4:30 P.M. rolled around and Weiss was giving herself one last look over. The outfit that she and Yang had settled on was a white one-piece dress that combined a jacket with a skirt. The trim and decorative buttons were black, and she was wearing white heels that went up to her knees. Yang had affectionately referred to it as her "Snowpea" outfit, but she failed to see the significance of naming a piece of clothing like so. Nodding in approval at her own makeup and overall appearance, she made her way to the front where Klein awaited with the car.

Weiss realized her nerves had returned once more when she caught her heel tapping the bottom of the car at a rather rapid pace. Klein noticed the noise, but refrained from commenting so as to let her keep what composure she had left.

They arrived five minutes ahead of the scheduled meeting time and Weiss got out of the car at the far end of the parking lot, not wanting the expensive car to be the first impression they got from her. Straightening out her skirt, she held her own single white rose in front of her, it being the proof of their identity upon breathed in deep, let it out, and walked slowly towards the restaurant. As she approached she initially failed to see anybody outside, but as she got close she could spy a head of blonde hair over the top of a car. She used said car as cover and got a good look at the boy sitting on a bench.

Her breath caught.

'Jaune…?'

It was none other than Jaune Arc, wearing a sapphire-blue button-down shirt and black pants. He had his hair styled in a part and was bouncing one of his legs up-and-down in apparent nervousness.

And he was holding a single white rose in his hands.

Weiss froze where she stood. Out of all the people in Beacon, he was the only one she'd never expected to see waiting for her. Memories of his failed attempts at flirting with her resurfaced, and she found herself at a loss; how was she supposed to react to this?

That was decided for her when Jaune's eyes, roaming over the parking lot, happened to meet hers. His leg shaking stopped as he raised a hand in a simple greeting, and she returned the gesture automatically due to her ingrained etiquette. So, pretending she didn't know he was there was off the table. Maybe she could hide the rose she was holding in her jacket? Or-

"-Remember: he's a mystery, but not a stranger."

Yang's words called out to her, bringing that train of thought to a grinding halt. Hadn't she made a promise that day? An oath to treat Crescent with warmth, no matter who it turned out to be? How quickly she had forgotten that promise! Shaking her head, she clasped her hands behind her back as she regained her composure. She was Weiss Schnee; but to the boy on the bench, she was here as Crystal.

And she could not, would not, forget the way he had treated her over the months of anonymous communication. No matter their strange history together, he deserved that much at the very least. With that settled in her mind she kept her hands behind her back as she completed her journey, speaking to Jaune as she got within a few paces of him. "Good evening, Jaune. How are you today?"

He smiled, the same trademark goofy grin he showed around Beacon. "I'm doing pretty good. I think?" He did, in fact, phrase that as a question. "Anyways, how are you, Weiss?"

"I'm doing quite well, thank you. Are you perhaps expecting someone?"

Jaune glanced at the white rose he was holding. "Yeah, actually; I am. I'm a little nervous about it, if I'm being honest, because I want it to go well."

He shook his head. "Sorry, not trying to unload my nerves on you. I'm sure you don't wanna hear about this."

She chuckled softly. "Truthfully, Jaune? I'm very interested in how you are, because-"

The white rose appeared from behind her back, making Jaune's eyes widen in shock. "-I'm here to meet someone, as well. Perhaps you know who this person is?"

His mouth opened and shut several times, clearly trying and failing to articulate a sentence. It was quite comical, really, but Weiss decided to throw him a metaphorical bone and break the last bit of ice. "Hello, Crescent."

That made him blink, but a brief second later he gathered his wits and smiled, much more softly this time. "Hey, Crystal. Nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise." She gestured to the restaurant door. "Shall we go inside?"

"Of course."

He rose from the bench and opened the door for her, which she accepted with a nod as they began their much anticipated date. The hostess raised an eyebrow as she and Jaune walked in together, but didn't make a single comment as she showed them to their table: a nice, secluded seat that was adorned with only a small, lit candle. "Your waiter will be with you both in just a moment."

"Thank you." The two of them sat in silence for a moment as they had dozens of questions and no place to begin. Jaune eventually decided to open with, "So, can I ask why you chose the name Crystal?"

"A member of my estate, Klein, once described my eyes as beautiful, crystalline orbs." Said orbs twinkled in fond recollection. "I decided that I quite liked that, so it felt appropriate. How about you? Did Crescent come from your last name?"

"Yep, a good ol' fashioned Arc. Kinda lame, I know, but all of my favorites were taken."

"Oh? And what name did you want?"

"Music Man, but it got swiped by Russell." It was peculiar to both of them, as anyone would expect this meeting to be as awkward as possible given what had transpired in Jaune's attempts to woo her just a year prior. But, in the back of their minds, they weren't meeting as distant acquaintances; instead, they were two great friends who just so happened to be connecting in person now.

So, they talked-

"Cardin gave up football to work here? I'm surprised."

"Me, too. But one day, he just walked up to me while I was the host and said, 'Jaune, I will do anything if you help me get a job here.' Apparently, he wants to run his own business one day."

-and talked-

"Do you really hate the piano?"

"I don't hate it, per sé, I just enjoy singing considerably more. It's why I'm in Chorus."

"In that case, could I… maybe hear you play one day?"

She smiled. "Only if you'll sing with me."

-and talked-

"Y-You can't expect me to believe they did that."

"They really did, Weiss! And when I went to the teacher's lounge and told Ms. Fall that I would be dropping Chorus, Ms. Autumn actually jumped out of her chair, shoved her finger in her nose, and shouted 'HAH!' Nora told me once that they would do anything to have me in their classes; I thought it was a joke, but Ms. Fall was about to commit a murder right in front of me."

"...These are the people we're supposed to look up to, Jaune."

"I know, right? Oh, our food's coming."

-and talked.

"So, Yang knew we were meeting each other and helped you pick out an outfit?"

"Indeed she did. As much as I appreciate her assistance, I feel quite peeved that she was aware of what was happening and told neither of us."

Jaune gave a small 'hm' of agreement. "I kinda see what you mean. It almost makes you want to get her back, right?"

"Precisely!" Weiss paused long enough to take a bite of her lasagna, savoring every piece of it before swallowing. Vermilion had to be commended for her skills. "Actually, I may have an idea for a prank of sorts."

"Ooh, I'm all ears." Weiss relayed her idea, making Jaune grin in sheer, unadulterated glee. "Oh, you're evil, Miss Schnee."

She preened from the praise. "Tsk tsk, Mr. Arc-Schnee-to-be! If this plan is going to work, you have to really sell it."

"Right, sorry. I'll make sure my sisters play along, too."

For hours they chatted, over dinner and dessert, even as the crowd around them dwindled down to next-to-no one. It was comfortable, warm.

Wonderful.

"Jaune." Weiss's serious tone got his attention as they finally made to leave the table. "I have something I've always wanted to say."

Jaune stopped in the process of pushing his chair in, but quickly nodded. "I'm listening, because I have something to say, too."

They were on the same page, then, but Crystal still felt it necessary to vocalize it. She bowed her head just a little and said, "Jaune, thank you for being there for me. If you hadn't been available to talk me through my parents issues, I… I'm not sure what I would've done."

Crescent smiled and lowered his own head in return. "Weiss, you returned that help right back to me. It's been hard acting as both big brother and dad for my sisters, and your support helped me out so much. From the tutoring, to the encouragement, to… just, everything. Thank you."

They met each other's eyes and, deciding to switch to actions, closed in and hugged each other. It was brief, as even Jaune was aware of the fact that they were still in public, but that mattered little as they shared their hearts. With a wave goodbye to Vermilion, who was not-so-subtly watching them, they departed the restaurant and Jaune drove her home. All the while they continued talking about many things, big and small alike, just filling up the ride with as much warmth as they could.

Before too long, they arrived at the pearly gates of the Schnee estate. Jaune let out a whistle as they opened and revealed a meticulously kept entrance, with perfectly space bushes lining the driveway. Pulling up as close to the front door as he could, Jaune parked the truck and walked around to let Weiss out. "Your hand, madam."

She rolled her eyes, yet played along anyways as he helped her down. "My, how gentlemanly of you."

"It is always an honor." A heartbeat passed before they both devolved into laughter, neither of them caring that Klein had come to walk her in. The companionship between the two felt as true as anything ever had, and that was all that mattered.

Just as Weiss said farewell and began to walk up the steps, Jaune remembered something and called out, "Weiss, I forgot to ask you something."

She and Klein both stopped, the former stopping to say, "Yes, Jaune?"

Feeling nervous for the first time since he'd sat on the bench, Jaune swallowed his spit and asked, "If you don't have a date to the dance already, could I convince you to go with me?"

Weiss laughed at his struggle, though not out of cruelty. Wasn't the answer obvious? "Of course I'll go with you, Jaune. We'll talk about it later to plan it out."

"Cool- I mean, awesome! Great." That goofy grin was infectious. "See you later, Crystal."

"Until next time, Crescent."

X

As you can see, this was just a fluffy what-if that I felt inclined to write in honor of Valentine's day. It's a shame she didn't do this in the real One New Message, eh?

I hope you enjoyed this little aside of mine. If you did, then maybe you can look forward to the next one I'm writing? I'll spoil the title for you, but nothing else!

"ONM: Call waiting."

Until next time!