Hey there readers!

So, here comes the final chapter and confession time. Again, I really felt like I could have done MUCH better, but don't know how. Being on vacation recently and crippling writer's block didn't help either. I'm thankfully back into it now, but I'm still fairly dissatisfied with the result.

But I hope this is more satisfying to you than it is to me!

Enjoy!

Jaune stared intensely at the Scroll that he held in his hand, observing the message he had yet to send to a certain red cloaked girl whom had recently won his affections.

Ruby,

Meet me in the front courtyards in 15 minutes, I need to talk to you.

Jaune

He almost had simply sent a message stating his feelings of love for the girl to get it over with and hope for the best, but felt like his chances would be much better if he told her in person. But he also knew that it would be more difficult for him to go through with it, knowing that he probably would get tongue-tied and nervous. He was having difficulty going through with it now. The second before he clicked 'send', he stopped and slowly retracted his hand. Anxiety crippled his former bravery and left him where he stood now: Sitting on his bed totally still, looking at the unsent message knowing that once he clicked that 'send' button, there was no going back.

But was he ready to admit how he felt to Ruby? Was he ready to take such a massive leap in their relationship? Was she ready? If he confessed and she didn't love him back, it would make their friendship excessively awkward and perhaps even crumble. Jaune didn't want that. He really didn't want that.

But he also wanted to get these feelings off of his chest and let her know how he felt. It also gave him a sliver of hope on the even slightest chance that Ruby loved him as well. Of course he would love for her to be his girlfriend, if the odds could be in his favor. His mind began to wander at that thought, of being with her. He would definitely do all he could do to make her happy. Not just because Yang would kill him otherwise, but because he would want to. And he knew that she would try to recuperate that caring nature to him. And she would try and make him happy, and he would try and make her happy. She would be there for him, and he would be there for her. It was nice to think about having someone like that in your life. Someone you could always count on, someone who would always be around, someone who would love you as much as you loved them.

It was then that Jaune made up his mind. To him, it all was worth the risk, all he had to do was tell her. He tapped the 'send' button before he changed his mind again. He then tucked away his Scroll and made his way to the courtyards. There was no turning back now.

Ruby began anxiously pacing back and forth in her dorm room, reciting how to admit to loving the blonde boy.

"Hey, Jaune. I want to let you know that I really like you … no, no, no. Not that. Jaune, I love you … no, it can't just be that. It sounds too lame. Jaune, I … I …"

She groaned frustrated as she collapsed hopelessly on her bed in defeat. She had been trying to find the right words to say to Jaune in order to confess to him for what felt like hours, even if realistically, it couldn't have been more than half an hour. It was proven to be much more difficult than the girl had imagined, completely unlike the fairy tales where everyone said the perfect words at the perfect time in the perfect tone. But here Ruby was, frustrated and annoyed with herself that she couldn't be a wordsmith like all of the princesses or knights were and instead was laying on her poorly constructed bunk bed looking like a mumbling buffoon (which probably wasn't too far from the truth). As she lay on that bunk bed, she considered giving up on confessing to Jaune at all. There was no way he would ever find a romantic interest in someone so naïve, clumsy, or social inept. It simply felt like there was no hope for them to work.

Ding

The sound of her Scroll receiving a message caused the sulking girl's head to rise from her bed in curiosity. She turned over onto her back and leapt off of the bed to the floor before retrieving and opening her device. Her eyes widened and her stomach fluttered as she read the message and saw who had sent it.

Ruby,

Meet me in the front courtyards in 15 minutes, I need to talk to you.

Jaune

The girl's heart skyrocketed with hope as she read the message. She didn't even take the time to nourish the thought of what Jaune wanted to see her for, she was already bolting out the door to the courtyards.

Jaune never knew the extent of his anxiety levels until this very moment in time, and they were going through the roof. His chest was getting tighter and tighter with every passing second as he paced back and forth, having done it so many times that it was amazing that he wasn't wearing down the brick of the stone path.

The possibility of Ruby not showing up began to panic the boy even more. Realistically, he knew that she was not even close to being that shallow, but his mind would not accept any reasoning at the current moment. It was amazing how anxiety and panic can cause such a haze of thought.

Just as he turned on his heel to pace more he was immediately fell to the ground on his back from a sudden ram into his chest by a fast moving figure.

Ruby saw stars as she hazily tried to recover from ramming so hard and fast into a previously overlooked figure, likely another person. She had been so quick to meet Jaune that she gave little thought to her surroundings. That proved to be costly as she had smashed her face into the other person rather harshly. She vividly shook her head in an attempt to clear it as she tried to stabilize herself in order to give a very much owed apology.

But any words she was going to say died on her lips as she realized that she had run directly into the very boy she had been hoping to see.

Jaune's vision went fuzzy and unclear as he struggled to regain composure in order to see who or what had suddenly barged into him. All he could see was the blurry black outline of a single individual standing above him that was extending a hand for him to grab in offered assistance to help him up. He did not question the offered help, he just took the hand and allowed himself to be pulled up to his wobbly feet. Jaune's vision slowly cleared as he mumbled out a hazy thanks to his helper. His vision finally cleared to see that said helper had dark hair, pale skin, great silver eyes, and a flowing red cloak.

His mind came to a sudden halt as Jaune processed that the person in front of him was indeed Ruby. Everything he had planned to say escaped his mind at that moment, just as he had been fearing.

Come on, Arc! Say something!

"Um … h-hey, Ruby."

"Hi…" the girl responded quite shyly.

That's it? I really am an idiot.

"So…how are you doing?"

"Um … o-ok."

"Yeah… me too."

The two team leaders stood there uncomfortably on that large pathway, neither of them exchanging any words or even really maintaining eye contact without looking away. It was then Jaune realized how this greatly mirrored their first encounter: with Jaune helping Ruby up after collapsing onto the hard, unforgiving pavement, even though the roles were reversed and the initial encounter was not this awkward.

"Ruby."

The blonde got the girl's attention as he took a deep breath. This may not have been the most ideal moment to confess his feelings, most might not even have tried at this moment in time. This had to be done here and now.

But Jaune was. He knew that if he didn't do this here and now, he would scramble and cower in fear, his courage to confess would vanish, maybe even forever.

"I've been having these … weird dreams about you for these past few days."

The girl raised an eyebrow to his statement,

"You have?"

Jaune gave a small nod,

"Yeah. Some of them were really good dreams, some of them scared me, some of them made me think. And I've been thinking for a while now and…"

Jaune had to take a moment to finish his sentence, being petrified with those final words. He knew that the girl in front of him was awaiting in anticipation for him to deliver his last few words. There was no way to turn back now. With that, he closed his eyes and said finally,

"And I love you."

There. He said it. All that there was to do left was wait for her response.

That was going to be the hardest part.

Ruby felt herself go stiff with Jaune's words. So he did feel the same way. All of that fear, all of those dreaded 'what ifs' where wiped away with the boy's confession. And it all left her motionless.

"Ruby?" She heard Jaune say, very obvious fear and anxiety flowing with his words. Apparently he was scared of how she felt about him as well. "Rub-"

His words were snagged from his mouth as Ruby responded by very abruptly grabbing him by his shoulders and planting a kiss onto his lips. There were admittedly many more ways for her to respond to the Arc boy's words, but this is the one that came to mind first. She was just so happy that a wave of hormones drowned out her senses and ordered her to do the thing that she had oh-so wanted to do for some time now: kiss the young man that had won her affections and love.

Once she had pulled away from said kiss, she saw that Jaune's gorgeous blue eyes had widened in shock. Before he could say anything else, she wrapped her arms tightly around his chest and snuggled her face underneath his chin. Ruby felt Jaune's chest grow tense and his breathing suddenly ceased at her touch. The silence between them grew more and more uneasy with every passing moment.

Jaune eventually left his shocked state to return the embrace as he wrapped his arms around Ruby's waist.

"So … does this mean that you love me too?"

Ruby grinned at the blonde's shy questioning. She decided to answer his question by placing another smooch onto his shocked lips. This time, she let it linger long enough for the Arc boy to close his eyes and kiss back.

She was sure that he got the message now.

Well, there you have it! Again, if this was anything but satisfying, I'll understand.

Until next time readers and writers!