Hello everyone!

At long last, we've reached the (arguably) thrilling conclusion in our story. There's not much for me to say here except that this is probably one of my favorite chapters I've written in a while.

This chapter's song is "No Other Plans" by Sunny Levine. It... may or may not be related to another fic that I'm currently working on.

Beta: Maxaro. We did it!

Without further ado, I present the last chapter of Blake and Jaune's Infinite Playlist. Enjoy!


Chapter 12: No Other Plans


"Seems like Casey and the Red Roses have once again done the bait-and-switch with the public! That's too bad, because they're still out there waiting to play a show for anyone who shows up. Are you gonna be there or are you gonna be square?"

Nora sighed as she listened to the smug DJs on Beacon Radio. It was infuriating to hear them still babbling about Casey, especially since the van had given up on trying to find them at this point.

"Do you think we should still go after Casey?" wondered Nora aloud. "I mean… they're still playing a show, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but we still have no idea where in the world they could be," noted Ren. "Besides, it's 3 in the morning, and we still need to get Yang home."

"You guys, I'm fine," assured the blonde girl. Even her uninhibited enthusiasm had taken a hit for the night. "If you guys wanna look for Casey, I'm okay with that. I still kinda want to see them too, y'know."

"I don't know," added Pyrrha. "It is kind of late."

"Maybe we should just go home," admitted Nora. "We'll always get another chance to find Casey. If not tonight, I'd like to think they'll play again sometime in the future –"

Brrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

Yang started.

"Hold on," she murmured. "I think that's my phone."

She pulled it out and stared at the caller ID.

It was not a number she recognized.

"Huh," she murmured before answering the phone.

"Yang?"

The blonde frowned. "Who is this?"

"Aw, c'mon! You don't remember me? Even after we met tonight?" The male voice sounded offended. "You wound me, Yang, you really do."

Yang's eyes widened in realization, and she felt her cheeks beginning to burn as well. "Sun! H-hey, what's up?"

"Oh, y'know, not too much. It's kinda quiet without having a fucking firecracker like you around, to be honest." A pause. "Didn't you say you were going to the Casey show?"

Yang gave a sigh of immense proportions. "Yeah… we totally were… until we found out that it was the wrong location."

"… The wrong location. Right. Well, we're at the show right now. You guys should hurry up if you wanna get here in time."

"Wait, wait!" Yang almost panicked. "Where are you guys? Where's the venue at?"

"Oh, shit, you're fucking serious?" The monkey faunus whistled at Yang's silence. "Damn… you really don't know where it is. Okay. 2210 Alaran Dr. That should be the address you're looking for."

"2210 Alaran Dr... You sure it's there?"

"Of course I'm sure. I'm right here… right now." Yang heard the monkey faunus pause again. "Uh… you gonna be there?"

"Yeah… y-yeah, I'll be there."

"Fucking rad! I'll… uh, I'll see you there, then?"

"Yeah… see you in a bit, Sun."

"See ya!"

Yang heard the phone click.

"GUYS!" she yelled.

Ren almost slammed on the van's breaks at Yang's outburst. "What?"

A look of glee washed over the blonde's face. "I know where the Casey show is! Sun just called me!"

Nora spun around, almost inflicting whiplash on herself in the process. "WHERE?"

"2210 Alaran Dr. We need to get there ASAP!"

"On it!" Ren yelled, in a rare show of enthusiasm. "2210 Alaran Dr. it is!"

As the van sped off, all the energy that had been lost throughout the course of the night amongst the van was instantly restored in tenfold.

"We're gonna actually find Casey!" Nora cheered. "Yang, you're the fucking best!"

"Ah, shucks," Yang grinned coyly. "I try my best. Besides, it's monkey-boy you should be thanking."

"There's something to be said about making friends with strangers, I suppose." Pyrrha gave her an assuring grin. "Maybe it was a good idea we let you loose?"

"Oh, don't be silly!" Yang laughed. "We were all strangers at the beginning of the night. I think that kind of strategy has all the merit in the world!"

"Hey Yang!" Nora whipped back from her seat once more. "You should probably give Blake and Jaune a call. They would be pissed if we let them miss out on Casey."

"Oh, right! Good call, Nora!" And with that, Yang excitedly placed the call.


Blake purred.

Jaune chuckled. "You usually make those kinds of noises when you're happy?"

"Uh, no! No, I…" Blake protested… and relented. "Yeah, I do."

And with good reason as well. It had been a long time since she had been intimate with anyone, and here she was, wrapped up in blankets and spooning with someone she had just met that night.

She didn't regret a bit of it.

"Well…" Jaune smiled at her as he nuzzled her under their blanket. "I think it's kinda cute. Along with the rest of you, of course."

Blake laughed softly. "The feeling is mutual. I… I've had a wonderful time with you tonight."

"Thanks, Blake." Jaune pressed his face against hers, caressing her in the process. "I've had a wonderful night with you, too."

Blake smiled and turned to graze her lips against his face, as she began to lose herself in his warmth. "I wouldn't be opposed if this lasted forever…"

The sudden ring of her phone snapped them both out of their bliss.

"Fuck… sorry Jaune…" Blake woozily began to apologize profusely.

Jaune waved her off. "Nah, don't worry about it."

The faunus girl nodded appreciatively, and reached down for her phone to answer it.

"Hello…?"

"BLAKE!"

"Waaaaarrrgh!" Blake jumped at the loud noise that attacked her ear, accidentally popping the blonde in his chin with her shoulder. "H-huh? Yang? Jesus Christ…"

"Geez…" groaned Jaune, rubbing his sore mandible. "What does she want?"

"I've got no idea," the faunus girl hissed at him, before returning to the call. "Yang… aren't you supposed to be home by now?"

"No time for that! We found Casey! They're at 2210 Alaran Dr! Hurry! They're gonna play soon!"

"I… what?" The faunus girl's interest was suddenly piqued. "Come again?"

"Blake, you and Jaune – I'm assuming you found him – you guys need to go now! It's fucking Casey, and they're set to play any minute now!"

"R-right."

"So… meet you there?"

"Y-yeah. Totally… we will. Bye, Yang."

The faunus girl hung up in a daze.

"Well," Jaune nibbled at her ear. "What was that all about?"

Blake shivered breathlessly as the impact of the news finally hit her. "Jaune. They've found Casey. They actually found Casey!"

The blonde eyes immediately widened at the news. "They… did?"

"Yeah! C'mon, we need to go now!" Blake's excitement was at a peak level for the whole night. "They'll be playing very soon, Jaune, we have to hurry!"

"Well, let's go then!"

Blake jumped out from the warmth of the blanket. "My bow. My bow, Jaune, where's my bow?"

"Check your pants pocket!" he shouted, as he tried to unravel himself from the couch as well.

Emphasis on the words "tried to."

Blake watched in horror as the blonde's jeans fell from his waist and slid to his ankles, forcing him into an awkward stumble as he fell face-first into the studio floor with a resounding smack!

As quickly as it came, Blake's horror dissipated into mirth as she burst out into laughter at the spectacle before her.

"Yeah, laugh it up, Blake," grumbled Jaune as he staggered to his feet. "Goddammit, I'm missing my belt."

"Yeah… you might want that… can't see how you could… function without it!" Blake gasped as her body rattled with laughter, with her arms clutching her sides.

"Oh, c'mon, it wasn't that funny…" Jaune frowned.

"I'm sorry… it totally was…" Blake wiped a tear from her eye. "Fuck, I'm crying… oh, man… whew!"

"Alright, maybe it was a little funny," Jaune conceded before quickly throwing her the Ensign-J jacket. "Here's your jacket, we gotta go now!"

"Right," Blake smiled, somewhat composed now. "Ready whenever you are."


The current venue was significantly different from the previous two venues with the main difference being that this particular venue was a rooftop terrace. Blake and Jaune had to circle around the block several times before eventually realizing that clusters after clusters of young, hip folk were accessing a staircase hidden discreetly between two stores.

The two parked a stone's throw away and made a mad dash across the street and up the stairs, aware that time was ticking away.

The sight that greeted them at the top of the stairwell took their breaths away. Such an open environment provided unfiltered access to the cold night air, and their breaths visibly floated before them. The edges of the venue were lined with a garden variety of vegetation, but not to the point of excess. Wood paneling mixed with slate to fill in the floors in decadent patterning. Indie-alternative music floated in the background, feeding quite nicely into the established ambiance.

Strings of lights illuminated the whole scene, giving it even more of an atmospheric feel. A surprising amount of Casey enthusiasts occupied the moderately-sized terrace, conversing excitedly amongst one another despite the late (or rather early) hours of the day.

"Jaune," Blake pulled on his arm excitedly. "I see them!"

Across the venue, Yang waved emphatically at the two. "Hey you guys!" Behind her, Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha looked up and waved as well.

"Hey!" Blake waved back with a grin. She turned to the blonde. "You feeling alright?"

Jaune grinned back. "Better than ever."

They walked hand-in-hand over to the rest of the gang.

Nora was the first to notice this. "Fucking finally!"

"Nora!" Ren elbowed her. "Not cool."

"Nah, I gotta agree with her," added Yang. "Fucking finally, for sure. You lovable idiots," she smirked, directing the last part of her statement towards Blake and Jaune.

"Says the one who got drunk and got lost in the city," retorted Blake playfully.

Yang grinned. "If I didn't get stupid drunk, you two might not have gotten together."

"She's not wrong," mused Jaune.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Don't encourage her."

Yang laughed. "Hey, I'm just trying to get some lovely people who deserve to be together… together. I'm a pretty good matchmaker, alright? Cut me some slack here, kitty-cat."

"Y'know, I could cut you some slack."

They all turned to the voice behind Yang.

Sun stood there somewhat awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Uh… that sounded better in my head… I think."

Yang's bravado melted slightly, but her smile remained. "Well, hey you."

"Hey." Sun grinned sheepishly.

Blake blinked and leaned towards Jaune. "What."

"You mean you couldn't tell?" Jaune teased back.

Nora jumped, whooping. "Errbody gettin' some love tonight! I ship it all!"

"What's a 'ship?'" Pyrrha's brow furrowed.

"It's a rabbit hole of madness, is what it is," Ren deadpanned.

Yang laughed at her friends' shenanigans and turned back to Sun. "You… wanna dance?"

"Dance?" Sun smirked. "Sure, I could use some dancing."

"Well, then," Yang hummed, a sly smile on her face. "Lead the way, handsome."

The two pulled away from the group, and Jaune watched them head farther up the edge of the crowd.

And near where they walked, Jaune caught sight of a familiar white-haired girl, accompanied by her blue-haired date.

She looked up as Sun and Yang passed by and smiled at them in greeting.

Turning her head slightly, she made eye contact with Jaune. He watched her eyes widen in recognition, then soften slightly.

She smiled at him.

There was a hint of sadness in it, but for the most part, she seemed happy.

Jaune smiled back.

The girl smiled wider, before turning towards the blue-haired boy beside her, and they linked arms before following after the blonde girl and the monkey faunus, disappearing slowly into the crowd.

Blake, at this point, had noticed what Jaune was staring at. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Yep," he replied, turning towards the faunus girl.

She narrowed her eyes after the white-haired girl. "Is she going to be any trouble?"

"No." The blonde kissed Blake lightly on the forehead. "You won't have to worry about her."

Blake smiled and blushed at his gesture.

Unfortunately, they soon found something else to worry about.

"BLAKE!"

Both Jaune and Blake whipped around and found a surly and very drunk Adam stalking up to the pair, followed by his disgruntled goons.

Behind the pair, Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha readied themselves for any confrontation that awaited them.

Adam pointed at the faunus girl. "Whaaatha fuck didya do to our fuckin' bill?" he slurred. "Why didya leave me? Tha fuck did I do?"

Blake remained smugly silent and refused to make eye contact with the bull-man. She placed a hand on Jaune's chest and gently pushed him back a few steps.

Adam looked back and forth between the blonde, then to Blake, then back again.

"Oh, I see," he snarled. "You gonna leave me for this chump? Wass he gonna do for ya? Nothing I could ever give ya. He ain't even half my size!"

The bull-man stepped forward menacingly. "Ya think you can just leave me? I'm too fuckin' good for you ta leave me, ya whore!" With that, he lurched forward and shoved Jaune.

"Okay," Pyrrha spoke up suddenly. "I've just about had enough of this."

She walked briskly up to Adam, pulled her head back, and in one fell swoop, Pyrrha promptly head-butted the bull-man.

A loud craaaack! sounded as the redhead's forehead easily broke Adam's nose, and the parts of the crowd nearer to them let out a collective gasp at the sight.

"AAAARRRRGGH! You bisch! You fuggin broke my noshe!"

The bull-man crumpled, falling back onto his goons as Pyrrha almost lazily wiped the blood that had splattered across her face.

Ren's jaw dropped, and Nora whooped. "Awww hell yeah! Our drummer's a badass!"

Blake's pent-up nervous energy came out as mirth, and planted her head against Jaune's chest as her body rattled with laughter. "I did not see that coming."

Jaune chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Neither did I."

The bull-man stumbled back up to them, desperately trying to stop the stream of blood as it flowed like wine out of his nose. "Blakey, c'mon. You don' need this punk."

Blake turned and stared at him. "Are you fucking serious right now?"

"I'm all ya need, baby," Adam reached a hand out to her. "Whaddya say?"

The faunus girl shirked at his gesture and looked up and Jaune.

The blonde nodded.

Blake smiled, and she took his hand, pulling him against the gradient of people, away from the lights and the sounds, back the way they came.

Adam roared after them as they descended down the staircase. "Well fug you! Fug you and your blonde boy-toy! I'll make it on my own! I don' even need you or Ozhpin's help! Don' come cryin' when I get fuggin' rich and famoush!"

"Yeah, that ain't gonna happen," chirped Nora.

The bull-man glared at her but backed off once Pyrrha stared them down.

Ren leaned back against the walls of the terrace and sighed. "Guess Blake and Jaune are gone again. They do know that they'll be missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, right?"

Nora leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Let them have their moment."

Ren smiled. "I suppose you're right."

Suddenly, the crowd began to cheer. Pyrrha pointed at the stage. "You two, Casey's coming on!"

The terrace roared in approval as the infamous band finally took the stage.

A feminine voice rang through the mic. "Hey everyone, we're Casey and the Red Rosies. How's everyone doing tonight?"

The night air filled with the cheers of the hour's happiest people in Remnant.


The pair finally reached Jaune's car, even as the nearby commotion from across the street rang out all the way to where they stood.

Jaune paused for a moment at the side of his door, taking in the beauty of the sky as it began to change colors.

"Well," he inhaled deeply, the chill of the air filling his lungs. "We missed the show, but damn has it been a crazy-ass night."

When Blake didn't respond, he glanced backwards, watching her walk up to him slowly with her eyes downcast. "Hey… what's wrong?"

Blake looked up at him uncertainly. "Are you… are you sad that we missed it?"

"Missed it?" Jaune beamed at her. "Blake… this is it."

He unlocked the car, and it beeped in response.

"It's 4 in the morning. Let's go home."

Blake smiled with unbridled happiness. She pressed herself against him and kissed the blonde deeply, and he kissed her back.

And as they kissed, the night began to dissolve above them, quietly ushering in the morning sun once more.


Epilogue


Blake hurried up the familiar stairwell.

She was late, and she was usually never late for anything.

With a final lurch, she stepped upon the rooftop terrace again. The air was not as cold as it was the last time – in fact, it was rather warm, but not overbearingly so. It was indeed the perfect weather for a concert.

But this time, it wasn't Casey who was playing.

There was already a crowd here, which was definitely encouraging, and Blake grew even happier as she spotted out Yang on the outskirts of the crowd. She ran over to join her best friend.

"Hey, kitty-cat!" grinned the blonde, greeting her friend with a hug. "What took you? I didn't think you were gonna miss this for the world?"

"I know, I know," Blake admitted with a sigh. "Ozpin needed some help mixing this one band called Always Here, Never There. I didn't even realize what time it was when we finished."

Yang chuckled. "You've gotten even busier since you got that job back."

"Yeah…" Blake shrugged. "That's my own fault. I'd forgotten how time-consuming that job is. Not to say that I don't enjoy every single moment of it."

"Well, I'm glad that you've got a job that makes you happy."

"Me too. Sometimes I feel like I don't work a day in my life, and I'm very fortunate because of it." Blake eyed Yang strangely. "No drinks today?"

"Nah," Yang laughed. "Ever since me and Sun started dating… I just don't feel the need to do that anymore. I feel happy enough knowing that whenever I need to let loose, I can just go see the fool."

Blake smiled. "You've slowed down."

Yang smiled back. "Maybe. I don't think so. But enough about me. Check out the hottie on bass."

Blake turned to the direction Yang was pointing in, towards the band that was currently playing on stage.

Pyrrha sat behind a drum kit, pounding out a clean but energetic rhythm, occasionally providing either a flourish of drum fills or showing off with a fluid and uninterrupted stick flip.

Ren did what he did best, speaking with the guitar rather than a vocal part of any kind. His foot sometimes navigated along a pedalboard, and he made guitar look way too easy.

Nora was now set up with a decent keyboard, which complimented Ren's guitar playing whenever it could, and she even soloed every now and again. She provided backing vocals for the moment, when usually she would be singing lead.

And playing the bass and the current lead vocals, of course, was Jaune.

Blake smiled as she recognized and absorbed the lyrics that Jaune sang, the very same lyrics he recorded with her all that time ago.

"We only want to have a good time,

Flying by wire, we cross the green line,

We ride fast, they take their sweet time,

We only want to have a good time, good time…"

When the song drew to its close, the crowd cheered, and Blake found herself cheering with them, shaking off the familiar chills that ran down her spine.

Jaune grinned and spoke into the mic. "Thank you! We are The Junniperberries, and we'll be playing here for an hour, if you'll have us! This next song's for a certain someone who means the world to me. It's called 'Best Girl.'"

Blake watched as he proceeded to make eye contact with her, and she gave him a warm smile.

He winked back.

"Awww, he gave you a shout-out!" Yang teased, and Blake couldn't help but feel her cheeks grow hot as she grinned coyly.

Nora chimed in at the mic. "Jauney sings some French in this one, so go wild, ladies!"


An hour came and went, and as the last of the crowd cleared out, Blake made her way towards the blonde bassist as he cleaned up parts of his set.

"Hey."

He looked up and grinned. "Hey. What did you think?"

Blake smiled. "I thought you guys did wonderful. You definitely drew a big crowd today."

"Oh, yeah," Jaune nodded. "Definitely took me by surprise, though I can't complain."

"You don't give yourself enough credit." Blake climbed onstage. "I think the turnout today shows just how big you guys will become."

"Only time will tell," smiled Jaune. "Hindsight's twenty-twenty, right?"

"I guess so." Blake shuffled a moment. "Hey, what are you doing later tonight?"

"Well…" Jaune zipped up his bass bag. "We just gotta load up all our stuff and bring it back home. I'll be done around 7… ish."

"Alright." Blake smiled. "Maybe afterwards you should come to my place. I'll cook us something to eat, and I was thinking either we could watch the X-Ray and Vav movie on Dustflix or listen to both the new Dashing Ice album and Nox's new album. Ozpin let me borrow them for a while."

Jaune smirked. "It's not like you need to convince me to come over. I would've said yes at 'maybe you should come over.'"

Blake punched his shoulder playfully. "Hush, you."

The blonde laughed. "Okay, okay. See you then?"

The faunus girl nodded happily. "See you then."

Jaune kissed her goodbye, and with a carefree smile, she walked out of the venue.

He watched her go, wondering where along the way Lady Luck had smiled upon him for him to have a girlfriend as beautiful and amazing as Blake, and with a contented sigh, Jaune started whistling and went back to work.


And there you have it! All is well, my friends. All is well.

Of course, this is not the end of the story! Tales of the Music AU will now be updated more regularly in continuance of this story, so I recommend you guys and gals keep that on your radar.

I would also like to take the time to plug my other big projects that I'm working on: Ten Little Hunters, which is interactive with YOU, the readers, and returns this Tuesday at 7:30pm CT!

Also, please check out Friends, Again. It's an Arkos fic that explores the breakdown of their relationship and sees how (or if) they can ever recover. It's got a much more serious tone, so be wary of that.

Well you guys... it's been a fucking wild ride. And I am more than overjoyed and humbled that you all have decided to take this trip with me, so if I haven't said it before, thank you so much for all your support. This fic was as good as it was because you guys had my back this whole time. I love each and every one of you.

Until we meet again, this has been UhhICanExplain, at your service. See you in another story!