*Author's Note*
Sorry it took me a day to get this done. I get no free time, or privacy. Anyhow, I'll keep this concise and end the griping. Time for a new chapter of Love is a Knight-mare.
It was the day of the Midwinter Ball, and Jaune was at his wits end. Ruby had been sleeping over in other dorms the week, been avoiding him at all costs in the hallway, and has been eating alone Dust-Knows-Where during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everyone was starting to become worried. Though a few people wouldn't admit it, they had grown fond of watching the two awkward and childish fools go out. They thought it was rather adorable.
But let's back up a little, shall we? Ruby had been avoiding June. She no longer felt angry. Just sad. She didn't know what to feel. Yang tried to comfort her, but Ruby passed it off and said she wasn't depressed. Everyone had tried to cheer her up, but nobody had thought to try and explain Jaune's side. They figured that was best left up to him. Meanwhile, as intuitive as ever, Yang noticed her little sister had been losing her edge for the past couple of days. Deciding that these two were unable to solve their own problems, Yang decided to step in.
"Ruby, come here. We need to talk." Looking a bit perplexed, Ruby nonetheless sat down with Yang at their little table. The two sisters simply stared at each other for a while, neither really speaking up. That is, until Yang's impatience got the better of her.
"Ruby, what's been going on?"
"Umm… Well, we had a fun lecture in Weapons Crafting about a new technique to create a more flame resistant alloy using the appropriate dust in proper quantities with the right type of ste-"
"That's not what I meant, Ruby. We both know I don't know much about weapons maintenance or crafting, nor do I really even care. I want to know why you have been avoiding Jaune."
Yang had done it. Just mentioning Jaune had sent a shock through Ruby. Ruby, who had the emotional maturity of a prepubescent child, and the social skills of a toaster, had been trying to figure out what had been wrong for the past few days. Her heart was a wreck, and she had been trying to avoid the problem.
"What? No Yang, there's nothing going on there."
"That's the point, Ruby. Despite how much it kills me to say this, you and Jaune act like you were made for each other. In fact, some of the others in class had been making bets since day one as to when you would get together. And you two were a perfect couple. But now, you're avoiding him like a plague. You are barely in the room, you go through the halls like a freaking ninja or something, trying to hide from people's eyes. You had been ditching every class you and Jaune have together."
Looking at her little sister, Yang laid the facts out, right in front of her. Ruby was meant to be with June. Or, that's how it seemed to most at least. But although Ruby still loved Jaune, she didn't know what to think. She felt betrayed. She'd only been thinking about how much it would hurt to see Jaune right now. This despite the fact that she wanted more than anything to see him. She was torn by this conflict.
"But Yang, you saw it to, right? Jaune fell for Velvet." Yang pretended not to notice Ruby wince when she said Jaune's name. "Besides, how could I compare? Velvet's smart, cute, and a good dancer." Seeing her sister so downcast over such a dumb misunderstanding, Yang took a mental note to facepalm later, when Ruby wasn't around. For now, she decided to set the record straight.
"Look Ruby, Jaune doesn't love Velvet. At all." At this, Ruby looked up and blinked a few times, giving her sister a confused face while doing so. Before she could ask what Yang meant, she continued. "Do you know why Jaune was dancing with Velvet in the first place?"
"Because he loves her?" Seriously, thought Yang. How shallow is this girl's understanding of the concept of love?! How could my baby sister not know a damn thing regarding this subject? Ironic, considering the person currently asking this question is the very reason behind it. Having always "protected" her sister from suitors, Yang had never allowed Ruby a chance to experience 'love' or anything similar. Ruby's only understanding of love came from books, cartons, and anime. Sadly, not the three best teachers on the subject.
"Oh, for the love of- Ruby, you are dense." One indignant 'Hey!' from Ruby later, Yang continued. "Jaune wasn't dancing with Velvet because he loves her. In fact, you can dance with someone even if you don't love them. Anyhow, the thing is that Jayne was learning how to dance for you."
"What?"
"Jaune can't dance. Or rather, he couldn't dance. He asked Velvet for lessons so that when it came time to go to the Midwinter Ball, he'd be able to dance with you properly. He danced with Velvet because he loves you, silly."
Ruby, who had previously been confused as all Hades was now outright lost. With such little in the romance department, she was hacking trouble understanding exactly what Yang meant. She understood that Jaune apparently was dancing with Velvet because he loves her, and not Velvet. But she couldn't understand how that worked.
"So wait. Jaune still loves me? And not Velvet."
"Yes." Finally, some progress! Seriously, getting Ruby to understand love is like trying to get Kristen Stewart to show facial expressions. I swear this girl is dense. As Yang congratulated herself on finally getting through to Ruby, she also wondered what to do now. Neither Ruby nor Jaune had likely prepared much for the ball, so getting those two ready for such an extravagant dance was going to be a chore.
"Listen Ruby, you two have got to make up. Or, whatever. I'm not even sure if this counts as a break up in fact…" Taking a few seconds to ponder this, Yang snapped back to the problem at hand. "Anyhow, we have to prepare you for dance."
"But Yang, my dress is currently being cleaned. I don't really have much to wear. And I don't have much time to prepare either."
"Just leave that to me, baby sister!" Said Yang as she pulled out her phone. Not missing a beat, she hit speed dial, and heard a familiar Faunus pick up the phone.
"Hello? ... Yeah, I'm free…. Grab Weiss too? ... Got it." With that, the person on the other side hung up. Sure of her support arriving, Yang had one more call to make. Scrolling down in her phone's contacts til she hit the 'R' section, Yang again dialed a new person.
"Ren…"
While Yang got things set up to fix Ruby up, Jayne was wandering around the combat hall, training his marksmanship. It wasn't something he was inherently good with. He had decided back when Ruby had started training him to take up some form of long ranged combat. He'd been practicing with the school's own weapons, small side arms with under mounted bayonets (parallel to the gun barrel, unlike Ren's which go perpendicular) that could fold out into throwing daggers. The throwing daggers, which Jaune had been finding some success with due to the heavy training his family had given him in blade play, had the barrel mechanism in the hilt, allowing for boosted speed when throwing, so long as one was careful enough not to shoot themselves when throwing them. June had been practicing with both the pistol and the throwing knife versions, hoping to make himself more versatile.
While he did this, he kept thinking back to the drawing in his pocket. He'd picked it up yesterday in the room. It was under his bed, a little crumpled. It was a drawing, obviously Ruby's. It showed what looked like a scene out of a fairytale. A young man and a young woman dancing in what appeared to be a large ball room. The female looked strikingly like Ruby, and although he didn't have the best view of the male's face, he could tell the male was him.
After managing to hit the targets a couple more times, Jaune pulled out the picture and stared at it. So, this is what Ruby dreams of, right? Giving it a few more minutes, Jaune had made up his mind. Moving to the door, he found Ren leaning up against the wall.
"Looks like you've made up your mind. Let's go, we have work to do." And so Jaune and Ren went out to Vale. They had one destination in mind.
Back to the present, and here June was. He'd gone out to get something he normally never wore. A tux. Around his neck was a simple yellow tie. His belt hung around his waist, Crocea Mors sheathed where it should be. And on his breast was a single rose, a corsage bearing the same name as his girlfriend. Well, Jaune wasn't 100% sure about his and Ruby's status right now, so maybe girlfriend was a bit much. Or maybe not. Who knows? But right now, he was simply a man going to win back his love. And for that love, he had become the image of a prince. This, he thought, is what Ruby deserves.
Meanwhile, Ruby was already in the dance. Although dance is a bit wrong, considering that all she was currently doing was sitting over by the punch bowl. Her current attire consisted of a black, one-piece dress. A red corset around her mid-section giving her more of a mature impression. Around her waist hung a silver belt, on which a plain, silver gothic cross hung. Her usual boots replaced by slippers matching her namesake gemstone. Even her hair, with its usual wolfen style, had been tamed. Her hair, which was usually messy, was combed straight (and not by Yang, thankfully), and was held in place with a simple silver hair band, on which was a silver relief figure of her scatter symbol.
The sight of this magnificently dressed girl, with her naturally cute features and adorable face, just sipping punch had many males take an interest. Though not quite as many as those gathered around a certain blonde, who was dancing with abandon in a red, strapless dress that could barely contain her well-developed assets. But enough that there were those who approached her. All of her would be suitors immediately turned away. There was only one male she wished to see.
On her perhaps eight cup of punch, with the Midwinter Ball nearing the halfway point, Ruby was poised to leave. The social atmosphere, combined with a lack of her cape and scythe, had left her uncomfortable. Deciding instead to see Jaune in the morning, Ruby got up to leave. As she was crossing the dance floor, her pace had suddenly halted. At the exit, just coming in, was something- no, someone, out of a scene from one of her fairytales. To everyone else, he was simply a handsome young man. Certainly not the best, but just as certainly not the worst. But to Ruby, he looked princely.
Jaune had arrived. As he entered, he looked for signs of Ruby. Scanning the area near the punch bowl seemed the best idea, but she was nowhere to be seen. Surveying his surroundings, Jayne eventually stopped on a girl on the dance floor. Dressed in a black dress with red hair so dark you could almost call it black, Jaune knew it had to be Ruby. His goal in mind, Jaune began to push his way through the crowds. The closer he got, the more his pace quickened, his steps becoming ever more desperate. He didn't want her to disappear into that cloud of rose petals. He didn't want to only grasp at but an afterimage. He wanted to hold her in his arms, and only her.
Ruby stood, fixed to her spot. Only her eyes moved. Their only target was a young man, blonde hair, tuxedo, and a rose corsage, working his way towards her. She wanted him to come to her. To hold her again. She missed his warmth. She missed his smile. And as she mentally listed off everything about him she missed, he grew closer. And closer. And closer…
"Ruby!"
"Jaune."
Together, again. The two awkward hunters just stood there, on the dance floor. Neither knew what to say. Neither knew what to do. Both wished to apologize, but neither knew where to begin. Growing tired of this little scene the lovebirds were putting on, Yang decided to put things into play. Moving over to the DJ, who was for some odd reason wearing a bear mask, and had him play a mood-appropriate song. With the music slowing down, Yang instigated part two. Moving her way over to the two, she crept behind her little sister and gave a gentle nudge (read as forceful shove) to her little sister, sending her into Jaune's arms.
Blushing furiously, the two just awkwardly held each other until Jaune broke the ice.
"Uhm… Ruby? May I have this dance?"
"YES! Err, yeah. I would love that, Jaune." Having almost spit the words in his face, Ruby accepted Jaune's offer. Grasping his right hand in her own left, the two began to awkwardly perform a simple ballroom dance, swaying back and forth while holding each other close. After a minute, Jaune decided that he had to do it.
"Ruby, I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't know that would hurt you. I… I just wanted Velvet to teach me how to dance so that I wouldn't embarrass you. I wanted you to enjoy this night, and I wanted to leave you with a good memory. I'm sorry Ruby. I never meant to hurt you. Really Ruby, I'm so-". Before he could continue, Jayne was cut off by a soft, yet warm sensation on his lips. Ruby had silenced him with a kiss. Not knowing how or why, Jaune was certainly shocked for a second. After their lips had finally parted, Jayne was dumbstruck.
"Ruby, what was that? I thought you hated me for what I did to you."
"I did hate you Jaune. It hurt when I saw you and Velvet dancing together." At this, Jaune could only look down and express his guilt. "But what hurt more was thinking that you didn't love me. I hated not having you around. As much as I didn't want to see you, I wanted to see you more. But seeing you only made it hurt more. And then Yang explained to me why you did it, and I stopped being mad. I couldn't be mad, because I knew that you still loved me. So I'm sorry Jaune. Sorry that I misunderstood you."
"Then are we still boyfriend and girlfriend, Ruby?"
"Yes Jaune." Said Ruby with a slight giggle. To her, a shadow that had consumed her heart and held it for the past couple of days has just been lifted.
Staring down at his beautiful girlfriend, Jaune could only do what any man worth his dust would. He leaned down and pulled her into one of the most passionate kisses of their young lives. Holding each other, looking like a scene from a children's tale, the two awkward lovers again reconfirmed their feelings for the other.
And to the side, the rest of their friends had gathered, drawn to the scene. In fact, a good portion of the school had stopped to watch these two, who looked like a well created work of art. Nora was giggling, giddy, and grinning like mad, clad in a pink and violet stripped dress, with her hair drawn back and held by a hair band with a grinning button. Blake, in a simple black dress with no back, had put her book down to watch the scene before her eyes (perhaps hoping for a scene from Ninjas of Love to play out?). Weiss had stopped eating through her apple, which contrasted greatly and stood out from her solid, snow white gown. Ren, dressed in a black and pink tuxedo stood there, silently congratulating his fiend on a job well done. Yang was taking pictures like there was no tomorrow, rapidly filling up her phone's memory. Pyrrha in her red strapless dress looked on, angry as anything, obvious to theatres she was receiving from a certain young man. And Velvet, who in her pink one-piece dress had been attracting a fair bit of attention, stood off to the side with a slight look of sorrow in her eyes.
"Ruby."
"Yes Jaune?"
"I love you."
And the two just held each other, staring at one another for an hour. Two. Even with the other students had begun to make their escape. Even when the staff had begun to leave. And even till when the music had ended. In those halls, all that remained were the two dancing fools, their team, friends, and stalkers. But to the two, the world was again right.
*Afterword*
Now, I know most of you expected something different. Did you really think I would break my OTP up? I'd rather see YR and NNWB jump off a cliff with no landing strategy. Ruby and Jaune will never break up. Even when I've reached my 40th, of even 50th chapter, the two shall remain the couple that we're all here to read about.
Anyhow, I hope you guys aren't mad about that little trick. I just don't get to have much fun here, so convincing some of you that Ruby and Jaune were breaking up just for the reactions was a poor attempt on my part to have fun. Sorry. But I hope you guys enjoyed the story. The next arc will be more Jayne centric, so meh. I hope you all enjoy what I have planned there. Anyhow, my mattress calls to me. Good night.