9 -||

…

Sunday night was Board Game Night.

Board Game Night occurred in Team RWBY's room with only the two leaders competing against each other, on the floor, a few feet from each other, all fun and games. She restlessly tapped her legs on the carpet floor, concentrating intensely at the game in front of them as she waited for him to commence his turn. Jaune Arc offered the frustrated Rose a thoughtful grin. It only furthered to sour her mood.

Ruby Rose hated losing. Next to the term sore loser in the dictionary, one saw a picture of her. No matter the game or how close or how far the match was, if she lost, she pouted.

Ruby pouted a lot in Board Game Night.

Nora and Pyrrha grumbled having shared similar experiences, even Ren was mildly amused recalling the good match Jaune was at any game require a smidge of intellect.

Jaune Arc learned this the hard way when she ripped the dice out of his hands and flung them out the nearest window. Ignoring the fact they were at least five stories high, and the force of a falling pair of dice could prove catastrophic for the unlucky resident walking by, he reached for a spare pair of dice and continued with his roll.

Catapults and King Taijitu was a board game the whole family could enjoy. Like a family of eleven with a mother and father, eight siblings, seven sisters and one brother, and a grandfather, but that was neither here nor there. Either a player managed to hitch a ride on a slingshot to spring them out the forest, or the King Taijitu gobbled them up in its nest. Fun, simple, and most of all luck based.

Ruby had the worst of luck.

Overlooking her flustered cheeks, he shook his hand and tossed the dice. A pair of sixes came up, and the Arc grinned in defiance of the gasping girl. Yes! A catapult! He was about to win! Victory was his! Buh-bye pesky Grimm, enjoy Ruby's pawn! Might taste like chicken.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The innocent board game fell victim to a volley of fifty-caliber bullets. A smoking barrel was the culprit and controlling the trigger was a fuming, combat skirt wearing leader with a flutter of rose petals revealing the use of her Semblance. A deep breath passed through his lips. Hurt to admit that he was far too used to such an outcome. The first time had been a surprise, and the next few dulled the sensation. What board game number was that now, seven? The smoldering remains of the other games made it difficult to count. Too many bullet holes, not enough pieces.

"'Heh' S-so guess that's another difference between our universes huh?" Yang deep panned to her sister.

"Yeah no Rubes, just cause Weisscream and Blakey haven't had to deal with miss Sorest loser doesn't mean I went and forgot." Neo didn't see the big deal, besides being a waste of bullets, she agreed with Red's way of tying a match instead of ending on a loss and she wasn't alone.

"See! Told you I wasn't the only one who did it Renny! It's totally a legitimate strategy to avoid losing!"

"'Sigh' Nora…"

At this rate, they were running out of games to play, and he had no desire to purchase more if she kept acting like a sore loser. On the flip side, it might constitute a frowny face. He humphed, decisions, decisions. Continue playing—beating—her, or call it a night? Glancing off to his side, only one game remained. Whelp? Might as well finish off the last of them.

Jaune pushed her weapon away, grabbed the game, and held it up to the squirming girl with a broadish grin.

"Hope you like I'm 'Sorry' the game."

Yang laughed, there was no worse Game to lose at then the one that required you to sound like dick when you were winning. Many fights had begun with from her sore losing sister over said victories.

…

Cough! Cough!

Jaune leaned against a tree as he desperately inhaled air. Another day, another moment of their one-sided game. Monday was tag and movie night, which meant he chased Ruby without success, and for some odd reason, she made a point to be mocking today. Doing little dances, waggling her tongue at him, making noises, the works.

Maybe she still felt sore of the thrashing he gave her on Board Game Night?

Ruby smirked, snickering with the most deviously adorable face she could manage… She totally was living vicariously through her counterpart, nope not at all.

He snickered and bumped his head on the bark. Okay! No more games! No more Mr. Nice Jaune! He would tag her this time. Ugh! He coughed out more air and banged his fist on the tree. Who was he kidding? She could be wearing a blindfold with a pair of noise-suppression headphones, and he still wouldn't be able to catch her, much less escape if he someone managed the impossible.

Ruby smiled triumphantly as if the victory were her own.

"Still lost to Jaune-Jaune a butt ton last night." And like that Nora was on her butthead list!

"Tired?" Ruby appeared from behind and pushed a towel to his face. "Good thing I brought the towel this time."

Another snort escaped him, innocent act his butt, she was rubbing it in, but he accepted the towel anyway. "Thanks."

Blake gave a faint smile.

"Jaune is a surprisingly good sport." Ren nodded.

"Given his capabilities among the first years he has to be, if losing frustrated him I'm afraid he'd have been driven mad long ago…"

The Arc sighed and brushed away from the tree. He rubbed his face with his body covered in a thick layer of sweat. Ruby impatiently watched as he refused to lift his shirt and clean underneath. Maybe last time had been a one-time deal—uh-uh! Biting her lip, he ignored formalities and tugged the useless fabric off to wipe off sweat. If she scoffed it off last time, then this one shouldn't be any different, or so he thought. Either way, being too tired meant he cared for nothing else than to clean himself off. She, on the other hand, drunk in the sight of a sweaty Jaune as he focused on the task of cleaning himself with his muscles bending and flexing depending on the motion. Who knew he hid so much underneath a bunny hoodie?

"Way is that me weird like all of you!?" Yang cracked up while Blake smirked, even Weiss gave faint smile to her blushing partner who stole glances at the screen. Pyrrha and Neo heard none of this as they're gazes were entirely focused on the sight before them…

Good thing she got him nice and sweaty.

What a dirty—!

"Ruby?"

She almost eeped, almost. "Yeah, Jaune?"

Hair attached to his face, he breathed halfheartedly with the outside breeze doing him some good. Dummy tied the towel around his hair. "Lunch?"

She smiled at the dork. "Make sure to get a strawberry smoothie with extra strawberries."

Ruby licked her lips… had anyone been paying attention they might've wondered whether it was for said strawberries or something else…

…

Movie Night of Monday focused on the task of first choosing a movie to watch in Team RWBY's room as her teammates spent their time hitting the town.

It sounded simple. It wasn't. Both bickered on which movie to watch. Thriller. No! Action? Nah! A compromise! Between the choices of crime, drama, romantic-comedy, gore, and sci-fi with cowboys, the leaders decided on the remaining option, horror.

"No! What are you doing! Don't go into that room! Ahh!"

Ruby slurped away at her extra-large Ph.D. Fiz, unfazed, sneaking a peek at the scaredy leader with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders that only allowed her toes to pop out. Jaune screamed, hid under his sweater, peeped through his fingers, and overall acted like a child while watching Fred's Maniac Scalp Trimming, the D in Fred Standing for Death!

Neo grinned at the newfound weakness… Mind already planning out a horror flick date that'd leave him a shivering mess of fear giving her endless entertainment. Unaware she was in fact planning a date with a boy and what that implied towards her ever growing impression of him.

Not her. She saw past the fake gore and killer barber. She had half-expected to laugh with him alongside the movie, since, well, they fought Grimm. After all, how could a freaky barber named Fred who rhymed be remotely scary compared to a monster with teeth and claws? Still somehow scared the Fearless Leader. He shivered like a leaf.

Ren shrugged, to each they're own.

Another scene came on with Freaky Fred cornering a poor doggy that somewhat reminded her of Zwei, except pink. "That's when my tired eyes beheld a doggy dog, like dog he smelled, D-O-G is what he spelled, and that's how I spell… naughty."

Then Jaune threw ration out the window, like the Fate of her dice, crawled into her blanket and hugged her tight with her face pressed to his chest. His strong arms gripped her firm with her chin rested on top her noggin. Looking up, she saw him trying to conquer his fears as Fred hurt the poor dog, pulling her closer in a cocoon of heat to watch the trimming.

And with that act both Pyrrha and Neo felt something… Jealousy towards the most unlikely source. Both girls turning to Ruby who watched cheeks pink while Yang laughed at her scared fellow blonde.

She felt the escalation of his heartbeat through his chest. Another scene with Fred sent him over the edge. "He looked at me, his fetching eyes, and fetching fur did hypnotize, and filled with joy, and filled with sighs, and that's when I got… naughty."

Yang's eyes narrowed on the killer… Okay messing with hair kinda unsettled her as she combed through her golden locks somewhat protectively. Neo on the other hand silently giggled at the living joke before her, sure she could kill him three times over before he finished his first stupid rhyme.

Not a word passed his lips.

His muscles flexed on instinct with her body practically pushed into his lap. A much bigger body held hers with arms bulkier than hers with a chest easy to cuddle against and warmth similar to a safe and comfortable bed. She looked up, against her better judgment, and swallowed at the sight of his fearful eyes yet thinned lips. So much fear, but he refused to back down. Huh, maybe he wasn't holding her to protect himself, but her?

Nora grinned.

"Yep Jaune-Jaune doesn't just have a fight response but a protect response!" Ren nodded, it was odd but true. Pyrrha nodded.

"Indeed, if not for that Cardin would've been killed in forever falls…" Ruby merely blushed at the idea of Jaune wanting to protect her not sure why that made her feel kinda fuzzy…

Squirming, Ruby fell into the space of his shoulder and sighed contently. For such a scaredy cat to protect her, she felt quite safe. Blood did rush to her cheeks, but his beating heart made it difficult to concentrate.

Next week she would choose horror again.

Neo's eyes narrowed on the reaper sitting on the couch with her team. She'd have to watch out for that one…

…

Jaune wanted nothing more than to laugh on Tuesday.

Tag and training were same with Ruby, except it involved stamina training. More running, and more pushing his face into the dirt. Okay, so laugh and cry, but he feared today being all about scythes and the person said weapons wanted to slice into bite-sized bits, a pleasant surprise to find that not being the case.

Minus the face in dirt part.

If anything she pushed harder in speed than tag. To be expected in training, but she focused on merely running zigzag formations around him, never actually hitting him. Pushing she had no problem with, but hurting never appeared to be her goal. Nevertheless, landing a push of his own never happened. He chased, lunged, skipped, and fell over in a useless effort to catch her. Rose petals practically turned the forest into a flower garden of his failure.

"Okay that's just not fair…" The others really couldn't retort Blake's words, catching Ruby was even tough for Weiss with her time Dilation for Jaune this was basically impossible…

"You're slow!" Ruby giggled as she stood behind him, arms folded playfully behind her back.

He sighed and reached out to grab her, but she vanished, leaving nothing but a burst of rose petals in his wake. The leader fell to his knees and wiped the sweat from his eyes. Darn it. Hair dripped on his face with his heart loud in his ears and muscles straining. Not even close. A teasing push came from his blind spot and shoved him to the floor with him falling on his back in another defeat. Then a figure overshadowed the sun and leaned down to poke him on the nose with that same thoughtful grin he showed her on Board Game Night.

"Still too slow."

Jaune frowned. "Ha-ha, I'd be fast too if I was made out of sugar, spice, and everything nice."

Another poke to the nose. "Boop."

"I'm gonna tell Nora."

"Hey that's my thing! I copyrighted it and everything! Right Renny!?"

"'Sigh' To this day I still don't understand why you wasted money on that…"

She laughed and zoomed away to come back and throw his towel to his face. A lively plop sound resonated upon impact. He groaned and thought nothing of it, no point. Better to wipe the sweat from his eyes as the increase of moisture made it harder to see her run. Not like he believed he could catch her, but giving up wasn't a motto the Arcs knew. Strong. Brave. Heroic. A few of the others his family valued.

Words he was not…

Pyrrha frowned, she really needed to find a way to boost his confidence. Neo smiled having a pretty good idea of how to boost said confidence thanks to her very smutty view several back.

He sat up and dried his face, and she watched him. Watched him stand up. Watched him peel off his shirt. Watched the way his body moved in the gracious sun that made the sweat unfairly shine. Ruby couldn't even take her eyes away from the way he seemed to gather his confidence back once he caught his breath. That dopey smile reflected that of a good heart. Perfect for a Huntsman and maybe something more for her—?!

Yang and Ruby froze for altogether different reason, the brawlers eyes shifting red much to her partners and Weiss's annoyance why the latter's cheeks were the ones adopting the crimson shade.

A body tackled her distracted figure to the ground and captured both her hands above her head. Blinking eyes stared at victorious oceans. Legs trapped her waist, and the Arc grinned down at the stunned Rose. If he cared at all about his naked chest or labored breathing, he dutifully ignored it. Maybe all the sweat cleaning dissolved such feelings and morals, or perhaps he didn't dare pass up the chance to win for something so frivolous as covering one's self up when the person of interest had already seen him shirtless more than once?

None of it mattered.

"Ha!" Jaune smirked. "I finally got you! You're trapped! What are you going to do now?"

Ruby held her breath for all about three seconds before returning the smirk. Wiggling beneath him, the Arc blinked at the way her body fidgeted, that was until a tornado of rose petals entrapped him and pushed him away from her. He slid upon the ground. Aura protected his shirtless chest from scrapes and bruises on an unforgiving floor, but it was all for naught with Ruby seizing the advantage and pinning him down in the same position, only reverse, and considerably much closer because of their height difference.

She huffed happily. " So? What were you saying?"

Okay before Neo was concerned but now she was peeved, that was some Romcom level shit right there! Even Pyrrha was beginning to be a bit displeased with the two position friends or not… Nora herself stared, her head tilted…

I mean it's no Arkos but Lancaster isn't bad…

Hm? The leader thoughtfully considered his options. The grip on his wrists was weak. Her weight minimal at best. Her small stature played well into speed, not strength. Without it, he knew reasonably well he had the force to reverse the reverse and trap her, but why push for more training? Give her the win! Stop eating dirt! Put a shirt on! All good reasons to forfeit the win.

Plus she might try that tornado of death thing again.

"Fine." Jaune grinned. "You win. Now get off me."

She ha-ed and stood up. Another victory for Ruby Rose! One her, zero him. Better luck next time! Poor Jaune tried to look indifferent, but she poked him in the ribs, and the sore loser threw his towel on her face.

Ew! Sweat!

"Ugh, gross VB" Blake agreed with her partner's gagging face her nose scrunching up while Weiss looked on the verge to barfing.

"Is it weird I a bit envious…" Nora and Ren looked to her scooting slightly away leaving the Spartan to go utterly red as the others looked to her.

"Oh gods, please tell me I didn't say that out loud!" The shit eating grin spreading across Neo's face said otherwise much to her horror.

The short leader quickly threw the towel back and wrinkled her nose. Smelly! She moved up to push him, but he hardly budged. A second push accomplished nothing except to remind her how sore her hands were. Then she went in for a third, but he grabbed her wrists and shoved her back with ease.

Ouch!

Ruby rubbed her wrists tenderly. Not a bad feeling, but a good one. The feel of his rough skin, the mass of his weight, and everything else refused to go away. Her traitorous mind replayed the image of him pinning her down so vividly she might need soap to scrub her brain. The leader had to bite her lip upon watching Jaune clean the dirt between the crevices of his muscles and skin. Her cheeks flushed when he stretched his arms to reach his shoulder blades. Images of those arms pressing her to the floor or some wall made the blood travel faster and burn twice as hot.

Against all rational thought, the tenderness in her wrists felt good. Signs pointed to yes. She liked being beneath him. She enjoyed the feeling of his skin touching hers. She adored his bare chest. Most of all, she loved the face he made when he was confident.

"Ruby… Are you… Nodding?" The lil' reaper froze mid nod, her face quickly turning a atomic red.

"Wha!? N-no! Th-that's filthy! So Filthy!… I wasn't thinking about how blue his eyes were!" Weiss rolled her eyes at the dolt's adorable outburst while Blake smirked slightly. Yang on the other hand felt her knuckles pop as her hair begun to spark unintentionally…

Ruby Rose shook her head. The heat and exhaustion from training must be getting to her? Yeah, she nodded numbly, nothing else.

"Hungry?"

She smiled. "Always."

…

Wednesday was wrestling in Team JNPR's room.

An odd activity, one he voiced his opinion. "So why wrestling?"

Ruby stretched by touching her toes. "I want to show Yang that I can fight without Crescent Rose. It's a surprise. And the surprise is I'm going to kick her butt."

Cheeks still red but desperate to pay attention to anything else she latched unto her counterparts words! Ruby nodded at her plan, it was genius and would totally make it worth it to shove her surprise wrestling moves into her dumb sister's face! Yang herself grinned at hger sis's adorable reasoning, reaching out to mess up said sister's hair.

"Awe, that cute sis."

"Ugh! Quit it!"

I'm so doing this and kicking your butt!

The Arc dumbly nodded as he watched her stretch in the middle of the empty room. She wore an interesting outfit, to sugarcoat it, and by interesting, he meant distracting. Dust, where did she even get that outfit? Red, tight-fitting, tiny shorts, a criminally short tank top with her team's name etched on the front and Rose on the back with a large number one in the middle in a color scheme of red and white with barely able to breathe fabric, and elbow pads and red wristbands that somehow upped the outfit's appeal. Yeah, no! Any hot-blooded male wouldn't be able to keep her eyes off her. Off her bare backside, exposed stomach, her stretching legs, her supple— breathe!

And like that Pyrrha's eyes hardened on the skin while Neo blinked shocked looking back to the silver-eyed redhead in the frilly skit and cape and then back to her counterpart. The fuck! How was she so thicc! She was supposed to be 15 right!?

Yang seeing VB's reaction let out a small growl, she'd need to have a nice long talk with Arc about keeping his eyes to himself when she got out of here… Blake beside her sighed, supposing it would be asking a bit too much for Yang to go completely cold turkey on the whole over protective sister schtick all the sudden.

Ha! Sigh, he breathed a second time and glanced down at his outfit. A pair of loose shorts and a larger shirt, either he wasn't taking this wrestling seriously enough, or she took hers too seriously. Thank Oum she preferred to wrestle in the confine of his team's room.

She struck a mean pose. "Prepare to meet your maker!"

Jaune gulped, remembering yesterday's fiasco of a training session. Him punchbag, her the fists. Not a pretty picture for him. At the very least he figured out his answer. She took things too seriously and him not enough. After all, she created a Friendship Contract that he foolishly signed.

Ren couldn't help but make a few comparisons to his and Nora's dynamic…

Irony was more than a five-letter word.

He brought his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey! Remember, I'm all about the breathing."

"Through a straw!"

Head tilt. Okay, new plan. Pray to Oum she didn't hit below the belt. Not much of a strategy, but she already charged at him with her arms out, and he had limited options. Then she tackled him with all her five-foot-two might, and everything flipped.

Humor was also another five-letter word.

Ruby Rose by all definition was a prodigy. Fast, powerful, and skilled, the many qualities to a high-degree individual, but she lacked physical strength. That couldn't be any more obvious with her trying to pin him, or topple him over. He had a difficult time figuring out which. None of this might have been a problem with her excess speed to compensate her weak force, but without it, Jaune stared down at the helpless girl virtually hugging his chest with her feet pressed firmly back. Suddenly all those appealing qualities died off, and he forced himself not to laugh.

Yang and Nora had no such problem bursting out into a fit of bellows much to Ruby's embarrassment.

"It's not funny!"

"Your right sis, ITS ADORABLE!" Neo shrugged not seeing the Rose's point, even with that size it was about how you used it.

Then she growled he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Laughter echoed in the room, and she pushed harder to push him down, growling even.

Ruby wanted to die… She wanted to punch her counterpart for giving her sister and Nora this much to laugh about! The two jerks! She hoped they suffocated form laughing too hard!

None of it worked. It only reinforced his chuckles before he went on the offensive.

Time for payback for yesterday's training.

His hands went for her wrists first, seizing them in a vice-grip and she froze. Jaune disregarded that and pulled back, creating distance from the weak tackle-hug and forcefully spun her around. One of the perks of seven siblings, sisters or not was they loved to wrestle or roughhouse. He had way more experience than her, and that shined when he pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her to lift her off the floor and squeeze. Silver eyes exploded in emotions.

Warning! Warning! Hot! Hot!

Her skin burned from the way his arm brushed against her exposed stomach. Weak fingers gripped his steady hands in a hopeless effort to break free. Things only escalated her temperature when he bent back to prevent escape. She felt everything. Every-thing! Back to his chest, soft skin against rough, and her body hugged against his. No more sneaky looks, definitely not scraggly. Just like in the forest, except her excitement grew with the confident undertone his voice carried.

"Give up, Rubes?"

Neo was gonna to stab her… Hush was out and ready… She'd have gone for it… If the Older Arc wasn't glaring down at her from above stuffed in the giant ladies' bosom.

Yes, she gave up. She gave up completely.

A petite body slacked in his hold, and she resisted a groan when he pulled her closer. No. No! She venomously shook her head. No more! Whatever this was had to stop! Now! Strength returned to her jelly-like hands, but it was all for naught. He stubbornly refused to budge.

Jerk!

She sighed. "Yes, yes, you win! Now put me down!"

Her cheeks begun to blush, almost as though she could feel his heat herself!

He did the opposite and raised a brow. "You know, you're kinda light, Rubes. Not to say I thought you were heavy, but you're way lighter than I thought you'd be." To prove his point, he flipped her and held her up with ease. "See?"

Why the fuck was he manhandling Red in a world were she was!? Neo didn't know why she cared this much about him commenting on another girl being light and small but dammit she did!

Ruby frowned. Okay, now this was just embarrassing, stop treating her like a child! So what if she was tiny. Some people called that fun-size! Fun! Size!

Neo nodded.

Damn Straight!

Arms shook in the air. "Put me down! Put me down now Jaune!"

"Alright, alright." Jaune began releasing his grip, but the action caused her to slip between his hands until he hit something in the way, and his fingers gripped onto a softer part of her anatomy that raised the blood to his cheeks in record time. So soft—gah—he quickly backed away and tried, and in vain, not to remember the feel of her pillows in his hands. The dummy quickly lowered his head in shame. "Uh! I'm so sorry, Ruby, that was an accident!"

she felt it! Looking down she could almost swear she felt rough hands graze her boobies! Her cheeks were as crimson as Yang's eyes!

She heard none of that.

A compelling thump shook her body. Might have been something in her heart, might have been not. Blood promptly rushed to her cheeks with her whole body warming up to the stunning episode. Strong. Warm. A few of the words to describe the sensation she felt upon his fingers gripping her, ahem, chest. Accident or not, just like training she liked the feel of his firm body. Only now she was more conscious of the risqué outfit she wore and all the skin it exposed for him to see, touch, grab, feel. She shivered with a wobbling breath. Must be the blood.

Nora grinned.

"Awe, she starting to notice boys Renny, isn't that cute?" No, no it was not! Yang readied to protest before she saw her sister, so flustered, embarrassed and confused, it was adorable…and oh so teasable…

Okay… Maybe this won't be all bad.

Blake shook her head at the smirk growing on Yang's face.

At the least its better than her going berserk…

Had to be the blood.

A quick lick of her lips happened, but he saw none of that, still hiding his nervousness.

Then she grabbed his lowered head and managed to flip him on his back with a hefty heave. Dizziness quickly captured his senses from having his world flipped upside-down, and everything wired back to normal when her body mounted his chest and kept him trapped to the floor.

"It's okay, Jaune." Ruby smiled, a fist posed for his shocked features. "Accidents happen."

The Arc accepted the weak punch to the nose. Anything to keep the blood from flowing downward and out his nose instead.

Someone needed to tell Ruby not to straddle people in that outfit!

Again, she covered her face embarrassed by her counterpart's actions!

Stupid other me!

…

Thursday included a mountain of snacks and video games.

When it came to board games and cards, Jaune Arc was the King of Games but compared to handhelds and consoles, and suddenly Ruby Rose stole the crown.

A give and take system.

Ruby grinned at the consistency with her world, oh yeah, she was totally gonna own Jaune's booty in this!

He beat her at board games and wrestling, and she destroyed him in tag and video games. Lunch between the two ended in her favor, but he signed a Friendship Contract, so being picky wasn't in the fine print. That, too, included Saturday and the specially themed days like her birthday or the first of every month. Twin day had yet to happen, coming up this Saturday, but he kept that coupon in his pocket for the day she decided dresses or fake mustaches with faker accents.

In the end, the rules bent to her favor.

Even now, sitting crisscrossed on the floor with his Scroll in hand, a monitor on the dresser, and enough sugary snacks to make even Miss Strawberry puke, it all focused on her drive to either whoop his butt in gaming, or help her complete that one level too challenging. Not to say he minded, because he didn't, not at all. So far Thursday might turn out to be the best day of them all.

After all, who hated video games?

Ren and Blake shared a small groan, both their partners being the type to get much to invested in a level they couldn't beat and opting to rage quit via controller through TV Screen.

"Are you ready to melt some zombies?!"

Ruby plopped right down next to him, copying his sitting stance with a small wobble. She gripped her Scroll with a mad-hungry look. Slashing zombies, the number one motivator to crazy, call nine-one-one.

He scoffed. "I think they're mutants, Ruby."

"Yeah! Yeah!" Ruby shook her Scroll. "Are you ready or not? Or is someone scared of a little mole?"

He humphed. "Start the game. I'm going to beat your high score."

"We're supposed to be working together!"

"We are." Jaune reasoned. "But my teamwork's going to be a little bit better than yours."

"Over my dead body!"

"That's fine, more points for me."

The audience watching smiled, not helping but to finding the whole scene playing far too wholesome to stay in a sorta bad mood. Above Jaune sighed in relief, the act not escaping Jinn's notice.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, mind hinting me in as to why." He smirked knowing she already knew but indulging the Avatar of knowledge anyways.

"After the rollercoaster of worlds, they've seen I think its just nice they got this breather." She nodded to his word before pulling him in tighter, his head now firmly between her larger mammaries earning a mad blush from him.

"That is nice, but I do hope you'll be able to spare some time from them and give your partner in these views some attention." His cheeks flushed like a schoolboy, just the way she liked it. She could only watch him be some cutesy and lewd with other girls for so long before she needed to reaffirm that this Arc was hers'.

She stuck her tongue out and started the game. Immediately mutant mole people from the zombie dimension of the future's past started filling the screen to decimate their character stand-ins.

Weiss blinked confused.

"what in the world sorta premise is that!?" She paled upon realizing only to realize nothing was beign answered and frowned recalling her having used her last one during that… inappropriate viewing.

Blake across from her smirked glad to see someone else suffering her annoyance before her ears flicked and she looked up to see where those wet noises were coming from. Needless to say seeing the Giantess Jinn practically manhandle the older Jaune above as they all but fornicated above them made her go utterly still.

Wave after wave, monster after monster, level after level, they played with button mashing and snack eating. Bright lights from the screen filled the curtain shielded room. A monster snuck up behind Ruby's character. Ah! No time to reach for a weapon. Input lag! Closing in, no, no, no, no!

Crunch!

Drat! She lost a life! Respawn time was a minute. She needed to risk on his skills not to die. Worse yet, he was going to rake in the points as she sat idly by. A costly move, one he took full advantage of with his tongue stuck out in concentration and fingers gliding over the inputs on his Scroll.

With nothing else to do but wait, she carefully eyed the way his fingers messed around with the control. While he lacked her awe-inspiring skills, they still moved in precision. Long fingers strutted powerfully and fast over buttons, concentration set to eleven, and all attached to her awkward friend. Such a scene made her wonder what kind of effect that set of focus would have on her if he used those fingers on her skin and underneath her— gah!

Yang blinked at her Sister's counterpart, the terror of recognizing someone noticing boys for the first time all too obvious for her while her own Ruby looked down to her fingers blushing herself.

She glared away from his hands and converged entirely on the screen. No more distraction! Monster killing time! This time her digits moved in a blur. Kill after kill! Fast and concise, all things attributed to a kick-butt gamer. Unlike his fingers, hers were soft and petite, able to explore more like the crevices of the muscles on his bare chest after an exhausting game of— crunch!

"Wow!" Jaune laughed, eyes on the prize. "You stink at this game. No wonder you needed my help."

Ruby hid her face in embarrassment, half from the shame of dying twice in such a small gap the other from her stupid counterparts' dumb filthy ideas that were worming their way into her naïve impressionable mind!

She smiled, but it was as shallow as a puddle. "Ha-ha."

Stupid distractions! She planned to get extra, extra brussels sprouts for him during their next meal.

Beyond that no more distractions, the goofballs played until their eyes hurt with their sugary and salty substance all gone. The game would have gone on for longer, but Yang walked into the room to find them focused entirely on the pixel art. She yelled out hello, but the knuckleheads ignored her to blast mutants. Oh well, she shrugged, time for the hard way.

The dragoness cheerfully hummed as she waltzed across the room. Neither of them noticed her grip the pulled down blinds. Neither of them heard her count down from three. Heck! She even stopped at two-and-a-half to warn them, but gaming addiction was a grave illness. Patients exhibited no reaction to the antibodies, aka Yang, so the only option left was a treatment of the vitamin D kind. With that, she released the blinds and allowed the sun to shine.

Yang smirked. "Oops, my finger slipped."

Their cries and groans were music to her ears, good old sunlight, the perfect wake-me-upper, or in their case, cruel and unusual punishment. Too much video games rotted the mind, and these two, ergo the contract maker and signer, didn't need any more brain rottage. Call her Friend of the Year. Yes, she did accept buttery snacks as a thank you gift. Add a little honey in it to soften it up.

"My eyes!" Ruby moaned while shielding her eyes with her combat skirt. Jaune hid behind her. Dork. "Ah! Close the blinds, Yang. Close them. It burns."

Ruby pointed to her sister as if she was the own reasonable for the heresy enacted by her counterpart.

"Evil!" Yang would've retorted if she wasn't so busy laughing a mental thumbs up to her alternative self having forgotten her previous distress.

Her sister scoffed at the exaggerated act of it all and closed them halfway. Still, if anything, this was a good lesson, no playing video games in the dark. Maybe now her clueless sister might have at least a backlight somewhere in the room to reduce pain or suffer future consequences. On the other side of the spectrum, she heard the telltale sounds of their video game character biting the dust. Darn mole people!

She dramatically pointed to the screen. "Uh-oh, looks like you lost."

Ruby huffed in annoyance. Jaune knew better than to huff, but he sighed. Yang plopped her butt down on her head, watching the two blink the spots away from their eyes. They quickly played another game and Yang watched from the sidelines. Explosion once again filled the room. Mole people attacked. Button mashing, lots and lots of button mashing, and all things mind-numbing.

Crunch!

Ruby's player died. Yang raised a brow on the fifth time that happened in the last hour. Huh? Weird. Every time her sister died, Ruby appeared not too angry about it, but she had a habit of focusing on the way Jaune's fingers moved over the controls. It would be one thing to focus on Vomit Boy since if he died, they lost, but no, she kept her attention fixed on his fingers. Not his face, or his body—who knew for sure if she did or not—but his hands. More importantly, Ruby's character died a lot…

Yang sighed in relief, good her counterpart was beginning to notice, soon she could enact her needed involvement between the two and make Jaune leave Ruby alone before things got anything higher than PG In that room.

Last time she checked, Ruby was a wizard when it came to bash-em-ups. Board and card games was another story, but this was sixty-frame gaming. Something was throwing off her sister's concentration and allowing Vomit Boy to take the lead. The fun part was figuring out if it was either a subconscious or conscious act.

So Yang observed.

She watched them play, watched them shoulder bump in competitiveness, watched them be themselves, and it was acting normal where Yang could distinguish. The final piece of the puzzle came when they beat the game. High scores and yadda-yadda-yadda, she focused nothing on that. Nope! Her attention got drawn to the way her sister looked at Jaune after they won. Ruby smiled wholeheartedly with her hands bunched downward between the hole in her crisscrossed legs.

Yup, Yang thought, if that wasn't a smile that blinded the sun and made the honey-due melt in her cheeks, then she tanked at fighting.

The Arc pointed smugly at the flashing points. "Would you look at that, new high score."

Ruby poked him on the cheek, stubbornly. His stupid grin remained. "That's because my controller was busted. My Q button wasn't working. You. Got. Lucky."

He scoffed. "Yeah, sure, just what I expect a sore loser to say. Luck had nothing to do with it. That was one-hundred percent skill."

Blake rolled her eyes at the banter while Weiss was more than content huffing at the ridiculousness, how was this world any different then they're own, she failed to see how a mere contract with her Dolt of a partner would could effect much.

Yang rolled her eyes at the silly banter. Dorks, both of them. On the bright side, at least the Friendship Contract didn't make this awkward. Being forced into a friendship might seem like a bad idea with no U-turn, but the dummy who signed it didn't believe in asking for directions, a perfect friend for her socially-awkward sister.

So Yang continued observing.

She watched the way Jaune stole Ruby's Scroll to check for damages—he found zip—and she made a mad dash to reach it. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, but then when Ruby did manage to grab hold of her Scroll, her fingers lingered on his when she pulled away. A too subtle of a movement for anyone to catch but Yang Xiao Long. A speedster moved quickly. Ruby should have been able to avoid his grip way before he grabbed her Scroll.

Unless, of course, she wanted him to steal it out of her hand.

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed at her observation catching on to what Neo had long suspected.

If that was the case, then that meant—?!

A smirk spread across the brawler's cheeks. Subtle glances, lingering touches, unrivaled happiness, all of the symptoms added up. Ruby wanted nothing more to lace her fingers around his, hence the reason she couldn't look away. Might be a subconscious act on her part, but facts didn't lie.

"Lies! Lies and Slander!" Ruby shot up faster then a bullets face utterly red as her other world sister spilled the beans! No not beans! Lies, filthy lies!

Still, she required more proof before jumping to a conclusion.

Narrowing her eyes, Yang watched the Arc boy leave rigidly once the game ended. He bumped into a few things, being a clumsy fool, could probably blame the lack of light exposure and his legs being asleep, and her baby sister giggled. She waved away at a guy walking five steps to his dorm. Then she suddenly remembered something and ran to him and pulled on his hoodie, gripping arms tight near his hands, more closely his wrists. At that point, Yang cared naught for the message and smirked wider.

Yup!

Ruby was infected with the hand-holding virus. Sadly, no cure. That only left a few courses of treatment, cheek pinching, teasing until her face matched a tomato and plenty of embarrassing photos. So once the two stopped being cavity-inducing sweet and the door closed, she moved in with a predatory smirk and eyes burning in delight.

"You like Vomit Boy."

Ruby turned around and tilted her head. "Duh! He's my bestie."

Yang shook her head and poked her sister on the rib. "No! I mean you like, like him. It's written all over your face."

Blake rose a brow, not willing to say how much more pleasant this Yang's reaction was compared to what she had expected, Weiss beside her sharing the thought. Ruby on the other hand…

No no no NO!

The leader kept her gaze painfully docile. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Another poke to the ribs.

"Don't lie to me ol' baby sis of mine. You know me better than that. I saw the way you stared at his hands. So what? Got a hand fetish? C'mon, tell me!" Yang leaned down and continuously pulled on Ruby's cheeks. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

The cherry-rosed leader swatted her hands away and threw hers up. "Gah! Okay, okay! Stop it!" Ruby sighed. "I might like him. Might! Okay? Maybe. It's probably nothing. Shut Up!"

Everyone in the room still (Except Ren cause he could see it a mile away) All eyes turned on the rose who shook her face utterly maddeningly red. Little bouts of steam escaping her crimson stained face as she nearly passed out form overheating!

She said it! Why, why did she say it!? I-I don't like Jaune!… I mean yeah I like him but like a friend! A big strong knighty friend whose nice strong, understanding and has a nice butt… No, not like that!

Her heart, mind and body wared within as the other's stares bore into her only hiking up the cacophony of embarrassment assaulting her tiny form.

"So why the hands? What? You want to feel them explore your body or something?"

Yang nearly lost it then and there, how could she even suggest that!? However, something about seeing her other self so relaxed and care free made her more annoyed then angry, even jealous when the thought of her previous counterpart's reactions to Arc came to mind…

When Ruby said nothing, focused more on her shuffling feet, Yang hid a growing smirk behind her palm. "Oh, Ruby. How naughty!"

"Considering how lewd you were last view that funny Yangarang"

"H-hey, like Sh-shut up Nora" The Valkyrie snickered at her fellow power house's faint blush.

More emotional outbursts. "It's not my fault! It's his! Him and his stupid need to take off his shirt after every game of tag. He started this, not me!"

Yang raised a brow with pouty lips. "After every game? So this is a repeated performance? Not a one-time thing?" Again, Ruby said nothing. "Ruby?"

"… It's not my fault…"

"After every game." Yang repeated, and then her eyes lit up. "Oh, I get it. The first time was an accident, but the other times you purposely got him all hot to make him take his shirt off. Tell me I'm wrong."

Ruby exploded. "Video games made me do it! I'm young and impressionable! It's society's fault!"

Ruby nodded with all the desperate need Weiss had shone that horrible view several times ago. She clung to her counterparts reasoning, Cause Ruby Rose was not FILTH! Nor would she ever be!

Yang glomped her sister. "I am so proud of you!"

"Can't. Breathe." The brawler squeezed harder and released her only when she groaned. Oops! Ruby stepped back and breathed, eyeing her sister warily. "So you're not mad?"

A smirk. "I told you to get out of your shell. I didn't exactly mean this, but it's a good start, and Vomit Boy's scraggly, so he's harmless."

"What!?" Surprisingly the one who said so was Pyrrha, but could she really be blamed? Up till now she banked on Yang not approving or ruining Lancaster's chances via raging dramatic sister!

The leader frowned. " He's not scraggly."

The yang in the room on the other hand couldn't help but feel her eyes twitch at this whole incident…

A bigger smirk. "I guess you would know, huh? Tell me, do you like him all sweaty?"

Shirtless Jaune? Shirtless Jaune short of breath? Ruby blushed at the thought. Yang laughed. Ha! Facts did not lie. Physical appearance was just a bonus any warm-blooded female appreciated. Maybe Yang didn't see the appeal, but Ruby did, and that was more than effort encouragement to help the clueless dolt.

Nora grinned looking to her fellow powerhouse.

"This you hasn't seen out Fearless Leader naked yet like miss thirst from the last world right? Right?" Yang would punch Nora was she not aware the Valkyrie could pay her back the blow.

Plus the dolt asked. "What should I do?"

"Give me the contract."

Weiss did not like the look in Xiao-Long's eyes, she recognized that smirk and pair of smiling eyes. That was the face of a businessman with proposal she knew would serve only to her own benefit…

…

Freestyle Friday.

Ruby Rose described friendship in a pile of papers. Letters, numbers, bullet-points, commas, all of it. She had a color-coordinated calendar when they played games or when they trained, coupons that might or might not be beneficial to her, and a competitiveness that was more stubborn than healthy. All in all, friendship was a ten-letter word, five more than irony or humor.

Jaune Arc learned this the hard way upon signing Friday and indulging Saturday. Now it was full circle and Friday once more. Heh, Freestyle Friday, an original name, sounded unusually innovative, like Anything Could Happen Thursday. So what could happen today? Another contract?

"Yeah, right." Jaune laughed as he knocked on Team RWBY's door. "Won't catch me signing another one of those."

Ren got the distinct impression a flag had been raised with those words…

Ruby opened the door with the rest of her team mysteriously absent. He walked in anyway, too used to her to be the least bit suspicious, and when he shut the door closed, a gust of wind ran up his spine. When he turned around, he found his back pressed to the door by a tiptoeing Ruby. A stack of papers, acting as a shield, was gripped between her fingers with her eyes peeking over the edge. A trail of guilty rose petals fluttered on the floor, revealing her sudden use of her Semblance. Then she shoved the papers into his hands and acted stubbornly for someone shorter than him.

Déjà vu.

Ren signed

Called it…

What? The leader blinked. Another contract? He just got used to this one. Oum! Barely a week had passed before she wrote a new one. Well nope! Not this time. He had no intention of signing away anything else. Fun or not, a guy could only eat so many brussels sprouts or run his lungs dry.

Ruby wilted, her heart hurting… Painfully, like each throb were a burning coal thrown into her chest.

'sniff'

"Ruby?" Blake turned to see her leader looking down her blush gone and instead tears forming in her eyes. Eyes widened at the sudden display as she begun to shake, seeing this Weiss turned as well already recognizing the sight as one she'd felt mere days ago… When Neptune had rejected her…

"It hurts…"

Why, why did that hurt to hear…

No sooner were a pair of arms wrapped around her as Yang pulled her in, anger and conflicting emotions gone as her big sister instincts took over. Even Pyrrha felt a little bad for who she might have to soon consider a possible rival. Neo on the other merely shrugged, what did it matter if Red liked him, not like she stood a chance against her.

"You don't have to sign this one."

Oh? No signature? Not a contract then? He sighed in relief and accepted the stack of papers. "Oh, okay. So what is it? A list of the things we have to choose from for Freestyle Friday?"

Her cheeks burned, and she shook her head but firmly kept eye contact. He glanced down. Nope. Not another Friendship Contract or a list of activities per se, but more, much more.

'Girlfriend Contract' in bold letters greeted him.

Weiss and Blake slapped their faces while Nora shrugged.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it."

A sense of disbelief overcame him, and he read over the contract absently, more of a reflex if anything. Hand-holding, cuddling, bedtime kisses, shirtless tag— what?!

Neo froze, half in shock half in imagine said shirtless tag but all incredibly annoyed someone else was suggesting it to her baby's daddy! Pyrrha on the other hand focused on the more romantic aspects her own heart stirring, partially in envy of Ruby's bravery and also in challenge at the scene before her and the way the Ruby across the sofas looked to the Screen in hope.

The Arc set his sights on the flustered girl, matching the color of her cloak. Suddenly that five-foot-two height appeared intimidating, but for all the best reasons. Ha. Ha-ha. Not a failed tactic.

Wait?

You don't have to sign this one?

What did she mean by that?

As Jaune flipped to the first page of the Girlfriend Contract, Ruby chewed her lip nervously. Much thought went into making this new and improved contract with the aid of a seriously reluctant Schnee. Plenty of brainpower! Maybe even too much thinking. Maybe not? Crazy was just a five-letter word. Yang called it crush syndrome, whatever that meant, but her heart rattled violently in her chest. No time to think!

"Yangarang I don't a cursh bothers getting themselves official with actual paperwork…"

Maybe I could get Renny to sign one…

Cheeks blushed at the prospect…

Not like she had to fret over him signing it.

Ruby already forged his signature and taped the Get Out of Jail Free card above her clumsy wording.

Neo and Pyrrha went slacked jawed sharing a actual thought.

That sneaky little-!

…

Saturday came, and it was the first of the month.

Twin day!

Jaune Arc attempted to use his coupon to escape wearing a blue cloak that matched with a bullet belt, but Ruby Rose revoked that coupon with the lines being between coupon's expired and nope.

Part of the Girlfriend privileges. Next to hand-holding and letting her win on Board Game Night.

The Kissing Clause made it difficult to argue.

Her smile made it impossible.

The screen died out then leaving the eight in different states, Ren being the most calm as per usual but with a faint smile on his lips while Nora all but cheered Lancaster being her second favorite ship to sail! Pyrrha and the other looked down conflicted for a number of reasons but surprisingly didn't feel nearly as upset as she imagined she might at having to view Jaune become intimate with another girl…

Oh it cut deep of course but maybe because it was Ruby of all people instead of Yang, Neo or Oum forbid Weiss the sting wasn't nearly as prominent.

Instead she could endure, besides this was another world and she'd very much make sure no such contract was put anywhere near Jaune.

Neo on the other hand wondered to herself who best to get Junior to make a similar contract deciding whether to go with the straight to the point name of Booty Call, the always pleasing to the ear Baby's Daddy or the Silent Knight Contract? So many questions so little time… Blake and Weiss on the other hand sighed in relief thankful this world wasn't at all unpleasant like most others had proven themselves to be…

Finally Yang watched as Ruby fiddled around shifting a huge stupid grin on her flushing face as she swayed from side to side. Dumb little giggles flowing out her, it was as adorable as it was concerning, and while she wanted to be mad this shit was just too damn wholesome and well her counterpart sorta started it so…

Blake looked back up to the two above, seeing Jaune with a dopey smile on his face as the giantess above gestured for the Belladonna's silence, she only had so much time till Jaunepool returned and she knew exactly who he was bringing. The more time she could spend indulging in her knight the better.

So not missing a beat she grabbed up another view, a smaller one, four orbs circling around one another.

Viewing into it she nearly broke into laughter. With a wry smile she flicked one of the miniscule orbs into the screen drawing the seven other's attention before they could look up and catch them. With a hungry smile she returned to her task, she didn't know how long she'd have till she shrunk again and so she intended to use every second to her advantage whether the kitty cat was watching or not.