Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Part 2

"Huh?"

Ruby was surprised. The door didn't lock, it opened a gap for her to peek in. A group of people was inside with Jaune, she recognized all of them.

"Jaune-dono, please make sure to have some packs of ice next to you all the time. It will keep the itching at bay."

"Get well soon."

"The fragrance from these flowers will help you relax. I'll place it in the vase here, you won't have to smell the chemical all the time."

"You should hurry up and recover, Arc." A certain fashionista pulled down her sunglass and winked at Jaune. "Little bun-bun here is going to miss you a lot if you stay here for too long."

Team CFVY in their casual clothes, another group of second-year students that teams RWBY and JNPR befriended.

Ruby felt her chest itched, silvers twitched and briefly narrowed at the girls of CFVY, especially the little bun-bun. Just now, Velvet's expression had an obvious color that spoke volumes about her crush on a certain noodle. She was blushing, cheeks reddened like a tomato.

How unpleasant! Hm? Why? Because she didn't like the way Velv-oops, she didn't like vegetable, duh!

What about the food Jaune cook? He often made salad for her and she would eat whatever he made on the plate, of course! What about mommy's? Stop asking questions and making this weird, that was before Beacon and this and that were entirely different things!

"Coco!? Don't put it like that, I just visited him yesterday!"

Wait, yesterday? Velvet was here yesterday!?

"Oh! Then you went and picked up flowers for him so you could have an excuse to visit him again? Now, I see why. Good job!"

The C, F and Y gave V approving thumbs up, playful grins flashed on their faces.

"G-Guys, don't tease Velvet. I'm sure you know she visited me because friends always care for each other." Jaune looked at the girl and smiled.

"That's true, but you should know this. When it comes to you, Vel-"

One vice-like grip wrapped around Coco's head before she slipped anymore word.

"All right, we're leaving! Goodbye, Jaune. I'll come by again."

Velvet chuckled sheepishly as she waved at Jaune and proceeded to get her team out of the room. Coco's heel was literally dragged on the floor.

"Err, bun-bun. Be careful with the clothes, don't grip it too hard. These are fine new brands and I just bought them."

"I don't care, we're leaving." Velvet frowned. Her soft but firm voice gave absolute order.

"Wow. If only you could act like this a few minutes ago."

"Don't you start it, Fox."

"I have some suggestions regarding Jaune-dono."

"No."

"Very well." Yatsuhashi's shoulder slumped.

Once team CFVY finally left, Ruby moved from a corner not far from there. She scanned the hallway one last time and tip-toed toward the closing door. Good! They didn't lock it. The coldness of the knob lied firmly in her grasp. The touch ensured her that she could finally be able to do what she couldn't last time. This was it!

Ruby swung open the door and greeted her crush with a big smile.

Bark!

"Burgh!"

A mass of black and white charged forward, bumping into her stomach. Ruby fell on her butt. Next, she laid on the floor when smooth fur rolled on her face. Slippery tongue licked the girl's cheeks as she groaned.

Bark!

The number one corgi of Rose-Xiao Long family stood on top its owner on all four.

"Zwei!? Where did you come from?"

"Ruby?" Silvers shone brightly upon hearing that voice. "Are you there?"

"I'm here Jaune!" Zwei woofed at the same time she spoke up. Her voice was muted by his loud noise. "Zwei, don't stop me. I want to see him!"

Ruby quickly picked herself up once the corgi jumped off. Eyeing her family dog carefully, she slowly trailed past him and got to the door.

Bark!

Thud!

"Eeep!"

The instance Ruby turned her head around, she immediately regretted doing that. A not-so-subtle headbutt smashed into her marshmallows. The sneak attack took her by surprise, she didn't expect it. Ruby fell-face flat on the ground again. She rubbed her nose and glared at the culprit. Zwei the corgi sat next to her. Two big rounds eyes stared at her, they were so adorable her annoyance began to extinguish.

Nope! Not gonna happen! She won't let herself be deceived by such cuteness!

"Yang. It was Yang, wasn't it? She told you to wait in this room and ambush me in case I come here to see Jaune."

Bark!

Gasped!

That respond shed light on the truth. The traitors! She was betrayed by her family twice. The little corgi had always been ready to become the last line of defense whenever Yang was not around. Treacherous! Horrible! To think she just gave him a heartfelt rubbing yesterday.

….well played, Zwei. You little….traitor!

Her mind screamed, ignoring the elongated tongue poking out to lick her cheeks.

"Ruby! Are you alright?"

Her head snapped around at the calling. Ruby smiled. Here she was, inside the infirmary.

Jaune was right there, resting on the bed while he looked bewildered at her accidental entrance. He was wearing the signature blue onesie with the face of mister rabbit Pumpkin Pete in the middle. She saw dark bags under his eyes, he seemed tired. No worry, Jaune. Ruby was here to help you.

The young Huntress-in-training sat up, dusted off the dirt on her black dress and wiped Zwei's sticky saliva off her face.

"I'm okay."

At her reply, ocean blues softened and returned to a tranquil state. She noticed the occasional twitching as his body shifted. From below the neck to half of his face, the skin burned red. He was enduring it, that loveable dork tried not to show those hints of pain to let her get any more worried than she had already did. That strange feeling in her chest emerged as sapphires gazed into her silvers.

It was just so like Jaune. He made her want to take care of him, to ease the torment.

As she stood up, four tiny legs went into ready position and launched. Hah! She saw what he was doing! Ruby Rose won't be tricked thrice! No, twice!

A raging storm of petals appeared.

The corgi was blasted away and buried under a pile of beautiful roses. Ruby wouldn't drop her guard, she eyed her work carefully. Some petals at the top moved, Zwei's head stuck out from underneath. Semblance activated. She wiped him off the floor and flew out the window. They hit the grass. Ruby didn't stop, she drowned him in an even bigger pile of awesome roses until the whole backyard was paint in the color of passion.

"Be a good boy and stay there until I'm done!"

No respond, the corgi had been defeated. Ruby snorted, her heel made a spun and she dashed back to the room. Ruby heard someone made a complaint in the background, something about her rose petals littered everywhere. Bah! Don't care, her crush is waiting.

She reached the room, a baffled Jaune was staring at her and the window. He was confused, clueless. Ruby smiled as she closed the door and pulled a seat next to his bed.

"What just happened?"

"Don't worry, Jaune." She leaned forward, flicking a rose petal stuck on his hair. "I'm here. You just need to focus on me."

"Um…o-okay. Did you come alone? I haven't seen the others today."

"No, it's just me." Her right hand slowly reached out and met his. "It's just the two of us now."

…hot….

Not warm, but hot. His skin heated up like he was having a very bad fever. It was the effect of that harmful poison.

Jaune looked at his hand, which was held by hers. Ruby started to feel nervous, she didn't know if the sudden contact triggered the pain to him or not. His blank gaze gave no reaction to tell her otherwise. Her arm retracted. She casted her view to the floor and anywhere but the boy. It became awkward for her to say anything.

"Ruby."

Eyes turned round at the unexpectedly soft calling, she peered up. Steadily, he replied to her previous touch. His hand moved and gently rested on hers. All five fingers bent in, keeping her tender, small hand firmly in his grip. Silvers went wider at the gesture for a moment.

"Thanks for coming by."

A broad smile formed as he gave her a light squeeze. She did the same, too.

"You don't have to thank me for that, you know."

Jaune winced a little as he let go.

"Does it really hurt that much?"

"Well, it does. I don't think I've slept well these days. It's hard to do everything when your whole body is on fire, itchy and painful all the time. You see those ointments on the table? The doctor has been telling me to apply them two times a day. They did little to ease the pain, though. It keeps coming back. Oh right, you should know about the smell." He crunched his nose, making a yuck sound. "It's suck. It smells like a pack of Beowolves that hasn't taken any shower for weeks."

Ruby giggled. Her crush really had it roughed.

"How long will you be here?"

"Probably a month. At least until they find out the right medicine to cure me from this." He sighed. Head hung down. "Guess I won't be with you guys for a while, I'm going to miss all the classes. Team JNPR has to act without me until then."

She knew how he felt. This whole accident had caused a drawback to his study at Beacon and the performance of his team.

"I'm sorry." Silvers went wide in surprise as Jaune suddenly said in disappointment.

"For what?"

"For not being able to bake you some cookies. I guess I just straight up ruined your weekend because of my clumsiness and dragged everyone down. I really….I…..I don't know, I hope this doesn't make you feel sad."

Even though he ended up being in this state, the only thing in Jaune's mind was his friends. Rather than his well-being, he cared more about her feeling. To her, cookies and sugar were important, but so was Jaune. Jaune is sweeter than cookies.

"Nope. You don't have to worry about that, I can wait for you. You should heal yourself first."

"R-Right." Jaune nodded. He whined a bit at the tingling pain that began to spread around the neck. "Ouch! I messed up big time."

Eyes aimed at the bed sheet, he let out a deep sigh. Such difficulty had burdened him whenever he tried to move a muscle. She noticed sapphires wavered, overwhelmed by discontent and sadness.

No, that won't do! Ruby Rose would not allow her second bestie a.k.a crush to feel down like that. Jaune Arc was bothering himself with negative emotions. It was about time she makes all those unpleasant feelings disappear.

"You know what, Jaune. You need to relax." The little Rose slightly titled her head. "I can help you with that."

"Thanks, Ruby. Knowing my fellow bestie coming all the way here to visit me is already a big help."

Her lip formed a thin line. Bestie. Right now, that was the way he saw her.

"Besties rules." Jaune had that goofy smile on his face. "Don't you agree?"

"Well, besties were okay."

"Yeah." A pause. "…...were?"

Although she liked to address him with that term, he no longer belonged to that category in her perspective. It became a thing of the past. A girl's heart would change, Jaune had become more than just a bestie in her eyes.

"Yup."

Her other free hand rested on Jaune's grip. Her fingers traced and slowly rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb while he continued to stare at her, waited for the next words.

"Does it hurt if I touch here?" She rolled up the sleeve of his onesie and tapped at the red, boiling skin. "Like this?"

"N-Not really. I still have my Aura but it does nothing to the itchy though, please don't scratch it."

"Alright."

The seat she was sitting on pushed, red cloak spread on her back as Ruby leaned forward. Her strawberry soft lip was dangerously close to his face. She gazed at bewildered blue ocean. The pool of glittering silvers was filled by loving care and the desire to rub the noodle in front of her.

"Jaune." Her cheeks turned a shade of red.

"Y-Yes!?" His face also shifted to the same hue, much darker. It was difficult to distinguish which part of the skin was infected by the poison.

"I know a way to make you feel better." Ruby reached to the ointment on the table. "Using this."

"I….um, I appreciate it, Ruby. But I already-"

"With my hands." She interrupted him. "I'm going to make you feel good."

There was the longest pause in the room. His mouth agape as if he wasn't sure how to process those words. Did she stutter somewhere that makes him confused?

"I want to rub you, Jaune." Ruby stated again. Her voice became clearer and filled with more confidence. "Just lay back and relax your body."

She placed her hands on his shoulder and gently pushed him down. Jaune's back met the bed and head sunk into the pillow, eyes never left the determined look of the little Rose. Not a hint of lust in her voice or action, only the purest intention to help her friend get better.

A small hand carefully lingered on his broad chest and reached the onesie zipper below the neck.

"R-Ruby?"

"Hush. It's okay." Her whisper brushed his burning red ear. "I know what I'm doing."

The zipping noise echoed. She pulled it down to reveal the bare skin of her crush's muscular chest. Silver eyes almost lit in delight as Jaune showed no resistance. His hands gripped the sheet, sapphires observed her closely. He looked so clueless, anxious and shy like a cute little puppy being brought to the vet.

Ruby hopped on the bed, holding the cream and straddling his waist with her legs. Jaune gasped. That boldness caused an emergency reaction, blanket brought up to cover his bare skin.

Ruby was surprised, but she quickly snapped out of shock.

"Jaune, let go!" The girl pulled back the blanket.

"W-Wait, this is…ouch! This is too sudden!"

"Stop moving or you'll be in pain!"

"This doesn't feel right! Ouch! Ouch!" The pain kicked in, he whined.

"See! Now let go of this blanket so I can treat you!"

Jaune wouldn't listen. Both hands still gripped tightly at the blanket and hovered it midair to cover himself. Dust, the stubbornness! What was this dork afraid of!? This was her field of expertise, techniques learned and handed down from the best of the bests! How was she supposed to apply the cream on him in this state!? Jaune was worrying too much!

"Jaune!"

Jaune didn't respond, he inhaled. A sharp breath was gone as quick as the blanket was yanked out of Ruby's grasp in one move. The boy hid beneath it, covered his entire form.

Zip!

Did he just zip back the onesie!?

Mustering the strength in her arm, she hauled the blanket. That effort was in vain as Ruby realized she had to struggle against Jaune, who was above her in term of physical strength.

"Jaune, take it off!"

"I can't! Something is going to pop if we continue this! Let's just calm down, Ruby! This is weird! Things are progressing too fast!"

"Nothing is weird about this. We ought to help each other!"

"Well yeah, but not like this! I don't want us to lose something important without giving it much thought then regret later!"

She couldn't understand. What in the world of Remnant was he talking about?

"Jaune, don't be stubborn! Let me rub you!"

"I can't! This whole thing is…I…..I'm not ready for this! Please give me some time to think over!"

"You don't have to. Me and my rubbing are everything you need!"

"Proper mental preparation matters a lot as they say!"

Ruby frowned. He decided to raise the blanket above her height, creating an impenetrable wall to shield himself. She was on her knees to reach the top of it, but she could never pull the thing down. Jaune kept it sturdy despite his condition. Argh! Why did he have to be such a hard-headed!? She was trying to help him and yet he unreasonably denied her offer!

Fine! If he had to force her hands then so be it!

Jaune gritted his teeth, every part of his body burned with pain. He blamed that poison.

He literally had no idea what was going on.

Too many things happened at the same time and he could hardly keep up with the pacing. First, Zwei appeared out of nowhere under the bed. Then came the unusual confrontation between the corgi and his owner that transpired right before his eyes. And now, Ruby Rose wanted to rub him.

Rub.

He thought about that word.

Did she really mean it? Like, that kind of rubbing? Had she been influenced by something bad? Was its something in Blake's book? Was it because of those erotic literatures called Ninja of Love and the Passionate Howl at Full Moon?

As much as he could understand about his fellow team leader, Ruby was an innocent girl. Perhaps the cutest and purest person on Remnant that he had ever met. There was no way she was into those sorts of things. Maybe this was due to her being social awkward, right? Right!? They said ignorance is bliss!

Rub.

That sounded lewd. WAIT! Jaune, don't think of it like that! Ruby and lewd could never be in the same sentence. That was the rule. Could it be a massage? Yes! Maybe she was referring to this whole thing as a simple massage to help him ease the pain. He could be wrong though….maybe…hopefully.

….NO! BAD! Bad thought! Don't just go and hope for such thing!

Their little scuffle stopped on the girl's end.

Jaune held his breath, waited for any surprised ambush as he continued to hold the blanket over his head. At this point, it became something like humanity's last line of defense against the relentless evil force of vicious Grimm. A full minute eventually passed. No sudden movement came from his fellow team leader. Jaune felt the bed weight shifted. A pair of feet tapped the floor. Did she give up?

He lowered the blanket to check if she had got off. As he expected that, his eyes widened. Ruby was standing on the opposite side of the bed. Her hands took hold the other end of the blanket. Uh-oh! She had a grin full of teeth on her face. The predator's glim in those silver orbs gave him the chill.

"I see an opening!"

Jaune didn't see this coming. Ruby threw the blanket over her head and quickly climbed on the bed. Warning! Warning! Humanity's last line of defense has been breached! Emergency protocol activa-

Squish~.

All thoughts turned blank. Something incredibly soft just touched his leg.

"Ruby, this is a bad idea! You should stop!"

"Nope!" The p was popped somewhere underneath the blanket.

The top of the cover rose up and down with wavy-liked movements. She was forcing her way in. Ruby Rose was determined to get what she wanted.

"Oh?" Abruptly, she stopped. He saw a spot on the blanket raised up and froze like a statue for several seconds. "Hm, must be the innuendo they talked about."

Blood drained from already reddened cheeks. Jaune knew she was staring, very intensely, at something.

"R-Ruby?"

"Don't know why Yang made such a big deal out of this." Ruby muttered to herself. She didn't respond to his shaking voice. Her focus was shifted to somewhere else. "Unbelievable. Everyone keeps acting like juveniles."

He quickly moved, pulling himself up against the wall. Arggh! Dust, the pain! Thankfully, that seemed to snap her out of thought. In no time, a sweet scent tickled his nostril. That small head poked out from underneath the cover to greet him. Beautiful silvers stared into a pair of shocking sapphires at near point-blank gap. The tip of their noses almost touched.

"I got you now!"

She grinned. His breath hitched. A drop of cold sweat glided down from the forehead. Her breath soothed his reddened, boiled skin. By accident, he inhaled her aroma. She smelled like strawberry and Rose, wonderfully intense.

As her hip loosely hung above his stomach, her arms stretched and both hands placed on the wall behind him to support her balance. She let him mesmerize her victorious smirk while he was trapped in place.

"Ruby, I…..we can't-"

"Hush." One finger placed on his trembling mouth. "Now you to listen to me, Jaune. You lay down and let me do the work."

"Shouldn't we talk about this?" He spoke with her finger still lingered on the moving lip. "I mean if this is how you feel, I want to make sure that we are fully aware of the weight of things on our shoulders after this. A-And I need to get approval from Yang o-or maybe even your parents."

Her hand moved, pushed up his lower lip. She stopped him from saying anything further.

"Jaune, you're rambling. They have nothing to do with what I'm doing. This is only between us."

"Well, they have the right to know what's happening." Strong yet shaky hand grabbed hers and pulled away. Jaune softly grunted at the acute pain on his arm. It really hurt. "I'm sorry, Ruby. Not like this."

"Guh!"

A low whimper came from Ruby. Her gazes dropped, and she went silent. She clutched to her chest as if a sharp pain just generated deep within. After a frozen half minute, her whole body slowly sunk into his chest. Her face hid away from view, buried into the fabric of his onesie.

Jaune froze at the sudden development. Oh boy. He wasn't being too harsh to her, was he? It would tear his soul apart to see Ruby saddens because of him.

"Ruby, I…...you know…..." Jaune began to panic as he struggled with his brain to find the right words. "You should know that there's a few steps we shouldn't skip. We can…we can take things slowly."

She didn't budge.

"To be honest, I'm really happy you feel this way. Because it's me of all people." Forgetting the current state of his body, he scratched his head in awkward only to squeeze out a groan as the pain emerged. "I actually, yeah. I feel the same, too. Although it's in a different light. Like…...like a crush. Ever since the…the very first time we met, I…"

His mouth closed shut. He might had rambling a bit too much there.

Out of the corner of his vision, her hands made the slightest movements and pulled the red hood over the dark red tinted hair. To him, it appeared like she retreated into a shell. Poor Jaune had no idea what to do. No, there was one! An idea popped up in his mind. Although he didn't know if that could work well for Ruby, he would have to try.

Jaune took a deep breath, ignored the pain as he moved his body.

In that definite silence, the dork knight decided to act just like how the family name had encouraged him to go this far as a Huntsman-in-training. His arms wrapped around Ruby, hugging the cloak and her body closer to him. His hand rubbed small circles on her back. An Arc's way to provide a sense of comfort.

He felt her jolted up at the contact. That was the first reaction.

Ruby slowly rose from his chest. His limbs immediately dropped to give her some space. He noticed the way her arms moved back and grabbed the hem of her cloak, dragging it to the front from both sides. Ruby lowered her head as she hugged the cloak close to her chest.

Jaune gulped. Oh no!

He recognized this action. She was going to use it! The ultimate weapon. The fearsome signature move that had swayed the hearts of many. Even those who possessed the toughest, ice cold prison of a personality would melt under this expression.

Ruby looked up. Jaune paled at big silvers glistened in tears.

"Please."

Puppy eyes was showed to the world. Precious beam blasted everything in sight. Heartrate dramatically increased. Oh dust! That adorable face! The overwhelming cuteness! Resist! He had to resist!

….don't give in! Don't be swayed! Must…not…...succumb!

"Please, Jaune." She pled, couple of soft sniffs followed. "I just want to help you."

So far, the highest record on Remnant for being able to withstand against this endearing mass of Ruby Rose was 10 minutes. Professor Glynda Goodwitch held the top place, yet even the woman herself didn't have enough mental power to be fully immune.

It was hopeless.

His attempt to endure was futile. He couldn't force himself to look away and ignore that innocent puppy eyes. Humanity's last line of defense officially crashed down. The amount of cuteness thrown in his face was too prominent it made his heart pounding.

"No fair. Using puppy eyes is so not fair."

Jaune leaned back on the bed with a heavy sigh.

He gave up.

Watching Jaune laid back as he shrunk into defeat, a timid smile formed on her lip. Ruby Rose had achieved victory over her crush's stubbornness.

Hah! She knew he would give in. It always worked at one hundred percent capacity. If he hadn't rejected her offer, she wouldn't have to rely on it. The tears were a new addition, an upgrade. Jaune could never put up much of a fight against her ultimate puppy eyes.

The hug was a total surprise, though.

Ruby didn't expect the hug, and she missed being wrapped in his embrace already. It came from out of nowhere after that sharp pain occurred in her chest again. She could feel all the heat radiating from his body. It felt wonderfully good even though her legs were shaking! She hadn't got used to this sensation yet.

Well, that was fine! It was just a little drawback! But there was something else he also said.

…a crush.

Dust! Her heart was fluttering as she recalled it.

Jaune said something about a crush, about feeling happy because she felt the same way. Ruby could feel the burn in her cheeks. Her face would probably carry the same shade as the cloak, she was embarrassed for not listening to every single word. If only that agonizing pain didn't hammer her chest for too long, she could have heard all of it.

However, she was Ruby Rose the prodigy. The proud daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long. Something like this won't be enough to stop her from giving Jaune the best rubbing of his life. Nuh-uh! It gave her a newfound confidence to push things further. Ruby was not going to back out.

"That's it." She peered down at him. "Stay like this and things will go smoothly."

Jaune turned his head to the side. Sapphires closed shut, dared not to lock with captivating silvers that glittered in the shadow of her bangs.

"Please be gentle." He muttered in a shaky voice.

The zip began to pull down.

"Don't worry." Ruby licked her lip, prepared her concentration for the job at hand. Her sweet tone embraced the increasing heartbeats of both. "I'll take good care of you, Jaune."

Ruby popped the ointment, wiping a thin line on her palms and rubbing them together to mix the lotion. Tender, magical hands was ready to spread on the red boiling surface of that muscular chest.

"You don't mind if I sit on your stomach? I need to get into position."

"S-Sure!"

"Thanks."

Weird. Jaune just had the strangest and most exaggerated reaction. He gulped and his mouth opened wide in shock when she sat her butt on his tummy.

"Are you hurt?"

"Yes! N-No! Err, I mean NO! Not really, I'm fine."

Her stocking legs hugged his waist. Ruby took notice of the large built body underneath the onesie. She was surprised just how firm the abs around his stomach were once she sat on top. Pyrrha's training must had did wonder to increase his muscles mass.

Throb!

Urgh! Her chest tightened again. Forget Pyrrha! Focus on Jaune! He was the one she should pay attention to.

"I'll start now."

"Wait!"

Ruby froze. Both hands were mere inches from touching him.

"W-What?"

"My mouth is kinda dried, I need a drink." Jaune reached for the bottle of water on the table, slowly knocking the whole thing before laying down. He let out a faint cry at the pain. "Ouch. Okay, I'm good."

She nodded and moved her hands again.

"Hold up!"

"What?"

"Let me take a deep breath." He did. He took an unusually long time to inhale a good amount of air to his lung. "Okay, all done."

She continued.

"Oh yeah, I just remember something important!" And he suddenly said.

"What now!?"

"I've already applied the lotion this morning."

Huh, not like that would stop her.

"That's not going to be a big deal." She shrugged.

"Also! I need to check a message on my scroll." Jaune steadily reached for the device on the table. "I think it just rings, must be something important."

Wait a minute! In a flash, she snatched the scroll and it landed on the pile of rose petals on the floor.

"Jaune."

"Yes?"

"Are you doubting my ability?" Silvers narrowed in suspicious. Patience ran out. "You don't want my rubbing?"

"N-Nope, what are you talking about?" Sapphires darted away.

"Look into my eyes and say that again."

His respond was a chuckle. The nerve!

"Resign to your fate already!"

Without a warning, slippery palms viciously stroked his chest. Jaune let out a harsh gasp. He bit his lip at the touch, his head pressed and sunk deeper into the pillow. Her touch, it was not in any way sensual. Yet the circumstance, the position, the words and the acts. Those combinations plus the look of a predator and the way she licked that glossy lip were driving his mind crazy.

Ruby never aware of that. She was too busy concerning the state of his body.

The skin was boiling hot. Raw and firm fan-shaped muscles of the pectoralis major grew tense as she rubbed them. She knew he was resisting. Hah! Not for long, her magical hands would make him melt. He would have no choice but to enjoy this rubbing.

Ruby reduced the pace. She needed to break through his Aura and stimulate the feeling of relaxation.

Inhale. Exhale.

"Guhhm!" Jaune whimpered.

A faint light enveloped her hands, she channeled her Aura. Fingers and palms pleasurably skidded on his burning creamy skin like dancers.

Sapphires disappeared behind the eyelids. His arms stayed still on both sides, gripping the bed sheet. She could feel the intense heartbeat through the contact. Jaune was in denial but the pleasure continued to knock down his common sense. A meaningless struggle, he did nothing to stop her.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Ruby gulped. Apparently, she felt the vibration in her chest, too. It drew more blood to her cheeks. She flushed madly at how terrific this situation had become. Everything was in her favor.

"…j…..a…"

Hm? What was that?

"…J…..a.…u…..n…e…..a…..r…."

Letters slipped through gritting teeth. Was he trying to spell his name to distract himself from this wonderful rubbing? He kept on persisting against her magnificent technique? Time to take it up a notch!

Her hands trailed up to his throat, passing the collarbone. She caressed both sides of his neck with light, long and tender strokes. Jaune let out another big gasp. Hearing that broadened her smile. That was the reaction she wanted to see. His shoulders stiffened, those knots over there were needed to be taken care of next. Her hands moved to those joints and apply kneading pressure at a slow pace.

Stealing a glance at his hands, she saw how his grip on the sheet began to loosen and eventually let go. The tension in his arms weakened and went limbed. Yes! It worked! The rubbing was reducing the stress in those muscles to ease his pain!

Shortly after, inflexible hot flesh began to loosen in bliss. Tightly shut sapphires eventually lifted open to reveal a very relaxing look.

"Huh?" He blinked, confused yet appearing to enjoy the feeling. "This is nice."

Jaune gave her a soft smile, Ruby loved that expression. Her magical hands had worked wonder. Mommy would be so proud.

"Having second thoughts?" She grinned.

"I…...well, I…...I just didn't expect the massage. It feels great, actually. You're amazing, Ruby!"

"Yep. And it's going to get even better."

Click!

Both teens flinched at the sudden turn of the doorknob. Two pair of eyes widened at the shocking faces of Yang and Pyrrha. The dynamic duo was also there, witnessing the sight through the door.

"Now that's bold!" Nora whistled, earning a sigh from Ren.

Groan!

Ruby wanted to facepalm herself, she forgot to lock the door. Plastic bags dropped on the floor filled with petals. Yang stood frozen. Her skin turned pale for a bit before quickly regaining composure.

"Okay, everybody Schneeze!" A "Hey!" echoed somewhere in Beacon, no one paid any heel to it. Typical Yang, bad pun came right off the bat. "This is off-limit, you two!"

Lilacs didn't turn red but the urgent voice from big sis spelled warning to them.

"Yaaaang!" Ruby gave her a pout. "Don't interrupt me! I'm rubbing Jaune!"

"She means massage! She just wants to help me!" Jaune rose up only to be pushed down.

"Nuh-uh! You lay down and don't move!"

"Ruby, get off him." Yang approached the bed, staring eyes-to-eyes with her baby sis. "I won't say it again."

"Nope! I'm staying here and I'm going to help Jaune recover using mommy's technique!"

Hearing those words caused the blonde to flinch. All tension in the room dissipated.

"Wait, so you were…?"

"Yep!"

"That whole thing Summer always does with Mom, Uncle Qrow and Dad?"

"Yep!"

"You want to do that to Jaune?"

"Yep!"

"Aww, I see." Yang nodded, smiling a little before she dropped that smile faster than Bumblebee riding down a cliff. "You're still not allowed to touch Vomit Boy, though. Wait until he is fully recovered."

"Uh-Uh. I have every right to look after Jaune."

She reached into one of the bags.

"I bought you some sweets."

Gulp!

Ruby's eyes twitched. Hesitation flooded her mind and body movements. N-Nope! She was not going to fall for that trick again!

"You can't bribe me forever, Yang!"

That didn't mean she won't accept it. It was just a matter of being discreet.

"Wow. You sure are determined this time, huh."

"I made up my mind, you're not going to stop me."

Still sitting on his tummy, Ruby folded her arms, pouting and fiercely stood her ground. No amount of conversation in the world was going to change her thought.

"Oh, I'm not going to stop you." Yang nonchalantly waved her hand. "Somebody else will though."

"And who would that be?"

The zip on Jaune's onesie automatically moved all the way up his neck, covering the exposed skin. Ruby recognized the work of Pyrrha's Semblance in an instance, she shot a hardened gaze toward the redhead.

"I'm sorry!" She awkwardly held her hands up in defense. Standing beside Pyrrha, Yang had a toothy grin as if the whole situation was under her control. All she ever needed was to say the magic words to make it happen.

"Get her, Zwei."

Ruby snapped her head around. A black and white blur made her whole world turn dark.

When she came to, she felt the blood rushing to her head.

Ruby was hanging upside down. She was being hoisted over someone's shoulder. She wiggled in the vice-grip of the person who was carrying her to wherever they wanted her to be.

"Mmhh mhh!"

She couldn't speak, her mouth and vision were covered by a piece of cloth. Probably her cloak, because it had the pleasant smell of strawberry milk. She had tried to wash the cloak with it after all. It was a shame Yang found out and stopped her since she thought it would be a waste of the drink. Well guess what! She didn't feel regret, not a bit. It was totally worth it. Who would have thought that strawberry milk was a multi-purposes product? She planned to use it on Crescent Rose sooner or later.

The creaking sound of the door poked her ears.

"Um, hello. We're here to deliver a Ruby Rose."

"Thank you. Please put her on the bunk bed above mine."

That were Pyrrha and Weiss' voices! She was being carried back to her dorm room.

"Up you go!" Nora's cheerful voice rang next to her ear. She literally lifted up and threw her onto the bed.

"Err, why is Ruby tied up in her own cloak?"

That was a good question, Blake.

"It was Zwei. He did all the work."

Without the need to imagine, she could tell Blake was shivering at the mention of her corgi.

Yes, Zwei the betrayer! She thought burying him in a giant pile of rose petals was enough to defeat him. Now she regretted ever turning her back to him. Those small harmless teeth struck Ruby the moment she let her guard down. How dared he jumped her when she wasn't looking and tied up his owner using her cloak!

Even though he was cute and adorable, Zwei had come a long way to become a battle corgi.

"Are you telling me Zwei also tied that knot right there on her cloak?"

Admittedly, sometimes you have to take a moment to wonder how that was even possible.

"Aww~! Is that so? It's so cute!"

Seriously, Weiss? That was your reaction?

"How can a dog even manage to do these things without opposable thumbs?" She heard a wary sigh from Blake.

Yeah, took the words right out of her concealed mouth. A hundred percent that was the result of Auntie Raven's training and influence.

She heard Pyrrha sent a goodnight to her team.

Not long after the door closed shut as the girls of team JNPR left, light came back to Ruby's world. Blake untied the knots and free her. She could move her hands and feet again.

"I don't suppose you know what you are doing." Weiss had this blank look on her face. She gazed at Ruby from the study desk. "Yang sent us the message. What exactly did you do to Arc in the infirmary?"

"I looked after Jaune."

"That is the responsibility belongs to team JNPR themselves." She stated frankly. "It's not necessarily an obligation for you to require."

"He is my second bestie! I'm worried about him!"

"We all worry about him, Ruby." Said Blake as she sat near the edge of her hanging bunk bed. "But right now, Jaune needs time to recover from the poison. There's nothing we can do about his condition until they found the cure."

"There is! I can help him ease the pain!" Ruby stretched her arms. "Through rubbing! It will make unpleasant things disappear!"

"Rubbing?"

"Yes, rubbing!"

Weiss massaged her temple. She seemed lost while Blake placed a hand on the young reaper's shoulder. Ambers sparkled with interest.

"Can you tell me more about it?"

Weird. What was that expression? It made Ruby feel uneasy. She didn't push any of her buttons by accident, did she?

"Ahem." Her partner coughed into her hand to gain back the attention. "Ruby, I'm not really sure about what kind of strange ideas you are having in your mind. However, in order to help you practice personal safety and take the precaution for future reference, I hereby announce that you are forbidden to touch Arc."

Say what!?

"You do not touch a patient so carelessly without proper equipment, especially when he is infected with a rare type of poison. This may be harsh for me to say but what if you become ill, Ruby. I don't want you to be bedridden or in danger because of what you're planning to do."

Weiss had a point. But still!

"I use creams. It will help! Pyrrha also said it's not contagious!"

"No." The heiress firmly shook her head. "Perhaps, it is not. But there has yet to be a cure for it, I prefer not to see you ignore the risk."

Ruby protested to no avail. Weiss wouldn't be swayed so easily. The little Rose turned to Blake for support and received the same gesture.

"From this day onward and until Arc's condition is improved, we will not let you touch him."

"She can still visit Jaune, right?"

"Yes, Blake. Of course, she can." Weiss nodded at her teammate. "She can visit him but only under our observation. That means no rubbing and no obligation to look after Arc for you, Ruby."

Silvers went wide in pure shock.

"As I was saying. Just because you want to look after him through your whatever unorthodox method, it doesn't help the fact that there's a good change you might end up in the same state due to careless exposure. Your action could cause disastrous affect to this team's performance. Leave Arc to the professionals and his team, they can take good care of him as well."

Ruby blinked as she processed those words. She was not allowed to touch him? She was forbidden to look after Jaune Arc, her crush?

Throb!

There was pain in her chest. Unbearable.

Silvers narrowed and her lip pressed together. NO! No way! This was not fair!

It was like asking Ruby Rose to never eat sweets and cookies for the rest of her life. It was almost like telling Ruby to abandon her precious sniper hybrid riffle-scythe Crescent Rose and use a normal gun instead. Oops, no offense to those who use gun. Ruby just loves her daughter of a weapon more.

Anyway! Her answer to this unfair treatment was a big NO!

"Never." An audible growl from a clenching jaw. Low and determined.

"Oh?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. She kept a neutral expression as if she had already predicted this respond.

"You can't tell me what to do, Weiss. You guys can't force me to ignore Jaune, he is in pain."

"That is the reason why the school staffs and team JNPR will always be there for him."

"I can be there for him, too! I can make all those pains go away!"

She remembered it. The way he smiled softly at her after she managed to make his body relax from all the torturous agony. It worked! Mommy's technique did work like a cure!

"Wow, you are persistent today." Blake commented from the side.

"I know what I want." Her arms folded, sending a challenging glare toward her teammates. "If I want something really badly, I will stop only when I finally have it."

She jumped off the bed and stood face to face with Weiss.

"And there's nothing you can do to stop me from getting what I want. Not even Yang or Pyrrha."

Weiss didn't falter at the bold declaration. Icy blues stared straight into silvers as if leveling a glare on the girl, never blinking.

"Well, I supposed. You are determined. This kind of personality is part of what made you the team leader after all. I can respect that."

Surprisingly, her eyes softened. A thin smile formed on what should have been a frowning curve. That caught Ruby off guard. She didn't expect to hear a compliment from Weiss of all people in this particular situation.

"Does that means you will let me go?"

"You said I can't stop you. It may be true."

She turned to Blake, who was already in her bed, and received a nonchalant shrug as the Faunus girl was busy reading one of her books.

…okay, that was easy?

Almost too easy. Ruby wasn't sure how to proceed, she didn't even try to persuade them. She just out right rejected the absurd idea and they actually went along with that. Oh well! Whatever. They won't stop her now. She could take this chance to go see Jaune and give him another rubbing again.

"Thank you, Weiss. You really are my number one bestie."

"Mm."

Ruby gave her bestie a hug. Weiss just rolled her eyes at the gesture, but she gave her a gentle pat on the back. Ruby knew her partner would wholeheartedly accept it either way. The little Rose happily tip-toed toward the door. The moment she grabbed the knob, her whole body froze at a sudden notice.

A faint aroma floated around the air as it hit her nose. The smell was awfully familiar. It smelled like…..

"Oh no, dear oh dear. What am I going to do with this delicious batch of cookies now?"

Said item was wrapped in golden ribbons. Weiss raised her voice like a damsel in distress as she waved it in front of Ruby's eyes.

"I bought it by accident today." Resting the back of a hand on her forehead, the heiress was feeling troubled. "It looks so enticing behind the mirror inside the most famous baking store in Vale."

Her feet gracefully spun toward Yang's partner.

"Do please give a sniff of the content inside, Blake."

Blake lowered her book and did as told. The ears hidden by the black bow flapped repeatedly.

"What do you think of the smell? Is it wonderful?"

"My goodness, it smells great." They shared a smile. "Do you mind if I take one?"

"As you wish."

The batch opened. Two chocolate chip cookies were taken out.

"Wow, it's so warm. I can still feel the heat at the tip of my finger. As if these were fresh-out-of-the-oven." Intentional emphasis echoed loud and clear.

Ruby stood dumbfound while her two friends took a bite for the taste and moaned in pure happiness. Yes. She could tell just by looking, the taste must had been godly.

"This is truly the best cookie made by a world-class recipe and high-quality ingredients. Beat butter, brown and white sugar mixing together with creamy vanilla. Combining flour and special milk that can only be found from a small region in Mistral. Then, add some chocolate chips. Such perfection!" Weiss approached the girl with slow and steady steps as she took out another piece, holding it in front of her like bait. "So perfect you can't deny it."

Gulp!

The temptation was real. The inside of Ruby's mouth was watering, she swallowed hard. Inner instinct screamed at her to take it. Weiss retracted and put the cookie in her mouth before the girl could reach it. The heiress moved to her desk as she pleasurably chewed in the shocking face of the young partner.

"Unfortunately, this is the limited edition. They only make it once every month. I managed to buy the rest and the remains are inside the drawer of my desk." It opened, showing three luxurious items inside. But Weiss continued to shake her head. "But then again, I don't think I can eat it all. I will have to give them away."

"Weiss…..I….."

"If only someone is willing to listen to me and agree to the deal until a certain friend of her recuperates, I will consider giving all of my cookies to her."

Gasp!

It was a fraud, she finally realized. It was a nefarious scheme came up by the evil heiress to separate Ruby from her crush. Hah! She almost got her there!

"Nope, I'm going."

Ruby turned around and opened the door. Too bad, Weiss! She wouldn't fall for such thing. Never again. Nope!

"Do you perhaps want a taste?"

Her legs froze, movements halted halfway in the corridor. Ruby glanced over her shoulder to see her partner waving a piece of chocolate cookie around. Hm, tempting. But NOPE! Pretty sure a world-class recipe tastes nothing like mommy and Jaune's home-made cookies. Oh, and she loves strawberry more than chocolate anyway! Thank you very much!

"You are drooling, dearest partner. I see you are trying to endure the inevitable temptation."

What? Oh! No wonder something wet was dripping around the jaw. N-Nope! She was not going to fall for it! She must resist! A distraction, she needed a distraction! She needed Jaune Arc! She had to see him! Jaune is more important than this!

The crunchy sound grabbed her hearing. Weiss slipped another cookie to her mouth, Blake also had one.

"Goodness gracious, this is good. Isn't that right, Blake?"

"I couldn't agree more."

Briefly, Ruby groaned. The smell and the chewing sound frustrated her. Those two were teaming up against their leader. Why were they doing this to her!? How could they use her favorite foods to lure in the poor girl!? Where was the respect!? How wicked and villainous!

….guguh….cookies.

One of her hand desperately reached out toward Weiss, she panicked and pulled it back.

Be strong, Ruby Rose!

All she had to do was mustering the will and using her Speed to flee. She knew she could get away from them in a blink of an eye. And yet, why wouldn't her legs budge!? She already stood in the hallway! That was it, she just had to close the door!

As Ruby attempted to do so, a pale hand caught her wrist.

"What's the matter, Ruby Rose?" She startled. Weiss saw through her intention. "Don't you want one?"

She was so close to her. That cookie was so close to her!

Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope! Please don't do this to her, Weiss! She is already on edge, don't push her! Don't push the poor, defenseless Ruby off the cliff!

"I am sure you know which benefits you the most." The evil heiress whispered. "You want these cookies. And I can't stop you from taking it, Ruby. But once you take it, you will have to listen to your teammates. Unconditionally."

That last part was a stress. Her partner meant business, actual serious business. Ruby saw the point of no return. If she stepped through it, no more rubbing Jaune.

"You two, big meanies." Her voice shook.

"It is for your own good." Weiss scoffed. "Now, what's it going to be?"

"I choose Jaune!" Ruby declared as she gathered all the courage in her petite body.

"Is that so?" She released her arm and walked away. "Fair enough."

The young girl let out a sigh in relief. Weiss seemed to have given up.

Thumb!

"Oh no! I slipped my foot and those cookies are going to land into the trash can which is conveniently placed right in front of me!"

Not on her watch! Rose petals spread in the air, she launched past her. Ruby caught the item within the span of a second. Phew, that was dangerous!

"Weiss! Be careful with these!" She whined. Cheeks pouted cutely. "Cookies are fragile, you know. They're precious!"

Nom nom nom!

Hands on her hip, Weiss gave her a smug look.

Nom nom nom!

Even Blake lowered the book again and smiled at her. Was there something on her face?

Nom nom…nom?

Crispy noises came from somewhere. Ruby glanced down, at her hand. The batch was opened, her other hand reached into it and grabbed tone of chocolate cookies. Uh-oh, she was about to put it in her mouth. No, she already did. Tasted good! Nowhere near Jaune and mommy's cook though.

Sigh.

She fell for it. Ruby hugged her head, petrified. Weiss did that on purpose and she fell for it! Her instinct took over without knowing.

"No, no! Oh Dust, NO!"

"Yes, yes! Oh Dust, YES! Congratulation, you have fallen into my trap!" Weiss snorted, delight by the result. "It was so easy to manipulate you thanks to your unhealthy obsession with cookies."

She disagreed. It was not an obsession if you called it favorite food!

"Weissss, come on! You tricked me! This doesn't count!"

"You won't get your way out of this deal, Ruby. Show your responsibility as our team leader."

Ruby couldn't counter that. She nodded slowly while staring at the ground. She placed the batch on the side before reaching for the cloak on her back.

"Ah! Don't use your puppy eyes on me." Weiss pointed a finger at her. "It won't change anything."

The young partner immediately let go, pouting.

"Fine. There are plenty of chances for me to help Jaune anyway."

"Sure, we shall see about that." Weiss shrugged at her words.

Mumbling under her breath, the girl stood up while holding her favorite food.

"This isn't over, Weiss. It's only temporary. You guys can't stop me." Squeaked Ruby as she munched another cookie. "I will get what I want. I mean it!"

"Whatever you say." Blake replied, deadpanned. "Thanks for the cookies, by the way."

"Likewise, thank you for being my collaborator."

Ruby Rose grumbled adorably as the two friends did a high-five. She climbed back on her bunk bed. Noticing fragments of chocolate chip lingered on her lip, she licked all of it in one go.

The little Rose clutched her chest as she recalled back to that moment.

The way he smiled at her when she gave him the rubbing, when she reduced the stress in his body. She wanted to see that expression again. She loved how her heart beat so fast in a rush of adrenaline while she stroked his skin, making him gasp in bliss and relax. Hm? For someone reason, that sounded...weird?

….wait for me, Jaune.

There was no way she would give up on helping him. She would try harder. She would put in more effort to ease his pain.

Ruby Rose will never give up on what she wants.

Never.

/

Author's Note: I thought back to the idea that popped into my head and reread what I wrote. It sounds funny in my head but I feel like I want to facepalm myself.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading. Take care!