A/N: At this point in the story the timeline gets a little… wonky, but hopefully still believable. There's not much to say. Uh. I like pizza. Sometimes I can't help but spend money on things I don't need. potNpaN stands for Potatoes and Pancakes. This chapter was fun to write and emotionally charged. I think.
Hope y'all enjoy :)
Guest 1: Uh… huh.
Guest 2:Short?! Short?! Literally my longest chapter ever XD
Guest 3: Hahaha XD Yeah they do
That guy: Thanks for the reviews! But, uh, could you, you know, try and keep it down to one review a chapter? XD
Blake couldn't remember the last time she visited someone in the hospital. Actually, she might've never gone to the hospital before.
She stood outside of Jaune's room awkwardly holding a get well card, which she only got because she was sure that was something you were supposed to do when visiting a friend in the hospital. With a small sigh she got a little closer and raised a fist to knock on the door, only to notice that Jaune wasn't alone inside of the room. Her ears underneath her ever-present bow perked up a little and she picked up the last snatches of sound coming from inside.
"—I'm sorry Jaune, but I can't do it any longer. I hope you understand."
The voice was old and weary, but insistent. It took Blake a little while, but she recalled the image of the tiny old man that owned the bar Jaune worked at. What were they talking about?
"It's alright. I… understand." There had been a long pause between what Jaune had said and what the owner had said, and it only confirmed to Blake that they were talking about something sensitive, making her curiosity pique.
"Thank you. And… I'm sorry." Those were the last words that she heard when the door clicked open, revealing the old man standing there, surprised to see Blake standing in front of him.
"Oh! You must be visiting Jaune right now." He said kindly, smiling up to Blake. She nodded meekly.
"Yes sir."
The man nodded along thoughtfully, stroking the slight beard that he sported on his chin. "Hm. Yes. He needs a bit of company right now. Be a dear and make sure he's alright for me? I have some business due back at the bar that I can't leave off."
"Of course, sir, leave him to me." Blake answered, not minding seeing as how that was what she was planning anyways when she came here. The man's smile grew a franction and he leaned over to pat her shoulder.
"Such good friends." The man said quietly, before wandering off. "He needs someone to remind him of that."
Blake kept her eyes on the man until he rounded the corner, shoulders lowering with every step that the old man took. Without another distraction, Blake turned back towards Jaune's room, looking through find Jaune lying on the far end of the room, looking through one of the windows. At the angle that Blake was, she couldn't see his expression, but judging from his posture…
Blake had a little bit of experience at witnessing hurt, and right now Jaune was displaying an obvious case of it. Lightly she strode forward, the heels on her boots not making a sound as she found a spot to stand next to Jaune, her hands clasped behind her back as she waited for him to notice her.
It took longer than expected. Jaune stared out the window for a while, thinking about who-knows-what, and didn't move for so long Blake wasn't sure if this was actually a mannequin of the bartender instead of the actual person. It was only when Jaune sighed and his fist gently hit the bed covers that Blake was reassured of that question, the bedridden boy very much alive.
He turned and looked at Blake, jerking backwards in surprise, his heart monitor spiking up in response to the surge of adrenaline. The cat faunus winced, not meaning to scare the boy.
"Sorry." She said quietly, taking a step back. Jaune clutched at his chest and heaved a breath, before forcing out a little laugh, waving away the apology.
"No it's fine. Should've realized that you were there." Jaune smiled, his lips curving upwards slowly. "Thanks for taking your time to visit me."
"It was my pleasure." Blake said quickly, more out of politeness than anything else. She hesitated before pulling out the get well card, which had a picture of a cat hanging off of a branch in a cute manner, with the words 'Hang in There!' written on the bottom. She handed it to Jaune, who took the card gingerly. "My, uh, team wanted to give you this." Jaune thanked her and opened the card, his eyes scanning through the contents of the personally handwritten letters that Blake's team had wrote inside, his face shining with happiness. His eyes stopped scanning for a second and an eyebrow raised up in amusement, lips quirking as he looked up at Blake.
"Well it was nice knowing that they had attached a present to the card." Jaune said, chuckling. Blake didn't know about any gift, and blinked in confusion, not sure what Jaune meant.
"They did?"
The blonde nodded, turning to show Blake the card, pointing to a specific sentence that Yang had written in.
"I hope you enjoy your very own cat, the one on the picture… and the one in real life." Blake closed her eyes, pinching the bridge between her eyes. "Yang." She said the word like it was a curse, shaking her head. It only made Jaune laugh a little louder, only cutting it off when he started to cough, wincing in pain every time he did so. Blake put a hand on his shoulder, not sure what to do in this situation, hoping that Jaune wasn't going to suddenly cough up blood or something while she was there.
"I'm—I'm alright, I'm alright." Jaune reassured, even though Blake hadn't said anything. "Man, these coughs are really getting on my nerves."
"At least it means that you're still here." Blake retorted, before freezing and internally slapping herself for bringing up such a touchy subject. Jaune didn't say anything though, not really reacting much except for his eyes turning a little sadder, his smile shrinking by a few degrees.
"Yeah," Jaune agreed, eyes falling to his hands. "At least I'm still here."
The two of them fell silent, neither knowing how to carry on the conversation. Blake scrambled to try and find something to say, and failed miserably, her ears flattening under the bow as she wished she could just turn around and leave, except for the fact that it would only make things even worse. And she had already promised the old man that she wouldn't leave Jaune alone right now.
"So, you guys ready for your first mission yet?"
Jaune was the first one to try and cut through the tension, asking a relatively harmless question. He had already heard from Weiss and Yang about how there was going to be a mission a few days after their dance, and he was genuinely curious about how it was going to go. Blake sighed in relief, glad to have something to talk about, which was a first for her.
"We're going to be going off to the southwest border to investigate something about the Grimm." Blake answered, hands moving as she explained. "We don't know who our Huntsman is going to be, but…" She shrugged, "I don't think I would particularly mind. After all, a Huntsman is a Huntsman."
Jaune nodded. "Yeah, they're all pretty badass in their own way, right? I mean, look at you guys. Already super cool and not even full Huntresses yet." Blake smiled at his compliment and thanked him. Eager to continue with the conversation, Blake decided to ask a question back.
"So what was you and your boss talking about?"
Blake only had time to see Jaune's eyes widen before he bowed his head, a hand scratching the back of his neck. He let out a little laugh before looking back up, a careful mask set over his face.
"How much did you hear?"
The cat faunus shook her head, her bow flapping around and following the motion. "Only the last few words. Not much."
The bartender shifted uncomfortably, his lips twitching as if he didn't want to smile, yet forced himself to do so all the same. He coughed a little into one hand, closing his eyes briefly in pain.
"So," Jaune started to talk, and his voice went incredibly low, where Blake had to focus on his words to understand what he was saying. "My boss. He… thinks that it would be best if- if I didn't work behind the counter. For my best interests."
Blake stood there, blinking at Jaune.
"He fired you?" Blake said in disbelief, piecing everything together.
"No, he's not firing me!" Jaune said quickly, shaking his head. "He, uh. He suggested that I work the tables for a little while. Until… well, until I get…. Better." Jaune finished lamely, eyes not meeting the Blake's. That didn't sound as bad, but still made the girl frown. She crossed her arms and one of her ears twitched under her bow in irritation.
"So he's demoting you."
"Well I'm still getting paid the same," Jaune protested, "which is way better than what he could've done to me so… I have to be thankful for that." Jaune shrugged, trying to play it off as if he didn't care all that much. It wasn't a very good act, seeing how tightly Jaune's hands gripped the bed sheets, and how Jaune steadfastly refused to look at Blake in the eyes.
The quiet girl didn't know what to say. Dust, she didn't even know what to think. She knew that Jaune loved his job. Even when he acted strangely, even when he wasn't in his brightest moods, it was obvious that he loved what he did. Every time he made a drink for someone, there was a care in what he did, a perfection that could only be reached by someone who truly cared about how they made their drinks. Every time one of his customers sighed in happiness, or closed their eyes in appreciation, Jaune's smile only grew and he stood a little straighter.
And now, after he lost so much, he was going to lose something else that he loved?
Blake wasn't sure how Jaune could take it.
It wasn't her business, yet she still felt like she wanted to get angry for him, go and find the owner and demand him let Jaune work behind the bar again. One part of her wanted to do something like that. The other part of her…
The other part of her knew that it was the right decision to make.
Jaune had almost lost his life because of his… habit, and Blake had a feeling that alcohol didn't help deter the bartender for making a decision like that. Jaune staying dry was a good thing, and doing that meant cutting him off of the easiest means for him to acquire such beverages. It hurt in the short run, but it would help in the long run.
But that didn't mean Blake had to like seeing Jaune hurting so much.
And when her teammates caught wind of the news…
She didn't even want to imagine how they would react, what they would do to try and cheer Jaune up. They always meant well, but she knew that they wouldn't think it through, that they would do something that would ultimately hurt Jaune. Sure, Weiss might be able to logically think it through and accept it, but if she found out at the same time as Ruby and Yang, Blake couldn't trust that Weiss wouldn't be swept away by the emotions and act rashly.
It didn't take much longer for Blake to decide that she would hold off on telling her team about the news.
Jaune watched Blake the entire time she went through everything in her mind, and smiled sadly as he saw what conclusion she had come to. He had decided to do the same thing, after agonizing about the choice for a little while.
It was the best choice, even if Jaune didn't have to like it.
Blake sighed, shaking her head again. "Yang was looking forward to having a victory strawberry sunrise after our mission."
The commend wasn't meant to be barbed, but still pierced Jaune's heart, making him wince.
"Y-yeah. She might have to wait a little longer than that." Jaune snorted in amusement as a thought presented itself to him. "At least Weiss won't have to worry about getting a bad mix from me again."
"Weiss—" Blake stopped herself from raising her voice, taking a slow breath. "Weiss doesn't mean that. She loves your drinks."
The boy looked at her with sad eyes, his smile sadder and sadder as time went by.
"I know." Jaune looked away quickly, hands moving in an uncertain manner, mouth opening to say something… before closing again, his expression turning a little sheepish.
"So… how was the dance?" The question was awkward, pulled out of the blue, but it helped progress the conversation, something that Blake was glad for.
"It was nice." She answered. "It was a success in Yang and Weiss's eyes at least. Yang even got Ruby to dance." Jaune cocked an eyebrow, surprised.
"Really?"
The faunus chuckled, nodding. "It wasn't very good, but she did it. We had a good time." Blake murmured, the small smile lingering on her face. It was nice to see, and Jaune mirrored her expression, her mood infectious.
"How about yourself?" Blake's bow perked up a little, a silent question on her face. "You talked about your teammates, but how about you? Did you go to the dance with anyone?" The way Jaune asked the question made Blake's eyes narrow a little, a suspicious thought popping into her mind.
"You encouraged Sun to ask me to the dance, didn't you?"
The blonde didn't deny it, smiling as he asked, "You had fun, didn't you?" Blake crossed her arms, an amused smile on her face.
"I guess. Until you…" Blake stopped talking, accidentally tripping over the subject they had so meticulously tried to avoid. "Sorry." She said weakly, berating herself mentally for such a mistake. She usually wasn't one that usually had slips of the tongue, which made the mistake much more glaring. Jaune interrupted her thoughts by reaching over and patting her hand, smiling reassuringly at her.
"It's alright." There was a grin. "For the record, I'm sorry for interrupting your date. Hopefully he'll make up for it next time."
Blake made a doubtful noise, her hair fluttering as she shook her head. "It wasn't a date. And I doubt there's going to be a next time." Jaune didn't have to ask why not, seeing her glare at him. He wasn't so oblivious not to realize what she meant.
"It wasn't their fault, you know that right? It was my fault for choosing to… to fall back into the habit."
Blake's glare didn't let up. In fact, Jaune felt it get a little sharper, her fists bunching up. "They shouldn't have put that decision on an minor in the first place!"
"They meant well." Jaune defended, to Blake's growing exasperation.
"Meaning well and doing wrong aren't wholly separate Jaune." The way she said that sounded familiar. Looking at her face, Jaune could see the pain in her eyes. Her words didn't feel like her own, as if she was repeating something that someone else had said. Then again, knowing how obsessive Blake could be with dealing justice and protecting her friends, it made sense that she might've heard those exact same words before.
"You can't blame them for trying their best." Jaune repeated stubbornly. "If they knew about… my problems, they wouldn't have done the same. If you're going to get mad at anyone, get mad at me for drinking when I knew I shouldn't have." His words were firm and insistent, eyes sharp. Blake's were the same, and neither of them willing to back down.
"You make it sound like I'm not mad at you either," Blake finally tore her gaze away from the boy, shaking her head. "You of all people should know better." Better than to consume alcohol? Fall back into an unhealthy vice? Go out randomly and try and get oneself killed? Yeah, he knew better. That didn't mean it was required of him to make that choice.
Jaune shrunk down a little bit, closing his eyes as his body started to flare up in pain again. It was short, but extremely debilitating, and didn't allow for him to speak or move for a few seconds, his body paralyzed until the pain stopped, Jaune drawing out a ragged breath. Who knew lying in bed could be more exhausting than walking about, Jaune thought in grim humor.
"Do you need me to call a doctor?"
Of course Blake noticed what was practically a seizure from where she was standing. She was the last person Jaune would consider blind after all. Not trusting himself to speak, Jaune shook his head, using those precious few seconds to make sure that his vocal cords wouldn't betray him.
"I'm fine," Jaune finally said, knowing that neither of them believed what he said, but saying so anyways. "I just… I probably just need to relax a bit more. Maybe if you forgave Sun and Neptune, I'd have an easier time relaxing," Jaune added in, half joking. A dark eyebrow rose up, her face unamused. Jaune kept an innocent smile on his face, even fluttering his eyelashes a bit to sell the effect.
"Well, you can't be too bad if you're still able to joke around like that," Blake muttered, exasperated by how lightly Jaune was taking his own health. There was a pause before she talked again, her tone tight and resigned. "But I guess if it does make you feel better," Blake sighed, lips pursed in a thin line, "I'll… talk with Sun and Neptune. But no promises." She added fiercely.
"That's all I ask for." Jaune relented, happy that he got even that much out of someone who was usually so stubborn.
With another topic moving past the point of conclusion, the two of them went quiet again. This time however, Blake had something that she wanted to talk about, but just wasn't sure how to ask it. It took a while, Jaune not really in a chatty mood, trying to recover some of his strength, and Blake simply over thinking things.
"Jaune," Blake said, the boy turning to look at her. "You… said that you had wanted to be a Hunter before, didn't you?" The blonde nodded. Again the cat faunus paused, still not capable of saying what she wanted in the correct manner. "Do you—do you know why you were rejected from Beacon?"
A frown appeared on his face, his visage making it obvious that he didn't really want to talk about this. It got to the point where Blake almost decided to backtrack and find something else to talk about, before Jaune decided to speak up.
"I don't really know. You don't really get a list of criteria to check off when you're applying to an academy, you know?" Jaune chuckled. "I mean, it wasn't as if I would get many checks off of that list anyways, right?" He counted off his fingers. "Can't fight Grimm, not much of a role model, runs away from everything, get motion sickness…" Jaune shrugged, putting his hands back down on his lap. "I mean, the list goes on."
"You get motion sickness?" It was the first thing that stuck in her mind.
Jaune snorted, nodding. "Trust me, it's real bad. I'd almost prefer fighting a Beowulf again over going on an airship. I'd actually come out a little better too, I think." He added thoughtfully, actually going through it in his mind. It was strange to see him think of something so life-threatening and compare it to something as harmless as flying on a ship. Given, Grimm could sometimes attack those ships, and there were malfunctions that could spell doom for the passengers, but to compare it to almost dying, that—
No, she was getting distracted.
"Never mind that," Blake said, shaking her head at herself, remembering what she wanted to ask him about. "You're not as bad as you think, Jaune." She said firmly. The boy raised an eyebrow.
"'Not as bad as you think you are'." He quirked his lips, half amused, half confused. "I'm not sure if that was a compliment or not."
"It was. It is." Blake cursed at herself, getting tired of getting run around by someone like Jaune. "What I meant was," She breathed in, closing her eyes. "You're more than qualified to be a Hunter."
Opening her eyes revealing a Jaune that wasn't pleasantly surprised at what she said, or even happy at the compliment. The Jaune that she received had hard eyes and a bitter smile, fists bunched up around the bed sheets that he lay in.
"I don't need any fake compliments Blake. I know exactly how useful I would be as a Hunter. I've got proof of it right here." The boy spread his hands out wide, gesturing to the whole of his body. "You'll have to be a better liar than that to convince me otherwise."
"No, that's not it." Blake held out an open palm, stopping Jaune from saying anything else. "That's not what I mean." Frustration was settling in as she wished she was better at cheering people up than this. Ruby could've done this in her sleep, Blake thought to herself. "What I meant was… that you have the... heart of a Hunter." It was a terribly clichéd sounding phrase, something she wouldn't have found in any of her well-written books, but it was an apt description for the boy. "You're not a coward. You're brave. I can't think of anyone else who would willingly go and fight Grimm without any experience and no Aura. Even I wouldn't be able to do something like that."
"That's because you would actually think things through." Jaune retorted.
"Shut up." Blake snapped, tired of the boy interrupting her just to put himself down. She had enough of the self-pity that he was wallowing in, and she would find a way to drag him out, whether he wanted to or not. "You need to stop talking about how bad you are, because you probably have the most inaccurate perception of yourself out of everybody you know!"
"Th- that doesn't even make any sense!" Jaune protested, Blake happy that she wasn't the one being thrown off guard for once.
"It makes perfect sense, now be quiet!" Blake pointed a threatening finger at him, making Jaune's jaw snap shut. She waited to see if he would say anything else before continuing on.
"If I went out now and asked all of your friends what they think about you… and then compared them to what you think about you, we'd find that the two descriptions are nothing alike." She scowled and prodded a finger into his shoulder. "And could you give me a reason why that's the case?"
"Because you guys don't know everything about me—" A long black ribbon wrapped itself around his mouth, gagging him before he could finish his sentence. He let out an indignant noise, which Blake ignored happily as she continued to talk.
"The reason is because you think of yourself in the worst of ways. And I'm not saying that's a hundred percent your fault." Blake paused, closing her eyes as she remembered the things that she had done in the past. "Everyone's critical of their own mistakes. Everyone puts themselves down because of the things they did wrong. No one except you is going to know everything that you've mess up, but that doesn't matter." Blake shook her head again, for what was probably the six hundredth time. "Your mistakes aren't as bad as you think they are, even," Blake glared at Jaune as glared at her, wanting to point out some of his dire mistakes, "even the ones that feel like they're terrible." For someone who wasn't in critical condition, Blake already felt wearier than Jaune did. "Your self-esteem warps your perception of yourself. It makes you see something different when you look in the mirror. The people who're your friends, the people you confide in and talk with? We don't have that trashed-up filter over our eyes." Blake shrugged. "Sure, we might have a different kind of bias… but I think if we put together a dozen or more of your friends and ask them what they think of you… you'd find a much more accurate description than the one you give yourself."
Jaune hadn't said a word as Blake lectured him. She was pointing out his obvious flaws, telling him how wrong he was about himself, which seemed preposterous. But with every stern glare that she sent him, every repetitive word where she described how he was wrong… his chest tightened, and not because of any sort of pain. When the ribbon loosened enough for Jaune to speak, he kept his head down, hair covering his eyes.
"…Do you really think that… that I've got a heart of a Hunter?" He asked quietly, voice shaky. Blake was glad that he wasn't looking at her as she nodded, a small blush appearing on her face.
"It's… a little cheesy, and if I had the time to put it in any other way, I would. But yes. I think you do."
Jaune shut his eyes tight, shaking in relief. "Okay then."
The girl beside him opened her mouth, and closed it again, before opening her mouth once more. "You know… You don't have to go to an academy to be a Hunter."
The bartender raised his head, a quizzical look on his face. "What do you mean?" There was uncertainty written clearly across her face, and Blake's body language resembled a cat that was ready to bolt, clearly not wanting to take a bath.
"I mean…" Blake wasn't sure if she thought what she was going to say was a good idea, but said it anyways. "I could unlock your Aura. And I could help you train. All— all of Team RWBY, and probably a few others would be glad to help you learn how to… to protect."
There was a pregnant pause, the tension in the air thicker than porridge, so thick that Blake swore she had a little trouble breathing. When Jaune didn't say anything, she kept talking, a bad habit that she probably picked up from her leader.
"I mean, yeah, it's frowned on for me to unlock a civilian's aura, but I know that you're a hard worker, and it wouldn't take long to show everyone that you're Hunter material. We could go on the weekends with my team out hunting to give you some experience, and—"
"Thank you, Blake."
The black-haired girl cut herself off mid-sentence, looking at the unmoving Jaune. Blond hair fell back as his head raised upwards, his eyes finally meeting hers. The smile on his face was… genuine, for once, and that alone was enough to stun Blake into the silence that she had found herself in.
"I appreciate what you're trying to do." Jaune continued, his eyes going down to his hands again, "And a part of me really, really wants to be a Hunter still." His thumbs went over and under each other, Blake's eyes drawn to the only movement inside of the room. "But… I don't think I deserve that chance yet. Hear me out," Jaune stopped Blake this time, holding out a hand to ask for a little more silence from the girl. "I know what you guys think of me. And it's… amazing, to have so many people believe in me this much. I… want to believe you. I want to believe that I'm this great guy that can help." Jaune's body was shaking for an entirely different reason now. "But I can't. Not yet." It was obvious that was what Jaune had been working towards saying, but it still made Blake's heart ache a little, seeing how hurt and helpless the blonde in front of her was.
"But you know what? This time it's different." Jaune whispered, almost talking to himself more than he was talking to her. "I have… I have friends that are willing to support me, and I'm not- I'm not alone. I'm not." Jaune's eyelids shuttered, and a tear was able to escape. "I'm going to- to need help. A lot of it." He laughed a little before continuing. "But I want…" Jaune stopped talking, his chest rising and falling rapidly. When he looked up, Blake couldn't help but take a step back, seeing how much desperation and pure hope was reflected in his eyes.
"I want to change." His voice cracked with emotion, as one more tear, and another, and another followed the first one, his hand reaching out to grab hers.
She didn't pull away.
"Please… help me." His knees pulled forward, as if his body wanted to curl up into a fetal position, as if he wanted to shut himself out after opening himself up so much. Blake couldn't help herself. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him, and for once, hugging someone didn't feel all that uncomfortable. It felt warm.
"Of course I'll help you." Blake murmured. "And I can speak for my team that everyone there would do the same." She squeezed him tightly. "I promise."
The hurt and lonely boy tightened her grip on her, burying his head into her shoulder.
"Thank you." Jaune choked out. "Thank you."
The two of them stayed like that, Blake not sure if she was really comforting him, but holding on anyways, wanting to make this feeling last for as long as possible. She had always considered him a good friend. When she first met him, she found a person who was actually willing to simply not pry into her life. When she felt miserable, he would ask if she was alright, and when she said that she was fine… he left her alone.
After he made her a drink that felt like warmth and comfort.
Something about Jaune made her trust in him. He had this openness to him, but also an air of mystery around him. He was like a good friend that you could whine about, but also trust in never telling a soul. There was something about the way he carried himself, a subtle pain and a mask to hide away his feelings that reached out to her, reminded her of herself.
Jaune was the second person Blake told about her heritage, after she revealed what she was to her whole team. And there was no judgment. There was acceptance, and a brief quip of advice that stayed in her mind even to this day.
I know it's hard to trust people, especially after your lifestyle and the way that you've had to live, but… believe in yourself. Believe in both humanity and faunuskind. Believe in good. You'll find yourself surprised to see where it pops up.
And she was surprised. She found good in humans like Cardin, who seemed to radically change one day, repenting for what he had done wrong, personally apologizing to the people he had bullied. She found good in a Schnee, just when she thought that all of them were evil and manipulative, only out to make as much profit as they could capture.
She found good in a lonely bartender, who went out of his way to welcome her even when she had been inhospitable and downright rude to him the first time she had come there, shoved in by her grinning partner.
And now it was his turn to face the truth, to see the good in people, and dust, she was going to do it. Even if she had to grab everyone Jaune's affected and tie them up to bring them to him, she would do it.
Because he deserves to believe in Good.
When Jaune shifted to pull back, Blake quickly let go, smiling at the hesitant boy.
"Sorry about… all of this. I guess the drugs they're putting me on 're making me a little weepy." The blonde boy scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, turning away to hide the blush on his face. "You can- you can ignore what I just said a minute ago. If you want."
Blake crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, and Jaune could feel it even if he wasn't looking at her. "You must think me crazy if you think I'm going to ignore something like that." The red on his face slowly migrated quickly, his neck almost reaching the same shade as well. "Besides, I'm getting tired of seeing you all dark and gloomy. It doesn't suit you."
The jovial face that Blake was used to seeing when she walked into Jaune's bar returned, the smallest spark of mischief flashing in his eyes.
"Says the girl who only knows how to wear white and black." He teased, a smirk spreading on his face. Blake scoffed, tossing her hair.
"It's matches my bow." She retorted, smiling back at him. The boy laughed loudly, happy to discover that his ribs didn't seem to stop him either.
"I'm sure it does." He said, blinking back happy tears. "I'm sure it does."