Under The Same Roof

by Rum Aficionado

After years of fighting, slogging through the hordes of Grimm, there were only two ways Ruby thought it would end. They either won, or they lost. And they just so happened to be lucky enough to win. But now that everything's over, what's a girl to do? Well, a little party and some alone time with a friend helped settle that. Buy a house, get a roommate, and move in.

2. Chapter 2

You know, growing up, Ruby didn't think that house hunting was going to be such a chore. It took days to find a decent selection of houses to pick from, but even then, there weren't many good options to pick from. But at least she had Jaune to suffer with, so that made it easier.

But when they did find the right house? When all the searching ended, revealing a house that was both out of the way, spacious, and not run down? Oh, she jumped with joy. All there was to do now was put her Lien where her mouth was.

Of course, Jaune wanted to do boring things like look at the house first, or to know if it was connected to local infrastructure, stuff like that. But that ruined the surprise of moving into a new house, right? Wasn't moving into a new house supposed to be interesting, and, you know, not tedious?

It wasn't until maybe a few days of living in a hotel in Vale that they came to the conclusion to buy the house. After all, it wasn't exactly good for them to be living in a hotel for too long, considering how much of a whole it put into their bank accounts. So, Jaune shut up with his questions and put his money forward.

All there was left was to actually go to the property and take a look around.

Letting the door swing open to their new abode, Ruby couldn't help but let her eyes roam the empty room. It was spacious enough to make a good living room, she was just sure of it. Further inside the house was the kitchen, connected directly to the living room along with another door that she couldn't tell where it led.

Ruby let out a breath as a smile climbed her face, moving over to another door that connected to the living room opposite to the kitchen. Walking over, she turned the knob and swung it open, revealing a decently sized room, perfectly clean for decorating and furnishing, and the natural light from the window? Oh, she already had so many different ideas for what she wanted to do with the house.

She heard Jaune let out a hum as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Cozy." He said, chuckling to himself as he looked around the empty room. "You think it could make a decent bedroom?"

The blond Hunter watched as she looked up at him, her silver eyes rolling at him as a wide smile spread across her face. "Pfft, a bedroom? You've gotta think bigger, Jaune!" She yelled out, holding her arms forward as she gestured to the empty room. "Think about all the cool things we can do with the house! We could make a workshop, or a weapon room, or- ooh! How about a game room?"

Jaune blinked as he stared down at his silver-eyed friend, smirking as he shook his head. "As nice as that sounds, we've got to worry about actually living in this house before we think about anything too cool." He reminded her. You know, now he was actually happy that he was moving in with her. He could already imagine the mess Ruby would find herself surrounded in without him. "Let's worry about the essentials first, then the fun stuff."

But Ruby hardly paid him any mind, shaking in place as her grin went from ear to ear. "I can't help it! All my life, I've had to share a room with Yang of all people, so imagine how I feel having my own house." She snipped, bouncing on her toes as she grabbed at his hand. "C'mon, let's go see what else there is!"

Jaune felt the scenery around him rapidly change as a gust of wind blew through his hair, his vision going blurry for a moment. Blinking, he found himself in the middle of the kitchen, sighing as he saw rose petals scattering across the floor. On the bright side, at least the kitchen had everything it needed. A sink, a stove, some counters, and a few cabinets.

"Okay, I get you're excited," Jaune started, looking over at Ruby. "But you've really got to be a bit more conscious of your semblance. We're going to have to pick this all up later, you know?"

Ruby only waved him off, blowing raspberries. "We'll pick it up later. Besides, there's still more rooms to look through!" She yelled out, pulling him along as she led him to the next door. Pushing it open, she found a much smaller room, but it was thankfully already furnished. "Oh, it's a bathroom."

Smiling, Jaune scratched the bit of stubble he had on his chin. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about going out in the woods." Either that, or he didn't have to worry about going out and building an outhouse. Unfortunately, he couldn't say that he wasn't familiar with that process. "That makes our lives a little easier."

Ruby brought a hand up, curling a brow as she stepped over to the porcelain sink next to the toilet. She twisted one of the knobs on the sink, waiting for the sound of running water. Ruby waited, and waited, and waited a little more.

"Yeah, so about that whole 'going out in the woods' thing." She snipped, giggling as she looked back at Jaune from over her shoulder. "I think you spoke too soon. But that's fine, I'll just give the city a call and see what we can do from there."

Jaune sighed, rubbing his forehead as his brows furrowed. "Well, that's something to save for tomorrow, I think." He mumbled, a frown tugging at his lips. "So, what do you think we should be doing today? Furnishing, utilities, what are you thinking?"

He watched as Ruby brought a finger to her chin, staring at the ceiling as a thoughtful expression took to her face. There was something so endearing about how she looked to him. The way her lips curled to the side, or how her brows slightly furrowed, but her silver eyes remained in clear view. If he were a lesser man, he'd say it made her look pretty.

"Well… that's kinda tricky." Ruby mumbled, tapping her foot against the ground as she hummed. "We could try to furnish the house first, but if we don't have power, then we probably won't have heat. Then there's the water situation, but that just takes us getting in touch with someone in Patch. Personally, I say we get some power first."

Shrugging, Jaune only let out a sigh. "Hey, so long as I'm not sleeping on the floor, I'm up for whatever." He already spent five years of his life sleeping on the hard and lumpy ground, and the last thing he wanted to do was add to that count. "I'd settle from a naked mattress at this rate."

The dark-haired Huntress smiled up at her blond roommate. "Okay, that makes everything a little easier. We'll get in touch with someone in Patch about getting the house hooked up to the power, then we'll talk to the water company, and then we'll get some furniture." After all, what was a house without basic utilities? Besides, they could just buy a mattress and leave it in the middle of the living room.

Jaune sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You know, it's things like this that make me wish that I just moved back out onto the frontier." He said. There were dust-powered generators for emergencies, animal fat lamps for light, and stoves for burning logs for heat. "Things used to be so easy."

He felt an arm wrap around his as Ruby giggled. "Okay, Grandpa." She sarcastically quipped. "Enough reminiscing about the old days, we've got to get started on the house." She said, dragging him out of the bathroom and for the door.

"What ever happened to you wanting to see the rest of the rooms?" He asked, trying to ignore how Ruby clung to his arm. That was just how she was, and there was nothing else to it. "I thought you were excited to look around your new house?"

Ruby shot him a quick glare. "Ah, our house, thank you very much." She snipped, indignation filling her voice. "I didn't pay for this house by myself, you know. You're allowed to be a little excited about moving in too." So far, it felt like she was the only one that was pumped up about it.

A laugh left Jaune's lips as he followed Ruby to the front door. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm plenty excited about having a place to call my own. But, uh, it's hard to be excited when there's still so much work to do." Maybe it was wrong of him to think that way, but if there was something that needed doing, then there wasn't time to enjoy the moment. "Besides, you're excited enough for both of us, right?"

Pulling open the front door, Ruby felt her lips curl downwards. "I guess." She muttered, her arm wrapping tighter around his. "I dunno, I thought there'd be more… excitement to this. I remember my Dad telling me about the day that he and Mom moved in together and how it was really exciting, so I figured it'd be like that."

She felt a hand rest at the top of her head, ruffling her hair. "Hey, but those are your parents, right?" He asked, and as she turned to look up at him, he watched a brow rise on his face. "We're two completely different people from them, so let's just focus on us for a bit, alright? No one else is here but you and me."

A weird tightness gripped at her chest, but even still, Ruby felt annoyed. Swatting away Jaune's hand, she couldn't keep the smile from her face. "Now I know why Yang used to care so much about her hair. I spent all that time trying to make it look presentable, and there you go messing it up." She said, nudging his side with her elbow.

"Oh, please." Jaune started, rolling his eyes. "As if you need to spend that much time trying to make yourself pretty. You're pretty enough as it is." He said, brushing off her concern. How Ruby hadn't managed to snare herself a man, he'd never know. She had the looks, she was fun, she was a great friend, her hobbies were interesting, it all piled up!

Of course, this was him speaking objectively.

Ruby went silent, more focused on the dirt beneath her feet as Jaune closed the door behind him. She felt all prickly and light, if that made any sense, like her heart was picking up pace. So, she did what she always did when she got to feeling like that, pulling her hood over her head as she walked ahead.

After their walk into town, the duo scrambled to get as many things done as they could, considering the few hours of daylight they had left. First came getting in touch with the city about power, but that got settled relatively quickly. Granted, it took a lot of filling out paperwork, but at least it got done.

Then came getting in touch with the water company, and that was… terrible, honestly. It took way too long, they kept trying to get them sold on different things, and every time there was a hint of progress, they asked for something new that they hadn't mentioned before. It honestly reminded Ruby of the time she had to get her ID, which was just as awful.

But at least it got done, for what it was worth.

All that remained was going to pick up some furniture for the house. But considering that there was maybe an hour of sunlight left in the day, they had to make a difficult decision. Which room were they going to furnish first?

Sure, they could furnish the bedroom first, but that would mean that they'd have to assemble not one, but two whole beds. And that wasn't even getting into assembling the inevitable dresser that they were bound to have. Point is, there was a lot to do, and there was only so much time.

So, they came to a compromise. Jaune wanted to make sure that neither of them were sleeping on the floor tonight, and Ruby wanted to have at least one room furnished, so they settled on getting the living room done. They could just share the couch and call it a night.

But as it turns out, buying furniture and getting it all home were two separate things. Just because they had the money to buy a couch, a table, and some decorative pieces. Nothing crazy, just an end table or two for some decorations in the future.

The lucky thing was that the owner of the furniture store in Patch was nice enough to drive them back to their house and help them unload everything from his truck. It made the process easier, but not any less troublesome. So, Jaune made a little promise to himself. The next time he was sitting on a stupid amount of money, he was going to have to buy a vehicle.

Soon enough, the living room started taking shape. The couch was set up near the center of the living room, a small table pressed against the wall across from it with a small TV resting atop of it- hang on, TV?

Jaune blinked as he turned to look at Ruby, watching as she finished setting up the box TV. "Uh… since when did we have a TV?" He asked, curling a brow.

Ruby hummed as she plugged the cord into the power outlet, hitting the power button the box to watch it flick on. "Remember when you and the nice man at the store were busy loading up the couch and end tables?" She asked, lightly chuckling as a smile tugged at her lips. "I figured maybe it'd be good to pick up a little TV for the living room! You know, so we could watch some movies and have a little sleepover."

Ruby twiddled her thumbs as she watched Jaune's face go blank, only for a sigh to slip from his mouth. "Ruby, we live here. Every night's going to be a sleepover." He said, an awkward smile pulling his lips upwards. "Well, it's your money, so I'm not in the position to tell you what to do with it."

Jaune watched as Ruby beamed at him, pulling out a plastic bag from behind the box TV. "So… does that mean that we're having a movie night tonight?" She asked, tilting her head as she stared up at him with those big, silver eyes of hers. "Because I got some pretty good ones here. Some Vacuan Westerns, Mistrali samurai films- ooh, I've even got an Atlesian action flick!"

Jaune only quietly stared at Ruby, unable to pull himself away from her eyes. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes. "You know what? Why not? It sounds fun anyway." He said, throwing his hands up as he failed to quell his growing smile. "But first, I think we're going to have to worry about dinner."

Ruby's stomach loudly growled at the mere mention. She was just glad that her aura kept her from feeling the pain from her lack of eating. "So, does that mean that we've got to go pick up groceries now?" She asked, her shoulders slumping forward. "Because that would kinda suck."

The blond man could only chuckle, smiling wider. "Now it's my turn to surprise you. Wait here for a second." He said, stepping out of the living room for a quick moment and heading into the bedroom. Ruby blinked as she tilted her head, an admittedly dumb sound slipping from her lips. But as he walked back into the living room, he had his pack slung over his shoulder. "I had a feeling that we were going to be in a bit of a spot, so I thought ahead of time."

Jaune set his pack on the couch, unzipping it to reveal its contents. As Ruby looked inside, she felt her eyes bulge from their sockets. In the pack was a full set of cookware, along with utensils, bowls, plates, the whole shebang. But beneath the cookware was what mattered infinitely more.

There were canned goods, potatoes, vegetables, and even pasta.

Ruby tore her eyes away from the pack to stare at her blond roommate, a smug smile on his face. "Have I ever told you how awesome you are?" She asked, sharing a smile of her own.

"You could afford to mention it a little more." He snipped back, chuckling as he zipped the pack back up. "Come on, let's go unpack this stuff in the kitchen so we can get started on dinner." Nodding his head towards the kitchen as he slung the bag over his shoulder.

What followed was the slow process of getting everything arranged in the kitchen. Picking out which cabinet was going to have cups, which was going to have plates and bowls, and finally, which was going to have pots and pans. But if Ruby was being honest, Jaune didn't take a lot of time to decide, jumping between cabinets with a clear image in mind.

A proud smile rested on Jaune's face as he dusted his hands. "Oh man, it's been way too long since I've had a chance to work with a proper kitchen." He spoke, letting out a sigh of relief. "No campfires, no chilly night air, just a stove, some pots, and a cutting board."

Ruby giggled as she stepped up next to him, jostling his shoulder. "You know, I didn't think you'd be so excited about having a kitchen." She snipped, curling a curious brow. "I know that you, Ren, and my sister did most of the cooking for us, but I never figured that you liked it that much."

His head snapped to face her, a deadly serious look on his face. "Ruby, look at it from my perspective." He started, his brows furrowing. "I haven't had a proper kitchen to work with in years! We had to work with campfires, canned goods, and… that's pretty much it. And sure, while we've still only got canned goods, I have a stove to work with!" He yelled out, throwing his arms on top of the stove.

Ruby rolled her eyes, pulling him off of the stovetop as she smiled. "Just tell me what you need me to do." She said as Jaune dusted off his jacket. "Also, you could always take the jacket off. It's not like we're going anywhere, right?"

Humming, the blond man curled a brow. "I mean, you're right, but…" He mumbled, if only to sigh. "Fine, but the same goes for you and your cloak. I'll ditch the jacket if you lose the cloak." So maybe he didn't want to lose his jacket, big deal. At least he knew his ultimatum would lead in a draw. After all, there was no way Ruby was going to strip off her cloak.

The silver-eyed woman blinked, her eyes trailing to the floor for a moment. But after a few seconds, she brought her hands to the hem of her hood, pulling it up and off her head as she bundled it up under her arm. All that was left was her blouse, corset, and skirt.

Blinking, Jaune couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from her. How long has it been since he's seen her pull off her cloak? It had to have been since Mistral. Probably. And since when did Ruby wear a black choker? Did she always wear that? Or did he just never notice?

As Ruby rubbed the back of her neck, she couldn't bring herself to look back up at him. "What? Do I look stupid or something?" She asked, her voice barely above a mumble.

Jaune's eyes shot open as he brought his hands up. "No, not at all, I'm just… I never really stopped to look at how different you are." He replied, scratching the back of his head. "You really don't look like that little girl I went to school with anymore." A part of him felt a little weird about it, honestly. Like, sure, she's still Ruby, but his mental image of her was all over the place now.

Her eyes came up to catch his own, her silver eyes captivating him. "Well, duh. I mean, we're adults now, Jaune. As nice as it would be to be young forever, that's not really in the cards, you know?" And he knew that, he did! It's just- why did she have to be so pretty? It was really throwing him off.

Groaning, Jaune closed his eyes as he quickly unzipped his jacket, tearing it off of him as he threw it over his shoulder. "I'm gonna go throw this into the bedroom with the rest of our stuff, then we'll get started on dinner." He calmly said, walking away with a stone cold expression. "Oh, and can you pull out one of the larger pots for me?"

Before she could answer, Jaune rushed towards the bedroom, closing the door behind him. "Uh, okay." She mumbled, setting her cloak on the counter next to her as she dug through one of the cabinets, pulling out a metal pot. "I didn't think that taking off my hood would make him that uncomfortable." Did she really look that different from when she was a kid? She didn't think so.

After a few minutes, Jaune eventually came back out of the bedroom, his previously stoic expression replaced with a smile.

Jaune yawned as he stretched an arm well above his head. "Alright, um, I think what we're going to do first is cut up some carrots, a bit of celery, and I should have an onion in there somewhere." He started, mumbling to himself as he walked over to his pack. Unzipping it, he pulled out of the ingredients he planned to use, along with a pair of cutting boards. "Okay, all that's left is for me to find… ah, there you are!"

Ruby's brows furrowed as she stared at the blond man next to her, who seemingly forgot she existed. Her brows only furrowed deeper as she watched him pull out a pair of knives. "Uh… what you got there?" She asked, leaning away from him.

"A pair of knives." He calmly responded, setting one on each of the cutting boards. "And you're going to help me cut up these veggies and potatoes so that I can get to work on tonight's dinner. Unless Miss Big Bad Huntress is afraid of a couple of vegetables?" He curled a brow, a smirk making its way onto his face.

Ruby glared back at him, snatching up the knife from the cutting board. "I'll have you know that the only thing I'm afraid of is the dentist." And that had absolutely nothing to do with her yet to be broken cookie addiction! "I'll cut your stupid vegetables, just watch me."

Jaune didn't bother dignifying that with a response, instead handing Ruby a carrot before getting started with an onion. But as he went through the process of removing the skin of his onion, he heard the harsh sound of a heavy-handed smash. Turning his head, he watched as Ruby brought her hand up again, slamming it down against the carrot and-

"What are you doing?" Jaune asked, grabbing at Ruby's wrist for his own safety.

"Cutting a carrot?" She replied, curling a brow as she looked back at him. "Or I was, before you stopped me."

Jaune paused to look at Ruby's grip on the knife, and it was just all wrong. There was stability or precision to her cuts, more akin to lucky slices than anything else. Sighing, the blond man looked back at Ruby's eyes. "Ruby, that's not how you hold a knife." He mumbled, a deadpan expression on his face.

"Huh?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "Well, how do I hold it then?"

"Well, you're supposed to have your thumb and index finger on either side of the blade, keeping your three other fingers on the- you know what? I'll just show you." He said, letting go of her wrist, if only to bring his hand to rest on hers.

Ruby felt her heartbeat quicken as his hands rearranged the way her fingers sat, along with moving her hand further up along the handle. His hands were calloused, as was expected of an experienced Huntsman, but even so, each movement was so gentle. Even the way he was standing behind her made her uncomfortable.

How he hovered mere inches from her back, his head peering over her shoulder as he spoke, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She was too focused on the sound of her heart beating against her ears, or the hands against hers. Soon enough, he was moving her hand, showing her how to cut the carrot, but she could barely focus on it.

The feeling of his warm breath against her ear, his quiet words fading in and out as the sound of her knife chopping against vegetables filled her ears, her back hovering close to his chest, it was all too much. What was wrong with her? Was she okay? Why was her heart going so fast? Why did it feel like she could barely breathe?

Before she knew it, she finished chopping through the carrot in the blink of an eye, her knife now quickly impacting at an empty part of the cutting board. It was only after a solid second of hitting the board that she paused, her face flush.

Jaune blinked as he stared at her cutting board, his eyes looking to catch hers, only to find her face matching her namesake. He could only laugh. "Oh, whoops." He muttered, stepping away from her. "Sorry, didn't mean to swamp you like that. You could've told me if you were uncomfortable."

Ruby jumped as she looked up at him, a lost expression on her face. "I- what?" She said, blinking rapidly as she looked around the kitchen. "No, no, you're fine! I just… got a little lost in my head. Uh, is that enough carrot, or do you want me to cut up some more?"

Humming, Jaune took a moment to look at the little pile of carrots that she had on her board. "Maybe another half carrot? I dunno, I'll eyeball it." After all, eyeballing food measurements was a tried and true method of the Arc Family's culinary style! "You go ahead and work on that while I cut up some celery and tomatoes."

Soon enough, the pair of Hunters got busy with the rest of their dinner. In truth, the rest of the process was fairly simple. Jaune sauteed some onions, celery, and the carrots that Ruby cut up in the pot, later adding some cut up potatoes and tomatoes, along with a pinch of salt. After that, a bit of warm water, then the pasta.

Needless to say, Jaune was a little hypercritical of his own work, if only because he hadn't worked in a kitchen for so long. But with a bit of seasoning, a bit of black pepper, and some chopped parsley? Oh, it turned out wonderful. But it still felt like it was missing something.

So Ruby, being who she was, dug through Jaune's pack and found a… block wrapped in tin foil. Yeah, as soon as she asked about it, Jaune was quick to snatch it from her hand, opening it in front of her. The block of tin foil turned into a block of cheese, but that only left another question.

Why did Jaune have a block of cheese in his pack?

Yeah, some questions just went unanswered. But at least dinner was ready, and as they both got their plates, they found their spots on the couch, setting their packs on their laps as impromptu tables. Ruby ended up putting on a movie, and before long, they were watching some old Vacuan Western.

As Ruby munched on her dinner, its creamy texture clinging to her tongue, she let out a content sigh. "You know what? I really am glad that we were stuck on the road for so long." She said, a small smile gracing her face. "Not because it was fun, or because I liked saving the world, but because it made you get really good at cooking."

Jaune snorted as he swallowed a bite from his soup. "Well, I'm glad to know that I'm appreciated for more than just my navigational skills." Because he knew full well he wasn't appreciated for his combat prowess. "Think about how many times we would've stayed lost if I didn't know how to read a map, or how to follow stars?"

The previous smile on Ruby's face fell as she picked up another scoop of her food. "Yeah, shut up. It's not my fault that the world doesn't make any sense." She mumbled, popping her bite of food into her mouth. "Beshides, itsh not like we kept you fer your sword arm."

But despite her teasing, Jaune only smiled wider. "I know." He said with a laugh. "You keep me around for my shield arm, along with the rare and exceptional skill of map reading." Sarcasm clinging to his every word. You know, even with the movie playing on the tv, it hardly felt like anything more than static noise.

The only thing that had his attention was Ruby. Or more specifically, his conversation with her.

Ruby snickered as she rolled her eyes, shoving his shoulder as she let her annoyance disappear beneath the warmth of her dinner. "Don't forget about the times you used your semblance. You know, on the rare occasion that you felt like making a big change." She joked, nudging his ribs with her elbow. "Hey, do you think if you use your semblance on me, my semblance would just make full roses instead of just rose petals?"

The blond swordsman paused, setting his spoon down to bring a hand to his chin. "You know, I don't actually know. I don't think it'd be full roses, but there'd definitely be more petals." He shot back, though he wasn't entirely sure. After all, his semblance worked in mysterious ways. "But, uh, on the topic of my semblance and all that… have you been keeping up with Weiss lately?"

Ruby blanked out as she stared back at him, silently blinking as she stared up at him. "Why do you ask?" Curling a brow as she stared up at him, a cold pit forming in her stomach. "Whatever happened to just chatting her up for fun?"

His cheeks flushed for a brief moment, indignation spreading across his face. "That's not why I'm asking! I had a crush on her for less than a year, why is this still a thing I have to deal with?" He asked aloud, though he hardly expected an answer. "It's just- Ren and Nora moved to Mistral and I haven't heard from them since the little party. Figured I'd ask if team RWBY was still holding up."

Ruby felt the cold pit dissipate as she let out a breath. "Oh, that's why. That makes way more sense." What a relief. And here she figured that Jaune might still have a thing for Weiss. "Well, Weiss is stuck being a busybody, helping Whitley run the SDC, Blake and her parents are reorganizing the White Fang, and my sister's… being my sister."

Jaune blinked as he tilted his head. "What's that supposed to mean? Is she getting into fights or something?"

Ruby scoffed. "Or something." She muttered, rolling her eyes. "No, she's too busy following her Mom's tribe around, challenging her to fights. Something about taking control of the tribe and disbanding it. It's just Yang stuff, you know?" Ruby was used to her sister picking fights, but she never would have figured that she'd go out of her way to pick fights with a whole tribe- Actually, no, she saw it very clearly now.

"Oh." Jaune dumbly replied. He wasn't really sure what to say to that. "Uh, yeah, that definitely sounds like Yang stuff."

Ruby only nodded, taking another bite from her dinner before swallowing it, not bothering to enjoy it this time around. "What about Ren and Nora? I know that they're getting ready to be parents and all that, but you haven't really mentioned anything beyond that."

Jaune only laughed, scratching his cheek. "Well, beyond the fact that they're just trying to settle down, I'm not really sure. But if I had to guess, they're probably just buckling down for the next few… oh no." His words trailed off, his face taking on a dark expression. "Yup, a storm's approaching."

Ruby stared at him with furrowed brows, her mouth slightly ajar. "Wh-what are you talking about? You sound insane right now." She snipped, letting her confusion carry her through the conversation.

"You don't get it." He replied, his eyes narrowing as he stared back at her. "Nora's pregnant, which means she's guaranteed to have mood swings. Now, Nora's already a little eccentric, so I want you to imagine a hormonally imbalanced- more hormonally imbalance Nora."

Ruby's confusion left her face as a look of terror replaced it. "Oh, poor Ren." She mumbled, her eyes casting down towards the floor. "But, it'll probably be worth it, right? I mean, they're having a baby!"

Jaune's grim expression disappeared without hesitation, replaced by a smile. "Oh, for sure, it's just going to suck for a while. Even my Mom, who as you know had eight children, still had her mood swings when she was having my little sisters." It just went to show, no matter how experienced someone was in certain matters, there are just some things that can't be avoided. "But hey, once they have the first one, I'm sure they're going to end up having more kids than my folks did."

"Why do you say that?" Ruby asked, curling a brow.

A laugh slipped between Jaune's lips. "Well, you remember the brief time where we traveled through Mistral? Yeah, even as far back as then, they were giving each other so much side eye that it hurts." He explained, rolling his wrist as he went on. "But now that they've gone so far as having made a kid? Yeah, I don't think there's going to be anything stopping them now."

Ruby paused as she stared up at her blond friend, watching as he popped another bite of his dinner into his mouth. But as the gears slowly turned in Ruby's head, she felt a growing warmth in her cheeks until she could feel the steam trailing for her head. "I did not need to think about that. Why did you feel the need to tell me this?" She squeaked out.

He could only shrug. "Hey, I didn't want to witness half of the things I've seen from them. The least I can do is share a fraction of the mental image that scars me." Jaune said, laughing as he went to take another bite from his dinner, only to hear his spoon scrape against the bottom of the bowl. "Oh, I guess I'm done."

But before Jaune could stand up to wash off his bowl, he watched as Ruby dumped the few contents of her own bowl onto his, jumping to her feet soon after. "You can have mine!" She yelled out as she rushed to the kitchen. "I'm gonna catch a shower before bed, call me if the Grimm come to eat us!"

The blond man blinked, listening as the bathroom door slammed behind her. Staring down at his bowl, he let out a hum. "Well, more for me, I guess." He muttered, picking his spoon back up as he continued to chip away at his dinner. Now that he actually had a chance to watch the movie in front of him, he realized just how little he knew about the plot.

Oh well, he supposed it didn't matter.

Soon enough, the contents of his bowl disappeared, leading him to push himself to his feet. Trudging into the kitchen, he set the dirty bowl beneath the faucet, turning on the water as he mindlessly began to scrub away at them. Ah, the first dirty dishes of the house. It'd be a momentous occasion were it not so boring.

With the dishes done, he thought about finding his seat back on the couch, but there was just one problem with that. As the sound of the shower running came from behind the bathroom door, Jaune came to a realization.

"She didn't take a fresh pair of clothes in with her, did she?" He thought out loud, curling a brow as he stared at the bathroom door. So, stepping towards the bathroom, he rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. "Hey, Ruby? Did you take a fresh pair of clothes with you?"

He heard a muffled response come from behind the door, but he couldn't tell what. Sighing, Jaune turned the door knob and pushed the door slightly ajar, just open enough for his voice to go through clearly.

"I asked if you took a pair of clean clothes with you." He repeated, shaking his head as he repressed another sigh.

Despite the sound of the running water, Jaune heard her let out a hum. "Uh… I've still got some old sleepwear in my bag. Would you mind getting it for me? Oh, and a towel too?" She asked, a familiar meek tone in her voice. "I may have gotten ahead of myself."

Rolling his eyes, Jaune let out a laugh. "Alright, I'll get you some spare clothes. Just sit tight, I'll be right back." He replied, stepping away from the bathroom door before marching through the kitchen.

Stepping into the living room, Jaune picked her pack up from the couch before digging into it. Lo and behold, in his hands was her old sleepwear from when they were still going to Beacon. Her black tank top, pajama pants, even her old sleep mask! He would have almost felt nostalgic had he not needed to also bring her a pair of underwear.

Needless to say, he didn't think too hard about it as he brought the pile of clothes, along with a towel, to the bathroom door. Pushing the door open, Jaune moved to set the clothes atop the- wait, the house came with a washer and dryer? Aw, what a steal!

"Alright, Ruby, I left your clothes on top of the washer, and I'm going to hang the towel on the shower door." He said, bringing the towel to hang on the sliding door. "If there's anything else, just give me a holler."

Before he could turn to step out of the bathroom, he watched as the shower door slightly cracked open, leaving Ruby to stick her face between the cracks. "You know, I really do love it when a knight in shining armor comes to save the day." She snipped, giving him a bright smile as she closed her eyes. "I shouldn't take too much longer now."

Jaune could only blink, mindlessly staring at her as she closed the glass door shut. He never thought that her hair had gotten that long, because it easily came down past her shoulders. It wasn't nearly as long as Yang's, but it was getting there. And maybe he was just being weird, but why did catching a glimpse of her bare shoulder make him feel so… uncomfortable?

The blond man dragged a hand down his face as he stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Pressing his hands to his face, he let out a muffled yell, his face feeling like it carried the heat of a thousand suns. After a moment, he let out a sigh, letting his hands fall from his face. That felt better.

Yeah, Jaune didn't waste any time flopping onto the couch, trying to shake off that awkward feeling that lingered in his chest. He knew that Ruby was an objectively pretty girl, but man did she need to be more careful. Shoot, maybe he needed to be careful too?

Either way, using his pack as a bumpy, uncomfortable pillow, the blond Huntsman absentmindedly stared at the TV, watching the movie but not quite seeing it. If anything, it was just a series of flashing colors to him. No, he was more trapped by the series of intrusive thoughts that filled his mind.

He definitely needed to be more careful around Ruby from now on. In just one evening, he managed to both make her uncomfortable by being too touchy, and caught a glimpse of something that he wasn't supposed to. Sure, it was only her shoulder, but it still felt like he was committing some kind of sin.

After all, this was Ruby he was thinking about. His fellow leader and first friend from Beacon! He'd slogged through the greater part of the world with her, helped her seal away one of the greatest evils to exist in the history of ever, and was a close confidant to him. So why couldn't he get that image out of his head?

But while Jaune was busy mulling over the state of his mental space, he failed to hear the sound of a door creaking open.

As Ruby stepped through the kitchen and into the living room, she ran her towel through her hair one last time before letting it hang from her neck. "Hey, Jaune?" She started, thumbing to the kitchen behind her. "The shower's open if you still want it."

His blue eyes blinked as he sat up to face the source of the sound, and what he saw blew his mental image out of the water. Ruby leaned against the door frame, her black tank rode high enough to show a glimpse of her midriff. Her pajama pants, while still cute, didn't do anything to hide her curves. But what made it all worse was the confusion that marred her face.

Forcing himself to his feet, Jaune took a deep breath, grabbing his pack and slinging it over his shoulder. "Nice, because I'm definitely in need of a cold shower right about now." He replied, brushing past her as he rushed to the bathroom.

Ruby's eyes narrowed as she heard the door slam shut, tilting her head in further confusion. "What's his deal?" She mumbled, staring at the bathroom door. But after a moment, she only shrugged. "Well, whatever. He'll probably be fine."

With that, the silver-eyed woman made her way into the living room, finding her spot on the couch, using an armrest as a pillow. Ruby figured that the movie would have been entertaining enough to keep her attention, but she was more busy listening to the sounds of the shower running. Crossing her arms, she tapped at her forearm with her fingertips.

Maybe she was just bored, but now that she was by herself, she realized just how quiet the house really was. Could she have stood to live by herself in a house like this? Probably not. But it's a good thing she didn't have to, considering Jaune was with her.

There was a funny thought. Jaune was with her. He could have been anywhere else in the world had he felt like it, but instead, he chose to join her in some house in the middle of Patch island. It sort of gave her butterflies in her stomach, thinking about it.

One of her closest friends was living with her.

She lingered on that for a little longer. What would life be like if she had to live with her teammates again? Shoot, even just one of her teammates. With Weiss, it would probably be like it was when they were students, but probably more orderly. If she had to room with Blake, she'd probably never hear the end of Blake's rambling about work. And Ruby already lived with her sister for enough years to know how that would go.

But still, it felt different than she thought it would. Even after just a day, her expectations were in conflict with how it actually turned out. She figured it would have been like having a sleepover with Jaune, but every day. Instead, it was kinda far from that, but in a… good way? Was there even a good way?

It felt like she and Jaune were partners again. Back when Team RNJR was still a thing, it wasn't a discussion who would be partnered up with who, mostly because Nora wouldn't allow it to be a discussion. So, Ruby was partnered up with Jaune. It felt kind of like that, she supposed.

So then why was Ruby smiling so much about it?

Hearing the bathroom door creak open, Ruby tried to crush the growing smile, even though vestiges of it remained.

A sigh slipped from Jaune's lips as he walked into the living room, finding his seat before dropping his pack on the floor next to him. "I really needed that shower." He said, the stress of the day rolling off his body as he slumped down his seat. "Who'd have thought that buying and furnishing a house could be so stressful?"

"Not me," Ruby mumbled, shrugging her shoulders. "But at least we're nearly done, right? All we've got to do is the bedroom, then finish filling the kitchen, and there's still the extra room- you know what? I lied, there's still too much." Her shoulders slumping forward as a whine slipped out.

She felt a hand gently pat against her back. "There, there." Jaune said, chuckling to himself. "If it's any consolation, we're not going to have to think about it for too long. Besides, it's getting late, and we've still got a day ahead of us tomorrow. Best get comfy now." Jaune remembered not being too big on sleep when he was a kid. After all, why be asleep when there was still so much more to do?

Yeah, his mentality shifted sharply in the opposite direction when he grew up.

Sighing, Ruby slid down the couch as her eyes flit shut. "Yeah, you're probably right. But there's just one thing that's bugging me." She said.

"And what's that?" Jaune shot back, curling a brow.

Ruby paused, taking a moment to look around the room. "Where are we going to sleep?" She asked, staring at Jaune from the corner of her eye.

She watched as his face went blank, devoid of emotion as the gears slowly turned in his head. "Uh… I've got an idea." He started, raising a finger towards the sky. "Rock, paper, scissors! Loser has to sleep on the floor."

Ruby deadpanned as she stared back at the blond man, a fist closed on top of his palm. "Yeah, I've got a better idea." She shot back, leaning back in her seat. "We can just, you know, share the couch. It's not like it's something we haven't had to do before." You know, maybe it was for the best that they were going to bed now. If she had to come up with better plans than Jaune, that meant his brain was cooked.

Jaune blinked as he stared back at the dark-haired huntress, humming to himself. "Well, yeah, we could do that. But that doesn't change the fact that it'd be totally different to how it was before!" He wasn't opposed to the idea directly - and that bothered him - but his issue stemmed from the context. "We had to do that a few times for the sake of conserving heat. This is different."

Curling a brow, Ruby could help but tilt her head. "How is this any different? The only difference is that we're saving space, not heat." The circumstances were different, but the results were the same. "What? Don't tell me you're afraid of a little extra body warmth?" She teased, poking at his shoulder as she smirked, bobbing her brows.

Jaune swatted away her pale finger, his lips curling to the side as a crease formed between his brows. "What I want doesn't matter." He snipped, letting his annoyance feed into his words. "I just don't want to make you uncomfortable again, that's all."

Ruby's brows shot up, snorting in amusement as she shoved his shoulder. "That's what this is about?" She asked, as her smirk grew wider. "If you're worried about what happened in the kitchen, forget about it. That only happened because I was caught off guard. But now? I'm a little more prepared." Mentally, anyway.

The blond Huntsman stared at Ruby, silently letting his eyes trail along her face. Maybe he was being paranoid, or maybe he was just being a big baby, but the idea of being physically close to Ruby made him uncomfortable. After everything that had happened today alone, he felt that discomfort was warranted.

But as he stared, he watched as a single brow rose on her face. "See something you like?" She joked, smiling as she laughed.

Groaning, Jaune dragged his hands down his face. "Of all the things you could've picked up from your sister, I think that's the bit that I hate the most." Ruby knew exactly what buttons to push on a guy to get them to do what she wanted. A trick she no doubt learned from her tease of a sister. "Fine, how are we going to do this?"

A smug smile came over Ruby's face. "Well, that's easy. All you've got to do right now is lay down."

"Huh?" He mumbled, a single brow rising. "What am I supposed to be laying down? Do you mean lie down?" Jaune wasn't exactly sure what she wanted out of him.

Rolling her eyes, Ruby pushed herself to her feet. "Don't get pedantic with me, just lie down and get comfortable." She said, walking around the couch find her pack. After a quick rummage through it, she pulled out a thick, folded-up blanket. Unraveling the blanket, she threw it over her shoulders in a fashion not dissimilar to how she wore her cloak.

As she rounded the couch, she found Jaune lying on his back, resting his head against an armrest. "This good enough for you?" He sarcastically, blankly staring back at her.

"Yup, that'll do." She mumbled, staring down at him with a smirk before flopping on top of him, hearing a groan come from him. "There, now we've both got a spot on the couch, and we only have to use one blanket."

Jaune only focused on the roof above him, not trusting his eyes or memory enough to look at Ruby. "I'd hardly say you're using the couch." He shot back, shifting against the couch to get a bit more comfort. And he found it, despite the suddenly added weight on his chest. "It feels more like you're lying on top of me instead."

"You make a cozy mattress." Ruby snipped, throwing an arm over his side as she got comfortable. "The only problem is that mattresses aren't supposed to talk. But that's okay, I can put up with it."

"You better." Jaune said, chuckling as he looked down at her. He felt her arm slung over his chest, one of her legs wrapped around his, and her silver eyes were digging deeply into his soul. He was just glad to see the blanket on top of her, otherwise it would have made the situation harder. "Are you comfortable?"

Ruby shifted around a bit more, humming to herself as she rested her head against his shoulder. "You're not the worst thing I've had to sleep on." She shot back, shrugging her shoulders. "How about you? Is this as bad as you thought it'd be?"

Jaune had to pause for a moment, letting his eyes trail towards the nearest wall. "Well, I guess it's not the worst thing I've had to deal with either." He mumbled, wrapping his free arm around her back. "But we're buying an actual mattress tomorrow, no discussions."

"Alright, alright." Ruby mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Goodnight, Jaune."

A smile tugged at his lips as he stared at the silver-eyed woman. "Night, Ruby."

As Ruby let her eyes flit shut, she couldn't stop herself from smiling. It may not have been exactly what she was hoping for, but she had to admit at least one thing. This was the best sleepover she'd ever had.

---

Alright, that's this chapter done. Gonna be frank, I don't have the energy to really care about drafting up some longwinded and otherwise boring author note, so I'm going to keep this brief. Feel free to follow, favorite, whatever, I don't really mind. Just so long as you do it because you want to and all that. But man, this was a cute little chapter too, huh?

Either way, that's all for now. I've got something planned out for chapter 3, but I'd be lying if I said it was on the top of my list of priorities to finish at the moment. Who'd have thought that juggling so many projects would be both really tricky while also being oddly soothing?

Ciao, y buenas noches.

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