more soft-spoken when he was excited.

He quietly cleared his throat as he let his right hand return to his side, "Anyway, we would spend all of our time swimming around the pool when no one else was there. Most people don't spend enough time at a hotel to really use the pool, so it was always free." Jaune explained, reminding himself of all the times that he and his sisters would roughhouse in the pool, dunking each other under the water as a means of trying to gain some sibling superiority.

And all of the times that he would slip at the edge of the pool, but those weren't important.

But Blake had a few questions on her mind as she walked side by side with the occasionally clumsy, blond swordsman, "But, why wouldn't you just go to a public pool then?" She asked, and received a deadpan look from Jaune. What? It was a completely valid question.

"Blake," he started, his tone unchanging as he spoke, "if you can find a public pool on the frontier, I'll be sure to let my parents know where to find it." Jaune responded, and Blake suddenly felt like an idiot.

The raven haired girl let out an awkward chuckle of her own as she turned her head to face the sidewalk in front of them, "Oh, right, lack of amenities." Blake reminded herself, but before she could think any less of herself, she felt a hand jostle her shoulder lightly, and as she looked back at the blond boy that she had grown close to, she noticed him smiling back at her.

"Hey, relax," Jaune uttered, his voice coming off lightly, like flower petals on a calm breeze. "I get that a whole lot of people don't really, you know, think about the frontier that much. I mean, if I didn't live there, I know I wouldn't."

Blake laughed lightly at Jaune's statement, which seemed to make his smile grow wider, drawing out a laugh of his own. "So, let me see if I've got it right." Blake started, a sole eyebrow raised slightly as she looked up at the taller boy, "You want to book a hotel room for the sake of going swimming, despite the fact that neither of us have anything to swim in?" Blake asked, which caused Jaune to shrug his shoulders.

"Well," Jaune laughed once more, "when you put it like that, it sounds like a bad idea." Jaune answered truthfully, and he really did believe that Blake's question made it sound kind of dumb. However, he had something in mind to back up his plan. As Jaune took a turn on the street corner, he brought the both of them to a rather familiar sight.

A small bus stop in the middle of Vale, a couple of small shops lining the streets as the neon lights that once flickered under the overcast now sat without power. Blake was certain that if she squinted hard enough, she could see the sight of heavy rain, dark clouds, and water trailing along the curbs of the asphalt streets.

"But it's a good thing I thought ahead of time." Jaune stated matter-of-factly, smiling down at Blake with a bit of pride swelling his chest.

Blake had to think for a moment as she blinked a handful of times. Well, it seemed like Jaune did his fair bit of thinking in such a short span of time. "Huh," Blake muttered, "I guess you did."

The faunus girl could hear Jaune chuckling under his breath, and she quickly rolled her eyes. "Right, well let's just go ahead and pick out some swimsuits." Blake relented, but she had to admit, the idea did sound fun. If only a little.

Blake couldn't actually remember the last time she went swimming for the sake of having fun. It must have been long ago, when she was no more than 12 years old. She knew that much, because it was around the same age that her father started losing his grasp of the leadership in the Fang. It was hard to have fun with her father when he was spending so much time trying to keep a civil rights group from turning into a… a terrorist cell.

Blake wouldn't even bother trying to lie to herself, it was a terrorist organization now. It had been ever since her father stepped down, and it drove Blake up a wall just thinking about it. It left her feeling mixed, somewhere in between boiling anger, and a deep state of melancholy.

She subtly shook her head as she pushed the thoughts aside. It didn't matter right now, none of it. Today was the last day that she would be able to live freely, without stress or care before midterms began. The last thing she wanted to do was spend it thinking about the White Fang.

"So, you're down?" Blake heard the blond boy ask, and in response, she began walking towards the clothing store.

It was a fine enough answer, Jaune thought.

---

Blake was excited, if only a bit nervous.

She wasn't sure what it was that left her stomach so jumbled up. Maybe it was the fact that she was going to spend the better part of her day at a hotel with Jaune, or that she was going to be wearing a swimsuit that she picked up at the clothing store the two had passed for a little less than 20 lien. It was a nice swimsuit too, she thought.

Sure, it may have been a simple two-piece, nothing fancy going for it, but she thought it looked nice. Black with amber outlines just so happened to work for Blake. Although, she didn't get to see what Jaune had gotten for himself, but that was because Blake grabbed what she wanted, tried it on, and was done with it.

Although, when the two of them had gone for the register, Jaune had gotten this strange look, realized something important, and disappeared into the store again. Blake didn't think much of it, rang up her swimsuit, and stuck it into her bag. As soon as she was finished with that, Jaune returned with a pool bag.

When prompted on it, he shrugged his shoulders with a smile, saying how, "His Mom always brought one on a trip, so it felt essential." And so, Jaune rang up his own things, paid the price, and the two walked out of the store with little more to say.

Blake wasn't for certain, but she had a theory that Jaune may have been a Mama's boy.

Which brought Blake to the present, standing out in front of the hotel that Jaune pulled up on his scroll. It certainly was… bigger than she expected, if Blake was going to be honest. The gargantuan building had to be dozens of stories tall, Blake thought, maybe even more. If anything, it made Blake feel small in the scope of the world.

However, whereas Blake felt nervous, one look at Jaune's face was enough to know how he felt, his eyes lit up like it was a treasured holiday, his smile threatening to split his face in two. She heard him let out a quiet breath, possibly in awe if Blake had to guess. "Man, the hotels on the frontier never really got so… big." Jaune muttered, and Blake only nodded her head as she stared ahead at the building.

Blake had never really found the time to admire just how tall the buildings could get in Vale. When she walked around the streets of Vale, she was always too focused on the sidewalk in front of her, or paying too much attention to Jaune to really care. But now that she was standing in front of one, it really put things into perspective.

The dark haired girl let out a sigh as she stared ahead at the double doors, the glass on the doors revealing the hotel lobby. "Okay, let's go." She said as she lightly grabbed at the blond boy's wrist, the pool bag slung over her shoulder as she walked towards the hotel doors.

If Jaune had to be honest, he was starting to get a little tired of being grabbed by the wrist. Not to say that he didn't like it when Blake led the two of them around, or vice versa. But there was just something so… impersonal about the gesture. It didn't feel like two friends leading one another around town, but closer to the feeling of dragging along a small child.

Jaune slowly shook his head, pushing aside his thoughts as he and Blake entered the hotel. To say he found himself in a deeper state of awe was putting it lightly. There were incredible, seemingly exotic seats and sofas in the large, open lobby, the floor being covered in a beautiful, vibrant red carpet. Jaune almost felt inclined to take his shoes off, if only so that he didn't track anything from the outside.

But all of that was nothing compared to the chandelier that hung from the ceiling. It was just so different for Jaune, almost otherworldly for him, he didn't even think they made chandeliers that big! But there it was, made of a highly reflective metal that seemed to shimmer like gold- actually, it may well have been gold!

Oh man, the two of them might have trouble paying.

"Uh," Jaune uttered, still staring up at the chandelier as he followed behind Blake, "maybe this place isn't such a good idea?" Jaune hesitantly stated, but it came out more like a question.

The young man only watched as his friend gave him a side eye, quirking a brow as she kept walking, "A little late to say that now, don't you think?" Blake rhetorically asked.

"That was before I saw the solid gold chandelier." Jaune retorted. Blake suppressed a chuckle as she rolled her eyes. If it was a price problem, then Blake could just help cover the remainder. After all, Jaune had done it for her several times, the least she could do was repay the favor.

"Relax," She calmly stated, her voice softly drifting along Jaune's ears, "I'm sure it'll be fine." She said with a shrug, and the blond leader could only let out a breath.

However, before Jaune could actually respond to that, he could hear the sound of the well dressed lady behind the desk giving out a greeting. "Hello, welcome to the Nathaniel King Hotel, how may I help you?" The dark skinned woman asked from behind the desk, her wavy black hair going well beyond her shoulders, her vibrant blue eyes drawing Jaune's attention the most. There wasn't even a wrinkle or imperfection on her face.

It was kind of scary, come to think of it.

"Hi," Blake started, her voice more light hearted and kind than Jaune had ever heard it, snapping his head towards her. But Blake paid him no mind, "We were wondering if you have any rooms free?" Blake asked, and Jaune felt like he wanted to cry.

He knew Blake was just being polite, he did, but it didn't stop him from wanting to hear that side of Blake more.

The kind lady behind the counter smiled as the sounds of her fingers clacking against the keyboard in front of her filled Jaune's ears, her eyes skimming over the screen off center of her. "Well, we do have a few rooms open. Is there anything in particular that you two are looking for? Two beds? One?" The woman behind the desk asked, and Blake tilted her head as she stared back.

"Is there a difference in price?" Blake asked as politely as her body physically allowed, her eyebrow quirked. If one of them was cheaper than the other, Blake was going to pounce on the offer, regardless of the contents.

The hotel worker only nodded her head, "110 Lien a night for two-bed, 90 Lien for one bed." She fluidly replied, almost as though she had rehearsed the line several times.

Blake tilted her head towards Jaune as she stared at him from the corner of her eye, tilting an eyebrow in silent questioning. She noticed Jaune awkwardly smile back at her as he gave a shrug. "We'll take the one-bed." Blake decided.

As the lady behind the counter let out a hum in acknowledgement, typing on her keyboard rapidly, her eyes flicked back towards the pair of teenagers. "Now, I know it might sound strange, but are either of you aspiring hunters-in-training, if not already trained hunters?" She asked, and Blake thought the lady behind the counter was right. It was a strange question to ask.

"Uh," Blake could hear the blond swordsman next to her mutter, "yeah, actually. Hunters-in-training at Beacon Academy." Jaune responded honestly, and Blake could only nod.

"You don't happen to have your schedules or anything to verify that, do you?" The woman in the hotel uniform asked inquisitively, and eyebrow quirked slightly.

In response, Blake drew her scroll out from her pocket after letting go of Jaune's wrist, pulling open her student information before going to the tab that showed her schedule. It was all there, history, grimm studies, botany and survival, combat class, if Blake was taking it, it was on the screen of her scroll. Jaune quickly followed his friend's example, pulling out his own schedule which mimicked her own.

This made the woman behind the desk smile as she brought her hands together, "Then I'm happy to say that you now have twenty percent off on the purchasing of your room for tonight." She said happily, and both Blake's and Jaune's eyes widened slightly at the sudden discount.

"Uh, thank you so much." Blake sincerely thanked the woman behind the desk, who quickly shook her head with a smile.

"Oh, don't thank me, thank Management. They thought it would have been a good idea to give hunters and aspiring hunters a discount since spring break is coming up so soon for students." The polite woman responded, and Blake let out a hum. Well, that certainly made sense from a business standpoint, she thought. Students, whether they were from other kingdoms, or from local areas, would probably be searching for places to stay over the break, why not use it as a means for business?

Blake quietly laughed to herself as she thought about the potential chaos that would erupt from putting too many hunters-in-training in one place, but she kept the thought to herself. "Right, well, we'll be doing a one-bed hotel room for just tonight." Blake spoke, and the woman behind the desk nodded her head one final time.

"Alright, that'll be 72 Lien." She politely stated, the two teenagers quickly fishing their Lien from the pockets before making eye contact.

Jaune had more than enough to pay for the night, but he had a feeling that Blake just wouldn't let him. She'd tried to stop him from paying for things before, and know her, she'd probably stop him again. So, Jaune settled for putting 44 Lien on the desk. Sure, he knew he was paying for more than his half, but he knew that Blake would let him get away with it.

Blake was slightly miffed by it, but didn't say anything.

Blake, quietly stewing in her own annoyance, shoved hand down her pocket and pulled out and placed 28 Lien on the table, which the kind woman behind the desk quickly placed in a small register next to her. Not long after, the desk lady calmly reached down and grabbed a key from under her desk, holding it out for one of them to grasp. "Alright," the woman said, "that should do it, your room is 248, the elevator is just down the hall to your left. You two have yourselves a lovely day." She offered politely as Blake took the key from her hand with a nod.

With that, they departed for their room, making their way down the hallway that they were pointed to before coming upon the elevator that the woman had spoken of. Jaune pressed the button that called the elevator down, and thus began their short period of waiting.

Jaune quickly began clicking his teeth in rapid succession as he rocked back on and forth in place, moving between standing on his toes and heels and as his arms swayed. Blake, however, stood as still as a statue as the pool bag was slung over her shoulder, grabbing out her scroll to check the time. It had been an hour since either of them had last checked, and was now nice and late in the afternoon, 5:30.

It wouldn't be much longer before the sun went down, she thought.

Blake's thoughts were quickly swept away by the sound of the elevator dinging, the doors slowly opening. She watched as Jaune did a theatrical bow as he gestured to the elevator with a single arm, and Blake could only roll her eyes as she walked past him. There was just something about that dumb, dorky side of Jaune that never failed to make Blake happy.

Jaune quickly followed behind Blake and stepped inside of the elevator next to her, standing beside her as she pressed a button on the panel next to the door, beginning their short ascent. The elevator doors closed as the lift rocked for a moment as they began to climb. But just as it began, it came to a close, the doors opening once more in no less than ten seconds.

"Alright," He heard Blake mutter as she held the key in her hand, "Room 248, room 248…" She spoke beneath her breath as she walked out of the elevator, looking at the room numbers on the doors.

To her left, the numbers trailed downwards, starting from room 226, and to her left, the numbers began to climb upwards. With that information, Blake began her search, Jaune trailing not too far behind her. Truth was, Jaune was excited. It had been way too long since he'd done something like stay at a hotel. Sure, it may have been mundane, and boring to some, but it was something he rarely did.

Eventually, as the two walked down the hall, they found the door to their room, marked by the same three digits that marked their key. Naturally, Blake stuck the key into the lock and gave it a turn, the sound of the lock clicking as she twisted the door knob, pushing it open.

The room was dark, incredibly so, and the only reason Blake could tell was because the room seemed colorless for her. On some days, being a faunus was good. Blake could see that the blinds that obscured the window were shut, but she only gave a shrug as she walked through the door frame, doing a quick search for a light switch before finding it right next to the door frame.

With a flick of a switch, the lights came to life, illuminating the room to reveal that which was expected of a hotel room. A single queen-sized bed placed directly against the far left wall, the headboard made with some kind of intricate design in mind, but it flew over Blake's head. There was also a recliner and a sofa tucked away in the corner of the room, a coffee table placed directly between the two soft seats. Next to the counter that was pushed against the far right wall was a small fridge, a pair of cabinets seemingly nailed to the wall above the counter, along with a small table and set of chairs to accompany it.

Along the wall that the bed was pressed against, several paintings of varying sizes sat, almost as though they were frozen in time. Blake had never seen paintings that looked the way that they did, so many colors splashed onto a canvas. Next to the paintings that caught Blake's eye was also an old, dark brown framed, hung up clock.

Next to her, Blake heard Jaune let out a high pitched whistle, Blake's ears twitching as he looked down at her, "Cozy, right?" He stated, Blake's ears still twitching slightly from the high pitched whistle.

But, Blake did have to admit, there were certainly worse places to be staying for a night. Like in a poorly constructed tent, or under a tree, or in a bedroll tucked away in a cave. Come to think of it, Blake had spent far too much time sleeping in bad locations. The hotel room certainly didn't make that long list of bad locations though.

The faunus girl let out a hum as she slowly nodded her head, "Yeah, it's…" Blake's voice trickled away as she found herself at a loss for words. It was just so different for her, even compared to how Beacon's rooms were, it was just so much more. At Beacon, all Blake had was her bed, her desk, and her seat. But in the hotel room, there was a fridge, cabinets, a sofa, there were just so many small comforts.

If Blake hadn't known any better, she would have thought it was a real home.

"It's really something." She quietly finished her statement, looking out of the corner of her to stare at Jaune, a small smile on his face as he took in the sights. But then, Jaune slowly walked over to the queen sized bed, crouched down as though he were inspecting it, his knees bent slightly as his head was tilted to the side.

Of course, Blake guessed wrong in attempting to discern Jaune's intentions, mentally facepalming as he leaped onto the well made bed, landing sprawled out on the bright white sheets. She heard the blond haired young man let out a breath, his feet hanging off of the foot of the bed, kicking his shoes off before crawling forward.

As Blake walked over towards the bed herself, she set the pool bag down. Blake opted for a different approach, taking a seat on the left side of the bed as Jaune made his spot on the right. "Blake," She heard him say, his face sporting a relaxed smile as his eyes sat half-lidded, "you have got to try this."

As Blake sat at the edge of the bed, staring at Jaune from over her shoulder, her eyes flicked towards the unoccupied pillow behind her. As she looked back at Jaune, his eyes shut and face muscles relaxed, the faunus girl let out a sigh as she kicked off her high-heeled boots. With the sound of her boots hitting the floor, Blake fell backwards onto her own pillow.

It felt… off for her, honestly. It was an unpleasant feeling. Like she was sinking deeper and deeper into the mattress as a dark abyss tried to swallow her whole. Like reality itself was bending around her, trying to steal her away into a dark place.

Blake flipped onto her side, seeing if it got rid of the literal sinking feeling, but that idea fell through. So she tried again, but this time laying on her stomach. However, much like her first plan, it sunk. Blake let out a quick breath as she curled her lip to the side, flipping herself onto her back before staring up at the roof.

With that, a moment of calm took hold, she could hear the sounds of Jaune quietly breathing as he laid next to her, his head nestled deep into the pillow as it seemed to engulf his head. Blake tried to make herself comfortable again, laying on her right side to gain a smidge of comfort, but to no avail.

But while Jaune was fairly comfortable in his spot, the feeling of occasionally rocking side to side as he heard the sound of the bed lightly creaking from Blake's movement pushed him away from any kind of slumber. Jaune was curious, and there wasn't much he could do about that curiosity aside from ask questions. As he slowly peeled open his eyes, shaking off the warm embrace of the neatly made bed, he spoke.

"So," he started quietly, staring in Blake's face as she stared, "is it safe to guess that you don't like the bed?" Jaune asked, a quirked brow as he stared at his closest faunus friend. Granted, she was his only faunus friend, but that wasn't important.

After a moment of staring back at him, he watched Blake slowly nod her head with an apologetic smile marring her face. "I'm just not used to soft beds." He heard her say, her voice coming off lightly, like a soft breeze on a warm day.

"Hey, it's no worry," Jaune calmly responded, "that just means that we need to get you a better bed. Hey, you think we could talk to some of the faculty at school about that, or do you think they'll just tell us to get a new one out of pocket?" Jaune asked before putting himself on his back.

Blake let out a quiet laugh as she stared at the side of her friend's head, "I'd rather not get rid of my bed, Jaune. Besides, I don't think I could toss it out if I wanted to." Blake replied as she smiled at the boy.

"Oh right," He muttered, his eyebrows rising slightly as he continued staring up at the ceiling, "you and your team have that whole 'bunk bed' thing going on." Jaune said before letting out a hum, his face contorting sideways as his eyebrows furrowed. "Then I guess we'll just get you a new mattress instead."

Blake only rolled her eyes at Jaune's comment, "I like my bed just fine, Jaune. It's this one that's the problem, not me." She retorted, watching as Jaune's eyebrow quirked as he stared back at her.

"What's not to love about this bed? It's so soft, and comfy!" Jaune exclaimed as he looked at her through wide eyes. Blake knew that a question like that was going to come at some point in the conversation, and she was honestly dreading it.

Blake let out a breath as she flipped onto her back, placing her hands on her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling, "That's my problem, it's too comfortable. It's so soft that I feel like I'm falling, if that makes any sense."

Jaune let out a hum as he listened to Blake's discomfort, nodding his head quietly as she continued. "It's like… I don't know."

"It's like what?" Jaune quickly responded, Blake's eye quickly flicking towards him, his mouth a thin line as his eyebrows sat calmly on his face.

Blake let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her raven hair, lying there quietly as Jaune patiently waited for her response. She hoped that he would just accept her silence as an answer, to forget that he brought it up in the first place. Or that he would randomly suffer from short-term memory loss. Something, anything!

She wasn't sure how long she sat quietly, it could have been seconds, or minutes. She wasn't sure, but the silence was dreadful, like an invisible force was grasping at her neck, slowly clenching itself around her. Blake could feel her heart beating in her chest, loudly thumping as it quickened in pace. Every time that Blake flicked her eyes towards the blond, she could see the look on his face, the patience that he held.

It was foul play.

"I-" Blake muttered, "I didn't get a lot of time in comfortable beds. I spent a little too long sleeping on forest floors, or in bedrolls. Anything less bumpy than that and, well, I don't get restful sleep." Blake unraveled as she flicked her eyes towards the ceiling, focusing on the microdetails of the dust bunny covered, beige colored roof.

She heard Jaune let out a series of quiet hums as she heard the sound of his head shifting on his pillow, "Can I ask you why you spent so much time sleeping on forest floors?" She heard Jaune ask, her mouth suddenly feeling as dry as the blistering deserts of Central Vacuo. "Don't feel obligated to answer if you don't want to." His voice came out clear and smooth, not a crack in whatever mask he was wearing to maintain his calm. If it was a mask, anyway.

The faunus girl let out a breath as she looked out of the corner of her eye, "It's hard sleeping somewhere comfortable. It feels too safe, if that makes any sense." Blake quietly responded as she went back to staring at the roof.

She could hear the sound of Jaune quietly chuckling next to her, "I can't say that it does, if I'm being honest. I always thought that people wanted to be safe the most?" Jaune rhetorically asked, his mask crumbling apart as he stared at the side of Blake's head. He and Blake had been at a comfortable distance, but it was certainly close enough for him to notice all sorts of minor details. The big ones being just how nice Blake smelled, or how her hair looked really soft, and how her bow would twitch occasionally made Jaune want to reach out- Ah, he really needed to stop that!

Blake only let out a hum as she brought her hands to her stomach, "Maybe 'safe' isn't the right word. It's more that I hate being isolated." Blake reiterated again, turning her head to stare at Jaune, who had an eyebrow raised in response.

"You could've fooled me," he started, a smile on his face as he stared at the raven haired girl, "I thought being alone was a part of your thing before we started hanging out?" She heard Jaune ask, much to her disappointment.

Blake instead opted to let out a breath as she stared at Jaune, "Weren't we supposed to go swimming?" She bluntly asked, quirking a brow as she stared at the blond boy. In truth, Blake was hoping that he would take the bait and forget any of this conversation ever happened.

Jaune's eyes quickly widened as he stuffed his hand into his pocket, unfurling his scroll as he checked the time. The time now read 6:00, and he quietly groaned as he brought his left hand to his face, "Oh crap." He muttered, dragging said hand down his cheek. "It's okay, we're good. We still have two and a half hours before the pool closes. I think."

Blake rolled her eyes as she watched Jaune's easily distracted side take control, kicking her legs over the side of the bed before sitting up, letting out a sigh of relief as she did so. "That sounds like plenty of time to me." Blake calmly stated as she stood up from the bed, stretching her arms high above her head. Although, much to her own confusion, she let out a yawn as she stretched.

"'No Jaune, I don't like this bed, it's too comfy,' Said the person who's now sleepy." Jaune imitated Blake's voice for a moment, accentuating the deadpan tone of voice so much that it just didn't feel like her voice.

Blake looked over her shoulder, giving the blond boy a glare through narrowed eyes, "Not sleepy, just… relaxed, I guess." Blake reiterated, albeit not confidently enough to drive home her point.

The blond boy only shrugged as he threw his legs over the side of the bed, standing up as he rolled his head, the feeling of a light pop giving him the satisfaction he searched for. "Same thing." He lightly remarked, walking over to the foot of their bed and picking up the colorful pool bag before holding it out to Blake.

As Blake raised her hand towards the straps of the bag, taking hold of them. "It's weird, I know. But it's just how my head works." Blake stated in the hopes of trying to make herself seem like less of a weirdo. Granted, she didn't think it worked, but it was better than being unapologetic.

"Hey, don't apologize for being weird. It's your best feature!" She heard the boy respond as she took the bag from his hand, quirking a brow inquisitively as she stared up at him. It almost felt like a backhanded compliment, she thought.

"How is me being weird my best feature?" Blake asked, honestly curious at what Jaune would say.

Jaune took a moment to pause as he looked Blake in the eyes, and realized just how careful he had to be with his answer. If there was anything that he'd learned from living with mostly women, it was that they were hard to predict, and he'd just set himself up for a difficult situation.

"Uh," Jaune muttered for a moment, watching as her brow rose higher as he hesitated to answer. "I mean, it's your best feature because it makes you, well, you. There could be dozens of other cat faunus girls with the same hair, eyes, all of it; but none of them would really be you without the whole, you know, stoic personality." Jaune reiterated, watching as Blake tilted her head slightly, her expression maintaining its neutral curiosity.

"But that's not to say that everything else about you isn't great, because it is!" The blond boy frantically waved his hands as he tried to find the right words to explain his thoughts. "You're really pretty, smart, you've got everything under control, no matter what comes your way, but they don't hold a candle to what makes you, well, Blake." Jaune rambled as he tried to pad out whatever bumpy compliment he was trying to give.

To his surprise, however, he heard the sound of Blake's laughter fill the room as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. Whatever anxiety he may have previously felt dissipated as he watched Blake lose herself in laughter, holding the pool bag close to her chest as she broke down. Jaune may have thought this dozens of times now, but it never got old hearing Blake laugh.

"I'm going to go get changed." Blake said, a wide smile stretching across her face as Jaune took the trunks from her hand, holding it to his chest as he watched Blake walk past him with a smile.

Jaune only quietly chuckled as Blake walked past him, subtly shaking his head as he tried to figure out whatever it could have been that made Blake laugh. As he heard the bathroom door click shut, Jaune let out a breath, "Oh well, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth." The blond student muttered to himself before tossing his swimming trunks on the bed next to him.

He didn't bother wasting any time before throwing on his swimming trunks, leaving his unbuttoned white-collared shirt on. And so, now that Jaune was right and ready to go swim, he picked up his scroll and checked the time once more. It wasn't that long ago since he last checked, only 10 minutes after six, but he couldn't help it, he was a little anxious.

Of course, he wasn't anxious over anything life threatening or career ending, nothing like that. Jaune was afraid of Blake- or rather, how she was going to look. If her dressing slightly different made his head spin, he didn't even want to think about how Blake would look in a swimsuit. How she would be exposing her beautifully pale skin, how her entire figure on display-

The blond student let his face fall into his hands as he let out a sigh, dragging his hands up and down as he tried to set aside his horrible thoughts. It almost made him want to laugh, really. There wasn't much he could do about the intrusive thoughts that threatened to form cracks in his resolve.

But there was also something else, if Jaune was going to be honest. He really didn't want to see Blake in a romantic light because, well, his history in romance wasn't exactly positive. The girls back in the village weren't exactly great catches, and every time he got close, it fell through over some sort of flimsy excuse or another. But those small time flings weren't nearly as catastrophic as his failure to woo Weiss. Maybe he was too pushy, or he was just flat out annoying, he didn't know. But he really didn't want to mess it up again.

But hey, he couldn't possibly fail if he never tried.

And, if he was being honest, that was just fine. Being friends with Blake would probably be just as good as dating her.

It wasn't like he particularly enjoyed being physically close to her, or having her head lean on his shoulder. Or how she would lead him around by his wrist, even if it was a little impersonal, laughing and joking as they both went, walking but never actually going anywhere. Or the way she would look at him after he would say something particularly silly, or just flat out dumb, her amber eyes sparkling with joy as the corners of her lips would tug upwards. That would be ridiculous. No, if anything, he was quite comfortable where he was.

Although, as Jaune's thoughts ran wildly through his head, he failed to register the sound of the bathroom door clicking, the sound of the hinges lightly creaking as the door was gently pushed open. Blake took a moment to peek out from behind the door frame, her amber eyes boring into Jaune's back as she kept a long, white towel draped over her shoulders. From where she stood, she watched as Jaune's right leg bobbed up and down as he sat at the edge of the bed, and from how his arms rested, she came to the logical conclusion that his hands were clasped together.

Blake silently let her bare feet meet the carpeted floor of the hotel room. As she slowly stalked towards the boy she'd come to know so closely, the scene of her sneaking up on the blond jogged a rather pleasant memory in her mind. But she didn't dwell on it, for as she grew nearer and nearer, now only inches away from the boy, an odd thought popped into her mind.

A small smile made its way onto her face, her ears twitching in anticipation as she got closer and closer to the side of his head. And as she was just within range, she lightly blew on the side of his ear. The sight of Jaune tensing up almost made Blake laugh. But, as she stared at her stiff figured classmate, she could see the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, goosebumps spreading where the hairs stood tall.

That was the moment that she decided to laugh.

Jaune felt his heart loudly thumping against his chest, how his skin became rough as the sudden feeling of warm air touching on the lobe of his ear made him quickly flick his head to the right. Jaune let out a sigh as the sounds of laughter filled his right ear, quiet and reserved as the laughs were.

"Geez," Jaune muttered beneath his breath as he let his eyes flit shut for a moment, "You think you can afford to be a little loud-" Jaune began, but as he turned his body to face her, his eyes quickly took in sights he didn't think he was ready for. The view of Blake's form draped in a white towel, the towel only revealing bits and pieces of her swimsuit, showing off the amber outline on the black cloth, her midriff barely peeking out from behind the towel that draped around Blake's figure. There was also the fact that Blake's hair was tied up in a loose bun, her bow still settled comfortably atop her head, "-er."

Blake watched as Jaune's face quickly lost any annoyance that he might have harbored, his lips slightly parted as he stared back into Blake's eyes. It certainly didn't help that the two were especially close, in a physical sense, that is. No more than a handful of inches apart.

Blake wasn't sure how long they sat there for, but she counted at least three blinks before either of them had actually moved, Jaune being the first to actually snap away from whatever it was that just happened. The faunus girl cleared her throat after she broke eye contact, finding the beige carpet to be very interesting. There was also the fact that the hotel was really beige, come to think of it. Jaune was even quicker to follow her example, letting out an awkward chuckle as his hand found the back of his neck.

"I- uh, sorry." Jaune was quick to apologize, not sure exactly what it was he was sorry for, but if it cleared up the moment, then all would be well.

Blake took a second to make some distance, taking a step away from the bed that Jaune still sat on, "No, that's on me." Blake responded, equally as unsure as to what she was apologizing for.

It was a moment before either of them could actually bring themselves to look at one another, far too focused on staring at the wall or the floor beneath them. Jaune knew that he could always count on the reliable trick that had gotten him through so many rough encounters. That was, to stick his hand into his pocket, and dig his nails into his thigh. And so he did.

As for Blake, she did what felt most comfortable, taking her left hand and grabbing at her right forearm, the skin beneath her grip turning to a stark white. She couldn't even explain why she did it, but it was just something she did. It was either that, or balling up in a corner and pretending like she didn't exist.

Neither of them knew just how much time passed by, but Blake lost count of the ticking sounds the clock hung on the wall made. So, she put on the mask that she usually did, and cleared her throat. "So," Blake started, her voice drawing out for longer than she intended, "are we going to go swimming?" She asked as she forced herself to look back at Jaune.

Jaune didn't bother to look back before standing up from his seat, pushing himself off of the bed before quickly walking past Blake, grabbing her wrist as he passed her by. Blake's eyebrows shot up slightly as she found herself being dragged along, but Jaune's grip wasn't particularly harsh or tight. It was… she wouldn't call it comfortable, but it was serviceable. Blake couldn't help but stare at the hand that wrapped around her wrist, her stoic expression cracking as the corners of her lips dipped down for only a moment. Not that Jaune noticed.

It wouldn't have hurt if he had just grabbed her hand.

Then again, it's not like Blake had ever gone for- no, no that wasn't true. There was that one time when she found Jaune in whatever slump he was going through, but that time didn't count. It was more out of her trying to grab his attention, rather than hoping for- what could Blake possibly be hoping for? There was nothing to hope for.

Blake only shook her head as she followed behind Jaune, her bare feet quietly thudding against the carpeted floor of the hotel. There certainly seemed to be a lot of carpet in this hotel. Not that Blake was complaining, she would take warm carpet over hard, cold floors.

Hopefully a swim would help clear her mind.

---

With the sound of the elevator dinging, the metal doors slowly peeling open with a chunk, Jaune took a step past the frame and let his bare feet touch the carpeted floor of the hall that led into the lobby. As he peeked out into the hall, his head turning right to look deeper into the hall, he could see the doors that led towards the pool area, the glass panels on the door displaying the light blue water that stood still in its man-made confines.

Jaune let his hand slip off of Blake's wrist as he stepped out into the hall, one foot moving after the other as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts. With a quiet thud following his every step, he slowly walked towards the pool door, an odd feeling clinging onto the back of his mind. He wasn't sure what it was, but it felt sort of like dread, if dread also had some kind of weird kind of excited anticipation. If that made any sense.

As he reached the glass door, Jaune let out a quiet breath as he pulled open the door, the smell of chlorine hitting Jaune in the face like a heavy handed fist. The room's walls were painted in a simple teal color, the floor lined by white squares with black outlines. Luckily for them, the pool area was entirely vacant of life.

Although, as Jaune stepped through the door, his feet leaving the warm carpet and touching the cold surface of the pool room floor, he could feel the sheer discomfort from Blake as she shimmied behind him. Not that he was any less uncomfortable than she was, because he most certainly was.

Blake was dealt with the same conundrum that Jaune was, that being the fact that neither of them had been exposed to one another's physique, aside from the time that they were caught in the rain. But that was more of an unfortunate set of circumstances.

And so, now that both of them were standing in the pool room, finding a wooden bench to sit themselves on, they both stared at the pool, neither of them wanting to make the first move. As the pair of friends sat shoulder to shoulder on the bench, Jaune let out a series of clicking sounds from his mouth as he stared about the room. "Man," he started, "this place sure beats every other pool I've been to."

Blake let out a quiet hum as she nodded, "I've never really been to a pool, so this is kind of new to me." Blake droned out monotonously, if only to push down the cold feeling that gripped at her stomach. "So… yeah."

As Jaune looked at Blake from the corner of his eye, he noticed just how dialed in she was on the pool, her stoic face unflinching as she stared at the still water. But she never moved to get up, almost as though she were comfortable with sitting next to him.

Probably not. If Jaune had to harbor a guess, it would be something closer to Blake being uncomfortable with showing herself off, which fit a lot easier in Jaune's mind. Blake was already introverted without any shadow of doubt, so her not wanting to reveal herself was a logical progression of that. At least, Jaune thought so.

"I mean," Jaune started, letting his eyes trail away from Blake, settling them on the surface of the pool, his hands resting on his lap, "the water looks really nice." Jaune mindlessly stated, trying to keep some kind of conversation going without it feeling unnatural. Of course, like he did with many things, he failed in that regard.

In response, Blake only let out another hum, followed by a subtle nod.

Despite the calm aura that Blake was putting out, she was beyond uncomfortable. Here she was, sitting on a wooden bench, no more than a dozen or so feet from the edge of a hotel pool, dressed in little more than a swimsuit. That wasn't even the hard part. No, the hard part was having to do all of that with Jaune.

For the past few hours that they had been spending together, Jaune had said some things that really made Blake think. Things like how he thought she was pretty, or how he would compliment her over the little things, and just genuinely accepting her lesser features. And it didn't help that she already knew him better than she knew some of her own teammates. She hadn't even spoken to her team about her home, her family, the conditions she lived in, none of it. Not because she didn't want to, but because it just… She didn't know, it didn't fit.

If Blake was going to be honest, she was just trying to find ways to keep herself distracted. To keep her away from the current moment in time, all so that she could ignore any and all thoughts about, well… It didn't matter. Next to her, though, she heard Jaune let out a quiet sigh before placing his hands on his knees, standing up. Blake couldn't help but tilt her head to the side as he made his way over to the edge of the pool, standing no further than maybe a foot from the edge.

He stood there for a moment, staring down at his reflection, his brows resting neutral as his mouth made a thin line. As he stared down at the pool, he pulled one arm from his sleeve, and then the other, crumpling his shirt into a ball before tossing it away from the edge of the pool. A white shirt was no good as a shirt if it was wet, Jaune learned that lesson the hard way.

Although, as Jaune stared down at the pool, one second passing, then another, and another, Blake quirked a brow. What was taking him so long? It was only water. Then again, it's not like Blake was in any rush to get in the pool herself. After all, there was Jaune, standing at the edge of the pool, wearing little more than a pair of shorts, his back turned to her. Meanwhile, Blake was doing little more than sitting on a bench with a towel wrapped around her. So, complaining would make Blake a hypocrite.

However, to say that she was a little annoyed that he just stood there for so long would be a lie. Come on, already, she thought, it couldn't possibly be so difficult to just jump into a pool. It couldn't be any harder than getting into the ocean, that much was certain. But soon enough, her slowly growing frown disappeared, replaced by a pair of raised eyebrows, and then by a small grin. Blake silently shrugged off the towel over her shoulders, reaching up and undoing the bow atop her head, letting both pieces of fabric hit the bench beneath her as she stood up, creeping up to Jaune's back.

And yet, as she was within arms reach, she reached out with both of her hands, closely hovering behind the boy's back, she heard him let out a breath. This was it, she thought, now or never. With her hands pressed onto his back, she gave him a quick push with just enough force to ruin his balance.

Jaune's eyes widened as he started to teeter forwards towards the pool, but in a split second decision, spun on his heel. Before Jaune finally fell, he caught the small smile on Blake's face, her eyes twinkling with a mixture of mischievousness and mirth. With the little time he had left, Jaune did the only thing that he could do.

He lashed out a hand and grabbed Blake's arm before finally falling.

With a splash, his world became little more than water and concrete. There was just something about being submerged in water that made Jaune's heart slow, it was so peaceful, not a sound to break the silence. With a kick, Jaune forced himself to the surface, his sense of sound returning loudly as the sounds of water splashing around him slammed against his ear drums.

The water was certainly chilly, but he was quick to acclimate, the cool feeling quickly passing as he floated in place. With a breath, Jaune took a moment to look around for Blake, but to his surprise, she stayed beneath the water for a moment more before floating to the surface, coughing as her head popped out from beneath the translucent blue.

"You know," she started, rubbing a hand across her eyes before showing her amber pearls, "moving around in water that doesn't fight you is a nice change of pace." He heard Blake state, and he couldn't help but smile at the comment.

"It is pretty nice to not have to fight a current. Er- well, in your case, I assume waves." Jaune quickly corrected, forgetting that not everyone was as dumb as he and his siblings.

As they both bobbed in place, doing what they could to keep their heads above water, Blake quickly laughed to herself, "Don't tell me, you used to go swimming in rivers?" Blake asked, to which Jaune sheepishly brought a hand up to the back of his head.

"I mean, it wasn't like the currents were super strong or anything." Jaune replied, his smile faltering a bit as he remembered all of the things he and his siblings had done to those poor rivers. Granted, the most that their terrorizing had done was maybe leave a few beavers upset, but that wasn't his fault!

Blake let out a breath before calmly shaking her head, the cool feeling that once washed over her being replaced by one of warm comfort. "Jaune Arc, never let it be said that you aren't special." Blake remarked, to which he laughed, tilting his head to the side.

"A good special, or a bad special?" Jaune asked, kicking his legs as he forced his head above water.

"In my books, there isn't much of a difference between the two. You can't be one without the other." Blake retorted, her smile growing wider as she stared back at Jaune, whose mouth was curled to the side as his eyebrows dipped downwards.

So, Jaune did the only reasonable thing he could. He quickly raised his arms and splashed water at Blake, the chlorine filled water hitting her face. With Blake promptly blinded, he quickly swam away. Yes, he knew that was a coward's tactic, however, but luckily for Jaune, guerilla warfare proved effective. And all was fair in pool wars.

Seconds past, then minutes, then quite possibly an hour, he wasn't sure. The two had spent that time doing nothing but chasing one another about the pool, at first starting as little more than splashing one another then fleeing, which then turned into some kind of strange game of cat and mouse.

But that wasn't to say that the game didn't end, because it did. There wasn't much to really say, doing the same thing for longer than 20 minutes was fairly monotonous. So, when Blake suddenly started to aimlessly float about the pool, her back against the surface of the water as her bun came undone, her hair spreading out behind her, he came to a simple conclusion.

When in Menagerie, do as the Faunus do.

It took quite a bit of effort to just float aimlessly like Blake, and Jaune wasn't sure why. There was just something about resigning all control of himself to a body of unmoving water that left him uncomfortable. Everytime he got close to feeling relaxed, he would feel the pool water reach above his ears, and that was enough to make him instinctively kick himself upright. It also didn't help that Blake would stare at him from the corner of her eye, eyebrows raised slightly as a grin was plastered on her face.

"What's the matter, Jaune?" He heard her ask as he wiped his face of the water that plagued him. As he finished rubbing away the water from his eyes, he watched as Blake continued to float without a care in the world, her arms wrapped around her midriff as she stared at him through half-lidded eyes. He was certain that if she'd asked him that in any other setting, looking the way she did, he would be thinking some very unpleasant things.

Not to say that he wasn't thinking unpleasant things in the here and now, but at least he had the context, so it made it easier on his poor, hormonal brain.

Jaune let out a cough as he brought a hand up to his mouth, his hair still sticking to his forehead, "Nothing!" He quickly blurted out, his eyes slightly widened as he looked for any other signs of life, aside from he and Blake, of course.

Blake quirked a brow as she stared at Jaune from her peripheral, but only shrugged before letting out a breath, gracefully sinking into the pool water before letting her legs push downwards, lining herself upright. If Blake was being honest, she was a little upset that her hair got undone. Not because she thought it looked nice or anything, but because it took so much effort to get her hair the way it was. Oh well, she thought, it is what it is.

As she slowly swam over towards, keeping eye contact with him the whole time that she went. "So," she started, bobbing up and down in front of him, "you look like you're having some trouble." Blake stated exactly what it was on her mind. No point in beating around the bush if the bush was already on fire.

At that, Jaune blew raspberries as he waved a hand, "What? Me, having problems? As if." Jaune sarcastically deflected, but Blake was quick to quirk a brow, her smile fading from sight. This made Jaune chuckle, "Okay, so maybe I have a little trouble floating around." Jaune caved in, shrugging his shoulders as he floated in place.

This made the Faunus girl let out a hum, smirking at the response that she had gotten, which more than surprised Jaune. "Well, do you want to fix that?"

Jaune blinked once, then twice, tilting his head to the side as he stared at the Faunus girl, her ears twitching slightly as stared on. "I mean, I'm not against it, but I don't think it's that easy." Jaune retorted, kicking slightly until he felt the edge of the pool against his back. However, with every kick that he made, trying to put a little bit of distance between him and Blake, she just kept getting closer. And so, Jaune was left with no choice but to look down at her, his back quite literally against the wall.

Blake merely rolled her wrist with a sigh, "Come on, lift up your legs." Blake ordered.

"Uh, no, I think I'm alright where I am." Jaune quickly responded, shaking his head from side to side, his hair flicking droplets of water everywhere.

Blake could only deadpan as she got right next to Jaune grabbing at his left hand before pulling him away from the edge of the pool. "Relax, it'll be fine." Blake tried reassuring the blond leader, but as she watched him go to open his mouth, she interjected, "If you're worried about sinking, I'll just keep a hand under you; You'll be fine."

Whatever comment that dangled on Jaune's tongue died as his shoulder sagged, letting out a sigh as he was dragged closer towards the center of the pool. "Fine. But if I drown-"

"You won't."

Blake's comment didn't make Jaune feel any better, but it wasn't like Blake was making a discussion. So, begrudgingly, Jaune floated at the center of the pool, Blake grasping at his hand- wait, his hand? As Jaune looked down at his hand, he could very clearly see the blurry form of Blake's arm reaching out towards his own, and he could quite easily feel something touching his hand. Jaune knew basic math, so he knew what one plus one was.

If it weren't for the fact that Blake had just let go, he would have probably squeezed her hand back.

Wait, what was he thinking? Here he was, about to be taught how to float the way Blake did, and he was focused more on holding her hand? That was silly, especially since there were a lot more things he could be focusing on, like Blake's eyes, or her hair, or her incredible figure, her pale skin, her smile- Okay, that needed to stop right now! Geez, what was wrong with him?

As Jaune quickly snapped back to reality, the sound of garbled words meeting his ears, he could tell from the way Blake was looking at him that he probably missed something. You know, how she would look at him with furrowed brows, thin lips, and almost forming bags beneath her eyes. Yeah, that look.

"Uh… Sorry, could you say that again?" Jaune asked, awkwardly smiling as her brows furrowed even deeper. Although, with a sigh, the tension in her face disappeared.

"Right, easily distracted." Blake muttered to herself, disappointed that she had forgotten one of Jaune's key features. It was one of the traits that she had some mixed feelings about, if she was going to be frank. On the one hand, conversations could end up being funnier because of Jaune's lack of attention span. On the other hand, however, it made conversations very difficult to have when she had to repeat herself several dozen times to get the point across. But it was Jaune, so she put up with it.

"Come on," she said, rolling her wrist as she stared up at Jaune. "Lift up your legs."

With a sigh, Jaune relented, releasing control of himself to the water beneath him, despite how his heart pounded and his mind protested. Although, as Jaune's shoulders just crawled above the surface of the water, his body feeling cold from the sudden change in temperature, he felt a slim hand drag across his back. Jaune looked over at Blake with upturned eyebrows, the corners of his lips threatening to dip downwards. But any and all comments were put to pasture by her disarming smile.

"Alright Jaune, just relax, and keep breathing." He heard her voice calmly float into his ears as he stared up at the white painted roof. As he felt the water brush against the back of his ears, his breath hitch a moment, but he slowly pushed it out. Jaune was trying his hardest to push away any semblance of panic he felt, but he just couldn't. There was just something so discomforting about it, not being able to control how he floated. It felt like, at any moment, he could start to sink.

Well, he knew he wouldn't, since Blake was with him, but it didn't change how he felt.

He took a breath, held it for three seconds, and released, then repeated the process again, and again, and once more. Just sort of floating there, as though time had stopped. It was certainly different. Almost akin to being a passive observer in his own body. "Blake?" Jaune asked, getting a hum in response, "Is floating around supposed to be this weird?"

Blake only snorted beneath her breath, rolling her eyes as Jaune started to drift away from her, gently wading after him, "I'm not sure what you mean." She responded, not bothering to hide her mirth as Jaune floated with no assistance on her part. It also didn't help that Jaune was none the wiser to her letting go of him.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just crazy." Jaune responded, trying not to move, if only to avoid sinking. "Maybe it's because you're moving me around? Yeah, that's probably it." Jaune concluded, letting his eyes flit shut as he drifted across the surface of the pool.

"I'm not, though." Blake replied, which forced Jaune's eyes open, causing him to look from the corner of his eye.

"What?"

"You're floating on your own, Jaune. I'm not even touching you." Blake easily explained, staring at the side of Jaune's face as she spoke. But the way his eyes widened was already setting off alarms in Blake's head, and quickly closed the small gap between the two of them. If only to be safe. She knew Jaune could swim, but panicking tended to make people sink.

Jaune did the only thing that came to mind. That being, kicking his legs as quickly as he could, if only to bring himself upright, but that only led to him kicking and splashing water, doing nothing as he started to sink beneath the surface level. His vision quickly changed as a bluish hue overtook his sight, his eyes stinging from the chlorine as his sight became blurry.

Although, he felt something reach down and grab at his arms, pulling him enough to make him tilt upright, allowing him to kick his legs and float upwards. As his head broke away from the world below, Jaune took in a gulp of air as he dragged a hand down his face, trying to clear the water from his eyes. "Sorry," He muttered as he took another breath, "I freaked out when I started sinking."

As he finished speaking, Jaune rubbed his forearm across his eyes once more, removing the blur that plagued him. However, as he opened his eyes. Directly in front, no more than a few inches away from him was Blake's face, her amber eyes looking back into his own, droplets of water trickling down the side of her face agonizingly slowly, her lips slightly parted as she stared at him from eye level.

The blond leader of team JNPR was undergoing what could only be called a mental reboot. Time felt like it came to a complete halt, and all Jaune could do was stare at Blake, whose face sat in front of his own, only kept separate by a few inches of unoccupied space, and his own willpower. He watched as the few droplets that clung to Blake's face trailed downwards, dripping down, back to the pool that it belonged in.

Even Blake was a little lost, staring back at Jaune's nigh-emotionless expression, his eyebrows raised slightly as he stared at her. The faunus girl's mouth felt dry as she watched water drip from the ends of the blond boy's hair, his blue eyes like deep oceans, and the only thing that kept Blake from getting lost was the sound of water dripping back into the pool.

With a blink, Blake cleared her throat before putting some space between herself and Jaune, which seemed to be enough to snap Jaune out of his own head. She watched as Jaune dunked his head beneath the water, whipping his head back up as he swept his hair out of his eyes. "So!" Jaune blurted out, making his way to the steps of the pool, "I think that's enough swimming for me."

Blake quickly nodded as she followed Jaune towards the edge, "Yeah, I think I'm done." Blake replied, doing her best to not look at the blond boy.

And so, as the two of them dragged themselves out of the pool, Blake quickly grabbed her towel from the bench she left it on, covering herself as she sat down. Jaune, however, had come to a very unfortunate conclusion. He forgot his towel in their room. He let out a sigh as he sat down next to Blake, pushing away a shiver as the cold began to set in.

Jaune rubbed his hands against the sides of his shoulders, letting out a shuddered breath, Blake gave him a glance from her peripheral. She took a moment to scan the room, looking for some kind of spare towel, but much to her dismay, found nothing of the sort. She let out a breath before turning to face the blond boy.

"Chilly?" Blake asked.

Jaune let out a quiet hum as Blake tore his attention from the chill, his hairs standing as he stared back at her. "A little, but it's nothing I can't handle." Jaune replied, turning back to the pool, waiting for gravity to do the job that a towel would do much better. Quicker too, come to think of it.

Blake only quirked a brow in response as she grasped at the towel, "Are you sure?" She asked, turning her head to face the boy. In response, she only got a shrug.

"Sure I'm sure, it's not like a little water will kill me." Jaune responded before thumbing at his bare chest, "Besides, if I couldn't deal with a little chill, I would've died on the frontier forever and a half ago." He boasted, although whatever look he was going for was absolutely butchered by the involuntary shiver his body forced upon him.

Blake deadpanned before letting out a sigh, scooching closer to the blond leader of team JNPR, tossing one end of the towel over him, all the while keeping herself nicely wrapped up. Jaune let out a 'huh' in response, but Blake paid him no mind, scooching closer slightly, if only to keep warmer.

Now, Jaune was surprised by it, sure, but he wouldn't say no to drying off faster. Besides, being close to Blake wasn't all that bad. So, Jaune draped the towel over himself, wrapping himself and Blake with it as they sat on the bench.

It was nice, in its own weird way.

---

After the two finished drying themselves off, Blake and Jaune made their way back to the room they rented out for the night. The two walked back to their room in relative silence, both of them exhausted by the day they had gone through. It was a good day, both of them thought, but with all of the running, swimming, bantering, and… well, awkward tension, they were both a little burnt out.

So, by the time they both got back to their room, Jaune was practically dead on his feet, Blake lifelessly trudging alongside him. So, it didn't surprise her when she watched Jaune flop onto their bed the moment he got the chance. What did surprise her, however, was the fact that she mindlessly followed his lead in that regard, flicking off the lights as she flopped onto the bed, her white towel being tossed aside on the floor.

And so, the two laid in bed, as dry as sitting still for the better part of an hour could make them. If Blake had to choose a word to describe how it felt to be lying down, the side of her head against a fluffy, cool pillow, comfortable would be a word that she wasn't afraid to use. The bed still made her feel weird, but she was beyond it at this point. All she wanted to do now was go to sleep.

Although, as Blake's eyes flitted shut, trying to find a quiet place in her mind to fall asleep, she kept being torn away. Whether it be because she couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in, or if it was because of the fact that her heart was pumping loudly, she couldn't tell. So, as Blake tossed and turned, she heard Jaune let out a quiet groan as he dragged a hand down his face.

"Hey, Blake?" He muttered, a forearm draped over his eyes as his head sunk into his pillow.

"Yeah?" She mumbled in return.

"Having trouble sleeping?" He asked, but it didn't really feel like much of a question to her.

Blake let out a drawn out breath as she flipped over onto her back, staring up at the now colorless ceiling. "A little bit."

Quiet overtook the room after that, the only thing that kept it from being truly silent was the clock on the wall, gently ticking away. Jaune could feel a light thumping in his chest as he swallowed a knot that began to form in his throat. "Well," He stared, "if it helps, we can just stay up a little longer until you get tired."

Blake couldn't help but feel a corner of her mouth twitch upwards, "Sure, Jaune." She quietly replied, turning her head to face her blond classmate. The sound of the blanket they both laid beneath ruffling was enough for Jaune to know that Blake was getting comfortable.

At the sight of Blake's smile, Jaune laughed under his breath, "So, did you have fun today?" He asked, bringing his arms across his chest.

Blake had to think about that for a moment. There certainly wasn't a lack of things to do in the day, Blake thought, and they were always doing something together, but it felt like it wasn't even supposed to happen. Not to say that Blake didn't want to spend time with Jaune, but they were supposed to spend the day with their teams. It was going to be a long time before she and her team would be able to do anything like what they had planned.

But then again, Jaune had done the same. He was supposed to spend his day with his team, and because of a little thing like her being hungry, he'd inadvertently spent his whole day with her. They'd both spent so much time, money, and willpower in one day, that Blake couldn't help but feel a little bad.

What made her feel worse, though, was that she really did have fun.

"Yeah," she mumbled, her eyes casting down at the comfortable sheet that covered her, "I did. I just wish we could've spent today with our teams, you know?"

She heard Jaune let out a sigh, her ears twitching slightly from the sudden feeling of the warm air, "I think our teams are just fine without us." Jaune responded, bringing his hands behind his head, "Or, at least mine is." He reiterated, his eyebrows rising slightly as his face sat neutral.

Blake quirked a brow at that, "I know they're fine, Jaune, but it doesn't make me feel any less bad about not spending time with them." Blake retorted, her mouth curling downwards. "Besides, wouldn't you rather have spent time with your team? We won't be seeing them for a long time after midterms."

Jaune let out a hum as he stared up at the ceiling, his mouth curling to the side as he thought to himself. "I mean, I'll be seeing them tomorrow, and the day after, and so on. So, it won't be that long." Jaune replied, and he stood by his statement. Sure, he wanted to hang out with his team, but it wasn't like it was the end of the world or anything. He would see them a week or two after exams, so it wasn't like he couldn't hang out with his team later.

"Okay, but wouldn't you rather-" Blake started, but found herself interrupted.

"Blake, there's not a whole lot more that I would've rather done than just hang out with you." Jaune cut her off, "I mean, hanging out with you is always therapeutic, in one way or another. It really helps me clear my head. Besides, I feel like I can talk to you about a bunch of stuff. Stuff that I can't even talk to my team about."

Blake blinked once, then twice, then thrice, "What could you possibly talk to me about that you can't talk to your team over? You're their team leader." Blake stated after her rhetorical question, her brows furrowed in confusion as she stared at the blond boy next to her.

"And that's exactly why I feel like I can't."

Blake felt her eyebrows relax as she stared at the side of Jaune's face, his eyebrows tilted upwards as his eyelids sat heavy on his face. Blake really couldn't do more than wordlessly place a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small smile. Jaune could only give a small smile in return, despite how much his mouth fought him for it.

"So, you got any plans for spring break?" Jaune asked, trying to break away from the previous topic.

Blake let out a breath as she laid back on her back, crossing her arms over her stomach, "No, not really," She started, her face relaxed and neutral, her voice droning out monotonously, "I figured that I could just lounge around the dorms for a bit, maybe catch up on some reading or something. I might start drawing again, I don't know."

Jaune's eyebrows shot up slightly, "Wait, I didn't know you could draw?" Jaune asked, which only got a shrug from Blake.

"I don't really do it that much anymore." Blake remarked offhandedly, "I used to do it for the sake of zoning out, getting out of my head and all that. Now, there's not really much reason for that." She droned out, seemingly disinterested in the conversation.

"What?" Jaune questioned, drawing out the singular word he uttered, "Come on, you mean to tell me that you don't zone out anymore? Not at all?" He asked, quirking a brow as he looked out of the corner of his left eye. He couldn't believe Blake at face value, after all, everyone had something to fall back on when life got tough.

However, in response, he heard Blake scoff as she rolled her eyes, "Of course I still zone out, Jaune," She stated plainly, speaking as though she was talking to an idiot. Although, as far as Jaune was concerned, she certainly was. "I just have you to take my mind off stuff." He heard her wrap up, and he couldn't help but feel his chest grip at his heart, his breathing hitching as he stared at Blake.

The faunus girl was a little confused by how surprised the blond boy was, his brows raised as his mouth was slightly ajar. What was so confusing about Jaune being one of her distractions? He was a good friend, and she trusted him to be one to her, much in the same way that she trusted her teammates- oh! "Well, and my team too." She quickly followed up, fumbling over her words for a moment to clear up the confusion.

Jaune laughed an awkward and stiff laugh, closing his eyes as a hand rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, that makes a lot more sense." He replied, trying his hardest to laugh away the tight feeling in his chest. "But still, I don't think you really need anyone, you know?"

The raven haired girl eyed the blond boy with suspicion, "What do you mean?"

Jaune let out a 'huh' as he looked at Blake from the corner of his eye, her amber eyes piercing his own, "Oh- uh," Jaune fumbled for a moment, trying to find the right words for what he meant. "Well, it's kind of like this, right? I don't think you really need us- as in, me or your team, because you've already gotten so far without the help, you know? You're tough in that emotional sense, and no one needs to say that you're physically tough, so yeah."

Blake felt a pit form in her stomach from Jaune's words. She felt like he held her up to some kind of pedestal, like she was some kind of ideal in his mind. And while it felt nice to be looked up to, it was also wrong. Blake wasn't much of anything, much less so in the strength department, whether it be physical, mentally, or emotionally.

"I- thanks, Jaune." She muttered, her voice quiet and even, her voice slightly cracking before she turned on her side, looking away from the blond boy. "I'm gonna try and get some sleep. Good night." He heard her say, and he couldn't help but feel like he'd done something wrong.

He wanted to sit up and ask her if he'd done something wrong, to ask if there was something he could do, to help Blake in whatever problem she had, whether it existed or not. All he had to do was sit up, and ask.

So why was it so hard?

Jaune let out a breath as he let himself sink further into his pillow, bringing the blanket and sheet that covered the both of them higher up, covering up to his neck. "Alright Blake, g'night." He muttered, letting his eyes flit shut as he got on his left side, bringing a hand under his pillow.

Whereas Jaune was quick to get comfortable, Blake did a lot of restless tossing, spending the better part of ten minutes trying to find some semblance of peace in what she thought was a stormcloud of a bed. But every time she found a decent spot, she felt like she was getting too hot, and whenever she tried to find another position, she'd only end up more and more uncomfortable. And unfortunately, Blake knew she wasn't exactly being subtle.

And given the fact that Jaune wasn't snoring yet, Blake could hazard a guess that he was still awake. So, now she had a tough pill to swallow, the question was if she was going to set it aside and tough it out, or look for what she knew would be a quick, and relatively harmless solution to her problem.

The cat faunus let out a quiet breath as she bit her tongue. She really hoped that she wasn't going to regret her choice. "Hey, Jaune, are you still awake?" She prodded, checking to see if her aforementioned hypothesis was on the money. In response, she heard him let out a hum against his pillow. Well, that was certainly a sign of things to come. "Do you mind if I ask you a favor?"

After a moment of quiet, she heard the boy mutter, "Sure, go ahead."

"Promise you won't laugh." She demanded, and from behind heavily lidded bags, Jaune rolled his eyes.

"I, Jaune Arc, do solemnly swear to not laugh at whichever embarrassing favor madame Blake Belladonna may ask, and should I break my word, may my family condemn me and my eternal soul rot in the pits of damnation, for my name is Arc." Jaune sarcastically recited the words that had been instilled in him from a young age.

He got a tired nudge against his ribs for his trouble, but it didn't hurt.

"Would you… be so kind as to wrap an arm around me?" He heard her ask, and Jaune could only blink in response, letting the words run circles around his mind for a moment. He was near certain he'd heard her right, but he still doubted himself. Maybe he was just tired?

But, like a fool, he did just make a promise.

So, hesitantly, willing to stop as soon as he was given the word, he carefully slinked an arm around Blake's bare waist, both of them still wearing their swim attire. As his arm rested over her, the warmth from her figure left Jaune's heart racing, but he kept himself composed enough. His hand felt like it was on fire from the heat alone, and as much as Jaune hated to think it, she felt really soft.

But after a moment, those thoughts left him. It was just him and Blake, it wasn't like they hadn't shared a bed before, and nothing had ever come of it. So, as long as nothing crazy or unexpected happened, everything should be fine. Or so he thought, until he felt Blake back into him, a comforting warmth spreading all over him, and he couldn't help but lean down into the crook of Blake's neck.

Jaune took a quiet breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth. He needed to relax, it was just Blake. It was just Blake. It was just Blake. Those words echoed through his mind as he tried to bring his heart to a slow, but as his head kicked into overdrive, he noticed Blake's amber eyes flutter shut, her face seeming serene as she quietly let out a breath.

As Jaune stared on, he couldn't help but smile warmly at the sight, pushing away whatever thoughts plagued his mind as he sank into the bed, a comforting warmth overtaking his body. He was right, it was okay. After all, it was just Blake, and that was okay.

Sleep came easily to both of them after that.

---

Are we done? We're good? Alright cool.

Anyway, hey, uh, it's been a minute. Life sure does go by, whether you work with it or don't, am I right? Uh, fuck, how do I justify leaving for a month in a half without it sounding like an excuse- Oh, who fucking cares, I was gone for a month and a half, it happens.

I'd like to unfortunately make it clear that, despite how much I really enjoy writing this story, I got a little blocked when it came to writing the scene with the two at the pool. So much so, in fact, that it took several weeks of getting away from the doc just so I could think straight about it. Seriously, every other idea I had was just stupid. So stupid, in fact, that I don't even want to mention them, on account of wanting to save your brain cells.

Oh well, but that's neither here nor there.

So, yeah, I'm back. Sorry it took so long, I hope you're willing to forgive my lateness. As a token of apology, please accept this 20k ( nearly 19k after trimming) word document that I've spent the last couple of weeks working on. I hope that it doesn't take quite as long to finish the next chapter (but let's be real, it probably won't. Next one should be easy.)

But yeah, life has been a little intrusive as of late, so I took some time away from writing in general. But I'm back, and I feel pretty accomplished after this absolute beast of a document. Now, all that's left is to have several people look it over, do some first hand grammar, spelling, and sentence structure checks, then let my amigos do similar checks, and finally post.

Fuck me, man.

So, if you liked this chapter, please don't be afraid to follow, favorite, review, etc etc. I may not respond in quite the literal sense, but I do read all of the reviews that I receive, several times some days. Not because of some shallow reason like stroking my ego, but because I do enjoy criticism, along with just knowing what works. So, if you liked something, or didn't like something, let me know. Hell, if you just want to tell me how your day was, I'd also like that.

Plus, I do put work into this little story, and it might seem a little shallow, but seeing people appreciate it for what it is makes it very worthwhile. So, yeah.

Oh, and by the way, to the several people that have stated in reviews, or in their own heads, "I still don't know if platonic or romantic is the end goal." To that, I say this:

Good.

I think that's about all I wanna say. Thanks for reading, and hopefully I'll see you next week. If not, the week after. Ciao, y buenas noches.