9

"It burns!" The others watched as Ruby writhed on the ground making a show of her disgust earning a roll of her sister's eyes.

"Geez sis, tell me how you really feel…"

"I mean she did just have to see her big sister naked…" The blonde brawler rolled her eyes at her partners retort.

"Please me and sis have bathed together before she's just being a drama queen is all." Ruby shot up indignant.

"Am not, your just nasty Yang!"

"Why you little!" Shooting forward the brawler grabbed her little sister into a hold noogying her head.

"Ow! Drunkle! Drunkle!" Weiss rose a brow.

"Don't you mean uncle?"

"I know what I said! Yang stop!" With a chuckle she ceased her bullying… and not a second later did Ruby tackle her.

"Whoa hey! Watch the hair!" The others watched notable more calm then they'd been after the last viewing… Then again Yang had only been a jerk in this one. Jinn decided to speak up then.

"Well would you rather continue this or can I move on to the next view."

The sooner you lot leave the better…

"Will it be another one where my partner acts out again?"

"…" Blake's eyes narrowed.

"I know you can hear me!"

"Jaune did you hear something?"

"Grr!" Trying not to chuckle at what was quickly becoming a regular exchange Pyrrha looked to Jinn who signed at the Spartan not asking a stupid question like she'd hoped.

"Hmph, fine unto the next" With more then a bit of pleasure she picked up one of the spherical views into the multiverse, enjoying her original forms ease at which she could manipulate it and crushed it between her fingers. A faint frown showed on her features though at the view they'd be watching because while she didn't like seeing her blonde with other women this specific one hit a tad to close to home for her liking.

"Um everything alright Mrs. Jinn?" she tore her gaze off the little reaper reminding herself this and her Jaune were different. She looked away from the view deciding her time would be better spent cuddling her Arc above the lot of them.

Jam By Imyoshi

"That's a 'Interesting' name for a universe?"

"Renny I'm hungry! I demand pancakes!"

"'sigh' Nora you can make pancakes here…"

"It's not the same!"

"Please sign right here."

Jaune Arc tilted his head at the stack of papers shoved into his hands by a persisted Ruby Rose.

His back was pressed to the wall as she stood before him in all her five-foot-two glory. She balanced on the soles of her boots to appear taller. Maybe an intimidation tactic? A failed one since he had to look down to greet her. Blinking, he read over the title at least four times before concluding that this wasn't a practical joke. Not with the way her cheeks puffed out in anticipation.

What in the world? A Friendship Contract?

'Pfft!'

Cheeks reddened as she heard her teammates and friends struggling against laughter.

"Sh-shut up!" Neo on the other hand pointed and mocked, holding her gut in laughter at the scene.

Right there in bold black-and-white was a contract to define their friendship. Bullet-pointed, outlined, double-spaced front and back, a header, the works! Someone spent a lot of time on this.

Weiss stared slightly annoyed, if the dolt would put half that time in her actual homework she might actually not need her to help to study.

He mindlessly flipped through the pages. Paragraph after paragraph, subsections and vice-versa greeted him. All of it very well organized considering it came from Ruby of all people. When he finished inspecting the contract, after pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, he looked down at the gazing cinnamon roll with thinned lips.

Uh?

No wonder Ruby was an anti-social butterfly. Yang's words, not his. Friendships did not need contracts. Legally binding pieces of paper of what to do and not to do as friends shouldn't be a thing or sign by any clear-thinking individual. Sadly Jaune Arc must live under a rock because he signed the darn thing anyway. Must of had something to do with her puppy dog eyes peeking over the edge of the parchment as he read over it. Melted his resolve like a stick of butter.

"I'm concerned that he didn't read the contract over…"

"Well it is Ruby, how bad could it be?" Ren looked to Pyrrha feeling she'd set a flag of sorts with her words.

Judging by the way she had this color-coded and ready for him the week after initiation, she must have had this thing laying around for some time. Which begged the question if everyone else signed the contract? Too bad he couldn't ask anyone since she cornered him in the hallway, right after a gruesome study session with Pyrrha and her need to be one-hundred and ten percent on academics. A mathematical impossibility, but he wasn't opening up that can of worms around his partner. Either way, too late to complain now. Best hold his head up high and play along.

So what if he signed this contract?

What was the worst that could happen?

The members of RWBY blinked looking at one another.

"Well guess this is the big difference in this world huh?"

"You know it, if Rubes had tried to have you sign something like a Friendship Contract I'd never let her live it down."

…

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Jaune!"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Jaune!"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Jaune!"

The slumbering members of Team JNPR stirred irritably from the trifecta knocking. Who in their right mind would be rapping their knuckles against their door at this dreadful hour? Maybe if they closed their eyes extra-hard, the person would go away? It almost appeared like that plan worked with their thoughts turning to mud, another victory for Team JNPR.

Knock! Knock—a pillow soared across the room and smashed against Jaune's face.

"Answer it!" Nora yelled from Ren's chest, eyes still closed, grumpy with Ren's sensual backrubs only easing the tension mildly. "Now."

"Why does that me get to cuddle with Renny!?"

"Nora don't waste your question!?"

"Its not a waste! Answer me magic lady!?"

Tell me how she did!?

Before Jinn could indulge the Valkyrie's words though Blake spoke up.

"I suppose that's another difference, maybe you pestered him enough."

"Or just forced you way there, Ren seems a bit like a push over in that kinda thing." The young lie shot the pair of partners a mild glare before looking to Nora who was positively bouncing in place, clear excitement obvious on her features.

'Sigh' So long restful sleep…

Not wanting to be on the end of another Nora pillow throw, the sleepy leader yawned and rubbed the sand out of his eyes. He sighed wistfully at the door and dreaded the meeting already. What could Ruby want at this hour? Please to dear Oum be something simple like asking for a cup of sugar.

Jaune yawned a second time and stood up. He slightly half-opened the door and peeked through the crack. A snort of disbelief almost escaped his lips. Ruby stood at the opposite end with an eagerness that should be illegal this early in the morning. That enthusiasm only served her further by thrusting the door to his room open with one hand. If she noticed his exhausted appearance, she blatantly ignored it.

"Yes, Ruby? What can I do for you?"

"You have to walk me to the Dust shop to pick up the newest issue of Weapons Magazine."

His sleep-deprived mind required a few seconds to process her request. "Come again?"

She giggled. "You're such a goofball. It's in the contract, silly. The first Saturday of every month you must go with me to pick up the latest issue of Weapons Magazine."

The group just stared for several minutes…

"That sounds… rather annoying to be forced to do…"

"Geez Rubes way to ruin the guy's morning…"

Couldn't pay me to drive you butt to the Dust Shop first thing in the morning…

Again, he demanded a few seconds to comprehend what she was asking. "Ruby… it's Saturday, and it's seven in the morning."

"And the store opens up at eight! Get your lazy butt moving! I'll be waiting down the hall!"

"Can't we go later—and she's gone. I don't get how she can be so hyper in the—?!"

A frustrated pillow smashed against the wood, this time it belonged to his monster-bedhead partner. Her glowing green eyes promised a brutal training session if she didn't get her precious sleep. Ha. Ha-ha! No, he wasn't joking, Pyrrha Nikos in the morning greatly contrasted her counterpart, public appearance Pyrrha. Precious beauty sleep made for a proper and content four-time champion.

The members of RWBY looked the Spartans way, said girl turned from their curious glance all but answering they're questioning gaze.

"Jaune-Jaune's the only one brave enough to wake up Pyr-Pyr when she sleep in." Pink peppered the four time champion's face at her teammate's words…

Sighing, Jaune went through the motions of getting dressed, hoping to Oum Ruby came knocking any second to cancel the trip. Not a chance, the sluggish leader got dressed and walked out the door as the sleepy snores of his team sparked jealousy in the ordinarily lighthearted things he called eyes. Dust! The sun still partially slept with only a sliver of light edging in the horizon. Who woke up this early for a dreaded magazine? Who woke up this fresh on a Saturday morning period?

"Finally! I've been waiting here forever!"

More like five minutes. Still, Jaune thought bitterly as the reaper leader began shoving him toward the nearest Bullhead, Ruby Rose was insane enough to wake up early on a Saturday morning for an overpriced paperweight. Twenty points said it had something related to Saturday morning cartoons. Ah, sweet, blissful, ignorant childhood, how he missed it.

Ruby robbed him of his thoughts with a shove to his shoulder. "Aren't you excited, Jaune? This month's catalog is supposed to cover Dust-based weaponry and how to apply it to your weapon more efficiently."

He managed a small smile. "Oh, yeah, totally, because Crocea Mors needs Dust. I can't live without it."

Ruby stuck her tongue out. "You're such a dork."

"Takes one to know one, Crater Face."

Another shove to the shoulder.

Ruby smiled at the exchange, at least this world wasn't weird like all the others, things seemed normal… maybe it was like one of those what-if Scenarios from a video game, strangely enough that thought grab her attention rather well sparking the idea of whether she should make a contract herself for Jaune.

His next smile came with a snort of laughter. Not a bad start to a Saturday, he guessed. Could've been worse. Could've been better. Her boundless enthusiasm helped.

"And we get to do this every month!"

Only so much.

Yang winced, yeah Vomitboy should've read the fine print there…

"Huh, wonder what other wacky rules sis wrote into that thing?"

"I'm sure they're reasonable."

"Really, a contract Ruby wrote?" Weiss stayed silent for several seconds.

"I take back my statement."

"Oh come on! Not you to Weiss!"

…

Lie Ren from an early age learned to adapt, drop, disregard, and overall overlook things on purpose since some reasons were better left unknown. Certainly kept the headaches down to a minimal. However, when his leader walked into their room, a quarter to ten, holding in his hand in what appeared to be a stack of catalogs filled to the brim with weapons, weapons he had no desire learning or owning, he had questions.

Ren raised only one brow when Jaune dropped the pile on the floor and fell onto his bed with his face pressed against his pillow. A minute passed in silence and Ren grabbed a magazine from off the floor and sat on the mattress across from his leader. He flipped through the pages smoothly, not at all interested in the reading material, and shut the magazine with a loud clap.

"Need I ask?"

"Ruby…" Jaune mumbled through the pillow.

"Huh? Sound a lot like how Ren responds about Nora…" The Lie boy shook his head for his poor leader…

"Ah." Bits of the morning fiasco came back to him. Honestly, Jaune had no one to blame but himself. "From what I recall, you signed a contract."

"I know what I signed! Don't remind me."

Ren chuckled. The world must be coming to an end. "I'm not so sure you do. Do you happen to have a copy?"

His fellow male reached underneath his pillow and pulled out a surprisingly thick pile of papers. "Here."

The Lie grabbed the papers, piqued at the formality of it all. He read over the parts of the contract. The offer was a mutual friendship of two parties, ergo Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. Acceptance came from his friend's limited hindsight to sign said contract without reading it. Consideration and blah-blah-blah, he skipped all that and focused on the meat of the document, the writing, benefits, and consequences for breach of contract. Uh-huh, right there, under the No Stealing Cookie Clause and before the Crying Over Spilt Milk Is Okay Clause was the monthly accompany to the Dust store to pick up the latest Weapons Magazine agreement.

Weiss pinched her brows while Nora and Yang chuckled again.

"That Dolt… Of course she would write those into it…"

"During the first Saturday of every month, the party, that's you, must accompany one Ruby Rose to the nearest Dust store to pick up the latest edition of Weapons Magazine, or face the consequences of a wet-willy."

Ren blinked at what he just read over. Standard and formal like any regular contract, but somehow had that Ruby Rose spin to it. He doubted his leader knew of the breach of contract part, but something told him the thought of getting a wet-willy would still outweigh the need to sleep, exhausted from training or not.

Jaune said nothing to what Ren read, so the Lie pressed onward.

He skipped a few more pages, not interested in the Board Game Night articles. Then he found a page with a booklet of sorts taped to one of the pages. A quick unravel revealed another section, this one eye-catching.

Hmm? Friendship Privileges? An interesting sounding caption. What kind of stuff existed within these sections for his clueless leader? Only one way to find out. He sat back on the headboard of the bed and read while his leader continued to breathe through the cotton of his pillow. When Ren couldn't hold back a small chuckle upon reading the section, his leader turned his head and glared.

"What? What's so funny?"

He snorted at the thought of his leader following all of these rules. "Do you know you're obligated to give her all your strawberries? For breakfast, lunch, and dinner?"

A smile spread across the reapette's face.

That's awesome!

"Really? Well, what does she give me?"

"Brussels sprouts." Jaune moaned and buried his face into the pillow again. Ren shook his head and pushed the booklet to his face.

Even Awesomer!

"Here, this is for you. You're entitled to it per the Friend Privileges article."

Jaune reached out and grabbed the booklet. When it became apparent it was homemade construction paper and the rough texture of glitter a dead giveaway, he sat up and glared at Ren. The latter hardly noticed the change as he fixated himself on studying the pros and cons of making Nora sign one of these.

"Hmm?"

On one hand it would be a nice insurance… on the other would she actually follow through on the contract…

"What is it?"

"A coupon book."

A coupon book? Jaune shook his head with a small smile slipping through the cracks. Of all the—could Ruby be any more adorable? Made it excruciatingly hard to be angry at the Firecracker for dragging him out of bed seven in the morning. Psh! Her natural cookie-chomper charm made saying no a physical impossibility. No wonder she got him to sign the contract, and speaking of legally, soul-crushing papers, he eyed the thick stack of what he now dubbed His Rights in Ren's hands with apprehensiveness.

If this morning was but a taste of his friendship with Ruby, he gulped at the thought of what else he was forced to endure. The cookie monster had almost equal reserves of energy in comparison to their trigger-happy pancake lover. Best try to salvage this situation and consider his options, but first, clearance!

"I'm in way over my head, aren't I?"

Ren finally eyed his friend, not interested in sugar-coating his thoughts. "You could always not follow the rules if that's what you're asking."

The members of JNPR sighed already knowing their leader answer before he said it.

His leader sighed. "Can't. An Arc never goes back on their word. That includes my signature."

Called it…

Ren shrugged and pushed the contract back into Jaune's reluctant hands. "Then I don't know what to tell you, except that next time you should read the fine print."

One last chance of freedom. "This can't be legally binding for, you know, the consequences?"

"It has the Schnee Company Logo on the bottom, notarized and stamped."

All eyes turned to a visibly annoyed Weiss… Well if there was one thing her partner was it was persistent, she'd been suspicious that she'd been worn down and all but forced into helping her with said contract and now she was sure.

A head slammed against a nearby wall. Funny, he mimicked the same knock pattern Ruby used to rouse them from their sleep. Ren kept his tongue still as Jaune went through the five stages of grief in one quick succession. Denial struck him hard as he hid the contract underneath his mattress. Anger quickly followed suit with him berating himself for not thinking before he acted. Bargaining with Monty himself proved fruitless. Depression hit him hard when his head bashing slowed to a crawl, and acceptance finished with him pulling the contract out from underneath his mattress.

Jaune sighed and rested his stomach on his pillow with his feet pushed against the wall. "I might as well read this thing since it's Saturday and I've got nothing better to do. So, what's in store for Jaune Arc?"

Uh-oh, third person syndrome was sinking in. "Fearless Leader?"

"I'm not fearless."

"You got to be to sign a contract without reading it first."

"When Rennys right he's right"

Jaune looked away from the papers to glare at his fellow male. "I'm starting to think you're enjoying this."

"No…" Ren dawned. He then got up and exited the room with a half-hearted wave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to find Nora before any of the professors do. Good luck."

He humphed. Fine by him, fewer distractions to keep him from reading this contract. All the better to prepare for future Ruby madness. Although, madness had no formula to follow or steps that could be taken to prevent it. Madness moved like fire, unpredictable, and often without warning.

"What?" Nora said to Ren who merely stared her way…

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Jaune?"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Jaune?"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Jaune?"

The Arc tilted his head away from the contract. So the knocking was more of a habit than a one-time joke. A Ruby Rose custom guarantee? Maybe something she picked up along the way, like Nora's habit to talk in her sleep or Pyrrha's need to horde chocolates?

"I don't horde chocolate!"

"Huh, guess that's another difference between this world and ours huh P-Money?"

"Yes, yes it is!"

I will not let them raid my stash!

Sigh.

He rubbed his face in awkwardness, no time to read the contract, better to indulge her since signs pointed to it becoming a future endeavor. So when he moved and opened the door, he wasn't all surprised when Ruby waltzed right in and greeted him with her hands thrown up. Stars danced in those glittering eyes of hers, and he feared for his life.

"Hey, Bestie! It's Saturday, so you know what that means!"

He blinked and pointed down at the forgotten magazines. "But we already got your magazines."

She laughed at his silliness. He needed to read that contract. "Nope! I'm talking about our weekly game of tag! Ready to feel the burn?!"

He refused to blink, staring hard at the walking mass of sugar.

Tag?

Yang's features dropped, a pitiful frown forming for her fellow blonde.

Oh… Poor VB…

Okay? Yeah. Sure! Tag sounded fun! Something to get the blood pumping! At least it beat waking up before the sun and heading to Vale to pick-up some boring weapon magazine in the raw temperatures of the morning.

Fun in the sun, what could go wrong?

…

Gasp!

Jaune Arc dropped to his knees, covered in sweat with his heart pounding loudly in his ears. He longed since abandoned his hoodie in favor of his orange shirt which now clung tightly to his tired body. Tag at the outskirts of Beacon Academy sounded fun at first. Plenty of space to run with nothing but trees to bump into, but he soon learned of the horrors of what a childish game of tag could be like with Ruby.

A hellish experience with the adorable reaper always twenty steps ahead of him.

Petals covered the forest floor, and a tornado of blood spun around him a few times before jumping up in front of him with a harmless grin. Then the mass began running in circles around the downed knight, mocking him with her phenomenal speeds. Remember, Future Targets no one could outrun the reaper.

A glimmer shone in Nora's eye.

Challenge accepted!

Ren sighed knowing that look, he would have to go buy some more construction material for whatever hijinks his partner intended to pull…

"This is great! Yang hates tag, but it was my favorite game as a kid."

"I… wonder… why." Breathe, damn it, breathe! "How about… we take a break?"

Ruby stopped running around him to lean over his hunch form and peek at the sweat dripping down his chin, which meant he was having a blast. No pain, no game! Sweat equaled fun, but maybe a break wouldn't hurt. After all, the Rubster needed to check what was next on their day of activities.

"Sure, let's take five. I'll be right back."

A barrage of rose petals pelted his face, but he welcomed the breezy sensation. Stupid sun! Stop being all hot! He never thought he missed the tundra of frost from the morning air. Dust, playing tag with Ruby burned one's lungs to a crisp. The field littered with rose petals painted a pretty picture of how much they played, and that irked him. He had yet to tag her once. How was one supposed to catch someone who practically moved like the wind? Madness, utter madness.

Yang shook her head… Many days had she racked her little eight year old head over that very same conundrum…

Sadly, he signed up for this with his abrasive attitude.

Cough! Cough!

The worn out leader stood up, wiping his forehead with his arm. Was every Saturday going to be like this? Waking up early and then forced to play a one-sided game of tag until his lungs threatened to burst in his ribs. None of this even attributed to half a day yet, who knew what else awaited him? The Arc didn't know if he could stomach what she had in store for the other six days of the week.

Breathing, his nose picked up on his nasty scent, and he looked down at his sweat-drenched shirt. An urge to peel it off came over him, but he frowned at the idea. Taking his shirt off outside felt weird. Maybe it was a self-conscious act, but he retained some semblance of humility.

Pyrrha felt a little disappointed unaware Neo right beside felt much the same.

Sniff!

Ew! Then again, he reeked. Screw it! Too tired to care about modesty, he removed his shirt and used it as a towel to wipe his forehead. He brushed back his hair, soaking in the sun with his bare chest as he finished catching his breath.

Both girls stared at they're blonde's form, drinking in the image, Yang herself even gave a gander, comparing the blonde to that dense as fuck version she totally wasn't annoyed with for being such a dense roommate. Even Weiss would admit to giving the blonde a once over, she was a healthy young woman after all.

Behind him, quiet as a mouse, Ruby peeked from behind a tree as she observed the way his shoulder blades and back muscles worked. She hadn't planned on spying, more than ready to blurt out their next activity, but upon stumbling upon him removing his shirt enticed her to hide and watch.

Neo looked the Reaper's way a smile plastered over her face eliciting a blush from her!

"Lies, lies and Slander!"

She had never seen him without his shirt on, very less hoodie. Her partner was wrong, not scraggly, but tall and blond for sure.

Weiss groaned

Am I ever gonna live that down!?

Grumble! Ruby pouted when her stomach grumbled. Right! They had a schedule to upkeep!

After a fair-and-square game of tag came food. Jaune had to be starving. Look at the way his chest heaved when he turned to shake his shirt free of sweat, unable to wipe away the glistening liquid from his skin and—lunch! Sweet merciful Dust, lunch!

"Me thinkeths the Rose is growing before our very eyes" Ruby flushed at Nora's teasing earning a annoyed pout from Yang, the urge to beat her fellow blonde only slightly stirring, snuffed out by recent memories of other views…

She ran from her hiding spot and up toward him, sliding up against the oblivious noodle. A tiny snicker passed her lips. "Oops, I didn't think you get so sweaty." Ruby laughed. "Sorry, I'll bring you a towel next time."

An urge to cover himself came and passed.

Too late now, even if his skin somehow burned hotter underneath the sun. "Yeah, that'd be nice. I hate getting sweat in my eyes." Jaune took a hearty breath and laughed. "So? What's next on our agenda?"

He silently prayed for nothing.

"Lunch!"

Huh? Lunch? Not nothing exactly but it beat running around in circles, and all the chasing left him feeling quite peckish. Food plus him sounded good. He liked good. Yes, now this was an activity he could get behind. No more running in loops in a noble, but pointless endeavor to catch a blur. Just them and a plate of food.

What was the worst that could happen?

…

The minute the Fearless Leader sat down with a plate of food, a mountain of brussels sprouts covered his plate from an overly enthusiastic Rubes. A not-so-subtle hand then slipped on by and stole his strawberries and strawberry flavored smoothie. Somehow he forgot about this tiny section Ren read to him. Begged the question why she even got those vegetables if she didn't plan on eating them but asking that to the person who made a Friendship Contract defeated the purpose.

Neo glared, okay strawberries she could forgive, but if she stealing a person Milkshake was a crime worse than murder! She glared the reaper's way eliciting a fearful squeak from the girl.

"Not me! Other world!"

He looked off to the side to find her humming in delight between each bite of the delectable fruit. Ruby loved her strawberries, and here he thought she preferred cookies. A common mistake on his part.

Looking down at his plate, he brushed aside the lackluster vegetables and found a strawberry underneath all the green. The leader grabbed—as per the agreement in the contract—and poked her nose with the edge of the fruit, withholding the urge to say boop.

"You missed one."

She stopped chewing between her mouthful of sweetness, smiled and opened her mouth.

He paused, not entirely sure if feeding her was written in the contract. Regular people didn't feed each other. A more intimate act between couples. Oh well. Not like Miss Bee's Knees followed the code of normality anymore than Nora. So he indulged her like he indulged all her awkward silliness.

Soft lips bit down on the strawberry, sweet juice coated them in a glimmering shine, and she savored the taste with an adorable chew. Ruby shivered in delight. Something about him offering her the fruit made it taste all that much sweeter. A soft moan of pleasure passed her lips, and she released a puff of air in happiness. Then a cute burp followed, and he hadn't two words to rub together.

"Mmmm! That was good! Do you have any more?"

He recovered from his shock and shook his head before offering her a plate of leafy greens. "No, but I got brussels sprouts."

"Bleh!" Ruby slinked away and sipped away at her—his—strawberry smoothie. "No thanks. That's rabbit food."

Pyrrha felt conflicted, not sure whether that was envious or just plain cute… Neo had no such conflicting feelings, knowing she was entirely write to think Red could go jump off a cliff!

He refrained from mentioning that so were strawberries, instead wondering what was to come next on this day of fun. He feared to ask, but must. "So? What's next? A movie?"

She hummed absently between each bite, not afraid to talk with her mouth full. "Next? Next, I got to work on maintenance for Crescent Rose. You could come if you want, but I think you'll be bored. It's a lot of busy work."

He sighed in relief. Thank Oum for busy work. No. Thank Crocea Mors for being simple in maintenance. Sword and shield, that was all a Huntsman needed. A high-caliber sniper rifle that turned into a scythe, yeah, nope! Not for this Arc. Nothing could ruin his mood now—no!

No! He almost choked on his meal. Stop thinking like that! Worse things could happen. Worse things have happened.

Ren nodded, recognizing such way of thinking… of learning to accept that the world was madness, that troubles were as numerous as air. He turned to Nora who rose a brow in confusion.

"What's up Renny"

"'sigh' Nothing… Just feeling a bit nostalgic I suppose."

"Wait! I just remembered something!" She suddenly stood up with a fire in her eyes. Darn it! "I need to pick a spot in your room."

"… What?

There it is…

…

Pyrrha Nikos entered her team's room to find the place turned upside down as if a typhoon hit.

Eyes quickly scanned the room for damage, and she found her leader and his bed the only things free from destruction. A thousand stare accompanied her partner as if a haunting memory constantly replayed in his mind. She worried about him. Maybe she should take him to the school's nurse for a checkup? Then again, perhaps nothing out-of-the-ordinary happened. All this mayhem mixed with his muteness could only mean one thing.

"What did Nora do this time?"

He snorted. "It wasn't Nora."

Okay, now the champion felt inclined to check on his mental state and send him to the nurse. Because she wished to give him the benefit of the doubt, honest to Monty she did, but the idea of Ren possibly doing this sounded more absurd than head trauma.

"Hey I'm not that bad!"

"…"

"Hey!? Say Something!"

"…"

Likely something occurred when he left this morning with Ruby. She admitted she failed in that regard to stopping him, too tired at the time to care for anything but the covers keeping her warm. A lapse of judgment, but not again!

She moved to sit down on one side of his bed, but he stopped her. "Don't sit there, that's Ruby's spot."

Her eyes moved between him and the corner of his bed. She heard him right, right? "Ruby's… spot?"

"Yeah, you see, that spot's close enough to the window to enjoy a breeze and jump out in case of a Grimm attack, but not too close that the sun would burn her skin and get in her eyes while she's playing on her Scroll. It's also close enough to the wall so she can kick her legs up if she's feeling lazy, but not too close to the door where she can't suddenly dodge Yang from sneak hugging her."

The entire audience blinked except for the Arc currently in Jinn's grasp.

"'Heh' That's my Rose for you."

She only heard one thing. "She has a spot now?"

Neo couldn't help but feel challenged for some reason much like Pyrrha… They looked at Ruby confused by the feeling not quite understanding why and spot made them feels like they were somehow… losing?

"Part of the Friend Privileges Article." Jaune said easily, too easily. "Ruby Rose is entitled to one spot in Team JNPR's room of her choosing, no buts, no cuts, no coconuts."

No buts, no cuts, no—what? The champion looked around the mess to see if Team RWBY and the rest of her team were hiding to surprise her and clue her in on the weird joke. Nothing like that happened, and her partner acted one-hundred percent seriously. Her eyes traveled back to the spot proclaimed for their sister team's leader, then to her distracted partner, and then to the mess around them. At the very least she could piece together why the room looked like the way it did if Ruby knocking at seven in the morning constituted her behavior as such. However, how or why this was left a lot to be desired.

She had little choice but to ask, for her sake. "I'm sorry? Friend Privileges Article?"

"It's part of the Friendship Contract I signed."

Again, she glimpsed around the destroyed room, and repeatedly nothing jumped out and yelled surprise. "… You're not joking."

He chuckled. "I wish I was. Trust me, Pyrrha, never sign a contract without reading it first."

Oh, she offered a laugh of her own, awkwardly rubbing her neck. Jaune didn't need to tell her that. Some people thought she wanted to be Pumpkin Pete's official mascot. Ha-ha. No. That cereal tasted dreadful, and yet she posed for the cover and endorsed its unhealthiness with a smile, one of her few mistakes upon discovering her newfound popularity.

"That True P-Money?" The spartan sighed, nodding sadly.

"There were so many zeroes… I, I panicked and just did what they said and signed…"

So she understood his pain all too well. While sympathy served as a good relationship between the two, she couldn't quite say what a Friendship Contract entailed. Eagerness to know what Ruby wrote grasped at her. Might be fun to learn of her partner's upcoming future. At the very least she could avoid another scenario related to this morning's mishap.

She giggled and smiled wholesomely at the trapped leader, taking a seat on the other side of his bed while she freed her feet from her boot's tight confines. When he sighed in open despair, she offered another chuckle, nothing like humor to ease the soul.

"So… what now?"

"Now?" Jaune repeated. He held up the contract for her to see. "Now I read this thing front and back. I'm not going to be caught with my pants down again."

She nodded. "A sound idea, and while you focus on that, I'll get this place cleaned up."

Ordinarily, he refused such an offer, knowing he should have cleaned up this mess by now, but desperation made it hard to deny her kindness. The seconds ticked on by, and the words on the page were not any closer to disappearing. One glance at the clock revealed both hands on the twelve. Yup. Time was not on his side, and reading? Not one of his strong suits. No other options left. He pushed his back against the wall and began reading, accepting his partner's offer in silence.

He read for a while, skipping little details more for the sake of clarification. Then he found the calendar page of their weekly activities, and right there on Saturday was Weapons Magazine Morning and Ten O'clock Tag with lunch labeled for last. Good to know nothing else clashed with him today, but the thought of never sleeping in on a Saturday troubled his stomach. Anyway, moving on, oh? Sunday was board game night. Nothing else but board games. That sounded fun. Fingers crossed.

"Huh, Monday night is movie night. Well, ain't that something?" Jaune read on. "I wonder what else I'm in store for?"

Tuesday was Training Time with Bestie, followed by Wrestling Wednesday. Both days included tag, but to avoid conflicting schedules for classes, it got moved to after class. Surprisingly, he had Thursday filled to the brim with video games with Freestyle Friday ending the weekday. What that involved, he hadn't a clue. Nonetheless, a manageable schedule.

Ruby bounced in place getting a bit into the idea of this contract, it sounded awesome! And was quickly growing awesomer!

Then he turned the page.

A picture of a crudely drawn scythe greeted him. Next to it were slash marks. He peeked down and tilted his head. Interesting? The contract had a three strike policy. He idly wondered what that meant.

If my bestie breaks any of the rules or makes me mad, then he will receive a strike or sometimes a frowny sticker. Once he gets three of those, shame on you, they'll have to make me a batch of double-chocolate chip cookies. No exceptions! Eh, make it a baker's dozen. That'll teach you!

The Reaper was already drooling…

He blinked once, twice, and thrice. The spellbound boy looked away from the contract and at the destruction of his semi-clean room. Panicked gripped him. If Ruby behaved like this for a spot in their bedroom, how quickly could she get offended? Forget offended, remembering all these rules might end him in the proverbial doghouse. Three strikes and a batch of cookies? A baker's dozen! Nope, nope, nope. That was the last straw.

He required a second opinion. Only people going through his pain might be able to alleviate the pressure building, and this musician could think of three people facing the same dilemma as him. Without a pause, he got up and went to Team RWBY's dorm. With any luck, Ruby was still slaving away on her precious baby.

"I think I need a second opinion? I'm going to ask her team how they handle this."

The garnered the attention of Team RWBY, how did they handle this ridiculous contract business?

Pyrrha shooed away some dust bunnies. "Good luck."

He sighed. Luck? Ha! He needed more than that to remember every detail of this contract. When he walked out his door, he checked his corners to make sure no Ruby in sight and stood in front of her team's exit. A compulsion to knock three times seized his urges, but he shook away the thoughts and only rapped his knuckles twice on the entrance.

Knock! Knock!

Not a second later it got thrown open with a familiar mop of blonde hair and predatory smirk standing on the other side.

"Yellow!" Yang greeted, hoping he laughed at the clever pun.

He did not. "Hey Yang, can I talk to you girls about something. It's about Ruby." Jaune held up the settlement. "And this contract."

A snort escaped her for his joke, but when he refused to laugh, that snort turned into a playful scoff. "Wait? You signed that? No wonder she's been such in a good mood lately."

The way Yang said that hardly filled him with hope. "You didn't?"

She sighed and shook her head. Her arm then wrapped around his shoulder and pulled him into her room. "You might want to get in here. Blake! Ice Queen! We have fresh meat!"

"This does not bode well for Jaune…"

He regarded the two lazing on their beds, playing with their Scrolls. Blake kept her stomach flat on the mattress, lying prone, but Weiss surprised him by with her feet pressed against the wall. The pairs of eyes turned to him and the stack of papers in his arms, suddenly not so bored anymore. Yang clued them in and pushed him forward, smirking like crazy.

"Jaune here signed Ruby's contract."

He ignored Yang and dreaded feeling sinking in his stomach and stepped forward. "You're her friends too, how do you deal with all the rules?"

"We're her teammates." Blake said neutrally.

Whelp, if that didn't drain the hope out of him, Snow Angel's piece of criticism certainly did. "Did you even read the fine print before signing that? You're forced to wear matching outfits on every first of the month of her choosing."

Neo and Pyrrha tilted their heads… Would Jaune/ Her Babies Daddy look good in red and black? Weiss leaned into Blake speaking in a hushed tone.

"They're starting to become rather similar in regard to these views." Blake Shrugged.

"I guess their thoughts are just similar." Yang grinned.

"So your saying we have two VB obsessed girls now."

He stepped back. Uh? Matching outfits? Chose by Ruby? Yikes. He failed to read that far into it. Heck, who was he kidding? The clueless fool barely read the title before signing it. Wait a minute, speaking of fine print, he held up the papers and pointed at the Schnee Company logo.

"If you weren't planning on signing it, then why did you notarize it?"

She looked away unashamed. "That was the only way I could get her to stop asking."

"Huh? so once again Weisscream leaves Jaune high and dry."

"At least this time it's only figuratively…" The Heiress winced not having a retort to Ren's blunt words.

Ruby pleading over-and-over again? Yup, sounded about right. Snow Angel had limits. Bribing her leader, while immoral in the grand scheme of things was absolutely genius. Now the poor goofball that ended up signing that thing—oh, right.

Again Weiss hesitated.

"Bribe is a strong word…"

"Yet accurate" She shot Blake a small glare for that one.

Moving on, he shifted over to the booklover. "And you? How did you get out of signing it?" Blake deliberately hid behind her book and remained as quiet as a feline. "Blake?"

Fortunately for him, Yang answered for her and patted him on the back. "Blake-y here sold you out. Who do you think told Ruby about you? She said and I quote, Jaune Arc seems like the type of person to do anything for a friend. And here we are. Any questions?"

All eyes turned to the cat in question who had the shame to blush and look away.

"Different universe…"

"So, your saying you wouldn't do the same in ours Kitkat?" The Faunus didn't answer which made it all too obvious.

Plenty, but he grinned weakly at the smirking brawler. "And let me guess, you're her sister, so you didn't have to sign the contract?"

She laughed. "Look on the bright side, Arc…"

"… And that is?"

"Oh?" Yang coughed. "Um, I was kind of hoping you fill in that small detail. Okay, uh? Oh yeah! Matching outfits!"

"I hate you all."

Another laugh, but this time she began shoving him out the door. "Aw, we love you too. Make sure you tell Ruby your size, or else you're going to look silly walking around in an outfit that doesn't fit you."

"Wait a minute! I'm not through with you—?!"

Slam!

Neo looked to the three girls a brow raised.

"Hey, we don't suck!" she shook her head clearly disagreeing.

"It's the dolt's fault for signing it without reading." A look at Blake.

"Different universe…" Neo rolled her eyes.

"No, we are not making excuses!"

A door slammed in his face. Why was he not surprised? A puff of hair passed his lips, and he returned to his room with his mood worse off than before. By now his team heard of his predicament and watched him for the remainder of the day as he read over the contract. Of all people, Nora laughed the hardest.

He barely reacted to most of what he read. Some if not most was tolerable with a head-ups given. Today had been nothing more of a curveball for him.

Next to sharing outfits, her birthday forced him to hand over all his Halloween candy.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Like sis needs a contract to do that… Dumb birthday…"

A terrible loss. Not to mention at the end of each month they had an eating contest, something about being closer to Death and why not live a little?

Neo pondered that excuse wondering if she could swing the same kinda bull to Roman to get some extra Ice-Cream money for her triple scope fix.

Dentist appointments required him to hide her from her team, and he was in charge of taking Zwei to the vet, which urged the question to who was Zwei?

Blake pouted at that a small mumble under her breathe,

"Lucky bastard"

Breathe.

So many things to plan for, so little choice, and with that, he finished.

Jaune stretched and dropped the bundle of papers on his bed. Finally! Done! No more reading. Sure, he remembered roughly half of it, but he got the general gist of it. Expect the unexpected, Ruby Rose Edition.

"As opposed to Nora." Nora pouted at her partner's words.

Maybe now he could plan accordingly and manage his life back in order. A repeat of this morning was not something he wished to experience again.

Kicking his feet out, he smiled and gazed around the somewhat peaceful room. Nora rested on Ren's back as the latter worked on some assignment, lazing like a sloth with a goofy grin. Pyrrha messed with her Scroll, fully relaxed with her feet scrunched up together as opposed to her school self. Occasionally he heard Nora snicker, knowing full well it was directed towards him. However, between all that, his sights rested on the crudely made coupon book Ruby made.

He eyed the sticker-covered flipbook, one of the few perks of signing his social-life away. Tiny smiles greeted him with a few Grimm stickers thrown into the mix. Ruby loved her stickies from what he gathered. He grabbed the booklet and turned it over, only now noticing the Property of Ruby Rose, Go Away warning. Inside he found mismatched pieces of cut up paper in what he presumed to be in the shape of rectangles. The handwriting spoke of Ruby. The craftsmanship screamed her name. Everything about it was the patent-pending creation of one Ruby Rose.

Weiss internally squealed at the cuteness, struggling not to let it show on her face.

Screw it. Might as well look. Some might prove helpful when stuck in a jam.

He flipped through the handmade coupon book, wondering what delights waited inside for him. Oh? Would you look at that, a Free Car wash by Ruby Rose with a drawing of a car and Ruby next to the wording?

Now he just needed a car.

Against his eye-rolling emotions, he laughed. That drew Nora's attention. "Whatcha laughing about, Jaune?"

"Ruby, she made me this coupon book, but I'm starting to think it's useless. Here's one for a free car wash, but I doubt I'd ever use it." He tried to control his good mood until he turned the page to find a better coupon. "Oh-oh! And look at this one! Give Ruby Rose Five Lien. W-Why would I even use that?"

"Seriously sis?"

"N-not me! And what was I supposed to give him money!?"

Mama needs her Dust Money!

"That would be cruel and unusual!"

"Says the girl who made him sign a friendship contract…"

"Different Universes Blake!"

Nora beamed and bounced from Ren's back and snatched the booklet, flipping through the pages. She stopped on a random page and grinned at what greeted her. "Hey! This one's cute! One Free Laugh at any Bad Joke! If only Yang had a whole book full of these."

"Hey!"

"Eh when Noras right she's right."

"You take that back my jokes are awesome!" This actually earned a laugh from the group.

'Your right that one was pretty funny.'

Yang glared at the micro killer's mental jab.

He attempted not to laugh, fearing for karma or the chance of Yang having super-sensitive ears. Yes, some of these screamed Ruby. Yes, that one was cute as Nora said. No, he didn't need it. Unlike Yang, this blond knew how to tell jokes, but details aside, he plucked the booklet from Nora's claws and rested on his bed.

"Oh hell no! There's no way Vomit Boys funnier than me!"

"Yang car wreck is funnier than you…"

"Geez Kitkat, aren't you supposed to be my partner?"

"I'm a firm believer in tough love…"

"I guess I should see what weapons I've been given to fight back with."

Nora poked her leader in the ribs. "Anything's better than a shield and sword."

"Hey!" Jaune poked right back. "Don't mock it till you try it. Crocea Mors is great. It's a classic."

"Classic is just another word for boring."

Neo smirked to the Valkyrie flashing Hushes blade, she knew a thing or two about swords and could agree with Politan's daddy… Nora grinned back showing off Magnhild.

"Wanna go, me and Magnhild will totally show you bigger is better and explosions are even better than that!" Shit this wasn't good she was starting to like this girl…

He stuck his tongue out. Perfectly natural for a leader. Nora tried to one-up him, this ready to tackle her leader in the stomach with the same explosive force as a grenade or very massive hammer, but Ren anticipated such a move and came from behind and pulled her away before she jumped. Pyrrha smiled in amusement as Ren effortlessly held the squirming Valkyrie in his unbending arms. So used to her antics that he moved at least four steps ahead of her. What an intriguing couple, even if they sprouted not together-together nonsense.

All eyes turned on the two, including Jaune and Jinn above who smiled down at the pair, Nora for her part looked down fiddling with her hands in a uncharacteristically cute manner while Ren coughed into his hand the blush quickly fading in aid by his semblance…

"Come on." Ren urged. "Time to get ready for bed."

"But I'm not…" Yawn! "Tired."

Jaune and Pyrrha smirked at the way Nora's fighting dropped to a minimal at the mention of bed. Maybe she was tired, cranky for being rudely woken up at seven in the morning, or perhaps she just loved sleeping on Ren's chest and folded when the opportunity presented itself.

Nora's blush only got harder as the surrounding viewers smirked her way.

NOOO! That was supposed to be a secret!

Neo grinned actually getting a little invested in these two much the same way one does a pair of hamsters, wondering whether their kill each other or fuck…

Hard to tell. On the other hand, Jaune used the growing silence to flip through more pages of the booklet.

Flip!

He playfully scoffed as he read over the passing pages. More Ruby-related coupons. More busy work. Curse, busy work. Tickets such as Bake Ruby Cookies made him laugh.

"Seriously sis?"

"Hey mom said she loved baking me cookie! Maybe Jaunes the same!" Neo nodded but was sure he'd prefer to make her spiked smoothies seeing as she was more inclined to reward him.

Others like Chose Outfit Monday and Keep Your Stinkin' Strawberries filled him with hope. Copy Ruby's Homework, Don't Tell Yang made his chest flutter. All of these were unique, so Ruby, it almost made him want to use the Give Ruby Five Lien card.

"Yes! See told you!"

Then there was what he dubbed his Golden Ticket.

He eyed the last coupon with interest. This one was perfectly cut into a rectangle and folded at the end to make it tearable. Ruby put extra-care into this one. Flipping it over, he raised a brow thoughtfully. Huh. A Get Out of Jail Free card? Nothing Ruby exclusive? That sounded too good to be true.

One freebie! When used the person who uses it either wins an argument, gets away with a prank, or makes the other person do what the other wants one time. Whatever! It's a get out of jail free card! Stop asking questions!

Oh, Neo liked the wording of this one… So exploitable…

Seeing her smile sent a shudder up the Rose's spine.

Thenoodle grinned at the picture of her drawn smiley face. Probably the best in the lot. Unquestionably needed to save that for a rainy day. Got to avoid those frowny stickers somehow. Ugh! Baker's dozen cookies. He got goosebumps just thinking about it.

Shiver!

Jaune breathed and checked around to see his team dozing off. Sleep did sound good, tomorrow demanded him to be ready, and he hadn't realized how long he got stuck reading that contract until he noticed the moon shining outside. What a day, first early morning shopping and a game of tag from hell. At least tomorrow only had board games to fret over. How bad could that—the paranoid noodle closed his mouth hard.

He thought nothing else, said nothing else, huddled under his sheets and shut his eyes tight from the surrounding room.

"Y'know I'm actually sorta relieved this world is so… Grounded considering what else we've had to watch." Blake nodded to her partners word and was sure she wasn't alone in her agreement.

"It is a good change of pace all things considered…" Even Weiss had to agree.

He thought nothing else, said nothing else, huddled under his sheets and shut his eyes tight from the surrounding room.

From that point onward a routine followed the two leaders.