Arclight Foundries

"She's alright, Jaune, just a bit knocked about from the fight at the breach." Velvet assured him tiredly, leaning against the wall by the door to Coco's room and looked on while nurses bustled past to wherever they were needed at that moment. "C.u.n.t didn't see a Boarbatusk rollin' on her s'all, and my bloody drongo a.s.s didn't catch the blighter 'fore it got her. She's a right tough c.u.n.t, but… Even Yats woulda done the cactus if it got him that way unless he got lucky somehow. She'll be at the inn for a bit, though."

"But she's okay, right?" He asked, anxious and chewing his lip as his eyes bounced from the door to Velvet. "I-I mean, I know this isn't the intensive care, I know hospitals really well, but-"

"God, you caught it bad, eh? She's fine, Jaune, bloody oath. I wouldn't lie about that, not to you and not right now." She snorted, smiling in spite of clear exhaustion, anxiety, and bandages that wrapped up her leg from knee to her hip, bandages visible from under her sports shirt. She caught his eye and smiled reassuringly, "Don't go clucky on me now, Jaune, 'm fine too. Just a bit of doggo claw in my leg, s'not that bad. It'll heal."

"I know, Vel, I just…" He sighed, running his hands through his now shoulder-length hair with a tired sigh and a grimace at the tightness in his c.h.e.s.t that his anxiety was causing. "I worry about you guys, you know?"

"Yeah, no drama, Jaune. I understand how you feel, I still remember seeing it hit her, hearing her scream..." She smiled after a second, stiff and forced but there nonetheless, and waved a hand at the door beside her almost lazily. "Go on, cobber, 'fore she hears ya out here and tries to waddle her crippled a.s.s out to see ya."

"How, uh, how bad is it?" He asked, looking at the door and then to the Faunus next to him as she pushed off the wall, noticeably favoring her uninjured leg over the other but otherwise ignoring it. "I just, you know, wanna not be surprised. I feel like me freaking out or something like that, or whatever, would upset her a bit."

"She's got a bunch of broken ribs, her left arm is broken too, and the same leg as well. A concussion on top of that, a lot of cuts on her back, and a hole in the broken leg's t.h.i.g.h from a tusk." Velvet explained simply and bluntly, stepping close enough that her c.h.e.s.t touched his and all he could see was her face and bright brown eyes. Both set into a firm expression and she added, "She's fine, Jaune. On the mend at the inn. She's a tough Sheila, that's damn straight, and she ain't gonna like it if she thinks you're doubtin' her, mate."

"V-Velvet?"

"So stay cool, yeah?" She smiled, the odd firmness and aggression gone as she stepped back and turned, heading away from him with a backward wave. "I'm off for some fried chook, if I can find it 'round the joint. In the mood."

That left him alone in the hallway, aside from passing medical staff of various ranks and people heading to visit those they knew in the hospital after the attack. He saw normal civilians mixed in with armored or uniformed Atlesians and Valeans alike, the occasional smatterings of school uniforms from both Hunter and civilian Academies, and even the somewhat rarer cl.u.s.ters of students in Beacon uniforms here and there.

Everyone had been hurt in the attack, or knew someone that was, it seemed…

Taking a deep breath to steady himself and his nerves, he knocked twice on the door and called, "Hey, Coco, comin' in."

Inside, the room was a fairly simple and standard hospital room, admittedly for the richer kind of person. And so it was equipped with a private bathroom which formed a kind of hallway to his right that led into the room. The room itself had a comfortable couch against the wall with a television facing the door, and the bed opposite so patients could watch it. Next to it was a large window with heavy and dark curtains drawn across it, probably for Coco's eyes, and even the lights of the room had been dimmed into a warm and dull orange glow.

"Hey, Jaune, you know I hear you standing there all nervous, yeah?" She sounded weak and tired, her voice almost rasping but still somehow cheerful and teasing, even if it sounded pained as well. "Come on, then, take a look at the s.e.xiest cripple in the whole joint. If ya want, I'll even show you some t.h.i.g.h. The one not in bandages if you ask nice enough, too. Just for you, one time only."

"Coco…"

"Just treat me gentle, Jaune." She cooed as he moved to the side of her bed, dragging a chair over to sit beside her. She made a shy face, pressing a finger of her good hand to her bottom lip, and added, "I'm already hurt and sore, so please try and control yourself. Don't hurt lil' old me."

"Coco, please." He rolled his eyes, smiling in spite of his stress as he plopped down onto the chair and looked her over. As expected, most of her left side was in a cast or a brace, and her head was partially wrapped in bandages, but she looked intact at least. After a moment, and mouth dry, he asked, "How, um, how are you doing?"

"Everything aches a bit, but this," she jerked her head up, at the drip behind her, "keeps it mostly down to a dull throb. S'fine, Jaune, this ain't my first time at the hospital for a stay, won't be my last either. This is the life I chose, Jaune, so… Relax? You look stiff as a board and pale as my bandages."

"Sorry, I just…" He sighed, and gave her a weak smile and a shrug. "I worry about people, you know? And seeing you like this kind of… I don't know, I'm not upset, but..."

"Hey, relax." She said more gently, giving him a soft smile and a stiff nod that was mindful of her injuries and bandages. "I get it, Jaune, I really do. Velvet, the guys, even my family, we all see this kind of stuff all the time. Hunters' life, you know? I guess you don't."

"I do, though, Coco. I've seen this for a lot of my life, sometimes even from my own bed, but..." He argued softly, resting his arm on the bed and holding her hand anxiously where the cast on her arm ended. She let him continue without comment, simply watching him and listening. "I've never been good with it, though. My sisters always ended up in the hospital, or the kind of… Clinic thing we had in Arc Manor. But I never got good at seeing people I care about hurt like this."

"Jaune, I…" She swallowed, and he almost would have said she looked surprised or flushed if the light wasn't so dim and warm. "I, uh, I never thought you would be so worried about me… I'm sorry."

"Don't be, this is… This isn't something I want you to apologize for, Coco." He squeezed her hand and smiled warmly, giving her a firm nod. "This is the kind of life you lead, and with friends like you, and Ruby, and Penny, well… I have to expect to visit the hospital to see you all sometimes. Yeah?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that. No sense stressin' what you can't change, right?" She gave him a small smile, almost sad if he didn't think otherwise. "Though… I guess you're used to that kinda, aren't you."

"Yeah, I…" He swallowed uncomfortably, but gave her a nod anyways. "Yeah, I kind of had to get over it when I was young. No use crying over what you can't do anything about, got to just… Keep moving forward. Right?"

"Yeah. You know you're kinda badass." He gave her a curious look, shrugging her good shoulder and nodding at his c.h.e.s.t meaningfully. "You could die goin' jogging, but you don't give a damn about it. I don't think I ever told you how badass that really is."

"Don't you do the same with your eyes?" He tried to deflect, flushing in spite of himself at the compliment. She'd said similar at the restaurant days and days ago, but he chalked up her slightly rambling tone to the morphine and concussion more than anything else.

"Kinda, but my eyes won't kill me." She waggled her eyebrows at him and winked, waving her good had at the stand under the mounted television setup where her glasses sat. "And I can keep 'em covered up with my glasses anyways, so doesn't really matter. You know? You can't do the same, and mine make me look damn s.e.xy, if I do say so myself. Which I just did, so I guess I do."

"Not, uh, not that you need the glasses for those." He tried, smiling stiffly and awkwardly at her. She blinked once, then twice, then her mouth split in a grin and her brown eyes lit up with amus.e.m.e.nt, and he g.r.o.a.n.e.d, "Coco, no, I was just trying to make you feel better, behave-"

"Oh, Jaune, I didn't know you thought I was s.e.xy." She let out a peal of laughter, grunting almost immediately and clutching at her side with a hand. "Shit, man, that was funny as hell and a great pickup line, but come on, you're killing me here. Broken ribs, remember?"

"S-Sorry, Coco."

"Don't be, used to pain in my line of work." She waved off the concerned face that brought on and his apology at once, rolling her warm brown eyes at him. "But you know, I am getting released tomorrow, since my Aura dealt with all the problem injuries."

"That was fast…" He grumbled, but he was used to that too. Aura meant that fractures, cuts, and everything like that that wasn't life-threatening would heal almost overnight usually, at least to a functioning point. Things like huge breaks, though, would take longer to heal all the way. "You'll be sore for sure, but I figured you'd take another day to rest up at least."

"Nah, I've got a date with a tall, blonde and nerdy tomorrow evening at seven." She winked at him, nodding towards their hands, and added for his benefit since he looked surprised and confused. "Holdin' my hand, coming to see me, flirting with me, and what? You thought I wouldn't one up you?"

"It's not Pickaxe Knight, Coco." He sighed, rolling his eyes and trying to pull his hand away unconsciously.

"Uh uh." She said gently, holding it there in spite of how it jerked her arm and how it must of hurt her to do it. Squeezing his hand gently, she smiled softly and added, "This is mine now, Jaune. You can borrow it for work and stuff, but it's mine now."

"But-"

"Nope. Mine. I bought it, and I don't have the receipt or want to return it..." She squeezed it, smiling warmly at him and turning to stare at the window with a contented sigh when he relented with a dramatic sigh. "Jaune, I'm serious. We're going out tomorrow, you and me, if you… If you want to."

"A business meeting at a theater?" He asked with a small smile, warm and teasing in a way. "That's unorthodox, even for you. I do need to update you on the armor though, Penny and I managed to get it working so I wanted to-"

"Oh for the love of f.u.c.k, Jaune…" She g.r.o.a.n.e.d, staring at the ceiling for a long second like she was hoping for divine aid. Looking back to him with a raised eyebrow and a small smile, she explained. "I am not asking you out to a business date like the last one. I am asking you out on a normal date. The romantic kind, not the money kind."

"Oh." He blinked a few times before the information set in and he flinched back, repeating himself. "Oh! Oh, oh, oh! U-Uh, oh, I, we-"

"Want to add a few non-caveman sounds in there?" She teased gently, snorting in amus.e.m.e.nt at his wide eyes and gaping mouth. "Maybe some verbs or something? Unless you have a club and wanna drag me back to your cave or somethin' to have your way with me, I mean. Which… I mean, you could just ask, I already told you all about that."

"No! I'm just… Uh, I'm just surprised. I just, well, that's a surprise and, you know, I wasn't expecting it at all. But that's what a surprise is, I guess?" Gods, why was his mouth so dry? And his c.h.e.s.t was aching a bit again, enough that he pressed a hand to it and let out a stiff breath.

"Jaune?" Coco asked worriedly, looking him up and down anxiously. "Oh my gods, please don't keel over just from me asking you out. I'll never get laid if you're that brittle, come on now. Take a breath."

"Okay, Coco, that is not helpful." He pointed a hand at her accusingly, closing his eyes and taking two long breaths to calm his nerves and anxiety both. "And I'm fine, just… Forgot to breathe, and been stressed out all morning after Velvet's call, so my c.h.e.s.t did not like that. And you surprised me."

"Surprised my Bun, too." He gave her a questioning look and got another simple half-shrug from the wounded warrior in response. "She met you first, so I asked her before I thought about askin' you out for real. She met you first, so she had dibs, after all."

"D-Dibs?"

"Yeah, girls don't f.u.c.k about with that stuff. Not in the Huntress world, at least, where everyone has to lean on each other." She waved her good hand at her injuries and added, "Yats and the Bun dragged me out when this happened, and that's normal. You don't want to get heartache involved, or scorn, in our field. Gets you dead real quick, doin' that to your fellow fighters."

"Oh." And she'd given Coco the go ahead, probably even before the Breach incident if he had to guess. "I, uh, it feels kinda weird to know you guys were talking about me like that behind my back."

"Oh, I'm sorry if it makes you feel bad, Jaune." She smirked, and he knew he was in trouble even before she continued. "Tell you what, Hon, you show me a good time and I'll let you take me back to your place for some discipline."

"Oh my god, no, Coco… Please behave, come on now." He g.r.o.a.n.e.d at her shit eating smirk, but as used to this treatment as he was by now, he was still flushing ear to ear nonetheless. "I… I'm not gonna say no to a pretty lady, I guess. My dad would kill me if he found out. Just, uh… Go easy on me."

"I know, I know." She waved her hands, giving him a serious look and continuing in a firm but nervous voice. Like she wasn't sure how to do this part which made a lot of sense, and was something Jaune sympathised with a lot. "I'm serious about this, Jaune. This isn't a whim date, I don't do that, I… Like you, admire you even for a lot of shit. Most I want is to be able to get a few kisses on when we're out, and I'll, uh, I'll let you know ahead of time for anything else. Is that okay?"

"I guess, yeah." He swallowed, eyes lingering on those full lips of hers for a moment longer than they should have. "I'll, uh, I'll warn you if I need to breathe, so don't worry about that too much. Just pay attention."

"I will, I promise. I'm a very attentive girlfriend." She smirked when he stiffened, laughing quietly for a second before her ribs flared up and she swore under her breath, pressing her good hand to her side gently. "Shit, need to not do that until tomorrow… Still hurts like a mother f.u.c.ker right now when I laugh. Talk about killer comedy, huh, Arc?"

"Y-Yeah." He swallowed, looking at the clock and adding after a second. "It's too late to open up today so, uh… If you want me to, I mean, I could-"

"I'd love it if you stayed and kept me company, Jaune. This place gets boring really fast, and the nurses won't even listen to my barbs about their uniforms anymore." She finished for him, smiling at his fumbled attempts to ask if she wanted him to stay and hang out.

"How terrible of them. Negligent even, I'd say, not talking fashion when you try to." He smiled comfortably, leaning against the bed and looking at Coco curiously for a second. "Don't worry, I'll spare you the cruelty of being bored. You can even criticize my shoes if you like."

"Oh shut up and get me the damn remote, I wanna see what's on right now. Velvet couldn't find the damn thing earlier, fussing over me a bit too much I think." She rolled her eyes, watching him go to look for it on the couch and under it. He stuck his head under a table, and she smirked, adding, "Nice a.s.s, by the way."

He jerked up in surprise, slamming his head against the table while she laughed, and he growled, "Coco, come on, that was mean."

"What? It is a nice a.s.s, blondie." She chuckled, rolling her eyes when he practically pouted at her. "Alright, alright, I'll behave for now."

XxX----XxX----XxX

"How's this?" He asked, pulling out the dark denim jacket and holding it up for Ruby and Penny to see, both sitting on his bed while he dug about in his dresser. "I-I mean, it's black and black's cool, right, Ruby?"

"Yes, because I need to be looking at things right now… Friggin… normies, and their 'dates', ruining my evening with my baby." The wounded woman grumbled, head wrapped almost completely in tight bandages along with the side of her head over her ear, eye and cheek where shrapnel had shredded by. "It's fine, I guess. I mean, does it matter what you wear? I don't think Coco cares."

"What do you think, Penny?" He should have known Ruby wouldn't really be into this, she only really seemed into things that involved some form of ammunition. "Not too dressy, not too casual?"

"I do not know the standard dress attire for a 'date', best-friend-Jaune, as I do not know what a 'date' is outside a day on a calendar." Ruby sighed at the straightlaced and cheerful reply, resting the intact half of her face in her palm and groaning. "I asked father like best-friend-Ruby suggested, and he offered no data. He simply asked why I needed to know, to which I replied that a friend had asked me."

"And suddenly I know why there are nine Atlesians in my store…" Jaune g.r.o.a.n.e.d, defeatedly throwing the jacket back into the drawer and yanking out his old Pumpkin Pete's cereal hoodie, yanking it on over his black tee. "I swear unless it's a machine, you're both just useless sometimes… Absolutely useless."

"I have many uses, best-friend-Jaune." Penny said, innocently upset and looking like it with her eyes wide and heads tilted to the side worriedly. "Why would you say I am useless? I thought I was very helpful…"

"It's a saying, Penny. Jaune didn't mean anything by it, don't worry, he wouldn't hurt your feelings like that." Ruby assured her gently, wrapping an arm around her small shoulders and pulling her against her. "Not if he didn't want to head to the hospital, at least."

"Are you threatening to hurt me, Ruby?" He teased back, watching Ruby snuggle up against Penny's side comfortably and raising an eyebrow curiously. "What would Beacon say about that, hm? Threatening your boss?"

"Nothing at all~" She smiled, eyebrows rising under her bandages and looking smug enough that Coco would have been impressed with him. "I'm not gonna do anything to you for making Penny sad. I'll just tell Yang you touched my b.u.t.t, and let her come and see you about it. I've told you about her. So be nice to my cuddling Penny or face my Yang shaped wrath!"

'Liked mechanical things' indeed, judging from that little gesture, not that he'd say that to her. She'd pout, flush and run off to brood somewhere about it, he was sure. Idly, he wondered what was going on there but he didn't feel the need to ask and embarrass Ruby or Penny with… Whatever the hell was actually going on with them.

Not his monkeys, not his circus, as the saying went.

"A date is when two people go out together to spend time with each other alone and at least a little more privately than they normally get." Jaune explained for the still confused looking android that was currently mildly disinterestedly letting Ruby snuggle up against her side. "Access my internet network and download or, uh, watch or whatever anything related to 'dates' and 'romance' and you should get your answer. If you want to find out, I mean."

"You do not mind?" She straightened, smiling brightly up at him in the kind of awe filled face only Penny could pull off at something as simple as being allowed to access the wifi, and when he nodded she bounced excitedly on the bed and clapped her hands together. "Ohhhh, thank you, best-friend-Jaune! I had considered many times accessing the internet from various locations, but did not want to sit passively in a cafe with my guards and draw attention to myself. Or seem rude for not ordering, or using someone else's things without asking for permission first."

"Well, you're welcome to my internet at least, and everything else too. As long as you don't break something or hurt yourself." He gave her a stern look at that last sentence, pointing a finger at her warningly, and she nodded in understanding of the warning. "And I'm leaving you guys in charge of the place, so I don't want to come back to a mess. Or a fire. And if you make food, clean up after yourself, Ruby."

And now he felt like the father of this wonderfully insane little group he'd managed to gather… Wonderful.

His Scroll buzzed in his pocket and he swallowed anxiously, fishing it out and cl.i.c.k.i.n.g it open with a hand, "Come on, Jaune, waiting down here for you. Do I have to come up and drag you out with my good hand? Or maybe use my good hand for something else up in your room?"

"On my way down now. Was trying to find something to wear that didn't make me look like six feet of geek." He sent back with a groan and a burning set of ears, giving Ruby a look, "You're in charge while I'm gone, if it goes ten 'o-clock, lock up the shop and head home or make up the couch if you want to stay here instead. Got it?"

"Yep!" She nodded, smiling excitedly for some reason he couldn't place. Maybe she was excited for him or something, or she planned on using his workshop to tune up Crescent Rose for the hundredth time. "Have fun on your date, Jaune. Message me when you're on your way back, okay? I'll make somethin' to eat for you and make sure everything is cleaned up before you get back."

"That's fine, Ruby, I'll try to remember to-" Again his Scroll buzzed and he grimaced slightly, fl.i.c.k.i.n.g the Scroll open again and sighing. "I have to go, before Coco tries to come up here and drag me out or… Something. And she's asking about the guards now too, so… I'm heading out."

"Bye Jaune!"

"Have a good evening, best-friend-Jaune!"

"Wait, before I forget to ask you, Penny, did you get that paperwork I asked for?" She nodded, pointing to the couch and when he looked he saw a small folder and smiled. "I'll get to it later, Penny, you go ahead and just... Sign the copyright papers wherever you need to, I'll do mine when I get back if I'm not too tired."

"I will deal with it, now go." She made a shooing motion with a hand, smiling warmly at him. "My research thus far on 'dates' indicates that making a lady wait is a very bad idea, best friend Jaune. So you may wish to hurry along before she gets upset and begins crying."

"Psssha, Coco wouldn't cry." Ruby smiled teasingly, giving him another look and adding, "She'd just bap him for it when he got downstairs."

He waved them off as he descended the stairs into his workshop, pointedly ignoring the helmeted stares of the three Atlesian special forces soldiers loitering in his workshop. He gave them an awkward wave as he moved towards the stairs, their helmets slowly turning to follow him as he went, and awkwardly tossed out, "Uh, going out on the date. With not Penny. Was, uh, was just a big misunderstanding. Yeah…"

"Have a good evening, Sir." One clipped, raising a hand to his throat and speaking into some kind of microphone or communication device. "Program One leaving the building, repeat, Program One leaving. Relay and copy, over."

Outside, Coco was leaning against a light pole with her eyes shut tight against the setting light and bright street lighting coming down in the late evening. The bandages were gone from her head, though he could see what was probably a permanent scar peeking out of her hairline for no more than a few centimeters and half that wide. Her arm and leg, still healing, were braced by a simple and fragile looking medical harness that looked like a cast made with hinges in it for her to move in, and a heavy-looking boot to protect her foot as much as possible.

"I'm fine, Jaune." She said shortly, smiling at him and looking over the rim of her glasses at him. "Stop staring at my damn braces, 'kay? Kinda ruinin' the mood of the night, you know. You're supposed to compliment my new pants and my new top."

"But they both look the same as the ones you wore to the restaurant…" Well, almost like them, the only exception really being some white stitching on the pants. He raised his hands in surrender at her glare, eyebrow rising slightly in dissatisfaction and stammered, "I-I mean, uh, I like your pants they… Look like pants, I guess?"

"Okay, you are going to take some work, I guess." She jerked her head to the side and clicked her tongue, pushing off the pole and walking as best she could up the road. "Come on, then, let's get goin' you awkward, nerdy f.u.c.k. I swear, you're hopeless, but don't you worry about it too much. You got a cute b.u.t.t, after all."

"God damn it, Coco…" He sighed, shaking his head at her teasing but smiling widely at it regardless of his pretend offense. They walked for a silent minute, passing patrols of Atlesian soldiers and Knights both, armed as they walked the city. "You do look good, though, Coco. I'm, uh, bad at this, but-"

"Everything is so weird, now." She interrupted him, drawing his attention back to her as she walked. Slower than normal, with a slight limp and a heavy clack whenever the medical boot hit the concrete. "Soldiers everywhere, and their drones too… It's like the city's at war or something, and it makes my skin itch."

"Yeah…" The city was tense, now, Atlesian soldiers patrolling everywhere and Atlesian sh.i.p.s circling the city and the Kingdom both forebodingly. And it was upsetting Coco now, too, so he swallowed and moved to her right side, grabbing her good hand and smiling at her as charmingly as he could manage. "But who cares right now? I have a pretty girl to show around town on… Uh, a hundred Lien or so, so… Yeah, we can have fun on that. Right?"

"Jaune, you absolute doof, I asked you out. I'm paying for this." But she squeezed his hand regardless, hobbling closer to him a bit and smiling now instead of frowning. "Thanks, though. I know what you're doing, trying to be funny and charming to distract me from all the shit."

"Yeah, is it working?" He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes, trying to rest her head on his shoulder for a second and giving up when the height difference and her leg got in the way.

"Of course, friggin' cast…" Rolling her eyes, but still smiling, she nodded up the road at the theater in the distance and asked, "So, what do you wanna see? The third Lord of the Grimm is out, I think."

"Oh, Return of the Lost Prince?" He smiled excitedly, looking ahead of them to try and see the bright titles all along the building's side. "I think I see it, yeah. Man, I've been looking forward to that. You like Lord of the Grimm?"

"'One does not simply dislike Lord of the Grimm', Jaune." She quipped, sending them both into a fit of laughter at the reference. "Come on then," she finally tugged on his arm, smiling widely, "take your crippled Hobbit to see Lord of the Grimm, Jaune. And tell me how your armor is going?"

"As you wish, my beautiful little Hobbit." She laughed again, wincing along with it from the soreness in her c.h.e.s.t, and he smiled at the sight. "Let us away to the land of Grimm and cinema."

"Hey Jaune?" Coco hummed to get his attention, the blonde looking up at her slightly with a curious expression. "Try not to die, 'kay? But this comes before the movie." He opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but she grabbed him by the front of his shit and leaned down, pressing her lips against his in a short but hot kiss that tasted of chocolate and cinnamon mixed together before she pulled back to let him breathe, smiling down at him and winking, "Now we can go, Jaune."

"U-Uh, oh, um-"

"Come on, you gangly caveman." She laughed, tugging him along now towards the theater. "Let's go watch our movie no. Preferably before you fall over, or walk into a light pole, or something like that."