Greetings, friends. This week has me feeling disillusioned and sad yet again. I know that I need to be informed on what's going on in the world, but reading the news only ever makes me want to curl in a ball and weep. A few days ago, a teen in Malaysia named Nhaveen was raped and beaten to death over the course of several hours, just because his classmates thought he was gay. He was going to study music composition at college, and now he's dead. In the meantime, Texas passed a law banning gay couples from adopting kids. When will this end? Why can't people just live and let live?
As a side note, one of my reviewers asked that I add a trigger warning concerning the slurs used by the bullies in this fic. I apologize that I didn't have a warning before, and that I also forgot to switch the rating to T. There isn't any language in this chapter, but I put an overall warning in the description.
Anyway, enjoy.
Jaune felt so conflicted whenever he was in the dorm room. On one hand, the binder he wore needed to be taken off at the end of the day, for both his health and his comfort. On the other, he hated that he couldn't look the way he wanted to when he was in his own room. When the binder came off after that first day wearing it, he had immediately hated the way he looked with a burning passion. The breasts he had been born with taunted him when he looked in the mirror, reminding him that he was not what he desperately wanted to be: a man who could simply be one with no strings attached and with no one batting an eye.
He started keeping the binder on until the others fell asleep, or at least until Ren fell asleep. He also tried to wake up early and get it on before his teammates woke up. This led to a decrease in sleep, which really didn't help things.
Team CRDL kept its distance, at least physically, since Ozpin threatened them with suspension if he heard of just one more fight. That didn't stop them from making Jaune's life difficult, of course. A rumor was spreading around Beacon that "Jeanne" was a pervert who took pictures in the locker rooms and "crossdressed" in shady parts of Vale on weekends.
He desperately wanted to talk to Doctor Oobleck about what to do about rumors, but was honestly terrified. What if someone saw him spending time with Oobleck and decided to start a rumor about him giving blowjobs to the professors or something?! At this point, nothing seemed impossible.
He was stewing over this in the courtyard with his friends during lunch. The cafeteria had become too hostile of an environment for him.
"Jaune," Ren urged, poking his arm. "Come on. You need to eat something."
Jaune sighed. "Not hungry. Do you want it?" He held his tray out to Ruby, who was sitting on his other side.
"Nope! Eat, or I'll get Yang to force-feed you," she replied.
"It wouldn't be the first time I've had to do it," Yang noted. "Ruby was a stubborn kid."
Jaune nervously shifted away from the brawler and reluctantly started on his food.
Weiss sniffed loudly. "I honestly don't understand why people insist on being so needlessly cruel."
"Bigotry does that," Blake said. "Remember how you were with Faunus before."
"I didn't trust Faunus, that's true," Weiss said. "I thought badly of them, but even then, I didn't specifically try to hurt them. Even then, I didn't think they deserved to be treated cruelly. These people are putting time and effort into being horrible, just because Jean- Jaune! I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Jaune said, still staring morosely at his food as he took another slow bite.
"Just because Jaune sees himself as a male. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't be able to tell he was born female by looking at him. What is the problem?"
Jaune did look up at this, a hopeful glimmer coming to his eyes. "You…really wouldn't be able to tell?"
Weiss noticed his expression and nodded, an encouraging smile coming to her face. "I really wouldn't. Your clothes, your hair, the binder, and how you've been speaking with a lower pitch all paint a masculine picture. The times when I accidentally call you Jeanne are more due to old habit than anything."
"At least I'm getting that part right," Jaune murmured. "Thanks, Weiss."
"And you don't believe me when I say how good you look?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow and folding his arms in a gesture of mock-indignation.
Jaune laughed, kissing his cheek. "I believe you, but you're a bit biased."
"Hm. Maybe a little." Ren rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.
Nora giggled as she looked at the two. "You guys need to stop being so cute!"
"Isn't this the pot calling the kettle black?" Pyrrha asked with a slight smirk.
Nora's face turned bright red. "Oh, stop!"
A group of students walked by at that moment, and one of them called over. "Hey, Jeanne! Selling any of those pictures you've been taking? I know a few I'd like." The others snickered.
Jaune's heart clenched and his hand instinctively went to pull his hood up, only to stop when he remembered that he was in his school uniform. Instead, he scooted further under the shadow of the tree.
Nora stood up. "Okay, I'm gonna-!"
The group of jerks continued walking, only to step on a glyph that suddenly appeared in their path. They were thrown screaming into the air, then fell in a heap on the grass a few feet away. Teams RWBY and JNPR gaped for a moment, then all turned to look at Weiss, whose face was the picture of innocence.
"Oh dear," she remarked. "I really do need to learn how to control those better."
As they walked back to class, Ren slipped his hand into Jaune's and squeezed gently, giving his boyfriend a concerned look.
Jaune managed a smile, lightly gripping Ren's hand in return. What would I do without you?
During class, he was still thinking about just how supportive Ren was being in his words, actions, and simple presence whenever something went wrong. I should take him out, he realized. We haven't had a real date since I came out to everyone. The past few days has mostly been dealing with bullies and me moping. He felt a little guilty as he thought about it.
Quickly, he wrote a note and slid it over to Ren. "We need a date night. Game store and coffee after classes today?" He drew a few hearts on the paper, even as he realized how dorky that was, and handed it to Nora, pointing toward Ren.
Ren got the note, read it over, and smiled. He nodded at Jaune, who beamed back. A date night at the game store. That's exactly what we need!
As soon as classes were over, they changed into their casual clothes and headed out. The night was warm, so Jaune decided to risk being confident and wearing one of his new tees, leaving his hoodie on his bed. Ren commented on how nice it looked, putting an extra spring into Jaune's step as they crossed the courtyard and headed toward downtown Vale.
The game store, a large-ish place called "The Pen is the Sword" had a decent amount of customers. Some were wandering through the bookshelves. Others stood at the counter, peering through the glass at trading cards. In the back, a few were playing various games, whether they were the tester board games that were provided or one of many card games.
"Hey, Ed!" Jaune called as they entered.
Ed, a taller man with a dark beard, smiled at the two. "Hey, Jeanne. Hey, Ren. How's life at Beacon?"
Jaune hesitated. "It's interesting," he said, not wanting to think about the bullying just then. "Also, I go by Jaune now. I…recently came out as trans."
"Okay," Ed replied without missing a beat. "A guy came in and sold me a bunch of GrimmDark cards. Wanna take a look?" GrimmDark was a game about sentient Grimm, and involved things such as sanity meters, varying powers, and spells.
"Sure," Jaune replied, approaching the counter as Ed took out a folder. He was a little surprised at his friend's non-reaction. Though, when he thought about it, that was the exact reaction that he wished he could get from everyone else. He wasn't trying to make himself seem "special," or call a bunch of attention to himself, or have an excuse to act like a "victim." He just wanted to be himself and have everyone just accept that.
Ren looked at Jaune, smiling at his bemused but pleased expression. "We could use more Eds in the world," he muttered.
"Agreed." Jaune opened the folder and started flipping through. "Ooh, some of these are nice."
"Let me know when you're done," Ren said. "I'll be looking at the Graveyards and Grimm books."
"Okay." Jaune flipped a few pages, immediately noticing some cards that worked for his healer-based Beowolf deck. He put those aside, then turned a page to see several cards that would work in Ren's deck, which was a riskier one that lowered the sanity meter in order to make attacks more powerful at the risk of losing the Grimm cards. Glancing over his shoulder, he selected those as well and purchased the cards from Ed.
"Jaune, they have the sixth bestiary!" Ren called over.
Jaune joined his boyfriend in looking at the book. "We still only have the first three. Gotta get four and five before we buy this one."
"I know, but I like looking at the pictures."
"Ooh, this one has the Dragon Mother! She's such a badass!"
"Don't even think about it, Jaune. We're having a hard enough time with the Geist Puppet Master you have us going after."
Jaune rolled his eyes. "Well, duh. The Dragon Mother is for levels fifteen and up. I wouldn't do that to you."
"We got some new dice sets," Ed commented. "If you're interested."
"We should make Yang get some new dice," Jaune said. "Her rolls are so bad, I'm convinced her current set has it in for her."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Ren laughed. He approached the dice display. "Some of these look really nice. She might like these gold and orange ones."
"I was online the other day. Apparently, there are dice made from mammoth tusks! They're like a thousand Lien." Jaune shook his head. "If I was rich, that's the kind of pointless-but-awesome thing I'd buy."
In the end, they elected to let Yang decide whether or not to improve her dice collection. Ren checked the folder briefly before they left for the coffee shop.
The shop was a small place near the game store that always had a few people, but no huge crowds. Ren especially liked it there. The old man behind the counter waved as they entered.
"Evening, Ren and Jeanne. The usual?"
They both nodded. Jaune, slightly emboldened by Ed's nonchalant reaction, was able to speak without hesitating. "I'm going by Jaune now. I came out publicly as transgender a few days ago."
"You don't say." The old man raised an eyebrow as he set about preparing the boys' drinks. "The world sure is changing. Back in my day, you could get killed for something like that."
"You still can," Jaune sighed. "Trans people get attacked every day."
"In that case, make sure to take care on the way home."
"Will do!" They accepted their drinks, which Jaune insisted on paying for: green tea for Ren and a hazelnut latte for Jaune, as well as two pieces of baklava, and went to a small table near the counter.
Ren blew on his tea, noting with satisfaction that Jaune looked happier and more relaxed than he had in days. This was more like their early dates, except better, since there wasn't that nagging worry that Jaune was having second thoughts or hiding something else. "I saw a sign in the shop saying that there will be a GrimmDark tournament next month. Want to enter?"
"Sure! I'm always up for playing new people." Jaune took a bite of baklava. "Is there a prize?"
"One hundred Lien. It's a local thing, so it's not a huge prize."
"Still. We could have some fun with that." Jaune sipped his latte.
"We could. Thanks again for the tea. I'm pretty sure it was my turn to pay this time."
"Eh. Who's keeping track?" Jaune shrugged. "Also, I got something else for you." He took the cards he had purchased out of his bag and handed them to Ren, whose eyes lit up as he looked at them.
"I can definitely implement this one with my newest strategy… This is a really good spell card..." He smiled brightly at his boyfriend after looking at all of the cards. "Thank you, Jaune!"
Jaune shook his head. "I should be thanking you. You've been really patient with me ever since I came out, and have been nothing but supportive. I'm not sure how well I'd be able to deal with all the bullying if I didn't have you to lean on," he admitted.
Ren reached across the table to touch his hand. "You don't need to thank me. And you don't have anything you have to repay. I don't abandon the people I love when things get a little difficult. I'm here for you."
Jaune smiled softly at Ren. Then, he realized exactly what his boyfriend had said. Ren seemed to realize it too, because his face was turning red. He wasn't withdrawing his hand or taking anything back, though.
"Ren, I-" Jaune was cut off when his Scroll suddenly started ringing. He winced, cursing internally. Why do I always forget to silence that?! "Sorry, I'll turn it off." He took it out of his pocket, frowning when he saw who was calling. "Nora?"
Ren took out his Scroll, his brows furrowing. "She left me several messages. You should probably pick up."
Jaune put the Scroll to his ear. "Nora, what's up?"
"Omigosh, Jaune!" Nora's voice was thick with tears. "I'm so, so, so, so sorry! My key must have fallen out of my pocket, and! And!"
"Nora, calm down!" Jaune said. "What happened?"
"Our room, Jaune! Everything's messed up! And your dresser… Oh Dust, I'm gonna break their legs and their arms and-"
"Easy, Nora," Jaune urged, even as his heart sank and tears started to blur his vision. "We'll be right there." He ended the call, letting the Scroll fall on the table.
"Jaune, what is it?!" Ren asked. "Is someone hurt?"
"Someone messed up our room," Jaune said, his voice numb. "Nora said they did something to my dresser…"
Ren gritted his teeth. Cold fury filled him as he looked at his boyfriend's downcast face and imagined what awaited them back at Beacon. "Dammit," he growled. Why can't they leave us alone? Why?! He stood up. "Come on. Let's see what happened."
They started to clean up, only for the old man to wave them off. "I got it, boys. You just hurry back."
By the time the two got back to Beacon, a crowd had gathered outside their room. Team RWBY was standing guard by the door, shooing away curious onlookers.
Jaune rushed over and let out a cry at what he saw. The room looked as if a rampaging bull had gone through it. Items were strewn across the floor, the beds were messed up, and all of the drawers of Jaune's dresser had been pulled out. On the wall above his bed, someone had spraypainted the word "FREAK" in big red letters. Nora and Pyrrha were working on cleaning their side of the room, but stopped when he came in. Jaune approached his part of the room, sobbing a little when he saw his dresser.
Not only were all the drawers pulled out, but all of his clothes were gone, replaced with pink tank tops, white short shorts, glittery jeans, and basically any other hyper-feminine article of clothing one could think of.
Ren stared in horror at the room, the dresser, and finally his boyfriend, who looked close to breaking down. He hurried to his side, hugging him tightly. "It's okay, Jaune. It'll be okay. There are cameras in the hallway. We'll find out who did this and get them expelled."
"Not before I get to break every bone in their bodies!" Nora growled, cracking her knuckles before joining Ren in hugging Jaune. "Just the legs won't do it this time."
Pyrrha walked over, touching Jaune's shoulder. "Stay strong, Jaune. I have a feeling that the worst is over."
Jaune shook his head mutely, unable to come up with any words just then.
"Move! Everyone, go to bed!" a familiar, sharp voice called from the hallway. "What is going- Oh Dust!"
Jaune looked over his shoulder to see Glynda Goodwitch standing in the doorway. She walked into the room, her eyes glittering with anger. "Of all the…" She approached Jaune, eying his dresser and the words on the wall. Pure disgust decorated her features. "Mister Arc, I am so sorry. I assure you that we will check the hall cameras and punish whoever did this." She touched his arm. "Are you alright? Do you need to come to my office?"
Jaune shook his head. "N-No, ma'am," he muttered. Bitter tears were streaming down his face.
Glynda turned toward Pyrrha and Nora. "Don't clean any more. We'll bring in custodial staff tonight. Everything will be cleaned, and your belongings will be stacked neatly. We will also change the locks and issue new keys by morning."
Ruby peeked in, clearing her throat. "You guys can stay with us tonight."
Glynda nodded. "Good idea, Miss Rose. I'll have sleeping bags brought up here." She started texting on her Scroll. "I'll notify Ozpin. You all gather what you need and go across the hall. We will get to the bottom of this."
A little while later, they were in Team RWBY's room. No one spoke for a while. Jaune was trying really hard to stop crying. Ren had set up his sleeping bag right next to his and was at his side, hugging him tightly.
It was Weiss, who had been texting silently on her Scroll for the past few minutes, who broke the silence. "Jaune, are you busy this Saturday?"
"Huh?" Jaune blinked in confusion. "Uh, no. Why?"
"Well, you are now. Coco and I are taking you shopping," she declared, putting her Scroll away. "I just arranged it."
Jaune sighed. "Weiss, I spent most of my money on the clothes that got stolen."
"Did I say we were going to watch while you shopped? No. We are taking you shopping," Weiss said firmly. "And we aren't going to any of those bargain places, either. We're getting you some quality, fashionable clothes that will actually last. Honestly, those baggy tee-shirts were so boring."
Jaune's mouth dropped open when he realized what Weiss was saying. "You don't have-"
"Hush! The plans are already made," Weiss cut in. "There's no changing them, so shut up."
More tears came to his eyes, but these weren't due to sadness. "Thank you, Weiss."
Weiss waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing." Her tone was brusque, but she was smiling.
Yang was muttering something to Nora and Pyrrha.
"What are you guys doing?" Ruby asked.
"Plotting how to murder whoever did this with no witnesses," Yang replied honestly.
Jaune's smile widened a little, and he turned to Ren, who was looking up at him from where he was snuggled against his side. "Hey." He kissed his boyfriend's forehead.
Ren pecked his cheek. "Are you okay?"
"No," Jaune answered honestly. He glanced at the others. "But…I think I'll get better."
Honestly, Jaune was feeling a strange sense of determination and calmness flooding through him, replacing the impending panic attack he had been fighting off. He had just endured a true hate crime, and he wasn't broken. His friends, his teammates, and Ren were there for him. The staff of Beacon were on his side. Tomorrow was going to come, even in the face of something so horrible. If he could handle this, he could probably handle anything else that was thrown at him.
He hugged Ren close and leaned in, so his lips were millimeters away from his ear. "By the way, I love you too."
He barely registered Ren's movement before his boyfriend pulled him into a long, deep kiss. He made a muffled sound of surprise before closing his eyes and kissing back eagerly. He was just feeling Ren's tongue running along his bottom lip when Yang called over.
"Hey! Get a room, you two!" There was a pause. "Wait, crap! I didn't mean-"
"Yang!" Weiss snapped. "Do you even know the meaning of tact?!"
Jaune burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. Ren quickly joined him. Soon, everyone in the dorm was cracking up. The atmosphere grew lighter immediately, and conversation quickly turned to exactly what they could do to the people who vandalized Team JNPR's room. They came up with several creative scenarios, some inspired by horror movies they had seen. By the time everyone went to sleep, the overwhelming grief and anger in the air were almost gone.
Ren hesitated before asking if he and Jaune could sleep in the same sleeping bag. He could see Jaune's answering blush even with the lights out.
Jaune held Ren close after they settled in, remembering with a small hint of nervousness that his binder was off at this point, and that Ren was pressed right up against him. He felt his boyfriend shift and make a contented noise in his throat. A lazy kiss to the collarbone finally caused Jaune to relax completely. "I love you, Ren," he murmured.
Ren nuzzled Jaune's neck. "I love you too," he replied. He fell asleep listening to his boyfriend's strong heartbeat, and feeling renewed determination to keep on being strong for him.
Jaune remained awake for a little while longer, listening to the breathing of his friends around him and feeling Ren's warm, smaller form nestled against him. He decided to forget about what had happened, and just enjoy this moment for what it was. Tomorrow, he decided. We'll get back to dealing with this tomorrow.
His sleep that night was restful and long. In the morning, when he ended up waking up after everyone, he found that he didn't feel self-conscious about putting his binder on.
It's funny. I have this thing when I type scenes involving mindless cruelty. I always stop and think "Man, this isn't realistic. I feel like I should be making these people more rational. This can't be right." Then, I see another news article about some kid somewhere being beaten to death, and I realize that yes, this is realistic. Yes, people do get this cruel, and can get much, much crueler.
My friends tell me about what they have faced, and I can only listen and hate the world more and more while wondering when it'll be my turn. When will I be the one getting harassed at night? When will someone come at me waving a gun or a knife? When will I face someone who can look me in the eye and hate everything about me, even though they have never even spoken to me?
We can't understand evil. We can't rationalize it. All we can do is accept that it exists, and do everything in our power to fight it, even if that fight will never truly end. That's what I'm going to do. I'm not a great speaker or an influential politician, but I'll write until I drop dead, and hope that better people than me can find solace in my words, that smarter people than me may be influenced to do something that could save just one more life. That's how I'll know that being a writer, that me existing in the first place, was all worth it.
I'll see you guys next week for the final chapter. Also, yes. It will be a happy ending. We need more happy endings in the world.
Peace out!
