This is a collection of one shots based on my "Summer In Argus" story. I decided it would be best to keep them all in one place instead of spamming the sight with a bunch of small stores that don't make sense on their own. They will not be in any particular order, especially not chronologically, and can happen at any point during that summer so I will do my best to make it clear on when each chapter takes place. They will be from multiple characters points of view as the main story only really allowed me to do Weiss'. I hope you all enjoy.
This was not exactly how Ren imagined he would be spending his Friday afternoon, though maybe he should have seen this coming. Then again, he never thought he would live in a world where Weiss would ask out Jaune. The strings of fate truly were a mystery.
He currently found himself sitting in his and Nora's temporary room watching as his leader paced back and forth, muttering to himself about everything and nothing. This was not the first time they were in this position, mainly dealing with Jaune convincing himself he flunked a test or that Cardin was out to get him, and he learned pretty early on that it was best to just let him pace until he tired himself out before talking sense into him. There were probably better solutions, but he simply did not have them.
He wished he had Nora around, her abundance of energy acted as a calming presence for the knight. He said it reminded him of home and his little sisters. Before coming to Beacon he had never seen anyone manage to wrangle the hammer wielder to bed. Yet another play by the strings of fate, pulling them closer to their true family. Unfortunately for the present moment, Weiss had pulled all the girls over to visit Pyrrha. He suspected she was having her own anxieties she wanted to talk through. Why they couldn't just have a cup of tea and meditate was beyond him, but as their family, it was their job to help them.
Having finally tired himself out Jaune collapsed into the bed that Ren was sitting on, it was time to work. "Jaune, can you breathe for me?"
Muffled by a pillow, Jaune let out an annoyed, "I am breathing Ren."
"You know what I mean. Take a slow, deep breath." He waits until the blonde obeys his instructions. "Now, let it out slowly. Let the tension leave your body." As Ren watched, the tension in his body all but melted away. He was still nervous, filled with anxious energy, but they could talk now. "Alright Jaune, I think it's time for us to make a list."
It was a simple technique, one he had read about on the internet while researching therapy methods. You and the other person sat down and created a list of 10 items, and you talked about each item no matter what they were. He read that no matter how ridiculous the list sounded, if the other person felt that it belonged on the list then it deserved his full consideration. It had worked wonders in the past year, Jaune even used this to himself when he was worried about officially asking Nora out.
"Ok, so what's number one?"
"Screwing up?" His voice was quiet, almost like he was afraid of saying it out loud. As if saying it would manifest it into being.
Ren for his part always believed honesty was the best route. "That is always a possibility, but one that is so small it isn't worth considering. The worst that will happen is there is no spark and this will be the last date. Nothing more." Jaune nodded in understanding, "Would you like to move on to number two?"
"My clumsiness. What if I trip and fall into a mud puddle? Or what if I end up spilling my drink all over her?" At this point, Jaune decided he should actually sit up in the bed so he could talk to Ren properly. "My mom always said it was a puberty thing, that my body would eventually start doing what I tell it to do. Yet I'm still tripping over my own feet."
"Unfortunately, there is not much I can do to help you with that. Just try to keep your movements slow and with purpose." He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Besides, she's known you for a year now, perhaps she likes the clumsiness?" That managed to get a small chuckle out of the blond boy.
"You really think that?"
"Well… It's possible." He said with a shrug. "So, shall we move to number three?"
Having calmed down significantly at this point, Jaune found it easier to answer his friend. "My wardrobe, what the hell am I going to wear tomorrow?"
"We can work on that together. Your going to your sister's place so there is no need to get super fancy, but you should still look presentable."
"I'm not sure I have any good clothes, just my day clothes, my Beacon uniform, and my hunting clothes." The mental image of showing up to his date in his hoodie and armor made him groan.
"We can always do some last-minute shopping, but I am sure we will find something in the closet." After a small moment of silence, Ren decided to move on. "So what is number four?"
He could see the nervousness returning in his eyes. "I should pay right?" In all honesty, Ren did not see that question coming. "I mean, Weiss has practically paid for the entire trip. The ride here, a house for all of us to stay in, takeout, the works. I can't ask her to pay for this too, right?"
Ren let out a long sigh. "I do not have a direct answer for that. Old chivalry calls for the man to pay no matter what, but modern-day values call for either a split check or whoever asked to pay. That may have to be an awkward conversation you have to make tomorrow."
Jaune continued, "I just don't want her to think I'm only interested in her money. I don't want her to feel like she has to pay for everything."
"That is an understandable concern. Again, that may be a conversation you have to have together." Growing slightly uncomfortable discussing money, Ren decided to move the list along. "What is number five?"
"What if I run out of things to talk about? I mean come on Ren. I got pop culture, comics, and other nerd shit. Outside the classroom that's all I got! What if she wants to talk about subjects I don't understand and I look stupid?!"
"She doesn't think you're stupid." Ren attempted to console him. "If she wants to talk about things that interest her you do what you always do."
The young knight gave him a confused look, "What do I do?"
"You sit there and listen to every word she says." Seeing the confusion not going away he tried again, "Like you do for Ruby and her weapons, like you do for me and my cooking, like you do for Nora and her dreams, like you do for Yang and her adventures, like you do for Pyrrha and her feelings, and like you do for Blake and… what does Blake talk to you about again?"
"Stress from dealing with school and life mostly, but it's not that often." He started scratching the back of his head, "I think I'm just the backup blond for when Yang isn't around."
"My point being, you listen when we tell you about our interests, or whenever we just need someone to lean on. It's more than sitting there and not talking, you listen."
"Ok, I think I understand."
"Good. Now, number six?"
His cheeks suddenly turned very red, very quickly. "She called me handsome." He all but whispered.
Once again, Ren had been thrown through a loop today. "Ummm, is that a problem?" He asked, genuinely confused.
"No! No, not at all. But can I call her beautiful?"
"I'm afraid I need elaboration."
"I did that all the time when we all first met." Oh, right. While he did not personally witness it, he had heard plenty about his stunt in the locker room before orientation. "Can't say she was a fan of it back then. Or was that just my general attitude she didn't like?"
"As long as you don't try to lean over her and call her snow angel, I think you'll be fine." Jaune gave him an insulted look, but neither of them could keep a straight face for long before they both broke down into a fit of laughter. Before long they ran out of breath and both collapsed back onto the bed, laying side by side. "So, you ready for number seven?"
Catching his breath, Jaune decided on a much more light-hearted item. "What if my sister tries to spend the whole night embarrassing me? Growing up with seven sisters, it kinda became a competition to see who could scare off the potential dates fast enough. While it was funny in a small town setting, I don't think Weiss would see the humor in it."
"If that happens, you ask her for a moment in private and tell her that she is bothering you. Be genuine and kind, as you always are. She will understand."
"Ok, yeah, I guess that one was stupid."
Ren gently hit him on the chest, "None of these are stupid. Your worries are valid, it's why we have the list." He felt Jaune's hand wrap around his, holding him to his chest. "Shall we move on to number eight?"
"I guess it's time to get to the obvious one. What if this doesn't work out?"
"That would be unfortunate, but it is always a possibility." He answered truthfully. "If that happens it will be awkward, but you'll both pull through. We are all friends, and we all love each other. Even if it's not romantically you two will always love each other as well."
Jaune moved on to the ninth item without prompting. "What if my anxieties spike? I've made progress but there are times where I just don't know what to do?" He let go of his hand and sat up again, this time keeping his back to Ren. "I don't want her to see me like that, at least not on a first date."
Ren followed him up but decided against sitting beside him, instead giving him his space while he sat in the center of the bed. "I will keep my scroll near me and in view the entire time. If you feel you need anything, and I mean anything, excuse yourself and call me."
Jaune looked at him with wide eyes, "I can't ask you to sacrifice your night like that."
"You're not asking anything of me, I'm offering. Besides, tomorrow is going to be a quiet night for me." Ren stated with a small smirk on his face. Jaune turned around to give him a questioning eyebrow raise. Ren, a little too satisfied with himself, responded, "I may have asked Taiyang to bring Nora on a hike in the nearby forest. Keeps her out of the city and destroys any attempt to spy on your date. I was planning on finally reading that book Yang lent me, but having my scroll in view will not interrupt that." The mental image of Nora being dragged into the woods by Ruby and Yang's father must have struck a chord with him because as soon as he stopped talking Jaune started snickering. This snickering slowly got louder and louder until they were both having another laughing fit. "And we arrive at the magic number, ten."
Jaune got up from the bed and moved to sit on the desk chair across from Ren. He sat there for a while trying to find the right words for what he wanted to say. "This one may sound weird but… other people?" He started scratching the back of his head again. It was a good thing his hair was so thick, otherwise Ren suspected there would just be one giant scab back there by now. "A lot of the local girls have been talking to me lately. I try to politely hint that I'm not interested but it always seems to take a while for them to understand." He sounded uncomfortable, though Ren couldn't really understand why. "It's not just girls either, a lot of guys have been very bold lately. Yang, Blake, hell even Nora have gotten a lot of attention from the local guys."
Ren raises an eyebrow of his own after hearing that. Though that seemed to send his friend into an immediate backpedal.
"Not that I'm saying they aren't pretty, they all are, especially Nora. She is very-"
"-that's not what I was confused about." He quickly cleared up. "Nora just never mentioned it is all." While he wouldn't say they were one of those couples who 'told each other everything' it was weird for Nora to not mention other men hitting on her.
Jaune at this point just looked flustered, his mini roller coaster of emotions having gotten the better of him for a moment. "Oh. I hope I didn't say something secret. I didn't mean to betray her trust or anything."
"Don't worry, I won't say anything if it doesn't come up." Wanting to avoid any more awkward conversations Ren decided to get back on track. "So you're worried other people may flirt with you while you are on a date?"
"Kinda? It's just, what if someone… better comes up and talks to Weiss? Or if I get hounded by a girl who doesn't take hints?"
"Well first of all Weiss isn't that shallow."
"Of course she isn't!" Jaune exclaimed immediately, an almost protective tone in his voice. Ren for his part just stares at him. "Oh… I'm just going to chalk that one up to nerves." Jaune said as he let out an uneasy laugh.
"Understandable. As for girls trying to flirt with you, you have two options." He held up a single finger. "You can either be more forceful and clear," he raised a second finger, "or you can just wait a few seconds. Really either would work."
"What do you mean."
Ren had to fight to keep his expression neutral. "Weiss has one of the scariest death glares I have ever seen. I don't think anyone will bother you for long with her by your side." She was good at hiding it, he himself only caught glimpses of it at Beacon before she returned her own mask of neutrality. The first time he noticed was during a minor altercation with Dove. The young sword wielder had sped away with his legs trembling and Ren had only just seen the look in Weiss' eyes before she expelled the expression from her face. He had nightmares that night.
Jaune takes a deep breath, repeating the calming breathing exercise from earlier. "I can't thank you enough, brother."
"You will never have to, brother." They stand up and embrace each other. Ren would never say he was a physically affectionate man, most of the time it was hard for him to offer anything more than a handshake. But when it came to his team, his new family, he found it harder to let them go. After a hearty hug, they separate, each of them comfortable with showing their emotions to each other. "Well, we won't get anything done just sitting here talking will we? Let's look through that closet and get you a proper date outfit. I think I remember you buying a shirt that was just a little too tight a few months ago."
Authors note;
Well, here we are. As said earlier I will be putting all my one shots in here so if you're a fan of "Summer in Argus" it would probably be a good idea to follow this story for more. And while I have several more one shot ideas, if you have any suggestions, or just have a scene you would like to see, I would not mind hearing them.
In unrelated news, I am making steady progress on my Izuku x Momo story. I have a solid start but am still trying to decide where I want it to go, so it's still a little ways away.
As always, leave a comment/review, they tell me what I did right, what I did wrong, and I just enjoy getting them.