Jaune's cheeks flushed. "I never thought that."
"Heh, you're not a very good liar."
She had him there, not that he could be blamed. Velvet acted so reluctant he'd just sort of assumed Coco was strong-arming her into it. "Why is she so against it if she asked for your help, then?" he asked.
"She's not good with being noticed."
"What does that mean?"
"Boy, you really are confident, aren't ya?" Coco paused in her browsing to look at him and allow her glasses to slip a little down her nose. "You're just here as the help, you know. I'm sorry if I led you on, but I'm not looking for anything more from this, and I don't think Velvet is either. No hard feelings. You're nice an' all, and you're not bad to look at, but-"
"I didn't mean it that way," he yelped, cheeks red and his hand desperately waving in the air before him. "I wasn't… ugh…" He groaned and pressed the empty cup to his forehead. "Sorry," he said again. "I guess I am nosey."
"Eh, it's not a big deal." Coco sat down next to him, the cushion flexing as her weight was added beside his own. It was impossible not to notice how close she was, but she was definitely not someone he could ever aspire to interest. Not with how she looked and acted and the fact she was a huntress to boot. "I guess it would be a bit rude to just throw that out and not explain." She grinned and poked his ribs with her elbow. "I don't mean to be such a tease. I guess I can't help it. I mean, have you seen me?"
He had – and he'd heard her. He shot her a deadpan stare. "Wow, so humble."
"Hey, I'm just telling the truth." Coco said, laughing. "I put a lot of effort into how I look, so you better believe I'm not going to be shy about it. Wouldn't be much of a point otherwise, would there? Do you think a fireman spends all day doubting his skills at putting our fires? No way. I'm not going to doubt my fashion sense, either." She turned her body towards him and held her arms out. "Tell me I look bad."
He tried. He really did. His eyes robed up and down her form, but there was nothing he could really criticise, and he was forced to look away, grumbling under his breath.
"Heh, thought so." "So, how does this involve Velvet?" Jaune asked, trying to bring the conversation back on topic – hopefully a topic where he wouldn't look like an idiot for once. To his relief, Coco seemed willing to allow it, no doubt chalking up her victory already.
"Like I said, Velvet wants to make a good impression, but her usual outfit doesn't really cut it. She asked me for help, but she's got a little problem with nerves. Nothing bad," she added quickly, "and she's fine once she gets to know someone or relaxes, but she usually dresses to blend in and not be noticed. That's not exactly an option here."
"Who is she trying to impress?"
"Oh, some guy," Coco said evasively. "It's not really important." He figured he wouldn't be getting anything more on that front. "Why is she so nervous?"
"You don't know?"
Jaune blinked. "Uh, no?"
"Heh, I thought so. I checked you out when we bumped into one another, you know." She raised a hand to lower her glasses, showing him her chocolate-coloured eyes. Her lips twisted into a smirk. "Not in the way you're hoping, lover boy."
"I didn't say anything!"
"Ha, you're too easy. No, I checked you out to see what you'd do when you saw Vel, and only gave you the benefit of the doubt when you didn't act any different. I take it you're fine with faunus?"
"Sure," he said easily. "Who isn't?" "Some people. Not everyone, but enough to make a difference. The vocal minority are usually louder than the silent majority, after all. You get it in all walks of life too. Shopkeepers, children, old people – even huntsmen and huntresses. Some faunus are less obvious, but Vel's got her two cute antennae to point her out, which means she can't blend into the crowd quite so easily."
People really didn't like that? He wasn't sure what to think, but he doubted Coco would lie about it to someone she'd just met, and Velvet's reaction was evidence enough. "I didn't realise it was so bad. Back home, no one even cares if you're faunus or not."
"It depends where you live, I guess. Vale is the capitol city, so you have a lot more people. The fringe elements tend to be bigger when that happens. Beacon is the best school in Vale, too, so you get some stuck-up elitist snobs."
"And it's because of them that Velvet tries to hide?"
"Pretty much. She's gotten a lot better in the time she's been here, mostly because me and the boys have worked to show her we don't care, but I guess there's still a little bit of nervousness that shows." Coco pulled off her beret and held it before him. "This used to be hers. She wore it because she could fold up her ears and fit them underneath. Painful and itchy for her, but people might not realise what she is if she did." She laughed. "Gods, I was so pissed when I found out. Took it right off her, told her that if anyone wanted to mess with her, they could mess with me, and that she couldn't stand there and be miserable all her life."
"You forced her to reveal herself?" "Sheesh, way to make me feel like the bad guy. It's not like she would have been allowed to wear it in class anyway; it's not exactly part of the uniform. Either way, she got into this silly habit of admitting she was a faunus in class, and then pretending she wasn't out. It didn't fool anyone, and actually started to piss off some other faunus – like she was ashamed to be what she was. In the end, I had to veto it. Took it off her and wore it myself, and told her if she wanted it back she had to pry it off my head."
"And you're still wearing it. I'm guessing she never managed to beat you."
"Nah, she did after a few days – once she'd figured out my style. Don't let that shy, cute demeanour fool you. Velvet is vicious in a fight. Thing is, by the time she managed it, she'd kind of realised my point. She told me to keep it." Jaune smiled at the story, pleased, but also a little impressed – both with Velvet and with Coco. It was definitely a little blunt to just steal her beret so she couldn't hide, but who was he to judge when it looked to have worked? "All's well that ends well, I guess," he said.
"Bah, you try telling that to my bank account. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a beret work? Trust me, it did not suit me. Took me weeks to find an outfit that jived, but I didn't dare take it off in case she changed her mind, took it back and ruined all my hard work." Coco brought up one knee and rested her chin atop it, sulking. "That was a very unfashionable week. I was a laughing stock. Or I would have been if anyone dared laugh. I bet they were doing it behind my back, though." She shivered at the thought. "The bastards..."
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