"Thanks for helping out, moving all these boxes alone was going to take forever," Ruby whined.

Jaune snickered. "You know this is meant to be a punishment, right? I really shouldn't be helping."

Ruby made a sound of protest, her face hidden by the cargo she was hauling down the hallway. "It wasn't my fault! I didn't get much sleep, it wasn't like I meant to fall asleep but Professor Oobleck is so – so boring. He talks so fast and the subject is about dates and people that I'll forget about in a couple of hours."

Doctor Oobleck, Jaune could already hear the man correct in his mind. He didn't mess around with his titles.

Jaune peered around the stack of boxes he was carrying, trying to get a good look at his friend. "Why didn't you get much sleep? Were you up all night playing video games again? You should have messaged me!"

"I wasn't," she groused. "Blake was – uh, nevermind."

Jaune blinked.

"You can't just start and then stop like that," Jaune huffed. "Now I'm going to be thinking about it all day. That isn't fair."

"I'll tell you when we reach the storeroom."

It didn't take them long to arrive, slipping into the dark, musty room dominated by towers of old, carefully packed boxes. Old relics and ancient scriptures that Oobleck had collected on many of his archaeological digs. It wasn't unusual for Huntsmen to have more than one profession – or rather, pursue other pastimes that their primary occupation as a Huntsmen complimented. Some people might wonder how archaeology and being a Huntsmen meshed but it was actually pretty obvious; most dig sites were in dangerous territory, teeming with the creatures of Grimm. Ancient cities or villages, lost to time and the creatures of darkness. It made a lot of sense when you actually thought about it. Instead of having to hire Huntsmen to protect him while he went about digging up lost history, he could just do it himself.

Pretty smart, really.

Jaune reckoned that Oobleck only became a Huntsman so he could follow his real passion; history. When seeing the amount of boxes this room contained, it only reinforced his belief. A lot of this stuff probably belonged in a museum and not in a forgotten classroom, only pulled out to show off to his students as teaching aids.

"Aw man, we have like twenty more," Ruby complained.

"Lucky I'm with you, huh?" Jaune teased. She pouted.

"Yeah, yeah – you're great. Oh so great. The greatest! How did I ever make a friend like you!" Ruby could be pretty funny when she was being sarcastic.

Jaune snorted. "Thanks. You should tell me how great I am more often."

Ruby poked out her tongue childishly.

"So… you were going to tell me what Blake was doing?"

All of a sudden, Ruby looked shy, fiddling with her fingers. "Um… she was, you know – dealing with stuff."

"Uh huh," Jaune deadpanned. "Oh, totally. I know what that means. Yep."

"Shut up, it's embarrassing," Ruby's cheeks become rosy.

Jaune blinked. "Oh, uh – is it private?" Now he kinda felt bad for pressing the issue. "Listen, don't worry about it – I was only messing around."

But Ruby was committed, blurting out, "She's been dealing with her heat."

Jaune opened his mouth but no sound came out.

Oh.

Oh!

Jaune felt a little hot around the collar, his skin prickling all across his back. That had been about the last thing he was expecting to hear. "Ah, okay. Right. Sure. Um – how about we go get some more boxes?"

He felt like a real jerk. He shouldn't have pushed. Sure, how was he supposed to know it was something like that and not just Blake eating in bed, getting crumbs everywhere and being a general nuisance? Even so, he felt like he'd just heard something he really shouldn't have and now that he had, his mind was running away with itself.

If she wasn't on suppressors, then there really was only one way to deal with heat unless Blake was sneaking a partner into their dorm…

Somehow, he didn't think that was the case. He'd have heard all about it courtesy of Weiss Schnee because she would not have stood for it. That girl was territorial with a capital T. But then that meant…

Jaune sucked in a sharp breath, held it – and then exhaled slowly, forcing his mind onto more immediate tasks.

"Come on," he said, voice rough. "More boxes."

They made their way back to Oobleck's classroom. When they'd left, students had still been lingering but when they returned, the place was empty. Their teams were all at lunch and if they didn't hurry, they were going to miss out.

Collecting some more boxes, he helped stack a few in Ruby's arms before claiming some of his own. Ruby was dead silent all the way back to the storeroom before she seemingly burst, unable to contain herself any more.

"Her heat has been particularly bad this time, according to her," Ruby shared and Jaune groaned.

"Ruby, should you really be telling me this?"

"She's been struggling all week," she continued, completely ignoring what he'd said. "She locks herself in the bathroom to – you know – but even so, it's really hard to ignore. Especially when we can all smell it."

"Ruby!"

"Whaaat? It's driving me nuts!" she whined. "I don't know why she just doesn't…" she trailed off before saying, "Well, I do know! But if she just asked, I'm sure they'd allow it."

"Ruby, what the hell are you talking about?"

Silver eyes blinked at him as she set her stack of boxes down. "Oh – um, nothing?"

"Are we doing this again?"

"Yup~! This time I can't tell you, sorry."

"I think that applied last time as well," Jaune sighed, placing his boxes atop the stack she'd placed on the floor. "You might have overshared a little bit. Ever hear of TMI? It means too much information."

Ruby shrugged. "I don't think she'd mind since it's you."

What was that supposed to mean?

"But I'm… a guy," Jaune said slowly. "I dunno, Rubes. I think she might mind."

She shrugged again. "Yeah, but you're like our friend, right? Even though it's a little embarrassing," Ruby flushed. "But you know all about heat, even though you're human… we all have to deal with this at various times."

The way Ruby was squirming was not helping. Not at all. He was already struggling trying not to think of Blake doing that and now Ruby was admitting that she would be doing that when the time came, and of course she would be, he already knew that but it had been a vague concept, information he knew but didn't think about.

Now he was thinking about it.

Blake's beautiful face twisted in ecstasy, her eyes pools of molten gold as she touched her lithe, graceful body with trembling fingers. Her husky voice crying out in pleasure, her porcelain cheeks flushed red with desire. Her panting mewls, a rumbling purr rolling through her as her fingers sunk in between those lovely thighs…

...Ruby's innocent, cute face slack with pleasure, those enchanting silver eyes shimmering like quicksilver as she writhed, hands buried between her slender legs. The way her small, youthful chest would thrust out as she arched her back, sweet sounds of rapture spilling from trembling lips...

Jaune cleared his throat, feeling a little tight in the pants.

"Jaune?" Ruby questioned, head tilting cutely.

"I'm hungry," he said much too loudly, nodding. "Yep! I'm absolutely starving. We better hurry up or we're going to miss out on food. Food, Ruby – food!"

She giggled. "Jaune, you're being weird."

"People are weird when they're hungry," he said sagely. "Come on, let's finish this and go eat."

There was a big problem, though. Their friends were in the dining hall – including Blake.

Jaune didn't think about that and it wasn't until they finished their job, and made their way into the dining hall and collected their tray of food before he realized just how awkward this was going to be. Jaune's eyes passed over Pyrrha's crimson locks and Weiss' snow white hair, landing on the twitching cat ears set atop a river of raven silken tresses. Amber eyes met blue, and he couldn't help but notice the way her pupils appeared a little slitted, pupils stretching and contracting.

Jaune hastily broke eye contact.

"Oh, nice of you two to join us," Yang grinned. "You shoulda let her handle it on her own, Jaune, she's the one that fell asleep in class."

"You were asleep as well," Ruby accused. "He just didn't see you!"

"You snooze, you lose," Yang sang.

"You were snoozing!" Ruby glared.

Weiss sniffed, her fluffy tail sweeping across the floor as it swung back and forth through the hole in her chair. Many of the seats were designed with tailed faunus in mind. "I do wish the pair of you would take your classes seriously. While we are judged on an individual basis, we also have a team grade that I do not wish to fail."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Weiss, you were half asleep as well, even if your eyes were open."

A faint pink hue dusted Weiss' cheeks. "I was not!"

"You know how I know?" Yang asked condescendingly. "Because you were writing gibberish in your notebook."

Weiss scowled.

Nora laughed, slapping the table. "Ahaha – busted!"

"I object to this false statement about my character," Weiss sniffed haughtily.

"I didn't fall asleep," Pyrrha needlessly poked the hornet's nest. Emerald eyes clashed with ice blue, sparks flying between the pair as they eyed each other up as if they were about to start scraping.

"Jaune," Li said, drawing his attention. She was staring at his tray. "You've got an entire chicken."

Jaune looked down and she was right; an entire rotisserie chicken was perched on his plate.

"Oh," he said dumbly.

"Jaune's hungry," Ruby spoke for him, trying her best impersonation of his voice. It was pretty bad. "He was, like – Ruby, I'm starving, we need to hurry up."

"I don't sound like that."

Yang eyed his whole chicken. "Protein, huh? Gotta keep those gains, I feel ya."

Why was everyone looking at his chicken? Was it really so unusual? He gestured at Blake's plate. "She has a whole fish."

"Yeah, but she always has a whole fish," Yang shrugged. "I don't think I've ever seen you eat an entire chicken before in one sitting. I can dig it, though. Those guns won't fuel themselves."

Nora nodded along. "Totally. Eat up, Jaune. You gotta keep that body nice and ready."

Jaune tried his best to ignore it but it was impossible. While everyone engaged in conversation, Blake was suspiciously quiet. Blake wasn't exactly the most chatty person at the best of times but she usually had a thing or two to say at any given moment. Today she was stone cold silent, though that wasn't the only strange thing going on.

She was staring straight at him.

Jaune focused on his chicken, carefully removing one of the drumsticks and taking a bite. The skin was just a little crispy, the flesh juicy, bursting with flavor; the kitchen staff at Beacon really were the best, seasoning the bird to perfection. Garlic, salt, pepper, lemon, thyme and rosemary. If only he could enjoy it to its fullest.

It was kinda hard when Blake was eyeing him up like a piece of meat. Maybe he would have been able to explain it away any other time but after Ruby had spilled the beans, and what he knew about heat…

He might be in very real danger.

Finishing off his drumstick, he glanced her way from the corner of his eye. Her breathing was a little erratic, her cheeks slowly flushing with color. Pink and moist, her tongue swiped across her bottom lip, caressing the plump, shapely flesh and causing it to glisten. Jaune swallowed and pulled off a wing, stuffing it in his mouth.

No, he wasn't in danger. Even when faunus were in heat, they weren't uncontrollable beasts that just mated with whoever was around. While they were driven by instinct to breed, they still retained things like personal desire. No matter how horny, Blake wouldn't just jump the bones of some random guy she didn't find attractive.

Blake didn't see him that way. He just happened to be the only guy at their table, so she was looking. But that is all she would do. Look.

Not only did she not view him in a romantic light but he was dating Nora and Li. They were two very big reasons he was quite safe.

He kept telling himself that as he devoured his chicken, finding that he actually was pretty damn hungry. Jaune picked the entire bird clean but saved the other drumstick, handing it over to Nora who had been watching him the entire time with a little bit of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth.

She dazzled him with a massive smile. "Thanks~!"

Li shook her head. "You shouldn't encourage her."

"If she takes my food, she won't try to take yours."

"She shouldn't take any food."

He couldn't really help it when she acted so happy afterwards. It was a small gesture but Nora treated it like he'd gifted her something precious. She tore into the drumstick like she hadn't already just eaten her own meal, quickly pulling it apart.

Jaune wiped his greasy fingers clean as the bell sounded, signaling the approaching end of lunch hour.

"What do we have next?" Ruby asked, or Jaune assumed that was what she asked. Considering she had a mouthful of food, it came out as, "Waduwehavxt?"

Weiss shot her a look of disgust but answered. "We have Combat Class."

Jaune fell into step with Pyrrha as they left the dining hall, Ruby quickly stuffing her face and chewing, miraculously not choking. Combat Class took place in the auditorium which wasn't very far away from the dining hall. Nora hopped on his other side, grabbing his hand and swinging their arms as they walked, in good spirits.

Blake was walking right behind him.

Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. So what if she was behind him? But today, she was practically glued to his back, following so closely that one false step could have the pair of them tangled and on the ground. Jaune tried not to react but he gradually found himself growing tense, especially when he heard her begin sniffing.

Was she smelling him?

His mouth went dry.

As they entered the auditorium, Jaune saw they hadn't arrived first. Sky Lark and Russel Thrush were already seated, the former spotting them as they arrived. Yang made a sound of annoyance as he stood, eyes trained on her as he approached.

"Fuck," she groaned.

"Your suitor approaches," Weiss appeared much too amused, her smile showing a hint of fang. "We shall give you some privacy."

"The fuck you will," Yang reached out and seized Weiss by the arm, holding her in place. "You're staying right here. All of you."

Ruby tittered but quickly quieted down when Yang shot her an annoyed look.

"Yang," Sky greeted, his eyes briefly giving everyone else an uncertain look. That was until his eyes landed on Jaune, a spark of anger firming his face and sharpening his features. "I was wondering if we could speak?"

"Sure," she said blandly. "What's up?"

He hesitated. "Can we go somewhere?"

"Nah, here is fine."

Suddenly he didn't look so confident.

"Oh, uh – okay. So, I've got these two tickets—"

"Lark," a loud voice boomed and almost like he materialized out of thin air, Cardin appeared, stomping over. "Where the hell have you been?"

Sky flinched.

"And where is – ah, Thrush – there you are!"

Dove Bronzewing followed after him, grinning from ear to ear. That didn't bode well for his teammates.

"We were just—" Sky tried to explain but Cardin threw a thick, muscled arm across his shoulders, steering him away without effort.

"Didn't I say I wanted to speak with both of you? You two have been slacking off lately, we need to get in some extra training before the Inter-school starts. Dove is the only one that showed up," Cardin shook his head. "Dove! Can you believe it?"

"Cardin, come on, man – it was lunch, we were eating!"

"We can eat and train at the same time. If you two embarrass us in front of the entire world," he threatened, tightening his hold. The way his arm bulged, it looked like he was about to pop Sky's head like a grape, the material of his blazer jacket stretching. "Well, I won't be happy."

"I think this is the first time in my life I've ever been happy to see Cardin Winchester," Yang said incredulously. "What the hell just happened?"

Jaune laughed.

"He really is quite smitten with you," Pyrrha commented as they found their seats. "Sky, I mean."

Yang sighed.

"I don't know why he keeps trying. I've been pretty direct in turning him down."

"You reap what you sow."

Yang glared at Weiss. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Weiss shot her an arch look. "Exactly what I said. You were the one flaunting that body at him on our first day here. Are you really so surprised that you seduced him?"

"I did not flaunt my body at him," Yang paused, thinking furiously. "Did I?"

The fact that she wasn't sure was a little bit worrying.

Li spoke up. "You made quite the scene at orientation."

A light bulb went off in Yang's mind. "Wait, that? That wasn't on purpose! Someone thought it was a good idea to haul Dust around in a suitcase and I ended up on the end of some discharged water Dust."

Weiss huffed. "Don't look at me. That accident was the fault of your sister."

Ruby pouted. "Hey~! Not fair!"

Weiss waved her off. "And even so – you were the one that then decided to make a scene, shaking those useless fat sacks around where everyone could see them. What did you think would happen when you presented yourself so boldly?"

"I was trying to air out my shirt and my bra was soaking wet," Yang growled, outraged. "And what the fuck did you just call my tits?"

Weiss sniffed. "You heard me."

"Man, I really can't stand girls that have breast envy," Yang shook her head. "I can't help it if you are less of a woman because of genetics. That's a you problem."

Weiss' look was chilling. "My point was you seduced him with your careless antics and now you have to deal with the consequences. I'm surprised that more suitors haven't come forward to claim your hand but I suppose the men here have surprisingly good taste."

Nora giggled. "You performed a mating dance."

Yang scowled. "You guys fucking suck. This isn't funny."

Pyrrha tried to deescalate the situation. "Maybe you should have a conversation with him. A real conversation," she stressed when it looked like Yang was going to push back. "Instead of just turning him down bluntly, tell him you aren't interested in him like that."

"You'd think he would realize that already," Yang grunted. Then she sighed. "What the heck, maybe you're right."

Jaune jumped as he felt something nudge against his arm.

He hadn't realized it but Blake had taken the seat on his left side. How he didn't notice this sooner was beyond him. He froze as she nuzzled her face against him, inhaling deeply.

"Uh," he began, only to stop. Jaune cast a cautious glance around. He didn't want to draw attention to it.

It didn't matter. Li spotted what was happening at once.

"Blake," Li said quietly, leaning in. "Blake, stop that."

She didn't. In fact, she did quite the opposite, rubbing her face against his arm even harder.

Jaune shot Li a helpless look. "This isn't my fault."

Thankfully she didn't appear upset at him. She didn't even appear upset with Blake, a calm smile on her face. "I know. She can't really help it."

Jaune watched as Li leaned in and began whispering to Blake, her kitty ears twitching and flicking. She was speaking too quietly for him to hear what she was saying but whatever it was, it did the trick. After one final nuzzle, Blake reluctantly pulled away, her slender fingers curling into fists on her lap.

"Sorry," Blake muttered, abashed. She looked like she was about to cry.

"No, uh – it's fine," Jaune reassured her, shooting her a smile. "I – I didn't mind."

What else was he supposed to say?

Li's lips twitched.

"You didn't?" Blake asked, her voice wavering.

"Uh, no. I was just surprised, that's all."

Blake bit her lip, her entire body trembling from head to toe. "You're such a good man. A great man."

Li placed one of her hands atop Blake's head, stroking her hair. "Yes, he is, isn't he? A stupidly good man."

"Mhm," Blake purred, leaning into Li's touch. "I – I think I need…"

Li seemed to understand what she meant. "I'll let Professor Goodwitch know."

Blake nodded a little too eagerly, hastily getting to her feet. Jaune watched as she hurriedly made her way outside, quickly darting out the doors and beyond his sight.

"Poor girl," Li murmured.

"Will she be okay?"

Li shot him an amused look. "She'll be having more fun than all of us, don't worry."

Jaune's mind quickly connected the dots. He covered his face, leaning forward with his elbows planted on his knees.

"Li," Jaune hissed.

She gave him a rare laugh.

"I know you aren't so oblivious that you don't understand what she is currently going through."

"Yeah, I know," he muttered. "Ruby sort of spilled the beans earlier today."

Li blinked. "Oh, so you are that oblivious. Jaune, she has been dealing with it all week."

"Ruby also mentioned that…"

Thinking back, Blake had been a little distant over the last handful of days since his date with Nora and Li but this was the first day she'd shown such clear signs that it was unmistakable. Who was he kidding? He hadn't cottoned on until Ruby had shoved it in his face. Jaune tried to remember if anything stood out at breakfast or in class.

Yeah, he was just that dumb.

Li shook her head. "You can be remarkably observant at times and really dense at others."

"Uh, sorry?"

"It's fine. I like that about you."

She cradled his left hand in both of hers.

"She'll be fine. Heat typically gets worse just before the end. Once it breaks, she'll be back to normal."

"And you really don't mind that she was…" he trailed off but it was clear what he was trying to ask.

Li blinked at him. "Rubbing her face all over you?"

Jaune nodded.

"Not really," she said, leaning in and resting her head against his arm, right where Blake had been nuzzling him. "I'll just have to cover her scent with mine."

Jaune wasn't sure if Li was being serious or not. It was hard to tell when his girlfriend was so deadpan sometimes.

"...if I said it was okay to help her out, would you?"

Jaune wasn't sure if he heard that right. "What?"

Li leaned back, pinning him with those beautiful eyes of hers. She opened her mouth but didn't get the chance to repeat herself, as at that moment Professor Goodwitch entered. Her heeled boots clacked against the hardwood of the stage, her posture immaculate. Glynda Goodwitch was a no-nonsense sort of woman, her stern visage and bespectacled glare halting all conversation in the room. Draped around her shoulders and down her back like a cape were a pair of leathery wings, looking more like a garment than the faunus traits they were. Bat wings.

She was tall, well over six foot with platinum blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun with a single bang on the right side, curled into ringlets. Vivid green eyes scanned across the gathered class, immediately noticing something was amiss.

"Where is Blake Belladonna?" she asked, voice crisp like the crack of a whip.

Ruby turned, searching.

"Where did she go?" she hissed, panicking.

Li stood up, redirecting Goodwitch's attention from Ruby to her. "She wasn't feeling well, miss. I told her to go get some rest."

Goodwitch considered her for a moment. "Very well. Let us proceed."

Li sat down.

Yang peered at Li curiously. "Is she okay?"

Li nodded. "She was having trouble focusing."

Yang wore an expression of understanding, her eyes briefly flicking to Jaune before moving away. "Ah, gotcha."

"Now then," Goodwitch called, garnering their undivided attention. "Today you will be engaging in two-vs-two bouts with a focus on teamwork. But there is a catch – you will not be teaming with anyone from your allocated team."

A series of groans echoed around the stands. Jaune quickly forgot Li's strange question.

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