HEY! I UPDATED DURING FINALS! LOVE ME. ...Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. Anyways, here's the next chapter in Connections. I really hope I delivered on the Empire and Lunar Eclipse on this chapter. Hope you like it!

Don't for get to drop it a follow if you liked it and a favorite if you really liked it!

Thanks,

Court

Jaune couldn't believe how surprisingly comfortable the uniforms were- at least the boys uniforms, he couldn't speak for the girls next to him- though they weren't fidgeting at all. He subconsciously fixed his tie as Weiss, his partner, looked him over. He wasn't completely inexperienced with dressing up, but he always differed to Weiss since this was kind of her entire life; balls, charity dinners (considerably less of those), and other social events that she was expected to represent the house of Schnee. That was where he first met her, at a class reunion of the class from 25 years ago from the very school they just started. Turns out that Mr. Schnee was the technician of the team that his dad was the leader of, JSTC or Justice. He was Weiss were seated together since they were the same age. The night ended with a very memorable fight in which Jaune's arm was frozen in a block of ice after he mistakenly attempted to brush her bangs out of her eyes. They also somehow had managed to get along well enough to sign a deal to produce an album together. A flick on his nose brought him back to the present.

"Jaune!" He jumped. Weiss Schnee, with a very similar expression on her face to the one she had when she froze his arm. He focused on her eyes, determined to not let his eyes wander to her lips, which looked far more kissable than either Yang's or Blake's. (Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he didn't want to re-experience one of Yang's punches, let alone experience one while she was in a rage.) He shook his head and looked at his partner who was having trouble keeping her eyes on his.

"Hmm?"

"Wake up, sleeping beauty. We're up next." He flashed a quick grin.

"Great! Who do you think that was will we partnered with?" She shrugged.

"Pyrrha would be a great team-mate, but I don't want to work with that insolent little-"

"Weiss! Ruby's not that bad. She's just... energetic." She snorted and moved on.

"You seemed to be close with that Blonde. Yang, wasn't it?" His mind quickly recalled his previous encounter with the firebrand and he immediately felt guilty, though he wasn't sure why.

"Yeah, and her partner, Blake, is my adoptive sister."

"The ex-White Fang member?"

"You know?"

"You aren't exactly James Bond when it comes to keeping secrets."

"And?"

"And what?"

"You know what. How do you feel about Blake?"

"She was a member back when they were still peaceful, so I don't mind."

"Wow." Her voice dropped a few degrees.

"What does that mean?"

"I-uh..." Their Scrolls beeped urgently. Weiss swore and grabbed Jaune, pulling him after her in her rush. Jaune dutifully jogged along behind her, amazed.

"Jaune Arc, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xaio Long. The four of you will make up team JWBY. Your leader will be Jaune Arc." The four budding huntresses and hunter walked onto the stage, completely focused, well mostly. Jaune noticed Weiss clench her fists. He briefly weighed his options and deduced that Weiss would at least wait until they were off the stage before killing him before grabbing her hand. She stole a glance at him and he responded with a quick squeeze. She maneuvered her fingers so they were laced with his and squeezed back.

After they walked off the stage a russet haired boy stopped them.

"So you were actually telling truth Jauney-Boy." Instead of responding to the treat, Jaune just laughed. Yang started forward.

"Of course he did you bird-"

"Yang." Jaune cut her off, a hand on her shoulder. He turned to the boy.

"Well, of course. I did place first school - scratch that - world wide on the Ulysses Test. I also seem to remember beating your sorry ass in Practical Combat last year too. If we should be surprised about the presence of anyone here, it should be you. Now if you wouldn't mind, I kind of killed a Nevermore today and I'm sore."

He dismissed the boy with a wave of his hand and brushed by him. Yang lingered behind. She jabbed him in the solar plexus, causing him to bend forward in pain. She grabbed the front of his uniform and sent terrified quivers through his spine with her glare.

"If I hear so much as a hint of you trying to mess with Jaune in any way, you're going to beg for just a black eye when I'm done with you. Got it?" He grunted in both pain and understanding as he fell on his face. Yang bounced after her team, catching Jaune's explanation to Weiss.

"Well, he was the popular kid. He had everything; looks, a good fighter, good enough to not matter that he's a complete dumbass in everything else. All I had was a mind for strategy and an unfortunate nickname. Needless to say, he hates that I beat him at his game and that I am better at strategy than I am at actual fighting. He's not even that bad of a guy. Sure I hated him back at Signal, but as I improved, I noticed that he's not too bad. At least for someone who reads three years under the national average." He shrugged, as if to say, We'll see.

They arrived at their room, scanning their scrolls for identification reasons. They took some time setting up the room, Weiss with an elegant painting, Yang with a poster of the 'Achieve Men', Blake with a bookshelf and her books and Jaune with a fine chess board and an old board game called 'War' that had been refurbished, so the cheap, plastic pieces were now made of marble, rose quartz, onyx, jade, crystal and an odd metal that had the same shine as Crocea Mors. When Blake asked, for she had never seen the game in it's freshly refurbished condition, Jaune confirmed that it was, in fact, Carbon Fiber.

"There was some left over from the last blade that my father smithed before I left, so..." While Blake fawned over the board game, Weiss inspected the chess board and Yang just looked completely unamused. She hopped up and left the room with a quick wave and a blown kiss to each of them. Blake looked torn for a minute but got up and followed Yang, muttering something about her breaking a chandelier. Weiss was suddenly extremely aware that she was alone in the room with Jaune, who was setting his supplies on his desk. She cleared her throat, causing Jaune to look over slightly. She motioned to the board and he grinned, a twinkle in his eyes.

"I want to see how good you actually are. I'm a pretty good player myself." He chuckled in response, leaning in closer.

"How about a bet? I win, you give me a massage or one of the vouchers, you win you get another one." She couldn't help but give him a small smile in return.

"You're so on, Lancelot."

"You take white. Lady's privilege." She nodded in thanks and they set up the board.

Weiss moved her pawn, watching as Jaune responded to her every move in less than ten seconds. His urgency made her nervous and next thing she knew, he quietly declared checkmate. She looked on in disbelief but he was right. His pieces were positioned so that she could not move her king anywhere. She looked up to see him looking at her with admiration. She felt her cheeks flare at the raw emotion that was directed at her and cursed herself.

"You're really good." She let out a sound of disbelief.

"No way, you checkmated me in around 15 moves."

"Exactly. The most it's taken to win before was ten." He waggled his eyebrows at her playfully. "So, what's it gonna be?" She sighed.

"Fine, get on your bed." He smiled and obediently hopped onto his bed, tugging off his shirt. Thankfully for the flustered heiress, he lay down on his belly so he didn't see her flaming cheeks. She tentatively reached out and touched his back, noticing the goosebumps that her light touch caused to erupt on his back. She got bolder, mimicking her past experiences with masseuses, and started to dig her heels into what she hoped were the tight spots on his back. He didn't make a noise, but she could barely notice that he was moaning into his pillow, trying to conceal it.

When she started to work on his neck, he suddenly flipped over, grabbing her elbows so she didn't slip off the bed. She couldn't help but notice his ragged breathing and his gaze flicking to her lips. Suddenly, his hand found the back of her neck and he brought her forward, meeting her lips with his. She didn't even consider pulling away. She automatically wound her hands into his unbearably soft hair as his free hand landed on her waist. She could feel his hand on the back of her neck, his fingers weaving into her hair. Her brain stopped thinking and let her body take over. She bit his bottom lip, and he opened, letting her in. It was electric. Sparks flew through them, stinging their lips. They broke apart and Jaune looked panicked.

"I-I'm sorry Weiss! I just got carried away! Plea-" She silenced him with a quick peck on the lips.

"I'm not mad. If I'm mad about anything it's that you didn't kiss me last night." Jaune cocked his head curiously.

"Oh that, I'm just glad that Ozpin found us, not Goodwich." Weiss giggled and immediately brought her hand up to her mouth in embarrassment, causing Jaune to laugh, a deep, booming sound that made Weiss smile.

"It's getting late. I'm going to get ready for bed." She grabbed her pajamas and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

"What, I don't get the bathroom?" Jaune pulled his sweats out of his bags and quickly changed.

"Nope. I'm pretty sure that Yang and Blake would rather walk in on you than on me. What with that tattoo and all."

"Why did I even tell you that?"

"Not a clue." She opened the door, wearing a dark black nightgown. Jaune sent an annoyed look at her and she just stuck her tongue out.

"Well what about yours?" Weiss froze, her back to Jaune. She felt his gaze on her back, where her collarbone connected to her slender neck.

"I swear to gods, if you-"

"Just want you to know that I'm not the only one with a rebellious streak. I'll keep it secret if you do."

"Deal."

"How can you tell that I have one?"

"Your collar's about half an inch to low. No one else would notice it."

"Hmph." She sat down on her bed which was uncomfortably close to the others'. She noticed that Jaune was making rudimentary measurements of his bed posts.

"What are you doing?" He glanced at her.

"Bunkbeds. Most efficient use of space, wouldn't you agree? Plus I seem to recall that someone has always wanted them." He winked at her. She was touched by his memory.

"Want some help?"

By the time that they had finished the bunkbeds, Blake and Yang had returned and claimed their beds, Blake on top, Yang on the bottom. Jaune was on the top bunk and Weiss was on the bottom on their bunkbed. The second that they finished, Yang changed in the main room, earning a few yells from her teammates, and flopped into bed. The rest of them got into bed and fell asleep within the next ten minutes, apart from Blake who couldn't get comfortable. With the stealth that befitted her race, she dropped onto the floor and climbed into Jaune's bunk. She tugged on his earlobe, an old signal from their childhood, causing him to wake up and make room for her. They curled up in their usual position, Blake's head tucked under his chin and their legs tangled. She could barely make out his whisper when it was exhaled against her forehead.

"Can't sleep?"

"No."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Nothing apart from the different setting."

"Okay. You'll get used to it."

"Night."

"Good night." They slipped out of consciousness, safe in each other's arms.

SO. Some of you got the references and I'm proud of you! Of course the PJO reference was (hopefully :0) pretty obvious, but the Ulysseus Test is in honor of Ulysseus S. Grant though some of you astutely pointed out that that is the Roman name for Odysseus. And don't worry, the PJO crew will play a very minor role, mainly for the role of troublemaking. Sorry this is a short chapter, but I liked the ending with a bit Lunar, so yeah. The chessboard and game of war just seemed appropriate for Jaune and his strategic mind.

Now. I'm leaning towards Empire for this fic, though I am not completely dead set on it. It's just more interesting writing from Weiss's view than Yang or Blake's. But again it's still up in the air, but more on the downward arc. Does that make sense?

Thanks for reading,

Court