It's been pretty quiet around the apartment for the past week. I got so used to walking through the door and expecting someone to greet me that I kind of forgot what it felt like to come back to an empty home. It's really... Lonely, I guess.

I mean, I don't get too much time to think about it, considering that I've just been stuck working for the past week or so, but it's pretty noticeable. I'll get home, shower, grab a bite to eat, watch terrible movies on the tv, or maybe play a game or two to pass the time, but for the most part, it's so quiet.

So terribly quiet.

I can't help but sigh as I sit on my sofa, "Man, I'm bored." I mutter to myself as I sink deeper into the comfortable cushions. It's just no fun to have all these things in front of you, and then decide that none of these are fun.

I mean, normally they're fun, but I'm just not really feeling up to it right now. It's just too quiet for me, I guess.

You know what, no, let's try and figure something out, because there can't possibly be nothing for me to do, right? I force myself out of the death trap that is the couch cushions and onto my feet, "Alright, what are some things I normally do?" I mutter to myself as I start pacing around the living room.

"Well uh, movie theaters are cool. Wait, no, who goes out to a movie theater by themselves?" I asked, expecting no response, but somewhere, deep in my mind, I feel like that question could offend someone.

Oh well, not that big of a deal, uh, let's think, "What about uh... Cooking! Cooking is fun!" I yell out as I put a finger up, only for it to fall, "N-no, I'd just end up making food for it to be put into tupperware."

I can only sigh as I flop back onto my couch, laying down with my head resting on the armrest, "Man, I wish Ruby was here, she would've had something in-" I groan out, only to cut myself off.

I quietly drag a hand down my face, a realization dawning on me, "I'm not just bored, am I?" I rhetorically ask. No, I'm not bored, I just miss the company.

"...Man, I miss Ruby." I whisper to myself with a bit of a laugh. What can I say, it's a new feeling, I guess. I mean, I've had family that's left on 'Work trips' as they like to call them, so I'm not exactly unaccustomed to having the house to myself, but with Ruby, it hits differently.

I don't know, it's just that feeling, I guess. That feeling of knowing that, no matter what garbage your day throws at you, you've got someone to listen to, and when they've got to deal with a bad day, you lend an ear and, if need be, a shoulder.

But the feeling of loneliness quickly leaves as a thought comes to mind, and I deadpan, "Like a little puppy, huh?" I mutter to myself, reminding myself of an event that happened months ago.

As my head lays against the armrest, and thoughts of the past few months come and go, I can feel my scroll vibrate in my pocket. I can feel a smile spread across my face once more as I roll over to pull my scroll out of my pocket, "Huh, wasn't expecting a surprise call." I mutter to myself, it's almost as if that's why it's called a surprise call.

As I bring my scroll up to eye level, I can see an image of a certain silver eyed girl on the screen, her face being stuffed by a bowl of ice cream, and I quickly swipe upwards and answer the call. "Hello, you've reached Jaune Arc's criminal emporium, you've got the dime, we'll do the crime." I playfully speak into my scroll.

"Hey Jaune, so I've got some good news."

"What's the good word, Rubes?"

I can hear Ruby laugh to herself on the other side of her scroll, and I can hear the smile on her face, "Well, as it turns out, there weren't as many Grimm on the Frontier as they thought, I'm coming home early!" I hear Ruby yell with glee, and I can hardly keep the smile off my face as I force myself onto my feet.

"Ruby, that's fantastic! When do you think you'll be coming home?" I ask as I hold up my scroll with my hand, pressing it against my ear as I pace around the living room. It's funny, I can almost hear my heart beating in my chest, as corny as it sounds.

"I should be home by tomorrow night at the latest. At the earliest, by tonight. I don't know, depends on if I make it back to Mistral at a good enough time to catch a flight back to Vale." I can hear Ruby say, almost unsure of what she says, but honestly, I believe her. She's never steered me wrong before, no need to start having doubts now.

I can feel a laugh crawl out of my mouth as my smile widens, "Well hey, um, give me a call when you start making your way back to Vale. I'll have a little surprise for you when you get back."

I hear Ruby giggle to herself from the other side of the call, "Don't tell me you'll have a box of chocolates and a bouquet of roses waiting for me? Because I'll have you know that that stuff makes me mushy." Now I can tell that she's joking, but that's honestly not a bad idea.

"No, nothing like that, Ruby," I blatantly lie, "I'll try and find something for us to do when you get back." Now that part is honest.

"Okay Jaune, I'll call you when I'm on my way. Love- Uh, I mean. Bye!" I can hear Ruby stutter to herself before feeling my mind blank for a moment, the sound of the call disconnecting being the only thing I can hear for a moment before I let my arm fall.

I can feel my heart pound a little harder in my chest as I can feel my smile grow a mile wider as I process what I just heard. "...Yes!" I yell out as I fling both of my arms into the air.

Okay Jaune, calm down a bit, first thing's first, you need a game plan. What are we doing when Ruby gets home? We watching a movie, we getting a nice dinner, what- what's the game plan?

I take a deep breath as I pocket my scroll, remembering a little breathing techniques Ren taught me back when we used to travel together. Something about reducing stress, but it tends to work for just about everything, honestly. "Okay, let's think, what does Ruby like? Well, she's big on sweets, she's really big on the mushy romantic stuff, likes it when I make a good meal. Okay, maybe I could go out and pick up a movie or something and cook us some dinner, that could work!" I ramble as I bring a hand to my chin, yeah, that doesn't sound all that bad.

Alright, general consensus is that I am making food and finding a movie, the movie part is easy, I could probably either find a sappy heroic movie or something like that, because Ruby's always been big on that kind of thing, but what about the food?

What am I going to make- I forgot to call mom… I take a moment to suck air through my teeth as the dread slowly comes over me. Maybe, just maybe, if I pretend I was in a coma I'll come out of this unscathed?

I plop back down on my couch and sigh to myself, "I'll have to give her a call here soon. Because knowing her, if I don't, she's more likely to break down my door than not." I mutter to myself as I let my arms rest against the cushions.

I can't help but yawn as I rest against the now strangely comfortable couch, and as I stare out of my window, I can see the sun beginning to set, a purplish hue lining the horizon. But as I stare out of the window, I can feel my eyelids grow heavy as they slowly inch shut.

And suddenly, flashes of images, an old busted up car, some rich kid and his princess car, for some reason, my Grandpa was there, and uh, some old criminal from when I was still a student. What was his name..? Uh, Ronald? Rick? Starts with an "r". Robert?

And then there was this really weird, short girl with weird eyes, I think she was coming on to- where have I heard that before? Anyway, it was weird, I was some sort of driver or something? It was like that one movie that came out around 3 years ago. What was it, Infant Escort? No, that's not right.

Baby racer? No, that's not right either.

Oh yeah, Baby D- Oh, Groceries, right.

I manage to force myself awake, throw on some actual clothes, and trudge out of my apartment, trying to shake off the last of my fatigue so that I can go out and buy, well, everything. And so, after making my way out of the lobby and out of the building in general, I'm hit with a cold breeze, and the first thing I notice is that it's dark outside. Now, I know it wasn't that dark a minute ago, so I must've dozed off for longer than I thought.

Oh well, it doesn't matter, not if I'm fast enough to get to the store before it closes.

You know, it's on nights like these that almost make it worth moving away from home to the big city, the bright lights, the cars, the incredible shops, the people, it's all just a very beautiful thing, at least, when you haven't seen it a million times.

I mean, growing up where I was from, there weren't exactly that many people, it was safer that way, you know? But I missed out on so much growing up.

Like, I was a massive comic book nerd growing up, but they were just so hard to come by growing up on the frontier. I mean, there wasn't exactly a comic book store that was down the road or anything like that. There were times when I would get lucky and a caravan from the city would come through and drop off supplies, always for a price, of course. But there was always this old fellow who always sat at the head of the caravan, and whenever I'd walk up with my dad to buy some supplies, he would hand me a new comic to read. Every month on the same day, like clockwork.

And then one day he just stopped showing up. I like to think that he just retired from the caravaneering life, but there are some nights where I wonder just how right I am.

As I walk down the quiet street, golden light emanating from the street lamps, I shake my head. I'm not normally so nostalgic, but today's not been a normal day, it was slow, quiet, lonely, but it was quiet.

Oh well, not like it really matters. Those feelings will pass as soon as the day comes to an end, and I'll be able to find new ones tomorrow, just like every other day.

As I walk down the empty street, street lamp and store lights lighting my way, a particular shop catches my eye. Out of all the stores I'd seen walking through downtown Vale, I hadn't really spotted anything like this. Most everything else was something like a convenience store, a liquor store, or some knock off Mistrali-brand clothing store, but not once had I seen a jewelry store.

I take a moment to stare through the glass and look at what they've got on display. There's a nice necklace here, it's practically a thick plate hanging off of a chain, and it's got some old Valean written on it. 'Fortune favors the Bold', it says, and I can't help but smile; maybe it does favor the bold, I'm not sure, but it would certainly explain my streak of good luck. But then again, if it did, then it should be saying 'Fortune favors the Fool.'

Although, as my eyes drift across the glass, inspecting the various accessories lining display cases, something in particular catches my eye. At a glance, it just looks like a normal ring with a red gemstone on top, nothing special, but on closer inspection, it seems like petals are blooming around the gem, making it seem like a flower in spring. Funny, it's almost like a… Rose.

It would probably look nice on someone's- No, I'm not gonna go there. As I bring a hand up to scratch the back of my head, I can feel that the cold streets of Vale must have gotten warmer over the past few minutes. I can only laugh as I scratch the back of my head, I'm probably just tired, I shouldn't read too much into it.

Now, uh, what was I doing again? Right, groceries! I should go grab those now.

After a short trip to the grocery store, and a bit of a walk, I finally made it back to my apartment with just a few bags of groceries. Had to keep my spending light today since I don't have an extra pair of hands, but it's fine, not like I have a lot of money to spend anyway, so it all works out. Also, I absolutely, positively did not buy flowers and chocolate, nope, no sir, definitely did not.

As I finish putting the last of the groceries away, I laugh hollowly to myself as my wallet sits deflated on the table, "I'm so sorry, Wallet. Your sacrifice won't be forgotten." I croak out as I close the fridge, wiping away a lone tear.

With all of that said, I take a breath as I step away from the kitchen and flop onto my couch. Truly, it has been the saving grace of my lonely week. Now sure, I could go lay in my bed, but laying on my couch is just different. And, in a weird way, I guess it just fits for how I've been feeling.

I don't know, maybe I'm just reading into it a bit too much, but it's not like I've got much more to do other than wait. Actually… I'm sure there's some things I could be doing? Like, whatever happened to that old guitar I took to Beacon with me? I'm sure I've got it tucked away under my bed somewhere. Better question, why did I take my guitar to-

I groan to myself as I bring a hand up to my face, "Note to self, never listen to dad's lady advice. Ever."

But going back on topic, another thought comes to mind.

I wonder if I can still play?

Although, as I'm resting against my couch, pondering on stuff that doesn't really matter, I can hear the sound of someone knocking on the door. With a groan, I roll off of the couch and thud against the floor before picking myself up off the ground, that couldn't possibly be Ruby, it's too late for her to be showing up right now.

I slowly trudge my way over towards the door, the day's fatigue weighing on me like a ton of bricks. As I rotate my shoulder, hoping for a satisfying pop, I let my hand fall on the door knob, and with a twist I… Don't pull open the door because it's locked.

"Man am I tired." I mutter to myself as I unlock the door and, this time, twist the knob and open the door, using my other arm to try and wipe the fatigue away from my eyes.

Although, as I open the door and finish wiping my eyes, I see standing before me is a young lady with black hair with the occasional bit of red, wearing a thick coat over her clothes, her red hood barely making itself noticeable. But the thing that sticks to me the most is her smile.

"Hey Jaune, I'm home." I could hear her quietly say as she looked up at me.

I quickly blinked and rubbed my eyes, if only to make sure that she was actually in front of me and that I'm not just asleep on the couch. After a moment, my vision comes back to me and she's still there.

With that in mind, I chuckled to myself, "Hey Ruby, welcome home." I quietly spoke back as I looked down at her, smiling. But as I looked down towards her hands, I saw that she was carrying a plastic bag, oh no, please tell me she didn't buy groceries.

After a quick moment, I can see one of her eyebrows shoot up as her smile widens, "So, are we going to stand here at the door all night making googly eyes at each other, or are you going to let me in?" I can hear Ruby sarcastically remark.

I can't help but laugh at that, the fatigue being something that I push to the back of my mind, "Oh, I'm up for doing this all night if you are." I jab back, and I can feel the back of her hand hit my chest as I hear her giggle.

"Shut up, now let me in, I bought groceries for us to make dinner." I hear Ruby playfully respond, and without a word, I step out of the way of the door with an exaggerated bow.

With that, she walks past me with the bag of groceries in her hand, and I can't help but think that my wallet died for nothing today. But oh well, it's not like the food's been wasted, so who cares. Besides my wallet, I mean.

With a breath, I close the door behind her and lock it, and as I turn around I can see that Ruby's put up her oversized coat on a hook on the wall, but what she was wearing beneath it nearly leaves me breathless.

What Ruby is wearing is her Huntress outfit, an outfit which changed a lot over the years that we had trained, much like herself. Gone was the excessive amount of frills she used to wear, replaced by a more simple design of not frills, I guess, but there's a lot of unnecessary leather belts. Listen, I don't know fashion, I just know that it's pretty cute, and that Ruby's pretty cute, so it just works.

But I did take a second to just admire the view, if only for nostalgia's sake, and I didn't even bother hiding it as she looked back at me, "Jaune, if you keep staring at me like that, I might think you're up to something naughty."

I took a second to blink, "Well when you say it like that, you make me sound like some sort of deviant." I mean, it's not my fault that I keep thinking about the sorts of things she'd say, the faces she'd make if I- you know what, never mind, I see her point.

"Well, your mouth is saying one thing, but your eyes are saying another."

"Wow Ruby, that sounds like something from one of those books you used to make fun of Blake for having."

I watch as Ruby just rolls her eyes at that, "Hey, it's not my fault Blake kept reading through filth. The least she could've done was read through something more wholesome and tasteful."

My brows furrow as I blink, "Ruby, how do you know they weren't tasteful?"

"Uh… How about we make dinner now?" Note to self, figure out what was in those books.

With that, I watch as Ruby makes a 180 and walks off towards the kitchen with the bag in tow, and it's just then that I remember something, "Yeah, sure, just let me go grab some things real fast." I say as I go towards our shared room to grab a special surprise that was 100 percent not guessed- okay, it's the flowers and chocolate.

And so, after a bit of rummaging around a drawer of mine, I finally manage to pull out a little baggy of chocolates I picked up while I was at the store, nothing too crazy, but that's because I didn't have the money to get more. With the bag in hand, and also behind my back, I step out of our room, and can see Ruby pulling all sorts of things out of the bag she brought, mostly stuff for dinner tonight, I hope.

With a grin on my face, I slowly make my way over to the kitchen as Ruby's still putting some stuff away, my bare feet thudding against the carpet quietly as a lamp in the kitchen practically guides my way, since most of the apartment is pitch black. But I manage to navigate through it all well enough, and as I finally get close enough to Ruby, I drape my arms over her shoulders, my chin resting on top of her head.

I can hear Ruby hum to herself as she places a hand on one of my arms, "Can I help you, Jaune?" I hear Ruby slowly ask.

I simply hold the little bag out in front of both of us, "Remember how you told me that I shouldn't buy you a box of chocolate? Well, I didn't get you a box, per se."

"What, no rose?" I can hear Ruby jokingly ask.

"Well, I figured that I've already got the prettiest one to myself, so no other rose can really compete." I say, and I know it's corny, but I mean it. There's also the fact that I'm broke, but details.

I can hear Ruby hum to herself as I feel her lean into my arm, and for a second, we just sit there like that. It's almost rejuvenating in a sense, the warmth of her company after not hearing from her is just soothing, I suppose. But then again, that might just be the fatigue along with various emotions running rampant.

Oh well, it's not like it really matters, all I know for certain is that I'm happy, and I sure hope that Ruby is too. Although, as my head rests on top of Ruby's, I can feel her hand tap my forearm, "Alright Jaune, as much as I'd love to be like this all night, we have to make dinner." I can hear Ruby say as she turns her head and looks over her shoulder, a beaming smile so bright it could blind me stretched across her face.

With a sigh, I reluctantly back away as I untangle myself, "Aw, are you sure? Because I'd be happy with starving." I sarcastically remark. But it wasn't before long that we actually started preparing dinner, now I can't wait to eat.

It wasn't too long before Ruby and I finished preparing dinner, and it was alright. Would've been better if we didn't eat it at midnight, but eh, details. And so, now we're just crashing on the couch, letting the TV run as background noise.

And so, here we sit, her head resting on my shoulder, letting the clock tick away until we both feel the need to fall asleep.

"Hey, Jaune?" I can hear Ruby mutter, her eyes half lidded, her cloak wrapped around her like a big blanket.

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever miss the times that we were in school?" I hear her ask, and at that, I chuckle.

"Ruby, it's been a year since we were in school, I don't think I've actually had a chance to miss it." I say as I wrap an arm around her. I mean, work has been helping me keep my mind off of that sort of thing.

I hear her groan in response, "I know! A whole year since our teams got together to do stuff!" I think she just ignored the latter half of my response, but whatever.

I stifle a laugh as we lounge on the couch, and I can feel her slouch into my side, "Well, everyone's been focusing on their own things. I mean, Ren and Nora have been trekking all over Mistral, so they're not really going to have a whole lot of time to hang out."

At that, I can hear Ruby sigh as she folds her arms, "Yeah, but that doesn't excuse my team from at least saying hi every now and again. I mean, come on, I'm their leader."

"Who are you telling? I think you forget that I'm a team leader too." I say as I look down at her, an eyebrow quirked.

At that, Ruby snorted in response, "Yeah, you're right. I guess that's because normally leaders aren't meant to be stupid."

"Well that's the pot calling the kettle black."

"The what?"

"You're being a hypocrite, Ruby."

I can see Ruby's eyes furrow in confusion, "What, how am I being a hypocrite?"

"Well, a smart person would've understood what that meant." I say with the wave of a hand.

"H-hey, I mean, I may not be school smart, but-"

"You can't claim street smart, Ruby. Last time you tried to do that, someone tried to mug us in Mistral."

"That wasn't my fault!"

I fail to stifle my laugh this time around as I pull Ruby as closely as I can, "No one can blame you for that one, Ruby. After all, you thought that kid was actually going to tour us around the city." I say as I give her a little bit of a shake. I will say this though, that whole thing with the 'shortcut' was a load of garbage.

I can see Ruby's face contort a bit, as though she just bit into a lemon, "It's not my fault I'm too trusting with kids, it's their fault for being too cute!"

I laugh again, "I didn't know you were so big on kids, Ruby."

At that, I watch as Ruby rolls her eyes, "Well, I wouldn't say I'm really big on them, you know? It's just that, growing up I always thought about what life would be like if I had my own kids, to be there for some kids in a way that my Mom wasn't." I can hear Ruby trail off, her voice holding a twinge of uncertainty.

But her saying that sort of thing doesn't really bother me. Actually, thinking about it a little more, I guess I can empathize a lot more than I'd like to admit. My own parents weren't exactly around a whole lot, always on missions and worrying about other things, not to say that they didn't try to be around, but still.

I can only sigh at that, "Yeah, I guess I feel that. I mean, being there for a couple of kids in a way that my parents couldn't be does sound pretty nice. I don't know, maybe I'm just a little out of it." I drone out as I stare ahead at the TV, the screen flashing several different colors, none of which I'm really paying attention to.

I can feel my mind begin to wander, and I'm not sure if it's the fatigue or if it's my genuine emotions, but I guess the thought of being a dad is something that weighs on you. Not that I plan on being one soon, mind you. I don't know, I guess I'd just want to be there for my kid, no matter what would come between us. I wouldn't let being a huntsman get in the way of that, no matter what.

I don't know, maybe I'm just thinking too hard about it. Maybe I'm thinking about stuff that hasn't happened, or even will happen. I mean, who's to say that I won't just meet an untimely demise when I start working in the field that I trained years for? Not to say that I'm expecting it, but it could happen.

I can feel a frown come over my face as I stare ahead at the screen, paying it no mind. Although, I can feel something tug at my shirt, and with a blink I look over and see Ruby staring up at me, a look of concern marring her face, "Hey, are you alright? You look like you were doing some heavy thinking."

I let out a breath as I unravel myself from Ruby before clasping my hands in one another, "I don't know, maybe I'm thinking about it too hard, but I'm not even sure if I'd make a good parent." I say, following it up with a chuckle.

I watch as Ruby's eyebrows furrow as she stares at me, seemingly annoyed, "Hey, I think you'd be fine as a dad."

At that, I quirk a brow, "Really?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you're patient, nice, compassionate, and thoughtful, and-" I can hear Ruby say before cutting herself off, groaning as she pulled at her hair in frustration, "Gosh, I wish I didn't have such a case of dumb brain so that I could express just how much I love you!" I can hear Ruby practically yell out as she grabbed a hold of my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. Although, it wasn't long before she finally realized what she had blurted out.

"Ah, uh, I-"

"Didn't mean to say that?"

I can hear Ruby let out an awkward chuckle, a meek smile on her face, and her hands still on my shoulders, "Little bit."

I can feel my heart gently thump against my chest, a warmth overtaking all that I feel, and I can't help but nearly laugh. We've been dating for months now, five months to be specific, and there's not really been a whole lot of chances to make use of the forbidden L-word, but hearing Ruby use it first puts me at ease, I guess.

As I look down at Ruby, I can't help but smile from ear to ear, "Ruby, you are by far one of the most childish, dorky, loving, impulsive people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I wish that I didn't have a mild case of dumb brain so that I could find better ways to word just how much I, well, you know."

"Say it."

"Uh..."

"Say it!"

"You're kinda putting me on the spot here, Ruby."

At that, I watch as Ruby's 20 year old cheek puff as though she was still a kid, and I'll be honest, I nearly relent right there, but I manage to reign it back in. "Ruby, you're twenty."

"I'm also your girlfriend, so say it back." I hear Ruby reply, very annoyed.

At that, I can only awkwardly laugh, "Alright, alright, I give." But just as I'm about properly relent to her demands, I realize something. Our faces are a lot closer than I thought, and another thought comes to mind.

With a small smile on my face, I let go of Ruby's arms and look into her eyes, and for a solid second I just stare. Alright Jaune, you can do this. With that, I take my hands and place them against her face before planting a solid kiss on her lips.

I watch as her eyes widen for a moment before I can feel here lean into it a little before we break off, and I can hear Ruby take a breath, "Good answer."

At that, I tilt my head, "Of course it is, I came up with it." I jokingly reply.

For a second we sit there and enjoy one another's comfort before Ruby sits up and whispers into my ear, "Hey, do you have work tomorrow?" A mischievous grin resting on her face.

"Nope. Do you?"

I watch her grin stretch wider, a glint in her eye, "Nope,"I hear Ruby say, but then she bites her lip, "Wanna watch dumb movies all night?"

"Hell yeah."

And so we did just that, watching dumb movies that were made over 20 years ago, laughing at the occasional dumb line or plot hole until the sun came up. But if there was one thing I regret?

I didn't get any sleep.

Okay, fuck, we're done. You have no idea how difficult it is to be consistently happy for several nights on end, if only to find proper inspiration to put words on paper. Well, maybe you do, in which case, kudos to you. Sorry it took so long to get this out, by the way. Anyway, before I wrap this up, I've got a few things to say.

First off, I'd like to thank the support that the first chapter got, I really appreciate the kind words. Also, to the guy who said that he missed having his Girlfriend, don't worry Brah, we're all gonna make it.

Second off, I'd like to thank the guys in the Discord for really helping me find the motivation to write dumb stuff, along with all around just being good people to me. You're the best, fellas. Albeit very autistic, but you're my favorite autists.

And lastly, I'd like to thank my good friends Luzifer and Golden for proof reading this chapter and all around helping me through it, without those two retards, I wouldn't exactly be the writer I am today. I'd have probably given up years ago, much appreciated, fellas.

Oh yeah, hint hint, I might be, hint hint, working on a little something something, hint hint, very western, hint hint. Yeah, it's still RWBY stuff, but original characters and story, so if that tickles your fancy, keep an eye out for it. You'll probably know it when you see it. And if you don't, you'll at least see my dumbass name.

Now, I think I'm done, if you liked this chapter, please consider following or reviewing, because it really helps build that incentive, you know? Now then, I'm done, have a good one.

Muh dicsord, and yes, dicsord: /weyEDAm