(a/n—Can't get enough of my writing? Check out my book on Amazon: The Gray: Asa's Awakening)

As Ruby slept, Blake turned to Jaune.

"Since when were you and Ruby so close?"

Jaune gave a faint smile, still rubbing the sleeping Ruby's back. "Since we went out for lunch a few weeks ago. She insisted we do this again and…well, we kept going every few days after training. She's a little intense, but she's great company."

Blake's eyes flicked to Ruby. "Well, I can't argue with that."

"What about you?"

Blake's eyes flicked to Jaune, brow furrowing. "What about me?"

Jaune leaned forward on the table, resting his head on his free hand. "I mean, since when were you and Ruby so close? No offense, but I didn't think you'd come up to comfort Ruby at all—much less do something you clearly don't want to be known about even in front of me. You always hung out more with Yang or—heck, even Weiss."

Blake looked across Ruby's face, ensuring she was actually asleep before turning to Jaune. "Ruby…found a private place I go to read. She asked to read with me, but it turns out she reads at the level of a third grader—" the two shared a little chuckle at that. "—so I ended up reading to her. I…I kind of like it. Just the two of us, watching her expressions shift while I read. There's…something about it, you know?"

"Yeah, I think I do."

The two were silent for a bit, only interrupted by Jaune going up and grabbing Ruby and Blake's food. He sat it down, gently shaking Ruby. "Ruby, pancakes!"

No reaction.

"Huh, guess that only works on—"

"Strawberries."

Ruby's eyes shot open. "Hmm?"

Jaune's eyes flicked to Blake, cocking an eyebrow. Blake gave a little smile. "Pancakes are Nora's favorite food. Strawberries are Ruby's."

"Huh, I would've guessed chocolate chip cookies."

"That's my second favorite!"

Blake and Ruby ate as Jaune simply watched, not willing to risk eating something before getting on something as fast-moving as a plane. I eat anything, it's ending up all over me and Ruby…and probably whoever's across the aisle too, come to think of it.

The three stood once they were done, throwing their trash away before Jaune turned to the tiny team leader. "Feel better now?"

"A little, yeah."

Blake looked at her scroll. "We've still got another thirty minutes before we have to be back with Oobleck. Any ideas?"

Ruby shrugged. "We could just walk around. We'll be sitting for hours on the plane, might as well stretch our legs while we can."

Jaune nodded. "I'm okay with that."

And so, the three began making their way through the airport, mostly silent until Ruby saw something that piqued her interest.

That 'something' being Yang.

Though, unlike the last time that happened (Ruby and even Jaune, somehow, shuddered from the memory) it was very clear who she was with. Sitting across from her was Coco, one of only two juniors that were going on the trip. The two spoke like old friends:

"So, I was at Junior's with Ruby, right?"

"You went to Junior's and didn't invite me, Yangarang?"

"Hey, it was personal biz, Cuckoo."

Ruby's eyes widened as she put it together, speeding over and nearly shouting. "She's the old girl?"

They were silent for a beat.

Then Jaune and Blake crashed into the walls next to them.

Ruby looked back, eyes widening as she realized what happened. One of the few downsides of her semblance: Anything near her that wasn't prepared would get sucked into the sudden vortex of speed. Jaune and Blake, unfortunately, were standing right next to her.

"Oh my gosh! Are you guys okay?"

Jaune groaned. "I'm fine."

Blake simply gave a thumbs up as she peeled herself off the wall.

Coco, meanwhile, turned to look at Yang. "Old girl? Is that what they call me at Junior's now? I don't go for two weeks and suddenly I'm old news?"

Yang sighed, shaking her head. "No, when I went with Ruby someone mentioned seeing you with me. Guess they told Ruby you were my 'old girl' or something."

Coco chuckled, turning to Ruby and lowering her glasses. Smoldering brown eyes gazed at her in a way that made Ruby blush. "You must be Ruby, then. Hmph. You're even cuter than Yang said."

"Umm…tha—thank you?"

Coco smirked, pushing up her glasses before turning back to Yang. "She's even cuter when she's flustered."

Yang chuckled, leaning over the table and sipping from her coffee. "I know, right? You should see her after she watches a horror movie. Most adorable thing you've ever seen."

Ruby pouted at the two as they laughed—which only made them laugh harder.

Jaune and Blake, having finally recovered from slamming into the wall at Mach I, stood next to Ruby. Blake's eyes flicked between the two for a moment. "So you two are…friends?"

The two shared a glance before Coco smirked. "Yeah…friends."

Ruby's brow furrowed as she looked between the three. On one hand, she knew there was something she wasn't getting in the words Coco said. Though, on the other hand, she didn't know what it was. Were they friends? Dating? She didn't know—and honestly? She was too intimidated by Coco to ask.

Jaune cleared his throat, saving Ruby from having to keep talking with the two. "We better head back, we've only got ten minutes before our flight."

Coco frowned. "Oh, yeah. Better get back so we can get good seats, right Yang?"

Yang nodded, her face tinting pink for reasons Ruby wasn't aware of.

The three left Coco and Yang to their coffees, heading back to find the others already there waiting. Oobleck was still sitting there on his scroll, likely having not moved in the last hour or so.

"Flight 16 for Amora, now boarding."

The group gathered their things, making their way onto the plane behind Oobleck—who carried all their plane tickets. Leading the pack were Jaune and Ruby, hand-in-hand as Ruby began fidgeting and Jaune began mentally preparing himself for the long flight to come.

The two set their carry-on bags beneath their seats in the middle of the plane, not far from the emergency exit. Ruby's hand gripped Jaune's like a lifeline as he did the same, his stomach already twisting as he looked out the window at the plane's wing. Just the thought of being in the air was making him queasy.

Everyone else loaded in about the order that was expected. Ren and Nora sat together, Coco with Yang, Pyrrha with Weiss, and Blake sat with Velvet. The flight attendant went through the normal safety briefing—air masks, what to do in case of a water landing, etc. She also informed them that the flight would be seven hours long—a fact that made both Ruby and Jaune shrink a little in their seats.

The two gripped each other's hands tighter as the plane began to move, slowly taxiing onto the runway before speeding up. Jaune squeezed his eyes shut as the plane lifted, his stomach doing barrel rolls in his gut as his hand gripped tight to Ruby's. Ruby, meanwhile, stared blankly ahead, trying to keep her breathing slow and steady to calm her nerves.

This is fine. This is fine. This is fine.

The moment they experienced a bit of turbulence, Ruby buried her face in Jaune's chest.

Jaune, fighting through his own discomfort, reached down to pat Ruby's back, his eyes closed in a forced smile. "Just a…a bit of turbulence. We'll be okay, Rubes."

Ruby groaned against his chest in response.

Jaune swallowed hard, looking around at the other passengers before turning back to Ruby. "You know, this reminds me of the first time I got on a plane."

Ruby looked up, brow furrowed.

That was all the encouragement Jaune needed to keep going. "My younger sister, Marion, was only four, and I was six. I didn't get motion sick as bad then, so she clung onto me for the entire flight to Vale. She curled up against me and just had me do this the entire time." Jaune pulled Ruby closer, gently trailing his fingers through her hair.

Ruby gave a faint smile, leaning her ear against his chest. "It…does help, in her defense."

Jaune returned that smile, gently patting her back. "Well, if it helps, I guess I'd better keep doing it, huh?"

Ruby nodded. "That would be nice."

Jaune chuckled after a few seconds, smiling down at Ruby. "You know, that same trip was the time we found out Marion was a little too into dust. She almost blew up our hotel room with a Tykes First Dust Kit."

"Really?"

Jaune nodded, closing the window shutter next to him so it wouldn't give Ruby a panic attack and him a stomach ache. "Yeah, she 'experimented' by mixing gravity dust with water in the sink. Mom got back to find the curtains soaked in water and her trying the same thing with fire dust. If mom hadn't been there, that whole hotel would've caught on fire!"

Ruby chuckled. "That's pretty bad, but it's got nothing on Yang when she was little. Every time she got a haircut you'd think it was the apocalypse."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yep! Like this one time, she went to the barber in Vale with dad—"

The two became engrossed in telling stories, slowly forgetting that they were flying.