The result was…predictable.

Ruby: 144

Weiss: 167

Yang: 176

Jaune: 218

Jaune promptly looked at Weiss. "Prophetic?"

Weiss glared at him as she—without breaking eye contact—reached into her pocket and slapped a collection of lien cards in his hand. "Shut up."

Jaune counted it, finding it was actually 75-lien. "Weiss, this is too much."

"Keep the change."

She stood, walking to the bathroom.

Yang, meanwhile, simply smirked as she saw Ruby smiling at him. "Well played, Jaune. Well played."

Jaune shrugged, patting Ruby's shoulder. "Actually, it was Ruby's idea. Here I thought you were the bad influence."

Yang held out her arms, pointing back at herself. "I always tell people I'm the good sister—but no one ever believes it until it's too late."

Ruby giggled at that, eyes flicking between them. "So, uh…now what?"

Yang's face tinted pink as she stood, walking over to Jaune. "Well," she sent Jaune's eyebrows into orbit as she pushed him back, sitting in his lap. "I think I owe you," she tapped his nose. "A proper kiss, don't I?"

Jaune gulped. "Uh…maybe somewhere less…public?"

Yang smirked, pulling herself closer to Jaune—to the point his face was almost buried in her shirt—before leaning back and crossing her arms. "You want it somewhere less public? You've gotta take me there. Or just kiss me now and—"

Yang yelped as Jaune grabbed her thighs, lifting her as he stood.

She slipped down, her legs wrapping around his waist and her head thudding against his chest as she felt his arms move up to wrap around her back. She looked up, face now as red as his as he nodded. "Fine."

Yang was silent as he walked toward the bathrooms—Ruby wordlessly following and blushing more than either of the two involved, somehow.

They entered the alcove just in front of the women's bathroom when Jaune stopped, leaning Yang against the wall. "Close your eyes."

Yang did so, heart slamming in her ears as she puckered her lips.

Peck!

She opened her eyes, letting herself stand up as a hand rubbed her forehead. "Did…did you just wimp out?"

Jaune gave her a faint smile, face still bright red. "You might not wimp out, but I've got no problem with it. Consider us even."

Yang gave him a faint glare. "After all that?"

"Yep."

Yang stared at him for a moment before walking into the women's bathroom, leaving Jaune and Ruby alone in the hall.

Ruby…wasn't really sure what to feel. On the one hand, she felt severe second-hand embarrassment for both of them, given Yang was carried and Jaune was carrying her through the bowling alley by her thighs. Yet on the other, there was…relief? Why was she relieved? What did she have to be relieved about?

Jaune snapped her out of it by tapping her wrist. "Hey, does your hand feel better?"

"Why…why did you do that?"

Jaune shrugged, rubbing the back of his head as the two started walking back to their table. "Well, there are a few reasons. For one thing, I thought it'd be funny to go through all that just to kiss her forehead." he held up two fingers. "The second reason…well," he chuckled. "I figured this way Yang won't be as angry about it later."

Ruby chuckled with him, taking her seat and changing shoes.

The two turned their bowling shoes in, heading out into the parking lot.

Ruby's eyes flicked to the slowly setting sun—telling her they had a few hours of daylight left. Looking at her scroll confirmed that, given it was only five o'clock. "We should probably head back to Beacon, right? Make sure we don't miss dinner."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah."

The two made their way back to the airships in a comfortable silence, both smiling as they simply enjoyed one another's company. Yet all the while, Ruby's mind refused to let her forget what she'd seen. Refused to unsee Jaune kissing her older sister—even if it was a simple peck on the forehead.

They boarded a ship back for Beacon, finding it sparsely populated as they took a seat near the front.

Ruby leaned against the glass, frowning as she stared ahead.

"Something wrong?"

Ruby looked over, seeing Jaune's eyes shining in concern. Her eyes flicked over his face before she shook her head, despite the scene of him kissing Yang's forehead playing over and over in her head. "Nah, just…thinking is all."

Jaune slowly nodded, but it was clear from his gaze that he didn't believe it.

They landed and were on their way back rather quickly, the two walking side-by-side back through the halls of Beacon. They passed the occasional person, but for the most part, everyone was either in town, in their dorms, or anywhere except walking through the halls at this hour.

When they reached their dorms, Ruby turned to Jaune. "That was really fun, Jaune."

Jaune gave her a bright smile. "It was just as fun for me."

Ruby stared at him for a moment before tapping her fingers together, face tinting pink. "Hey, so…do you wanna do this again sometime? It was nice getting to hang out, you know? Just you and me?"

Jaune nodded. "We'll have plenty of time in Amora."

"Yeah…Amora."

Ruby frowned, faint flashes of fear from her dream the previous night bubbling up to the surface. Her hands gripped her elbows as a chill went up her spine. "I…are you nervous? About going to Amora, I mean?"

"No, why?"

Ruby sighed, leaning against the wall next to team JNPR's door. "I don't know, it's just…I just have this feeling. It doesn't really make sense, but I feel like something really bad's gonna happen either at Amora or on the way to it. I—I don't know why. Maybe it's something to do with that nightmare I had yesterday? Or maybe…" she sighed, letting her arms fall limp. "You know?"

Jaune nodded, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I get it. I was a wreck coming to Beacon. Leaving my home? Everything and everyone I've ever known and cared about? It's terrifying—especially if you grew up in a small area. It'll be fine—it worked out for me, didn't it?"

Ruby gave a faint smirk. "Coming from the guy that nearly got mauled on day one?"

Jaune's cheeks went pink. "Well…mostly worked out, anyway."

Ruby giggled, wrapping her arms around Jaune in a hug—one that was quickly reciprocated. "Thanks…I needed to hear that."

"Hey, don't mention it."

The two stayed there for a moment, Ruby savoring the warmth as Jaune simply held on—believing (somewhat correctly) that he was giving her much-needed comfort.

"Aww!"

The embracing huntsmen looked to the right, seeing Ren and Nora standing there—Nora with her hands squishing her cheeks while Ren simply held up his scroll, no doubt recording them. Rather than their normal attire, Nora was clad in a white t-shirt with her emblem on it in pink, along with a pair of black short-shorts and a sweatband.

Ren, meanwhile, was wearing a black tank top and a pair of dark-green shorts. Rather than a sweatband, he had a towel draped over his shoulders. His face was set in a faint smile, one hand on Nora's shoulder no doubt to prevent her from joining the two's hug.

Ruby staggered back as Jaune spoke—calm as ever. "Oh, hey guys! Just get back from the gym?"

Nora nodded, her mood suddenly souring as she groaned. "More like being told we couldn't go into the gym. They said my outfit was 'violating dress code'! What about this is possibly inappropriate?"

Ren grabbed her arm, spinning her around—revealing that her shorts looked practically like a thong from the back. "That."

Nora looked back, hands on her hips as she pouted. "Huh, I thought it felt like I was getting a wedgie. Why didn't you say anything before we left?"

Ren shrugged. "I didn't notice."

"You were walking behind me!"

Ren rolled his eyes. "I wasn't looking at your butt, Nora."

Nora groaned, grabbing her scroll and opening the door. "Well, now I've gotta change outta these and find a pair that actually fit! Great!"

She slammed the door, causing Ruby to jump right back into Jaune's arms.

Ren, meanwhile, turned to look at the two. His eyes flicked over them for a few seconds before he set his scroll in his pocket. "Has your bruise cleared up, Ruby?"

Ruby nodded, giving a bright smile. "Like it was never there!"

Ren gave a faint smile before grabbing his scroll again, opening the door just as a pair of shorts flew out—smacking Jaune in the face. Ren promptly grabbed them, slipping in and closing the door.

Ruby's eyes flicked to him. "Are they always—"

"Yes."

Ruby sighed, laying her hand on Jaune's chest as she slowly shook her head. "I am so sorry for you."

Jaune shrugged. "You get used to it."

Her eyes flicked from his face to her hand, which slowly shifted down. On one hand, she knew Jaune had gotten more muscular since day one, but on the other, actually feeling those muscles was another matter. It was a strange contrast: The softness of his shirt versus the tension of the muscle beneath.

Ruby smiled as her hands both moved to his shoulders. "Well, it was great hanging out with you!"

Before Jaune—or even Ruby herself, for that matter—realized what happened, Ruby pulled herself up so she was eye-level with him. In an instant she leaned in, letting her lips brush against his right cheek. "And…" Ruby's face went bright red as she realized what she just did. "Thank you."

Ruby turned, just barely hearing Jaune's goodbye before she closed the door, walking to her bunk. She was silent as she hopped onto it, only to pull a pillow to her face and scream:

"WHY DID I DO THAT?!"