Welcome to my compilation of one-shots, 'More Insight'. This will be in conjunction with my main story, 'Bloody Arc'. For each installment, I will say at which point this takes in canon, or if it takes place before the events of the story. If I do more one-shots of varying relevance to 'Bloody Arc' canon, I will have them all posted on this story.
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Jaune Becomes an Uncle
XXXX Timeline: Chapter 15's Gala; Event mentioned offhand during Chapter 16 XXXX
After Jaune's discussion with the new Councilor, Cobalt Winchester, he shared one more dance with Noire before the evening's plans took a major paradigm shift. It all changed with his older sister's casual statement while he dipped her to finish the waltz. "By the by, I have marvelous news. My water broke… a few minutes ago."
It took a considerable effort on Jaune's part to not to drop his sister as he froze up upon hearing such important news. Closing his eyes, he sighed in exasperation. "Must you be so offhand about such important topics? This is exactly like the time when you showed up at the door already engaged with no word prior."
"Oh, relax. It's not like you're the one about to experience one of the most painful tasks a person can undergo." She didn't seem too daunted by that. Instead, she practically shuddered with delight.
"Hmm. Well, let's get you to the hospital, then." He tried to match his sister's more casual approach the impending new life as he escorted her out. Walking to the valet, she handed a ticket to one. Her car soon arrived, a high-end sedan that was painted black, because of course it was.
"You left your car here in advance?" Jaune asked as he helped her into the back seat.
"Of course I did. You above all should know that it's best to be prepared." Her straightforward reply made him roll his eyes in response. Getting into the driver's seat, he wasted not time in accelerating, burning rubber as he floored it to the hospital.
"Oh, and be a dear and please call Gomez, if you would." She addressed him like a chauffeur. He might have huffed, but complied nonetheless. 'The things we do for family. At least she said please.'
"Isn't he in Menagerie right now?" He asked, doubting that even if he was made aware of his wife's condition, there was really nothing he could do but offer verbal support. To be with her in spirit, as it were.
"Oh, that won't be a problem. He is always as close to me as my own shadow." She hinted with no small amount of pride and affection. Shrugging at her vagueness, he auto-dialed Gomez's scroll number using the dashboard and saying, "Call Gomez."
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Almost on the edge of the known world, thousands of miles away, the scroll of said man turned on and rang in the middle of his dinner within the home of the Belladonna's. Gomez and Ghira had finished their business discussions for the day when Kali, the chieftain's wife, had offered her hospitality and insisted that he stay in their manor for the duration of his stay, as well as his wife if and when she joined them.
After apologizing for the interruption, Gomez answered his scroll with worry in voice. Indulging in his hostess' request to also speak with Noire, he put his scroll on speaker mode. "Noire, cara mia, are you faring well? I'm having a wonderful dinner with-"
But it was not his wife that replied. It was her brother, and he didn't seem to be at his usual level of composure. "No, I'm not your cara mia! She's fine, by the way."
"Ah, if it isn't my favorite brother in law… how was the Gala, Jaune?" While he was not disappointed in the slightest at the unexpected surprise, as he enjoyed the Hunter's company, he had hoped to speak with his darling.
"I'm your only brother in law, and it was great." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "I even got to insult and trade barbs with the newly elected Councilor Winchester in his smug, arrogant face. You should have been there."
The Belladonna couple both raised an eyebrow at several things; the sheer gall that their guest's in law was boasting, his choice in vernacular, and Gomez's lack of concern of the other's exasperation. "As I said, I'm in Menagerie, currently having dinner with-"
"Frankly, I do not give a runny shit as to who you're dining with!"
He might have continued, but a more controlled, female voice interrupted the diatribe. "Hello, darling. Forgive him, he feeling rather stressed at the moment."
"All is well, my love?"
"Just so, mon cher. He is rather adamant in chauffeuring me to the hospital."
"Are you in pain? Is it unbearable?" His tone was still in adoration, amped to a new degree from her use of his favorite language to hear. She knew what it did to him, and it was her way of reassuring him that she was fine. Whatever her response was, the screeching of tires, the honking of horns, and a far less serene voice drowned out their intimacy.
"Save your sweet sadomasochistic nothings and fucking language fetish until after I'm officially an uncle! So get your suave ass over here to meet the incoming offspring, or so help me I'm going to shove my boots so far up your ass I'll polish them with your tongue!" Jaune yelled over the cacophony of road rage before hanging up with a resounding click.
"Is he… usually so churlish?" Kali asked, recovering form the unexpected storm of shouted profanity rather quickly. Gomez smiled in nostalgia.
"Oh no, it's primarily reserved for his enemies, except for that one time when I asked for the Arc family's blessing when we first met. His verbose threat made me feel part of the family already. Speaking of which, would it be too much of an imposition if we brought our child upon our return?"
"Not at all. It will be a pleasant reminder of fond times when our daughter was at that age." Kali assured him that would be perfectly acceptable. It was a very large house, after all, and to hear it so empty on most days pulled on her heartstrings from time to time.
He nervously straightened his hair as he stood, clearly excited with the prospect of being a father. "Well then, I must be off; my compliments to you both as magnanimous hosts. We'll return in a couple of days."
"But no boat arrives until tomorrow morning, and it's a three-week voyage to Vale at the very least." Ghira interjected, not seeing the motive for his haste.
"I don't require such a lengthy method to return to my other half." He began sinking into the floor like quicksand.
"Even with the world between us, we are as close as our own shadows." These were his parting words as his head disappeared with the rest of his body, leaving no trace of his presence.
"How romantic." Kali sighed with delight, while her own husband just kept staring at where something he had once considered impossible had just taken place.
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The brief, but thunderous pounding of the oversized knockers on the front doors drew Kali Belladonna to answer the door. Opening it, she found that Gomez had been true to his word. There he stood, cooing and solely focused on the infant swaddled in black. To his left, and presumably the one who knocked, was his wife practically glowing under her parasol.
"At last we meet, Mrs. Belladonna." Noire greeted her hostess, looking to have recovered from childbirth entirely.
"Oh, Kali, please; none of that missus nonsense. Come in, and congratulations on your child." She waved off the new mother's uncharacteristic formality as she led them to an informal sitting room, perfect for tea amongst guests.
Gomez was the first to speak, after taking a sip of tea. "I do apologize for leaving so abruptly during dinner."
"You have nothing to apologize for. Impending parenthood can excite and unravel even the most stoic among us. Ghira was much the same when our daughter was to be born. He paced so much I thought that he would wear through the floor."
"Kali, please." He implored her to stop with her teasing. Then again, it was a good sign of Mr. Addams' character that she got along so well with him. It was the main reason why he continued to meet with the man and hear out his request.
"Little Mercredi has already been a blessing in our lives. Would you like to hold her?" Noire asked.
Accepting the offer, both Belladonnas had an infant in their arms for the first time in years, not since their own had grown up. Inevitably, such a line of thought had them comparing the two. Even as a newborn, Blake's hair had been as black as a Nevermore's feather; Mercredi had hair as grey as ash. What the two had in common, however, were the little tufted feline ears that marked them as Faunus.
"You are also parents, yes?" Noire asked, though she already knew that they were. Both of their smiles turned for the melancholic, but it was Ghira that responded.
"Yes, our daughter Blake. We had a… disagreement after an unfortunate circumstance, and she left to follow her own path. We haven't heard from her since I stepped down."
"Then perhaps you'll be pleased to hear that I met with her not hours before the Gala I attended?" Thankfully, the shocked reception of such news had not included dropping little Mer, as she had been already passed back to Gomez.
"How is she? Is she all right?" Kali pleaded to know.
"Yes, we spoke for a few hours; she's a fan of my literature. She's in good health and company, attending Beacon to be a Huntress." That was relieving for the Belladonnas to hear. They had been worried that she would still be with the White Fang, thinking there was no other way than violence. That she had chosen to leave for more noble pursuits was a balm on their souls.
"Has she made friends? She was always introverted."
"Just so. Beacon groups students in teams of two pairs, and she seems quite content with her partner, as well as being close to another team led by my brother."
"Your brother… Jaune was it?" Their first impression was not exactly stellar, thinking him a blunter version of that boy Orion had taken under his wing. Then again, they had caught him at a bad time.
"Yes, that is his name."
"Could you tell us a bit more about him?" Their desire to know whom Blake interacted with on a regular basis was, after all, a well-meaning parent's natural instinct. Though Noire discussed a bit of everyone in the group of eight, she focused most on the three she was most familiar; though the familiarity she had with the SDC heiress was an unexpected, but interested curiosity.
Blake, their daughter, was an intelligent, beautiful, and passionate young woman. There was her partner, Yang, a hotheaded but easy-going extrovert helping her break out of her shell. Last, and just barely the most of all, the one who was the reason why they had met in the first place, her brother Jaune.
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END
Well, this was quite enjoyable to write. I have a decent reason for not including this in neither chapter 15, nor in 16. For 15, I hadn't even thought of it at the time, and to just edit it in and repost feels a bit tacky and jumbles up the flow a bit if I were to do so. For 16, this is a personal choice but I want to avoid using flashbacks whenever possible. There's nothing wrong with them if used properly, but I don't feel like using them. Additionally, I really wanted to get the fun stuff in the next couple of chapters.
What do you all think of Gomez's semblance? He can travel like Noire can through shadows, but it's more limited than Noire due to less training. He used their bond as a link and an anchor. And so he can go anywhere, provided his wife is there. Of course, this would require them separating in the first place, which is rare in and of itself.