- - -
"Jaune Arc. Short, smooth, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."
Weiss stared intensely at Jaune. Ruby blinked, looking between the two weird people she'd run into right off the airship at Beacon. The snooty heiress blinked a few times, then had a look of vulnerability on her face Ruby certainly wasn't expecting.
"J-Jaune?" She asked. "Jaune Arc? Isabel's son?"
Jaune blinked a few times back... Then grinned.
"Weiss?"
"Ha," Weiss smirked, "Could it be anyone else?"
"I guess not," Jaune said with a grin, "Wow, made a new friend and found an old one! What are the odds?"
"Eh?! You two know each other?" Ruby cried.
"My mom's a doctor and did a lot of work for the Schnee family," Jaune explained, "And she dragged me along. I met Weiss and we played as kids."
"It... It has been a while," Weiss admitted quietly. "So, um... You got into Beacon too? I thought your mother didn't want you to become a Huntsman?"
"Er... I managed to talk her and Dad into it," Jaune admitted with a nervous laugh. "So! How are you? You look great!"
"Ha, y-yes, of course I do," Weiss managed, just as nervous, "I'm fine."
"How's your sister?"
"She joined the military. Became a Specialist," Weiss explained. Jaune nodded.
"That's amazing! She must be incredible."
"She is," Weiss affirmed. She glanced at Ruby with a frown. "Friend of yours, huh?"
"I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby introduced herself, scowling, "You're the one who blew me up with Dust!"
Weiss sized her up carefully, before nodding.
"Yes, well... Sorry about that," Weiss shrugged, "I suppose I should have been more careful."
"Oh, um... That's okay," Ruby managed. Weiss nodded to Ruby, then seemed to forget her existence entirely as she flitted over to Jaune's side.
"So! Tell me all about Radian! How's your family? Was the trip here difficult?"
Feeling distinctly like a third wheel, Ruby nevertheless followed along with her new friend and his... Hanger on.
- - -
Initiation had been difficult, but honestly? A lot of fun! She got paired up with Pyrrha, and she was amazing! She wasn't called the Invincible Girl for nothing!
Then they'd met up with Jaune and Weiss, and they'd beaten a giant Nevermore together! They were commissioned into their own team: Team JSPR, or "Jasper".
She wasn't team leader, that was Jaune, but Ruby honestly didn't mind. She was happy to be on a team with two good friends, and... Weiss. Who wasn't... Horrible, but she was... Weird.
"Jaune," Weiss said pleasantly, "I think we should put our beds together. When you were little, you did sleep better with someone with you."
Jaune laughed a bit nervously.
"Er... I got over that Weiss, but thank you," he said with a kind nod, "I appreciate it."
"But I insist!" Weiss said urgently. "I-I mean, what if you roll out of bed and fall to the floor?"
"I'm fine, really Weiss," Jaune emphasized with a kind smile. "I've grown up a lot since then, Promise."
Pyrrha's smile became a bit more brittle at this.
"I'm glad you're thinking about our team leader, Weiss," she said carefully, "But he is a Huntsman-in-training. He can handle himself." She beamed at Jaune. "Besides, we need to sleep so we can start training tomorrow!"
"Eh? You want to train with me?" Jaune asked, blinking.
"He's training with me!" Weiss said quickly, taking Jaune's arm. "After all, he's my partner!"
"He's my team leader," Pyrrha stated, taking his other arm, "And I'm a regional champion."
"How about we all train together?" Jaune suggested quickly. "We're a team, and we need to get better together."
The two other girls stared intensely at one another, and Ruby swore she could see electricity crackling between their gazes despite their polite smiles.
"Sure thing, Jaune," Weiss agreed. "You're right."
"He absolutely is," Pyrrha said with a smile, "Well... Good night!"
"Goodnight!" Weiss said cheerfully, her smile not quite meeting her eyes.
The two women headed to their beds, still smiling... And both disrobing while casting looks over at Jaune. Jaune for his part turned bright red, as did Ruby.
"Er, I can wait in the bathroom-"
"Nonsense Jaune!" Weiss said with a smile, "We're teammates now. We must be comfortable with each other!"
"Absolutely," Pyrrha said cheerfully, "Don't be afraid to look! We're all together now."
Jaune sighed.
- - -
Later, Jaune and Ruby snuck out for a midnight snack... And Ruby sat him down.
"So... Um... Weiss likes you?"
Jaune sighed heavily.
"Yeah," he shook his head. "She was a good friend growing up, really. But her family... It wasn't the best. Let's say she uh... Got attached to me."
"Seriously," Ruby muttered. "And Pyrrha?"
"Got me," Jaune shrugged, "I just was nice, but she's uh... She likes me too?"
"And you? How do you feel about all this?" Ruby asked.
"I mean, I like them both! Really!" Jaune said with a nod, "But I want to wait on romance until I'm... Ya know... Settled. Beacon's tough. Plus, we're a team. If a romantic relationship goes bad, it might get us all killed."
"Wow, you've really put a lot of thought into this!" Ruby complimented him. Jaune smiled warmly back.
"Thanks Ruby. I just... I care about all of you, and I don't want to screw things up."
"I bet Weiss is just... Ya know... Really happy to see you. I'm sure she feels the same way and is just overwhelmed! But she'll calm down. I... I know what it's like to not have friends."
Jaune smiled kindly, and squeezed Ruby's hand.
"Not anymore you don't," he stated. Ruby blushed and beamed back at him.
"Aw... Thanks Jaune."
Jaune nodded back.
"Any time."
- - -
They returned to the room. Weiss met them, looking worried.
"Jaune? Ruby? Why were you out?" She asked.
"Just getting a midnight snack Weiss, honest," Jaune said with a kind, honest smile. "Don't worry so much, okay?"
"I... Of course," Weiss said with a nod. She beamed at him. "You're not the type to cheat!"
Jaune and Ruby blinked.
Weiss turned bright red.
"O-On... Your sleep cycle... That's totally what I meant! Ahahaha!" Weiss laughed nervously.
"Eheh, yeah," Jaune said with a wince. Ruby patted him on the shoulder.
Or maybe she's just crazy, Ruby thought.
- - -
