"Aw, don't worry about it," the first said, looking to clap him on the shoulder before she thought better of it. "A fall like that isn't much to a couple of huntresses like us."
"Huntresses?"
"In training," Velvet said.
"Vel, do you have to add that every time? It doesn't sound as cool." "But Coco, we're not technically huntresses yet…"
Jaune watched the two bicker back and forth, one far more confident than the other, and yet still the conversation managed to work out. It was strange, since the Coco girl could have probably ended it in a second, but she looked to be coaxing her quieter friend out. It was kind of cute, really.
"Wait," he said, realising something. "Does that mean you're students of Beacon?"
Coco turned back and grinned, striking a pose with one hand on her hip. "That's right. The name's Coco Adel and this is my partner, Velvet Scarlatina. Nice to meet you…?"
"Jaune," he said, holding out a hand. The two shook it one after the other, though he noticed Coco's eyes light up. "My name's Jaune Arc. I was just surprised since I thought Beacon students had classes now. At least that's what some of my friends said. They're first-year students there."
"Ah, there you go," Coco said. "We're in the upper years, so our timetables are a little different. We get extra free-time in the mornings for training since we know better how to improve, while the first-years get combat training straight out the door."
Ah, so Ruby and her team would be in lessons now, but not everyone would. That made sense, he supposed, especially since he'd met some of the faculty of Beacon and there didn't seem to be that many of them. Beacon probably wasn't like a normal school with ten or more different lessons. There wasn't much need for the variety when killing Grimm was the main job. Free-time to encourage training was probably a necessity, not that the two of them were using their allotted time as such.
"What brings you to Vale, then?" he asked.
Coco raised an eyebrow. "You're a confident one, aren't you? Or is it just that you're nosey?"
It took him a second to realise what she meant, and when he did, his face flushed with colour. He was basically stood on a sidewalk talking to two older girls, one of which was drop-dead gorgeous, the other merely beautiful. Better still, he'd just stopped them in their path and started chatting – something that would have rooted him to the spot in any other situation.
"S-Sorry," he said, suddenly feeling far less sure of himself. "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just bored an-"
"Bored?" "W-Well, yeah." Jaune admitted with a little shrug. "This is my day off, but I've got no idea what to do, so I've just been sort of wandering aimlessly. I didn't mean to get in your way, or keep you if you're busy." And now he was rambling, too. Great. "I should go…"
Coco's hand caught his shoulder – his good shoulder – before he could.
"Bored, huh?" she repeated, her grin taking on a coy edge. "Well, if you've got nothing better to do, there's maybe something you could do to help us. How does that sound? Want to help two pretty girls with something?"
"Coco!" Velvet hissed, hiding a little behind her partner and trying to tug her arm away. "I'm sorry," she said to him. "She gets like this sometimes. You can ignore her." Coco didn't let go of him. "What's the issue, Vel?" she asked. "We need a second opinion anyway, and he's a guy – bonus points there. Besides, it's not like I'm going to torture him. He can say no if he wants to."
"B-But it's embarrassing!"
"It really isn't," Coco said, shooting her partner a look that was somewhere between confused and pitying. "You know I love you, girl. I wouldn't put you through something like that. Besides, if you're that nervous about being noticed, this is a bad idea in the first place. You could consider this a test, something for you to get used to."
Velvet bit her lip. "I guess…"
Jaune was beginning to feel increasingly left out of the conversation, and he couldn't even leave since whether she realised it or not, Coco had a grip like a vice on him. He could feel the power in her hand, and it reminded him uncomfortably of Yang. Being older, Coco seemed to have more self-control, however, and while she had him held, she never once squeezed or applied too much force. Still, he wasn't sure what to think about Velvet's reaction. She seemed frightened of something. "I don't want to do anything that would upset anyone," he said. "It sounds like this is something really serious."
Coco rolled her eyes. "It really isn't. Just her anxiety playing up a little."
"It's not just that!" said girl yelped. "It would be awkward. He's a complete stranger."
"Who, this?" Coco shook him. "Nah, he's no stranger. He's Jaune." Even he thought that was skirting the point by a mile, and Velvet's groan said just as much. "Okay, fine," she said. "I give…"
"Great! Let's go."
"Wait, wait, wait," Jaune said, finally squirming out from under Coco's hand and away. "I haven't even agreed to anything yet. I don't even know what this is. Aren't you going to ask me if I want to go with you and do whatever?"
"Nope."
Coco's one word answer left him speechless. "Wha-?"
"She does that," Velvet sighed."
"I'm not going to ask that," the well-dressed girl laughed. "I'll ask you something different instead. Do you want to go back to being bored, sitting at a restaurant watching time pass by or wandering around Vale like a zombie for the next… oh, six hours until your friends get out of class?"
Six hours!? Jaune cringed. It was assent enough for Coco, who threw an arm around his shoulder so that he couldn't escape.
"I thought not," she cheered. "Let's go!"
/-/
"You know, I kind of assumed this was something more dramatic at first," Jaune said, sipping on some iced-tea and sat on a plush bench as Coco fritted about by a clothes rack. She was busy and distracted, but still heard him, and let out a quick laugh.
"I know, right? All I wanted was a second opinion on some outfits for her. You'd think I'd asked her to strip naked or something. She can be so dramatic." "I heard that!" Velvet called through the curtain.
"You were meant to," Coco yelled back, utterly unashamed.
Jaune hummed and watched the huntress inspect the clothes on display with a critical air. Coco seemed to be well-known in the fashionable store, for not a single clerk had approached to ask if she was okay or needed help, and no one batted an eye when she collected at least six different outfits and brought them to the changing rooms.
Velvet had been another story, of course, wilting further and further as the pile grew taller, and then looking increasingly nervous as various shoes and boots were added in as well. It reminded him of how he was whenever their family had to go shopping. Then again, with how many of them there were, it was always a long and arduous ordeal.
"What's the occasion for, anyway?" he asked.
"Velvet needs a new wardrobe in order to impress someone," Coco said without a hint of apology. "She needs to make a statement, and asked me for help, and here we are. So no, I'm not forcing her if that's what you were thinking."
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