A Flame in the Dark

Teams JNPR and RWBY were now in the cafeteria, each enjoying their breakfasts before they would need to head to class. Luckily, they appeared to all have the same class, Grimm Studies with Professor Port. And later on, he was going to see Doctor Oobleck for the last class of his day. Jaune, Ruby and Yang were excited to see the Professors; they were good friends of their dad and would come over on occasions. They were almost like uncles to them. But since they knew them both so well, they were wondering if their teaching habits would be any different from how one usually told their stories and when the other had too much coffee. Hopefully, they were.

Jaune was just thinking about what their first day would have in store for them when his blonde sister spoke up, "So, Jaune…" she said with her usual smirk on her lips, "I won the bet yesterday."

He raised an eyebrow at her before he remembered their bet before being launched into the forest. "In my defense, I had interference." He motioned to Pyrrha with a small smirk of his own. "If I didn't stop myself, I would've frozen my partner here."

That caused the redhead to look to the side with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I didn't think that through as much as I should've."

Yang shook her head, "Doesn't matter. You still lost."

"She's got a point." Ruby added before she popped a strawberry into her mouth with a smile.

Jaune sighed, "Fine. A bet's a bet. So, one favor from me then. What do you want?"

He smirk seemed to stretch a bit, "You know what I want~" she said in a teasing tone. That caught Weiss' attention as she looked over the rim of her coffee to observe the siblings' interaction.

Jaune just raised an eyebrow, "Really?" She nodded excitedly. "Why? You can easily do it yourself?"

"Yeah. But you both know it's way better when you do it." Yang added with the same tone of voice. That made Weiss raise an eyebrow as she put her coffee down. The way her teammate was speaking was very… suggestively and she wasn't sure on what to think about it.

Jaune thought for a second and nodded his head, "Guess you have a point. You have given me a lot of experience over the years."

Weiss' eyes narrowed at that, 'What are they talking about?'

Yang rolled her eyes at him, "Oh, please. You loved it and I know it."

That cause the heiress' eyes to shoot open, 'Oh, Oum. They can't be talking about… that, can they?'

Jaune chuckled, "Yeah. Yeah, I do." He grinned at her, "Okay, where and when?"

Weiss' eyes started to dart to the other members of their table. Ren was just catering to Nora excessive talking and Pyrrha seemed to only be half listening to the siblings as she was enjoying her beverage. Meanwhile, Ruby was just watching the back and forth while she enjoyed her breakfast and Blake was ignoring everything as she was reading her book. 'How can they not be reacting to this, this…'

Yang smirked seem to grow, "Here and now seems fine."

Weiss' eyes went even wider as a light blush took over her cheeks, 'W-what?!'

Jaune just raised an eyebrow as his grin shifted to being more playful, "In front of everyone, Sis? So scandalous." He held her gaze for a bit, "Alright, come on." He said as he patted the seat next to him at the end of the table.

Weiss was just staring as Yang got up from her seat and walked around to her brother with a smile on her lips. 'This isn't happening, right? These two can't be doing something so… taboo. Especially in front of so many people. Can they?' She kept watching as Yang sat down beside him with her back towards him. As his hands slowly rose up to her, the Heiress didn't even so much as blink. Too stunned by what was about to happen.

That was when Jaune started to slowly run his fingers down the length of Yang's mane of hair. She shuddered slightly at the slow and gentle way he did so. He then separated her hair into several locks and started to braid them together. She sighed happily. Weiss just stared on in disbelief as her jaw dropped, "That is what the two of you were talking about?!" Weiss asked, a bit louder than she should've since everyone at their table looked over to her in curiosity.

Jaune looked over his shoulder at her, "Yeah. What did you think we were talking about?"

She cleared her throat and looked way for a second, "Nothing." She said as a deeper blush came to her cheeks. Jaune just shrugged and went back to carefully braiding Yang's mane into something more manageable. Weiss eventually looked back when her blush died down, "So, what's the big deal about having her hair braided?" she asked.

Ruby was the one to speak up since her older siblings were busy. "Oh, Yang is really protective of her hair since she puts so much care and time into maintaining it. She only lets us, along with our dad and our uncle, touch it. Once she let it really grow out, it was a total pain for her to style and braid it herself. So, she would ask me or Jaune to do it for her." She looked to the side in embarrassment, "I… wasn't the greatest at it though. But Jaune is amazing at it, so she only lets him do it for her."

Weiss turned from her leader to Yang and saw that Jaune was nearly done with the braid. He was leaving the last six inches or so free but was holding the braid gently together in his left, "Band." He said simply. Yang instantly held a black colored one over her shoulder to him. He easily took it and carefully tied it around the bottom to keep the braid intact. "And there. Done."

Everyone looked over and were momentarily stunned. For the short time they knew her, Yang had his type of untamed and wild beauty to her. But now, that massive mane of golden hair was brought under control into a French braid that went down her entire back but left the last few inches free to curl into their usual manner. The whole thing gave Yang a more refined look to her.

Yang gently pulled her hair over her shoulder to look at it before she smiled brightly, "Thanks, Bro." she said happily before she gave him a kiss to his cheek.

He just smiled at her, "Anytime, Sis. I'll add it to your tab." He said with a smirk as he raised his coffee mug to his lips.

Yang rolled her eyes playfully as she got up to go back to her own seat and finish her breakfast. "I don't think you'll ever see any of that money, Jaune." Ruby added her own opinion and Yang pulled her 'treacherous' sister into a headlock. He just shrugged with a smile at their antics and went back to his coffee to not get pulled into it. The rest of their breakfast passed in random conversations between everyone, aside from Ren and Blake. Eventually, it was time for their first class of their first day of Beacon Academy and in their own ways, they were all excited for it.


That excitement quickly died down when Professor Port walked into the room and began his lesson. In nearly complete sync, the three Xiao Long/Rose siblings all deadpanned at their Professor and were feeling foolish that they would think he would be anything other than the storyteller they knew him as. And by the look of the rest of their class, they were simply confused on what was going on right now.

As class was going on and Port was going through his tale, Jaune just stared forward as he spun his pen between his fingers. With all the experience he had with the older man, he was already trained to only pick up the necessary points and mark them down but he would ignore the rest.

After copying down the latest tidbit on Grimm weaknesses, Jaune took a glance over at his team to see how they were doing. Nora seemed completely engrossed in the Professor's story with sparkling eyes. He had to actively not chuckle at her expression. Ren was just staring down at his notebook while taking notes. But Jaune angled himself just enough to see that he was actually reading the textbook in his lap and that was probably where the notes were coming from. And finally Pyrrha, who seemed to be struggling a bit. She looked like she was trying to decipher what Port was saying for some sort of hidden meaning but finding none.

Jaune grinned to himself, 'I'll tell her how to figure out Port's lessons after class. Although, her looking like she's trying to figure out the secrets of the universe is pretty amusing.' After that thought, he tuned back in long enough to hear another piece of information that he quickly jotted down before going back to spinning his pen.

He looked down to see what his sisters were up to and he wasn't too surprised by what they were doing. Yang was on her scroll and Ruby was doodling. He just grinned, 'Well, they are able to cut through Port's excessiveness just as well as I can. Just wish that that they would copy this stuff down now, trying to remember it later will not work as well they think.'

He pulled out his scroll and placed it on the desk and typed up a quick message: 'If you don't try to copy this down, I'm not helping you out later when you forget it.' With that, he sent it to both his sisters. Yang got it immediately and looked back to him and stuck her tongue out at him as her reply. He just rolled his eyes, 'Well, I tried.'

As their class was nearing its end, their teacher asked them who thought they embodied the aspects of a true Hunter and Weiss had agreed vehemently. She was then asked to grab her combat gear and come back to face her opponent. She nodded before walking off in a brisk pace. Jaune put his notes away and just waited for her return, he hadn't seen her fight much during initiation and was curious on what his younger sister's partner could actually do.

She eventually walked back down and across from the cage that Port had moved to be on the one side of the room. When she was ready, Port released the Grimm, which was now revealed to be a Boarbatusk. Jaune watched as Weiss fought it but her shouting at Ruby for trying to help her and ignoring what she was saying wasn't doing her any favors in the fight. It also wasn't helping him not want to go down there to give her a reality check.

When the Ice Queen eventually killed the Grimm, by listening to Ruby's advice, Port congratulated her and dismissed the class. Weiss quickly stormed off and Ruby ran after her. Jaune got up from his own seat and watched them go. He took a single step in their direction before he forced himself to stop. He just stared at the door until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see that Pyrrha was looking at him, "Do you want to go check on her?"

Jaune looked at his partner before turning back to the door. He eventually released a defeated sigh, "As much as I want to, I don't think I should."

"Are you sure?" she asked in concern.

He nodded slightly, "Yeah. This is something that Ruby needs to deal with. It's her partner after all. And I can't go and solve all her problems for her if she is going to be as good of a leader I know she can be."

Pyrrha grinned at him, "That's wise of you, Jaune."

"Let's just go to our next class before I try to turn Weiss into a literal Ice Queen." Jaune said seriously and that made Pyrrha giggle. She then took her leader's arm in her hand and started to walk him to their next class.


The rest of the day went along like most first days of any school. Jaune went to the rest of his classes and was glad to find out that he had at least one of his teammates in all of them. That would make it easier if any of them missed notes or wanted to compare them to be sure they had everything. He was in his last class of the day, History. He just smiled when Oobleck flew into the room and started talking a mile a minute. It was nice to see him and the shocked expressions of the class were also amazing.

For that class, Jaune's head was down and he was quickly writing down all the important parts of what his Professor was saying. His pen was nearly in constant motion as the class went on and the caffeinated teacher darted around the room. He was better off not watching him do that. It would just make him dizzy and distract him from writing.

When there was a slight lull in the lecture, he looked up to scan the room and saw the other students were in a mad dash trying to keep up worth what was going on. He looked to his side to see Pyrrha next to him and also struggling, not as much as the others but still. He looked back down to his notebook when Oobleck started to get back to his lecture and his pen went right back to copying down the most important parts.

"Hey… Jaune?" Pyrrha whispered to him.

His pen stopped for a second before it resumed, "Yes, Pyrrha?" He whispered back.

"I don't meant to distract you. But how are you keeping up so easily?" she asked as her own pen kept going.

"Professor Oobleck is a friend of my dad." He told her and he noticed that she stopped to turn to him with a shocked expression. He turned back with a grin, "Yeah. Port is too. Since I spent so much time around them as a kid, it's easier for me to understand them. If you miss anything in either class, just let me know and I'll give you my notes."

She just smiled at him, "Thank you, Jaune. That would definitely helpful until I get a better grasp on his talking speed."

He returned her smile, "Well, you are my partner after all."

"Mr. Xiao Long and Miss Nikos, are we interrupting you?" Both jumped and turned back to Oobleck, who was in the middle of the room and now had his full attention on them.

Pyrrha looked panicked but Jaune was calm as can be. "No, Doctor. Pyrrha just missed a part of your explanation of how Vale transitioned into the fortified Kingdom it is today. I was just telling her I could give her my own notes to get what she missed."

He just looked at Jaune before turning to Pyrrha, who still had a guilty expression for being caught talking in class. "Excellent! Just be sure to keep those discussions for after class, Mr. Xiao Long!" He quickly nodded before said doctor started to lecture again. The two partners were back to copying down their notes with Jaune trying not to chuckle and Pyrrha trying to stop the smile from stretching across her lips.

The class eventually came to an end and Oobleck quickly sped out of the room. All the first years were especially happy to rest their now aching hands. Jaune cracked his knuckles and wrist to help before he placed all his supplies back into his bag. Pyrrha did the same and they fell in line with the others making their way out of the classroom. Once they were out, Jaune stretched his arms over his head before speaking up, "I think I'll send a message to Ren and Nora. See if they wanna grab dinner now or later?" The two of them began to stroll down the hall towards the cafeteria.

She nodded, "That sounds like a good idea. Are you going to ask Ruby and Yang to join us?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Ruby may still be trying to smooth things over with Weiss so I don't want to pull her attention away from that."

"So just dinner between our team? That doesn't sound bad at all. We can get to learning more about each other." Pyrrha said excitedly.

Jaune grinned, "Yeah. So far, I've only learned that Nora is a never ending battery and Ren has the patients of a saint." That caused Pyrrha to giggle a bit. "Hopefully, they do want dinner. I'm starving right now. Could really go for some pasta."

Pyrrha opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the excited scream that came from down the hall, "JAUNE!" They both turned to see a cloud of rose petals come racing down the hall until it slammed into his right arm. The petals formed back together to be Ruby, who was now hanging onto his upper right arm and her body pressed tightly to his own, her feet dangling off the ground as she did. She just looked up at him with a big smile. "Hi."

He just smiled at her, "Hi, Rubes. What's up?"

"I need to study in the library and I didn't want to go by myself. And Yang's studying habits aren't the best. So, would you come with me?" she asked cutely.

Jaune just kept eye contact for a bit before he closed them with a sigh. He then turned to Pyrrha with guilty expression, "Do you think we could push our team dinner back a bit?"

Pyrrha had an understanding smile, "Absolutely, Jaune. Besides it's a bit early for dinner anyways. I'll pass the message to Ren and Nora and we'll meet you in the cafeteria later. Maybe around seven?"

Jaune nodded, "I can do that. Thanks, Pyrrha."

"Yeah, thanks, Pyrrha." Ruby said happily as she was still hanging off of Jaune.

Pyrrha giggled slightly, "No problem at all. Good luck." With that, she gave them both a small wave and turned to resume her walk down the hall.

Jaune watched her go for a bit before he turned to his sister, "Okay, let's get going." Ruby cheered and released his arm before she grabbed his hand to drag him in the direction of the library. He was easily keeping up to her and was glad she didn't try to drag him there with the use of her Semblance. When you aren't expecting it, traveling like that can be very unpleasant. He would know from personal experience.

It didn't take them long to get to the library. The sheer number of books on the numerous bookcases was jarring to the two as soon as they entered. Ruby pulled herself from her stupor first and started to pull her brother over to the first table she could find. As soon as they sat down, Ruby pulled out her Grimm Studies textbook and started to go through it. Jaune did the same and as they started to look through it, started to discuss about anything that caught their attention. After about an hour or so of this, Jaune decided to bring up what was on his mind. "So, how are things with Weiss?"

Ruby just froze completely and he was shocked that she didn't snap the tip off his pencil. "You know about that?"

He shrugged, "Not any details but her little episode in Port's class was pretty obvious." Ruby just sighed and seemed to deflate a bit. "You wanna talk about it?"

She was quiet for a bit before she started to speak, "Weiss thinks that Ozpin making me a leader was a mistake…"

Jaune just watched his sister for a bit before he sighed, "I'm so tired of her frigid bitch routine. And I've known her for only two days."

"Jaune, please don't make a problem out of this." Ruby practically begged as she turned to him.

"It's hard not to, Ruby." He told her before he took a deep breath to try to calm himself. "She has had this whole high and mighty attitude just because of her status in Atlas. She needs to wake up and realize that she is no better than anyone else that passed initiation." He took a second to think, "You don't believe what she says, right?"

She shrugged, "I was considering it for a bit but Professor Ozpin talked to me. He said it was too early to tell but he didn't think Weiss was right. He also said I should work on showing her how qualified of a leader I actually am." She smiled at her brother, "That is why I'm studying right now. I'm going to be prepared and be the best leader!"

Jaune just looked at her for a bit before he reached over and gently rubbed the top of her head. Ruby closed her eyes and hummed slightly. "If this is what you want, I'm not going to argue. But just remember, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. Least of all, Weiss. So I'll support and help you when I can. Just don't change yourself too much. I love you for who you are, alright?"

Jaune didn't notice the blush that came to her cheeks after his words. She then leant over and wrapped him in a hug, resting her burning cheek against his chest. "I'll try my best, Jaune." In response, he just gently wrapped his other arm around her back and the two just held each other for a couple of minutes.


The two stopped studying about ten minutes before seven so Jaune could meet up with his teammates for dinner. Jaune had offered for Ruby to join them but she declined. She wanted to grab something before going back to her room to review her notes. He sighed and just reminded her to not overdo it.

As they walked in, Ruby quickly went over to grab something while Jaune was scanning over the tables to look for his team. He finally found Pyrrha and when she saw him, she started to wave him over. He smiled and started to make his way there, along with chuckling a bit when he saw Nora waving her arms above her head to signal him. When he got closer, Ren gave him a small smile and a nod which he returned. As he was about to sit down, he saw another tray of food beside Pyrrha and he was genuinely moved and shocked. "Pyrrha, did you grab me some spaghetti?"

She nodded up at him with a smile, "You said you were in the mood for some pasta. Since I didn't know if you were going to be late, I decided to get you some in case they ran out."

Jaune just returned the smile as he sat down, "I got the best partner ever."

Pyrrha smiled more and Nora gasped, "Excuse you, Ren is the best partner ever!"

Jaune shrugged, "Did Ren get you your preferred dinner?" he asked with a smirk.

She motioned to the large mound of pancakes on her own plate, "Of course he did! That's why he is the best!"

"I prefer waffles." He said with a straight face as he put a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

Nora let out another gasp, "Blasphemy!" she pointed at him dramatically. He just looked at her with the most neutral face as he chewed his meal before popping a meatball into his mouth. They just stared at each other until they both smiled and started to laugh at how ridiculous it was. Their partners just watched them before they both playfully rolled their eyes. They then looked at the other and shaking their heads slightly.

The rest of their meal was spent eating and starting to really get to know each other. Even after they were done eating, they sat at their table for another half an hour before they threw out their garbage and started to make their way back to their dorm. They were still chatting and joking as they walked. The only time Jaune stopped was when he saw Weiss walking towards them.

All his brotherly instincts were telling him to tell her off but he managed to curb them all. As much as he wanted to, he knew he had to let Ruby deal with this whole situation in the way she thought was best. Turning back to the conversation with his team, he laughed at another one of Nora's jokes as the Schnee Heiress walked by them. He looked back over his shoulder as she disappeared into the cafeteria. 'Hopefully, they can sort this out sooner than later.'

It wasn't much longer that Team JNPR was outside their dorm and they walked inside. It was ironic that their team was just starting to blossom as their sister team across the hall had hit their very first road bump.