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JAUNE...

[ She sounds like an angry tiger or something, growling at the street as she crouches low, then runs madly along the length of the bus, jumps from the backend, and then hits the ground.

Luckily Rapunzel is a fairly accomplished acrobat! She's not invincible like a certain someone, but she comes pretty damn close provided there are no graceless team leaders yanking her and her hair all over the place. Landing is as simple as rolling. Finding Jaune is a little harder.

But no! There he is. Mid-traffic.

Awesome. ]

Jaune, don't move! I'm - I'm coming!

[ Still lying on the ground with his polkadot bunny underwear for all to see, Jaune's face is covered with his own blood this time. Although his head is busted open and there's a bit coming out of it, it's really not as bad as it sounds.

WHO PUT THAT FUCKING SIGN THERE?! ]

Yep-- w-what's that? "Don't move" -- yeah, okay, got it. I-I'll just-- I mean I'll try really hard not to... do that... 'cause, y'know, I just, I'd really love to move right now.

That-- that was sarcasm, by the way. I don't think I can get up...

That's fine.

[ Her face is a mask of determination as she crouches at his side, turning only just to gauge the oncoming traffic, which is, yes, still oncoming. Rapunzel frowns as if she can stop it through the sheer force of her WILL AND PLUCK.

But, yeah, she does just that actually!! All right it's probably the fact that there are two very visible figures in the middle of a busy four-lane road that brings the line of space vehicles and whatever to a screaming halt mere feet away. Pluck is a viable option too, though!

Oh well> Time to wrap Jaune up like a present so she can carry him away to the love hotel.

I mean -- ] Tell me if I'm hurting you. All right?

I don't want to hurt you.

W-Who's hurt-- I-I'm not hurt, I'm just fine, this... this is -- wait, I-I was supposed to carry you!

[ REALLY JAUNE?? ]

Shh. [ Guess whose nose is touching his nose?

The same person whose lips are centimetres away from his, threatening to impose silence upon him. ]

Stop. Even heroes need to be carried.

[ To prove it, Rapunzel wraps her arms under and around his torso -- woah, he's a lot wider than he looks and, gosh, talk about rock hard -- and stands, using the golden rope of her hair and non-but-nigh-invincible upper body strength, it seems, to emergency lift her princess to safety. ]

You're still a hero when you're hurt, Jaune. Especially to me.

[ WHOO HOO who's ready for room service!? ]

[ Take him home, he's wasted! Jaune resists every urge to close the few centimeters of gap between their faces, since they're still not quite out of danger yet. TIME AND PLACE GUYS, if... they ever live that long enough. ]

Heh... all right...

[ In that case, he'll give in and wrap his arms around her as she lifts him. That's for two reasons: one because he likes touching her, too. ~~C'MON GUYS~~ Two, because it will make it easier for her to carry him.

No, wait, there's a third reason, too, which is to pull himself in a little closer to her ear. That's right, you know it's coming: ]

Can you.......

...c-can you make sure my jeans don't drop again?

[ That was embarrassing. ]

[ ... Wow. He really can be pretty impressive when he wants to be.

She'll have to remind herself to pick up the missed beats of her heart later. ]

[ BECAUSE FOR NOW IT'S ASS-KICKIN TIME!

Almost. ]

Y...es! Yes, I can do that. [ Though she's going to have to lift them up again in the first place, which is tremendously more awkward than Rapunzel expected it to be - and with one hand!

~~Mechanical difficulties aside, it gives her an excuse to touch his ass sooooo......??? WIN WIN???~~ ]

Uh. Heh. Sorry.

[ Yeah. If she's blushing it's only because of the exertion. Whenever they finally get wound down (and she doesn't expect it'll happen any time soon) at this hotel or wherever, she's literally going to pass out and sleep for three days.

Carrying Jaune through the bright and occasionally grimy city streets is no easy task, but Rapunzel manages mainly by keeping an eye out for any muggers and simultaneously enjoying the view.

It's kind of... romantic? Right??? I mean, they both need a doctor real fucking quick, but-- ]

Heh. Best... worst day ever?

[ Now that she's back to her old self, this whole thing is u n c o m f o r t a b l e. I mean, they confided a lot in one another, didn't they...? What is she supposed to say? When is she supposed to begin to apologise for how she'd acted over the course of their vacation in hell? After all: she forgot about him for a great, big chunk of that!! Worst teammate in the world, for sure. ]

--uh. Are you in pain?

[ oashfdasjklhbfsjg CAN'T KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSE-- ]

Hm, let's see, we're starving, we barely slept, then we almost died, one of us more times than the other, I mean, we could've killed some other motorists, too... but we didn't! So... best worst day ever? Y-Yeah, I'd say that's a contender. But am I pain? N-Not so much right now... [ Other than the whole Nora thing making him realize how much pain he could be in if Rapunzel were to disappear. ]

A-Actually! ...No! ..... Yyyep. Yeah, I... I think I'm concussed. You look great. [ She looks MESSED UP. ]

--w-wait, are... are you in pain? Physical or otherwise? You look great. [ He just said that... ]

You just said that. [ He's distracting her. She wants to shut him up again but there are more pressing matters!

Someone honks a bike horn and forces her to half-stumble onto the opposite sidewalk, nearly crashing into a businessman with a robot's head and --

Okay centre of the road it is! All of this is performed on Rapunzel's part with a soft smile and athletic cool, of course. Never mind how fast her heart is going with their bodies held together!! ]

Aside from repeating yourself, why do you think you're concussed? [ HEH ] I'd say we've set a record for how many near-death experiences we can have per dat-- ...day.

[ HEY LOOK is that a call girl with fish scales?? Neat!! ]

Better near-death than actual... I mean... y'know.

[ Look, he dodged a question again. Maybe he is just fine after all. ]

... I guess, what I'm trying to say is, maybe we shouldn't complain. I've seen others lose much worse while we were... down there...

[ Loosening one arm around her, he reaches for his pocket and takes out their clover and puts it in her hair for now. ]

We really are lucky, you know that? I mean, I think I am, at least... --hey, is that a mermaid?

[ Don't stare at the call girl while being gross, Jaune. ]

Huh. Maybe. [ Rapunzel is staring too because she's fucking impossible. ] Do you know her, Jaune...?

--ah, anyway, uh.

[ Wait, was that his hand near her cheek again? It's a little shocking to think he still even has the clover at first. But considering everything she knows about him ("An Arc never goes back on his...! ETC!"), perhaps his tenderness shouldn't come as such a surprise to her or anyone. ]

...You're an amazing person. [ He is. She's not always known it, but she's always believed it of him. ]

Anyone would be lucky to know you. --And you're an excellent leader too. Really, Jaune, you've come so far.

[ HEH he's supposed to be the expert..... ]

I wouldn't have made it this far if not for the people who believed in me...

[ Man, he sure feels like a Disney princess right now! ]

Y'know, you didn't answer my question... are you okay? [ She can't be doing all these nice things out of guilt, right???? ]

For now.

[ It's a more curt response than the one she'd given him previously, measured by her rapidly dwindling strength and the fact that they're coming up on a plush if not overly extravagant hotel, not unlike the one linked earlier in the thread!

Great timing, too. She's not sure how much farther she can do this for.

Approaching the night clerk covered in blood should be no problem in this colony, right? ]

...but I'll make it a little farther if you promise to believe in me.

[ You're almost there, Rapunzel! ~~And then he can drop his pantsu~~ ]

Heh, waiiit... are you worried that I don't believe in you? Even after the whole fireworks thing?

[ do u remember when he trusted u with explosives ]

Of course not. Hi, sir! Good... morning? Morning. Good morning, yes! Uh-- Do you have any rooms available right now...? Preferably one near an elevator thing because we might need to step out and visit a healer. Doctor. That. One of those. Um--

[ As the eerily expressionless man sets about arranging a room for the pair, Rapunzel tries not to shudder too much at how much he reminds her of the way she'd been and instead cranes her neck a little so she can at last whisper back: ]

That was a joke, hero.

W-Wait, why-- [ Oops, he remembers to whisper back. ] ....diiiid you run out of magic juice or something? Why can't you heal me? D-Do I really gotta go see a doctor... h-haha...

...

You can also probably set me down now. Wait, where are we? How did we get here so quick? [ Someone's still having trouble focusing, haha... ]

--Um. [ Realising that either he's delirious or she is and feeling (#bless!!!!) a combination of amusement and concern, Rapunzel does move to set him down. ]

Aha. Can you give me just a second, sir?

...Jaune, are you okay? [ She lowers him gently to the ground while Pascal, ever attentive and apparently untouched by their fall, produces her CereVice/wallet/card for the man waiting with their room keys. ] Look, I - I should have enough power left to make sure you don't die in your sleep. [ Isn't that what concussions do!??? Kill people in their sleep?? ] That's all though...

"Excuse me, miss. Your card was declined."

--What?

[ Cue comedic needle scratching.

Rapunzel turns to face the counter with even more exaggerated slowness than she used when setting her ~~princess~~ ~~partner~~ Jaune down. The clerk shrugs, holding the razor-thin piece of plastic casually between two fingers. ]

"Your card. It was declined. Your account is empty, ma'am; there are no credits currently available for your use. Would you like to use an alternative method of payment today?"

Wh-What alternative method? How can me account be empty? I'm a student!

Oh, is that all... [ That was in response to Rapunzel before they get rudely interrupted by this... rude robot, to whom Jaune shoots a rude glare! Why are vendors and clerks always getting in their way?!?! ]

Y-Yeah, what, what alternative, what are you talking about? -- Rapunzel, is this guy bothering you? Hey, mister! [ Jaune slams a fist on the counter, which would look really cool and alpha if his head hadn't left a skidmark on the road a while ago, because it's starting to drip blood again. ]

.......

[ He forgot where he was going with this. ]

....C-Check again! The card... I mean, maybe... maybe it was upside-down... it happens. To... some people...

[ It's ok gurl, he's got this. ]

No, no! Look, it's fine, we can just, uh... [ If they get into a fight with this poor bot because of Jaune's increasingly complicated luck (caught by belt: good luck; fall to ground: bad luck; land on bus: good; traumatic head injury: BAD??) neither of them are going to have enough juice left to make it through the freaking night.

Rapunzel, for once the peacekeeper, tries to wiggle between Jaune and the counter, pressing a hand against his chest firmly but tenderly.

Also: still trying to decide whether his behaviour is cute or just really worrisome. ]

It's [ giggle ] it's all right. We don't need to stay here.

"Very well. Before you leave, however, I am obligated to ask whether sir would like to pay for the room himself. As a citizen of our happy, functioning colony, Cerealia, you would also be authorised to use credits at this hotel."

Uh, yeah. He knows. Probably But it's all right! Really...

W-What? Nooo, I wanna stay here! I can't make you carry me again--

Hey, what's-- [ whoops, let him pull his pants back up real quick... ] --what's the alternative? Maybe I should give him some of your pictures if they're worth so much.

O-Oh do you think that would work?! Wait, You have pictures of me?

[ AAAH DEFINITELY CUTE DEFINITELY CUTE ]

Jaune, maybe you should just pay.

[ And you know what - while she's resigning? she's going to help hold up his jeans for him because that's the sort of thing good, nice, apologetic people do. So what if it puts her hand on his hips. That's fine! Rapunzel is all of these things!! Fine, good, nice, and apologetic, yup. ]

Heh. Do you have your card...?

Thank you.

[ He seems weirdly okay with the assistance as he pulls out his cracked and battered CereVice. It's a miracle it's still working after all those times he threw it. It even survived hitting Rapunzel's beautiful rock head! ]

... O-Okay, according to my banky-thingy, I should still have roughlyyy........... money. Just. Money. Yeah, I-I got it. I'll pay!

-- Wait, are you really broke?! What have you been buying?!

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