Written for a request for n000b on Ao3, who wanted Jaune and Blake cutting each other's hair and talking about leaving their pasts behind at the beginning of V7. This was interesting to write, since these two don't really interact with each other much in canon. Enjoy!


"Don't look so nervous, I used to do this for my sisters all the time when we were growing up." Jaune sighs. "And sit still, will you? I don't want to mess this up and have your girlfriend come after me." He pauses for a moment. "You two are dating, aren't you?"

"It's—complicated," Blake replies, and Jaune takes that as his cue to drop the subject. "And sorry, I just tend to get a bit antsy when someone waves a pair of scissors around my head."

"I'm not waving them, I'm holding them," Jaune argues back, although his tone is light. "Okay, one last time: are you sure you want me to cut it this short?"

"And for the last time, my answer is yes." Blake pretends to give him an offended look. "What, do you think it won't look good on me?"

"No, no, of course not!" Jaune puts his hands up in surrender; fortunately, he remembers to put the scissors down first. "I just—it's kind of a big change, y'know?"

"It is," Blake agrees, her voice a bit subdued. "I've always kept my hand long before. But I think I'm ready to try something different."

"Well, you're wish is my command, m'lady," he jokes, pretending to be hurt when Blake swats at his arm, trying to hide her smile. "If you're ready, I'll go ahead and get started."

"I'm ready," Blake assures him. She closes her eyes as Jaune picks up the scissors again and gets to work.

Being in Atlas, working to reestablish communication across Remnant, and leaving Adam behind and moving forward with Yang—it's a lot of big changes in her life. She wants her appearance to reflect that.

"All done," Jaune announces, and Blake finally opens her eyes. Her hair feels much lighter, and it's weird not feeling it brushing against her back and shoulders. Not bad, necessarily, just weird. She eyes her reflection in the handheld mirror critically. "Well? Do you like it?"

The girl staring back at her in the mirror barely resembles her old self. It's perfect. "It looks good," she says, smiling at him. "You did a great job."

"Phew!" Jaune pretends to wipe the sweat off his brow. "I'm relieved to hear it. I think it suits you," he tells her.

Blake arches an eyebrow. "Perhaps you should take up a career as a hairdresser instead of a hunter," she teases. "And thank you."

"Ha, ha, very funny." Jaune rolls his eyes, glancing back at Blake when she clears her throat. "Huh? Oh, is it my turn already?"

"Yep," Blake informs him. "Unless you're having second thoughts."

"Nope, nope, I'm good," Jaune says, turning his back to Blake. "Just wondering, though—you have done this before, right?"

"Many times," Blake informs him. "I used to cut my own hair all the time when I was on the road with the White Fang. Adam's, too." She doesn't stumble over his name at all; Jaune finds himself feeling oddly proud of her. "You ready?"

"Cut away, madam."

It's been a while since someone else cut his hair; it feels a bit odd, at first, but Blake hadn't been lying: she knows what she's doing. Once upon a time, not too far in the past, actually, Jaune would have let himself dwell on the thought of Pyrrha being the one cutting his hair instead. Now, instead, he just takes a deep breath, lets himself feel the loss and the longing, and then forces himself to let the thought go.

It's still hard, but every time he does it he finds that it gets a bit easier.

"Finished," Blake announces, and Jaune opens his eyes and glances in the mirror she's holding. "Do you like it?"

The Jaune staring back at him in the mirror looks completely different. It's not a bad look, although it'll definitely take some getting used to. He breathes out slowly. "I think I like it. Thanks, Blake." He pauses for a moment, examining his reflection, before he asks, "What do you think?"

"Well, it's definitely a different look than before," Blake says, stating the obvious. "But I think it suits you."

"Thanks, Blake," he says again. After everything that had happened in Argus, and the heart to heart he'd had with Nora and Ren, he'd been determined to do things differently moving forward. To be more in the present, instead of constantly dwelling on the past—and Pyrrha. He still loves her, of course, and misses her deeply, but he refuses to let his grief drag him—and his friends—down.

He turns to face Blake. "Hey," he calls quietly, waiting for her to face him, and then smiles. "To new beginnings," he tells her, holding up a fist.

She smiles back at him, bumping his fist with her own. "To new beginnings."


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