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Jaune stood in the dormitory hallway at Beacon Academy as he pondered how to make his next move, or rather, his first move. He wasn't one for long speeches or big words, and he definitely wasn't used to being the one people confided in. He was Jaune. He was bland. He was the boy who cheated his way into Beacon and somehow turned into the leader of Team JNPR. It was something that he still scratched his head at every day. He didn't feel qualified for that position, or the one he was about to put himself in, but nonetheless, he was found himself here.
He sighed heavily as a bead of sweat slowly rolled down the back of his neck that he wiped away. He really hadn't given this much contemplation, but he knew he had to do something, anything really. After all, she had done so much for him. She had been his first friend, a listening ear for his problems, and just a sile when he needed one most. He smiled as he reflected on such things. Shaking himself from thoughts from the past, he stood up straight and coughed into one of his hands before narrowing his eyes on his target. He looked around the empty hallways, making sure he was alone.
Once he confirmed that, he extended an outstretched arm and made contact with the door in front of him. The door to Team RWBY's room.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Ruby sat alone in her dorm room under the comforter to her bed. The lights were out and nightfall had come as the change of season was upon them. She sat there in silence all the while looking at her scroll. She had a mundane look on her face, almost as if she was just passing time and waiting for her to actually fall asleep. She was alone currently as well. Her team was out on a Saturday night, opting to explore downtown when they were given the option to leave the campus. Unfortunately, Ruby had other plans.
Her thoughts traveled to the last interaction she had with them. Yang, Blake, and... Weiss. She dropped her Scroll into her lap and let out a deep groan. She knew she had to make things right, but she was unsure how to. They were, at least in Ruby's mind, best friends. And knowing that her friend was mad with her, was something she was distressed about. She was doing all she could just to keep her mind off of it and maybe Weiss would chill out in between their last falling out and the next time they were together.
It actually wasn't so much a "falling out" as much as it was Weiss just yelling at her. Ruby wasn't one for conflict, and she sure wasn't one for trying to keep an argument going and would usually just let the person either have their way or tire themselves out when they were until they were done being angry. It wasn't the best coping mechanism, but she was young and hadn't had many conflicts in her life. She was also socially awkward if that accounted for anything. Of course, this was usually with Yang or her father, but something about a really close friend being irate with her was more depressing.
She hadn't had many friends in her life, and she wanted to keep the ones she had, especially her partner. She recalled the time Weiss and she had their first real issue, back when she was named leader of Team RWBY. She was uncomfortable with it as well, but she was committed to the task and Weiss saw that too. They got passed it and hopefully, maybe they could get p--
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Ruby jumped slightly at the noise coming from across the room as it jostled her from her deep thoughts. She pulled the comforter from over her head as her silver eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, attempting to locate the source. That's when she heard it again, followed by a voice.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"He-Hey, Ruby." the voice called. "Are you in there?"
She recognized the voice (and stutter) immediately.
"Jaune?" She questioned to herself softly enough that he would not have heard. What was he doing here? Hadn't he gone downtown with his own team for the night?
"I-If you are, and you aren't busy, I'd love to hang out for a bit."
Ruby sat there for a moment as she listened to his words. She looked over at the clock on the desk in front of her bed and examined the time. '9:09' it read in bright red coloring. By her calculations, the last airship for anyone going into Vale would have left roughly an hour ago, so why did he stay behind? This opportunity did not come along often, and being an older student granted him a later curfew.
Very strange. She thought.
Ruby's introspection was interrupted once more at another call from the blonde-haired boy on the other side of the wooden dormitory door.
"Anyway, I guess you're busy or not there. Which means I'm not talking to anyone right now..." She chuckled at the thought, something she hadn't done for most of the day. "But if you are there," He continued. "I'll be right next door in my room if you want to talk or something."
The chuckle faded into a smile as she listened to the boy's words trail off and come to an end. Soon after, she saw the hallway light under the door become brighter as Jaune's shadow disappeared from her doorway and light footsteps could be heard. Without much thought, Ruby leaped off the edge of her bunkbed and made her way to the door, twisting the knob and pulling the door ajar. She was greeted by the blue eyes of her friend who had turned around in reaction to the noise behind him.
They stared at one another for a few seconds as Ruby was the first to initiate contact.
"Hey, Jaune." She offered simply.
"Hey, Rubes." Jaune replied, smiling at the fact she had chosen to answer him.
"What are you doing here?"
Jaune was sort of off-put by the question coming so quickly. He figured she would ask it, but he hadn't really taken the time to try and think of an excuse other than to speak with his friend.
"Oh.. I, uh, kind of missed the last ship." He tried.
Ruby raised an eyebrow at his response, or attempt more like. "Oh?" She asked.
"Y-Yeah. You know me, I'm good for stuff like that." He answered while averting his eyes from hers and rubbing the back of his head. All the telltale signs she needed to know he wasn't being truthful. She wasn't new to Jaune 101.
"Couldn't you have just had the others hold the ship for you or stall the pilot?" She questioned with a grin, crossing her arms as she stood in her room's doorway. She posted to lean against the metal molding as he once again began rubbing the back of his head a little more vigorously this time.
"Ah, I didn't want to hold them up." He tried again. "Plus, you know me and airships don't get along too well and we just ate not long before."
"Yes I do, Vomit boy." Ruby chuckled into her hands.
Jaune dropped his worried face into that of a frown at the mention of the name. It was something that he was probably never going to live down for as long as they were friends, which was something he hoped would last forever.
"Not funny, Crater face." He replied with a monotone voice.
"Hey!" Ruby yelled, no longer leaning against the metal with a smirk on her face, but rather, pointing at him with an accusing finger. "I told you that name isn't even close to accurate!"
"It sure seemed accurate when I pulled you out of said crater." He replied, now offering a smirk of his own.
She narrowed her eyes at him in response, as did he in an attempt to make a similar threatening face.
The staredown was intense, lasting what seemed to be minutes, but was probably only seconds before they both cracked at similar times, their faces turning slightly red followed by smiling and then laughing.
"You're such a dork." Ruby stated after her laughing fit was over, wiping the small tears that had formed on the edges of her eyes and regaining her composure.
"Yeah, yeah," Jaune replied, doing the same as her. "it takes one to know one."
Ruby looked back inside her room to the wall that was about eye-level with her and saw a switch. She reached over and flicked it upwards, lighting up the dorm room in the process. She looked back at Jaune and motioned for him to enter as she turned around and retreated back inside.
He followed her inside and closed the door over when she asked him before looking around the space. Sometimes he had forgotten he was in a girl's room and wanted to be sure he wasn't too intrusive. He'd be sure to find a nice corner or chair and be on his best behavior while-
"Hey," Ruby commented, causing Jaune to look over at her as she had once again found herself on her bunk and other her covers. "over here."
She then rubbed a spot on her bunkbed, beckoning him to join her where she was.
Jaune was nervous about how to proceed but did as he was asked. He walked over to the bed before hoisting himself up onto the mattress beside her and bounced a few times, as he got comfortable.
"Uhh, comfy. Definitely comfy." He stated, perhaps in a way to try and diffuse the internal tension he felt.
Ruby looked at him again incredulously before stifling a laugh. "You have the same bed in your dorm, you dork."
"Yeah, I guess I do." He retorted, laughing along with her.
The next few moments were filled with an awkward silence. Jaune had succeeded in getting Ruby to open the door and even invite him, but he didn't know what to do now. It was like he was piecing things together as he went, but now he had to get over the first big hurdle. The big question.
"So," he began. "why are you alone in your room tonight?"
Jaune looked over at Ruby after asking the question, seeing her face contort into a frown as she stared down at the ground. He knew it was going to be awkward, but something about seeing the little red reaper upset didn't sit well with him. All the more reason to try and help her through it he figured.
Ruby looked over at her Scroll and saw that there was still no new notifications on the screen before letting out a small sigh again. Jaune noticed it, but said nothing, opting to give her time to put her thoughts into words.
"I... made a mistake." Ruby answered simply.
"A mistake?" Jaune replied with a raised eyebrow of his own.
"Y-Yeah. And now, Weiss is really, REALLY, mad at me." Ruby stated, adding emphasis.
"Isn't she always mad... at something?" Jaune posed.
Ruby fell backward, landing roughly against the mattress as she stared up at the white ceiling above her bed before closing her eyes. Jaune looked down at her, looking at the pained face Ruby had.
"Not like this." Ruby answered. "Annoyed? Yes. Impatient? Definitely. But mad? Not like this."
Jaune scratched his chin and gave her words a thought.
"I guess I just never realized the difference."
"I just..." Ruby paused.
"You just what?"
"I just don't want to lose my best friend over something I did. Weiss and I are partners, and we do make a good team together."
"I thought we were best friends?" Jaune tried in an attempt to divert some of her worries.
"Best GIRL friend, you dork." She groaned. "We've been doing a lot better since the whole leadership thing got settled, and we even hung out a lot outside of training. But, she might actually never want to forgive me this time..."
"Ruby..."
"I don't know what to do now, Jaune." She stated coldly. "Weiss might try and even transfer to another team and she could probably do it if she wanted to just because she is a Schnee and the status that name holds." Ruby turned onto her left side and looked away after finishing the statement.
"Ruby, I doubt you could have-"
"I'm scared, Jaune." Ruby interrupted. "I... don't have a lot of friends and she means a lot to me."
Jaune looked down at her after noticing the shake in her voice. He wasn't sure at first, but after watching her body movement jerk slightly, something inside of him almost commanded him to look over at her face, that she was feebly tried to hide with her hands. That's when he saw them. Tears.
Ruby Rose, the Ruby Rose, was crying. His best friend in all of Beacon and someone he held in high regard as if they were untouchable was laying beside him crying and worried.
Without any hesitation, he reached down and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her up to sit beside him again.
Ruby herself didn't have much of a chance to react to the sudden contact. before she could say or do anything, she found herself in the warm embrace of the knight as he gave her a tight hug. She wasn't ready for it, but it wasn't unwelcome. The warmth he provided her on a cold night, while she felt emotional was calming, and almost reassuring. She felt his hands tighten around her as he forced her head against his shoulder. The tear stains on her face trickled down onto his black hoodie as he held her there for a few seconds.
Jaune was unsure how he did it, but he felt that Ruby needed this hug. If anything, he felt bad that he couldn't offer her more and hoped it wasn't too intrusive. the last thing he needed was her getting mad at him now for forcing a hug on her while she was emotional and began to sweat a little now after the fact. It was much to his surprise when he felt her not only return the hug but also bury her face into his hoodie as he listened to her small sniffles. A wave of relief washed over him as he released the deep breath he had taken in. Maybe this whole "winging it" thing wasn't too bad.
They continued their embrace for a minute or two more before he released her and she pulled away to wipe her eyes. Jaune offered a weak smile that she returned asher puffy eyes were returning to the beautiful silver they were.
"Thanks, Jaune." Ruby commented. " I kind of needed that."
Jaune cleared his throat as he wiped a tear from his own eye, something that went unnoticed from her as she continued to wipe her face. "Hey," Jaune started. "Anytime you need it, you let me know. If there is one thing I am good at after living with a lot of sisters and seeing them upset, it's a hug."
Ruby giggled at his response. "So you're some sort of professional hugger?"
"I don't hand these bad boys out to just anyone, you know." He replied with a chuckle of his own. "Plus you just got the premium hug. That's a top tier option that usually runs people a lot of lien."
Ruby snorted at his reply as she gave him a hug back of her own. "I'm flattered then."
"Glad to hear it." He answered as he returned the hug.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this too." Ruby stated. "I know you probably didn't want to come here and see that."
"Actually," Jaune commented. "I overheard Yang and Blake talking about how you weren't going with them to Vale, and I knew you were not one to pass up a chance to go to the weapon shops, so I knew something was up."
Ruby smiled at his response. Jaune was worried about her. It was even enough for him to miss a night out as well, just to check on her. Maybe she had better friends than she imagined. Maybe she did deserve to have friends.
"As for Weiss," Jaune continued. "I'm not going to say I know her nearly as well as you do because that would be a lie, but I think yang and Blake, and even the rest of my team will help you both work out whatever it is. She's a brat, but she's not heartless."
Ruby audibly gasped at the last comment as she covered her mouth with her hand. "Did you just call THE Weiss Schnee a brat?"
"Oh, so you can call her Ice princess, but I can't call her a brat?" he asked between a smile.
"Hehe, I guess that's fair."
"But seriously Ruby," Jaune started up again. "you have a lot of friends here. If you ever need anything at all, or just want someone to listen, you can talk to anyone of us. We won't turn you away."
It was Ruby's turn to rub the back of her head as she kicked her legs off the edge of the top bunk. She wasn't used to having friends as resources for things like talking and hugs, other than yang of course, so it was nice to hear.
"Thanks, Jaune." Ruby replied. "I just... thought I might be a bother."
"Nope."
"Nope?"
"Nope. You could never be a bother to me or any of us for that matter, and don't you ever forget that, Crater face."
"Thanks, Vomit boy."
The two shared a smile before giving each other another squeeze. Much like the previous one, it offered a strange warmth that Ruby felt. It was as if one hug could be so magical it wiped away any worry or sadness she was experiencing. The same can be said about the supportive conversation being offered. Maybe opening up wasn't such a hard thing to do? Maybe she could have this experience with the others? Maybe even Weiss? It was amazing how a hug can bring two people closer, so it was worth a shot.
Ruby gripped Jaune tighter, enjoying the moment as much as possible, not that he would give any complaint about it. Apparently, winging it was something he was good at. Almost as good as giving hugs. He should add this to his resume once he graduates.
As the two held each other, neither felt the vibration of Ruby's scroll that was now located on the floor next to the bed with one new notification... from Weiss.
"We're on our way back now. I'm sorry I yelled. Please don't eat cookies on my bed again, you dolt."
THE END.