You know, it's funny. After years of studying, of dreaming, struggling, sweating, bleeding, crying, it all still feels the same. Years of training to be a Huntsman, a hero to the common folk, and just as I graduate, I get told to sit down and wait some more because the Agencies are too backed up... What a sick joke.

I chuckled hollowly to myself as I felt the freezing winter breeze hit my face, the cold feeling like several tiny daggers slashing across my face. I couldn't help but shiver as I marched against the freezing wind, the sounds of cars going by and people chatting among themselves as they walked around the streets being all that I could hear.

As I trudged back home, I couldn't help but look down at the paper in my hand once more, a single word on it being the only thing that catches my attention, a word written in a Bold Red font reading 'Rejected'. I let out a sigh as I crumpled the paper and stuffed it into my coat pocket, "Man, I just can't catch a break." I mutter to myself as I turn a corner.

I can only shake my head as I walk, "Going to the DMV took less time than getting registered with Huntsman agencies." I snidely remark under my breath before leaning against a building and pulling a stick out of my pocket, along with a lighter. I calmly put the stick in my mouth and bring my lighter up, sparking it with one hand, covering it with the other.

With a puff, I can feel all of my worries drift away like a leaf in the breeze, my shoulders sagging as I blow out the smoke from the side of my mouth. I calmly pull the stick out of my mouth and just watch cars go by under the pinkish sky, simply enjoying the view for a moment before flicking the stick and putting it out, "Okay, that's enough of that for now, don't want to go home smelling like smoke." I mutter to myself as I stuff the stick back in my pocket, along with my lighter.

With that, I push myself off the wall and go to make my way home, only for my eyes to wander for a moment, and across the street I spot a little convenience store. I let out a little hum as I stare across the road, and with a shrug, I make my way across the crosswalk and walk into the convenience store.

As I pull open the door, I can hear a little ding as I pass through, instantly finding myself staring at a fully stocked shelf of assorted goodies, from chips to sweets lining the shelf. If I were a weaker man, I would have considered buying a lot of these snacks. But oh no, I am no weak man. So anyway, I started picking things from the shelf.

Nothing too crazy mind you, just a little bag of chips and some cookies, along with a couple of packs of instant noodles, but not the cups! Those are basic. I can't help but almost yawn as I feel the day's fatigue kick in, "Man, I've really got to hurry up, don't want to be home after dark." I mutter to myself as I start grabbing the simple necessities.

With what I need in tow, I make my way over to the register and place my items in front of them, and after scanning them, I can hear them ask, "Will you be paying with cash or card?"

As I wrestle my wallet out of my pocket, I say, "Cash." and manage to yank out my wallet from whatever different realm it may have dwelled in.

I open up my wallet and… Well, that's a lot less money than I thought I had. As I look up to the register, I see that I've got just enough to pay for what I need, but that's kind of the problem. I let out a breath as I pull out the last of my lien and hand it off to the lady behind the register, and I can feel my soul just drift away.

Oh well, what are you going to do? With that, I take the little change I get back and with a plastic bag in hand, I make my way home. I really hope she doesn't try and chew me out for being a little late.

After a bit of time, I finally manage to make it back home, to a small apartment building that's out of the way, which is kind of a pain, sure, but at least it's cheap enough for me to get by, so there's that.

So, I make my way into the apartment building, and it doesn't take too long to get to my apartment, since it's on the first floor. I got a good deal, so I figured I might as well take it. After a moment of fumbling around my pockets for my keys, I finally manage to dig them out and open my door.

As I make my way through the door, I kick off my boots and leave them at the side of the door. I can feel an invisible weight come off of my shoulders as I shut the door behind me, like I just don't have to care anymore.

I quietly trudge over to my couch, setting the plastic bag on the coffee table in front of it before flopping onto said couch. I let out a sigh of relief as my face rests against the strangely comfortable couch, but as I rest, I look out the window, seeing that I'm just on time. As I stare out of the window, I watch as the snow storm starts to kick off properly, snowflakes so big that you could almost mistake them for chicken feathers coating the city in a thin white coat.

There's something so soothing about watching the snow just fall, the sky being a lovely purple-ish color, in contrast from how it looked about half an hour ago. But then, I hear the sound of a door clicking and swinging open, followed by the sounds of thudding feet before finally feeling something land on my back. Not quite heavy, but there's some weight.

I can't help but chuckle as I look over my shoulder, finding myself staring into a pair of silver eyes, "Hello, Ruby." I drone out with a playfully unenthused tone.

I can feel one of her arms slink around my neck, a smile stretching across her face, "Hey Jaune," I can hear her say as lays across my back, but I can see her eyes trail towards the plastic bag sitting on the coffee table, "So… did you get me anything?" I can hear her ask, trying to sound innocent.

I can't help but roll my eyes at that, "Yes Ruby, I got you something. But uh, I had to buy something cheap." I say, rubbing the back of my head with a grimace.

I can feel Ruby slide off my back and onto her feet, and can hear the sound of plastic shuffling, before hearing Ruby let out a squeal, and I can't help but laugh as I look at Ruby holding a bag of cookies closely to her chest, "Thank you, I was starting to go through withdrawals!"

With a groan, I push myself into a seated position on the couch and wave her off, "It's nothing, forget about it."

I can hear her hum as she pushes the bag aside and sits on the coffee table, "Right, well how'd the interview go? Did you get in?" I can hear her ask, a twinkle of hope in her eyes.

A bitter taste washes over my mouth as I fish out the crumpled piece of paper from my jacket pocket, only to then toss it to Ruby. I can see her eyebrows furrow a bit as a sad frown makes its way onto her face, and as she unfolds the paper, I can see her look back up at me with sad eyes, "Jaune, I am so sorry."

With a sigh, I rub my eyes with my thumb and first two fingers, "It's whatever, Ruby, I'll just try again in a month or so. Guess that means I'll just have to keep working at that God-forsaken barbeque joint for a little longer." I mutter the last part to myself, and I find myself staring at my feet.

Without a word, I can hear Ruby sit next to me, and I can feel her arms slink around my neck and pull my head to her chest. I can't help but smile a bit as I feel Ruby stroke the top of my head. "You know, if someone else saw this, they might get a funny idea." I can't help but tease.

At that, I can feel Ruby shrug, "I couldn't call you one of my best friends if someone didn't get the wrong idea about us." I hear her playfully say, and at that I laugh.

For a moment, I want to wrestle my head out of her grip, but for some reason, I just can't bring myself to do it, "Ruby stop, I'm falling asleep here." I manage to force out before yawning.

I can hear Ruby giggle to herself as she continues to stroke my head, "Aw, you're like a little puppy. Adorable."

"Little? Ruby, I'm twice your size, and you're in a whole different weight category."

"Pfft, that wouldn't stop me from kicking your butt." I can hear her say, and I can't stop myself from quirking a brow.

"...Is that right?"

In one swift movement, I tear my head from her grip and pull her legs onto the couch, leaving her on her back and with me hovering above her. But then, I can see her pupils become pinpoint as the blood drains from her face, and as I raise my hands, I can hear her yell, "Jaune, no!"

"Jaune, yes!"

With that, I commence my assault, poking and prodding at her ribs, and I can hear Ruby scream bloody murder as her laughter fills the air. But the fun quickly comes to an end as I feel Ruby's knee hit my manhood.

I can feel time stop as I can feel the pain shoot through my body, and all I can do is keel over and grit my teeth. With that, I can feel myself fall off of the couch, only for me to hit my head on the coffee table, "Son of a bitch!" I can't help but yell as I writhe on the floor in pain.

"Jaune, I'm so sorry!"

I can't help but almost cry as I hold on to my poor boy, "Look at how they massacred my boy." I mutter to myself in pain.

From the floor, I can see Ruby almost panicking from the couch, "Uh… I know! Do you want me to rub it to make it feel better?"

I can feel the world come to a standstill, I'm on the verge of throwing up, I'm sweating, I'm nearly crying, but all of that is put to the side as I finally manage to process what Ruby just said, "Ruby, I want you to say that again, but slower."

I watch as her eyes dart to and fro, before finally coming upon some sort of conclusion, "Oh, no, I meant your forehead not your, uh, other- you know, you made me feel really weird."

"Hey, you said it, not me."

"Well stop taking what I say out of context."

"What do you mean 'out of context'? You're the one who made it sound weird."

I can see her start to get a little annoyed as she reaches for one of the cushions on the couch before throwing it at me, hitting me in the chest, "Just shut up and go make dinner."

I can't help but rub my aching head as I force myself onto my feet, "Alright, alright, but I hope this isn't a bad time to say that I'm making noodles for dinner." I say, and with that said, I make my way to the little kitchen area.

But as I walk away, I can hear Ruby snicker to herself before muttering, "Heh, noodle."

At that, I roll my eyes as I make my way to the kitchen area with the plastic bag in tow before emptying its contents onto the countertop. Oh yeah, I forgot I bought chips. Eh, I'll save them for later. I push the chips aside and pull out an empty pot from underneath the countertop.

I calmly make my way over to the sink and fill the bowl to just about halfway and make my way over to the stove. With some care, I set the pot on the power burner and set it to light high, leaving the water to boil, "Alright, now then, what's next?" I mutter to myself as I tap my chin with a finger.

My eyes wander to the packs of noodles, and I can't help but cringe as I think about the flavorless seasoning packets. You know what, forget the packets, I'm going to get a little more creative. With a little extra stride in my step, I make my way over to the fridge and dig around for whatever I can use to make these noodles taste like something.

Alright, what have we got? Uh, I mean there's some carrots here and there, a bit of celery, and not much else that could go in a broth. Maybe some onions? Yeah, those will do.

With that in mind, I pull out some celery, a few carrots, and half an onion, setting them on the countertop. Although, as I turn to pull out a cutting board from a drawer, I can see Ruby sitting at the table, her chin in her hands, which are propped up by said table. "Oh ignore me, I'm just enjoying the show." I can hear Ruby say with a grin on her face.

I shrug as I pull open a drawer and pull out the cutting board, "Not much of a show if you ask me." I say as I turn around and set the cutting board on the countertop.

"Maybe, but between the two of us, you know how to cook more than I do, so to me, just about everything you do in the kitchen is interesting." I can hear Ruby say behind me, and I can't help but almost feel embarrassed.

I laugh as I pull open yet another drawer and grab out a knife, "Well then, I'll try my hardest so as to entertain." I jokingly say as I put the onion on the cutting board and carefully begin cutting away.

Although, as I start cutting away at the onions, I can hear the water in the pot begin to boil, so I lower the fire to medium, just so that I've got more time to cut up this onion. And so, after a moment I manage to turn maybe half of the already cut onion into nice thin, curved strips.

For a second, I contemplate on whether or not I should even bother cutting it further, but honestly, I don't think I'll need to. After all, it's only going in to give the broth some flavor, not like it's going to stay. With that in mind, I raise the cutting board over the pot and push the cut onions into the boiling water.

"You know, when you said you were making noodles, I figured you meant you were going to make instant noodles, rather than just use the pasta and make your own broth." I can hear Ruby say from the table, probably messing with her scroll or something.

I find myself shrugging again, "What can I say, I've gotten tired of instant noodles and wanted to try something else."

"So, you're just gonna make normal noodles instead of instant?" I can hear Ruby say, and for a moment, I pause.

"...Huh, I guess so." I say, and after a quick second, I laugh to myself as I bring a hand to my face, man, am I an idiot or what?

And so, after a bit of a laugh, I throw the celery and carrots into the pot, and now we wait for the flavors to just intermingle for a bit. I let out a breath as I set the knife I've been holding in the sink, since I won't be needing it anymore and raise my arm above my head with a stretch.

My body now more relaxed than before, I turn around and lean against the countertop, but away from the stove so as to not burn myself. But now looking back, I can see that Ruby was just staring at me cook the whole time, and she still is, "What, is there something on my face?" I can't help but joke as I cross my eyes.

I can hear Ruby snicker, "Yeah, you've got the word 'dork' written all over. You might want to wash it off before you start eating." I can hear Ruby quip back, and I can only laugh.

"You know, coming from you that doesn't mean too much." I say as I cross my arms, a smile on my face.

I can see Ruby sit a little straighter as one of her eyebrows shoot up, "And what's that supposed to mean?" I can hear her ask, and at that I shrug.

"I mean, you're more of a dork than I can ever be."

"What..? How?"

"Well, for starters, you're a massive gun nut, you eat sweets more than you do actual food, you read more comics than you read actual books-"

"Comics are books!" I hear her interrupt, and I can only roll my eyes in response.

"Ruby, as much as I like comics, even I know that they aren't books."

I can see cheeks puff into a pout, and I can only roll my eyes again, "Ruby, you're 20 now, that trick doesn't work anymore." I lie through my teeth, and I can see her visibly deflate.

"Ugh, I know, don't remind me. Why do I have to be a grown up now? I want to go back to being 15 and cute, where I didn't have to do any adult stuff like working, and taxes and stuff." I can hear Ruby say as she lays her head against the table.

At that, I chuckle as I push myself off of the counter and make my way over to the table, rubbing the top of her head, "There there, no one ever said you weren't cute, you're just no longer cute enough to con anyone." I lie again, only to hear her whimper in response.

"And that's the worst part! I've lost my advantage, I can no longer make suckers like you do my homework by just asking." I can hear her say.

At that, I furrow my brows, "Hey, first off, I'm no sucker, second off, you never asked, you would just copy my answers, which by the way weren't very accurate."

"So that's why my Grimm Studies Grade was never over a 70." I can hear Ruby say, as if she's just figuring out an age old question.

"Incredible, I know." I dryly remark before shaking my head, "Okay, I'm going to get back to cooking dinner now." I say, and I can feel Ruby swat my hand away from her head as I go to step away.

After roughly ten minutes, I finally finished preparing dinner, perfecting the broth and prepping the noodles just right, but while I was doing that, Ruby had taken it upon herself to make some sort of salad. Something to do with not enough vegetables, which felt sort of out of character for her.

Maybe she thought she was gaining weight? I can't help but look out of the corner of my eye to look at Ruby while she finishes up making the salad, and I can't help but notice that she's, well, gained weight in all of the right- wait no. That's a bad line of thought, it'll only end up making me feel weird.

But I'll say this much, she's definitely changed since we first met. Sure, she'll still act like a bit of a kid here and there, but by no means is she a child, nor does she have the proportions of one either- stop, no. Stop thinking with your other head, nut for brains.

I don't know, maybe it's just the fatigue talking, it'll probably blow over. Or maybe I got a concussion from falling head first onto the table? I mean, that's totally probable, right?

Well, the point is that we've both had a chance to grow up, I guess. I don't know, it still feels like we're kids, just older, and with more responsibilities. You know, thinking about it, it actually sounds like we're not that much like kids anymore. Well, that sucks.

Oh well, what are you going to do? Not like time waits for anyone. And so, with the noodles ready, I set two ceramic bowls on the table on opposite ends of the small, two-person table. It doesn't take long for Ruby to follow suit and set a bowl of salad on the table, and with that we both take our seats.

With that, we spent what felt like ages, just talking and eating, conversing about just anything that came to mind, from just the daily events we've had to Ruby's wild imagination of flamethrower bears. To that, I promptly responded to her wild claims with 'Machine Gun Sharks', and to put it quite bluntly, dinner was great. And the food wasn't half bad either.

After dinner, our conversation kept moving as we both ended up doing the dishes together before putting the leftovers away, no words regarding either the dishes or leftovers being spoken. And so, with all of that done, I went and grabbed some spare clothes, caught a quick shower and hopped into some comfier clothing, some baggy pajama pants and a plain t-shirt.

Ruby had ended up following suit, grabbing her own spare clothes and taking a shower after I got out. So, I simply lounged around the livingroom for a bit, flicking through channels at random until I found something somewhat interesting. Not that there was ever anything interesting on Cable anymore that wasn't something like a free movie.

But as I was flicking through the channels on the TV, I could hear the bathroom door click open behind me, and I couldn't help but turn around and motion to wave, only to stop mid motion as I process the sight.

As I look back, I can see Ruby step out of the bathroom wearing a baggy t-shirt that just hugs the right places, and wearing a pair of baggy shorts and- "Wait a second, is that one of my shirts?" I let slip out, whoops.

I can see her look down at the shirt as she gazes at the beautiful design of Pumpkin Pete, "Huh, I guess it is? Sorry, just kinda grabbed one out of the pile." I can hear her say, almost embarrassed.

I can't help but smirk to myself, "Wow Ruby, you've already stolen my shirt, what next?" I jokingly say with a wave of the hand.

I can hear her snicker as she puts a hand on her hip, "Your last name, just you wait." I hear her- wait what?

I watch as her playful grin falls from her face as she seems to realize what she's just said, even I'm finding it hard to believe what she's just said, and I can almost feel the steam come off of the top of my head.

"I uh… I didn't mean to say that out loud." I hear her say, her face somewhat flushed in embarrassment.

For a moment, I find myself trying to fumble around my head for some sort of cohesive response, but for the life of me, I just can't find anything that seems to just, I don't know, shrug it off, I guess?

"Ahah, I uh, I think you're missing a couple of steps there, Rubes." I say, only to mentally punch myself, 'Rubes' oh I'm making this worse. I haven't called her Rubes since our Beacon days.

I can see Ruby sort of look to the side before sheepishly responding, "I mean, do you think we should, I don't know, try those steps?" I can hear Ruby ask, each word quieter than the last, the apprehension in her voice being very clear.

For the third time today, I can feel the world just stop, I… What am I supposed to do in this situation? My brain's going a mile a minute, I don't know how to date someone! I like things as they are now, just enjoying each other's company, talking about our days, cooking together, cleaning together, watching movies together, living together- wait.

"Wait, have we been dating?" I ask out loud, and I can see Ruby break out of whatever stupor she was in.

"Wh-what? No, we couldn't have been-" I hear her cut herself off, the same realization dawning upon her, "Oh my God we've been dating each other… Jaune, what do we do?! What do I tell my Dad?! Oh God, what do I tell Yang?!"

I can feel panic come over, "Don't! For all that is my life, don't!" I can't help but yell as I nearly tumble off of the couch in panic.

"Oh god, what about the kids?!"

"The what?!"

"Sorry, I'm still in shock." I can hear her say as she slides down the closed bathroom door, her hands on her head.

You know, I can really relate to that. I force myself off of the couch and onto my feet and, as if I was treading on a minefield, I make my way over to Ruby as slowly as I possibly can before sitting next to her against the door.

For a moment, we both just sit there, quietly enjoying each other's company, but I decide to break the silence, "I mean, hypothetically speaking, would it be weird for me to say that I honestly don't really mind?" I hesitantly ask, it sort of feels as though we're both just trying our best to not step on any land mines.

I can see her look up at me, a feeling of uncertainty resting in my stomach. "Well, hypothetically speaking, would it be weird for me to say that I don't mind either?" I hear Ruby ask, and at that, I can't help but chuckle.

I almost burst into laughter as a dopey grin makes its way onto my way, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting this sort of event from a day that was just filled with, and pardon my french, shit moments. It's far from bad, I'll say that much.

For a while, Ruby and I just sit against the bathroom door, enjoying the quiet, and I can feel Ruby's head rest against my shoulder, making me feel, I dunno, kinda relieved I guess? It's weird, it's like I've got this weird feeling in my stomach, like there's butterflies, as cliche as it sounds.

But as I sit there thinking to myself, I can feel something prod at my cheek, and as I look out of the corner of my eye, I can see that it's just Ruby poking at my cheek, and I only manage to quirk a brow.

"Well, uh, if you're so okay with it, why not make it… I dunno, Official?"

It doesn't take me long to come up with some sort of response, "Honestly? That... doesn't sound so bad. But how do you plan on making it official?"

For a moment, I can see Ruby's eyes dart back and forth, as if she were looking for some sort of answer, before coming to some kind of conclusion. With a small smile on her face, I can see her wave me down, as if to whisper something, and I can only chuckle to myself as I oblige.

But to my surprise, I can feel something soft quickly hit my cheek, and as I look at Ruby with my eyes wide, I can see here smiling, "Good enough?"

I can only wordlessly nod at that, because now it was my turn to be shocked, I think? Well whatever, "Right, well I think it's about time we packed it in and called it a night, how about you?"

I can hear Ruby yawn in response as she rubs her eyes, "Yeah, because as nice as today is, it's also been tiring." I hear her say as she goes to stand up, and I quickly follow suit. With that, we both made our way to the bedroom to call it a night.

As we step inside the bedroom, I can feel the soft carpeted floor touch my feet, and it's pretty fantastic. Both Ruby and I have our own respective set up opposite corners of the room, our own bed, nightstand, etcetera. It's a cozy little room, but there's one fatal flaw with it.

You see, there's no heater, so it tends to get pretty cold in the winter, but that's nothing a blanket or two can't fix. And so, with a bit of a chill, I hop into my own bed and can feel all of the day's fatigue hit me at once, and I can feel my eyelids become heavier by the second.

But as I can feel sleep's sweet embrace take me, I find myself in an ever expanding field of wheat, the sky a lovely blue, and for some reason it smells like strawberries. And then I can feel something touch my chest, tearing me from my dream, and then the smell of Strawberries makes a lot more sense.

As I look down, I can see Ruby staring up at me, "I uh, I got cold." I can hear her say, a meek smile on her face, but honestly, I don't mind. After all, it's not the first time she's done this or anything- Wow, it's not the first time she's done this.

I don't really say anything, I just wrap my arms around her small frame, pull her head to my chest and let sleep take me once more.

This is a thing best friends do, right..?

Mah heart, muh soul. After almost a full year of indulging myself in stupid cutesy Slice-of-life Hentai Doujins, I thought to myself, "Man, fuck all this edge shit, I wanna write some cute shit." And then I did. Now, should I continue, let me know.

Now, go away, shoo, you're not allowed to see my heart implode. But uh, feel free to review and all that fun stuff.

You thought you were gonna get away from it, weren't you? But seriously, you should drop by, we have fun being a group of mild autists, like a big, dysfunctional family.

Muh Discord: /weyEDAm