A Semblance of Emotion 038

They were all feeling it the next morning after a night of overindulgence. All except Weiss, for she had not partaken in that particular activity, leaving her only sleep deprived due to not going to bed until late.

“May we speak?”

The landing pads were a hive of activity as students gathered and waited for the coming airships, Jaune surrounded by a sea of people. Luggage was gathered in large piles, and each student was issued a number corresponding to the airship they would be boarding. Those that were going down to Vale were issued one through five, while those making longer journeys to Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo were given numbers six through ten, eleven through fifteen and sixteen through twenty. While the airships bound for Vale were going to be full, and even the Mistralian bound aircraft looked to be close to capacity, not all of the Atlas and Vacuo ships would be required.

Jaune was assigned airship one, as was Blake, Yang and Ruby. Ren and Nora were leaving on eleven with Pyrrha, who would then be taking a connecting flight to Argus at her own expense.

Weiss wasn’t boarding any of the airships bound for Atlas, however.

A brand new, state of the art airship had already been waiting for them when they arrived, long and slender in design, built for speed and luxury of a few people rather than the transport of many. Unlike the Beacon airships that had the school emblem emblazoned on the side, or the ones that operated in Vale that held the kingdom’s coat of arms, this one was marked by the same very stylized snowflake Weiss wore on the back of her bolero.

It was a Schnee Dust Company airship – and not the kind that workers or even executives flew around on. This was an airship for the personal use of the Schnee family, though Weiss didn’t appear very pleased to see it.

It was her that had spoken, and Jaune nodded as he followed her over to her luggage. A couple of men in suits were loading her bags, looking more like butlers than crew. They were drawing a lot of curious glances and whispers, though Weiss weathered the scrutiny with practised calm.

“Ms. Schnee, you may board at any time,” one of the men said and she nodded.

“Yes. Give me a moment with my team leader, please.”

The man eyed Jaune suspiciously before walking up the ramp, leaving them alone.

“I don’t think he likes me,” Jaune said.

Weiss rolled her eyes. “I’m sure they’ve been ordered to report everything they see back to my father. He will be on the lookout for anything… untoward. Anything to keep me from returning.”

Jaune knew that her family situation wasn’t what it seemed, but he was surprised to hear her come right out and say it. While she had told him things in the past, those moments were usually accompanied by high emotion.

This time, it was just stated as a matter of fact without prompting.

Her trust in him was touching.

“Weiss…”

“Don’t worry, I can handle my father,” she said dismissively. “The only reason I’m returning home is to appease him. If I stay away, it will appear as if I am avoiding my family. If I go back, we can maintain the charade of a perfectly happy family.”

She was being incredibly open with him, and it took him aback a little.

“What’s with that look?” she asked crossly. “I said don’t worry about me. I can handle it. But first, we need to talk.”

“Right,” he said. “What do you want to speak to me about?”

He had a pretty good idea.

Her lips pursed, brow furrowing slightly. “This… situation with your semblance.”

Bingo.

“While I understand that capitalizing on the increased amplification would be a boon for our team, both academically and with real world applications” she began. “I am not going to – to canoodle for such a reason, do I make myself clear?”

Jaune blinked.

“Did you just say canoodle?”

“Yes, I did,” she snapped. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, it’s just… I don’t think even my parents would say that.”

“I am in no mood to be teased,” she said seriously, though her ears looked a little red. “So do not test me.”

“No teasing,” he said quickly. “And… Weiss, I don’t expect us to… canoodle.”

“Nora does.”

“Ignore Nora,” he said before sighing. “Easier said than done, I know – but Weiss, I’m not – I don’t want you to kiss me for a reason like that. You believe me, don’t you?”

“Hmmm?” she hummed, looking even more annoyed somehow. “For some reason, hearing you say that pisses me off.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know,” she sniffed. “It just does.”

“Look, she shouldn’t have said anything. What happened with Nora… with Blake, it was something that happened in the moment. Because we wanted to do it. I don’t want you to feel pressured into doing something just because it would be good for our team,” he held her gaze. “I don’t know how other people view this sort of thing but I don’t just kiss anyone, and without a good reason. I wouldn’t expect you to ever share such an intimate gesture with me if that wasn’t what you wanted.”

“You wanted to kiss them.”

Jaune nodded. There was no time for hesitation. “I did.”

“And you don’t wish to kiss me?”

“That isn’t what I said,” he said quickly.

“So you do want to kiss me.”

Wait, why did it feel like I was being coerced into a minefield?

Jaune searched for something to say, anything – and then spotted her mouth twitch, pulling into a small grin.

“I can’t tease you but you’re teasing me,” he deadpanned, any panic fading away instantly.

“Sorry, I know I shouldn’t joke but you looked—,” she cut herself off, clearing her throat. “W-Well, it isn’t as if I thought you’d press the issue or anything. Jaune, I – we’ve only known each other a short time, but I’ve come to trust you like I’ve only ever trusted a few in my life. You’ve led our team with conviction and grace, and because of you, this team has… become important to me.”

“It’s important to me, as well,” Jaune echoed, about to reach for her before thinking better of it, mindful of watchful eyes.

“I know it is. When our issues – my issues,” she amended. “When my issues nearly tore us apart, you are the glue that held us all together. You helped Blake when she was at her lowest. You protected Nora with your life when she needed you. You helped me see that my past was having too great of an influence in how I saw and treated others, not just with Blake but earlier, with Ruby. I know if I should ever have need of you, you would be there for me.”

“And I know that if I ever have need of you, you will be there for me, as well,” he said. “You’ve been an important part of this team, Weiss. You three give me too much credit.”

She shook her head. “Your humbleness would be annoying if it wasn’t so endearing,” she sighed. “So listen up and listen well, because I’m only saying this once. I am not going to kiss you for such a superfluous reason, your semblance is more than useful enough as it is… but in the future, if I should wish to… do it for other reasons…”

Now it wasn’t just her ears that were red. Her cheeks flushed a healthy rose.

“Oh,” he said. “Uh – right, I mean – that would be fine.”

“Fine?” she repeated.

“Fine. No, wait – yes! More than fine. Uh, great? That would be… great?” he cringed.

Weiss nodded quickly. “Okay. Great. It will be… great.”

What was wrong with them?

Their eyes met and she quickly looked away, and it only made Jaune feel embarrassed. Wasn’t she basically saying that she was open to kissing him? Did that mean Nora was right?

He really hated being awkward at times like these.

Weiss began dusting off her skirt, eyes on the ground. “Yes, well – I guess… I will be seeing you next semester, then?”

“Yeah, uh – see you?”

He wanted to die.

She hesitated, and for one moment Jaune thought she was going to hug him before she turned away, ascending the ramp.

“Wait,” he said.

She stopped, though didn’t turn to face him.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to the others?”

She shook her head. “I’m not a fan of goodbyes. I’ve sent them all a message, though.”

“Oh, right…”

Jaune stared at her back. She was such a tiny thing, slender and short, easy to underestimate. He wished he could do more for her. He wished she didn’t have to go back somewhere she didn’t want to be.

“I’ll call you,” he promised. “Every couple of days… if that’s okay with you?”

For a moment, he thought she wasn’t going to say anything but then she nodded, her sidetail bouncing.

“I would like that. Very much,” she said, her voice warm. She turned to face him, and her ice blue eyes pinned him as she smiled. “Call as much as you’d like.”

“I will,” he said.

They stared at one another for a long moment before she waved, and he waved back as she turned and entered the airship. The ramp began pulling up as the engines roared to life, and it wasn’t long until she was nothing more than a mark in the distance.

Well… that just happened.

“Ohohoho,” a familiar voice sounded at his back, and he sighed.

“Nora,” he said, turning to her. “Don’t.”

She grinned cheekily. “What were you two talking about?”

“You didn’t overhear?”

Nora gasped dramatically. “Jaune! Do you think I would ever listen into someone’s conversation like that?”

“Yes.”

She snorted. “Okay, I totally would – but I didn’t! I totally didn’t!”

“That’s because I held her back,” Blake chimed in, walking up to join them. “I had a feeling that you two were having a personal moment.”

“You could say that,” he sighed. “She isn’t happy about going home.”

Nora’s cheer vanished as Blake grimaced.

“No, she isn’t,” Blake’s voice was filled with regret. “I’ve never hated being so wrong about something.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

She shook her head, disgusted. “I should know not to judge a book by its cover… but when it came to Weiss, such wisdom was lost on me. I let my feelings get in the way.”

“She’ll be okay,” Nora said. “She’ll be back here with us in a few weeks – and if she isn’t, then we will be paying a visit to the Schnee household.”

Nora was being completely serious, her eyes cold. Jaune didn’t doubt her words for a second, and when Blake nodded, just as serious, he felt a swelling of affection for the pair of them.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” he said reasonably. “Kidnapping the heiress to the most wealthy company in the world isn’t something I want on my permanent record.”

Nora snickered while Blake smirked, the former saying, “Wouldn’t it be super fun, though?”

When the school sanctioned airships began arriving, they rejoined their other friends and started saying their goodbyes.

Jaune shook Ren’s hand firmly. “Stay safe.”

Ren nodded, squeezing his hand. “We will.”

“If you need me for anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to call,” Jaune added. “Whatever it is.”

Ren smiled. “Don’t worry. We aren’t going to be in danger. We’re just visiting someone we owe a debt to, that’s all.”

Much to his surprise, Pyrrha hugged him, and his arms instinctively encircled her waist.

“When I return, I expect another match,” she quipped after they separated, her emerald eyes shining with competitive fire. Jaune nodded.

“You got it. Have fun. Tell your mom I said hi.”

Nora leapt into his arms and made a show of it, fake crying and drawing attention from the other students with her exaggerated sobbing. Jaune caught Cardin’s disgusted face amongst the crowd, and let Nora carry on for longer than he normally would have.

“See you soon,” he told his partner when she finished her performance.

Nora smiled softly, her eyes warm. “See you soon, Jaune-Jaune. Don’t forget about me when I’m gone.”

“As if I could,” he fired back.

A few other people said their goodbyes, classmates that he wasn’t exactly friends with but they were on greeting terms. Gray and Melissa were the ones he knew best, and he shook their hands and wished them a good holiday.

“Jaune~!” Velvet rushed over, her face flushed. Coco followed much more calmly, smirking as she lowered her glasses and glanced between the two of them. “I’m glad I caught you before we left.”

“Hey Velvet, Coco.”

“Yo,” Coco waved. “Excited to be free of Goodwitch’s tyranny for a month?”

Jaune laughed. “She isn’t that bad.”

“Just wait until you become a second year. Then you’ll take back those words.”

“Where are you staying for the holidays?” Velvet asked, leaning forward eagerly.

“Uh – I’m just staying here in Vale. It’ll take too long to go home, so I decided to stay close. What about you?”

“Atlas to see my dad but only for two weeks, then I’m meeting my mom here in Vale,” she seemed excited but also nervous, her hands awkwardly playing with what appeared to be a camera. “Do you mind if I take a photo of you?”

“I don’t mind,” he said. “Should I pose or…?”

Coco snickered.

“Coco, be quiet,” Velvet scolded her. “Um – you can wave if you want?”

So that’s what Jaune did, finding some clear space and waving as Velvet snapped a shot.

“Thanks,” she said cheerfully.

“Bun wants to show her mom,” Coco revealed.

“Coco,” Velvet hissed, her face going red. “Don’t listen to her, Jaune. She’s being stupid.”

In an attempt to save Velvet some humiliation, he asked, “Coco, where are you heading?”

“Normally I’d just be here in Vale but I decided to do a little traveling, so I’m flying over to Vacuo.”

That surprised him. “Vacuo isn’t really a tourist destination, is it?”

“Nah but they’ve got a really good textile industry there, and I’m on the look out for new stuff,” she gave her hip a hearty smack. “It’s not easy to look this good, right? I have to stay on the lookout for new styles and better fabrics.”

“She likes to make her own clothes,” Velvet filled in. “Not that she’s any good at it.”

“Hey,” Coco frowned. “What do you mean, not that she’s any good at it? I’m talented as fuck, don’t you forget it.”

The teammates began bickering, and Jaune took that as his moment to slip away.

“I’m going to miss this,” Ruby said softly when he joined her, her expression sad. “I mean, I want to see my dad but…”

“Hey, we’ll be back soon enough,” he said, trying to cheer her up. “And just think, there might be new weapons when we return.”

“Hmm,” she seriously considered it. “You think so?”

“Well, there is a possibility.”

She nudged him in the side and he nudged her back, the pair grinning at each other.

“Airship one, now boarding,” someone said over the intercom system. “Airship one, now boarding.”

It was time to go.

Jaune joined Yang and Blake, and they all walked up the ramp together, waving down at Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and Velvet, who was waving goodbye with her other hand in Coco’s face. Their flight was short, and when they arrived at the station in central Vale, it was time to say goodbye to Yang and Ruby.

“Don’t be strangers,” Yang said, holding out a fist. Blake shot him an uncertain glance before holding out her fist, and Jaune did the same, their knuckles bumping together. “Maybe we can hang out some time, you know? I’ll go crazy on Patch if I’m stuck there for a whole month.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “She’ll be fine. She’ll sleep the whole time.”

“As if, I’m not you,” the two sisters bantered back and forth. “She’ll be up all night on her computer, being a total geek.”

They caught a shuttle that would take them to the docks, where a ferry was waiting for them to take them over to Patch. Blake and Jaune waved until they were out of sight, leaving them alone in a crowd of thousands.

Blake gazed at him shyly, her ears flattening against the top of her head.

“So, I guess this is it,” he said for lack of anything better to say.

“I guess it is,” she returned softly.

They stared at one another.

“So…” he trailed off.

Her lips twitched and then she stepped forward, her cheeks flushing a soft pink as she leaned in and kissed him. Jaune settled his hands on her hips and pulled her in, their lips moving together slowly, languidly, and Jaune took this moment to memorize her taste, her smell, the feel of her wonderful, athletic body, the softness of her lips, everything.

When they parted, her eyes were brighter like heated honey, her pink tongue darting out to lick her lips.

“I thought maybe… this weekend, we could have dinner together,” she said breathlessly. “You know… like a date?”

A date. A proper date.

“I’d like that,” he said.

Her joy was clear on her face, lighting up. “You would?”

“Yeah, I would,” he smiled. “I’d like it a lot.”

Her face was glowing as she stepped away. “Okay. Um – I’ll call you?”

Jaune nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”

She hesitated before darting back in, giving him a powerful hug, Blake inhaling deeply as if to tuck him away deep inside herself. Jaune returned the hug with equal vigor before they parted, Blake waving above the crowd as she followed the steady stream of human traffic out.

Jaune sighed.

Now he was alone.

He had more clothes than when he first arrived in Vale but it was still only enough to fill one suitcase. His duffle bag was officially retired for the time being. Wheeling his suitcase behind him, Jaune left the airship terminal and searched for a taxi that could take him where he wanted to go.

Distracted in his search, he walked straight into someone in the bustle of the crowd. Clang! Jaune jerked, panicked, reaching for them automatically before realizing that whoever he bumped into hadn’t moved an inch despite their size difference, and the fact that their face had connected with his breastplate. Jaune blinked, gazing down at a shock of ginger hair before a cute, freckled face looked up at him.

Green eyes blinked back at him innocently, her skin pale, her curly ginger hair cut to chin length with a bright pink bow sitting atop her head. She was small and slender, though not quite as short as Weiss or Nora. It hadn’t been a gentle collision, and yet she looked as if she hadn’t even felt it.

“Uh, hi,” he said awkwardly.

Her face lit up.

“Sal-u-tations~!” she greeted him enthusiastically. “You wouldn’t be talking to me, would you?”

Jaune hesitated.

“Oh, uh – yeah. I’m sorry about walking into you, ma’am. I was distracted.”

She smiled.

“Do not apologize. I did not feel a thing!”

“Ah, right.”

She stared at him expectantly but he wasn’t sure what she was waiting for. Something about her was off but not in a bad way. Not like she was dangerous or anything like that, but it was something else, something he couldn’t quite place his finger on. The way she spoke was a little odd, almost too formal but that wasn’t too unusual. Weiss was like that at the beginning of the year and while it had faded somewhat, she still slipped into that manner of speech from time to time.

“Um – are you from around here?” he asked to be polite.

She shook her head. “I am not. I’ve come all the way from Atlas. It is my first time abroad, it is very exciting.”

Jaune nodded. “I bet. You’re a long way from home, it’s always a bit of an adventure the first time. Well, I won’t take up any more of your time. I hope you enjoy your stay in Vale.”

He thought that would be the end of it and continued walking, and it wasn’t until he was in the process of flagging down a taxi when he realized that the ginger haired girl had followed him.

“Oh,” he exclaimed, startled.

She beamed. “Hello~!”

“Did you need something?” he asked, and she shook her head, rocking back and forth with her hands neatly tucked in front of her stomach. “Oh – okay, then.”

She was following him, right? There wasn’t any other explanation.

He didn’t want to come right out and ask, though. That was a bit rude. So instead, he started walking down the street to see if she would follow him and she did, staying several paces behind.

This was weird. Very weird.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” he asked, coming to a stop.

The girl just continued to smile at him, shaking her head.

“Uh – what’s your name?” he asked.

With a sudden flourish, she performed a curtsey. Again, it was the type of thing Weiss would do and he was beginning to suspect that this girl may have a similar background; a sheltered rich girl from Atlas, trying to find her way. Her clothing did match, looking old fashioned but expensive, a gray pinafore dress worn atop a white frilly blouse and long black stockings. The dress and stockings had lines of lime green, though, that added a more modern touch, as did the black and green collar.

“My name is Penny Polendina,” she introduced herself loudly.

Jaune offered his hand, and she stared at it in shock.

“Jaune. Jaune Arc.”

She took his hand quickly and shook it vigorously, and Jaune grunted, feeling the strength of her grip, his shoulder protesting the jarring movement.

She was much stronger than she appeared. No wonder he hadn’t knocked her over earlier.

“Pleased to meet you, Jaune-Jaune Arc.”

“No, wait, sorry – it’s just Jaune Arc.”

“Just Jaune-Jaune Arc.”

He spent the next five minutes attempting to correct her before remembering he had his Beacon ID, and showed her. Her mouth formed a perfect circle.

“Ooh. My apologies, Jaune.”

“That’s… fine.”

“You are a student of Beacon,” she pointed out.

“I am,” he patted Crocea Mors, clipped to his belt. Along with his armor, he looked the part of a Huntsman or Huntsman-in-training. “I just finished my first semester.”

“A first year student,” she said and he nodded. “I am also a first year student.”

Jaune frowned. “You are?”

“Indeed! I am here on behalf of Atlas Academy for the Vytal Festival Tournament.”

To just look at her, Penny did not look like a Huntress-in-training. At a quick glance, he couldn’t see any weapons on her but that didn’t mean much. Ren’s weapons were easily concealable within his long sleeves, and Yang’s looked like simple bracelets until they mecha-shifted. Jaune then recalled the strength of her hand, and now it made a little more sense.

“You’re here early,” he said. “The Vytal Festival isn’t for a couple of months yet.”

For a brief moment, Jaune thought panic crossed her face before it smoothed out, and her smile remained in place.

“You are correct! My team was sent early t-to acclimatize to the conditions here in Vale,” she hiccuped.

Atlas was much colder than Vale, though weren’t they taking things a little far? Surely a couple of weeks would be sufficient?

“This is my first time meeting someone from Atlas Academy,” he smiled. “Maybe we could hang out some time, when you’ve got a spare moment. I’d love to hear more about it.”

Penny gaped at him. “L-Like a date?”

Okay, that was a little too fast.

“A friend-date,” he quickly amended. “You know, something that two friends do together.”

She gasped and covered her mouth, and Jaune felt confused as she stared at him.

“Penny?”

“You wish to be friends?” she asked slowly, eyes widening with each word.

He nodded. “I do. Unless you don’t want to be?”

Her hands latched onto his arm. “I do! I do want to be friends!”

Jaune felt like maybe he’d done something foolish but one look at those hopeful, childlike eyes and it was banished from his mind.