Welp, Ruby thought idly as the morning sun filtered in through the blinds, so much for being smart.

—

Ruby had planned on being smart at first. They had been buddies since their first day at Beacon and now, nearly two years and three continents later, they were closer than ever. She knew she loved him, but did she love love him? Did he feel the same? Could she risk it? Besides, the world was practically ending. She was a huntress with a mission to accomplish. Monsters to slay, people to save. She had a responsibility, both to her team and the world, to stay focused on the mission and lead them through safely.

So she wouldn't do anything. There was enough on both of their plates and things didn't need to get complicated by something dumb like romance. Ruby figured she'd put her feelings on the backburner for now and focus on the fight ahead of them. Once Salem was defeated she'd put it all out there and see how he felt. Until then, she'd keep those feelings to herself.

Atlas had been rough going for Team RWBY. With General Ironwood effectively confining them to Atlas and Mantle down below, they had no mission to distract them from just how miserable the city could be. Weiss and Blake had the worst of it, and Ruby and Yang found themselves coming up short on how to help. Weiss insisted on facing her family issues alone, trying to shield her team from her snake of a father. Blake wanted to do her part to help the Faunus of Mantle in any way she could but found herself rebuffed at every angle, both by humans and the Faunus she wanted to help.

Ruby felt overwhelmed. Six month hike through Grimm infested woods? Sounds fun. Crazed scorpion assassin? Bring it on. Unkillable Grimm Queen bent on burning the kingdoms to the ground? She was locked and loaded and in it for the long haul.

But Blake standing in front of the mirror with a ribbon in hand, contemplating hiding her ears again? Weiss excusing herself at random times whenever her father called, only to show up later so withdrawn and deflated that it broke Ruby's heart? It felt like their team was sinking and Ruby and Yang weren't enough to keep the team afloat.

But through it all, Jaune was there. With a smile, a hand on her shoulder, and, in one instance, a snowball, he and Team JNPR were there to help shoulder the burden. Particularly rough days would end with JNPR forcing their way into RWBY's room for board game night or to drag them out to the common room to watch movies. Jaune wielded Nora like a blunt instrument, blowing past Weiss' snippy refusals and Blake's moody deflections. He would even sic Nora on them, ordering her to throw the sulky girls over her shoulder to carry them along when they weren't being cooperative.

All aboard the Nora train, full speed ahead. No stops, no excuses, no surrender!

It saved them. With JNPR's help, Ruby and Yang started making progress with their partners. Things were still pretty miserable but Weiss was opening up about her family and Blake leaned on them more. JNPR had brought that sense of normalcy back to their lives that had been missing since Beacon. Back when they would argue about their weekend plans at lunch, when they would complain about homework between class periods. Back when they didn't know the world was ending.

But for Ruby, it wasn't quite the same. Sitting with Jaune in class never used to bring butterflies to her stomach. Being squeezed in next to him on the couch never used to make her skin tingle. His smile never used to bring heat to her face, his dopey grin after a good spar never made her heart race like this, and her eyes never used to linger on him quite so long. Thankfully Jaune, dense as he was, never seemed to notice. Weiss, however, had caught her more than once. Stop being a dolt, her partner told her each time, usually with a huff and a quick turn of the head that caused Weiss' flail of a braid to smack her dismissively. Weiss must have agreed that Ruby needed to get her priorities straight.

She was trying her hardest not to be a dolt. Really! Jaune just made that really, really hard sometimes.

Most times.

After a while she had found a solution that worked for her. Most days would end with Ruby retiring to her room where she would scream her happy frustration into her pillow as she rapidly kicked her legs into the bed. She got confused stares from Yang and Blake but a knowing 'dolt' from Weiss. Is this what Pyrrha had went through on a daily basis? Ruby was desperate for something, anything to distract her from this mess she had found herself in.

At least until Mantle was attacked and they nearly lost each other. Ruby's stint in the hospital lasted just over a week, the wounds she took just barely stabilized by Jaune's semblance during the battle. The tongue-lashing she received from her team still stung – how she should take better care of herself, how she shouldn't be so reckless, how she couldn't just throw herself into danger because they had a healer in their group, and on and on and on. She felt guilty, of course, but she knew that if she were put in the same situation she wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again.

Jaune's stay in the hospital lasted nearly a month. Acute aura exhaustion, the doctors called it; he had used up the last bits of his aura healing her. He spent a week hooked up to all sorts of machines and another two weeks asleep in bed. Their friends all rotated through to make sure he wasn't alone when he woke up. Ruby started to think that maybe her own team was there to keep her company more than anything – between the attached bathroom and the deluxe sleeping bag Weiss provided, Ruby never really saw the need to leave.

She woke one night to a hand gently stroking her hair. It felt so nice that she leaned into it, still half asleep, but when she finally cracked an eye open she saw him. Jaune was leaning over the side of the bed, cords and tubes stretched to their limit, as he looked down at her with an expression she didn't know how to read. But when Ruby's stomach fluttered she knew what she hoped that look meant. Ruby sprung to her feet as she fought the zipper to the sleeping bag she was still cocooned in. Jaune just looked at her, rooted to the spot in embarrassment after being caught.

With the sleeping bag still tangled about her legs, Ruby hopped clumsily towards the head of the bed and lunged at him, half lying across the mattress as she buried her face in his chest. She stayed that way for a few minutes, his hospital gown bunched in her fists as she willed her heart not to explode. With a thousand things she wanted to tell him bouncing around in her head, she lifted her hands to his shoulders and pulled herself up to look him in the eye for the first time in too long.

Lit by the faint light of the equipment around him, unshed tears shimmered in the corners of his eyes. You're okay was all he whispered, relief obvious as he sagged back against the headboard under her weight. Ruby was sick of seeing him cry, no matter the reason.

Without thinking, she did a really dumb thing.

It was a pretty poor attempt as far as first kisses went, Ruby thought. She practically headbutted him on her way up and made their teeth clack together painfully when she mashed her lips into his face. She went too high, only catching his upper lip and causing their noses to mash together uncomfortably. Worst of all, she didn't ask. She didn't even know how he felt, she just dove in head first without thinking like she always did. Stupid. Dolt. She was frozen against him, lips still smashed into his, as a voice screamed in her head that she just did the dumbest thing imaginable.

Until he kissed her back.

—

They might have been on their way to being really, really dumb that night. They were saved from their stupidity when the team of night nurses came barreling into the room – apparently Ruby ripping cords and disconnecting sensors that were in her way was a surefire method to make the staff think their patient had either suddenly dropped dead or was making his escape. They had been caught as Jaune was trying to help her untangle the sleeping bag from around her feet, struggling because they refused to separate for air.

They kicked her out, naturally.

The laughter and raunchy jokes of the nurses followed her as she made her way back to the dorm that night. Despite the cold, she was burning up. She'd never been so embarrassed in her life. Was this the walk of shame Yang had told her about?

Scratch that. Returning to the hospital the following day was way worse. This had to be the real walk of shame. The night nurses must have been talking – Ruby could feel the eyes of the day shift workers follow her as she and her friends made their way to Jaune's room. She pulled her hood up to hide as she shrunk under their gaze, whispers following her to Jaune's room.

Apparently it wasn't a secret from Nora either. The truth must have been plain on Ruby and Jaune's faces. All it took was one quick glance between the blushing leaders and Nora's knowing grin nearly split her face. She didn't say anything, opting instead to crush Ruby in a bearhug and thank her for "taking care" of her leader. Ruby whimpered as Jaune turned a shade darker. Ruby had realized it back when they were still on the road to Mistral, but Nora's intuition was downright scary sometimes.

Ruby looked helplessly to her partner and realized Nora wasn't the only one who figured it out. Weiss's smile was small but pleased as she gave Ruby a single proud nod. Maybe Weiss was calling her a dolt for a different reason all along.

Ruby and Jaune finally had a chance to talk the day he got out of the hospital. He told her that he'd been struggling with the same problem she had. To her dismay, he agreed that they had to be smart about this. The stakes were too high and they had too many people they cared about to let them down by getting distracted with a relationship. Just knowing how the other felt would have to be enough for now.

They could still be smart. They had a momentary lapse in judgment but they would get their act together. They were leaders. They had responsibilities. They were going to be smart!

They lasted three days.

To be fair, three days was the longest Ruby had ever held off on anything she wanted so badly. And really, it was Jaune's fault. It was easier when their friends were around to act as unknowing chaperones but none of their friends went to leadership class with them and that's where Jaune doomed them.

He held her hand. No prompting, no warning, he just took her hand halfway through lecture and didn't let go until class was dismissed. She couldn't remember a thing from that lecture and, judging by the look on his face, Jaune didn't either.

The floodgates were open. They played footsies at lunch, leaned against one another whenever their teams watched movies (but not so much that anyone noticed) and even held hands using a pillow to hide them. It was all very dumb and childish, Ruby thought, especially compared to what they were about to do in that hospital room. She was worried she'd reenact that in a heartbeat if she were given the chance and then she'd be completely done for.

They were getting dumber by the minute but this was still salvageable. They just needed a plan.

They didn't realize someone else already had one ready for them.

—

Sitting in class with Jaune one day, Yang sent her a message.

going 2 mantle with blake + everyone for faunus stuff, gonna hit the town after, call when on ur way

Ruby sighed. She was never big on the night life, but maybe it'd be fun. As long as Yang didn't make them go to a club…

Her scroll buzzed again. Nora this time.

you can have the room, we'll be out aaaaallllll night ;)

Ruby spluttered, giving Jaune's hand an unintentional squeeze. He looked over at her with an eyebrow raised in confusion. She shook her head silently at him and pretended to turn her attention back to class as the heat started creeping up her neck. Stupid Nora being a bad influence…

She was trying to do the smart thing here!

As they made their way back to their rooms, Ruby's mind and heart was racing. She should just tell him about going down to Mantle and everything would be fine. They could hold hands on the way down even, that was still within reason!

Her scroll buzzed again. Weiss?

I left something on your bed.

Okay…? Maybe she wanted her to bring it along with them? A moment later, she added to it.

Don't be a dolt.

Ruby swallowed. Jaune was already breaking away from her, saying something about checking with Ren and Nora as he went towards his team's room.

Ruby let herself into her own room and quickly made her way to the bed where a small plastic bag was waiting for her. Steeling herself, she took a quick peek inside and immediately closed the bag tight again.

Was that a box of…? Yup. Definitely. Couldn't be anything else. Now her heart was really hammering. Nora she could understand, but even Weiss? Weiss had to have understood the responsibility that rested on Ruby's shoulders. She had no choice but to be the smart one here. Taking a shuddering breath, Ruby turned on her heel and left the room, bag unknowingly clutched tight in her shaking hands.

Jaune stood stock-still in the doorway of JNPR's room, staring dumbly at something within. He didn't respond when she quietly said his name so she squeezed past him to see what he was looking at.

The amount of candles Nora had strewn all over the dorm was downright comical.

She chuckled anxiously at the scene and looked down at the bag she had in her hands, the box inside most likely crushed by her nervous fingers.

Turning back to him, she noticed Jaune staring at her. He looked nervous too, and excited. Just like her.

Wetting her lips, she smiled up at him and took his hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze in response and smiled down at her. They were both shaking slightly with nervous anticipation and when Ruby pulled him further into the room he followed eagerly, letting the door close behind them.

—

Welp, so much for being smart.

But as she lay in a bed just a tad too small for two, Jaune's soft snoring tickling the back of her neck, Ruby found being dumb suited her just fine.