Jaune Arc was scared.
Very scared.
This was nothing new to Jaune, he got scared quite often, weather it be from receiving a test result or being called up for combat class. Even more so when he and his team were called for a mission, though in those cases he was less afraid of Grimm, and more afraid of not being good enough for his team. His upbringing didn't exactly help, with him having older sisters that knew the perfect way to terrify him.
But while Jaune Arc may be scared, he was not a coward.
...ok maybe he was a coward too.
But this current situation that the blond found himself in was very special. Due to the actions of a certain dumb orange haired teammate of his, his life was now very much in danger, or at the very least he would be spending the night in the hospital. Nora had decided that it would be a good idea to send a photo of him and his new girlfriend Ruby Rose in a compromising position to Ruby's sister Yang.
Jaune Arc was not scared this time, oh no.
He was absolutely terrified.
Yang could and would kill him about 48 different ways in about 3 seconds. The difference in power, speed, skill, weaponry, and just about everything else involving combat between the two was insane. He had a sword and shield...that's it. Yang had two fucking shotguns strapped to her wrists, loaded with highly explosive dust rounds. Shit...
But not all hope was lost, for you see, if his new girlfriend could explain the situation to her sister, then Jaune might live to see another day. That is why he was currently hiding in a janitors closet fearing for his life. Cliche? Yes. But also very effective considering he could at least attempt to hide behind whatever garbage was stored in here. Also if it came down to it, he could poke Yang with the blunt end of a mop handle in order to attempt to escape. Maybe there was something sharp lingering on the shelves. Or even better, maybe there was a pen and paper so that Jaune could write out his will as well as any last words he had before his untimely death. Whatever...
Jaune had also just woken up, so he had no time to get dressed. As such, he was still only wearing his Pajama bottoms, no shirt to be seen. His only options were all bad ones, he could either make a break for it and hope he doesn't run into Yang, or he could make a new life for himself in this closet. Yep the second one sounded more appealing.
"J-Jaune?"
Jaune almost jumped out of his skin upon hearing a voice calling for his name, but immediately felt a wave of relief washing over him upon realizing who it was. "Ruby?" It was nothing short of a miracle that the silver eyed huntress had managed to locate him before her sister killed him. He silently opened the door and peaked out, finding Ruby Rose fully dressed with that massive fucking scythe strapped to her back. "Oh thank god you found me first." Jaune said with relief clear in his voice. "I thought I was gonna die. Where's Yang? Is it safe to come out? How long do I have to live? Did you calm her down? Did you kill Nora?"
Ruby was overwhelmed by the multitude of questions that the knight was throwing her way. But to be fair, Jaune was currently fearing for his life, so she would let it go this time. "Jaune i-it's fine. I managed to send her in another direction...I think." Ruby replied, not at all convinced. Her cheeks were still beet red, no doubt from remembering what happened last night. "B-But I brought you something." Ruby handed him the pile of clothes that he had set out last night. At least now he had a shirt to wear. He was about to slip into his shirt when the most terrifying sound that Jaune would likely hear for the rest of his life, (which at this rate wouldn't last much longer) came from the hall.
"Oh Jauney, where are you hiding?" Came a voice from around the corner. Jaune didn't need Faunus ears to recognize the voice of his executioner.
Oh sweet baby Jesus no!
Jaune only had one option. He grabbed Ruby by her hand and pulled her into the closet with him, hoping to god that Yang would walk past them. If she saw Ruby standing in front of the janitors closet for no reason then she would immediately know he was in there. He just had to pray to any god out there that she would walk by without thinking twice. Jaune swiftly and quietly shut the door and backed up towards Ruby.
...
...
...wait
If Yang did decide to open this door, and see the two of them huddled close together in this closet, then she would definitely assume the worst. "I didn't think this through! FUCK!"
Well at least he was gonna die next to the person that he loves most...on second thought, that might not be such a good thing for Ruby, Jaune doubted she wanted to see him get his face smashed in, not to mention get blood on her clothes.
Ruby quickly flushed to the tips of her ears upon being smushed to Jaune's shirtless form. She could admit that Pyrrha's training was doing wonders for Jaune's physical form, but she didn't have long to admire it before a pair of footsteps quickly got louder. The heat radiating from the blond brawler told them that her semblance was active and that she would be showing no mercy.
The gods were merciful today, as Yang didn't even stop to check the closet where the lovers were hiding. Quickly running past it to search for her prey.
Both students slumped to the ground, relief present on their faces as they both breathed deeply for the first time in what felt like forever.
After a few seconds, Ruby spoke up. "I-I'm sorry Jaune." She said apologetically. "This wouldn't have happened if I had just stayed in my room." She kept muttering incoherently, trying to convey how sorry she was to Jaune.
Jaune didn't really know what to say. He wanted to say that it wasn't her fault but the words just wouldn't come out. So instead he tried a different approach to let her know he still loved her.
Jaune took the initiative this time, he cupped Ruby's cheeks in his hand and leaned forward, closing the distance before Ruby could react.
"Eep!" Ruby cried in surprise before their lips met. Jaune really couldn't appreciate the she sensation of her lips last night due to how tired he was. But now he truly realized how amazing it felt. It wasn't the 'kissing' that necessarily felt great, but it felt incredible because he was doing it with Ruby. He knew full well that no one else could make him feel this way. Ruby was just that amazing. Someone who would be willing to be friends with a loser like him, someone who loved comics and video games as much as him, someone who was kind of a nerd just like him, someone who he could confide in and who could confide in him in turn. His best friend.
Ruby didn't pull away from the kiss, in fact she only leaned deeper into it, eager to show Jaune just how much she loved him. Both their faces were flushed crimson, but neither wanting it to end. Jaune pulled Ruby closer to his bare chest to embrace her. "Mmph!" Ruby moaned in surprise at the sudden embrace. She too wrapped her arms around Jaune as they continued to make out.
Unfortunately the human body could only function on a steady supply of oxygen, and the two lovers had to separate for fear of suffocating. "Hahh! Haahhh!" They both inhaled some much needed oxygen. A heavy blush and wide smile plastered on the new couple.
"I love you Ruby Rose." Jaune said with absolutely no hesitation. Ruby's smile was more beautiful than any sunset, more perfect than any painting, Jaune could stare at her forever.
Ruby's reply came quickly, "I love you more Jaune Arc." She said as she embraced the blond knight.
No more words needed to be spoken between the lovers, their feelings already perfectly clear to each other. But there was still a serious matter that needed to be addressed. Jaune's life was still in danger.
"Alright." Jaune spoke up. "We need a plan. Any ideas?"
"I've got a few, but they're all bad ideas." Ruby replied miserably. They were very limited in their options, they were still stuck in a janitors closet after all. Ruby frantically looked around for anything that they could use to sneak Jaune away from Yang. Her eyes eventually came to rest upon a mop in the corner of the closet.
Ruby had an idea so stupid it just might work.
"I got it!" She spoke up with excitement.
"I'm gonna die." Jaune thought miserably
Ruby's 'brilliant' plan consisted of them breaking the handle off of a mop in the closet and draping the rest on his head in order to hide his hair, step 2 was to put on a spare uniform that was hidden in a box on the top shelf, and the final step required him to stand in plain sight in the middle of the hall and sweep up the dirt on the floor.
Basically he was pretending to be a janitor.
"Where the hell are you!?" His nightmare spoke up as she approached from around the corner.
"This is it huh? I had a good run, at least I got a girlfriend before I died." Jaune thought to himself
Yang approached from behind, the raging inferno emanating from her semblance only terrified him further. Despite his fear, he still stuck to the roll that Ruby gave him. She eventually came to a stop directly behind him.
"Do I know you?" The blond brawler spoke up.
Jaune turned around and stared Yang in her blood red eyes. He needed an excuse, ANYTHING! "Uhh, no...my name is...uhh...Josephi Krakowski!
...
...
"I'm fucked..."
"Hmm...ok but if you see some dumbass with blond hair that's about as tall as you then you call me, got it?" Yang threatened
"Understood!" Jaune replied as Yang walked around the corner. "Holy shit! She bought it, I'M ALIVE! "
Just to be safe, Jaune kept up his disguise for another hour before making a mad dash to his room. He still couldn't believe that stupid idea had worked. He would have to thank Ruby with homemade cookies once he got the chance. He was still pissed at Nora for almost getting him killed, so he would punish her with no pancakes for a week. That'll teach her.
Placing the scroll on the door, it silently unlocked and Jaune allowed himself in, he had a long few hours and just wanted a hot shower.
"Why hello there."
Jaune froze.
He didn't freeze because someone was talking to him, it was because of WHO was talking to him. He only knew one person in Beacon with hair that long and blond.
Once again fearing for his life, Jaune did what he did best.
He hauled ass in the opposite direction. It was a futile endeavor and he knew it, but that wasn't gonna stop him from trying. The sound of shotgun shells being loaded into their chamber echoed throughout the hall. The furious roars only got louder and the intense heat only got hotter.
In Jaune's panicked state, he failed to notice that he had cornered himself in the hallway. Jaune didn't expect to die at 17, but ehh, what're you gonna do. He accepted his fate.
"Any last words Jaune?" Yang asked with determination in her eyes.
"Just two." Jaune replied "HELP ME!" He screamed. Hoping that his cries would be heard. Yang reared back her fist, intending to finish this in one blow. Jaune closed his eyes, in preparation for what was to come.
"STOP!!!" A voice yelled from behind Yang as it smashed into her back and bringing them both to the ground like a sack of rocks. "Don't hurt him!" The voice said again.
Jaune immediately recognized the voice of his savior. "Ruby?" He said.
Yang was quick to throw Ruby off of her and stand up, clearly she haven't forgotten about him, and she still intended to finish him off. Before she could however, several pairs of footsteps quickly rounded the corner. The rest of team RWBY and JNPR appeared armed and ready.
"That's enough Yang." Ren said seriously. She wasn't having any of it however.
"This bastard needs to die for taking advantage of my sister!" Yang replied to the stoic man behind her.
It was clear that Yang wasn't going to listen to reason. She fully intended to badly hurt Jaune. With no options remaining, Ruby did something very stupid. With semblance enhanced speed, she quickly closed the distance between her and Jaune and, with cheeks flaming red, immediately locked lips with him.
"Ahh, I guess Ruby does hate me after all, she must really wanna see Yang rip my nuts off." Oh well, if he was gonna die then he might as well make his last memory a happy one. Jaune pulled Ruby close to himself, wanting to make his last moments count with the one he loves.
Before he could really get into it, Ruby suddenly pulled away from the kiss and held his torso even tighter, burying her face into his chest. She turned to look at Yang directly in the eyes, her shock clear on her face. "Please don't hurt him..." she pleaded to her older sister.
Yang looked at Ruby and Jaune for all of 10 seconds before her flaming hair died down, and her semblance was deactivated. Her gauntlets retracted into their holsters with a loud snap. A loud sigh escaped from her lips before she walked towards the couple. Yang grabbed Jaune by the collar and pulled him directly in her face.
"You hurt Ruby, even once, then you die. No second chances." Yang threatened before throwing the blond on the floor, and slowly walking toward her dorm room.
...
...
...
"What an eventful 3 hours!" Nora said with a bright smile.
Jaune never wanted to punch someone quite so badly.
After regaining the energy to stand, Jaune headed back to his dorm room. All he wanted was a hot shower and to collapse into bed for a week.
After spending 30 minutes in the shower, he decided to check his phone before passing the hell out. Beacon had its own social media, where students could post progress on training and the administration could post school updates.
Directly on the top of the front page was a picture posted by 'PancakeLover69' which showed him and his girlfriend waking up in bed together from this morning.
"Hey Nora! No pancakes for a month for almost getting me killed and posting that picture on the internet."
Ignoring Nora's frantic cries for forgiveness Jaune just sighed and crawled into bed.
This would no doubt be the talk of the school for weeks and Jaune was not looking forward to all the rumors and weird looks.
Jaune Arc was scared
Ruby Rose felt like she'd eaten a plate full of chocolated coated strawberries with whipped cream on top.
The redheaded reaper lay back on the bed with a serene smile on her face. Between her lips was a chocolate cigarette that she occasionally nibbled on. Last night was...amazing. Sure, Yang almost ruined it when she barged in on them like a jerk, but after that they wasted no time. Well, Ruby didn't waste any time. Jaune still seemed like he was in shock for a while there.
It made sense, she guessed. From what Jaune told her he'd never been in a relationship, or at least not a serious one. There was a girl back in his hometown he went out with for a couple of weeks but from what he told her they didn't even do half the things they got up to when she and Jaune were still friends. No baking sweets, no modifying weapons, nothing even close to what she and her guy bestie did.
No, her boyfriend now.
Ruby squealed and swung her legs happily, feet slapping at the covered mattress of her bunk bed. It felt so weird to think about. Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend. She squealed again. Ruby Rose wasn't really into the normal girl stuff. While she wasn't as much of a tomboy as Yang, her interests weren't really average for people her age. Even for Huntresses in training, her adoration for weapons made her stick out and got her a reputation back in Signal as Yang's weird little sister.
But Jaune didn't care about that. He always went with her to buy the new weapons magazine every week and he even read up on it so she wouldn't just ramble at him. He never made her feel like a weirdo for liking what she did. Looking back on it, it was obvious that they liked each other. Why did they spend so long telling their friends otherwise? She felt so stupid. All that time wasted on denials when they could've been doing couple stuff! Last night she made sure to make up for lost time. Kissing him, snuggling with him and even...even...
Holding hands.
Her face blushed a dark shade of red even thinking about that. She felt so...naughty just remembering it. Jaune might have had an experience with an actual (but totally non-serious) relationship but Ruby was the one who read those books Blake tried to hide. It was why it felt so right to just...jump on him like that. The girls- no, the women in Blake's books were always so confident and sure of themselves. She wanted to be like that...and some other things.
Heh, now that was a katana.
...
Maybe someday she'd see Jaune's katan-
Ruby shook her head and focused her mind on other things. The break was gonna start tomorrow and they were gonna visit Jaune's family. Just a day ago she didn't think it was a big deal. She would visit her guy bestie's family and he'd visit hers. Just a couple of besties doing friend stuff. Now she was gonna meet them as his...his girlfriend and she wanted to make sure she made good first impression.
He told her about what his family was like. Mom and dad had a family business making wine and he had seven sisters, six of them living at home either helping out the business or studying. That was eight people she had to make a good impression on, and then she'd have to do the same for Saphron and her wife. If they were going to take this dating thing seriously then she had to make sure she got along with all of them.
Her cheeks puffed up. This really wasn't fair. She had to deal with his whole big family while he just had to worry about Yang, her dad and uncle Qrow. Yang already liked him and she knew dad would too. Jaune was as big of a dork as he was. Uncle Qrow was the only one who'd give him a hard time, but he couldn't stand against her puppy dog eyes of doom. That gave her a lot of leeway when she was growing up.
Small fingers traced across the ring on her left hand. It was a friendship ring he gave her a week back and she smiled giddily even remembering it. It was perfect. Breakfast in bed and then he gave her the ring, box and all, with a promise that they'd be best friends forever. Weiss was there and she'd screamed about how in denial the two of them were, but they didn't let it ruin the moment. Now it meant something more.
Ruby nodded her head and sat up. She could do this.
Elise Arc was someone who rarely ever found herself surprised. Over twenty years of marriage and eight children meant that she'd just about seen it all. Saprhon choosing to leave home, Rebecca's desire to be a doctor despite the difficulties, and yes, even her son deciding to run off to Beacon in an ill-conceived attempt to be a Huntsman. That really did worry her. Her only son always had his head in the clouds and dreamed about the things his great-grandfather did no matter how much her dear Nathaniel tried to change his mind.
That was why it stuck so clearly into her head the day he called back and told them he'd been accepted into Beacon. The entire family fully expected him to return and would've been supportive of it, telling him that there were other ways to be a hero. It made her worried as well. No parent should ever have to bury their child and the thought of her little boy fighting Grimm kept her up at night.
She still remembered how Lily cried when she was told her big brother wasn't coming back. She'd clung to his side the day he was set to leave, crying and pleading that she wanted him to stay. It took Jaune everything he had not to give in to her pleas and even then Lily had been morose till Tulip reassured her that he'd be coming back soon enough. Lily still held a grudge to her for 'lying' about that.
Seeing her son again brought a warmth across her chest. He told her he was bringing a friend over to visit and they'd been more than happy to accomodate. It was nice to think he was making friends and being happy. As much as she would've preferred her son be safe at home she wouldn't want to force him. He was a growing young man who deserved to make his own choices.
The first time she realized that something was off when she saw them. She'd had close male friends before, but the way they clung to each other was different. They practically walked in-step with one another and she saw they way their fingers were interlaced. Both their cheeks were flushed and Jaune had a smile on his face that belonged to someone who just won the lottery.
"Hey, mom!" She accepted his warm embrace and smiled at the tightness in his grip. He'd gotten stronger since he left, "Oh man, it's so good to see you again!"
"You too, son." She kissed his forehead (did he get taller) and smiled at his friend, "This is the girl you've told us all about, right? Ruby Rose?"
"Y-You talked about me with them?" The girl blushed a pretty shade of pink and the Arc matriarch almost cooed at the sight of it. She was adorable.
"Only good things! Promise!" Jaune grinned and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder, "Actually, uh, there's something else I need to talk about." Ruby began to shuffle her feet and looked down at the ground, "Um...it's pretty recent, but me and Ruby are together."
"Together?" Elise blinked.
"B-Boyfriend and girlfriend! Together-together!" Ruby shouted, face practically on fire. Elise blinked again, "We just got together a couple of days ago but we were actually doing a bunch of couple stuff even before that!" She paused, "N-Nothing bad! We were just going out to town, watching movies, baking cookies, and making weapons! And maybe we held hands, but we were already together when that happened and-"
"Ruby, chill!" Jaune cut in, face just as bright.
"I'm taking this relationship very seriously and I want you to know that!" Ruby girl shouted even louder. A few of the passing neighbors snickered good-naturedly and she heard the house coming to life behind her. The rest of the family must've heard her, "So I am here to formally ask that you give me your blessing to keep dating your son! ...Pretty please?"
"My...blessing?" Elise shook her head. This was going too fast. First she found out her son had a girlfriend - a Huntress, of all people - and now she was asking for her permission? Wasn't it the guys who did that when talking to fathers?
"Ruby! You're embarassing me!" Jaune whined.
"We have to do this properly! A good first impression can make or break relationships!" Ruby recited, trying and failing to look utterly serious, "I promise that as long as Jaune is with me I will take care of him! Rose's honor!"
"Ruuubbbbeess! You're killing me!" Her little boy groaned, hands covering his face.
"I, um..." Footsteps from behind. They weren't going to be alone much longer, "You...have my blessing?" she said, because what else was she supposed to say? The girl - who looked a bit younger than her son - was so earnest and serious about the entire silly thing.
"I do?! Yes!" The girl squealed and hugged Jaune just as her husband and her third daughter Pearl finally arrived, "You hear that, Jaune?! We've got blessings!"
"What's going on?" her dear Nathaniel asked.
"Well, um...I just met our son's girlfriend."
Pearl raised both brows, "Jauney has a girlfriend?"
"It appears so." She gestured to the girl her son was struggling to carry with both arms, "We should probably get inside. Introduce her to the rest of the family."
Lily Arc was not a happy camper.
The ten year old - youngest of the Arcs - crossed her arms and glared at the girl sitting across from her. Ruby Rose, the intruder who stole her big brother from her. Lily glowered and tried to blow up the thief's head with just her anger. This was all wrong. Her big brother was supposed to come back and spend two weeks with them but now it was just down to one.
Because of her.
Lily sulked and picked at her vegetables. It wasn't fair! Her brother wasn't supposed to leave for that stupid hunter school. Tulip told her he'd get rejected and come back soon, but she lied! Her big bro didn't come back and stayed at that stupid place for months.
And now he came back with the intruder.
She hated her. This wasn't right. Her big bro was supposed to come back and spend time with his family, not this stupid girl with the big scythe that was twice her size! He should've never gone to that place! Before he left it was her big bro and her against the world! And now he came back with someone wearing a big stupid cloak and smiling like he didn't even miss home!
She had to do something! If things kept going like this then he wouldn't even want to come back home ever again. The thought of her big bro leaving made her chest hurt. No, she wasn't going to let that thief take Jauney. She had to show her that she wasn't wanted here.
But what could she do? The rest of her family - those jerks - liked her! Mom and dad thought she was just so adorable and Rebecca said that she could keep an eye on her big bro and 'keep his head on his shoulders'. As if! Jauney could do anything, he didn't need some weirdo to keep an eye on him!
Her others sisters weren't any help. Tulip and Pearl were just like mom and dad, thinking she was so cute and not hating her at all. April and May were the worst, though. They looked up at her with those big eyes and kept asking her what being a Huntress was like. Did they not see that she was a thief trying to steal their brother away? Was she the only one who knew how serious this was?
No, she wasn't going to let her get away with it! She'd get her big bro back if she had to do it herself!
Lily glared at her again. Ruby Rose, her nemesis. She'd stop her if it was the last thing she did!
Jaune's family was so nice!
Ruby hummed happily as she listened to Jaune exhange stories with his two eldest sisters. The entire family had moved to the large living room and just enjoyed each other's presence, chatting and listening to the shows on TV. It was so new to her. Dad was great but he was often busy with work at Signal or missions so cozying up together like this wasn't something they could do every day.
Ruby herself was sat on the ground next to Jaune talking with April and May, the twins, and they were asking her all sorts of questions about what being a Huntress was like. She adored the way their eyes lit up when she talked about all the adventures team RWBY and team JNPR had. Not just fighting Grimm but also capturing criminals like Roman Torchwick and stopping that weird Cinder woman from trying to blow up Beacon.
Okay, so maybe that wasn't what Huntresses usually did, but a little exageratting here and there never hurt anyone! And besides, it wasn't her fault that Cinder thought she could pretend to be a student even though she was halfway to thirty. Oh, and she wore a catsuit and a ballroom mask that didn't cover her hair or eyes at all when she attacked the CCT. She and the rest of her evil minions got caught pretty easily after that and now they had that new Amber woman as their assistant teacher.
His dad was strict but he seemed happy for them. Rebecca, Tulip and Pearl teased Jaune to no end, which she held back for future blackmail. Pearl already offered to show her Jaune's old kid pictures and she'd practically screamed yes while Jaune whined about how he was being ganged up on. Ha, she thought, ha. He deserved it for giving her such a hard job on impressing his family.
The only one who stuck out was Lily. The younger girl didn't talk to her at all and every time their eyes met the little blonde was pouting and frowning at her. Jaune told her that she was just shy, which Ruby understood. Back at that age she also didn't like strangers and she remembered acting the same when Yang got her first boyfriend. It was normal for a lot of little siblings.
"And this is when Jaune was the flower girl!"
"So cute!"
"Ahhhhh!"
Ruby grinned and resisted the urge to snap some pictures on her scroll. She was a good girlfriend and knew not to push too far. Besides, she knew her dad was gonna return the favor when they went to Patch. It was some weird parental ritual to embarass their kids in front of the people they were dating. Dad did it for Yang every single time she got a new boyfriend or girlfriend and he'd do it again once she and Blake finally admitted they liked each other.
Yeah, and Yang said she was in denial.
"Pearl, you're killing me here!" Jaune said dramatically.
"And this is him dressed as Pumpkin Pete!"
"Adorable!"
"I'm dying..."
Ruby rolled her eyes and scooted closer to her boyriend, subtly tangling her fingers with his. Lily grunted, "Aww, it's okay! I still think you're super manly and awesome!" She patted Jaune's messy hair. He harrumphed but leaned in closer to her anyway. Yang would've loved it here, but they could think about group reunions later. Right now she just wanted to spend some time with her boyfriend alone.
"So how did you two meet?" Mrs. Arc asked.
"I met her when she exploded." That got them a few questioning looks. Ruby elbowed his side and glared but he was too hungry for revenge to care, "She bumped into someone and sneezed. Then there was this big explosion and she made this giant crater on the ground."
"...How did you survive that?" Tulip asked.
"Aura, but Jaune's wrong, actually. We actually met before we got to Beacon." She grinned maliciously at the way his eyes widened. Oh yes, revenge was sweet, "We actually met when he puked on my big sister's shoes on the airship ride over. Vomit Boy."
"H-Hey!"
"You know you had motion sickness, Jaune. You should've prepared more," Rebecced tutted.
"Motion sickness is a common affliction! And it's way better than damaging school property, Crater Face!"
"Hey!"
The two glared at one another for a moment before they laughed. The rest of the family joined in except Lily. She just kept pouting. It made Ruby feel somewhat bad even though she knew she didn't do anything wrong. Oh well, they had an entire week here and she was sure she could win her over. The mission wasn't a success till the entire family approved of their relationship.
They talked with one another for a couple of hours before eventually splitting off. Ruby was sharing a room with Lily while Jaune would get his old room back. She would've liked to share a room with him instead, and it wasn't like they hadn't shared before, but she tried to think on the bright side. It would give her a chance to break the ice with his youngest sister and accomplish her mission.
The first sign that something was wrong was the bucket over the door. Ruby barely stepped inside when ice cold water was dunked over her, drenching her from head to toe. It was the same prank she pulled on Weiss months ago.
Lily Arc sat on her bed with her arms crossed and the smuggest look on her face. Ruby forced a smile and laughed, "Hey, you got me." She could be a good sport about it. What was a little pranking, right?
Except it didn't stop there. Over the next couple of days she woke up to a plastic spider on her cheek, glue inside her favorite pair of boots, and someone replacing the chocolate chip cookies in her bag with raisin. Raisin! That was just plain mean.
Lily Arc was not shy; Lily Arc just hated her. Ruby kept quiet, of course. What was she supposed to say? Accuse Jaune's youngest sister of trying to ruin her stay? No, she wouldn't let it happen. No matter what the ten year old girl did she would be the bigger person and let it go. It was the least she could do after all the good things Jaune did for her and it was just four more days.
Things boiled over the fourth day in. Ruby was at the shower, wary about possible attacks. Nothing happened and she heaved a sigh of relief as she changed into another outfit. Her shirt, her skirt, her sneakers, her ring-
Her ring was gone.
Silver eyes widened and she looked around in a panic. She wouldn't lose it. Ever since Jaune got it for her she'd been extra careful. Took it off every time she showered so it didn't rust and kept it in a box so it wouldn't fling off to the floor somewhere. Now both the ring and the box were gone.
And she knew exactly wsho took it.
Ruby took a deep breath to calm herself and stamped barefoot to the room she shared with Lily. The baby of the Arc family was watching a video on her scroll and didn't look up from her place on the bed when she got inside.
"Where is it, Lily?"
Lily ignored her.
Ruby wanted to reach out and grab the scroll from her hands but she knew that was a bad idea. She was just a kid. A ten year old, she reminded herself. No matter what reason she had for her grudge she had to be the bigger person.
She looked around the room under every single nook and cranny. Nothing. Occasionally she'd spot Lily smirking before quickly going back to her scroll. Ruby took a deep breath. She could do this. She was going to be cool and mature and awesome like Yang...sometimes was.
Eventually her eyes drifted to the mattress Lily was lying on. Her eyes narrowed and she picked up the small girl by her armpits, "Hey, what are you doing?!" Lily screamed. Ruby ignored her and hefted up the mattress with a little help from her Aura. The box was there, a bit smushed but that was nothign serious. She let out a relieved sigh and put the ring back on her left hand.
Ruby barely got it on before Lily growled and launched herself at her back. Even without Huntress level training she wasn't exactly going to be threatened by a ten year old. With that training all of her punches and bites might as well have been play fighting. Ruby let out a tired breath and walked across the room, Lily trying and failing to take her down, and closed the door. They needed privacy for this.
"Okay, I think we need to talk." She reached back and picked the smaller girl up again before placing her on the bed.
"We aren't talking about anything!" Lily crossed her arms again, "It's your fault anyway!"
"What's my fault?" Ruby blinked. She didn't even do anything! Lily hated her as soon as she arrived.
Lily looked like she was going to clam up. Ruby was tempted to call Jaune just to put an end to the whole thing no matter how made her look when the younger girl finally spoke up, "You stole him!"
"Stole...what?"
"Big bro!" There were tears in her eyes now. Ruby suddenly felt bad even though she definitely did nothing wrong, "You stole him! He wasn't supposed to go to that Beacon place! He was supposed to stay here with the rest of the family!"
"I...huh?" Ruby mumbled, trying to understand the situation, "But Jaune already planned to go to Beacon even before he met me. He was-"
Lily stood and punched at her chest. Again, she could barely even feel the blows, "Give him back! Give my big bro back!"
"Lily..." Ruby grabbed her shoulders gently and let her continue pounding till she got tired. Oh Brothers, she wasn't good at this kind of thing. She really wished Yang was here, "Lily, I didn't steal Jaune. I swear."
"Liar!"
"I'm not. Jaune is...he was always going to go to Beacon. You and the rest of your family know that." Lily sniffled, "But that doesn't mean he's going to leave you. You should've seen him when the break was coming up. He was so excited to see you all again." She smiled fondly at the memory, "And I get why. You guys are all really close, of course he'd wanna come back to that."
"He should be here..." she said eventually.
"I know you miss him." Ruby sat on the bed with Lily reluctantly sitting next to her. Progress, "I felt the same way you did before. When I thought my sister was gonna go to Beacon two years ahead of me I felt sad, like I was being left behind, but I did my best to be happy for her. Jaune's so happy in Beacon and he's working for his dream. You want him to be happy, right?"
"I don't want him to leave."
"He's not leaving," Ruby said gently, "He might not be here every day, but he'll still be here when you need him. Saphron's still your family even after she moved to Argus, right?" Lily nodded, "I'm not taking him either. Even after he becomes a Hunstman he'll keep visiting and I'll go with him."
"...Promise?" she asked so softly that Ruby almost didn't hear her.
"Promise." Ruby smiled. She felt the weight lift from her chest, "Just think of it like getting another big sister. I'm not taking your big brother...but could you let me have Jaune?"
"What's the difference?"
"You'll understand some day."
Ruby went to sleep feeling better than she had in days. When she woke up the sun was barely cresting the horizon and Lily was still sleep. Ruby smiled. As painful as the past few days were, it was just because of a girl who didn't want to lose her big brother. She could understand that, even if she didn't like how she tried to 'fix' it.
She tiptoed out of the room and made her way to the kitchen. Jaune was already there with a kiss the cook apron. She was suddenly reminded of one of the books she sto- borrowed from Blake. More specifically the scene when the main character woke up to her boyfriend wearing an apron and nothing else. And now she was thinking of Jaune standing there without those baggy jeans so she could see his tush-
Focus!
The smell of sausages and bacon wafted in the air and her stomach grumbled, "Morning, Rubes." Jaune looked back and smiled in that special way of his, "Breakfast is almost ready. Would you help set the table?"
"Sure."
Ruby hummed as she and Jaune did their tasks. It felt so...normal. Normal and sweet and a bunch of other things she couldn't describe. It was different from the time she spent with Yang and the rest of team RWBY. It was special. Just for the two of them. She rubbed the ring again and imagined what it'd be like years down the line. Maybe it was being presumptous. What if they broke up? And even if they didn't, being a Huntsman was a dangerous life.
Right now she didn't care about impracticalities and reality.
"I love you."
Jaune froze and so did she. Even after everything they avoided saying the L word. It felt like a promise, even more than a ring or visiting each other's families. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she suddenly found it hard to breath. Was it too soon? Did he not feel as seriously as she did?
But she didn't regret saying it.
"...I love you too." The words, so warm and soft, made her feel lightheaded. She turned around and hugged his back, letting his scent wash over her. She didn't care that they weren't alone and any second now someone from Jaune's family could walk in.
And of course they were caught. She and Jaune were in the middle of a kiss - hey, the apron said to kiss the cook! - when Mrs. Arc walked in with a polite cough. Ruby stumbled back and looked at the woman's knowing smile, trying to ignore the way her face burned. Jaune was the same, rubbing the back of his head and looking at anywhere but Ruby and his mom.
"Having fun, you two?"
"Mo-"
"Yup!" Ruby beamed. No point in lying now, right?
"Ha, young love. Don't worry, I won't say anything. Mum's the word."
She winked and left the two of them alone again. Ruby gulped and looked into Jaune's eyes. They couldn't do anything more right now, but...maybe she could convince the rest of the family to let her sleep at his room for the rest of the time she was here? She missed her big blonde teddy bear, darn it!
"So...breakfast?" Jaune asked.
"Yes please."
It all started when Nora threw a pie to Weiss' face.
Team RWBY and JNPR had just finished the most EPIC food fight ever. There were explosions, Semblances, foods used as weapons, and Yang being knocked into the stratosphere. It was so awesome! The perfect way to start the semester, in Ruby's humble opinion. They really needed a break after dealing with all that stuff with the Nightmare Grimm and finding out Weiss has a real thing for military cosplay.
Best start of the term ever!
Even more awesome? They didn't get in trouble at all! It was so great!
But enough about the food fight. As cool as it was, it wasn't the weirdest part of that whole day. No, that came when Sun and his friend Neptune showed up ahead of the rest of their team. She didn't know much about Sun, but he was super friendly and he helped out Blake when she ran off and fought Torchwick and the White Fang at the docks. She figured that he had a crush on Blake like half the school.
So imagine her surprise when he completely ignored her and went for Jaune instead, "Jaune, is that you?! Broooo!" Sun grinned and pulled Jaune up in a hug, completely ignoring how the other blonde was covered in mashed-up food and cream.
"Sun? Nep?" Jaune asked back with a grin. From behind him, all of team JNPR looked at each other in confusion.
"You didn't tell us you were at Beacon, man!" Neptune said after, smiling from ear to ear.
"It's a long story." Jaune laughed, rubbing the back of his head as soon as Sun put him back down, "But hey, I didn't expect to see you two here either!"
"It's the Vytal Tournament. Teams from all over are coming." Neptune crossed his arms and smirked, "You forgot, didn't you?"
"H-Hey, it's been a busy semester!"
The three of them started chatting happily, completely ignoring the mess of food and everyone else around. All four members of team RWBY shared their own looks. Only Ruby was close to Jaune among the four of them, but they got a good idea of exactly who he was. He was a big, awkward dork, just like Ruby herself was, and in all the months they spent at Beacon, they never saw him being friends with anyone outside of their teams.
And now here he was chatting up two transfer students like it was no big deal.
Poor Blake looked the most confused out of everyone. Sun was practically hanging off her neck ever since the fight at the docks and now she might as well have not existed. She wasn't angry or anything, but she probably still felt a bit bad.
Weiss coughed politely, cutting through their conversation, "Ahem. Jaune, would you introduce us to your friends?" She already knew who Sun was, but Ruby guessed that she was more interested in the blue haired guy judging by how she was looking at him.
"Oh, right." Jaune laughed, "This is Sun and Neptune. They're old pals."
"He's downplaying it." Neptune laughed and put an arm around Jaune's shoulders, "Jaune here's pretty much the reason our team's so famous. He was the one that came up with leaning into the whole boyband thing."
'Oh come on, I was just spitballing. You guys were the ones who really went all-in on it."
"Come on, dude, don't be shy!" Sun laughed and gave him a friendly knuckle rub to the head, "Shit, you really shoulda told us you were in Beacon. I would've snuck out sooner!"
Jaune suddenly adopted a faux-strict look, "Sun, we talked about you running off on your team."
Instead of brushing it off, Sun looked like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Blake looked even more confused. Ruby didn't know Sun very well, but she got the feeling that he wasn't the kind of guy who looked like that a lot.
"Come on, Jaune, give him a break. He's doing better," Neptune said.
"Wait, hold on," Yang cut in, "The first term started just a few months ago. How'd Vomit Boy make friends with you guys and help you decide what you were gonna do with your team?"
"I get around! I do have friends outside of you guys, you know." Jaune huffed.
"He sure does. Jaune here's what you'd call a 'social centipede'. I'm using that right, right?" Sun grinned and shook his head, "Ah, whatever. Man, we really gotta hang out! Too bad Scarlet and Sage ain't here yet, but we can still have some fun!"
"Ah...sure! We can train tomorrow, right, Pyr?" Jaune looked back at Pyrrha.
"Oh...of course." Pyrrha smiled, obviously forced. Ruby felt bad for her. The rest of them (except Jaune, for some reason) know how much she looked forward to their personal training sessions, "No problem at all, Jaune."
"Guys night. Just us guys, keepin' it real." Neptune pumped his fist.
"...Hey, Sun," Blake said. Maybe it was just Ruby's imagination, but she could've sworn she sounded irritated.
"Oh! Hey, Blake. Didn't see ya there," Sun replied, giving her a sideways glance. He sounded like he was barely paying attention.
"Well...I'm here."
"Yep." And then he turned to Jaune again, "So Jaune, you really gotta tell us how you got into Beacon!"
"Yeah, I bet you must've pulled something crazy," Neptune added.
"Come on, guys, it's not a big deal. Seriously." Despite his refusal, he let the two of them drag him out of the cafeteria. The three were all smiles and laughs the whole way though. It was...weird. Jaune was socially awkward like she was. Or at least, that was what Ruby thought. Apparently not if he was making friends with teams from entire different schools before they even showed up.
"That was...odd," Ren said.
"More like super weird!" Nora added louder, "Since when was Jaune-Jaune so popular?"
"He has friends outside of our social circle. That hardly makes him popular, Nora," Weiss crossed her arms and wrinkled her nose.
"You don't know! He could be the most popular guy outside of Beacon!" Nora shot back.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Yang shrugged, "I mean, it's Vomit Boy. Yeah, he knows a couple of people outside the school, but that doesn't suddenly mean he's Mr. Popular or anything."
"Don't be mean, Yang." Ruby slapped her right shoulder. She was surprised that Jaune wasn't as awkward as she thought he was, but it's not like it was impossible. Even she had friends back at Signal and Yang had people she ditched her for on the first day. She just...couldn't remember her Signal friends or what Yang's friends looked like outside of vague shadows. Weird.
"I-I'm sure everything will be fine," Pyrrha said, which was weird cause none of them implied that anything was wrong.
Ruby shook her head and walked back to their dorm with the rest of the group to get a change of clothes. She was sure things would get back to normal soon enough.
The strangeness didn't stop there.
As more and more students came in for the tournament, the scene from a few days ago kept on repeating. Transfer students would run into Jaune and they'd greet him like he was their best friend. It was all smiles, high-fives, and old jokes that went through everyone's heads. Jaune didn't seem surprised in the least and he remembered every single person that talked to him.
And Pyrrha hated it.
She was being so selfish. Jaune was reuniting with old friends and all she could think about was her jealousy and how unfair it all was. Jaune had friends, that wasn't shocking. He was kind, friendly, and open with his feelings; sometimes to his detriment, but oftentimes not. It was one of the things she loved most about him. How much he cared and accepted everyone. How he treated her as just another student when they first met.
Which only made her feel worse when she saw that same smile being given to others. It didn't matter who they were. Students from Atlas, Mistral, or Vacuo; Jaune gave them the same happy smile and easy jokes.
It didn't help that he often found himself too busy to spend time with them now. His new (old) friends took up a lot of his time and not a day went by when he wasn't out with another group of people.
She'd brushed it off at first. After all, how many new (old) friends could Jaune have had? He didn't even know what Aura was up until Initiation, so there must not have been that many Huntsmen-in-training he could've been in contact with, right?
Wrong.
It seemed like every single team that showed up was part of his then-unknown friend group. There wasn't a single transfer student who didn't know who Jaune was or had some established relationship with him. They bought wine from his family, they were old family friends, they were penpals...the reasons were numerous and none of them helped with the churning feeling in her gut.
The eight of them were eating lunch in the cafeteria when another of his old friends invited herself in, "Heya, Jaune!" Neon Katt grinned and sat in the small gap between her and Jaune. Pyrrha wanted so badly to push the Cat Faunus to the ground, but she held herself back, "We're still on for tonight, yeah?"
"Of course." Jaune nodded happily. Ever since his new (old) friends showed up, she and Jaune hadn't had the time to keep up with their usual training sessions. That wasn't to say he was slacking - they'd simply changed training in the evening to the morning. The issue was that they weren't alone. The gyms were often crowded by early risers and that only got worse with all the transfer students coming in. Their previously private sessions had become yet another avenue for people to take up more of his time.
"We're finally watching that Spruce Willis movie." Neon laughed and, much to Pyrrha's rising rage, her tail curled up Jaune's arm left. Both hands held her tray in a vice grip and it took everything Pyrrha had not to toss the metal clear across the cafeteria.
"I still can't believe Atlas banned it." Jaune shook his head.
"That's because Spruce Willis is poorly written schlock that glorifies Vale's very minor victories against Atlas," Weiss gritted out. Much to Pyrrha's surprise, Weiss had been one of the more testy among their group once they realized just how much of a social butterfly Jaune was.
"Pfft, like Atlas doesn't have their own stuff like that." Neon rolled her eyes. For an Atlesian, she wasn't shy about criticizing her home kingdom, which Weiss took umbrage with, "At least Try Hard 2: Try Harderer is just fun. Who cares about all that political garbage?"
The two Atlesians continued to bicker amongst themselves while Jaune futilely tried to play peacekeeper. If there was one good thing about his new (old) friends, it was that he never had the time to try and woo Weiss anymore. In fact, with Weiss' increased snippiness, Jaune seemed to finally be getting the message that maybe his 'Snow Angel' wasn't the right person for him.
Unfortunately, Pyrrha couldn't exactly capitalize on that. Especially not when-
"Jaune, tell her she's wrong!" Neon propped herself up on Jaune's shoulders with her chest pressed right over his head. Amazingly, Jaune paid absolutely no mind to it. Pyrrha did. Her fork bent with a loud creak, though the two arguing Atlesians and Jaune didn't notice. To Pyrrha's left, Nora suddenly looked nervous and scooted away from her.
"As if Arc would know anything about good movies."
"Hey! I resent that!" Ruby gasped while Blake and Yang blinked in shock. He wasn't angry - it was mild irritation at best - but it was still more heat than he'd ever shown the heiress. Even Weiss seemed surprised, judging by how she suddenly leaned back, "I may not know a whole lot about a bunch of stuff, but I'm definitely good at picking movies. And Spruce Willis is a modern-day classic!"
Weiss was quick to regain her footing and glared at them both, "Oh please, it's poorly written action movie schlock!"
"And that's what makes it awesome!" Neon declared with a tone that left no room for argument.
Pyrrha tuned out their bickering (with Jaune now being on Neon's side rather than a peacekeeper). She hated this. It was selfish, she knew that, but she couldn't help how she felt. She preferred it back then when it seemed like Jaune only had their team as friends. She never had to worry about someone else monopolizing his time or friends who were so close and touchy-feely that she felt a constant churning in her gut.
"J-Jaune!" she cut in during a lull in their argument, "W-Would you mind if I came with you two to the movies?" It was a desperate attempt, but she didn't care.
Jaune winced, "Oh...sorry, Pyr, it's sold out. It's the premier, so everyone was scrambling to get tickets. Neon and I barely got ours."
"Yep. Sorry~" Neon sang. Maybe it was her imagination, but Pyrrha could've sworn there was something unbelievably smug behind the words.
Again, Pyrrha had to resist the urge to throw something.
Neon stayed with them up until lunch was over before she had to go back to her team. Pyrrha kept herself from muttering 'good riddance' as the catgirl skated off, "I still don't get how you're so damn popular, Vomit Boy." Yang whistled. She was more amused than anything, "Like, how does this even work? You knew every student outside of Beacon for years?"
"Not every student."
"Dude, you have more friends than all of us combined." No one disagreed, which was sad. It was definitely true in her case. Pyrrha had friends before, but fame had a way of weeding connections. Her friends had either become resentful or tried to use her for 'perks'. Jaune was different. No one else on JNPR or RWBY did, outside of Weiss before Initiation, but he was the first.
"I just talk to people." Jaune shrugged.
"At least we know what you spent your time doing instead of training," Weiss muttered under her breath. It was so soft that none of them were meant to hear it, though Pyrrha and Blake, judging by how her bow twitched, did. Pyrrha's lips pressed into a thin line and she felt the urge to defend her partner.
She didn't. While the cause of their resentment was different, it would've been hypocritical for her to act like she was much better than Weiss right now.
She had to be better. She had to be-
"Hey, Jaune." Nebula Violette from team NDGO sat down where Neon was, face alight with a grin. Pyrrha didn't like her. She didn't like many of Jaune's new (old) friends, but that wasn't personal. She was jealous. The same couldn't be said for Nebula and team NDGO as a whole. They were overconfident bullies in the same vein as Cardin. How Jaune could ever be friends with one of them, let alone all of them, boggled the mind.
"What's up, Nebby?" That was another thing that ground her gears. The nicknames. He had one for just about all of his friends, herself included. It made her feel special since he called everyone else on their team by their actual name, Weiss' Snow Angel title aside. Even Ruby didn't get one while she did. It was a bit of a blow to find out she was just one of many.
"Me and the rest of the team were thinking of hitting the gym. Wanna come with?"
"Uh...sure! Always good to train, right?"
"I can come-"
"Sorry, Invincible Girl. We only reserved a room for five." Nebulla smirked. Pyrrha desperately wanted to knock her teeth out.
The Vacuan team leader grabbed Jaune and practically dragged him away before any of them could react. Pyrrha was tempted to stand and give chase before Nora grabbed her hand, "Don't. I wanna kick her butt too, but Jaune-Jaune's gonna get mad if you pick a fight with his friends."
Pyrrha took a deep breath and forced herself to keep sitting. Nora was right.
"Jaune's been super busy since the transfers came in," Ruby said, trying to fill the sudden silence.
"Indeed, though it's not all bad." Ren nodded, "It's clear that his old friends are very happy to see him and reconnect. They're likely trying to spend as much time as they can since they'll be returning to their schools come the end of the term." It couldn't come soon enough, Pyrrha thought. They had to deal with the transfer students for the next four months. She almost wished that her fans would've shown up instead. She at least knew how to deal with overeager admirers.
"What is it about that dolt that they find so intriguing?" Weiss asked herself.
"Geez, Weiss, what's crawled up your butt."
"Nothing went up my posterior, thank you." Weiss sniffed.
"You've been in a bad mood ever since the transfer students came in. You and Pyrrha," Blake said.
"I-I haven't!" Pyrrha winced. The refusal sounded weak even to her.
"Yeah...sorry, Pyrrha, it was kinda obvious," Nora said, patting her shoulder sympathetically.
"I'm just surprised that dunce could draw so many people to him, that's all," Weiss denied, cheeks red with embarrassment and anger, "He's hardly the most charismatic or influential. I don't know what exactly they gain from befriending him."
"Weiss...not everything's about what you can get out of someone. I mean, look at us," Ruby's words made the heiress look away with an expression of shame.
"Point, but my question still stands. Having a best friend or a tight-knit group? Fine. Humans and Faunus are both social creatures, after all. This isn't the same thing. Jaune has befriended at least dozens of people and yet they all act as thick as thieves. I just don't understand why. If they were his acquaintances then I would find it more sensible, but they're not. They act as if they're all equally close."
"Many people handle relationships differently. Who are we to judge Jaune for his?" Ren asked.
No one answered. Pyrrha sighed and went her separate ways with the others once they finished their meals. It was going to be a long semester...
Weiss was not a woman often prone to jealousy. Why would she be? She'd grown up wanting for nothing. She was the heiress and anything she wanted, she was given. For all her father's many faults, being stingy with his family was not one of them. Sure, he wouldn't show up to her birthday if her life depended on it, but he'd pay five figures to ensure it was the event of the year. Mostly for the sake of the Schnee's reputation, but still.
Which was why she felt her burning envy for one Jaune Arc...disconcerting.
She wasn't jealous of Arc's old friends monopolizing his time like Pyrrha was. No, her feelings were more from the other end. Why exactly did Arc have so many people singing his praises? He was hardly someone worth admiring. For as much as Blake was wrong to hide her past affiliations, she could at least watch out for herself and wasn't a burden to the team. An untrained teenager with fake transcripts was the opposite of that. Though she supposed it would've been hypocritical of her to expose him for that and yet keep Blake's secret, and so she held her tongue.
It was mindboggling. She would've laughed if she didn't see how sincere they all were. Vacuan students that saw all outside their kingdom as inferior? Arc was the exception. Atlas students that chafed at relations with those outside their own school? Didn't matter for Arc. Mistral students...well, okay, none of them had anything against outsiders, but they were just as friendly with Arc all the same.
She couldn't deny that the jealousy was irrational. So what if Arc had numerous friends? It shouldn't have mattered to her. But it did. It burned her up inside that Jaune Arc, of all people, had gotten such widespread adoration. Meanwhile, she had to deal with parasites and sycophants who saw her as nothing more than a ticket to the riches and power of the SDC. Her 'admirers' were self-serving leeches, nothing like the dozens that called Arc their friend.
Especially a certain team.
Team SSSN definitely drew one's eyes. Even past her former prejudices, she acknowledged that Sun was a handsome young man with an outfit that left very little to the imagination. The rest of his team was similarly handsome. Sage was slender and almost delicate in appearance while Sage was even more muscular than Sun with a handsome face and chiseled jaw. And Neptune...
Well, she wasn't ashamed to admit to herself that she found him attractive. He had a great sense of fashion and an undeniable charm to him. He was handsome too. Not quite as delicate as Scarlet, but with a definite boyish charm regardless. Far better than Arc. He looked like any other Valean from the countryside.
She resolved to ask him out. While she wasn't used to being the one making the first move - she was far too used to others trying to charm her instead - she doubted it'd be that difficult given who she was. She searched for Neptune all across campus until she found him reading a book in the library. Studious too. Good.
"Good morning, Neptune," she said as she sat across from him. He looked up from his book and she flashed him a winning smile cultivated through years of parties and galas, "It's nice to see you here."
"Oh, hey! ...Sorry, what was your name again?" Her right eye twitched and he continued before she could reply, "Weizz, right?"
"It's Weiss, actually." She laughed. Alright, a bad first impression, but she could ignore that, "We met at the cafeteria?"
"Oh yeah, when me and Sun saw Jaune again." Her eye twitched again.
"Right. Well..." She coughed, "How are you enjoying your time in Beacon?"
"Oh, it's great. Especially since we got to see Jaune again." She had to hold back from growling. Everything was about Arc!
"Would you like to go out sometime?" She asked, biting the bullet. Surely he couldn't twist that around to be about Jaune!
"Oh...like, right now?" Neptune blinked.
"Yes, if you're free."
"Well...I was actually gonna meet up with Jaune. He promised to show me around Va-"
"Tomorrow then!" Weiss interrupted quickly, her smile straining.
"I'm gonna be busy for the whole week. Sorry. See, Jaune-"
That was as far as he got before Weiss stood and left without another word. She could've tried next week or next month, but fuck it. She was Weiss Schnee, gods damn it, and she refused to play second fiddle to Jaune Arc.
The same resentment from before bubbled to the surface and she had to avoid screaming out in a rage. This was insane. In what world was Jaune Arc so charismatic that dozens of Huntsmen-in-training, the future Protectors of Mankind, would be falling over themselves to spend time with him. Nevermind the fact that he was somehow juggling said people even though that would've taken more hours in the day that were possible.
She was so lost in her angry thoughts that she almost didn't notice when she'd bumped into someone almost hard enough to knock them to the floor.
"Hey, watch where you're going." Weiss stepped back and looked up at the young man she'd bumped into. Dark skin, a crisp suit, shades, and a fedora. Not someone she recognized. His expression of mild irritation worsened when their eyes met, "Ugh. Course I'd run into a Schnee."
"And you are?" Weiss crossed her arms and raised an imperious brow. While many coveted her name, just as many spat on it in equal measure. While at least some of it was justified, others were simply looking for a scapegoat to blame their own flaws on.
She got the feeling this young man was of the latter category.
"Flynt Coal. Name ring any bells?"
"Can't say that it does."
"Not surprised. You don't look at the people you're trampling, do you?" Weiss sneered at the accusation, "Mom and Dad used to run a Dust shop. Small place, but we made do. At least until your company decided to shut us down."
"That's how economics works. It's a competition where everyone strives to be better than everyone else. Did you feel guilty when every time someone bought from your shop, they weren't buying from someone else who might have needed it more?"
Their burgeoning argument was cut off by another voice chiming in, "Hey, hey! Let's not fight." Weiss grimaced and did her best to avoid glaring at Jaune as he walked up to them. He was the last person she wanted to see right now.
She was expecting Coal to tell Jaune off, and she would've agreed with him at least on that front. Instead, he suddenly looked ashamed and sighed guiltily, "...Yeah, you're right, man. Sorry. I know it's not really her fault."
"...You two know each other?" Weiss didn't even know why she was surprised at this point.
"Yeah. When the shop went under, I was in a pretty bad place. Jaune helped me out."
"Of course he did." Weiss sighed and left before she could be sucked into another conversation about how great Arc was. It didn't make any sense! While she wasn't cruel enough to say that he had no positive traits, he was hardly so charismatic that the scores of people from across every kingdom would fawn over him.
She was just about to round the corner when she almost ran headfirst into another student. Arslan Atlan, the 'Roaring Lion of Haven'. She didn't know much about her apart from the fact that she declared herself Pyrrha's rival. Her and dozens of other Huntsmen, adults included.
"You. Tell me, do you know Jaune Ar-"
"AHHHHHHH!"
Arlasn blinked and watched with stunned silence as the Schnee girl suddenly screamed and ran down the hall out of sight. Beacon Academy was such an odd place. All she'd wanted was to ask why everyone was making such a big deal about this Arc fellow.
Jaune was being stalked.
He wasn't imagining it! He might not have been a Huntsman, but he'd been training hard the past few months. Maybe he couldn't dodge a bullet like Ruby could, but he could still tell when someone was following him.
Like right now.
Jaune looked back down the hall and frowned at the empty space. The entire hall was so barren that he could've seen a tumbleweed pass, "Hm..." He turned around and started walking. One step, two steps, three-
He heard something!
Jaune turned around again and spotted a reddish-white blur just before it hid against the corner. He was definitely not imagining that!
"Jaune, are you okay?"
Jaune jumped and did not let out a high-pitched shriek. Absolutely not. Heart beating at a normal tempo (and not a mile a minute), he turned around for the third time and heaved a sigh of relief at Pyrrha's worried gaze, "Y-Yeah, I'm good." He leaned in closer to whisper. For some reason, her face went red, "I think someone's following me. I saw them hide in the corner."
"Hm...alright, I'll handle it."
"Wait, wha-"
Pyrrha ran past him so fast he almost didn't realize. Jaune looked back just in time to see Pyrrha round the corner and a high-pitched shriek echoed. Jaune quickly ran after her and found his partner pinning another girl against the wall, "Who are you?" Pyrrha questioned. The girl squirmed and didn't answer. Tan skin, rose-colored hair, and one exposed eye showing off a grey iri-
Wait.
"May? Is that you?" Jaune asked.
"Y-You know this person, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked back.
"Yeah, I think so!" He gently pushed his partner away and let May calm down. It was definitely her. She looked different now - baggy clothes instead of dresses and a beanie that covered her left eye - but still undeniably May, "Oh gods, May! How long's it been?" Jaune laughed.
"T-Ten years," she said softly. Despite the situation, she managed to look up at him with a smile, "I-It's nice to see you again, Jaune." She turned to Pyrrha, "My name's M-May Zedong. It's nice to meet you."
"It's so good to see you again!" He pulled her into a hug. He could've sworn he heard a squeak behind him, but he ignored it, "Man, ten years. Why didn't you just say hi?"
"I...I was thinking of what to say." She chewed on her lower lip, "And...I was scared that maybe you would've forgotten about me since it's been so long."
"Forget about you? Never! I still remember that promise we made." He held up his pinky and, after a moment's hesitation, May did the same, her smile brightening. Their fingers interlocked, causing another random squeak from behind, "I mean it took a while to get there, but we're both here!"
"Y-Yeah!"
Pyrrha coughed loudly and looked at the two of them with a smile. Weird, it looked different than her usual ones, "Jaune...you two know each other?"
"Do we ever? Me and May are childhood friends!" Jaune wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, "May lived in Domremy till she was seven and then they had to move to Vacuo. We tried to keep in contact, but..."
"S-Sorry! The place we went to had a really spotty CCT connection. I couldn't really find a good enough signal to keep in contact, and then there was that Grimm attack and I lost my old scroll." She shook her head, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You're here now, and that's what matters."
"A-And this promise?" Pyrrha asked.
"Oh! Yeah, funny story about that." Jaune rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, "Me and May got into a lot of trouble back in Domremy. My parents and hers always got mad whenever we had one of our adventures. Well, one of our last ones ended with us sneaking out of town and running into a Beowolf. It was just a single one, but we were running scared!"
"Our parents were so angry when we got back." May giggled, "They screamed while the two of us were just holding onto each other and bawling."
"But we were kids, so of course, we thought it was this big dangerous adventure." Jaune sighed happily, "We made a promise to each other that we'd be Huntsmen and watch each other's backs when we grew up. I mean I'm still doing this because I wanna live up to my ancestors, but that promise with May was the first push I really needed. Without her, I wouldn't be here."
"Y-You're exaggerating..." May blushed, but she smiled anyway. Jaune was so happy to see her again.
Across from the reunited childhood friends, Pyrrha felt the exact opposite. Jaune continued to rattle off childhood stories with May adding her comments here and there. It came into one ear and out the other. A childhood friend. No, worse than that. A female childhood friend who made a promise that they would be Huntsmen together. She'd seen romances with the exact same plot as this!
But perhaps it wasn't the same, the idealistic part of her mind said. Maybe this May was just a friend and the two of them were completely platonic. That hope was quickly dashed when she saw how May looked up at Jaune. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were curled up in a shy smile, and the exposed eye had an unmistakable look of adoration and affection. May Zedong was the childhood friend that was in love.
May started hanging around them almost daily after that. While Jaune's numerous friends dropped in whenever they wanted, she was practically glued to his side once they had their reunion.
Her competitive streak flared up and she desperately wished that May would be her opponent once Combat Class came up. No such luck, of course, since Beacon was saving inter-school fighting till the tournament.
She hated how jealous and small she felt. She was the Invincible Girl, the Pride of Mistral, and yet May was Jaune's childhood friend. They had a history that she could only dream of.
It reached a peak when the two of them were changing in the locker rooms. Pyrrha had intended to turn around and find another spot when May pulled her baggy jacket over her head. Pyrrha's eyes practically bugged out of her sockets as she finally saw what May had been hiding. She was...equipped, to use the proper term. Pyrrha was hardly unequipped herself, but May's equipment put hers to shame. She had an entire armory of Dust mortars under that jacket.
"Pyrrha? What's wrong?" May turned to face her, finally showing off both eyes. There was no scar she was hiding, not even something subtle like Weiss' own mark. No, her face was flawless. She was undeniably cute. A cute, well-equipped, childhood friend that made a promise with Jaune to be Huntsmen together. It was as if the universe was stringing them together.
"N-Nothing..." Pyrrha turned away and, for the first time in her life, cried about how unfair it all was.
"How are the recent transfers doing?" Ozpin asked Glynda, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.
"They're better behaved than I expected, though I suppose having Jaune here helps. He's a...stabilizing influence."
"Indeed? I was surprised to find out that he'd had so many friends, though I suppose that's not a surprise. After all, he did the same for us."
"Please don't act say it like that." Glynda sighed, causing Ozpin to chuckle. Yes, Jaune had a more-than-professional friendship with the two of them as well. It was a secret the pair kept in order to avoid any accusations of preferences or nepotism.
...Even if they were guilty of exactly that.
Jaune's transcripts were fake. Any halfway competent staff member could see that. Were it anyone else, they would've turned them away, but it was Jaune. So they looked the other way and made plans to help him along on Initiation. Not that they had to - Ms. Nikos had been very eager to have Jaune as her partner - but in the end they were still guilty of allowing someone with fraudulent transcripts to enter Beacon.
It was undoubtedly the wrong thing, but really, how could they turn away a friend in need?
"I suppose we're lucky not every team showed up for the Vytal. I doubt even Jaune would've found the hours to spend time with all of them." Glynda sighed again. She was remarkably tight-lipped about how she and Jaune had become friends. It didn't stop her from pushing him to his limit whenever Combat Class came around, but Ozpin knew she'd never actually fail the lad.
"I wouldn't be so sure. He has his methods." Were it not for him having only activated his Aura at Initiation, Ozpin would have assumed his social skills were his Semblance. Apparently not. Jaune was simply very good at connecting others. Odd how it never came up in Beacon, "By the way, you are coming to his poetry slam, right?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."