Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

The next morning came and went without much of anything happening. Professor Port informed them that they would be having a test the following week and that they must be prepared for it as it was worth a significant portion of their grade. Dr. Oobleck instructed them on the different historical uses of terrain in large scale conflict and showed them how they might use the same tactics while engaging with groups of Grimm, the concepts of choke points and flanking being broken down by varying effectiveness against different types and sizes of beasts. Then there was Professor Goodwitch's sparring class, no one from either team RWBY or team JNPR fought that day. They did get a rather good show when they all got to see Yatsuhashi go up against a pair of first years. Professor Goodwitch had asked that he come in to show the class the difference between the average ability level of their class and that of a high ranked and experienced student. The boy and girl who were chosen put up a valiant effort but were not prepared for the hulking man to also be much faster than them. He made short work of them, without humiliating them and then left to return to his own class.

Lunch was much calmer than the day before as it seemed Cardin had chosen to leave their group alone for the time being. This was probably a good decision on his part seeing as Nora was still chomping at the bit to do something terrible and destructive to the boy. The two teams sat together as they always did but Ruby and Jaune did not sit together. It seemed everyone else had left a purposeful space large enough for the both of them but Jaune had sat at the end of their group seemingly ignorant to the wingmanning both teams were trying to do for him. After lunch though as they broke apart to head to very separate weapons specialty courses, Jaune caught up with Ruby alone.

"Hey Ruby, wait up." The blonde boy didn't really need to have her stop as his much longer stride had him standing beside her nearly before he had finished speaking. She turned and waited all the same though and picked up again once he had reached her.

"Hey. What's up Jaune?" Ruby did not meet his eyes and instead looked ahead and slightly down, as if intent on ensuring that she didn't trip.

"I was wondering if you had time tonight to figure out our next team training? I kind of wanted to do it this weekend." He tucked his thumbs under the edges of his chest plate and tugged at it, fidgeting even though it was adjusted perfectly.

"Oh uhh yeah. Did you wanna just meet in one of our rooms or something?" Ruby relaxed a little, this was just team leader stuff, nothing she couldn't handle.

"Actually I was thinking we could head down to the Stardust again. Or somewhere else in town if you want. I had maybe some ideas to surprise our teams." Jaune looked over to her, trying to judge her response.

"Okay, yeah. My last class lets out at six. Is after that okay?" It was a little strange to meet outside of school but if Jaune really did have some plans to surprise their teams it made sense to be somewhere even Blake's hearing wouldn't catch them.

"Yeah, actually I asked Pyrrha if we could do our training early today so we would have time. I get out today around three so we'll train, I'll shower and stuff and meet you at the airbus?" This was going great and Jaune smiled, why had he been so nervous. They had planned things like this before and even gone out as just the two of them. This was totally normal and something he shouldn't have worried about.

"Are you sure Jaune? I don't want to interrupt your practice. Or throw off Pyrrha's schedule." If them being together even as team leaders was disrupting Pyrrha's time with him she would feel like she was intruding, "Maybe we can just meet in the library or something here on campus?"

"No, no, really it's fine. Pyrrha gets out at the same time as me and we'll both still be geared from our last class so it works better this way." A bell chimed from speakers which were hidden and blended well into the architecture of the hallways, "I gotta go, I'll see you at the airbus just before seven?"

"Okay, sure. I'll see you then Jaune." Ruby waved as the boy ran off to his class in the other direction. Professor Peach would have his head if he was late. She was so strict.

Ruby shielded her eyes as the airbus pushed hard to take off back into the slowly darkening sky. It's engines roared and the air pulsed with the force of its thrust as the ship pulled away from the landing pad. The sound began to fade and Jaune came jogging back from the bathrooms, looking much better than he usually did after the short flight down from Beacon.

"Hey that was fast."

"Yeah, I got a routine going. And I think I'm getting better too. It's not even that bad anymore." Jaune smiled at himself, proud to now be able to go almost the entire ride without feeling sick, even though the airbuses were something that nearly everyone in Vale used on a daily basis without incident.

"That's good. It must be awful getting sick like that." Ruby said cheerfully and Jaune sighed

"Yeah, but I'm used to it. Come on let's get to the Stardust, I bet there's a line tonight." Jaune headed off and Ruby hurried behind. They made their way to the shop mostly in silence. It was a little warmer than the last time they were here and there were more people walking the streets, although that was probably because it was a weekday and they were all leaving work and out for the evening.

They stepped inside to find that Jaune had been correct and there was in fact a larger line than before. They stepped into place and began patiently awaiting their turn. Jaune looked at the pastry cabinet where Ruby's eyes were usually plastered, she was however currently staring at the ceiling and fiddling with hem or her hood absent mindedly.

"Just gonna get your chocolate croissant again?" his question broke her lack of concentration and pulled her back to reality.

"Uhh, no. I think I'm just gonna go with some tea tonight." she twisted the toe of one boot against the ground and looked up at the drink menu without reading any of it.

"Tea? Really? You know they have chocolate flavored coffee drinks right?" he gestured up to a section of the menu, "Any of the drinks that say Mocha."

"Yeah really, I'm okay. Thanks though. I just don't really want a chocolatey drink tonight."

Jaune gently touched the back of his hand to Ruby's forehead to check her temperature, "Do I need to take you to the hospital?" Ruby laughed and brushed his hand away, scooting almost imperceptibly away as she turned from him to look towards the front of the line.

"No really I'm okay," she laughed a little again, "I just want something else is all."

"If you say so." Jaune looked back up to the menu, "Yep, I'm just gonna get coffee," he laughed overly loud, "It's really good here, better than I can make but not quite as good as Ren's. I don't know what he does different but it just tastes awesome."

The couple people in front of them had placed their orders and were waiting off to the side for their drinks now so Jaune stepped up to the counter. The cashier greeted him kindly, although it wasn't the same faunus girl as before, and asked his order.

"One black coffee please," he turned to Ruby, "Which kind of tea?"

"Wuh? Uhh, the Very Berry."

"And one Very Berry Tea please. For Jaune and Ruby." Jaune got out his wallet and paid for both drinks.

"You didn't have to do that Jaune." Ruby hadn't even had time to protest as Jaune had paid for her drink and stepped aside to let others order.

"It's okay. And you kind of paid for me last time right? So we're even now." He smiled and found an empty space of wall for them to wait on for their drinks. Ruby looked about the store and saw how many people there were. She stepped away from the crowd pressing in around the drink bar and into a corner, sheltered by the wall on one side and Jaune on the other. He scooted over on the wall a little so she has plenty of room to stand.

"Well thank you." Ruby gave Jaune a brief smile, "So what did you have in mind for training?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah. I was thinking that we could go up to the mountains maybe, for a change of scenery. Or fight in those ruins where we fought the Nevermore to simulate some urban combat."

"I don't know. The Grimm concentrations are way higher in those areas. If something finds us after we've all been fighting…." She trailed off in worry.

"We can set the aura limits a little higher than last time. So we all have a comfortable little buffer if anything happens. And we'll have all eight of us there right? So it shouldn't be an issue." Jaune kicked one foot up against the wall and leaned, trying to look relaxed.

"I guess yeah. That should be okay then. That's a good idea though, so we can train in different places." Ruby grabbed the edge of her cloak with one hand below her waist and kind of scrunched it up in her hand.

"Hey Ruby are you okay?" Jaune looked ather with genuine concern now, not the mock concern of a few moments ago.

"Yeah Jaune I'm okay. I guess I'm just tired from class all day."

"Okay. The tea should help." Jaune smiled again, taking her answer without a single grain of salt and immediately accepting it, "I was thinking too-

"John and Ruby, your drinks are ready." the employee called out from behind the bar and set their tea and coffee on the counter. Jaune walked over and grabbed the drinks for them both.

"So I know they always get my name wrong, but really?" he turned the names to Ruby and showed her that they had written John on the tea and Ruby on the coffee. Ruby laughed and accepted her tea from him.

"Can we sit outside? It's kind of cramped in here."

Jaune looked around the store and saw that there weren't many open chairs, "After you," he motioned towards the door with an exaggerated sweep of his arm.

The pair made their way outside and found a small table cuddled in the corner of the seating area with the building on one side and a small bush that helped block the evening breeze. It was rather late at this point and the sun was almost entirely gone now, the sky already starting to darken in the East. Jaune let Ruby take the seat with her back to the plant and he sat facing the street so he could watch everyone who walked by.

"Did you have any other ideas for what we could do? Do you want to just do a full team sparring match again?" Jaune looked over the lid of his coffee cup at Ruby who was sitting slightly away from the table, clutching her tea in her lap with both hands.

"Yeah, or maybe pairs this time. Like Weiss and I against Nora and Ren. You know, partner battles."

"That could be fun yeah. It would also leave the other four to watch for any Grimm that might show up that far from campus." Jaune set his cup down and looked at the writing there. The word Ruby was written with a distinctly feminine flourish, most likely the work of the female cashier. The 'R' had a little swoop at the end of the leg and the 'y' had a curled tail. He rubbed his thumb over the letters and felt a heat in his cheeks.

"Hey Ruby?" she looked up from her drink where she had been very intently staring down the straw, "I wanted to say thank you." Ruby cocked her head to the side in confusion but just let him continue. "When I got here I didn't know anyone and you talked with me, you walked around with me and found the dorms. You didn't even think my sword was lame and I know it is. Especially compared to something like Crescent Rose." Jaune saw the exact smile he expected from Ruby, anyone who knew the girl at all knew that she was incredibly proud of her handcrafted weapon and would always take praise of it well over praise for herself.

"Jaune, I didn't know anybody either. I only had Yang but she ran off, and I had just blown Weiss up and been yelled at and then Blake defended me but she disappeared right after." Ruby tried to blow off his praise, honestly he had been as good of a thing for her on the first day as she had for him.

"Yeah, but you kept being great. When we were made team leaders, neither of us was confident, you were young and inexperienced and I was far outclassed by everyone else on my team. But you held your head high and jumped into the role, I shied away from it and almost let my team down. But you helped me. That talk you gave me in the hallway that night. I've been living by those words ever since." Jaune didn't let her self-deprecation slow him down one bit. He had set a goal and was barreling towards it without slowing down.

"Okay," Ruby was uncertain of how to respond.

"I guess Ruby, what I'm saying is that you're really important to me, and I like seeing you happy and smiling and thinking I had even a part in that. I wanna be there to make you smile more."

"Jaune you do make me smile," Ruby reached out a hand, thinking that maybe he was having a crisis of confidence again and thought that her behavior today towards him was because she was growing to dislike him. Jaune saw her hand and reached across the small table, setting his coffee down and grabbing her hand in both of his.

"Ruby, would you be my girlfriend? I've been thinking about it a lot and that's who I want to be to you." Ruby stopped, the care on her face broke into an expression somewhere between shock and fear. Jaune locked eyes with her, waiting for her response.

She didn't say anything.

He dropped her hand and put his own in his lap, "I'm sorry. That was dumb. You know, we'e leaders together but-"

"Yes" her response was quiet and subdued, but it was enough to stop Jaune's rambling mid sentence, "Yes Jaune. I will be your girlfriend." He looked up from his hands and found her eyes, there were small unfallen tears pooled at the base but her cheeks were pinched in a happy smile. She laughed at his shocked expression and the tears fell lightly on her pale cheeks. She quickly darted a hand up to wipe her cheeks and Jaune handed her a napkin from the dispenser on the table.

"Here, here." He laughed too as she took the napkin from him and wiped the traces of water away. She balled it up and gripped it against the side of her cup.

"I'm sorry, it's just. I knew I liked you and I wanted you to ask me. But, I guess, I guess I just wasn't ready when you actually did." Ruby looked over at him, her eyes shining now.

"You had me worried, I really thought I had messed up there." Jaune breathed heavily and took a long drink of his coffee to steady himself.

"No, no Jaune you did perfect." Ruby smiled and sat up straighter, all of her tension was gone now that that was resolved. She had been so worried about what it would be like spending time with Jaune now that she had come to terms with her feelings that she kind of shut down around him. She was being completely honest when she said she didn't want to step on Pyrrha's toes so it seemed like she had to stop being quite so 'Ruby' around Jaune and that had been hard. But now, now they were past that. "Do you wanna go for a walk?"

"Yeah that sounds nice." Jaune stood, he pushed his chair back with his knees as he stood and offered a chivalrous hand to Ruby, "M'Lady"

Ruby giggled furiously, bowed her head with an overly grand flourish and lightly took hold of his fingers as she stood, "Why thank you, Sir Arc." she performed a clumsy curtsy and then grabbed her tea.

They left the small seating area and headed out onto the streets of Vale to take their first walk, together, not just as friends and fellow team leaders, but as a couple. Ruby clenched her tea in both hands as they walked, keeping the straw right up by her mouth so she barely had to move to take a sip. Jaune tucked one hand in the pocket at the front of his hoodie and kept the other out to carry his drink as well. He made sure to stand on Ruby's right hand side so as to be between her and the road. It wasn't that Jaune didn't think she could handle herself, or even that there was any particular danger of a stray car or anything of the sort in Vale. He had just picked up these types of habits subconsciously, growing up with his sisters and always being overly protective of them, even the older ones.

They walked for a moment in silence, just the ambient sounds of the city and Ruby sipping on her tea before she gasped and Jaune stopped dead in his tracks, the stupid grin which hadn't left his face since Ruby said yes turning to a look of shock and worry.

"What's wrong?"

"Well I just realized, we are gonna have to tell Yang…" Ruby had a dreadful tone to her voice, as if she had just told Jaune there was a stampede of Death Stalkers headed for the city.

"Is that bad?" Jaune had not thought it would be a big deal. Yang seemed easy going and light hearted, she was Ruby's older sister but she was a bubbly and energetic person. She would probably be happy for them and just tell lots more terrible jokes.

"I mean, I told her I liked you when I told the rest of my team. She seemed okay with it. Said you were a good guy. I just… she's really over protective." the dread had not left her voice. She was looking to Jaune with worried eyes, halfway between her pouting face and absolute terror, it tore at Jaune's most tender heart strings.

"Oh, is that all?" he tried to play it off as best he could, "I understand that. I was the same way with my sisters and any guy that ever tried to date any of them. I'll talk to her about it. I'm sure it will be fine. Ruby's tension did not ease.

"Jaune." she was so serious, "It's not just that. Yeah she's my older sister, but when my Mom died Yang had to step in and fill that spot too. And when we were growing up Dad was gone a lot on missions so she was that sometimes too. Plus it's Yang, you know she blew a hole in the side of the training gym the other day because someone called her 'top heavy' right?"

Jaune's easy smile faded more with every sentence ending in a small grimace with the final example. "So uhh, what should we do?"

"We have to tell her. Just, uhh, maybe bring your shield." Ruby tried to give him a reassuring grin but it did little to ease his anxiety, "What about your team? Any problems on that side?" Ruby knew the answer that Jaune didn't but she wanted to make sure Ren and Nora would be okay with their new relationship as well.

"Well Nora is super excited. I kind of told my whole team how I felt about you, to get their advice." Jaune was blushing hard now, trying to look at a man in the distance to distract himself and act nonchalant. "Ren seemed supportive of me, and Pyrrha just really wanted to know if I was sure about how I felt. Her asking me the reasons I felt how I do is actually a huge reason I got the courage to ask you. Putting all the reasons out there in the open made me realize it wasn't just a crush or something." And now it was Ruby's turn to be embarrassed, she looked at her feet and ground the toe of her left boot into the ground.

"Really? You feel that way?" her voice was quiet.

"Oh yeah. I was scared to death to ask you out. I didn't want to ruin everything. Not just us but our team's friendship. Plus we have to live across the hall from each other for the next four years, could you imagine?" Jaune laughed.

Ruby darted forward and hugged him, dropping her mostly empty tea cup to the ground and wrapping her arms tight around his middle. Jaune was startled at first by the suddenness of her action but quickly recovered and put his arms around her shoulders. She nuzzled her head into his warm hoody and Jaune's grin widened. Even through his outerwear he could feel her warmth, radiating out of her face and cheeks, surely causing a blush that he just couldn't see.

After much longer contact than they usually shared, Ruby pulled away almost as fast as she had dove in and looked away from him at the ground.

"Sorry, I just. What you said made me really happy." she started when she turned and saw her cup lying on the ground, a small puddle of tea spilling out onto the sidewalk, "Oh I'm sorry Jaune and you bought it for me too." she quickly stooped and picked it up, being sure not to spill any more tea as she did and threw the cup away in a nearby trashcan.

"Oh that's alright," Jaune laughed good naturedly, "It was worth it" They both blushed a little and stood there in silence, unable to say anything to each other. Finally Jaune found his voice and started with a stutter.

"So- umm- Ruby. Now that we are- well you said yes and all-"

"Yeah?"

"Well now that we're dating. Would you like to hold my hand while we walk?"Ruby's blush returned with full force and she kneaded at the edge of her cloak with her right hand, the one she would have to extend to Jaune if she said yes, "If you don't want to yet or if it's weird that I asked I get it, I just-"

Ruby's hand darted out and grabbed Jaune's from the air. Their fingers didn't interlock, they just wrapped their fingers around each other's palms, almost as if they were shaking hands but with the wrong hands. Jaune caught his words in his throat and that silly grin returned, he squeezed her hand a little, reassuringly and turned to keep walking. Ruby came with him, not hesitating at all.

"You know you have to worry about Weiss too?" Ruby turned to him and said.

"Really? Do you think she'll feel scorned? Because I asked her out so much and switched to you?" Jaune was actually worried about this one. He knew that a girl's best friend was not something to trifle with.

"Oh no, that's not it at all. She doesn't think you're good enough for me is all. You know how she is." Ruby seemed perfectly happy about it, not a note of worry in her voice at all.

"Alright. Well I will just have to prove to her that I am." Jaune held his coffee high in the air like a torch, putting on his best hero face and causing a giggle to emit from his little brunette girlfriend.

"I'm sure you'll do just that." Ruby's blush was practically gone now and had been replaced by her usual gigantic grin.

They walked on for a while like that, about a foot apart and connected by their interlocked hands. They talked about lots of things while they circled the block surrounding the Stardust. Jaune told Ruby that Nora thought they would be one giant team now, Ruby reminded him that this did not mean she would go easy on him. Ever. They finished planning their team training session, agreeing that that Saturday was a time that worked best for both their team's training schedules. They discussed classes and upcoming exams, how funny Professor Port was and whether or not the rumors that Professor Goodwitch and Dr. Oobleck were secretly dating were true at all. They walked and talked until the moon hung high in the sky above their heads. The streets were practically empty now and they were accompanied mostly by the soft hum of the street lamps.

"We should get back. It's getting pretty late." Jaune looked to his wrist, just to remember he never wore a watch. Ruby looked up to the moon and then pulled out her scroll, surprise crossed her face as soon as the illuminated screen showed her the time.

"Jaune the last airbus leaves in like three minutes!" she pocketed her phone and let go of his hand, for the first time since grabbing it, so she could tighten her cloak.

"Oh no, we'll never make that. We'll have to call a driver or something." Jaune cursed his lack of restraint, knowing they should have headed back much earlier than this. Ruby looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean we'll never make it?" she gripped his hand much more tightly this time, "Ruby Rose is never late." There peaceful nighttime air was suddenly filled with beautiful rose petals and Jaune Arc's terrified scream as Ruby threw her semblance into high gear and tore off down the empty streets towards the airbus. They made it there just as the ship was touching down and had a moment to catch their breath as the door hissed open.

"Wow, that'll come in handy." Jaune was rubbing the inside of his left arm, sore from being jerked around the turns on their way there.

"Oh yeah, I could never be on time if it weren't for my semblance." Ruby smiled proudly, putting both hands on her hips and standing tall.

They held hands again and made their way up the short ramp and onto the airbus. Immediately they felt two pairs of eyes on them, boring into their souls. Ruby and Jaune turned to the end of the airbus, hunter training preparing them for anything. Except the angry glares of both Weiss and Yang.

"Ruby Rose, you are late." Weiss pointed an accusatory finger.

"And in sooooo much trouble." Yang had her arms crossed and was stamping her foot impatiently. Ruby and Jaune both looked down at their tightly clasped hands and back at the upset girls alone with them in the airbus.

"No, no wait. We can explain." they spoke as one.

A/N - Mhmmm Mhmmm (that's a boat horn) because the ship has sailed. If you have questions about the future of this fic, please view the description which specifically avoids naming any ships that will be present. That was a weird one to write for me, stepping outside my very warm and fuzzy Arkos comfort zone there. It felt, strange, but also liberating. Afterwards I read lots of Milk and Cereal fics as well as some North Pole and I realized Pyrrha is just fine with others. Speaking of, are there any other good non-arkos Pyrrha ships out there? I would love some suggestions of stuff to read.

I hope you liked this chapter. There will be one more chapter on Tuesday before I take my little break for Anime Expo. I might have some time to write and post during that break, but I won't be updating this story or "Clubbin' ". If I do post anything it will just be little one shots and maybe a string of anti-Cardin stories just to get some of that out of my system.

Thanks so much for reading.

-Zach