Hey guys! I'm updating earlier than usual because I need to tell you something! Long story short, a group of friends and I are going to RTX, BUT we have an extra ticket. It's totally FREE, the catch? The knowledge that it won't go to waste, because I know some of you would kill to be there. I've updated early to give you a heads up, so hopefully you'll have time to message me and get things sorted out. Anyways, just PM me for details, because I REALLY don't want this ticket to go to waste when someone can go and have a blast!
After school, Blake led Jaune and Yang to the class rep's meeting room.
Once she turned the knob, both blondes were very confused at the scene in front of them.
Pyrrha, Nora, Coco, and Velvet were standing in a circle. The lights were turned off, which brought out the flickers of the candles they were holding.
"W-what the heck is this?" Jaune stammered.
Yang turned to Blake. "I was kidding about you being in charge of a cult, ya know."
Blake gave her a serious stare. "I wasn't," and walked away.
Judging by Blake's tone, Yang couldn't tell if she was joking or not. She usually loved this about the ravenette, but now she desperately wished she knew the truth.
The circle started chanting. "Master Blake…" repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Blake was struggling not to break her poker face from a fit of laughter. She had texted the members beforehand to prepare for this joke to see Yang's reaction.
It was totally worth it.
The two blondes stared at the sight dazed and speechless while Blake stood in the middle and held out her arms to embrace the chants. She made sure to take in Yang's confusion.
After a few more chants, the circle broke.
"I can't do this anymore," Pyrrha blew out her candle.
Nora shrugged and joined her. "Yeah, it's gettin' old!"
Coco and Velvet soon followed while Blake turned on the lights.
"Whew," Yang wiped her forehead. "Ya almost got me there!"
Blake giggled. "Well that was fun."
"You do realize that I really am calling you Cult Leader from now on, right?" Jaune asked, still creeped out.
"And you do realize that you will forever be known as Scrawny Arc, right?" Blake fired back.
Coco snapped her fingers. "SNAP! SNAP!"
"Can we get on with this?" Jaune asked after groaning in protest. "I'm kind of in a hurry."
Pyrrha wasted no time and walked over to the shelf. On it, laid a cheap plastic crown.
"You will be honored today for suspending Cardin and thus vanquishing evil," Pyrrha announced and walked over to Jaune with the crown in hand. "Now kneel."
She handed the crown to Nora, who was behind Jaune.
"Kneel?" Jaune asked. "Why?"
Pyrrha rolled her eyes and put her hand on his head to forcefully shove his body in a kneeling position.
Jaune was surprised by her overwhelming strength, but decided to obey. He was in a hurry, after all.
"For saving the transfer…" she waved a stick over one of his shoulders. "And for bringing justice to this school…" she tapped the stick on his other shoulder. "I proclaim you are now The Bringer of Justice!"
"Yes!" Jaune pumped a fist in the air. "Not-so Scrawny Arc isn't so scrawny anymore!"
"Silence!" Pyrrha hushed.
Jaune clamped his mouth shut.
"Pancake Sloth, if you would." Pyrrha looked to Nora.
Nora nodded and set the plastic crown on Jaune's head. "'Tis done, Prez," she mocked a salute.
The secret guardians of the school needed a hierarchy. Each member happily elected Pyrrha as the president, earning her the nickname and code name, 'Prez.'
The other's chose their own code names, or earned them. Whichever the Prez deemed fit.
"Alright," Pyrrha threw the stick behind her. "You can get going now."
The stick would have slammed into Yang's face if she hadn't caught it. "Ah jeez! Prez, you could've been more careful."
"Yeah, Prez," Coco joined in the teasing. "What the fuck?"
"Shut up, Fashionista," Pyrrha shot back. "No one tells me how to handle my stick."
"That's what she said," Jaune smirked.
"Grow up," Velvet fired back.
"Like you're one to talk, Bunny," he mocked. "Who picks the codename 'Bunny' anyways?!"
"Why you-"
"Guys! Stop!" Blake rarely raised her voice, so that got everyone's attention.
She continued. "Jaune, don't you have to be somewhere?"
Jaune nodded and opened the door. "You're right. Seeya guys later!"
He swiftly left the room, proud of the new codename bestowed upon him.
Once Jaune made it to the front of the school, he saw a figure leaning on the doors.
The long flowing off-center ponytail imbued white hair could only be…
"Weiss!"
She didn't seem to hear her name being called, so he ran up to her.
Jaune noticed she was even more flushed than before and that her eyes screamed exhaustion. He knew Weiss was sick, so he wanted to do all he could to help.
"Hey! Why're you still here?"
She gazed out the transparent doors, which revealed the pouring rain. Over the course of the day, the sky had turned an eerie gray and threatened to spill over.
"I can't walk home in this weather," the white-haired girl strained to keep a steady voice.
The transfer typically walked home since the castle was close by. She didn't like bothering the servants and her parents when it came to little things like that. She wanted to lessen the burden as much as possible.
Jaune pulled out his umbrella, eager to be of help. "I'll walk you home."
"Y-you don't have to," Weiss said, surprised from the offer.
"You're right, I don't have to," Jaune replied. "I want to."
Why's he always so nice?
"Only if it's not a bother," she stated.
Jaune looked at her imploringly. "You're never a bother. Let's go," he gently grasped her arm and opened the umbrella to prepare for the elements.
Weiss reluctantly allowed the contact since the last time she was grabbed on the arm was scary. However, she remembered that she was with a friend now, and his touch was far more gentle than that bully's.
So she didn't protest as he opened the door for her.
During the walk, Jaune noticed Weiss was very quiet.
He was no fool, he caught the rasp in her voice earlier.
He was frustrated with himself since he couldn't do anything about her being ill.
But most of all, since Weiss was intent on hiding it, he was mad at himself for not being seen as trustworthy.
"You doing okay?" he asked while holding the umbrella above the two.
"Yes," she replied meekly.
Jaune noticed half her body was out of the umbrella's reach, so he wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her close. "You're getting rained on," he sighed. "Don't be afraid to get closer, I don't bite."
Weiss ended up leaning on him slightly. "Okay."
Jaune took note that she was sweltering rather than the prefered icy cold touch.
He didn't want his crush to be out in the rain for long since that's the last thing to do when someone is sick. He blushed at the thought of carrying her to move things along quickly. However, he couldn't hold her and the umbrella. He also knew that Weiss wouldn't like being seen in public in that position, so he settled on keeping her close in case she fell.
The two took it slow with each step. With his hand around her waist, Jaune could feel her shivering every so often. What was even more worrying was that each step was painfully slow with her trembling feet. He was relieved that the castle was nearing, seeing Weiss like this was concerning, especially when her hair was half soaked.
A couple of minutes later, they got passed security and he led her to the front doors.
"You can come in if you want," she offered. "I have something for you."
I need to repay him somehow. Plus, father is away on a business trip, so he won't have to stress about meeting him.
Jaune was surprised he was invited inside. Weiss even had something to give him? He wasn't about to let this go to waste.
"O-only if I won't be a bother."
Weiss playfully rolled her eyes and unlocked the doors.
Once the two were inside, Weiss asked him to follow her to receive his gift. He agreed, but when they made it to the long stairs, he started to wonder if she could actually make the journey in her condition. By this point, she was breathing heavier and held back from talking, most likely to keep him from worrying.
Weiss climbed only a couple of steps when she heard his voice from behind.
"On second thought," Jaune said as he stood on the bottom of the stairs. "Don't get anything on my account."
He made that decision when it registered how much worse she looked over the course of a few minutes.
Weiss was taken aback by this.
He doesn't want anything in exchange?
"To be honest," he rubbed the back of his head. "I wanted to come in because I'm worried about you."
I see… wait…. why are my ears... ringing…?
When she didn't respond, he asked. "You okay?"
Without warning, her remaining energy was sapped. Weiss' eyelids fluttered shut and her hands abandoned the railing as she silently fell towards Jaune.
"Shit!" he yelped and lurched forward, barely catching her on time.
The impact was light, like catching a feather. He put his hands on her back while using his shoulder to support her head. "H-hey, can you hear me?!" and gently shook her.
The only response was her head limply lolling against his shoulder and ragged breathing.
Now up close, he noticed her forehead beaded with sweat.
He clenched his jaw in frustration when he knew for a fact she had a fever. "You're burning up..." not that he was surprised.
He wasted no time and carried her bridal style up the stairs since he knew that's where her room was.
Once he made it to the upper floor, Jaune practically ran to her room. He treated her as if she was glass, and carefully laid her on the spacious snowflake patterned bed.
After putting her under the covers, he pulled them up to her neck to provide a barrier from the outside. He then paced around the room, wondering what he should do next. He opted to find a cold washcloth to cool her flaming body. His mother kept washcloths in the bathroom and the kitchen in his home, but he didn't want to be separated from Weiss for too long, so he elected to find the nearest.
It was easy to find the bathroom since it was connected to her room, and not surprisingly, he found a washcloth and swiped it off the counter to run cool water over it. While doing so, he caught a glimpse of lavender scented shampoo.
Yep, lavender was definitely his favorite smell.
Jaune ran back over to her and carefully placed the cold cloth on her forehead.
As he gazed at her red and vulnerable face, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He hated being sick, but took comfort in the fact that her ragged breathing had ceased and was more peaceful now.
The next thing his mother taught him was to get medicine, which would more than likely be in the kitchen cabinets. He remembered where the kitchen was since it was next to the living room, but didn't want to leave her alone. However, he knew that she needed the medicine soon, so he bolted downstairs for the treasure.
It took a little rummaging, but he finally found the drug and ran back upstairs, getting slightly winded from the workout.
He sat next to her on the bed and waited for her to wake up. Weiss was sleeping peacefully and he didn't want to wake her, but he also knew that she needed it in her system as soon as possible.
And he didn't know when she'd wake up.
Jaune didn't want to take any chances.
His head whipped from the pills and glass of water on the night stand. He cursed himself for what he was about to do, but it was for a good cause!
Helping people… especially his crush... was what Jaune Arc strived for!
It was the Arc way!
After swallowing his pride, he popped the two pills in his mouth along with the water. As he slowly leaned down closer to her face, he gently put his hand on the back of her head.
He would've gulped of nervousness if his mouth wasn't full.
He lifted her head and pressed his lips gently to hers to transfer the medicine.
Her lips were so soft, so ethereal…
Jaune knew he'd dream about what he was doing for years to come… wishing to re-live the moment over and over…
He was snapped out of his thoughts once he heard her reflexively swallow. No matter how much he didn't want to, he broke apart from her soft lips and set her head back on the pillow.
His face was beet red when he thought about what he did.
He couldn't believe it! He technically kissed his crush! Even though she was unconscious... but it still counted... not really.
Weiss would kill him if she found out.
Not soon after, she began to stir. As Jaune leaned over her face, he saw her furrow her eyebrows as she struggled to open her eyes.
Jaune silently cheered her on. "Come on…" he mumbled.
Through her bleary vision, she was met with a pair of worried blue eyes. "W-what…?"
Jaune ran his fingers through her bangs to provide comfort.
"You fainted. Why didn't you just admit you're sick?"
"I didn't want to be a burden."
Why do I taste mint? Huh...
"You're never a burden," he assured. "This just means I get to take care of you!"
"Joy..." she playfully rolled her eyes.
"You stay here," he said somewhat sternly. "I'm gonna make you some soup."
"You… cooking?" Weiss coughed. "Good one."
If I remember correctly he said he can't do it to save his life.
Jaune chuckled. "I know, I suck at it. But this is just another challenge for The Bringer of Justice to overcome!"
Weiss was too exhausted to comment.
"I'll be right back," he said, even though the last thing he wanted to do was leave. "Rest up."
Weiss complied and fell asleep before he even left the room.
Jaune ran back to the kitchen in a rush. It took about an hour alone to gather the supplies since the room was so large. It didn't help that he didn't know where any supplies were located either. However, making the soup was another story.
It took him about another hour to make the food since he kept messing up in the strangest ways.
He learned something new today: it really is possible to burn water!
Jaune went through several batches to achieve perfection since his crush deserved the best.
In the aftermath, the kitchen was pretty much destroyed. How pancake batter got all over the floor, he didn't know.
He trudged back up the stairs with the bowl in hand. The door slightly creeked as he walked in her room. After setting the bowl on the nightstand, he ran his fingers through her hair to rouse her.
When that didn't work, he whispered. "Weiss..."
She slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see him. "You're back."
"Yeah, with the soup!" he assured.
Weiss glanced at the well-made food. "You did it."
"Only for you~" he teasingly sang. "Here, I'll help you sit up," he grabbed the wet washcloth off her forehead and placed it on the nightstand.
Arc really came through.
Not wanting to argue, Weiss allowed him to prop her up on the pillows. "Thank you."
"No problem," he smiled. "Want me to feed you?"
Weiss didn't like displaying weakness, she had shown enough for one day.
"I can feed myself," she reached over for the bowl but Jaune got to it first.
"Uh, uh, uhhhh," he gave her the bowl and sat next to her on the bed. "I'm not letting you exert yourself as long as I'm here!"
Weiss took a sip. "Wow…"
"Is it good?" he asked, uncertain from her expression.
"Very," she smiled. "I thought you said you couldn't cook?"
"I can't," the boy admitted. "That took over two hours to make."
"Two hours... for soup?" she coughed a few times.
"Eat," he urged. "Save your energy."
Weiss sighed and continued to eat the soup. After doing so, Jaune was pleased that she got some energy back.
"Thank you, it was very good."
"My pleasure," he smiled, "but I've been wondering…"
"Yes?"
"How'd you get like this?" he asked sympathetically. "I mean… how'd you get so sick?"
Weiss sighed, she knew the question would come up sooner or later.
"It's a combination of things. My parent's marriage is in shambles, and to top it off, my father's company is struggling as well. Over the last few days, he's been asking for my assistance. I wanted to ease his burden, so I've been helping as much as possible."
"T-that's really nice of you," the boy admitted. "It must be tough."
Jaune couldn't help and be a little irritated at her father for allowing her to overwork herself and ending up in such condition.
"Indeed, but you must understand something," Weiss replied. "My father is a good a person, he's just been understandably frustrated."
Jaune thought back to the last time he was here. When his friends heard yelling in the distance and how she basically kicked them out.
She continued. "He takes it out on me sometimes, but I know he doesn't mean it."
"I see," Jaune was downcast. He never knew that about the transfer.
He already knew she was a good person, but seeing her condition definitely proved it. She looked out for her family without a second thought, and even pushed herself to the limit for them.
"You're not going to ask…?" Weiss trailed off. "About my father's company?"
Jaune figured it was no use lying. "I already knew about that. And the fact that you're an heiress."
He knew this whole time? And yet he treated me like a normal person…
Before she could respond, a round of coughs racked her body.
Jaune leaned in for support. "Hey, woah, woah," he rubbed his hand on her back. "Take it easy. Go back to sleep, yeah?"
Weiss let out a shaky breath and laid down. "Thanks again."
Jaune was already heading to the bathroom to re-wet the cloth. "No problem."
He had never heard Weiss thank him so many times before. It was kind of strange, but not in a bad way. He made sure to keep reassuring her that it was no issue, but the heiress always insisted on repaying her debts.
Jaune laid the cold washcloth on her forehead and sat on the bed next to her, protecting her from any other ailments. So far, he hadn't heard her parents or anyone else in the castle for that matter. He wondered that if he left, she'd truly be alone.
That left him with one option: stay the night.
He didn't mind staying, in fact he was excited. He just wished he wasn't staying the night because Weiss was in poor health.
Over the next few hours, Jaune protectively watched over her like a lion did for his pride. When the cloth became hot, he would swiftly re-dampen it to a much cooler degree and replaced it on her forehead. He repeated this process for a long time.
Weiss slept peacefully for a while until her fever spiked.
Jaune noticed that she began to shallowly breath through her mouth and was shifting uncomfortably in her sleep. His fears were confirmed when he put his hand to her forehead. It didn't matter that it was covered by a cold washcloth. He could feel the sweltering heat radiate off it.
Even though she was asleep, he wanted to comfort her. So he grabbed her limp hand and gently curled his fingers around it. Jaune wished he could do something about her condition, but he was as helpless as she was. Tears started to well-up in his eyes from seeing her struggle to fight for breath. He didn't think he would ever see her like this...
Usually Weiss was so poised and self-assured. In the blink of an eye, the illness turned her into a whimpering, helpless girl. Jaune knew she was a frail person, but it was criminal to watch her curl in on herself, allowing her to appear even smaller than she already was.
He cursed himself for letting his emotions getting the better of him and fought back the tears to try to think of ways to make her feel better while gripping her hand.
Sure, he was unable to fight off the illness in her stead, but he could do something. Anything but sit there and watch her struggle.
Biting his lip in frustration, he desperately tried to think of other things he could do for her. After a few minutes of thinking, the answer came to him since it was in his face the whole time. He felt like an idiot for being so dense when his crush needed him the most.
No matter how much he didn't want to wake her, he had to. She was still wearing her school uniform, and he could tell the outfit was constricting her lungs and making it even harder to breathe.
Jaune technically already kissed her in her sleep, but he certainly wouldn't change her. He knew there were limits.
He soothingly trickled his fingers through her damp bangs. "Weiss, I need you to wake up."
She stirred with a groan. "Why are you still here…?" she glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's passed ten o'clock."
"I'm staying," the boy replied calmly. "No one else is here to take care of you."
"You can't... there's… school tomorrow," she said in between pants.
"Don't talk much, okay?" Jaune replied. "I know there's school, but we're using that day to get you recovered and there's nothing you can say to make me think otherwise. The reason I woke you up is for you to change clothes. You have to be uncomfortable in that uniform."
Weiss didn't say anything and pulled off the covers. She strained to gather the energy required to sit up, but Jaune realized her efforts and coaxed her.
He was concerned that the silence was broken by her labored breathing. A pang went through his heart, he hated seeing her like this.
He helped her stand and held on to her arm since he didn't trust her to walk on her own. However, she was the one to lead him to the dresser.
"Go to the… bathroom while I change," Weiss tried to demand firmly.
Jaune wasn't about to argue and obeyed. Yeah, he was worried but he didn't want to make her even more uncomfortable.
"Okay," he went to the bathroom and shut the door.
He put his ear against the door to make sure he didn't hear anything concerning. This way, he could come running in case something happened to Weiss. However, his heart thrummed at the thought of her changing right outside the door. To distract himself, his eyes lingered on her bathroom counter.
In the corner of his eye, he saw something he certainly didn't expect to see. He walked over to the paper with wide eyes, and failed to stifle a gasp.
He picked up the comic and examined it. Practically squealing, he began to flip through the pages and wondered why Weiss had it.
This particular comic just happened to be his favorite series! It was only available for one day, so it was considered rare.
After a couple of minutes, he heard a feeble voice say. "You can come in now."
Jaune held on to the comic and walked in to find Weiss wearing a baggy white t-shirt and nike shorts. He was glad she chose something more loose-fitting to allow her to breath freely. Her hair was no longer in a side ponytail and was now a free-flowing blanket of white.
And she still looked stunning.
"Glad to see you're alright," he said, breaking the silence.
Weiss crossed her arms. "I was just changing," she saw the comic in his hand. "Oh… you found it."
Jaune held up the comic and walked over to her. "This? Why do you have this anyways?"
"I thought you might want it…" she trailed off with her eyes firmly on the boy. "I know it's your favorite series so…"
"Oh my gosh!" Jaune let out a squeal. "Thank you so much!" he couldn't contain his excitement and hugged her tightly.
Weiss didn't return the embrace since she was too exhausted to do so, her arms slack by her side. He remembered the condition she was in when he felt her erratic heartbeat and ragged breathing.
I didn't think it would mean that much to him.
Jaune soon noticed that the embrace had taken a strain on her when she had gone limp and leaned completely onto him.
"I'm sorry," he supported all her weight as he brought her down to the floor to coax her in a position to carry. "Let's get you back to bed."
Weiss let out a whimper, far too fatigued to protest.
He gently laid her down on the bed and pulled up the covers to give her warmth.
"Before you go back to sleep you need to take more medicine."
Jaune grabbed the pills and water from the nightstand and held them out for her to take.
I took medicine before?
She figured that everything so far had been hazy anyways, so she didn't question it.
Weiss took the medicine and sighed in relief after the cold water trickled down her throat.
Jaune found himself staring at her lips.
The last time she took the medicine…
"Thank you, Jaune."
He's a genuine guy. I can never repay him for what he's done.
Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, but once what she had said registered in his brain, Jaune stood there in shock. Never had she called him by his first name. It had always been 'Arc' or 'scrawny Arc.'
Never 'Jaune.'
She said it in a calm and sincere tone as well, so he felt oddly accomplished.
He noticed that she'd begun to shiver in her bed.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Mhmm," she replied. "Ju-just a little chilly is all."
Jaune could solve that problem. "Do you have any spare blankets in here?"
"In the closet," Weiss nodded toward a massive door in the corner of the room. "There should be some on top of the shelves."
Jaune wandered toward the big door in the corner of the room and opened it. Inside, he was greeted by the mysteries of a woman's wardrobe. He looked up and saw the blankets stacked neatly on top of one another. The shelf was so high that a step stool was required to reach them.
Once he grabbed the blankets and headed back to Weiss in her bed. He carefully wrapped them around her. By the time he was finished, she'd looked like she was buried in a mound of blankets, save for her head, which was sticking out.
"There," he slapped his hands together. "Feel better?"
"I feel like an irritated eskimo in the Arctic," Weiss replied.
"Hmmm," Jaune hummed.
There was another way he could warm her up, so he pulled the blankets off her and slid into the bed beside her.
"Wha-what are you doing?" Weiss squeaked out as Jaune settled himself beside her.
"Warming you up!" He slid closer to her, offering up his body heat to keep the heiress warm.
"But…" She tried to argue, but the heat that his body generated was too much to resist, and Weiss curled into the source of warmth.
So warm… he smells like pine...
She let out a relieved sigh when his toasty feet enshrouded a blanket of warmth around hers.
Jaune blushed madly as he watched her face slowly unfurrow.
Their faces were mere inches apart. He could feel her gentle breathing and calm heartbeat.
It was a huge improvement from a few hours ago.
To help her nod off, he stroked his fingers through her hair. His mom always did that when he was sick, and it provided him with comfort, so he figured she'd feel protected too.
Weiss nuzzled in the crook of Jaune's neck, seeking more warmth. Her hands were wrapped tightly around his waist. He could practically feel her icy hands slowly soak up the heat.
As she nuzzled his neck, he moved his chin to rest on top of her hair.
That's when the scent of lavender lingered in his nose.
The last time he smelled it this close was when Weiss had tripped and he caught her.
She had been so intent on running away…
And yet here he was, embracing the girl of his dreams while she slept.
He noticed she stopped shivering and took comfort in that fact.
After enough time had passed and Weiss had fully fallen asleep, he decided that it was a good time for him to leave the bed. He was a gentleman, after all. He wasn't too keen on the idea of her waking up in confusion.
Jaune tried to pull himself up out of the bed. As he did, Weiss whimpered slightly, and locked her hands around his waist with an iron grip. She pulled him back in and sighed as she nuzzled her head back into the crook of his neck.
Realizing that she wasn't going to let him go, Jaune wrapped his arm around Weiss, pulling her closer to him.
Her gentle breathing provided him with a sense of comfort, knowing she was already improving.
It wasn't long before the two drifted off in a deep slumber…
Rom-com rules: the sick episode and sharing an umbrella during a downpour.
Behold: the fluff baby *sniffle* beautiful, isn't she?
Mother of god… I've never written so much fluff shoved into one chapter. Hope it was decent! But really, message me if you're even remotely interested about the free ticket for RTX!
