NOTE: Impulse writing. This is another quick one. Took me an hour to think up and write.

He found her sitting on the stage.

First Lieutenant Rose snapped her head towards the sound of shuffling footsteps only to disengage her scythe upon seeing Captain Arc illuminated by the incandescent lamps set up by the engineers. He sat beside her and let the moment pass in silence.

The hall was open, gaping holes in the ceiling and with only half the walls still standing. The evening breeze swept in, bathing them in a cool chill while the stars above shone behind the shattered moon. Everything was a mess with moss-covered rubble dotting the corners. But the floor was mostly intact. The same floor where they both once sat on the sidelines while everyone danced.

"To the socially awkward?" Jaune started.

Ruby stifled her surprise with a long sigh. "To the socially awkward."

"That was a long time ago. Has nothing really changed since then?"

"I don't get what you mean."

The Captain stared at her as she kept her eyes on her hands, twiddling her thumbs. "Ruby, it's late. You've been wandering around Beacon." He knew she was mulling again.

"I...remember the dance."

Jaune looked up at the sky. "I remember it, too."

"It was supposed to be my first dance."

He raised a brow at her. "You're in your mid-twenties."

"And I haven't had my first dance yet."

The Captain almost chuckled at that. "You do know that you have a lot of admirers. Some of them are downstairs."

Ruby scowled. "Very funny."

"Maybe when this is all over, you'd finally give some poor sap a chance."

"Give me another ten years and I might consider it," she scoffed. "There's a lot of work to do."

"And when all the work is done? When you're given leave and you've got nothing else to do?"

"There's always something to do."

"Outside of work."

She gave him one of her signature tics: a quick, slightly dismissive, one-over with her eyes. "I'm still a Huntress. And so are you."

"You're going to have to settle down eventually."

A long sigh. "That won't stop me."

He grunted. "You know, the dance was meant to given students a break. To unwind. To relax. To socialize. We both showed up in our own times and, well, it's impossible to forget."

She raised her brow at him. "You switched into a dress."

"An Arc never goes back on his word."

"And you pulled off a really good number." Her lips angled slightly, amused and proud. "That's unforgettable."

Now he chuckled. A little. "It was. Then again, I can understand your end of the fun that night."

She focused back on the floor, her mien forlorn. "I noticed an oddity. I had to rectify it."

"You confronted a dangerous person in a dress and heels. On a night that was supposed to be a break from doing things like that."

"I did what had to be done," she argued. "Besides, I...I didn't feel like dancing that time..."

"Do you even know how to dance?"

That seemed to throw completely off guard. Because she visibly recoiled. The demon of the RDF looked like she had been slapped in the face. "I... O-of course, I know! I just...haven't had time to...practice."

Jaune smirked. "Prove it."

"W-what?"

The senior officer stood up and held out his hand. "Prove it to me. Show me you can dance."

"Captain!" she shouted. Weakly. "This is f-fraternizing."

He rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself."

Ruby turned on her waist. Her long flowing hair and the poor lighting failed to conceal the redness on her cheeks. "There's no music," she mouthed.

The sound of a song playing through limited speakers echoed beside her.

The Lieutenant caught the bright light from the Captain's scroll. The device was propped against a brick and blasting an old but very familiar song. It was slow, simple, and strong. It didn't help that she used to listen to this a lot so long ago. Her eyes darted up to her superior who stood patiently in front of her.

"May I have this dance, Miss Rose?"

Ruby gulped. Before she knew it, they were clasping hands, carefully matching each other's steps, never missing a beat as the song reached its climax. And then it ended. But instead of parting, they remained standing under the moonlight, holding each other. Their bodies pressed, their breaths on their faces.

"Ruby?"

"Jaune?"

"You dance well."

"Likewise."

It took another moment for the Captain to carefully undo his embrace on her. And another for Ruby to readjust her hair into a flowing bun. If she had been a foot taller and more toned, she would have been a splitting image of Pyrrha. The resemblance was close at this age.

As he went to collect his scroll, he heard her say, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"You were my first...dance."

Jaune studied her. An arm crossed over her chest to rest on her shoulder while the other fiddled with the hem of her cloak, her gaze shifted away to a random spot on the ground, the fluster still lingering over her cheeks... She was beauti—pretty. She was pretty. It was undeniable that First Lieutenant Rose was sophisticatedly attractive.

"Jaune?"

The Captain blinked. Right. Was he gawking? No. He was just lost in thought. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

She seemed to deflate before standing rigid. "Nothing, sir."

"Right. It was a pleasure to have danced with you."

Her eyes lit up. For a moment. "The pleasure is all mine, sir."

"I will be going now. You should too. Your body needs rest after all that's happened today."

"Of course."

He was halfway to the staircase when she called out to him.

"Jaune, wait! I..."

The Captain gave her a knowing look. Recapturing Beacon must have shattered their stubborn shells. Rarely did his liaison ever act out of line. Very rarely did she even break out of her professionalism like this. And yet, there she stood, the deadly Lieutenant Rose fidgeting like a nervous schoolgirl in the middle of a bombed out auditorium.

"I..."

He waited.

"I, uh..."

He raised his brow.

"I would...love to have this dance again."

Jaune smiled. "Likewise, Ruby. Likewise." Then he departed back to his quarters, back to the paperwork that General Schnee was surely expecting.

ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: March 17, 2018

LAST EDITED: May 8, 2018

INITIALLY UPLOADED: March 18, 2018

NOTE: This is what came out after jamming with the guys and listening to John Mayer's "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room."