[insert fluff warning here]

The first thing he noticed as his mind gradually left the realm of dreams was how his head was resting against something cold and hard. His heartbeat spiked in the same second, making his chest heave as he lost control of his breathing, memories of uncomfortable nights locked lonely and inhumane kennels filling his mind with rapid speed.

Yet his anxiety was soon restrained as clear conscience replaced the haziness of sleep, the familiar scent of the room and its occupants being registered by his brain. He opened his eyes, letting out a long breath of relief to see that he had nothing to panic about.

He had just been sleeping on the bare floor of his dorm room, hence the hard and cold feeling, because, at some point of the night, he had wiggled away from the sheets and pillows he had laid upon the night before.

Jaune shook his head, letting out a freeing yawn and stretching his paws. He went still as he felt his back legs hit something, turning around he was greeted by the sight of one of his teammates' back, Ren's to be precise. Fortunately, the boy didn't even stir after the unintentional kick, and after taking a longer look, Jaune could spot between bundles of sheets and pillows his other friends heavily sleeping around him on the floor.

Oh, yeah… he had opted to sleep there because even after arriving and a superficial clean up with humid towels given by the girls, it was clear that he really needed a bath. He was more than fine with waiting a few more hours for that to happen, since he certainly didn't want to make his exhausted teammates go through the ordeal of helping with the process, and, as much as he had missed it, he certainly didn't want to inconvenience Pyrrha by jumping on her bed when he still wasn't completely clean.

So Jaune contented himself with the floor, but for his true satisfaction, his friends soon followed his example, resulting in the scene now in front of him. His tail wagged just by recalling the memory. It was times like this he really wished he had arms to hug them, and his voice to say how much the simple gesture meant to him.

He rested his head over his front paws. Most ways he had to express his gratitude as a dog that went beyond just tail wagging required a lot of touching, so it looked like he would have to wait a little bit longer.

And by seeing the three still naturally deep in sleep even after the usual time they got up, having a well-deserved rest after he had put them under so much worry, he had to say he was more than okay with waiting.

Still, when the moment came he didn't need to wait anymore he couldn't help the wave of relief from washing over him. Seriously, he had been dreaming about getting the dirt out from his fur for days! So right after a reinforced breakfast, Ren got them the news the janitor had borrowed them a hose and Jaune basically skipped down the halls with anticipation.

No longer than a week ago, the premise of his friends helping him take a bath of all things would have left him deeply embarrassed. But now after having survived through heavy-handed vets, being kidnapped, an actual cold bath from the rudest lady ever, getting hit by a car and sleeping under the rain and in a pile of trash, he had all the reasons to believe that the experience couldn't be nearly as bad.

So they headed outside, right to the grassy field behind their dorm building. It wasn't the most frequented place of the academy and the back wall had a handy faucet attached to it. With the sky now clear from the clouds that had been the cause for the storms of the past days, the sunny spot was just right for what they were about to do.

"Ooh! This smells amazing!" Nora took a long whiff from the bottle of shampoo they had bought at the vet. "Ren, take a sniff of this!"

Ren paused on the task of safely attaching the end of the hose to the faucet as the bottle ended up under his nose. "Hm… Papaya. And coconut?"

"Yes!" Nora exclaimed after checking the label. "Jaune, you're going to smell like a tropical dessert after this!"

"Not gonna lie, that sounds pretty good." His tail wagged as he took some sniffs when Nora offered the bottle to his direction. After the week he had, the fruity scent felt like the best, most refreshing smell in the world - not counting the smell of the peanut butter pancakes Ren had made them that morning, of course.

"Did we remember to bring the brush?" Pyrrha spoke up then, looking up from her scroll. "I'm checking some articles and most of them recommend brushing before and after the bath."

"I'm pretty sure I got it." Ren checked the bag of supplies they had with them, fishing out said item.

His tail also didn't keep still to the sight of the brush. He was in for a double brushing session! That had to be his lucky day.

"Ah. And I also brought one of these. You want it?" Ren pulled out of the bag and offered him one of the dental sticks. Jaune just replied by snatching it from his friend's hand - he didn't realize how much he had missed the taste of faint mint until now, making his tail wag even faster as the familiar texture of the chew brought him the comfort of cleanness.

"Oh wow. I've never seen someone so happy about brushing their teeth!" Nora laughed at his eagerness. Jaune just huffed, continuing the work on his chew without any shame.

"Alright then." Pyrrha chuckled at his attitude, sitting by his side. "I'm going to start to get rid of the knots and mats, tell me if I accidentally pull your fur, okay?"

Jaune nodded in agreement, promptly scooting closer to her on the grass so she wouldn't strain her arm too much during the process. Brushing off tangled fur wasn't as pleasant as the simpler getting rid of loose strands, but it was clear his partner was being just as careful and caring as she went on. If not more, making sure to smoothen the strands with firm but gentle strokes. With that steady rhythm, it wasn't long until he was ready to finally get in touch with some water.

"What do you think of the temperature?" Jaune stuck a paw under the thin jet of water Ren presented to him.

"Seems fine to me." He nodded, and with his approval, they went to work. Ren guided the water, holding the hose above his body, and as it hit his fur, Pyrrha coaxed the dirt out with her hands, Nora did the same with his other side, efficiently making sure they didn't miss a single spot.

Feeling the clean water soak all the layers of his fur until it came in contact with his skin underneath felt like lifting a huge weight off his shoulder. He didn't even mind all the touching, it felt nice even. After a long blink, they were already done with the first rinse, he had been so relaxed he didn't even see the time pass by.

"Look at you! You look like a pile of wet noodles!" Nora laughed, mushing his damp fur.

Jaune let out a puff of air, feeling droplets of water drip in front of his eyes. What had started as a simple shake of head to get rid of them soon evolved into a full-body wiggle.

"Hey!" Nora shrieked as both her and Pyrrha covered their faces as he shook the water out. "It's you who needs a bath, not us!"

"My bad. But a little water won't hurt." He wagged his tail in her direction, throwing more droplets at her.

"Rude!" Nora stuck her tongue at him. "Control your butt!"

"We got plenty of towels if you want to dry a bit, Nora." Pyrrha laughed at their bickering, but she wasn't safe from the wet tail wags. "Though I have a feeling the rest of the process won't allow us to stay dry."

Shampooing was the next step. Soon he was covered in bubbles and, exactly like Nora had described, smelling like a tropical dessert.

Yet apparently, just smelling like one wasn't enough for his shorter teammate. "What are you doing?" Jaune sniffed at her direction when he realized her touches became too light for her to be simply applying the shampoo, just to see her with her hands full of fluffy foam, placing them in piles like whipped cream over a piece of pie - the pie in question being his back.

"Pretty sure you're supposed to spread it, not pile it up." Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Pfft, everyone knows the more bubbles you have, the cleaner you will be." Nora scoffed, making another foam pile on top of his head, some bubbles ended up over his muzzle. "I'm just making sure he gets out of here all shiny!"

"Nora, I think you better spread it around…" Pyrrha started carefully when she noticed Jaune shudder lightly.

"I will, just one more-"

Nora didn't get to finish her sentence. Jaune sneezed loudly, it wracked his frame making bubbles fly around him. Still with his eyes closed, he shook his body once more as he got rid of the irritation inside his nostrils, sending clumps of foam everywhere.

"Guess we're all getting out of here shining." Pyrrha wiped a couple of bubbles from her shoulder.

"I know right? Isn't that awesome?!" Nora threw her hands in the air, trying to catch the hovering foam.

"I guess it is." Pyrrha chuckled at her teammate's antics before focusing on actually working on spreading the shampoo that still clung to Jaune's fur. Rubbing the top of his head, she scratched behind his ears, careful so any of the substance didn't get inside his ear canals.

"This is pretty nice." Jaune closed his eyes, letting his tail wag as it pleased.

"You're enjoying this a bit too much, aren't you?" He could hear the beginning of a teasing smirk on his partner's voice. Opening his eyes, he tilted his head to the side innocently, doing a not so convincing job at pretending he had no idea of what she was talking about by avoiding her eyes - she still had a bit of foam stuck on the strands of hair tucked behind her ear, he momentarily wished he had hands to get that for her.

"It's alright. I would be worried if you weren't liking it." She laughed lightly at his bad acting. "I think we are ready to rinse now." She gave Ren a thumbs up so he could turn the water on, wiping the foam from her face herself with the back of her hand then.

Soon the rest of the bubbles were swept away to the grass, his fur once again soaked until all the traces of shampoo had been washed away.

"You think if we dry you really fast your fur will go all poof like in the cartoons?" Nora wiggling her eyebrows mischievous behind the towel she held over his form, eager to experiment on her theory.

"I'm not sure if I want to see if that's true." Jaune directly stared back at her challenging look. In the second she dove in, he skipped around her legs, dodging the incoming towel. Jaune stopped behind her, out of Nora's reach, he halted to give his dripping body a powerful shake, making it rain around him.

"Ha! That won't work on me this time!" Nora shouted. He opened his eyes just to see her blocking the water with one of the towels, another one draped over her shoulders like a cape. "I have the power of absorbent armor!"

"Oh, so we are allowed to use tools…" Jaune raised an eyebrow, wagging his tail lowly. As his teammate went for another lunge, he bolted right towards her, like a bull barreling towards a flapping cloth, his superior speed allowing him to pass through the towel before Nora could grab him.

He barely registered her victorious laugh becoming an outraged "Hey!" after he managed to slip through. With a sharp turn, Jaune took the hose on his mouth, going back to battle with his new weapon between his teeth.

Nora screeched as he charged towards her, the sound turning into loud giggles as they ran around the field. After a few rounds her towel armor was nothing but useless as it got drenched, making her have no choice but to run.

"Should we stop them?" Ren asked as they watched from the sidelines, motioning the open faucet.

"They seem to be having fun." Pyrrha finished putting the supplies they had used in the bath away in the bag. "And it's just playing with water, it's not like they can get dirty from that."

As soon as those words left her mouth, Nora managed to trip on the hose, rolling over the grass, and Jaune had the same fate as he tumbled over her legs. The water was still running, making the ground around them damp and muddy. Jaune recovered from the fall, shaking off leaves and water droplets over his teammate before resuming his mad dash.

"On second thought..." Pyrrha thought aloud. Ren understood immediately, going for the faucet to shut it off. Before he could even walk towards it though, a jet of water hit him in the face.

Jaune had circled Ren, intercepting his path to the source of the water. He didn't even get the time to react to the sudden shower, Jaune slipped past his legs as Nora recovered from her fall. "Ren get him! He's mad with power!"

He acted then. Diving into the grass and grabbing onto the hose, holding it in place and causing Jaune to stop in his tracks. But Jaune quickly realized that if he couldn't run forward, he had to go back. So he made a u-turn in the field, and in a blink of an eye, Ren and Nora had a dog bolting in their direction, who was very determined to not stay as the only drenched team member.

Ren let go of the hose and brought his arms to his face to cover himself from the inevitable soak. Yet as soon as Jaune passed by his side, the only thing he felt was some light dripping.

He opened his eyes to see Jaune groaning confusedly, shaking the hose in his mouth just for the water to stop coming out of the tip completely.

"I believe that's enough wasting water for today, isn't it?" Pyrrha's voice came from the direction of the faucet, which was now safely turned off. Nora and Jaune whined and Ren sighed in relief. Her partner's tail dropped sadly, but she was able to resist his puppy eyes. "Also if you get all muddy, I won't be able to brush your fur."

Jaune's ears perked up at that, and he immediately let the hose fall from his mouth. He whined apologetically, she could even imagine him scratching the back of his neck and giving her one of his characteristic awkward smiles by the familiar tilt of his head.

"So that means I won?!" Nora shouted victoriously, throwing her fists in the air. "He dropped his weapon!"

Her commemorative shout was cut by Jaune surging by her side with another full-body shake.

"Ok then." Nora spit water from her mouth. "A tie it is." She then threw one of the towels she had with her over Jaune's head. "But I want a rematch soon!"

He barked, shaking off the wet towel and agreeing to the challenge with rapid tail wags.

"Alright, you two." Pyrrha took the muddy towels from her rowdy teammates. "We still have to finish the bath by drying Jaune off."

"We are out of clean towels." Ren said as he rummaged through the supply bag.

"Of course…" Pyrrha chuckled, shaking her head as Nora raised her hands in an apologetic hand gesture. "I'll try to get some more."

"While you go do that…" Nora started, in the exact same tone she used on them to try to convince the team to buy an industrial-sized bottle of syrup. "Can we turn the water on again?" Jaune perked up at the suggestion. "Just for a tiny little bit?"

Pyrrha sighed at the hopeful smiles and tail wags, and since she was only human, the sight made her give in instantly. Who wouldn't?

"Sure." The two cheered at her approval, yet she interrupted it by adding. "Just don't get muddy!"

They got muddy. Though he had a suspicion Pyrrha knew that would happen, she didn't even look surprised at the sight of his dirty paws, just gave them a click of the tongue between a chuckle. A quick rinse resolved his situation, being covered in coat layers that were supposed to be waterproof had its perks after all.

His bath outside might have left him with a shiny coat and fruity scented, but for his teammates it had the opposite results. Nora had to go take a bath herself after they rolled around in the wet grass, but not before tackling her partner in a muddy hug, so now Ren needed one too.

His partner was the only one who was spared from leaving the cleaning session in some level of dirty, her clothes were just slightly humid after dealing with the hose and also being a victim of his shaking. So they promptly headed to their room so she could change into something dry.

While Jaune waited for her to be done, he decided to get things ready for the last task of the morning. Sniffing around the bag they had brought with them, he first made sure to get his dental stick out of there, putting it safely over his nightstand for later, then he found the item he was actually looking for, grabbing carefully with his teeth and doing his best to not get any slob on the handle.

"Looks like I don't even need to ask if you're ready this time." Pyrrha laughed as she exited the room's small closet, heading towards the open window to place her damp clothes on the frame to dry under the sun.

He replied with eager wags of tail, skipping in place - he was more than ready! He could spend hours listing the things he had missed these past few days, there were too many to count, but the brushing sessions were certainly somewhere on the top of the list. And who would even judge him for being excited about it? He was way past the phase of denying he enjoyed them simply for the fact it made him feel good.

Also because he deeply appreciated Pyrrha's company. While he was away, all alone and lost, he had missed his friends so much it ached, and he considered her his closest friend, someone who comprehended him the best even in his new form, who carried that inviting energy constantly detected by his refined canine senses. So yes, the touch of a brush wasn't the only thing that made him feel good.

He just liked spending time with his best friend.

"Alright. Let's start then?" He eagerly waited for her to sit, placing the brush on the floor where she could take it. Spinning around, he looked for a good place for him to settle, ending up in his usual spot in front of her crossed legs, but going the extra mile by leaning his head comfortably over her knee.

He heard her chuckle as he closed his eyes, feeling a hand giving him some wonderful ear scratches before the brush began its path down his back.

A sigh escaped, it had been so long since his last brushing that he almost forgot how much it relaxed him. He would have fallen asleep in seconds if he didn't want to be conscious to enjoy every touch. The brushing sessions had evolved a lot since the first time they had to remove his loose fur, there was no hesitation in her movements anymore and no tension coming from him. She didn't spare extra touches, giving him pats and scratches between brush strokes, and he had no problem in showing how much he liked it by letting his tail wag freely.

Though if he could point out one complaint about this brushing session in specific was the fact it was too short - it seemed that after taking a bath, most of the loose fur strands had long ago been washed away and all the mats untangled. He realized that when, sooner than he had expected, Pyrrha broke their comfortable silence to ask him to move so she could go over the fluff on his chest. He usually got up to sit in front of her for that, and it was usually the last step of the process.

Yet Jaune only let out a quiet whine, stretching his paws but not giving any other signs he would be moving. He was just in the most comfortable position, with his head in the perfect angle to use her legs as a pillow without cricking his neck, he felt sleepy and cozy, but also wanted her to continue brushing him... Did he really have to get up for that?

"Jaune?" He saw Pyrrha raising an eyebrow to his behavior, he only replied with an indecisive grunt. The sound made her chuckle. "I know you're tired but we're nearly done, I just need to finish here." She snuck a hand down his neck, reaching to the fluff under his chin to ruffle it lightly.

He wouldn't know how to explain that it being nearly done was also part of the problem, but he didn't get the chance to. She petted his neck and he could only react by leaning his head back to give her better access to the mass of fur, tail sweeping the floor in response to the soft motion. Her wandering touch made a connection spark inside his brain about how yes, there was another way she could brush the spot without him having to go through the ordeal of sitting up.

So he followed that plan. Before she could remove her hand and ask him again if he wanted to move, he gave his body a stretch, adjusted his head on over her legs, and rolled onto his back, exposing his stomach to give her easy access to the fur that had yet to be combed.

But then his tail went still. Because after his relocation his partner was the one who wasn't moving. Jaune glanced up at her for answers, tilting his head to the side with a questioning whimper to the sight of her just plainly staring down at him.

And then acknowledgment hit him not even a second after. He recognized the hitch of the breath, the subtle movement of lips, the expelling of quite a sharp exhale and the change in the rhythm of the heartbeat - and his partner had a very specific tell besides the usual signs, she would bite the inside of her cheek to hold back a smile. He had to experience that reaction quite a lot after his transformation for him to quickly understand its cause. He could tell most of the people around him did their best to restrain it, but he still picked up the hints. At first, he thought it was a bit weird, but it didn't take long for him to just accept that it was something that was now part of his life in a dog's body.

He was doing something his partner thought was adorable. He was being cute.

Right… He was a fluffy dog with his belly up - a position he had never been in before with his current form, so he could see her being taken aback - looking up at her with his head tilted, and he had learned from Zwei that was the most efficient form to pull off a successful puppy dog eyes - even if now it was unintentional - so he supposed that was something popularly considered cute...

Jaune withdrew his paws close to his chest, letting out a huff, making him remember one thing he appreciated about his new body was the fact it was unable to blush - maybe he should have just sat up like usual.

But Pyrrha had snapped out of her momentarily daze. Giving him a smile he could see it's extra brightness even with his blurry vision, she scratched his chin before ruffling his neck once again. "I guess this works just as well…"

Any thought he had about the position being a bad idea crumbled almost instantly with the touch, embarrassment being swatted to the back of his mind with the movements of his tail. It was new, but it still felt nice.

Yet that didn't change the reality of his recently clean fur not needing a lengthy brush. He could feel when the process was coming to an end, when her strokes became long and superficial before she put the brush aside to pat the strands in place with her hands.

Before she could announce they were done though, she gave him an odd look, running her fingers through his chest fur one more time while letting out a puzzled hum. Before he could try to figure out what that was all about, she started. "Is your fur shorter?" She smoothed out a few strands over her palm. "Did you… Did you get it trimmed?" She checked the length on his ears and paws too, noticing another detail then. "And your nails clipped?"

His eyes widened. He had honestly forgotten about that. She continued with her check-up, clearly only making her more confused as it got more and more obvious he had apparently had a make-over while lost in the streets, whispering under her breath. "Just what exactly did you go through..."

He let out a sigh, it morphed into a growl. Just the act of remembering that terrible place and despicable people, all the dogs living there in awful conditions without being able to escape and he wasn't able to help them, made his fur stand on end. Not being able to explain what happened to his friends only made his frustration grow.

"Hey…" She noticed that, guiding his gaze to hers with a gentle touch. "We don't need to discuss that now if you don't want to."

"I wouldn't even know how to explain…" He whined, letting out a long breath. Still, he allowed his brow to relax, leaning deeper against her palm. He would have to find a way to communicate with his friends to tell them about the past days at some point. But right now he had to admit letting his irritation take over was the last thing he wanted in a moment like this one.

She still eyed him with concern, he could tell Pyrrha wished she could understand him to know how to help, and he wanted that just as much. He was tired of making his friends worry.

There wasn't a way for him to make her not feel that way, but at least he could try to reassure her, at least for a moment. Burying his muzzle on her hand, Jaune gave her fingers a couple of comfort licks, looking up to her and stretching his paws to her direction, letting his tail resume with the wagging. Anything to tell her we can worry later.

He would prefer that look she gave him when he was doing something cute over concern any time. And that was what he was after, being successful when he got a smile from her.

"You're right… let's just try to relax for now…" He nodded, tail wagging faster at how she understood exactly what he was thinking, and because she was giving him scratches under both his ears, and that felt amazing.

It wasn't unusual for their brushing sessions to be prolonged by some petting time, and that was his favorite part. Though it usually happened after he was already back in his hoodie, so it just consisted of some head pats - which, don't get him wrong, still were more than appreciated.

This time his hoodie wasn't in the way of her hands though - he tried to avoid thinking too much about the reason why - so she could do more than just simple pats on the head, giving him neck rubs and chest ruffles. He made sure his body language was positive for her to keep going, happily panting with his eyes closed and tail becoming a blur against the floor.

Though it wasn't just the absence of a hoodie that allowed her to go further. He hadn't even considered his position giving her more areas to pet until the chest ruffles seamlessly turned into belly rubs.

Eyes snapping open, his body shuddered with the touch over his sensitive stomach, the sensation spreading to the very edge of his fur strands. His reaction got her hand to stop then, hovering in place. "Hm… was that alright?"

The touch had only lasted a moment, but he could tell with all the certainty in the world that any head pat had nothing on that!

"More than alright!" He rushed forward, reaching to her hesitant hand with his paws and plopping it back over his fur. He realized what exactly he had done when he felt her muscles tense with surprise. "Ahn… can you continue, please?"

It made her laugh, and he felt her relax as she carefully resumed with the strokes. "I'll take that as a yes."

Why had he never tried this before?! It felt great! It was overwhelming in the best way, producing energy he couldn't disperse with only wags of tail, making his legs scratch the air. He knew dogs enjoy belly rubs, of course, but he never gave too much thought on receiving it someday. Probably because it required him to be without a hoodie, and to be in a vulnerable position he would have considered mortifyingly embarrassing a while ago.

But really, after what he had gone through that week, if he was going to be a dog, he could at least make the most of the good things that came with the situation - he had to endure too much of the bad side already, he needed a break. And now that included belly rubs.

Pyrrha giggled at his open behavior, hands combing his fur and keeping a close eye to his reactions. He knew now that responding positively to new experiences brought to his partner moments of respite, and it was much easier for him to be at ease when the people around him were feeling the same.

So Jaune happily gave in to the circles she traced over his stomach. One of her hands would occasionally strand to give him ear rubs, he would lean into her palm, booping her fingers with his wet nose and giving her tiny licks as she tried to playfully maneuver through his movements.

At some point, her touches slowed down, and so did he after a while of quietly resting over her leg, getting back to the point he could easily fall asleep in a second if he wanted. One of her hands left his fur, lifted to her mouth to cover up a yawn. He wasn't the only tired one.

He flopped onto his side, headbutting her hand when it came back down. Getting her attention, he let out a yawn of his own.

"Tired?" She ruffled the top of his head, and he replied by nodding. Laying on the floor by her legs could be comfortable enough for him to fall asleep, but he doubted it was the same for her. She also would benefit from a nap, after all, he had seen the bags under his teammates' eyes when they found him, all four of them needed to catch up on some sleep.

So he wobbly sat up during another yawn, gave her shoulder a few nudges, and drowsily rounded her to reach the side of her bed. Putting both his front paws over the mattress, he refrained from climbing up straight away, staring at her with his brow raised and he noticed she hadn't made any motion to get up yet.

"Oh, you can go ahead." She moved then, stretching the stiffness off her legs.

Jaune huffed, forehead furrowing. "What about you?"

"You're waiting for me?" She sounded genuinely confused as he held back from getting over the mattress.

"Obviously." He barked, firmly motioning to the bed with a head gesture. "I can smell your lack of sleep."

He felt Pyrrha brightening up, it made his tail wag. Getting up fully, she messed with the fur on top of his head. "Some sleep does sound grand."

Shuffling in place, he eagerly waited until she occupied her side before he could jump up, he had never felt so excited to the premise of going to sleep. After she had settled, he leaped up, diving into the sheets and pillows, the familiar mix of the smell of fabric softener together with the scent of his partner still just as comforting as it had always been.

"I thought you were tired." She laughed at his high energy entrance and tall wags of tail.

"I am." He circled in place, skipping over the covers and feeling for the softness of the mattress under his paws. "I just really missed this. I wish I could tell you about the places I had to sleep for the past week." He let himself fall by her side, panting happily as he wiggled in place to adjust himself. "It makes here feel like a paradise."

Pyrrha just chuckled quietly at his antics and he let out a freeing sigh as he went still - not taking in consideration his tail that insisted in swaying from side to side lightly. He felt a hand slide under his ear, fingers gently digging into fur as a thumb caressed the side of his face. He let himself melt under the softness of the touch, finding in her face an expression just as soft.

There it was again, that look she gave him that transmitted so many emotions Jaune had given up on trying to name it properly. The one that made him feel accepted and gave him comfort, a sense of trust that was clearly affectionate, but not a single one of those adjectives had felt like enough to describe it. And sometimes, underneath all of that, it was slightly sad, as if something hindered and held the unnamed feeling back. He didn't know why though, or how to explain how he knew that, maybe his drowsiness was getting him to imagine things.

"I'm so glad you're here." The whisper escaped between a smile. The words lingered, it made him feel as if she wanted to say something else, and she did, after letting out a sigh while her fingers combed through his fur in light strokes. "You have no idea how much I missed you."

"I'm pretty sure I do have an idea…" Jaune whined softly, nuzzling her palm. He really did. In that list of things he had missed, most of the items were related to his friends somehow, and he had to admit, more than half of them were something about her. He had missed her inviting aura, the comfort of her bed, her voice, her scent, her touches, her laughs, her presence, her - so, so much.

She let out a puff of air through her nose, lips curling up slightly in a lazy smile. "Maybe you do know…"

"Of course I do." It came out as a quiet whine. He scooted closer as her hand petted his back, close enough to give the side of her face a light lick as a form of assurance before curling his muzzle under her chin.

He felt her lean against the top of his head, and he closed his eyes. "Nora was right, you do smell like a dessert."

He let out a puff of air that would have been a laugh, and after that, they fell into steady quietness. She continued to pet him, running her fingers through his side, strokes guiding him into slumber, and he knew the touch would continue until she eventually fell asleep. Which this time, didn't take too long to happen, with her arm pausing over his midsection like an one-armed hug. He had a hunch the petting had some sort of calming effect on her as well, not in the same intensity as it was for him, of course, still, it was something.

Jaune wished he could ask her for confirmation about that, because the thought of it made him feel better. Sometimes he felt a bit awkward about almost one hundred percent of the time being the receiver of caring gestures and being unable to return them properly.

He could wag his tail, give licks and nuzzles but he doubted it could even compare to the simplest of head pats. It made him wish he could somehow pet her back.

The thought made him want to laugh. The mental image of a dog being the one petting a person that flashed through his mind was too silly - he was too sleepy for coherent thought apparently. Even with the ridiculousness, the motivation behind it was still real. He could imagine still having hands and running his fingers through her hair, that was close enough, right? He only had seen her without her ponytail a few times, it was long, he would have his hands full, but that sounded like the opposite of a hindrance. Still, he wondered if she would like it.

There was no way for him to find out though. Curse his lack of hands and arms. If he had them, he could at least do the bare minimum of hugging her back. But nooo, he didn't have that luxury anymore.

This subject made him feel a strange intensity of frustration. He wanted to push it aside so he could relax and fall asleep, but it was already there, nagging his foggy with exhaustion brain.

He had to resort to clingier methods of communication with his current form, but when he actually needed to be close, it didn't feel like it was enough! He just wanted a way to repay for dust's sake, it was only fair, her gestures made him feel so loved!

It was an instant epiphany. Like clicking into place the last piece of a puzzle - or more like getting the last item he needed to complete a crossword - bringing him satisfaction as if finally getting out that word off the tip of your tongue. The haziness of his mind that had been guiding him into sleep was swept away and his eyes snapped open with a sharp inhale. That was it! It was the name that described the air around her perfectly! Love! How he had never thought of it before? It was so obvious!

And it took him another moment for the slightly inadequate rewarding sensation of finally getting the last piece of the puzzle to pass and for him to finally realize what exactly he had realized.

Holy dust.

Love!

Was that right?

He didn't need a second thought to get a reply for his own question. Now that he had it, it certainly felt obviously fitting.

Though he could affirm he had never expected that name to be the one. Compared to the ones he used to describe the atmosphere around his other friends, like Nora's enthusiasm and Ren's calm, straight-up love just sounded so… above it. Maybe that's the reason it took him so long - he had never expected because he had never even considered it.

Though if the other words had never felt like enough, maybe something above it was exactly what he needed. He loved all of his friends obviously, and Pyrrha was no exception; of course he loved his best friend. And he could detect the same feeling around his other teammates too now that he was thinking about it - after all, if they didn't care about him, would Nora even want to run around with him doing silly things all morning? Or would Ren even allow him to stick around during his quiet meditation times?

Yet the more he thought about it, he gradually came into terms that the word only felt truly right when describing her - it felt like getting all the 'feels right but not quite there' words he had considered before and combining them into just a single name, saving him the trouble of having to choose.

She was the person he had been the closest to since the beginning, his partner who was always by his side even when he messed things up, believed and supported him more than the members of his own family. He wouldn't have gotten this far, or be where he was now if it wasn't for her - guess if he had been kicked out of Beacon, he probably wouldn't have turned into a dog… Honestly though? He preferred to be right where he was, dust, he would prefer to endure turning into a different animal every single day, over any alternative universe he didn't get to Beacon and not have her and his other friends by his side.

…Because here he was loved…

His lungs forgot how to breathe properly for a moment. Even with the thought filling his chest with lightness, he wasn't able to stop a pang of guilt from weighing him down.

He felt like he knew that already, that his friends cared that much about him. He knew that from when they accepted him as their leader even with him lying to be part of this academy. He knew that from the way they had helped him with homework when he was having trouble with huntsman terms. He knew that from the way they had gone out to commemorate them passing the semester. He knew that from the way they had laughed together as they practiced for the choreography for the dance… He knew that because of countless other moments... He knew...

And what was making him guilty was remembering all the times he told himself his friends wouldn't care, that they would be better off without him, that he was only a hindrance for his teammates for causing them worry when he was still lost somewhere in Vale.

Taking by how exhausted and relieved they were when they were finally reunited, his damaging thoughts couldn't be farther from the truth.

Plus after the fantastic breakfast that had been obviously made with a lot of care even if Ren clearly looked like he wanted to sleep for five hours more, after rolling around the muddy grass and hearing Nora laugh until she was breathless, after the way Pyrrha took care of him with gentle touches and warm embraces, allowing him to be this close… how could he have ever doubted the strength of their friendship?

Jaune let his breathing become steady once again. Pyrrha hadn't stirred a single muscle during the barrage of thoughts and realizations he just had, and he had just noticed his tail had been slapping over the sheets for a while - both from agitation and from happiness. She really was more exhausted and into a deeper sleep than he had first imagined.

That was for the best. It's not like he would be able to explain the reason for his sudden restlessness anyway. He wouldn't know how to do that even if he still could speak. How would he even begin explaining?

'Hey, so now that I'm a dog I can kinda tell what the people around me are feeling for some reason, so I started to associate a main feeling to each of my friends, giving them a word, for fun, y'know? I just couldn't figure you out though… but then I did! I just realized that yours is love! Isn't that cool? Ah, and by the way, I love you too!'

He let out a huff. That would be stupid. Accurate, but stupid.

Still, he would be able to truly apologize instead. 'I'm sorry I ever doubted you guys… even if I didn't realize what I was thinking at the time.' - Jaune still couldn't speak though, so the best thing he could do was to promise himself to do his best to not let those kinds of thoughts plague his mind. Yeah… He could do that, he wanted to do that... it sounded good…

With his tail agreeing with his conclusion, he felt his eyelids getting heavy at last. He really should get some shut-eye. He was suddenly exhausted.

So he shifted closer to his partner's body, letting his wagging come to a halt and fitting his head in the crook of her neck. He fell asleep with her heartbeat towering over any other sound and the now named feeling engulfing him like a warm blanket. And he wouldn't prefer it any other way.

Pyrrha woke up with fur on her face and surrounded by the wonderful smell of papaya and coconut. Opening her eyes to see Jaune comfortably snuggled against her front, floppy ears covering his face, he had the very top of his tongue poking out of his lips, relaxed breaths grazed against her shoulder, indicating he was still deep into sleep.

Her heart swelled with lightness and relief at the sight of having him by her side again. Having to hold back the sudden urge of hugging him as tightly as she could, as if he was an oversized stuffed animal. She wouldn't do that of course, so she just let her hand slide along his side, petting his fur gently, letting out a silent chuckle at how the tip of his tail waved lightly at the touch, yet it was clear Jaune was still asleep. His coat felt so soft against her palm after it had been cleaned, she honestly could stay all day like this…

Though the dryness of her throat had other plans, Pyrrha crooked her neck to the side to take a glance at her nightstand, finding the water bottle she usually kept there very empty. She let out a sigh at the need to get up, letting the embrace she had on her partner linger for just an extra moment before carefully removing herself.

Even if she was doing her best to not wake him up, the movement caused Jaune to stir. He let out a quiet huff, unconsciously pawing at the empty space that was now in front of him before blinking his eyes open. Letting out a drowsy questioning whimper at seeing her sitting up from the mattress.

"I'm just going to get some water." She whispered to him, giving the spot under his ear a small ruffle. "You can go back to sleep."

His half-lidded eyes blinked one more time at her, but he closed them right after. She removed her hand as he nuzzled back into the pillow, grabbing her water bottle and quietly stepping out of the room.

A quick visit to the kitchen solved her problem. She was about to head back to the room before she caught a glimpse of the recreation area, finding Nora sprawled on the couch, headphones on while immersed in a game on her scroll. Ren was also there, face planted on the second couch, completely out cold, those days of waking up early had finally caught up to him, it seemed.

"Nora?" Pyrrha started, tone quiet to not bother her sleeping teammate. "What are you two doing here?"

"Hey, Pyrrha!" Nora promptly turned to her direction, removing her headphones. "We're… You know… just lounging." Nora gave her an odd look then, as if she was holding back a huge grin. "So… how was your nap?"

She raised an eyebrow at her words, but after a sigh, she smiled. "It was refreshing." She continued with a tilt of her head. "I thought you were going to catch up on some sleep too."

"Oh, I was. But, I don't know, guess I suddenly didn't feel sleepy." She shrugged, diverting her eyes to her scroll suspiciously quick.

"Right… is that so?" Pyrrha asked carefully, leaning against the armchair nearby to tell Nora she wasn't moving until she got an answer, still staring intensely at her teammate to the point Nora finally cracked under the gaze.

"Alright, fine." Nora blurted after a preparatory inhale, words coming out in a single rapid breath. "I went to our room to try to take a nap and you and Jaune were sleeping together there being all cuddly and cute and I had to leave in the same second before I screamed and woke both of you up!"

"Wait- are you serious?"

Nora raised her hands in an apologetic gesture. "I didn't want to interrupt one of your moments."

"Nora-" Pyrrha let out a sigh. "There was no moment to interrupt, we were just getting a much-needed rest, that, by the way, you should be getting too."

"By cuddling…" Nora muttered under her breath, but still clear enough for her to hear it perfectly. "But whatever you say, mom."

She looked back at where Ren was sleeping, he didn't even stir to the sound of their conversation. "Don't tell me Ren is not sleeping on his bed because you convinced him to not interrupt?"

"Pffft, of course not." Nora waved her question off with a dramatic hand gesture. "I just told him to not interrupt the brushing. But when I figured you guys were probably done, he had already passed out. Then I didn't want to wake him up."

"Wait…" Pyrrha paused as she processed her friend's words, memories of a certain behavior from Nora being recalled by her mind as she noticed for the first time how current it was. "Is that why whenever I brush him in our room, you suddenly leave and drag Ren out with you?"

Nora opened her mouth, only an indecisive hum escaping. It looked like she was going to make up an excuse for a second, but after a moment of thought, she apparently gave up on subtlety. "Honestly, Pyrrha, don't tell me you wouldn't prefer those moments to continue happening just between the two of you. They're like-" She gestured around the air, searching for words. "Like your moment of bonding! Like when you two went out to train on the rooftop. You wouldn't like Ren and I being in the background during that, would you?"

"I… That's-" She was taken aback about the direction the conversation had taken, though she was almost sure Nora already knew the reply to her own question. Yet, she continued after a shake of the head, only managing to blurt out "That's not even close to training on the roof."

"Why not? It's just the two of you, you're helping him with a thing… I guess it definitely involves less of him getting his butt kicked, but still!"

"He is a dog, Nora." Pyrrha stated the obvious. Letting out a breath when noticing the subject was getting her uncharacteristically riled up. Hugging her arms, she continued in a more contained tone of voice."There's no need to think you could interrupt something when something can never happen."

Nora shook her head, clicking her tongue. "You're missing the point, Pyrrha."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just think about it! You sleep together, you cuddle, you brush him, you pet him, you are the person he's more comfortable with since he transformed. No doubt, you two are closer than ever!" Nora let out a big grin. "Don't you think, I don't know… that when he turns back - and we will find a way to do that! - it will have some effect on your relationship…? Like maybe him still wanting to be just as close?"

Pyrrha tried to think of a response - had she even thought about that before? -, but nothing came out. With the clear conflict plastered all over her expression, Nora continued.

"And don't even come to me saying you have no idea of what I'm talking about, missy! You were the first person allowed to pet him, he clearly gets excited about going to sleep because he does that with you, and I saw him lick your face, and more than once! He doesn't do that with anyone else." She let out a high pitched giggle then. "He already wore his heart on his sleeve before, but now that he has a tail?" She punctuated the sentence with a snort.

"My point is, if you keep having those moments just between the two of you, he will associate you with good things, he'll want to spend more time with you. And I bet all the pancakes in the world that Jaune turning back to human won't reverse all that progress."

"I… With the way you're putting, it just sounds like I'm manipulating him to spend time with me…" She finally spoke up after moments of processing her friend's words, gaze unfocused on the floor.

Nora let out a loud laugh then - not even that got a reaction from sleep-deprived Ren. "Really, leave it to you to interpret it that way." She recovered her breath. "You aren't forcing him to do anything he doesn't want to do, right? That's the thing that makes him trust you so much, you give him time to adjust, you give him encouragement and comfort." Her words made Pyrrha feel her face warming slightly. "It's just you being there for him, same as you used to do before, but then it was about combat skills, now it's about getting used to a new form."

Pyrrha surprised herself when the first thought that popped into her mind after Nora had finished was 'you're right'. She didn't say that aloud though, yet her expression must have given it away, because Nora let out a quiet chuckle.

"You don't need to tell me I'm right, I know I am." She puffed out her chest, a bit too smugly.

Her attitude got her rolling her eyes softly. "Aren't you being a bit too sure? I mean, he's still a dog… and his new form might be the cause of his more… clingier habits... and how long have you been observing this?!"

"Since forever because it's obvious!" Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. "And I think it's you who is being too doubtful." She dropped a bit of her joking tone then. "It's pretty easy to tell, with all the tail wagging and all, that he enjoys your company a bit more than anyone else's." Her expression softened then. "It's more than just simple dog habits. He clearly loves you."

"Hm- what." It came out completely deadpan. Now that caught her off guard.

"Yup." Nora replied matter of factly, as if what she had just said was nothing much. "It might be just as a friend for now, because he's as dense as a block of cement. And the dog situation doesn't really help... But it's there, just give him time."

She wished her first thought this time was also an effortless 'you're right'. But that wasn't the case, her lips twitched as she held back their corners from dropping. "I don't know… I think now you might be going too far…"

Nora let out under a puff of air. Pyrrha could see she was getting frustrated, wanting to argue further. But she didn't. "Hm… Maybe he's not the only one who needs some time." The words came out as a grumble, and after that she put her headphones back on, starting a new game in her scroll. And their conversation ended there.

Pyrrha stared for an extra split of a second, but then shook her head and turned around to leave, her head strangely empty during the walk back to their dorms. Sometimes she forgot even with all of her bright and hyperactive attitude, with all the silly antics and cracking of jokes, Nora was someone that could drop on you one of those eye-opening talks at any moment - and it even she knew now that was something she could expect from her friend, it most of the times caught Pyrrha off guard, especially when the subject involved her partner.

She clicked her tongue. All of that even made her forget to insist one more time for the other half of the team to go have some proper rest on their own beds.

Cracking the door open carefully to not disturb Jaune if he was still asleep, she quietly stepped into the room, placing her full water bottle on her nightstand. He was still on her bed, almost at the same place, now only tightly curled around himself like a ball of fur, tail wrapped around his body and head resting over his front paws.

Sitting over the mattress as lightly as she could, Pyrrha slowly maneuvered through the sheets so she could occupy her previous space. Once again, just the tiniest of shifts made him wake up, head raising to sniff the air in her direction and tail wagging without him even opening his sleepy eyes.

Jaune eased himself back on the mattress when she gave him some reassuring head pats as she finished settling. She felt like she didn't need more sleep actually, still, she let her head plop back on her pillow, shutting her eyes tight, she hadn't any other plans anyway.

A sudden weight against her side got her to crack an eye open though. There he was, not wasting a second on trying to restore the arrangement they had before she left, scooting close to her body, head nudging her shoulder to find a good place to lay on. His eyes were not even open, she was pretty sure he was still half asleep, even so, it was more clear he knew what he was after.

For a moment, she didn't move a muscle as Jaune adjusted his sleeping position. Head swirling with thoughts - without a second thought, he had come to her himself, his tail was wagging, he wanted to be closer to her, to cuddle! Though during sleep wasn't the only occasion he did that, was it?

That question resonated around her head in a very familiar, bubbly and kinda smug voice.

Nora was right.

Pyrrha didn't wait for him to notice her lack of response. Moving her arm to circle him, she let out a giggle that had been stuck on her throat to the ticklish sensation of his ear fur grazing her shoulder. She pressed her nose to the top of his head to shamelessly get one more whiff of his shampoo's scent then, pulling him close and tightening their embrace for a few short seconds before relaxing.

Jaune didn't seem to mind the sudden hug, with the way his tail made some sheets fly, she would even guess he had been happy about it. And then she didn't need to guess, because he retributed the gesture with one of his small licks under her chin, headbutting the spot after while trying to fit his head once again between her neck and shoulder to resume his nap - the wet touch and his movements got her to almost burst into laughter as his fluff tickled her skin.

She wanted to imagine a future where he was human again, climbing into her bed, snuggling by her side just as willingly - she wondered if he would still like head pats, and if he would hug her back, and if they would actually still fit just as fine in the twin-sized mattress. And there would be nothing stopping her from telling him then. And nothing stopping his dense brain from finally figuring it out, she hoped.

Yet, for now, she was fine with this. She could handle the cuddles that left her clothes and bedding sprinkled with golden fur, the wet surprise pokes of his nose, the tail wags that sometimes woke her up in the middle of the night, the way he knew he could look up to her and get some extra minutes of ear scratches after brushing - it only meant he was still close. They needed to find a way out of this situation for any progress in their relationship to be possible anyway. And, as Nora had said, Jaune might still need a little more time.

Even with all those adversities on the way, Pyrrha felt strangely positive. Nora's pep talks just had that effect, she guessed.

She hadn't planned on going back to sleep, but it seemed her body had other plans, easily shutting down just a few minutes after she had settled. She fell asleep with warm breathing grazing her neck and golden strands brushing against her cheek. And she wouldn't prefer it any other way.

CH14 ART: favDOTme/ddtbn6o

Alright, so, we have some IMPORTANT news: **We decided to take a break, so the fic will be going through a short hiatus!**

This is so we can organize the next arc better and bring you guys a well thought out plot. And also to allow us to focus a bit more on some of our own other personal projects.

Still, if you want to keep up with the authors during this time, here's where you can find us:

- PoterHawk:

I'll be busy working on this but also focusing on other writing projects in different fandoms, so if you'd like to follow my other writing and artwork (DA: Homestart1218) feel free to!

- ChrisRainicorn:

You can find me under the same username both on Tumblr and DA where I'll gonna be more active with my drawings! And, who knows,, if everything goes alright, maybe I'll manage to get out one of my regular fluff arkos fics sometime soon...

For now, that's it! Hope you guys are enjoying reading this as much as we are with the writing! Don't forget to tell us what your thoughts about the chapter! Stay safe and see ya soon! \o/