Author's note: So I want to do a pairing, but I don't want it right away. I thought I'd lay everyone's emotions on the table before I put it all off until later. XP

Anyway, there's a poll on my profile, I'll decide a pairing based on that and on what I feel like when I develop the story a little more. I just love reading reviews, it lets me know what you people think, so yeah, reviews are a thing.

"Morning Jaune," he woke to find the small girl poking her head in through the doorframe, "good to see you're awake."

"Good to be awake, I guess," he tried his best to fake a chuckle and laugh.

"I, uh, found your book," Ruby brought out her hands from behind her back to reveal the small journal, "I might have accidentally read some of it."

"Oh…" he murmured, not knowing what to say or how to feel.

She came closer to hug the boy. After several minutes he could feel the wetness on his clothes where her eyes met his body. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I should have noticed earlier. Maybe I did notice, but I didn't want to believe it."

"No, Ruby, I don't-," he was cut off by her hand over his mouth.

"Shh," she hushed him, pulling herself onto his lap, "I'm trying to have a moment here." She held onto him tightly while they waited patiently for her tears to stop. "It's stupid, I'm the only one out of all of us that would cry for you," she broke the silence. "Weiss is the one you love, but she's too stupid to see what she's pushing away, and it's unfair to you and me and her and Pyrrha because I feel this way…"

"Ruby, you…?" he started, but trailed off as he realized what he'd overlooked.

"I love you Jaune," she quietly admitted as the shade of red seemed to crawl across her face, "but I'm just the younger sister, that's all everyone would see me as. For the longest time I wish you'd see me as more than just a friend, or a younger sister, but you'd always ignore me when Weiss was around."

"Ruby, I don't know what to say…" he said, not wanting to disappoint her.

"Then don't say anything you don't mean," She smiled as she got up to leave, "take as much time as you need. I'm a couple years younger; I have time to wait for love."

Jaune stared at the wall in confusion, had he been that oblivious to how others felt? The day passed quickly, the nurses came in occasionally to assess his condition, telling him it was his last night at the facilities. It would be a few hours until he saw her bright red hair enter the room. "I brought your homework, and Ash," she smiled as she watched the cub jump into his lap, "he was restless last night, so I thought he'd want to come see you again."

"Thanks," he said, setting the small stack of papers into the small table. "Look, I'm sorry about yesterday, I just…"

"I said that it's fine, Jaune," the redhead pulled him into a tight hug, "I said I'll forgive you anyway."

"But why?!" he said, on the verge of tears, "I attacked you and tried to force you to kill me… I don't deserve any of your time."

"I forgive you because I love you," she said, pulling away to look into his eyes, "I've stood by your side since initiation, and I found that you were kind, nice and wanted to be my friend. Most men that have approached me saw me as an object, a trophy, but you saw more than that. You can call it cheesy, but I couldn't help falling for the guy who would go out of his way to make a fool of himself just to cheer someone up."

"Pyrrha, I don't deserve your kindness or your love," he averted his focus away from her eyes, "I'm brash, irrational, impulsive and it causes me to make stupid decisions. When I was rejected by Weiss, I put myself into a suicidal rampage on that mission."

"I don't care," She said, leaning in to gently place a kiss on his cheek. "You don't have to tell me how you feel right now. I just thought that you should know," she abruptly stood up and left Jaune to his thoughts.

"I heard what you really thought of me," Jaune woke to see the white-haired princess in the seat next to the hospital bed. The orange light of the sunset shone beautifully on her pale complexion. He was unaware that he had fallen asleep.

"Why are you here?" He sat up. Weiss could feel the ice in his words.

"Well, I heard Ash was here," she looked down to find the cub playing with the toy that she waved around, "and I wanted to thank you for what you did for me. I never did thank you for saving me twice. So, thanks, what you said and what you did were sweet."

"If that's all, you can leave," he pointed at the door without even as much as a glance.

"I'm sorry," she dropped the toy. "I didn't realize you would go so far for me, even after I told you all those things," she said, presenting the source of the pain in her chest.

"So that's it?" he said as he finally made eye contact, "You're just here so you don't have to feel guilty?! I didn't have to save you; I could have left you to die both times. But you know what the kicker is?!"

He paused for her to look up at him, reluctant to answer, "What is it?"

"I would have done it anyway!" he exclaimed in mock laughter, "I must be some sort of masochist. I already knew you would never love me, yet I still tried to ask for a date. I could have let you die, gotten over you and moved on, yet you're still here and my pain continues."

"Please, don't say that, why can't you just smile like you always do?" she quietly uttered, too shocked by the hurt in his words. Here was the lovable knight that everyone had grown fond of, the one who was always smiling, even when he was hurt, the one who would always break a melancholic mood with laughter. The one who had accepted who she was, even after when he knew who her family was and her background as an heiress; he still wanted to get to know her. It was true that she felt guilt for rejecting him, but she couldn't bear to see the pain on his face.

"Why can't I just smile?!" the anger welled up inside, "even after all this, you're still being this selfish? What's wrong can't stand feeling guilty?"

"I want to get to know the man who loved me," she screamed. Softening her voice, she spoke again, "I just want to understand why you love me, and why I feel like I'm starting to feel the same. I want to know what it is about you that makes me feel pain to see you hurt."

"Because you feel guilty," he retorted.

"No, that's not what I mean," she said, getting up and sitting at the edge of the bed. "I overheard you and Ruby talking that night before the train crash…" she admitted, grasping his hand, "I heard what you said about me. About how you think I'm graceful, talented and smart."

"I can't help complimenting perfection," he added.

"See, that's what I mean," she said. The sunlight hid her blush, "Growing up, I was expected to grow up a certain way. I craved perfection, but I always thought I wasn't and because of that I couldn't help but push even my teammates away."

"No one's perfect, Weiss," the cliché came to mind as he smiled and left it at that.

"Is that offer to get coffee with you still up?" she sheepishly asked as she played with his fingertips.

"I don't know, Weiss," he sighed, "I've been thinking since I've woken up."

"Just let me know when you've decided," she hugged him goodbye before she left.