Blake Belladonna was walking down the streets of Vale on her way to a bookstore. Her friends on team RWBY would hardly be shocked by this, given that reading was easily known as her favorite hobby, but with the school between semesters for the summer she saw no reason to hold back on it. She would find a book there, probably read it all the way through in a lounge chair, then buy a separate book and read that back in the dorm room. A perfect plan for a day with no responsibilities to keep.

Her normal haunt was Tukson's bookstore, but it didn't have any place for her to sit and enjoy a story inside, so she chose instead to go to her number two location: Larnes and Global. Yes, it was a near-soulless corporation that threatened to crush plenty of smaller bookstores with incomparable pricing arrangements, but it had nice music and cushy chairs, and the book selection was stunningly broad.

Okay, if she was going to be honest with herself, the only reason it wasn't her number one bookstore was that she didn't much care for the smell of coffee, and having a Hardbucks built into most stores made it unappealing to the nose.

Finding the store on the corner of Fourth and Dimple street, she breathed deeply the smell of books and frappuccinos. Yes, this would do just fine for today.

I wonder if they have the latest Ninjas of Love book in stock?

Making her mind up quickly, she slipped between the shelves in search of her target. Her footpath led her near the children's books section, the bright colors of which caught her eye for only a moment before she opted to ignore it; she could not, however, ignore the sound of a familiar voice.

"In a warm and sultry forest far, far away, there once lived a mother fruit bat and her new baby. Oh, how Mother Bat loved her soft tiny baby."

Blake stopped in her tracks. Was that Jaune she just heard? Curiosity taking over, she spun on her heel and walked towards the source of the noise. Sure enough it was Jaune Arc himself, and he was reading to a group of four children. There was a small sign that explained there were two books being covered in this read-along session: Stellaluna, and Pete the Cat. The book Jaune was holding up showed a bat.

"Flump! Stellaluna landed headfirst in a soft downy nest, startling the three baby birds who lived there."

She leaned against one of the bookshelves as she took in the scene. Jaune was putting just the right amount of motion into his free hand to help the kids imagine the scene, and they all listened intently as he told the story of the bat learning to be like the birds in order to survive. Of Stellaluna being found by Mother bat and rediscovering her natural abilities. Blake caught herself smiling just a little bit, surprised to discover that he was such a natural storyteller.

"'How can we be so different and feel so much alike?' 'And how can we feel so different and be so much alike?' 'It is a mystery.' 'I agree. But we're friends, and that's a fact.'"

Now that was a lovely message indeed. Faunus and humans were alike in so many ways, yet discrimination was still rampant. But she had human friends now who accepted her despite her nature and prior history in the White Fang, and it would be a lie to say she wasn't blessed for it.

As Jaune closed the book and addressed the group, Blake realized that one little boy had dog ears. Was he a type of corgi? Poor kid, could've been any other type of Faunus in the world, but he drew the short straw. "Did you all understand the message of the book- oh, hey there, Blake!"

Finally spotted, she raised one hand in a wave and approached. "Hey yourself. Doing a little summer work?"

"Something like that. I'll tell you more later." Jaune chuckled. "Kids, this is my friend Blake from Beacon. Say hi!"

"""Hi Blake!""" All four cheerily waved at her, but while three turned back to face Jaune, Corgi Boy opted to keep staring at her bow. Turn around, young one. You need not know my secrets.

He didn't break eye contact, so Blake deliberately pointed at Jaune to make him redirect his attention. No dice, even as Jaune began to read Pete the Cat. "Here comes Pete, strolling down the street, rocking red shoes on his-"

Corgi Boy suddenly pointed at her and exclaimed, "She has cat ears!"

Ah, perfect: outed by the dog. Her hand instinctively reached to the bow as she wondered how to address this, but Jaune was one step ahead of her. "Tank, it's rude to point at someone like that."

"But why does she have that bow on to cover them?!"

Jaune took a breath. "Tank, do you think people who wear hats are lame? Or dumb?"

Tank tilted his head. "No? But that's a bow, not a hat."

"What it is," said Jaune patiently, "is fashion. Blake just happens to like bows, and some people like hats. They both do the same thing: cover the head or anything else. There's no reason to fuss at someone for that, now is there?"

"No…" Tank at least had the dignity to look a bit ashamed at being chastised. "Sorry, Miss Blake."

"It's okay. Let's just focus on Jaune and this book, alright?"

"Yes ma'am."

As Jaune started back at the beginning, Blake had to admit that she was impressed. He handled that with more tact than she would've shown.

…Then again, that bar was already pretty low considering she'd run from her team at the first sign of confrontation. A firm low point, looking back at it.

A few minutes later, the parents showed up to wrangle the little munchkins while grabbing a copy of the books the kids chose. As the group said their goodbyes and went off, Blake sat on a stool not far from where Jaune was sitting. "Well done. Not everybody has the patience to deal with so many kids, but I'm guessing that's one of your 'I have seven sisters' skills."

"You guess correctly." He laughed a bit. "Honestly, it's not so bad; plus, this should be the only reading I have to do today. I'm covering for a friend who got delayed coming in. The manager said he'd give me a gift for this since I don't officially work here, so I'll just sit here until he comes by."

"Ask for a free book, that'd be my kind of gift."

"Who ever would've guessed?" She deadpanned at him, which he chuckled at. "Were you here for anything in particular, Blake?"

"I was, but it can wait for a second. I have a question for you, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead, shoot."

For a moment, Blake pondered the best way to ask it. "You seem like such an enthusiastic narrator. Is it something you did a lot growing up?"

Jaune smiled. "Oh that? No, but I was read to a lot by my granddad, mom's side. He loved telling us stories. Of course, his style was a little more rambly."

He leaned forward and put a fist behind his back, mimicking how an old man might walk and talk. "'A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away- that reminds me, we need to mail that package to your cousins, you know how long it'll take for us to get anything back- anyways, there were two fuzzy animals called grizzlies, you know like that show?'"

Jaune began to laugh. "He really wasn't good at it, but he was just so happy to tell whatever came in his head that it was infectious. So yeah, that's the reason I have fun with it."

Blake let out a chuckle. It was as wholesome a reason as they come. "Well, maybe we could get you to take over for Professor Port's class next semester."

"Geez, no, I couldn't come up with that kind of stuff. I'll stick to reading from a book, thank you."

"Jaune!" Both teens looked up to see an older man in a clean button-down walking toward them. "Thank you again for filling in. Mike just popped into the back, so you're free to go."

The man handed Jaune a small envelope. "This is what the manager wanted me to give you as payment."

"Thanks, have a good day sir. Tell Mike I said hi."

Blake watched as Jaune pulled up the tab on the envelope to look inside, mumbling to himself. "Paper? That's not money."

Jaune pulled the paper out. There were two small strips, and his face fell a bit as he read what was on them. Blake asked, "Is everything okay?"

He passed them to her without a word. They were identical in every way.

Coupon! Good for 15% off of one newly released bestseller!

Her right eye twitched in agitation. This store was never going to be her number one store. "They expire by the end of next month. What a rip-off."

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be doing this again." Jaune shook his head. "How can a book be newly released and a bestseller? What's the time window on both of those things being true?"

Blake just shrugged. "Sorry they wasted your time like this. For what it's worth, I liked your narration."

"Thanks. Hopefully, next time I do something like this I can be paid in more than just coupons."

Jaune made to rise from his chair, but stopped when Blake gently grabbed him by the shoulder. "Blake? What's up?"

Hell if she knew. Why had she grabbed his shoulder like that? What did she want from him?

"Hey, this…" This what, Blake? "This may sound a little crazy, but if I said I'd be willing to pay you to do this with some other books, would you?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow at her.

X

Jaune grabbed his copy of a certain book from his dresser. "Alright guys, I'll see you later."

Pyrrha and Nora both nodded, though the latter also responded with a cheeky, "Have fun on your little book date."

"Ha. Not sure I'd call it that." They definitely weren't dating, he was just employed!

Blake's suggestion had legitimately surprised him, especially when he recalled Ruby telling him that her collection was a bit risqué. He had half a mind to decline, but changed it when she told him the first story he'd be narrating for her. It had his attention, even more so once he got to his room to read it in his own time. Personally he felt that Blake would be better off just investing in the audio book, but it'd be a lie to say that his ego didn't inflate a little at being directly hired for this kind of thing.

He made his way to the library, then climbed up the makeshift ladder Blake installed to reach her secret spot. All it really was was a platform installed under the roof with nothing on it, perhaps from a change of plans during Beacon's construction. What mattered was that it was well-ventilated and private. Blake was already there, sitting in one of the two large comfy cushions she'd procured somewhere he never verified. "Hey there. I'm not late, am I?"

"No, I was just early." Her yellow eyes met his blue ones. "So did you enjoy the read?"

"Completely. I still say you're wasting your money on me, though."

"It's my money to waste." She gestured to the empty cushion, which he landed in with a thump. Blake didn't need to say anything else, as Jaune began to read aloud without further prompting.

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again…"

Blake closed her eyes to the opening passage of The Eye of the World, which Jaune naturally ignored. He'd learned that it was just how she enjoyed his narrations, as it let her envision the world she says he brought to life. This would last for the next couple of hours, and they were both quite content with the time spent.