Another day for our hero jaune arc.
Something odd was happening in the cafeteria but what that was was anyone's guess but all you had to do was look around the table to see it. Yang took a spoonful of pudding and put it in her mouth as she scanned the table. Ruby and pyrrha sat next to each other in front of her while on her right side Nora hung from Ren's shoulders with a happy grin.
Weiss had excused herself earlier leaving jaune and Blake at the edge of the table sitting next to each other deep in conversation but quiet enough not to be overheard. That right there was the problem. Everyone else was talking to each other but no one bothered to speak to her or even look her way for that matter.
Yangs spoon slipped back into her pudding before she leaned on her right arm and let out a loud sigh. Everyone's conversation stopped except jaune and Blake's "hey jaune" yang called. Her fellow blonde seemed to have heard her since he stopped whatever he was doing and turned to face her "you say something yang"?
Yang nodded in response "what are you and Blake talking about so seriously over there"? Jaune hesitated before turning back to Blake and began whispering amongst themselves. After about a minute jaune turned back to her "just trying to discuss that dinner I owe you".
Yang sat up and hummed in amusement since it was so obviously a lie but since he had broached the subject she wasn't going to waste the opportunity. Seeing the red heads eye's narrow on her only made it more enjoyable since she got the one up on a potential rival. "You don't have to take me anywhere fancy, just a place with good food will be fine" she said with a soft smile.
Jaunes eye's lowered slightly before looking back up to meet violet once more "if it doesn't have to be fancy then why not a home cooked meal". Yang sat up straight and watched him with a questioning gaze "I doubt you know how to cook". He couldn't help but feel offended "you've just never had the chance to try my food and besides I've been trained to make nothing but the best".
Everyone at the table seemed as surprised to hear about jaunes hidden talent as yang. "Wait if you know how to cook how come you've never done it before" yang asked still in disbelief. Jaune shrugged his shoulders "nobody ever asked but I have cooked for Rachel and Dexter before".
Yang rolled her eyes "that doesn't count since their family. Anyways you said you were trained right so who trained you"? "My master obviously" he lied since he couldn't tell them that cinder practically forced him to learn since she didn't want to eat any mediocre food when outside the castle.
Jaune stretched his arms forward to loosen them up "trust me I'll make it a experience you'll never forget but first I'll need someone to go grocery shopping with me". Yang stood up with a large grin on her face "sounds like fun so count me in". Her smile vanished when her fellow blonde shook his head "sorry yang but if this is happening I want it to be a surprise, besides I already have someone I want to take".
Jaune turned to his hooded friend beside him "ruby you up for a trip to vale"? The small girl in red shot to her feet "oh yeah, let's hurry up go and maybe on the way back we can stop by a weapons shop". He couldn't help but smile as ruby waited eagerly to see if he'd allow the detour "well I do need to pick up some more dust bullets".
"Yes" ruby said excitedly while giving a small fist pump.
Jaune turned back to Blake "we'll finish what we were talking about later" he said low enough for only Blake to hear. He pushed himself off the seat before heading towards the exit "ruby I'll meet you at the bullhead landing pad so get ready" he called back. Ruby rushed off to get her weapon - because you can never be to careful especially in vale nowadays - before meeting jaune at the landing pad.
Getting clearance to go to vale was as easy as to be expected and shortly after their arrival they were on their way to the city. Ruby had been thinking about what to talk about with jaune while they flew to vale when she remembered yang and nora's talk at initiation. She could be super sneaky about asking him and would report what she heard back to her cousin.
The idea was so good she had to put it into action "hey jaune I was wondering how things were going with you and yang"? Jaune looked a little surprised at the question before a warm smile spread across his face "we haven't been partners long but I think we're doing okay for now. I'd give it at least a month before we're at each other's throats or getting in trouble together" he said with a slight chuckle.
Ruby could definitely see that happening since her cousin was always quick to anger or always starting bar fights. "You know if you kept yang busy with little things like going out to eat or going to the movies she might not have time to get in so much trouble" she suggested. Jaune thought about her suggestion but ultimately decided against it "I'm supposed to be yangs partner not her father so I can't keep her out of trouble all day long".
His answer obviously wasn't what she was hoping for so she thought a more direct question would break through his obviousness "so what do you think of yang, you know as a woman"? The question was odd to say the least but that didn't stop him from answering "what's there to say? Yangs a lot of things like she's smart, strong, beautiful and kind when she not trying rip you a new one".
Inside ruby's mind she danced as fireworks exploded in the sky after hearing how jaune viewed her cousin. All the excitement and happy thoughts she was having suddenly shattered at the sound of jaunes next few words "I guess to me she pretty much another sister kinda like saphron". That was bad, no girl wanted to hear how their crush of two years only saw them as a sister.
Ruby thought as fast as she could trying to figure out if there was a way to get him to think of yang as anything more than a sister. At first she couldn't think of a reason for why he'd just friend zone someone like yang until she thought of another possibility. "I bet you think blake and pyrrha are pretty amazing too right"?
Jaune nodded his head "blake and me may have had a rocky start at first but I'd like to think we've become pretty good friends. As for pyrrha we've been friends since we were kids but it's only recently that we got back together, who knows how much we've changed in our time apart". After a moment of silence jaune looked to her with a question gaze "ruby is there a reason you keep asking me these type of questions"?
Her body tensed and she knew for certain she had been busted "I was just curious cause, you know"? Truthfully he kinda had a idea about what she was talking about and it never really crossed his mind until now "yeah I think I do". Ruby waited to see if jaune would say something else but all he did was look out the window and remained silent for the rest of the ride.
The bullhead landed and ruby rushed out when the ramp was lowered "we're here" she said loud enough to draw attention. Jaune moved behind ruby and ruffled her hair "calm down it's not the first time you've been to the city you know". Ruby growled as she pulled away from him "yeah but it's the first time I got to come without yang or my parents".
"Ah that makes sense I suppose" he moved passed ruby in the direction of the nearest weapons store he could think of. Ruby flatten her hair down as best she could while following "hey jaune".
"Hmm"?
"About earlier, I'm sorry if I was prying and making things weird" she said a little embarrassed after thinking about it on the ride over. Jaune watched her from the corner of his eye for a few seconds before turning back to the road ahead "it's fine I suppose". The silence grew between them as they walked down the road until jaune spoke "ruby" the small girl looked to her friend "I've never thought about taking any of my relationships to that next level you know"?
Ruby knew exactly how he felt since she was so focused on being a huntress and a hero that the people could count on that she never thought about a boyfriend before. Thinking about it now surprised her after all would she work her entire life away without the thought of a family of her own or a place to go home too. So deep in thought she was that the slight pressure on her right shoulder caused her to flinch but no more so when jaunes hand pulled her into his side.
Ruby's face turned redder than her hood and when she looked up to jaune he gave her a warm smile like he always did when they were together. Jaunes hand let go of her shoulder shortly after and she quickly put a small distance between them while trying to hide her face. Ruby's hands came to her chest and she could feel her heart beating faster than normal "wha-what was that for"?
Jaune raised a brow at the question "well you were about to walk into that street lamp so I thought I'd keep that from happening". Looking behind her, ruby could see the street lamp He was talking about. She let out a deep breath and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed by his answer "oh thanks" she said as they arrived at the weapons shop.
Jaune opened the door for ruby before following behind once she was inside. Ruby vanished almost instantly as she left to browse the magazines to see if there was any new articles about attachments for weapons. While she was busy with that jaune left to speak with the store owner to place his order.
Jaune waited for the store owner to return with his order when ruby came running with a magazine in her hand. She had her finger separating the pages and when she got close to him she opened the magazine to show him the contents on the page. On the page showed a scope pure black with a article detailing the three functions built in.
Before jaune could read any further the store owner returned with several small boxes filled with a assortment of dust shell's. The owner looked at the magazine and noticed the scope "Hmm, you know I actually just got some of those in just yesterday if your interested". Ruby's eyes shined with excitement "really?! Do you you have one that's red like this" she asked as she pulled out crescent rose and showed it to the store owner.
The old man inspected the sniper before nodding "I believe I do little lassie" he said before heading to the backroom. Ruby turned to jaune with a confused expression on her face "lassie" she repeated.
"You forgot the little part".
"Hey I'm still growing, just you watch when I get older I'll be drop dead beautiful and I'll have guys throwing themselves at me" she said before crossing her arm's with a satisfied smile. Jaune took his left hand with his right and tossed it at ruby, letting it slap into her arm before falling back to his side. The confused look she gave him made jaune smile "you can never replace a first and this makes me the first guy to be thrown at you" .
"Gah" Ruby's face turned red before she started punching his arm and kicking his leg all while jaune laughed at her expense. The sound of items crashing to the ground drew their attention and jaune quickly hopped over the counter and moved to the backroom to see the door cracked open. Jaune looked through the crack and saw a few individuals that made his teeth grind together.
Next thing he knew he felt ruby push herself between him and the door so she could see what was happening. Jaunes reaction was automatic as his left arm wrapped around her body to keep her from moving and his right stopped her from speaking. Ruby growled and struggled to get free but her eye's never once left the men she saw inside.
Adam Taurus and Roman Torchwick stood next to each other and from the looks of it were working together.
Done with this, now on to the next one. This was a little longer then I expected but I hope you enjoy it.