Hello one and all!

I come bearing gifts! And by gifts, I mean a chapter. And by a chapter, I mean some damn well deserved Dark Knight fluff. It's a very vanilla chapter, and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.

So many easter eggs, this one. Shoutouts to all those mentioned!

This chapter's song is "Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg. An oldie but a goodie.

Beta: Maxaro, as always.

Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop

Jaune parked the Crown Victoria by the curbside and exited the vehicle, hastily donning a coat and scarf to brace the icy weather, which had somehow gotten even colder, if you could believe that. Leaving a trail of visible breath, he walked in a brisk pace towards the quaint-looking tea shop and opened its door, which chimed in response.

The lone barista looked up and gave Jaune a friendly smile, still somewhat woozy due to the fact that it was almost 2 in the morning and there were unsurprisingly very few people actually in the shop. The blonde smiled back politely and walked over to a table in the far corner, which was currently occupied by a very pretty dark-haired girl with a bow.

The girl looked up from her mug and gave Jaune a warm smile as he sat in the seat opposite her.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Blake snickered. "You certainly know how to make an entrance."

Jaune shrugged sheepishly. "Well, what can I say? I kinda left the nicest girl I ever met hanging, so right about now I don't think I qualify for the title of 'someone who knows what he's doing.'"

"You're fine," Blake laughed. "I've been pretty much improvising this entire night, and it's been a fucking nightmare, so don't worry about it."

The blonde smiled knowingly. It had definitely been one hell of a night.

"Another order of hot chocolate, ma'am?"

The two looked up to see the barista from up front setting down a steaming hot cup on the table.

"Thank you," smiled Blake graciously, turning to Jaune. "I got that one for you."

"Aw, you shouldn't have!"

"Well I did, so you should probably drink it before it gets cold," smirked Blake.

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Fair point." He proceeded to take a sip of the rich, chocolaty drink, wary of burning his tongue.

"Oh, don't be a baby," snarked Blake, watching him with amusement in her eyes.

"Hey, you can never be too careful when it comes to hot drinks. Trust me, I'm friends with Nora."

"Ah." Blake grimaced at the thought of Nora handling hot liquids of any kind. "Yeah, I can see how that could end badly."

Jaune grinned, setting the mug down. "Hey Blake?"

"Yes?"

"I like that jacket."

Blake looked down at the jacket. For the hundredth time that night, she had forgotten she was wearing it. "Thanks Jaune. You want it back."

The blonde scrutinized her for a second. "Nah. You should keep it. It looks better on you, I think."

The faunus girl blushed. "You flatter me."

"Wouldn't say it if it wasn't true," replied Jaune, winking at her. "I do have to ask. How did you end up here? I thought Ren was taking you and Yang home."

Blake shifted uncomfortably. "It's… a long story."

"Don't wanna talk about it?"

"Well… I almost made a really huge mistake." Her eyes darted towards the ground.

Jaune smiled. "Can't be much worse than what I did."

"Stop it, Jaune," Blake laughed in return. "What did I say about blaming yourself?"

"This one's actually my fault though."

"And I forgave you for it, so end of story." Blake's tone was light, but firm.

The blonde sighed. "Alright. You won't hear me talking about that anymore."

"Good." The faunus girl's expression grew shy as an idea popped into her head. "Hey… you wanna do something after this?"

Jaune sipped his hot chocolate. "It's 2 in the morning. What could you possibly have in mind?"

"Oh…" Blake gave him a sly grin. "I might have a few ideas."

"Jesus, Jaune, your taste in music is impeccable."

Jaune grinned as he continued to drive based off of the directions that Blake gave him. "It's certainly one of my few redeeming qualities, for sure."

"Oh hush, you," Blake laughed, nudging the blonde in his side before continuing to rifle through his massive collection of CDs. "You've got all the Casey albums, they're all absolutely fantastic. Holy shit, L. Mar Hall!? Yang got me into him. She'd probably love to borrow this album…"

The blonde watched his passenger from out of the corner of his eye as her excitement grew tenfold with every album she recognized, which, at this point, was all of them.

"I didn't picture you to be the excited type of person, to be perfectly honest," commented Jaune with a grin. "It's kinda cute."

"Only Yang's ever seen this side of me," admitted Blake. "And thanks… I think?"

She suddenly elicited a gasp. "Oh. My. God. The Branwen Twins? You're the only other person I know who's even heard of them! They're so good. Hold on, I have to play this." She popped the disc into the Crown Victoria's CD player, and almost immediately, the car's stereo began pumping out light, airy synthpop rhythms over a rattling bass.

"Ah…" Blake slid down the passenger's seat in pure ecstasy. She turned the volume down just a little bit. "How do you have so much good music?"

Jaune flashed a smile. "Some of it comes with being in a band, and some of it comes from going to a lot of music festivals. One of my favorite memories ever is the time Ren, Nora, and I got tickets to Mistralpalooza about three years ago."

"You went to Mistralpalooza?" Blake's eyes widened. "Color me jealous. I've always wanted to go."

"Oh, it was by far one of the coolest things I've ever done. The lineup was phenomenal – The Branwen Twins were there. There was also L. Mar Hall, Reclaimer, Destiny's Tail, Elf Corroborator, Auburner, The Freelancer Project, Ensign-J …"

Jaune grinned. "Funny thing is, that jacket you're wearing is an Ensign-J jacket that their lead singer threw into the crowd. It's always been too small for me, so lucky that you came around."

Blake froze and examined the jacket even closer than before, and sure enough, there was the little triangle on the right breast of the jacket with the words "Ensign-J" stitched underneath it.

"You have no idea how much I love Ensign-J. I'm going to wear this jacket forever now." Blake sighed. "I'm still pretty envious of you for going to Mistralpalooza. That festival is near the top of my bucket list."

"I can take you, if you'd like," offered Jaune.

"… Would you really?"

"Oh absolutely. We've been meaning to go again this year, the lineup's supposed to be pretty good. Kuma, Darkworld, Jian Bing, Das Openhaus, and T.O.B. are headlining this year."

Blake shivered in excitement. "I'd love to hear from you if you decide to go. If I got to see any of those bands live, I think I would melt."

Jaune chuckled at her enthusiasm. "I'll let you know. Maybe you could bring Yang along." He suddenly shuddered. "I'm not looking forward to that airship ride, though."

"Why's that?"

"I get airsick pretty easily."

"Ugh." Blake cringed. "How'd you manage the last time?"

"Messily," answered Jaune crossly.

"Ah. Well at least now you know, right?" the faunus girl offered hopefully.

"I try my best to forget it."

"Right… Oh hey, we're here!"

Jaune frowned as he pulled up next to the inconspicuous-looking building. It had a single window and no lights to brighten its already drab exterior.

"Blake… what is this place?" inquired the blonde suspiciously as they walked up to the single steel door, complete with both a deadbolt and an electronic PIN lock. "It looks like a strip club."

"What!? No, it does not look like a… I guess it kind of looks like a strip club… but I promise you it isn't!" Blake waved her hands frantically.

Jaune lifted an eyebrow. "Okay, then what is it?"

"Oh, you'll like this," Blake grinned, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

She pulled out a key ring and unlocked the deadbolt before typing in a six-digit code into the electronic lock. It beeped happily, and with a wink at Jaune, Blake pushed the door open.

At the slightest movement, the lights inside the building flickered on immediately, revealing a long hallway with various guitars and awards hanging from the walls. A very museum-like vibe radiated from the mahogany walls and dim lighting, and the carpet flooring served to keep the hallway very quiet and muffled.

Jaune whistled. "With all these guitars I can see why you've got all those locks on the door."

"This isn't even the best part," Blake smirked, taking Jaune's hand and leading him towards a darkened sign at the very back of the hallway. The sign had a singular lightbulb hanging over it, which remained off despite the rest of the lights turning on. Blake pulled a switch next to the sign, which activated the light, illuminating the fading, hand-painted words on the sign.

The blonde squinted.

"Ozpin Studios… no."

Blake watched in glee as Jaune's jaw hit the ground.

"No way… THE Ozpin Studios!? I'm standing in Ozpin Studios… right now. Holy fuck. This is unreal. Ozpin Studios!?" Jaune mumbled incoherently.

"The one and only," beamed the faunus girl.

Jaune turned to her. "How?"

Blake smirked sheepishly. "I… used to work here."

The blonde eyes grew even wider. "You? Worked here? With the great and powerful Ozpin? I mean, you met him, right?"

"Of course! He was the one that hired me," Blake leaned back contently, reminiscing. "I really did enjoy working with him. Hell, I even helped him produce some pretty big name bands. And I guess he liked having me around. I mean, he did give me an extra set of keys when I quit in case I ever wanted to come mess around… It was awfully nice of him."

Jaune's expression grew slightly somber. "So what made you quit? I can't imagine anyone wanting leave a job like this."

Blake gave him a sad smile. "I was still friends with Adam when I worked here. When he found out… he just kept asking me to strike a record deal with Ozpin, even after we rejected him for God knows how many times."

She sighed. "Not only that, he decided it would be fantastic to tell basically everyone he knew, and from then on I just became known as 'the music studio girl.' Nobody ever came to talk to me about anything except getting a record deal."

"That's pretty shitty… you quit an awesome job like this because one guy fucked you over?" Jaune scowled.

Blake nodded. "Pretty much. But enough about my past." Her expression brightened once more. "You wanna see where the magic happens?"

She opened the door directly to the left of the sign, and Jaune inhaled deeply at the magnificent sight that lay before him.

An absurdly immense mixing console filled up most of the first room, which also served as a base for a multitrack recorder, a large monitor, and a few studio speakers. To the side laid some analog equipment; opposite of the console rested a plethora of synthesizers, keyboards, amplifiers, and guitars. Directly above the console, a glass wall provided a grand view of an isolation booth filled with soundproofing foam. Designated for acoustic recording, the room was peppered with various microphones, acoustic guitars, and a drum kit.

Jaune wiped the drool from his mouth (which he was admittedly unaware of until just now) and walked slowly towards the console, as if in a trance.

"This… is beautiful," breathed Jaune. He explored about the room a few times, before gesturing grandly to the room itself. "It's all beautiful!"

Propped up against the doorway, Blake couldn't help but giggle as the grown man delightedly bounced around the room like an excited puppy that had just happened upon a full box of brand new squeaky toys.

"Holy shit, look at this stuff!" Jaune picked up a bass and started to riff. "I am in paradise right now, Blake."

The faunus girl laughed. "We should record something. I always get a blast out of using the console. Get in the booth!"

Jaune grinned excitedly and, after setting down the bass, practically sprinted through the soundproof door to the second room.

Blake flipped the console on and plugged in a desk mic. She watched through the glass as Jaune found a pair of headphones comfortable enough to wear.

As soon as he found a decent pair, Blake grinned and whispered slyly into her mic. "Hey Jaune."

The blonde boy jumped in surprise at the disembodied voice. "Uh… can you hear me?"

"Yup. There's a ceiling mic right in front of you."

"Whoa… That is so weird. It's like you're in my head."

Blake snickered. "What do you mean? I've always been here. It's cozy in your head," she joked.

Jaune laughed. "Well, you're gonna need to pay rent at some point or another."

"Then can you fix the leaky ceiling?"

"Very funny." Jaune snorted. "So… what did you want to record?"

"Whatever you like. There's some acoustic guitars behind you, if you want to use one."

The blonde nodded and picked up the nearest guitar. He gave it a few test strums before deciding it was to his liking. "Y'know, I've never really done much songwriting in my band… but there's this song that I've been meaning to pitch to Nora for some time now."

Blake smiled at him. "Let's do that one, then. Ready whenever you are." She pressed the "record" button.

Jaune smiled back. He walked up to overhead mic, took a deep breath, and started to play a steady, quarter-note rhythm.

The riff continued uncertainly for a brief moment before growing in confidence, and before too long, Jaune began to sing in a soft, airy voice.

"Fuel the helo,

Check the rotor,

And I believe in you.

And I believe in you.

Can you hear me?

Lima, Charlie!

And I believe in you.

And I believe in you…"

Blake followed along intently as Jaune crooned the rest of the upbeat, almost nostalgia-inducing song. He finished the recording with a playful flourish of the guitar strings, looking at the faunus girl expectantly.

Blake took a moment to shrug off the chills that ran up her spine before ending the recording.

"That… that was beautiful, Jaune," she murmured quietly. "You should sing more often. Your voice is lovely."

The blonde blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Ah… well, thanks."

The faunus girl smiled.

A familiar warm feeling bubbled within her chest. A happiness of sorts. Not the kind you get from discovering new artists to listen to. Not the kind you get when you open birthday gifts.

Rather, it was the kind of feeling when someone who is as every bit as enthralled with you as you are with them leads you out to the dance floor and makes you forget that real life is still happening around you.

It was this feeling that made Blake do something bolder than she had ever done in her life.

"Jaune."

"Yeah?"

"… I'm coming in."

She walked slowly over to the booth and pulled the door open.

Their eyes met, and they both exchanged coy smiles.

Blake strode gradually and deliberately over to where Jaune stood. The boy pulled off his headphones and set the guitar aside.

Soon only inches separated them.

"Hey," laughed Blake.

"Hey," Jaune laughed back.

They held eye contact for a moment longer.

And, with nothing left to be said, Blake reached up and kissed him.

He kissed back, firmly but gently.

When they finally pulled apart, they laughed again, half in nervousness and half in bridled excitement.

Jaune moved in to hold her, his arms wrapping around her back. "Twelve hours ago, I would've laughed at anyone who told me I was going to meet the most amazing girl I've ever known."

Blake smiled and embraced back, her face pressed against his shoulder. "Same here. It's funny how these things work out."

"True that." Jaune reached a hand up and paused just short of her bow. "May I?"

Blake hesitated.

It was a very intimate motion to her, and she'd only ever let one other person do it. Someone she'd much rather forget.

But this was Jaune.

"Sure."

She watched as the blonde unraveled the ribbon which hid her secret and gently placed it in her pocket. He reached his hand up once more and began to caress the soft cat ears.

"Ah…" she purred. "Your hands… they're so warm."

Jaune smiled. "So are your ears."

"They are covered all the time. It gets awfully stuffy." Blake leaned into him. "I'm so glad I met you tonight."

"And I'm glad that I met you, too."

The faunus girl gave him a peck on the cheek.

"C'mon," she smiled, leading him to the single couch in the very back.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "You're comfortable with this?"

"Yes," she nodded. "If it was going to be anyone, I'm more that happy that it was you."

With a smile, he kissed her. In their bliss, she pulled him down upon her.

The sounds of their love could be heard echoing out of the speakers in the next room.

Well, ain't that sweet.

The song that Jaune plays is Tracadero's "Bolt." Actually one of my favorite Tracadero songs to date.

We've reached the tail end of this fun adventure of ours. There's only one chapter left, and as sad as I am that it's drawing to a close, I'm happy to be moving on to bigger and better projects. More importantly, I am so fucking thankful for every single one of you guys who have decided to give this fic a read. I never thought it would get this big, but you guys have pushed it there, so from the bottom of my heart: thank you so much.

The story will continue in bits and pieces in Tales of the Music AU, so if you're yearning for more, stick around for that series.

I'm also proud to announce that Ten Little Hunters will be returning on March 10th! If you're interested, please read the latest update for pertinent information regarding voting and rules, especially since all the polls have been reset. If you haven't heard of it, still read the latest update first, but give the fic a spin!

With that, I'm going to turn for today, happy and accomplished.

Until next time, you lovely, lovely people!