I was too excited to not write this immediately!
You know, I realized that these last few chapter, I've been describing a lot of smiling. Like, I've caught myself using the words 'smile' or 'grin' in all manner of ways. I guess maybe Jaune's life really is just getting happier.
Also, as some have asked, here's a timeline of Jaune's wasteland adventure to clear up any confusion: He left the vault at the age of 16, having spent the previous 6 years to be a guard (thus explaining his initial combat aptitude). He spent the next few months rushing through the main story and Broken Steel, before defecting from the Brotherhood of Steel after the Battle of Adams Airforce Base. He shortly went to the Pitt, which would be a formative experience for him; that was where he got the equipment he would use for the rest of his time in the wasteland. He then returned to the capitol and took up Lyons's offer of giving him Crocea Mors, then went about his quasi-suicidal life as the Lone Wanderer, trekking across the wasteland on a vicious adventure; here he pretty much exhausted all the side quests and dlc, including Zeta and Point Lookouts. That lasted many more months as he built up the legend of the Lone Wanderer. Then he was contacted by Lyons to assist in an expedition to hunt down an Enclave that may include Bishop, satisfying his revenge. So of course he went and then go transported to Remnant exactly one year after initially leaving vault 101.
"Holy shit. You are the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life."
"Arf!"
"Adorable!" Nora bent down and scooped up the little dog in her arms, and it immediately began to lick her face, tail wagging manically. "I love it! Jaune, can we keep it?"
"You bet your ass we can," he said, a smile on his face. They'd been walking through the courtyard in front of Beacon when suddenly the dog had come bounding by, a tiny little thing with stubby legs and a stubby tale and soft, white and black fur.
"What are you doing out here, boy?" Nora asked. "You lost?"
"He doesn't have a collar," Jaune said, "but I've got no idea how it would get out here if not for someone bringing him… whatever, just let me hold him!"
Nora nodded and transferred the dog into his own arms, and the delightful little furry piece of happiness started licking his face immediately at well.
"Aw, he likes me!"
"He likes me more!"
"Shut up," Jaune sent a half-hearted glare Nora's direction, but any possibility of being angry was simply impossible as long as he held this adorable little thing in his arms. "I swear, I've never seen a dog like you before. All the ones back home are big and tough, but not you!" he tapped his forehead against the dog's own. "You are just the nicest boy, aren't you? Who's the goodest boy?"
The dog seemed to smile back at him.
"Zwei!"
"Ah hell…" He could recognize that voice anytime.
"Unhand him you ruffians!" Weiss called to them. Her cheeks were pink with exertion and sweat beaded on her brow. She sprinted across the grassy field, then onto the stone path. Only then did she slow down, nearing them while catching her breath. At least being winded would keep her quips at bay for a second or two.
"What you want snow angel?" Jaune asked. "Nora and I are just having fun with the most adorable little—"
The dog squirmed out of his arms and dropped to the floor, then waddled toward Weiss. Immediately, a smile larger and happier than Jaune had ever really thought capable of her appeared on the snow angel's face. She knelt down and brandished a collar and leash as it neared.
"You silly little cutie you," she crooned. "Don't go scaring my like that." She tutted and poked the dog on the nose, but her complaint lacked any force whatsoever. Instead, she just put the dog's collar back on, then tightened the strap a little. "There you go, now you won't get out next time you want to go chasing squirrels, right?"
"The dog yours?" Jaune asked.
The sound of his voice seemed to instantly change Weiss's mood, as she glared up at him immediately (but still continued to scratch under the dog's chin, which had it happily kicking one leg).
"The dog's name is Zwei," she said, "and no, it isn't mine. It's Ruby and Yang's."
"Oh yeah, she mentioned having a dog… what's it doing here?" he asked.
"Besides being a cutie-patootie!" Nora cheered.
"Their dad is out of town, so he mailed Zwei here for us to take care of him."
"Mail…?"
"Yes, mail. Apparently Ruby and Yang's absurdity was inherited from their father." Weiss stood fully, leaving Zwei to instead lean against her legs in the absence of her scratching. "And I was just taking him for a walk before he ran off."
"I can understand why he'd want to escape from you."
Nora giggled and gave him a discreet nod of approval.
"Sorry, but I don't much care for the opinion of someone who gets so drunk he needs to spend the next day in bed with a bucket."
"Oof," Nora said, chuckling again. She gave Weiss a discreet nod of approval.
"Just who's side are you on?" Jaune whispered to her.
She only winked.
"On that note," Weiss continued, "I hope that you won't be pulling off any lunacy for the dance. I'll have you know, the chaperones will be watching the punch bowl like a hawk, so don't even dare think about spiking it."
"Really?" He gasped dramatically and feigned great insult. "I can't believe you'd accuse me of such a thing. After all, I'd never give out booze for free like that. Now if someone had paid me…"
Nora elbowed his ribs.
"I still wouldn't do it!" he said, massaging his ribs. "Because that would simply be wrong."
Weiss hook her head and sighed. "You're awful, truly. How'd you even get so much alcohol in the first place?"
"My mentor came by the school for a night, had a meeting here. We met up and had a few drinks."
Nora elbowed his ribs once more.
"Ack! Alright, more than a few."
"What kind of irresponsible moron would get someone like you drunk?"
"A badass freelance huntsman who graduated from this school before we were even born, that's who," Jaune said, a protective edge to his voice. "He's the one got me my letter of rec and told me to come here."
"A freelancer, hmm?" Weiss stuck her chin in the air imperiously. "Yes, freelancers usually err on the scruffier side, I hear. Makes sense that you'd associate with the likes of them. And where is he now?"
"Out in Vale on some business, though he said he'll be back. Maybe you can meet him."
"I can think of no greater waste of time—"
"Arf!"
"Yes boy," Weiss said, suddenly adopting a soft and saccharine tone as she smiled down at the dog. "We'll get going soon. I just wanted to make sure these two weren't doing anything too untoward…" She looked back up at them. "You aren't, are you?"
"Us? Never!" Nora said.
"We're just going to test out the extant of Nora's semblance," Jaune said, "for science."
"Science!"
Weiss scowled, both unimpressed and unconvinced.
"Well whatever, just keep your antics away from the dance. I've been working hard at it now that team CFVY was delayed." She glanced away, then looked back (though not quite reaching Jaune's eyes). "Do you plan on asking anyone to the dance, Jaune?"
A tingle went up along his spine, as his earlier conversation with Qrow came back to him. The plan he'd made. The dance.
"Nope," he lied. "Not planning on asking anyone."
"Hmph." Weiss regarded him for a second longer, before turning away wordlessly and walking off with Zwei waddling along behind her, stubby tail wagging. Before getting too far, she turned her head back and called, "Just don't cause too much mischief, at least!"
Then she kept walking, headed back to the school.
"Hm, what was that about?" he asked.
"No idea," Nora asked. "But you really don't have plans to ask anyone out? Nobody? Not a single girl you wanna go on a date with?"
He felt heat flush up along his neck.
"Nope."
"I really can't believe you two," Pyrrha said. "When I said I was the mom friend, it was supposed to be a joke." She tutted and put her hands on her hips. "But here I am picking you up from detention."
She stared down Jaune and Nora as they exited Miss Goodwitch's large office, having just received a scolding and a mandate for a week's worth of detentions, though at least they would still be able to go dance.
"Sorry?" Jaune said.
"It was for science!" Nora cheered.
"Science?" Ren asked. "You hooked Nora up to the school's dust generator." He frowned. "Power went out for an hour…"
"Not to mention Nora apparently broke through a pillar in the courtyard?" Pyrrha said, incredulous.
Nora only chuckled nervously and rubbed a bruise on her shoulder. It had cracked marble easily, empowered by a lot of electricity. "Science?" she asked.
"Yup, science." Jaune nodded resolutely. "This is valuable information for our future performance as a team, as much as I told Miss Goodwitch."
"And how did she take that?" Ren asked.
The smile fell from Jaune's face.
"Exactly," Pyrrha said. "Making that poor woman repair even more of the academy…"
"You caused some of the most damage at the food fight…"
"Uhh…" Pyrrha looked away, composure falling upon being called out. "Regardless, we really ought to stop—"
"Yo, psychopaths!"
The team turned to face the new voice, then saw none other than Yang Xiao Long, holding a massive speaker.
"Was it you idiots who cut the power?" she asked, voice carrying little trace of strain despite her carrying a speaker that must have weighed more than she did.
"We didn't cut the power!" Jaune said. "It was a side-effect of scientific pursuits."
"Yup!" Nora nodded cheerily.
"Sometimes I think one of us should have been made leader," Ren said to Pyrrha.
"Yeah but then what would our name be?" Jaune asked, as if that was a perfectly valid way to resolve the argument. "I can't think of anything that starts with a P or an R, can you?"
"Team PNJR? Panther?" Pyrrha said.
"What's that?" Nora asked. "Is it like a puma?"
"Where does the J fit into panther?" Jaune asked. "And wait, that was a quick reply… have you been thinking about this?"
Pyrrha's coy smile was all the answer he needed.
"Well you'll have to tell me the story sometime," Yang said as she passed by. "Bet it was pretty sweet."
"Oh it was awesome!" Nora cheered.
"You ever trying hooking up some exposed wires to a giant gumball, then have to chase that gumball around with a fishing net you took from the recreation closet?" Jaune asked.
Yang looked at him, face a perfect picture of confusion. "No… no I can't say I have."
"Well that's pretty much how it went," he said with a devious grin. "Pretty sweet."
Yang giggled and said, "Yeah that sounds pretty sweet." Before she started walking away, she asked one last question: "Are any of you getting dates for the dance?"
Jaune gulped.
"No," Pyrrha said. "We were planning on going as a group of friends."
"Oh."
Jaune wasn't sure if he imagined the hint of disappointment in Yang's voice.
"Y'know there are a lot of people around here who are single," she said, slowly backing further down the hallway. "I bet there are some girls who would say yes if you asked them out. The dance is just a couple days away, right?"
Jaune bit his lip.
"Yeah, I hope people make up their minds soon and ask out the people they want," Pyrrha said. "I think this is the time for people to really make up their minds and marshal their courage."
"Couldn't have put it better myself!" Yang called back, now a little further away. "Well, see you all then!"
Jaune felt uneasy.
"So, you want to ask Ruby to the dance," Peach said. "An ambitious effort, to be sure."
"Do you think that's okay?" Jaune asked. He nervously held the tin slinky in his grip, making it slick with sweat from his damp palms. It rattled in his nervous grasp. "I know what you told me, but…"
Peach hummed. She brought on finger up and tapped her black nails against her black lips, thinking. Her office was quiet aside from that, hovering in a silence perturbed only by the rattle of Jaune's slinky.
"Well…"
Jaune could hardly breathe.
"You've been doing very well." She tilted her head. "There was that unfortunate incident recently with alcohol, but I believe you when you say that it was a fluke. And we did just go down to two days."
"So…?"
"But then there's the detention debacle… though I hope you learned your lesson about that."
"So…?"
"So you're in a manageable spot," she said.
It wasn't a yes.
"I told you that I didn't want you to try for a relationship because you really needed to focus on yourself, but since then you've been completely dedicated to studying my methods, and you've opened up a lot." She kicked her legs gently and swiveled her chair left, then right, then left again. The chains along her midriff now clinked slightly as well.
"So…?"
"I was afraid that you would become overly dependent on anyone you got in a relationship with," Peach said. "You seemed to be swimming in a brutal straight, and to be honest, I don't think you're completely through it."
Jaune looked down at the floor.
"But I don't think the water's as rough as it used to be," she said. "Heck, just the fact that you're so serious about all this that you're asking my permission, that shows how committed you are."
He looked up, hope in his eyes. "It does?"
"Absolutely. When you first came to me, you really didn't want to be here or listen to me, but now I'm glad to see you've got a lot of respect for me and the process." She smiled. "So I think you'll really take my advice to heart, and be careful with this."
"So…?"
"Ask her for a dance," Peach said.
"Yes!" He leapt up off of the couch and threw his hands in the air, victorious. He could have gone through with this without her blessing, of course, but to go against her word seemed… wrong.
"However," Peach said, "I'm going to give you some advice and stipulations I'd like you to follow."
"Yeah, whatever you say," Jaune said, still grinning wide.
"Alright, now take a seat and listen closely," Peach said, continuing only when Jaune sat back once more on the couch.
"What I worried about before still applies: overattachment. You're not in the sort of state you were even a month ago, and I also don't think you were in as bad a state back then as I feared. It's not uncommon for people with serious emotional or mental issues to find people and lean on them for support, without addressing the real issues. Such a relationship is healthy for neither party.
"The one relying on doesn't really progress like they can, and the one being relied on can end up taking more and more stress. The relationship can even become abusive quite easily.
"However, I understand that you're not in that sort of state. I think a big reason for that is that you've gotten a wonderful windfall in the form of your friends; social safety nets are crucial for allowing someone to survive but then also thrive.
"So if you start dating Ruby, be self-aware. Don't spend too much time with her. And definitely don't stop spending time with your friends to focus all on her. Not only is that a dick move to your friends, it'll just come off as clingy and also result in potential over-attachment."
"Got it."
"Now repeat after me: metacognition"
"Metacognition."
"That's the ticket," she said. She held up one finger. "If there's one thing you take from my lessons and bring with you in life, let it be metacognition. The training needed to recognize your own thoughts and emotions and how to deal with them." She formed her hands into the shape of a heart. "Love is a touchy thing to navigate, so you'll have to be more careful than ever. Recognize when you get angry, sad or obsessive, and deal with it."
"Right."
"And of course, no means no." She held her hand out, open-palmed, like a crossing guard demanding a car stop. "If she doesn't want the relationship," Peach said softly, "then there's nothing that you can do other than accept that."
Jaune swallowed. He brought one hand to his chest, where a tight knot had suddenly formed, an intense mix of fear and anxiety.
"Now don't worry. You'll have your friends and you'll have me to talk to and provide support if that happens," she said, voice still soft and soothing as possible. "So don't worry. That pain may be rough, but it will pass."
"Right…"
"Though I'm not so sure how much you'll have to worry about that," Peach said reassuringly. "From what you've told me, Ruby really likes spending a lot of time with you. She seems to care for you as much as you do for her, so the possibility that she's into you, or willing to have a relationship, is very real." Peach smiled and nodded. "So I really think you can do it."
The pain in his chest receded somewhat, as if he been close to touching a fire, but had slightly pulled away, such that the heat's pain wasn't so bad anymore. "You really think so?"
"I do. You're an excellent person, Jaune. Any girl would be lucky to have you by her side."
Tentatively, a meek smile tugged at his lips.
"Relationships are a wonderful thing," she said with a smile. "They can be very healthy and gratifying. And I know that you have it in you now to be a great boyfriend and have a great girlfriend." Again, she formed her hands into the shape of a heart. "When a couple are together, they can depend on each other, help each other, listen to each and trust each other in a way that they can't with anyone else.
"So if this works out, then I think you really have something to look forward to."
"Yeah?"
"Yup."
Jaune's breath came faster now, as the exciting possibility really hit him, and it hit him hard. He could already imagine so many things and—
He screwed his eyes shut.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
Keep a hold of yourself, pal. This isn't over yet.
He opened his eyes again, breathing returned to normal, sudden emotions sidelined. Metacognition, keep yourself in check.
He looked up and saw Peach. She was smiling, wide and sincere. Her eyes were bright and happy. After a few seconds she said, "I am so proud of you."
He got a watery smile of his own, but that wasn't the only thing that was watery. His eyes suddenly burned, and a few tears came freely. He didn't know quite what it was, but hearing those words from her… it was no less fulfilling than when he'd heard them from Qrow. The true leaders in his life, validating him like this…
Peach tossed him a tissue box from her desk. He thanked her, then patted his face dry and blew his nose.
"Are you with anybody?" he asked after regaining some composure. "Sounds like you're talking a bit from experience."
She sighed, a happy sort of action. "Yeah. Yeah I am. And when I was your age, I fell in love here too." She slumped back in her chair, let one hand come up to prop up her head. She suddenly seemed a bit more tired, but in a relaxed way, reminiscing. "My partner, the first person I ever dated. Her name was Celeste. She was very nice to me."
"Oh." Jaune knew what had happened to her team.
"Yeah. I took it really hard when she left," Peach continued. "But I've moved on from that. Now I've been dating my current girlfriend, Europa, for a couple years. She's a huntress too, but unlike me, she does the Grimm-killing full time."
"How'd you meet?"
"I met her when I went to the Vytal Festival out in Vacuo a few years ago. She's from Shade, right, so I met her there and we kept in touch. Then she moved out here and we met up and… yeah. She lives in the city, but we still see each other pretty regularly."
"That's nice," Jaune said.
"Yeah, it is."
He smiled.
"Alright. I think I can do this."
"Oh I know you can do this," Peach said. She turned her chair around and kicked off, then swiveled to face him once more, hand raised and palm open. "You confess to that girl and have a dance, like I know you can."
"Hell yeah!" He slapped her hand in a victorious high-five.
"You got this!"
"I got this!"
Aw fuck I don't got this.
"You look good in a suit."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Jaune stood in his dorm's bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. Beside him was Pyrrha, beautiful in her dress. She helped him adjust his bowtie, which they'd tried and failed to get right for the past ten minutes, internet videos being at once helpful and confounding.
"Very handsome," she said.
"And you're very pretty," he said in return.
Pyrrha blushed and smiled politely. "Thank you, I've worn a dress many times for events."
"Yeah, well I've never worn a suit."
"Really?"
"Not once in my life."
"Well you like nice," she assured. "Very befitting."
"Hm." He continued looking at himself in the mirror. Something about it was just… odd. Here was the Lone Wanderer, the monster of the wastes. And he was dressed up in a blue suit he'd rented, with a fresh haircut and skin moisturized with lotion he'd borrowed from his partner. It felt a little silly, honestly, especially with the grim scar. He brought up one hand and prodded the baggy flesh which surrounded that red eye.
"Don't worry about that," Pyrrha said, lightly slapping his hand away. "It doesn't detract from your look."
"Hm."
He looked at himself a little longer, and he couldn't help but feel a gathering weight in the pit of his stomach, a coalescing anvil of regret.
"I fucked up," he said.
"How so?"
"I…"
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
"I'm in love with Ruby!" he said, blurting the words out faster than he'd planned. It still felt incredibly uncomfortable to say it out loud, even if it was also incredibly satisfying.
"What was that?" Nora asked, peeking her into the bathroom. "You say something?"
Jaune took another deep breath and squared his shoulders, before speaking again, more resolute: "I love Ruby."
He was greeted by a moment of silence.
"Well yeah, we knew that," Nora said.
His eyes widened, and suddenly it felt like the weight in his gut had grown too much and finally collapsed through, leaving just a bottomless pit. "You what!? How!?"
Pyrrha chuckled awkwardly. "It… um… how should I put this…"
"It's rather obvious," Ren said, taking the blunt and no-nonsense approach. "I think the only person who doesn't know would be Ruby herself, considering her social skills and self-doubt are commensurate to your own."
"Wha?" Jaune looked at each of his teammates in turn, incredulous. "You knew? For how long?"
"Like, a pretty long time," Nora said.
"Oh…"
"We just never brought it up because we didn't want to interfere with your privacy," Pyrrha said. She tentatively stepped nearer to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "But hey, this dance is the perfect chance, right?"
"Yeah…" Jaune's eyes fell to the floor. "But now I feel dumb… super obvious and super wussy…"
"What do you mean?"
"I've been avoiding her for days!" he said with utter exasperation. He practically collapsed back and leaned against the sink, strength fleeing from his legs, unable to hold him up any longer. "I planned on asking her out to the dance but I'm such a wuss that I haven't! I've even been steering clear of her the last few days because I was so afraid."
He gripped the edges of the sink, and the stone creaked in his powerful, anxious grip.
"Hey, hey, no need to worry," Pyrrha assured him. "The dance is still on, and you've still got a great chance ahead of you."
"Yeah!" Nora cheered, jumping up and down excitedly. "And if you let us, we'll help!"
"Y-you will?"
"Of course," Ren said. "We're a team, right? We've got each other's backs."
"And I love shipping!" Nora added, hopping up and down excitedly.
So there he was, anxiously sweaty, wearing a dopey suit, utterly bereft of confidence. But his friends were there with him.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
He closed his eyes.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
He smiled.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
He opened his eyes.
"Alright," he said. "Let's do this."
She didn't bother drinking any of her punch. For one, she didn't really feel like drinking anything, or eating anything. She felt a little too glum for that. Secondly, she wasn't sure that Jaune hadn't gone against his word and spiked it, and she didn't want to try her luck.
That made her smile. His silly antics…
The dance was in full swing. Friends hung out in little groups around the edges of the large ballroom, while many couples swayed with one another on the dance floor. Above them all, a great chandelier hung above on the pillars and the tiles and suits and the dresses.
Ruby stood alone by the punch bowl.
"Hey sis, how ya doing?"
Well, she had been alone.
"Eh." Ruby just shrugged, still looking halfheartedly across the crowd, looking for a head of blonde hair.
"He hasn't come by yet?"
She shook her head.
"Well, maybe he's just late—"
"Or maybe he's just a coward," Weiss said, coming up behind them. "As cowardly as that Neptune…" She glared around the room, but she was also unable to catch sight of the man who'd promised her a dance.
"Boys are stupid," Blake said, coming up from the side. "All of them."
"Blake!" Now that got her happy. "You came!"
Her teammate smiled. "Yeah, someone managed to convince me." She nodded in Yang's direction, and the other girl flashed back a triumphant grin.
"Well who needs… men," Weiss said indignantly. She crossed her arms and scowled. "They cause trouble, and nothing else! I for one am glad to be on a team with the fairer, more intelligent sex, bereft of those brutish—"
"Hello Weiss." It was Pyrrha, having walked up behind them all during the heiress's little rant. "If you're looking for Neptune, then I saw him outside in the other room."
"What!?" Weiss's eyes opened wide in surprise, then narrowed with fury. "Take me to him. I'll teach him a lesson for thinking he can stand me up. I'll force a dance out of him!"
Pyrrha smiled nervously, but nodded and directed Weiss away.
"Well so much for girl power," Yang mumbled, but any further complaining was cut off by another voice from behind.
"Care to dance?"
"Hm?" Yang turned and looked at the one behind her. "Ren?" She grinned mischievously. "What? Taking a break from Nora?"
"I am," he said to their surprise. "She's in a particularly jumpy mood tonight, so I slipped away and hope she won't bother for a bit if she sees I'm dancing with some of our other friends."
"Heh, you're just a chicken," Yang teased. Nevertheless, she neared him and said, "But I bet she can be a handful, so sure. Let's bust some moves, ninja-boy."
"Thanks." Ren hooked his arm around Yang's and lead her out onto the dance floor.
"Welp, there goes them," Ruby said, chuckling only halfheartedly. "I wonder how jealous Nora's gonna get…"
"I don't know," Blake said. "But I'm looking forward to seeing her drag him around the dance floor later once she gets her hands on him—ah!"
"Hey Blake!" Nora cheered, pouncing out of nowhere and coming up right in front of Ruby's faunus companion. "We're gonna dance!"
"What?"
"I'm the distraction!"
"What?"
"Come on!" Without another word, Nora grabbed Blake by the wrist and wrenched her away, dragging her out onto the dance floor and into the crowd. Ruby couldn't help but giggle at the horrified expression on Blake's face. And she only laughed more when she saw what Nora's peculiar version of 'dancing' was (it was in fact a bizarre kind of tug of war, in which Blake was the rope and Nora was simultaneously both teams pulling either side).
"Something funny?"
That voice.
Her smile widened immediately, and she whipped around to face him.
There he was, standing there and looking the most handsome she'd ever seen him. His suit engulfed a dark shade of blue, like the ocean near the horizon. His hair was cut close and neat, the nicest she'd seen it. And he had that nice, big smile. It all made her heart do backflips like a gymnast.
"How are you enjoying the dance?" he asked her, scooting around in front of the punch bowl.
It's been pretty awkward and lonely.
"It's been pretty fun," she said.
At least, now that you're here.
"Did you find a date?" she asked.
"Nope," he said, undoing the buttons of his suit. "I just came with my team."
"Ah… why are you taking your jacket off?"
"I'm not," he answered, opening up his suit jacket. "Just getting this stuff out. Y'know, I'm honoring an old tradition here."
He pulled out two plastic ziploc bags, both filled with clear liquid, either one having been stashed in the pocket lining the inside of his suit. He quickly opened both and spilled out their contents into the punchbowl, looking over his shoulder as he did. Then he quickly threw both bags into the trash can beside the punch table. Ruby found it pretty easy to guess what he'd just done.
"Did you just spike the punch!?" she whispered to him as he came back, and the stupid grin on his face only confirmed her suspicion. "What if you get caught?"
He nodded to the side, and when Ruby glanced over, she saw Nora—still holding a rather nonplussed Blake—excitedly chatting with the nearest teacher who had been assigned to watch over that part of the room.
"She and I were in cahoots from the start," he said. "I'm not gonna be drinking any of it, but it should make the night a bit more fun for some others, right?" He chuckled maliciously. "Man, sometimes I like a bit of mischief, breaking rules is fun."
Ruby looked at him, mouth agape. But honestly, why was she surprised? This was the guy she knew, the troublemaker, the deviant who didn't really care much for laws or society or what people told him. But he played by his own rules, and he had a good heart, and she loved him for that.
Looking up at him, she started laughing, and then he started laughing with her.
So there they stood, laughing like a couple of stupid teens.
"You're so bad!" she said, lightly slapping his arm.
He only smirked. "So bad I'm good?"
She blushed. Gods, what a dumb line. But it nevertheless made her heart flutter for a second, if only because it still had some dumb funniness to it, if only because it was him who said it.
"Want to dance?" he asked, offering his hand to her.
Ruby didn't wait a single second to reach out and take it.
I'm a stupid motherfucker. Holy shit. The dumbest fuck alive. 'So bad I'm good?'. That's the corniest, shittiest line I think I've ever heard in my entire life and I hate myself for saying it.
Jaune kept a cool appearance on the outside, but inside he went on a vicious tirade against himself. The plan had been going so perfectly; his team had excellently isolated her for him, and he'd come in with no trouble. But if he kept saying stupid shit like that, then it would all fall apart.
He held Ruby's hand, leading them both out onto the dance floor. It was a heady sensation, a good kind of burning inside his head, the excitement that he was actually holding her hand. Handholding! Jesus Christ, this is what couples do! Real couples!
But then he let go of her hand, feigning a need to cough and turning away, covering his mouth. In reality, he just took the moment to quickly wipe his palms off on his sleeves, as they'd rapidly become inordinately sweaty—or at least he feared they had. It was hard to tell what was even real at that moment.
The lights darkened then, turning a shade of dark purple. It refracted through the chandelier and fell upon the dancers like many sparkling shards of obsidian, bathing them all in an intimate glow. Jaune silently thanked the darkness, for it might conceal some of the nervousness in his face.
He gathered his strength, then took Ruby's hand again in his own. Was it just him, or did she gasp when he did? Probably just him.
He then mustered all his courage. And isn't that a funny thing? This was the guy who'd stared down charging super mutants, taking aim and gunning blasting them away. This was the guy who'd blown a behemoth's head off with a fat man. This was a guy who'd driven Crocea Mors's teeth into the skull of a deathclaw.
Yeah, but this was not the guy who had ever before danced with the love of his life.
Nevertheless, he was determined to take on this battle like had had any other.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
Time almost slowed, and the world came into focus, as did his goal.
With one deft step, he suddenly closed in, nearing her. His chest pressed against her own; his arm wrapped around her waist; his face came intoxicatingly close to hers.
And then a new song began, a slow, meticulous one. Jaune silently asked whatever god or gods might be out there to grant the DJ and lighting crew long, happy lives for how perfectly this was going. He glanced over and saw none other than Nora beside the DJ, still holding onto a shellshocked Blake. His teammate gave him the thumbs-up.
He smiled and nodded back, then got into swing.
One step, then another, and then one more this way and another that way. That was pretty much all there was to dancing, he knew. Well, at least the most basics, enough for a school dance. Apparently Ruby didn't. For one, she seemed to already have a hard time just walking in her heels, and she tripped over her own feet as much as she did his own.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "I'm not so good at this."
"It's alright," he said, and he even chuckled too. "I wasn't good a this when I started either, but my friend Amata really liked dancing, so she used me as her partner for years." He slowed the tempo and simplified the steps, going in a basic square pattern. "Just step after I step, follow my lead."
"O-okay."
So that's what she did, and with a few extra pointers from him, they were soon swaying with one another in good time. Ruby had become a master of footwork given her semblance and fighting style, so of course she picked up on the patterns quickly (if only it weren't for the damn heels).
"Alright, just hang on," he said.
"Huh? What are you—"
She didn't finish her sentence, as Jaune stepped back and pulled one arm back from her waist, then spun up the one holding her hand. Ruby squeaked but fell along with the roll, and in a second, she was leaning back, supported only by his arms, cradling her.
Had the lights been any brighter, then Jaune would have seen just how red Ruby's face was.
And if the lights had been any brighter, then Ruby would have seen just how red Jaune's face was in return.
He brought her back up, and he took her once more into his arms. They danced again, step after step, in tune with one another, carefully and slowly. The music beat around them, strong but slow, intimate and firm; it bent around them and seemed to press them even closer to one another in that dim, purplish twilight. He took in every detail of her that he could, from the sweet perfume that scented her hair, to the heat of her fingers intertwined with his, or the feel of her hip beneath his palm, or the taste of her breath on his lips. He loved that moment.
But then the song ended, and the lighting changed, and the moment passed.
"Hey," Jaune said as the room became brighter and the purple faded. "Do you want to go out there, on the balcony? I want to get a breath of fresh air."
"Yeah… that sounds nice," she said. Each breath she took seemed clipped, as her chest rose and fell quickly. She curtly turned around and headed to the balcony. As she walked, Jaune couldn't help but just… look at her as he followed. He looked at her bare arms, and he looked at her legs, clad in thin stockings beneath her skirt. She really was beautiful.
Once they got out onto the balcony, he glanced around and gratefully noted that they were alone. This was it. This was the time.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
"You look great tonight," he said. An anxious bubbled instantly popped inside of him, forcing him to rethink his words and say, "Well… not like I think you look bad or anything normally, but uh… tonight… sorta… nicer? Well, uh… just…"
Ruby giggled as he flushed and turned away.
"Thanks," she said. "I rented out this dress when I went looking for one with Yang. And she did my makeup for tonight too! I never wear any makeup."
"Yeah." He forced himself to pivot back and examine her more closely. He saw the smoothness of her face, and the pronounce cheeks brought ought by light shading and makeup application that served to frame her features elegantly. Her eyelashes were dark and luscious, undoubtedly curled and mascara'd. Some red eyeshadow gave her eyes an extra touch of vibrance.
He wanted to tell her that she was beautiful, but a lingering fear forced him silent.
"But you too," she said. She stepped back and pointed at his chest. "Your suit is really nice and"- she pointed up to his head –"your haircut is good too."
"Heh, thanks." He shuffled nervously where he stood, transferring weight from one foot to the other, just trying to do anything other than stay still.
It was then that the awkward silence began. It lasted for a few seconds, then a few seconds more.
Then both of them decided to finally stop being cowards.
"Jaune—"
"Ruby—"
"Oh…"
"Uh…"
"You go first," Ruby said. "Say whatever you want to say."
"Right…"
Fuck.
"Right…"
Fuck.
"Yeah…"
Okay, just get a grip. You can do this. Just get a grip.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
Once more, the world around him sharpened, crystallized. The edges came to focus, and the inessential thoughts were shoved to the back of his mind, if only briefly, if only long enough for him to do what needed to be done.
But in that state of heightened observation, he noticed something.
He saw someone running across the rooftop in the dark.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the suspicious figure, a shadow dashing across the building, heading away. His paranoia instantly sent prickles of agitation across his skin.
"What?" Ruby turned and looked with him, then also caught sight of the possible intruder. "I dunno," she said. Her demeanor changed, going from a reserved, love-struck girl to that of a huntress, shoulders squared and pulled back, arms and legs bent slightly, ready for action. "But it's headed to the CCT."
"I don't like the look of it."
"Neither do I."
"How come, when it's some kind of trouble, it always seems to involve one or both of you two?" asked Headmaster Ozpin. He eyed both of his students, some of the most particularly rambunctious in recent years, as they quietly sat before him.
"If it weren't for General Ironwood's timely arrival, then you two may have been in much bigger trouble," lectured Miss Goodwitch. The frightful woman appeared all the more imposing, standing as she was in front of the large window, lit up by the moon behind her.
Jaune and Ruby sat in the Headmaster's office, at the very top of Beacon's tower. In the room were Ozpin, Miss Goodwitch and a man Jaune had never met but certainly heard of, General Ironwood of Atlas. From the news broadcasts he was fond of, Jaune had gleamed that this man was the de facto head of state of Atlas, Remant's military might.
The General's spotless, clean uniform disconcertingly reminded Jaune of the officer's uniforms worn by the Enclave, but if this man worked with the Headmaster, then certainly he couldn't be so bad? Besides, hadn't he spearheaded efforts to purge Atlas of some old seditious, viciously racist parts of the military?
So Jaune had given him the formalities he'd learned in the Brotherhood of Steel: stand up straight, salute, don't look them in the eye, call them sir and do what they say. Even if Jaune hated that crap, he wasn't stupid enough to deny powerful people the respect they wanted. Thankfully, the General had come off as impressed.
And as their interview went on, Jaune found that it really wasn't too bad. The Ironwood commended them for their bravery, Miss Goodwitch seemed more concerned for their safety than genuinely angry and Ozpin seemed… as aloof as ever.
He corroborated Ruby's story and played along when she gave them some fake information that they'd actually learned from the White Fang. All in all, the mission was a success.
After a little while, they were sent on their way, assured by an earlier checkup at the nurse that they were in good health. All was well.
"You idiots!"
Uh… kinda well.
"Just run around, gallivant on whatever adventures please you, no care in the world for backup or your teammates!" It was, of course, Weiss to scold them the second they walked out of the elevator and left the tower. But behind her she had the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR, all equally concerned.
"Hey… we turned out alright," Jaune said with a weak smile. "And besides, we were together. Neither would have gone alone."
"Yup," Ruby agreed.
Pyrrha, Nora and Ren all sent him the exact same kind of unimpressed glare. Honestly, it was the exact same look on each of their faces, as if they'd practiced it. Or perhaps they'd all just gotten used to judging him together?
He looked over and saw that Ruby was getting the same treatment from her own team.
"Uhh… sorry?"
"Sorry indeed, mister!" Nora tutted. "You promised me a dance, but instead you go off on an adventure without me?"
Such it continued, with a brief round of scolding from their teammates as they all headed back to their rooms. However, the scolding quite immediately turned into curious questioning. Although Ozpin had advised them not to share details of their encounter, Ruby and Jaune quickly gave them all: they spoke of the mysterious woman in black who used fire, how she'd broken into the CCT for… some reason and how Ruby suspected she might be the same woman who'd been with Torchwick when she first faced him months ago.
"So the plot thickens…" Yang mumbled. "Dammit, what the hell is even going on? Why would they want to get into the CCT?"
"Plenty of reasons," Weiss said. "Maybe to plant bugs and spy on communications or broadcast their own signals. I hope they run a system check for any tampering of the CCT's systems, otherwise there could be some serious problems."
"Isn't something like that protected?" Ren asked.
"All the guards were beat down pretty handily," Jaune said. "Whoever she was, she was definitely a professional."
"Yup," Ruby said. She held one of her heels in either hand, finding it so much easier to just be barefoot now, and it had the additional advantage of letting her use her shoes as props. She held one up. "If this was a guard, then bam!" She smacked the heel with her other one. "She must've taken him out really fast to make sure no one called the alarm."
"And the lights were out when we first got there, so she may have turned out the power somehow before busting in."
"Uh-huh," Ruby said with a nod. "I think the alarm that got the General to come only came when we busted through after her."
"I still can't believe that General Ironwood is here," Weiss said, a hint of awe in her voice. "Besides my father, he's the most powerful man in Atlas, indisputably."
"Well it makes sense for the Headmaster to have friends in high places, doesn't it?" Pyrrha asked.
"It does…"
So they continued, furtively discussing the intricate situation they'd gotten themselves caught up in. It appeared that their lives as teenagers was becoming less and less about school and video games, while becoming more and more about sabotage, crime-fighting and international intrigue.
Honestly, that development didn't really give Jaune any happiness. The others seemed enticed by it, excited. Well, Jaune had already gotten caught up in bigger peoples' machinations, and he knew from experience that the life of a pawn in a greater game was not a very fun life at all.
So by the time they reached their rooms, Jaune's mind had become increasingly clouded with thoughts of resentment. Wasn't this supposed to be a new life? A new chance? Was he damned to be involved with every bullshit grand scheme that came around?
"Come on guys, we'll keep talking about it our room," Yang said, opening the door to team RWBY's dorm.
"Alright, but I'll need a sec," Jaune said. "Going to take some medicine first, need to chill out."
So he split from the others as they shuffled into RWBY's room, while he went into his own. He entered, slapped the light switch up and let the door creak shut behind him as she marched across the room to his desk.
He turned back around when he heard the door creak again, swinging open once more before it had closed..
"Hey Ruby," he said, "what's up?"
A part of his mind recalled moments just a few hours hold, brought into focus the smell of her hair and the feel of her skin and the look of her gorgeous silver eyes in that heady purple light…
He turned away from her, focusing instead on opening up his drawer and rooting around for his pills.
"Well, I was wondering…" she trailed off as the door shut behind her, leaving them completely alone.
Jaune reached into his drawer, and he saw his wallet sitting there. His wallet, within which was the 'gift' that Qrow had given him just a few days prior… and here was he and Ruby, after the dance… alone in his room…
He grimaced, then quickly picked up his pills and slammed the drawer shut, keeping the wallet inside, unopened and undisturbed. He popped out a single pill and threw it back into his mouth, swallowing it down dry.
"Oof," Ruby remarked. "No water with that?"
"Nah," he said, "I've gotten used to taking pills and stuff without water… wasn't always available back in the wasteland."
"Oh yeah…"
So then there they were, just Jaune, Ruby and their best friend, awkward silence.
"So…" she finally said. She still held onto her shoes, and now she idly tapped the tips of the heels together, looking down at the movement, a little distraction. "You, uh… you were gonna say something back on the balcony."
Shit.
"Yeah…"
Come on, you can do it…
"I just wanted to say that your dress looked nice."
You fucking coward.
"Oh…" Ruby sounded despondent, but she propped up a fake little smile onto her face anyway.
"Were you going to say something?" Jaune asked.
"I was just gonna say that it had been a good dance."
"Ah."
Ruby nodded silently, and then she turned around. "Good night Jaune," she said, walking quietly to his door. She passed one heel into her other hand, then reached out and grabbed the doorknob.
Jaune closed his eyes.
Breathe deep. Hold. Release.
Ruby turned the knob—
"I love you."
She stood still as a snowflake laying on a sheet of brittle ice. Each and every single cell in her body utterly froze. Her breath hitched. Her heart stopped beating. Her eyes stared into nothingness. Those words echoed within her: I love you.
She wondered if they had even been real.
Slowly, she turned around, letting go of the door, letting go of her shoes, which slid loose from her grasp and thumped on the floor. She gingerly stepped back and looked at him, looked him right in the eyes, just as he was looking at her.
"That's what I was going to say on the balcony," he said. "And that's what I'm saying right now. Because that's how I feel."
Every nerve in his body burned, screamed at him. Every instinct that had ruled him for the last year, every urge that demanded he remain distant, that demanded he be careful, that told him to people were a bad idea, they all came back to him in full force now. All the fear of loss and devotion struck him like lightning.
But he stood fast.
Jaune saw the blank, shocked expression on her face, one utterly devoid of emotion. It was terrifying to him, the utter lack of any sign, any confirmation or denial. The barren response made him want to run away and hide, but he pushed forward nonetheless, for this was the time to commit and commit it all:
"I'm in love with you."
THE MAD MAN! He's done it! He's finally done it! Tune in next time to see how the confession concludes!