The Indirect Kiss

'The Vale-U-Bull Bar' was a a new addition to the city of Vale, but it didn't take long to attract a healthy patronage from the locals. It was especially popular among the residents of Beacon as most students weren't old enough to partake in alcoholic beverages, and those that were old enough had the good sense to not drink near the school. Qrow was an obvious exception to that unspoken rule, but besides that..

One loyal patron of the milk bar was Team RWBY leader, Ruby Rose. Ever since she bit into the Vale-U-Bull Bar's freshly baked cookies and downed it with a glass of sweet, warm milk, her fate had been sealed. There was only problem to the seemingly perfect spot and that was that she lacked company at her table.

Her big sister was reluctant to go to what she saw as a very 'kiddie' place. The fact that the sign outside had a picture of a cow dressed up in a bright, yellow suit with swept back hair, while giving the thumbs up made arguing the point rather difficult. Weiss simply refused to give the place a chance, especially with finals coming. She even scolded Ruby about going there so often when she should have been studying. Blake got as far as the front door before tragedy struck.

As luck would have it, the day Blake went with Ruby to the milk bar was the same day the bar's mascot was brought from the two dimensional sign outside to a very poorly stitched, very three dimensional man in a suit. Blake didn't say anything to her leader as she turned and walked back out the front door. Despite swearing up and down that the mascot was a one day thing for some event, Blake refused to give the place a try.

Leaving Ruby to sit alone at her table, mindlessly sipping on her milkshake.

Maybe Faunus get offended with the idea of people dressing up as animals? she mused. She turned the page of her textbook and had to fight the urge to groan at the wall of words and questions on it. Oobleck expected them to know this book backwards and forwards, and Ruby was adamant about meeting the challenge, but no one told her it would be so... challenging.

All the same, she'd meet the obstacle like she did with all others. With confidence, speed, and a side of cookies to power her on through. She bit into another crunchy treat as she muttered bygone quotes and dull details to herself, not noticing the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Ruby?"

"Mmph?" Ruby wiped her face of crumbs and looked up to see a familiar figure standing by her, outlined by the lights behind him. "Jaune? What are you doing here?"

The blonde knight seemed to blush at the question, and he scratched his head in search for an answer as he stuttered. "Huh? Oh, well, ya see the thing is-"

"Ey, Jauney! The usual?" The older man at the cashier waved at the back of the knight's head, turning his cheeks a darker hue of red. The man didn't even wait for a reply as he recited what he had already written down. "One medium Strawberry Frost with cookie bits and crazy straw, coming up!"

"...Big fan of Vale-U-Bull's?" Ruby teased, a sly smirk forming on her face.

"Yep," he popped, shoulders slumped and head fallen. Ruby raised her hand to comfort the blonde, only for her silver eyes to sparkle.

"Hey, have you studied for finals yet, Jaune?"

"Huh? Well, Not really, but I-"

"Wanna study together?" She tapped her finger against the book, offering a simple smile to the older boy. Her smile was contagious it seemed, as Jaune was soon smiling back at her.

"Heh. Sure, Rubes." His cerulean eyes noticed the glass of milk and plate of cookie crumbs on her table. "You want anything? My treat." The grin on Ruby's face was a strange fusion of worrisome and dazzling, and Jaune wasn't sure if he would come to regret this decision, but his wallet sure would.

"So, where are the others?" Ruby asked.

"Pyrrha's been busy with sponsorships or something, so she couldn't spare the time to come down here. Nora was interested, but Ren wouldn't let her. Apparently, her grades have been slipping in Peach's class."

"Ooh. Rough." Ruby cringed at the thought of failing Peach's class, before she filled her mouth with another chocolate chip cookie Jaune had bought.

"Tell me about it. Man, these are good..." Jaune shoved another cookie into his mouth, happily chewing away at the sweet. "No one makes them better than Vale-U-Bull."

"Amen to that!" The two brought their glasses together with a soft clink and downed their drinks. Ruby only stopped to ask her compatriot a question that had just popped into her head. "Hey, meet back here tomorrow? We can study some more and I can repay you for the cookies."

Jaune looked elated at the idea, but he paused when she offered to pay for their next meal. "No need, ma'am. My parents taught me right. An Arc always pay for his d-" He had almost said date. "D-dear friend!"

Ruby rolled her eyes as she lightly punched her friend's shoulder. "Yeah, right. Come on, let me pay for it. I'd feel bad if I made you pay twice in a row."

"You're not making me pay, Rubes. I-"

"Jaune..."

Her steely glare was yet another mixed look that Jaune struggled to describe. Scary and... cute? A scarlet color crept onto his cheeks again as he thought of his friend as cute. He pushed the thought aside and nodded his head. "Alright, alright. But I'll cover for drinks. Deal?"

Ruby rolled her silver eyes again, but decided that a compromise was still a win. "Deal."

And so return they did.

"So, is that your favorite flavor?" Jaune lifted his head from his drink as Ruby sat across from him. The flavor in question was a Strawberry Frost milkshake, with bits of cookies mixed into it and a dash of whipped cream on top.

"Yeah. I love strawberries," he answered. "You?" Ruby smirked at the question and raised her hand, shouting out towards the cashier.

"One large Chocolate Storm, please!"

"You got it!"

And like a well oiled machine, her drink was delivered to her. Of course, calling it a drink seemed almost unfitting. The size of the cup was like the length of an arm. In fact, Jaune briefly wondered what was longer, his sword or the drink. At the top of the of the towering beverage was a single cookie, half buried in the head of whipped cream. Several cherries had been added on top, before finally the waiter added a comically small straw to finish it off.

Ruby thanked the waiter, before licking her lips. She had to stand up from her seat to properly grab the tip of her straw, before she began to suck away at it, pulling the thick, creamy chocolate beverage to her mouth. Jaune's mouth nearly hit the floor as he actually saw the whipped head of the milkshake descend. Ruby gasped when she finally stopped. She fell back onto her seat, rubbing her belly as she shivered in her seat.

"So good," she panted.

"Is it really that good?" Jaune inquired, standing up from his seat. He took the straw in his own hands and slurped away. It didn't take long for the young man to gasp. "Whoa..."

"Right?!" Ruby pulled the drink away from the older boy and returned her lips to it. She slurped away at the drink, and when she couldn't get anymore, she licked the tip to ensure there was no milkshake left. As soon as she was done, Jaune grabbed the drink and returned it to his lips.

Neither seemed to realize they were indirectly kissing the other...

"Ow!" Jaune hissed, holding his head. "Ahhhh! Brain freeze!" Ruby cringed in sympathy at the young man's pain. Years of eating ice cream and similar cold sweets had rendered the young woman immune to such things, but Jaune was still an amateur. Well, she'd help him learn to master the art of frozen treats. After all, they were officially 'Chocolate Storm Buddies' in her mind.

"My dad taught me this. Here, rub your temples."

"My what?" He stared at her blankly, before groaning in pain at the icy sensation that plagued his head. He squeezed his eyes shut as he began to try and find his temples with clumsy, distracted fingers.

"Right here." She placed her delicate fingers on the sides of Jaune's head and pulled him over the table. Once she found her targets, she pressed two fingers against the spot, gently massaging them. She could feel his golden locks gently brush against her fingers as the boy relaxed in her hands.

"Ah... That feels so much nicer," he sighed. He opened his eyes and they met silver pools of light. He'd never been this close to the shimmering silver eyes of Ruby. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Ruby, on the other hand, gazed into the oceanic blue eyes of the knight. The site was calming. A peaceful color that went well with the kind, if goofy Huntsman-in-training.

"Um... R-Ruby? You can stop massaging now."

"Huh? Sorry!" She released his head and he fell forward, nearly stumbling into her drink. Both of their faces were colored the same as the tips of Ruby's hair, but neither voiced their thoughts. Instead, they focused on the drink once Jaune was properly seated again.

"Um... Y-you can have the rest," he muttered, returning to his own strawberry flavored drink.

Ruby glanced at her Chocolate Storm and found the cookie stuck in the middle of her cup. With an honest smile, she plucked the cookie from its' prison and cracked it in two. The very idea of sharing one of these delicious treats was a rarity for the girl, but Jaune deserved a small apology from her indirectly giving him a brain freeze.

"Here." A half for him and a half for her. Jaune returned her smile with one of his own, and the two quietly finished their meal, the textbook long forgotten between them.

"So, how is it? Just as good as the first time?" The Huntress-in-training was expecting her friend to beam right back at her and tell her that the Chocolate Storm was just as good today as it was yesterday. Instead, the boy smacked his lips together with a look of disappointment in his eyes. "Hey, what's up?"

"I don't know... Something's just missing, y'know?"

"What?" Ruby sipped at her own drink, her brow furrowing as she came to understand the knight's dilemma. She licked her straw clean, before pouting. "Mine taste's off too..." Ruby grabbed Jaune's chocolate milkshake and sipped at his draw, surprised to find a much better sweetness to it. She gave a small moan of approval as she continued to drink up the shake. "Mmm, yours tastes so much better!"

"Huh? Seriously?" Jaune took back the drink and hesitantly sipped at it. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, only to widen after a taste. "Huh. Weird. This thing tasted totally different a second ago. Can I see yours?" Ruby stole his drink back, before sliding her own over. She gave a nod as she happily tasted the chocolatey treat. The older boy smacked his lips together before he slurped the drink up through Ruby's straw.

Judging by his relaxed posture and smile on his face, the drink was just as delicious as he remembered. Ruby considered switching their drinks back, but shrugged it off. Jaune's milkshake tasted way better than hers, and if he liked her milkshake so much, he could have it.

She just hoped he'd come by here with her again tomorrow. She might not have studied as much compared to when she was alone, but she was always happy to have Jaune around. He was the first real friend she made at Beacon, and she realized the same was true for him. She was Jaune's first friend at Beacon.

It felt good to share milkshakes with a friend.

END

I wanted to write something short and sweet. Nothing too crazy romantic, but sweet and easy. No crazy drama or anything.

Y'know, typically I write Persona fanfiction. This is a hell of a change, honestly. I wonder if any of my Persona fans will read this... Well, whether you've read my work before or not, I hope you enjoyed this sweet little tale. I might add another chapter later if reception is positive enough or if I really want to.

This is my first time writing for RWBY characters, so I really do hope I did a decent job. I really love Jaune and Ruby together. It always just clicked well, in my opinion, and while I have no idea what the future may bring for the series, I do hope for some Jaune X Ruby romance. But eh, we will see.

Hope you enjoyed this short story. Hope you have a wonderful day and take care!