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The Scent of Romance

Part 1 – The First Day

Strawberries.

That was the first thing Blake awoke to this morning, the scent of strawberries filling her nose. Not just the smell though; at the back of her mouth she could just about taste the sweet fruit.

That's weird, I don't remember eating anything with strawberries in it last night… or all day yesterday for that matter.

The puzzling thought wouldn't leave her as Blake stretched and sat up in bed, inspecting the room. She noted Ruby was already up and about, in the process of getting dressed. Weiss' bed was empty, and as her hearing adjusted from sleep Blake could hear the shower of their in-dorm bathroom running. Ruby was probably done with her shower, and Blake recalled she loved her strawberry shampoo, so that must have been the explanation for the smell that had awoken her.

Yang's loud snores could be heard above, and would likely stay that way for most of the morning seeing as how it was Saturday. Actually it was rather odd for Ruby to be awake at this time as well. So with a mighty yawn she swung her uncovered legs over the edge of her bed and murmured her leader's name.

Ruby turned around and smiled when she saw Blake getting up. "Morning, Blake. Sorry if I woke you."

"It's fine," she waved off. Unlike her partner Blake actually liked getting up early, as the dorm room would be relatively quiet for a few blissful hours. "What are you doing up?"

"Weiss and I made plans to go out to the city, and we wanted to get an early start. You can come with if you want."

"Mmm-mmm," Blake shook her head. It was actually kind of hard to concentrate on what Ruby was saying with the smell and taste of strawberries being so cloistering.

Worse yet was how it was starting to mix with another smell, this one salty and odorous. Blake scowled at the bunk over her head. Yang obviously hadn't kept her promise to make sure she wiped herself down after her nightly training session. Just like with Ruby's shampoo the smell of Yang's odor was getting to be oppressing.

She needed to get away from it all. For some reason her team mates were being especially rude with their bodily smells this morning. Blake heard the shower cut off, and she quickly got out of bed and collected a set of clothes.

Ruby noticed her agitated state. "Is everything alright, Blake? You look stressed."

"I'm fine," Blake deflected, crossing the room to the bathroom door. "I guess I just feel a little… sensitive this morning. Actually, do you mind toning it down with your shampoo a little for the future?"

"My shampoo?"

"Just don't use so much. Strawberries are nice but I'd prefer not having the entire room smell like them every morning."

"But I didn't even wash my hair this morning," Ruby pointed out.

Blake cocked her head in confusion. That didn't make any sense-

The door swung open, Weiss standing there with a hand on the towel wrapped around her body. "What are you two talking about?"

MINT.

SO MUCH FUCKING MINT!

Blake gagged violently, a hand slapping over her mouth and nose. This was so much worse than before. She hated mint because of how it would upset her stomach, but Weiss has been using the mint body wash she liked for as long as Blake's known her, and it never gave her such a visceral reaction before. The taste clung to the back of her throat, and Blake had to force the rising bile back down.

"Blake, what's wrong?" Ruby panicked. Weiss backed up a step, eyes wide as she had no idea what was happening or what to do. Behind her she could hear Yang roused from her slumber.

She didn't even know how to answer. All the smells were mixing together, minty and sweet and salty, forming a choking taste in her mouth that made Blake want to throw up. Something was wrong with the room. Something was wrong with her.

"I-I need to use the communal shower," Blake gasped. She lunged for the door to the hallway and made a break for it before any of her team mates could say anything. As she raced down the halls, a part of Blake felt bad she was running from her team again, but this time even she didn't fully understand what was going on. All she knew was that she couldn't stay in their room, not with how powerful all the different smells were in such a small space. They would have either given her a splitting migraine or forced her to purge her stomach. Probably both.

Blake hoped a nice, long shower would help her calm down, and then she could focus on what exactly was happening to her.

The plan backfired horribly.

Blake failed to consider the communal part of communal washroom. With so many people who used it on a daily basis, the showers were a veritable explosion of different smells, ranging from sickly sweet to downright rancorous. Blake only made it a foot into the room before she nearly fainted due to sensory overload.

So she ran from that too, bundle of forgotten clothes still clutched in her hands, but it seemed nowhere was safe. Everywhere she went and everyone she passed, there was no stopping the onslaught on her sinuses.

Velvet Scarletina – Spice so strong it could have burned a hole in her throat.

The cafeteria – Same problem as the washroom in that there were far too many smells to handle.

Cardin Winchester – Far too much cologne.

A transfer student from Haven – Enough alcohol to make Blake think they should attend AA meetings.

Even her oldest and truest friends, books, gave her no salvation. Blake fled to the library, but the musty smell of old books was no longer calming and familiar. Now it was oversaturated and almost nausea inducing. Still, it was the only place in the school not overpopulated by too many people and their smells, and dealing with just one overpowering scent was a far better alternative than dozens at once.

Huddled in a far off and secluded corner, Blake's eyes were scrunched shut and she had her hands covering her mouth and nose to try and abate the effects of the smell, for what little good it did. Blake focused on trying to get her body back under her control. In her time spent panicking and fleeing from all others, Blake started to remember information she'd been taught earlier in life.

It wasn't supposed to happen this soon, though. And she had no idea how long it was supposed to last until she started getting better. Blake couldn't imagine how she could possibly attend classes or train with her team if mere smells could bring her to her knees. But Blake didn't know what to do; there wasn't some prescribed solution for the problem she was experiencing now.

Blake could barely handle the one smell as is. How would she be able to handle all the people around her, and all the places she needed to go, and all the things she needed to work with, and… and…

And then there was something else.

Blake immediately took notice of the smell, not because it was as assaulting as all the others she's experienced yet this morning. Rather, this one was… softer, in a way. Cool, refreshing, with a tinge of citrus. It smelled like… waves crashing on the beaches of Menagerie.

And in an instant Blake was somewhere else, no longer in the library of Beacon. She was back home, a toddler again, strolling those white, sandy beaches, hand in hand with her mother and father. Blake could practically hear the rolling sounds of the waves, feel the sea water spray against her face as the warm sun beat down on her.

For a moment, Blake was calm again, and her hands slowly drifted away from her face so she could better experience the smell. It calmed Blake, made her feel better. Made her think of happier times. The heady scent of the books was still present, but if Blake focused on the smell of citrus and sea water, then she no longer felt like she was in over her head. It was such a nice smell; Blake couldn't help wanting more of it.

"Hey, uh, Blake?"

The voice broke her out of her reverie, and Blake's eyes fluttered open. She looked up to find none other than Jaune Arc standing in front of her, a worried expression on his face.

"Oh, hello, Jaune," she greeted tiredly. Blake wasn't entirely sure what to say to him. At most they were acquaintances brought together by mutual friends, and outside of classes she wasn't sure if they'd ever had all that much one on one contact.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. "Because… you don't look alright."

Blake supposed she didn't, glancing down at herself. She was still wearing her yukata, with a pile of crumpled clothes hastily dropped at her feet, and no doubt when Jaune spotted her it probably looked like she was fighting back the urge to vomit. Mostly because she was.

"I'm not having the best morning," Blake admitted. Despite not being close with the boy, Blake still knew enough about Jaune to know anything important she said to him wouldn't leave their circle of friends. He was trustworthy like that.

"Argument with your team? I've been there, it sucks."

"Not an argument. My team did drive me out of the room, but not because of anything they intentionally did. It's more… a personal problem I'm having."

Jaune turned queasy. "Oh, is it that time of the month? I can leave if you want me to."

Normally Blake's reaction would have been to roll her eyes at his assumption. But in his attempts to be helpful Jaune took a step away from her. As he did so, Blake could somehow feel the aura of the pleasant smell keeping her calm dim the slightest amount.

"No!" she panicked, causing Jaune to jump slightly. Blake bit back a curse at herself and took a deep breath to regain her composure. "Sorry. But I think I'd actually prefer if you stayed. I can explain what's going on if you like."

"I guess a little context would be nice," he said with a nervous laugh. Jaune came over and made himself comfortable against the wall, and to her silent relief Blake could sense the calming aroma grow stronger with his closer presence. It all but confirmed her theory it was Jaune himself giving off the pleasing scent.

When Jaune was situated next to her, close but not too close, Blake noticed his eyes trail lower than where her eyes were, after which he quickly averted his gaze as his cheeks started to redden slightly. While any other girl might have berated him for getting an eyeful, Blake just smiled sympathetically. She knew the yukata she wore for sleep didn't leave a lot to the imagination about her body. There was a reason she didn't wear it out of her dorm room. It wasn't Jaune's fault if he found her attractive, and unlike other guys he was at least trying not to be a creep about it, so Blake would let bygones be bygones.

"So what's going on?" Jaune asked, prompting Blake to shake her head as she was broken out of her thoughts. How odd. That might have been the most she's ever paid any thought to Jaune.

"It has to do with the fact I'm a Faunus," Blake began, and Jaune nodded along as he and his team already knew about the secret she had kept for the first semester. "Even though most of our biological quirks really aren't secrets, a lot of humans wouldn't know about them. One of those quirks is how we go through a second puberty."

"A second puberty?" Jaune echoed, sounding skeptical.

"It's not the same kind of puberty as you know. Rather, the change to our bodies is different in that it's more primal, seeing as how we develop a trait akin to the animals we already share body features with."

"So you're becoming more cat-like?"

"Sort of. Our second puberty generally only sees one change." Blake shuffled a bit and pulled her knees up to her chest. "In my case, it appears my sense of smell has become hyper sensitive."

"Super smell, huh?" Jaune wondered aloud, looking a bit impressed. "That actually sounds pretty useful. Although since I found you huddled here, I'm guessing things haven't been going great so far."

Blake shook her head in confirmation. "Not really. Previous smells that went unnoticed are now extremely noticeable, and the foul ones I could easily ignore before are now disgustingly aggressive. And it feels like if there's more than one or two at once it starts to overload my brain, and I can't take it."

"That does sound like it would suck," Jaune lamented. "You're not stuck like this, are you?"

"All Faunus learn to adapt to their new changes, but it takes time. There's no set of guidelines saying how long things should or shouldn't last. I just have to learn to get on with it myself." Blake buried her chin in her arms, looking dour. "I'm afraid things won't be going back to normal any time soon."

"I wouldn't give such a downer forecast." The words actually surprised her, and Blake turned to him for explanation. "I mean, sure, you looked terrible when I saw you from across the room. But since we've been talking it looks like you're already doing a lot better. Maybe talking helps?"

"Not quite," she hedged. "Actually, I think the reason I'm doing better is because you specifically are here."

"Me?" Jaune exclaimed, pointing at himself like he didn't believe it.

Blake gave him an uneasy look. "Don't take this the wrong way, but… you smell nice."

"I do?"

"Surprisingly, yes, you do. The moment I caught wind of your scent I started to feel better. It helps me focus again, keeps me calm. That's why I wanted you to stay."

Jaune turned away from her, eyes wide in a contemplative look. "Huh. In all the ways I imagined helping people, smelling nice didn't exactly rank high on the list."

Blake allowed a half smile for his attempts at humor. Normally he was much more enthusiastic and pushy when it came to the wellbeing of others, but this time it appeared Jaune understood remaining calm was the better way to help Blake, and she was thankful for that.

"So what's your secret?" Blake asked him.

Jaune's brow furrowed in confusion when he turned back to her. "My secret?"

"I mean what kind of shampoo or body wash do you use?" she elaborated. "I had to leave my own room because Weiss' mint body wash was too powerful. If it's not too much to ask, I was wondering if I could borrow yours for a while. Maybe the smell of it will help keep me calm as I work through my second puberty."

"Uuuuuhhh…" Jaune was slow to respond, face growing even redder now for some reason. Was it really that much of a taboo to ask a boy for his cleaning products? Or was Jaune really just that sensitive about it? He started tapping his knees nervously and said, "So… this is going to sound kind of weird too."

Weirder than you already are? Blake kept the comment to herself, knowing just like any other man his pride was easily wounded. But that didn't ease the confusion Blake felt as to why Jaune had suddenly become so nervous.

"The thing is… my shampoo and body wash are unscented."

…What?

"Unscented?" Blake repeated, to which Jaune nodded. "As in no herbal or fruit extracts whatsoever to give it a unique smell?"

"I have this weird skin condition where the chemicals they use in scented stuff gives me a rash," he admitted bashfully. "It's nothing horrendously bad, mind you, but just a couple days' worth of repeated scented body wash use will start to make me break out in hives. Unscented is the only stuff I can use to get clean without worrying about looking like a pimply tomato."

"That is… probably the last thing I ever expected to learn about you," Blake confessed, too stunned to properly filter her words. It just sounded so unbelievable! The idea of him using forged transcripts to get into Beacon would have sounded more plausible right about now.

"Yup. On top of not being able to ride aircraft without puking my guts out and being allergic to one of our science projects, I also can't shower like a normal person."

"Truly, being Jaune Arc is suffering," Blake drawled. Jaune was actually kind enough to laugh at her awful joke. "So basically what I'm smelling right now is just you."

"Just me," he nodded. "Granted, the stuff I use still gets me clean. And I do have a couple of mild body sprays so no one notices my, er, lack of clean smelliness, but this morning I didn't use any because I was in a rush to get to the library early."

So the scent capable of calming Blake's nerves was not something that could be bought or acquired. It belonged uniquely to Jaune Arc.

That was… problematic. Were it an item or beauty product Blake could simply tote it around herself or keep it in close proximity without having to inconvenience anyone else. But since Jaune was the source and Blake was weak to her nasal cavities at the moment, straying just a few feet from him could prove disastrous. At the same time Jaune was his own person, with his own life to live and tasks to complete. It wasn't like Blake could just monopolize his entire being for her own self interest.

He probably didn't want to be stuck babysitting her all the time anyway…

"Do you want to hang out today?" he asked her.

Blake was snapped out of her own mind again. She seemed to be developing a bit of problem ruminating on Jaune overly hard.

She blinked at him and said, "I'm sorry, come again?"

"I just think we should hang out for a while," he explained, "If my smell is what's keeping you down to Remnant, then we should stay close together until you're used to your new senses."

Heat rose up in her cheeks and Blake quickly looked to the floor in order to mask her embarrassment. She could spend hours debating on whether it was right to stick close to Jaune and he didn't even hesitate to ask. He was leagues more selfless than her.

"That would be nice," she mumbled. "Thank you."

"I'm always happy to help a friend." A funny warm feeling wormed its way through her chest, but Blake chose to keep it to herself. Then Jaune looked out over the library and scratched his cheek nervously. "Although I'm not really sure what there is we can both do together."

"Actually, first and foremost I think we should go to my dorm room," Blake told him, moving to stand. Jaune followed suit and she explained, "I bailed on my team without a proper explanation so they're probably worried about me. I should go clear that up."

"Sounds like a good first step," Jaune agreed. "Lead the way."

Blake nodded and did so, and Jaune followed after. True to her earlier hypothesis the calming scent went wherever Jaune did, so they didn't have to fear staying in one spot all day long in order to aid Blake's scenting problem. However Blake could still sense the smell dissipating slightly due to the fact Jaune was moving, and that allowed all the other overpowering scents to claw their way back to Blake.

Though it mortified her, Blake could fix that. Without looking at him, as that would break her composure, Blake snaked a hand out and snagged the hem of the sleeve of Jaune's hoodie, and with the contact pulled them both close together as the traversed the halls of Beacon. She heard a strained choking sound rise up at the back of Jaune's throat but the boy didn't comment on her bold move, and Blake did the same. Their circumstance was already awkward enough without silly things like spoken words and eye contact.

Blake just hoped no one saw them as they sped toward her room. She couldn't imagine the kinds of rumors people would come up with if they saw her and Jaune like this…

"Hello?" Blake called into the room as she pushed the door open. Unfortunately she and Jaune entered to find it bare of other occupants.

"They're probably out looking for me," Blake theorized. Which would be all the more frustrating for them since Blake had left her Scroll behind. Blake quickly crossed the room, picked up the device and immediately put in a call to her team leader.

Barely two seconds passed before Ruby picked up. "Blake! It's you! Are you alright?"

"It's me, and yes I'm fine," Blake confirmed. "Well, fine wouldn't be the best word. I'm better now at least. I'm sorry for freaking out and bailing on you guys."

"You'd better be sorry!" she heard Weiss chastise before the heiress pushed herself into the frame on her Scroll, uncaring of how she shoved Ruby aside. "We already boarded an airship to Vale because of you!"

Blake winced. "I wasn't trying to run away again, I swear. I was just… caught off guard?"

"By what?" Ruby asked.

"It's a health thing for Faunus. I'd rather not try and explain over the call, but the main point is…" Blake looked over her Scroll to where Jaune was waiting patiently. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "I found someone who can help me with it."

"It's not an… urge type thing, is it?" Weiss asked with trepidation. "Just make sure to thoroughly clean the room once you're done."

Jaune's look quickly morphed into one of horror, and Blake pinched her eyes shut. "No, Weiss, I am not in heat. That isn't even a thing that exists."

"It's not like I would know," the heiress mumbled almost out of range for the Scroll.

"Racist."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Anyway," Ruby cut in pointedly, "you can tell us more when we get back. We'll take the first airship back to Beacon."

"No, I don't want to ruin your day…"

"It's fine, Blake. Team mates are supposed to look out for each other. See you soon." Ruby flashed her a bright smile before she cut the connection.

"So it looks like the rest of your team are gonna be a while before they get back," Jaune summed up. "Anything you wanted to do before then?"

"Well… I still have to get cleaned up for the day," Blake said, lifting up her clothes.

"Ah, right, and that's definitely something I can't help with." Were it any other guy - or Yang - they might have made a joke to the opposite sentiment, and Blake found herself extremely grateful it was Jaune Arc of all people with the strangely pleasing scent.

"I won't be too long," Blake assured him. "Go ahead and use Ruby and Yang's game system if you want, but don't go rifling through anything. Weiss will know and her voice can reach levels I hadn't thought possible for a human when she complains about people touching her stuff."

"I hadn't planned on it," Jaune assured her. Weiss would probably still have a conniption when she realized Blake left a boy alone in their room while Blake showered, but she was just going to have to deal with it.

Blake opened the bathroom door and immediately cringed as the combination of smells hit her. It was all their cleaning products rolled into one gaseous blob of smell, and it pressed upon her like a weight. But Blake didn't want to forego the day feeling filthy and braved the fog, leaving the door slightly ajar in the hopes the smells would leak out as the room filled with steam from the shower.

For a minute Blake was fine, Jaune's scent lingering on her as she stripped off her clothes, folding her underthings within her yukata just in case someone came in, not that she thought Jaune would. But when she stepped into the stall Blake could feel Jaune's scent dissipating more and more, being replaced by the heady smells of her team mates.

This is going to be a problem. At this rate Blake theorized she could only last two or three minutes before either being forced out of the bathroom by the smells or altogether being rendered unconscious by them. At least… not without Jaune nearby to beat them back with his scent.

Blake groaned when she realized what had to happen, her nose scrunching in distaste. She didn't want to ask this of Jaune. She really, really, really didn't want to. But she had no other options. So with a deep breath to steel herself, Blake reached around the curtain to nudge the door open just enough to talk through.

"Hey… Jaune?"

"Yeah? I thought you were taking a shower."

"Can…" she gulped and forced the words out of her mouth. "Can you come in here… with me?"

Predictably Jaune was stunned into silence. It seemed like eternity before he responded.

"In… just the bathroom, you mean? Not the shower-"

"No, not in the shower!" she panicked. "Just… stand in the room while I shower. Gods, I know how weird this sounds…"

"Blake, I really don't feel comfortable just standing there while you're, you know, naked and the only thing separating us is some sheet."

"Please, Jaune." Gods, when had she ever said please to someone? Blake squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her forehead to the cold tile wall. "I hate this. I hate what's happening to me and I wish I wasn't in the kind of state that forces me to ask something of you like this. But there's nothing else I can do! So please… just do this for me."

Again silence followed. Blake sniffled after her emotional outburst and wiped at her eyes. She didn't cry, hadn't for a long time, but she could still come damn close.

When the moments stretched on Blake began to fear Jaune might have simply fled the room. But finally she heard the door creak open as the boy stepped inside the bathroom, closing it after himself. Blake's suspicions were confirmed when Jaune's scent almost immediately started to fill up the room, helping to calm Blake down again. The toilet shifted when a weight pressed down on it, and Blake heard the whir of a Scroll snapping open.

"I'm pulling out my Scroll to distract myself with a game," Jaune was quick to explain, probably sensing she could in turn hear what he was doing. "I would never take photos like that of you. I just… need to keep my mind off this."

"I understand completely. I'll try to finish as soon as possible." Without wasting any more time Blake hit the shower nob, not even caring about how she was blasted with cold water before the stream began to heat up.

The minutes passed in tense silence, aside from the sounds of running water and electronic beeps from whatever game Jaune was using to distract himself. Whilst shampooing her hair Blake realized her own beauty products weren't hitting her as hard as the rest of the smells in the bathroom. Possibly because she basically walked around with them all day and had long grown used to them? Blake couldn't be sure, but unfortunately they weren't strong enough to help her remain calm, like Jaune's scent did.

Despite being the naked woman in the compromising position, Blake actually felt Jaune had it worse. Clueless and pushy he could sometimes be with his attempts at courting Weiss, Blake knew he still had a strong moral code and loathed the idea of intruding on someone's personal space. Blake had learned through Ren that Jaune even went so far as to insist he and his male team mate always used the communal showers so there would be less risk of walking in on Pyrrha or Nora while they bathed.

Both boys remained oblivious to how much this aggrieved Nora but that was another matter entirely.

Still it wouldn't surprise Blake if Jaune chose to blame himself for the situation they were in now. And that in turn only made Blake hate herself more because she was the one putting him through it.

"I want you to know this doesn't make you a bad person," Blake spoke up. Jaune didn't respond but she did hear him shift as he heard her. "What you're doing is a great help to me, and I want you to know I really appreciate it. So you don't have to feel guilty about being here."

"I, uh, I know that," Jaune replied, sounding unsure. "Still doesn't make the situation any less awkward though."

"No it does not," Blake sighed, moving onto her body wash. Then an idea popped into her head. "Although I still wouldn't say this is the most awkward moment I've had at Beacon."

"How could it not be?" Jaune asked incredulously.

"When I outed myself as a Faunus?" she reminded him.

"Oh, right, that. Yeah that whole weekend was pretty tense for your team."

"Yup. And then there's the fact my partner is Yang Xiao Long. She's walked out of the bathroom in the buff so often I've become inured to it."

"Seriously?" Jaune said with a laugh. It made Blake smile. The whole thing between them was still awkward as all hell, but it least it was funny awkward, and that made it better.

"I don't think I'd have survived being on a team with more than two girls," Jaune went on. "I walked in on Pyrrha changing once and for a week I wouldn't even look her in the-"

The bathroom door slammed open, and Blake's heart stopped short as she recognized the tangy salty smell that entered.

"Hey Blake!" said Yang Xiao Long. "Weiss sent me a mess-"

Yang's words ground to a halt, probably because she was stunned into silence by the scene that befell her. Jaune was dead silent as well, and Blake couldn't move a muscle. He view was blocked by the shower curtain, but she could imagine all too well what Yang was seeing.

Jaune Arc, a boy, sitting in their bathroom.

Blake in the shower, obviously naked and the only thing separating them a thin plastic sheet

And Jaune's Scroll in his hands.

She heard Ember Cilica unfold. "You're fucking dead, Arc."

"YANG NO WAIT PLEASE-"

"So that's what happened?" Weiss asked after Blake was done summarizing the events that had unfolded. "Jaune was only in the bathroom to help and he wasn't being a pervert?"

"That's exactly what happened," Blake confirmed. Next to her Jaune tried to nod as well, but only ended up wincing from how the pack of frozen peas pushed against his now blackened eye.

At the sound of Yang murdering someone and Jaune's rather girly screams, the rest of Team JNPR had rushed over to Team RWBY's room, only to find Blake in the same compromising position Yang had. It had taken a lot of yelling for Blake to get everyone out of the room so she could finally change and explain things better.

Ruby and Weiss arrived soon after so the two teams reconvened in the cafeteria to talk things over. Blake explained her second puberty to everyone and how it appeared Jaune held the secret to helping her get through it. True to form Blake could still sense the miasma of different scents all throughout the lunch room, but with Jaune sitting next to her she was able to ignore most of it by breathing in his scent.

"I'm sorry about the way I ran out on you all earlier," Blake finished saying to her three team members. "If I'd better known what was going on at the time I would have told you then, I swear."

"Well it's not like we had to scour the city for the entire weekend again, so I guess all is forgiven," said Weiss.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Ruby added with a smile.

Yang nodded and turned to Jaune. "I guess I owe you an apology too, huh? Sorry about that. I jumped to the worse conclusion without even thinking about it."

"It's fine," Jaune assured her. His mouth was set into a grim line and he remained still while his partner Pyrrha held the ice pack in place over his eye. "If I found a boy with one of my sisters like that I probably would have wanted to kill him too."

"So where does this leave us?" Weiss asked the group. "It's all well and good that having Jaune around helps Blake to feel better, but does that mean he has to stick with us all the time? And then how long is that going to be?"

"I don't know," Blake confessed. "It could be days, it could be months. I'm sure I'll get better over time, but for right now I can't stray more than a few feet from him without going into sensory overload."

"And we appreciate what Jaune can do for you," Yang assured her, "but I think I speak for the whole team when I say that I'm gonna be uncomfortable with a boy hanging around our dorm or the locker rooms whenever you have to get cleaned up or change." Both Ruby and Weiss nodded in agreement, though Ruby at least looked a bit guilty about the explanation.

"Perhaps rather than Jaune following along with Team RWBY, it would be better if Blake kept around with Team JNPR," Ren suggested. "Jaune and I are already used to spending most of our time with our female team mates; it's not as if Blake would be such a drastic change."

"Plus having more friends around is always better!" Nora cheered.

"Are you guys sure you wouldn't mind?" Blake asked the other team.

"I think it's perfectly fine," Pyrrha said with a smile, her motivations purely altruistic because she didn't have a crush for Jaune. Because really if you're writing a story that's only a chapter or two long and features a Jaune ship that doesn't involve Pyrrha then why bog it down with a love triangle when you only have so much time and space to focus on the important things not including all the other stuff from canon that you have to decide will play a factor or not until you and the readers come to unspoken agreement this'll just be a 'Nothing Bad Happens' Alternate Universe because all the canon shit can completely derail your entire idea if you so much as let it have a foothold I mean seriously do you people understand the VAST NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS WE WRITERS HAVE TO CONSTANTLY-

"And it's not as if we live totally separate lives," Ren went on, cutting off the author's rambling. "We share most of the same classes and our rooms are right across the hall from each other. It's a simple solution of just having Blake and Jaune sit next to one another more often."

"I suppose when you lay it out like that it doesn't sound quite so inconvenient," Weiss conceded.

"We can even start right now!" Pyrrha suggested. "We agreed to work on the essay for Doctor Oobleck's class all together in one of the library's rec rooms for the day-"

"The rec room!" Jaune suddenly yelled, shooting up from his seat. He remained oblivious to the startled yelp his partner let out after he bodily knocked her to floor on accident. "I totally forgot to put in our team name for a reservation!"

Ren and Nora both sighed but neither looked surprised in the least. "It's still early, hopefully we can beat the rush," said Ren. With the kind of calm grace that spoke of far too much practice, Ren rose from his seat and smoothly scooped up the dazed and confused Pyrrha, setting them both off at brisk run-walk.

"C'mon Blake! Time's a-wastin'!"

Blake barely had time to squeak a 'Wait' before Nora grabbed her by the shoulder and effortlessly lifted her into the air, the poor Faunus girl forced to bounce along as Nora skipped after her partner. Jaune was right on their heels, and the rest of Team RWBY were left to shared confused glances.

"We did have plans today," Weiss reminded her partner, trying her best to stay out of the sticky situation Blake's life had become.

"But you always nag me to get my work done ahead of time," Ruby shot back smugly.

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the younger girl but Yang cut her off. "Plus Blake won't let me hear the end of it if I skip out on her, and I sure as hell ain't walking in there alone."

The heiress looked between the two sisters, finding no cracks in their resolve, and sighed explosively. "Fine, we'll make today and team study session with JNPR. But I am not letting you weasel your way out of coming to the bank with me again, Ruby. You need to learn how to-"

"LA LA LA LA sorry Weiss I can't hear you I have to go do school work with my friends!" With a flurry of rose petals the young leader was gone. Yang gave her friend a 'What can you do?' look before hurrying after her sister. Weiss dutifully followed along as well, all the while grumbling to herself about being the only mature one in their social circle.

Realistically speaking it shouldn't have taken almost an entire day to complete a single essay. But the history of Remnant covered a long spectrum, and Doctor Oobleck demanded his essays be of comparable length. Add to that the combined attention spans of Nora, Ruby and Yang barely added up to one of Blake's, and that meant their study session was punctuated by many breaks filled with food and games.

But finish it they all did, though obviously the content varied from person to person as Weiss abhorred the idea of even a single sentence being too similar to one someone else wrote. And it had been fun for Blake, which genuinely surprised her. It wasn't the first time her team had spent an afternoon or more with Jaune's in order to work together, but before Blake had no real reason to interact with the others, and so remained aloof unless she specifically could provide some insight or bit of conversation.

With how Blake had to remain in close proximity to Jaune it all but forced her to interact with both him and the rest of team, but that had been far from an unpleasant experience. Blake had always respected Ren's quiet and studious nature, and easily fell into an efficient and enjoyable work routine with him. Nora was loud and bombastic yet somehow managed to always toe the line, funny and endearing without becoming obnoxious. Pyrrha was just an overall pleasant person, all the more grateful to work alongside someone who didn't care about her popularity from her time in Mistral.

Jaune was something of a paradox. Sometimes he could be as bad as Ruby about being focused on his work, but when he was Jaune showed there was actually quite a bit intelligence beneath that mop of blonde hair. He could be quite funny when he wasn't trying to showboat. And Jaune none too subtly suggested helping out Blake could score him some brownie points with Weiss while never once asking for anything for return from Blake herself, romantic or otherwise.

Blake wasn't entirely sure why that last point annoyed her somewhat.

Alas all good things had to come to a close, as the school wide curfew was closing in soon and they would have to turn in for the night. As the eight teenagers made their way back to their dorms, Blake and Jaune followed along from the back, not really joining in much of the conversation as they were both too consumed thinking about what was to come next.

Sleeping arrangements.

As it had only been a day Blake was feeling no better about her predicament. She highly doubted she'd be able to sleep a wink without Jaune nearby, but how would they be able to swing that? There's no way her team mates would be comfortable with Jaune sleeping in their room. Blake didn't have a problem sleeping in JNPR's room, but space was just as limited for them as RWBY's room and they didn't do bunk beds like Blake's team. Blake feared accidental overnight trampling to much to sleep on the floor.

Sharing a single bed with Jaune?

The very thought covered her face in flame.

So Blake stayed mute on the subject, as cowardly as it was. To be fair Jaune wasn't saying anything either, his features schooled into the kind of stillness that bespoke of a heavily forced calm.

Eventually they reached their dorms and Blake could no longer prolong the inevitable. While the rest bade their goodnights and retreated into their rooms, Blake and Jaune hovered in the hallway. Neither looked at the other, nor did they say anything for more than a minute. With an internal sigh Blake realized there was no easy way to broach the subject, so she took a deep breath to steel herself.

"This isn't easy to ask-"

"I was thinking-"

They both shut up as quick as they started talking over one another, sharing a pair of confused glances.

"Y-you go first," Blake suggested, being the first to cast her gaze away and instead look at the floor. She cursed herself, never the one to trip over her tongue like she just had.

Jaune must have seen how rosy her cheeks had become, but he had the grace not to comment on it. "Yeah, well, I was just gonna say you could spend the next few nights with us if you wanted. I wouldn't mind loaning you my bed while I slept on the floor…" He coughed awkwardly into his fist. "Although now I'm remembering I never thought to get it cleaned today and I'm realizing how much I sound like an idiot."

"It's not a stupid idea," Blake assured him. "But even if it was clean I wouldn't want to put you out."

"We have spare blankets and pillows, I wouldn't care."

"But I still care about your wellbeing, Jaune. You're already doing so much for me, I wouldn't want to take your bed as well."

A bead of sweat trickled down the side of Jaune's forehead and he swallowed thickly. "Um…"

"D-don't take that out of context," she was quick to bluster out.

Gods above Blake can you make more of an ass out of yourself than you already have?!

"I, uh, don't really know what else to do then…" He left the question hanging in the air, for all the good it did when Blake had no idea either.

"Oh for goodness sake! You two are absolutely hopeless!"

Blake couldn't hide the way she jumped slightly at Weiss' proclamation right behind her. With a scowl the shorter girl moved around Blake to stand in front of Jaune.

"Hold your arms out, like this," she ordered him. Weiss held her arms aloft in front of her like a mummy in some old movie.

"Okay?" Jaune was clearly confused but did as she commanded.

"Bend over, toward me."

He looked to Blake, but she only shrugged back, just as lost as him. With a shrug he followed the order, waiting for Weiss to tell him what was next.

But rather than tell, she showed. Weiss grabbed both his hoodie sleeves, planted a foot on his thigh, and pulled.

"Hyuup!"

"Ahh!" In one quick motion Jaune was suddenly colliding with the wall behind him, Weiss having pushed him away. Blake wasn't sure what stunned her more; Weiss shoving him so callously, the fact Jaune now only wore a white t-shirt as he sagged against the wall, or the fact the tight fabric left very little to the imagination about his pecks.

Training with Pyrrha is doing wonders for him, Blakethought dumbly, unable to look away from his surprisingly defined chest.

"Here, take this," Weiss said to her. Blake was knocked out of her daze when the other girl tossed something into her hands. She looked down to find she was now holding Jaune's hoodie, Pumpkin Pete's logo and all.

It smelled like Jaune.

It was warm like Jaune.

It was soft like Jaune.

…why did I just contemplate Jaune's softness?

"Oh right, good idea, Weiss!" the boy praised as he picked himself back up. "Blake can just sleep through the night with my clothes."

"Don't say it so loud!" Weiss hissed at him. "I don't want people thinking we're a bunch of fetishists or something!"

Blake narrowed her eyes at the girl. "You know all day you've been the one constantly jumping to the most sexual conclusions, right?"

Because of how pale her skin was it was very easy for Weiss to become completely red in the face. She leveled a fierce glare at Blake and blew air out through her nostrils in order to suppress her urge to kill.

Instead of rising to Blake's challenge she brusquely pushed past the girl and into their room. "I'm going to brush my teeth," she grumbled, clearly indicating she was not to be disturbed any further.

Once she was gone Blake and Jaune looked back to one another. Jaune rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "So… have a good night, Blake. I'll see you tomorrow."

She gave him a small smile in return. "I look forward to it."

And Blake found she truly was.

They shared one last round of 'Good nights' before retreating to their respective rooms. True to her word Weiss was in the bathroom, as Blake could hear the water running. Ruby was lounging on her bed, fully immersed in some game on her Scroll. Yang had her feet dangling over the side of her bed, eyes fixed on Blake and a Cheshire grin on her face.

"Having fun with Vomit Boy out there, partner?" she asked.

"Jaune is… quite more enjoyable to spend time with than I initially thought," Blake said diplomatically. She knew Yang was looking for an angle to tease Blake with, as was usual for her. Blake instead tried to steer the focus away from her. "I can see why he and Ruby spend so much time together."

"Jaune's like the older brother I never had!" Ruby agreed, still focused on her game. Under her breath she muttered, "Sometimes even better than the sibling I did get stuck with."

Yang still heard the comment, as indicated by her overly scandalized gasp. "Dearest Ruby, how could say something so dastardly? Big sister Yang will have to teach you some manners!"

The blonde perched her feet on her bed, body coiling up. Ruby realized too late what was about to happen.

"Yang wai-!"

With a primal cry the older girl launched herself across the room, landing on her sister in a tangle of limbs. The bed frame trembled precariously yet by some miracle it still stood, and all the while Yang laid a barrage of tickles upon Ruby, the younger girl desperately trying to kick her sister off while she descended into a fit of forced laughter.

With a roll of the eyes Blake turned away from the sisterly brawl, having built up immunity to Rose-Xiao Long craziness after the months she's spent with them. She made her way to her dresser, intending to dress down to something comfortable so she could spend an hour or so reading before bed.

She hugged Jaune's hoodie tight to her chest, just barely resisting the urge to bury her face into the fabric and take a deep whiff. By account of being Jaune's main article of clothing, outside of his school uniforms, it was saturated with his mildly sweet, ocean-y scent. It was almost like having the boy right next to her.

Almost. The piece of fabric didn't have his personality though, so it would only ever be the next best thing.

Blake placed it aside for the moment while she got the changed. She settled upon a pair of short shorts and a loose fitting shirt for the night, since she would be foregoing her usual yukata for obvious reasons. With slightly trembling hands Blake then took the hoodie and slipped it over head.

Just as she thought it didn't really fit her at all. Jaune was quite a bit taller than her and had a much wider frame. Because of that the folds of the hoodie hung off her body, and the hem reached all the way down to her mid thighs. Blake was at least spared having her arms being lost in the sleeves, as they were much shorter than the norm.

But Blake didn't mind. In fact it didn't feel all that much different from wearing her yukata. It was soft and warm, made all the better by how it covered Blake's body with Jaune's pleasing aroma. She hugged the hoodie to her body, unable to stop smiling to herself.

"B-Blake…"

Ruby sounded extremely confused, and Blake turned around to find the rest of her team staring at her. Weiss was stuck in the bathroom doorway, jaw hanging slack and tooth brush dangling out of the corner. Ruby and Yang looked to have frozen mid fight, Yang's tickling fingers still on Ruby's waist and the shorter girl still having her foot lodged onto Yang's chest while pushing her face away.

"What?" Blake asked.

Yang explained, "…I think Weiss meant you could just fold up the hoodie and sleep with it next to your pillow."

…

…oh right. That did make a lot of sense, didn't it?

But Blake would never admit her mistake, instead half turning from them to hide her pout. "Well, this way is more efficient."

"Seriously?" Ruby didn't even try to hide her disbelief.

"I'm entirely serious," Blake said, doubling down. "This way Jaune's scent is constantly around me, and I won't have to worry about knocking the hoodie off the bed or some such."

"I…" Weiss tried to think of a response, but it appeared this latest turn of events was one too many for her and her brain fizzled out. Throwing up her hands in defeat she said, "Honestly, I just don't care anymore. Yang, Ruby, get off each other before you break our beds, or so help me I will break the both of you!"

The sisters groaned but untangled themselves from each other, and Yang hopped off Ruby's bed to start preparing for bed. Satisfied her team would no longer be on her case, Blake collected her latest issue of Ninjas of Love and made herself comfortable on her mattress as she set to reading. She could still feel the wary looks the others were giving her as they did their own things, but Blake was content to ignore them.

They're all just being silly, Blake decided. Sure her second puberty was weird, and weirder still was how Jaune apparently held the key to helping her get through it. But they didn't have to act like Jaune loaning her his hoodie was the strangest of all. Friends helped each other all the time; let friends borrow the things they needed all the time. This was no different, and it was perfectly fine.

Because she and Jaune were friends.

Apparently friends so close they would wear each other's clothes.

Blake hid her enflamed cheeks beneath her book.

Author's Note: And so ends Part 1 of 2!

To provide some context to those who don't know, the idea for this story was actually thought up by Exvnir, the very talented RWBY Fanartist. The thumbnail I've chosen for this fic is one of his works. As a sort of an art exchange he drew the picture for me and I agreed to write this story him. Of course since I'm an awful friend and writer it's taken like a year to complete this one part, but to make up for that I made sure it was finished with as much poise and excellence as I could.

Thank you for reading this far! As mentioned there is a second part in the works, though any ETA is up in the air.