Summary: After all, who knows what the future might hold for them?

Chain

RWBY

'What if they don't like me?'

Jaune halted in his tracks. He twisted around. 'Beg your pardon?' he asked.

Weiss had stopped moving a couple of paces behind him. 'Your family,' she said nervously. 'What if they don't like me?'

The twenty-three-year-old gave her a humorous glance. 'You know,' he joked. 'For someone who's incredibly punctual, you couldn't have picked a worse time to have a case of the jitters.'

To be friends with Weiss was one thing. To be dating her was a completely different experience. And dating her was what Jaune Arc had been doing for the better part of one and a half years. Having been friends through all their years at Beacon (though Weiss could very well argue that they were anything but in their first year), Jaune thought he knew all there was to know about Weiss Schnee. For example, he knew what made her laugh (puns and knock-knock jokes - thanks Yang), what entertained her (plotting the demise of people she didn't like… seriously), and what she preferred to do in her spare time (study… duh).

Jaune knew a lot of things about her. So many things that, when they started dating, he thought he knew them all. Oh how naive and foolish he was. Now, he knew what time she got up in the morning (the first alarm would go off at 6:55am, the second at 7), how she took her coffee (black, no sugars), and what she preferred to do on weekends (art galleries and museums… with video games being a guilty pleasure).

Has it been mentioned yet that the two of them are living in the same apartment complex? No? Well then, the two of them are living in the same apartment complex.

After Jaune had walked in on Ruby in her underwear one time too many, the couple (well, Weiss more so) had decided that it was best if the two of them moved in together for convenience's sake. Despite being initially opposed to the idea, Ruby finally agreed. To make things easier, she offered to move in with Pyrrha, to which the red-headed warrior had warmly agreed. Nora had been spending most of her time with Ren back at his and Jaune's apartment, which left Pyrrha alone on most nights. Not that Pyrrha blamed her. To be a hunter or a huntress meant that you were always at the public's mercy. Even though they were together on most assignments, Ren and Nora never really had time to relax and do "couple things" with each other. Pyrrha respected that.

A bustle of movement and a few stacks of paperwork later, all of them were finally finalised in their new homes. Having already bonded in Beacon over their love of weaponry, the two quickly became comfortable in their shared living quarters. Last Jaune had heard, the crimson-haired duo were in Mistral for a special Weapon's Showcasing event.

But alas, that's enough world building, don't you think? Let's head back to the main event.

As of late, there had been a lull in Grimm activity surrounding Vale. Spikes and irregularities were beginning to show in other regions, but it was still manageable for the most part. Due to there not being as many assignments in the area, there were long periods where resident hunters and huntresses were out of a job. And so, when the opportunity presented itself, Jaune thought it was the perfect time to introduce Weiss to his family.

It had all started two days ago. He was talking on his scroll with his mother – it didn't come to anyone as a surprise that Jaune was a mama's boy at heart. As he was recounting what had been happening over the last couple of months, Weiss became a subject of interest. After finding out that they were living together, Jaune had been all but been pressured into taking her with him when he visited. After some initial hesitance (and a lot of pleading on the knight's part), the heiress had agreed to go.

Which leads us to the present moment, where the two were literally, literally, at the front gate to the Arc household.

'You have nothing to worry about,' Jaune eased. 'They won't bite you or anything.'

'S-shut up,' Weiss stammered, wringing her hands. 'You'd be the same way if you had to meet my father.'

'Well,' Jaune replied wryly. 'To be fair, I have the strangest feeling that my family's nicer than yours. No offense,' he added.

Weiss snapped out of her reverie just long enough to spare him an amused look. From what little Weiss had told him about her family, all Jaune knew was that he didn't really want to meet Mr. Schnee any time soon. Especially if he valued his ability to potentially procreate in the future.

Sinking back into mass paranoia, Weiss began to fiddle with her jacket. 'How do I look?' she asked, flustered. 'Do I look okay? Am I overdressed? I'm overdressed. They're going to think that I'm some posh rich girl from a high class family-'

'Weiss.'

'Which, to be fair, would be an accurate assessment. I'm a Schnee after all. But then they'll treat me differently and I really don't want that to happen. I just want them to see me for me-'

'Weiss.'

'But that's probably not possible because I'm freaking overdressed. And then your parents are going to take you to the side and ask how much you paid for me to be your stand in girlfriend because I am far, far too good for you. And let's be honest, I probably am-'

'I take offense to that last one,' Jaune finally interrupted, giving her a wounded look. 'Though it's probably true, all things considered.'

'And now you're guilt tripping me!' she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. 'And now your family is going to tell that I hurt your feelings because you're a big, stupid softie like that and they're going to judge me just like you are now. And I really, really-'

'Okay, okay.' Jaune clapped both of his hands on her shoulders, interrupting her spiel. 'What's bothering you?'

Her diamond gaze pierced him. 'Nothing's wrong!' she said defiantly. 'What on earth are you on about, you dunce?'

'Oh really?' Jaune's right eye twitched. 'So you're fine with me buzzing the gate and us going inside?'

'Of course, why wouldn't I be?'

'Alright then.' He began to walk towards the gate. Keyword: began.

'Wait,' Weiss pleaded. 'Maybe they're not ready for us yet. You did kind of throw it at them last minute. Maybe they need more time to prepare.'

Jaune took a deep breath. 'Weiss,' he said slowly. His patience was beginning to wear thin. 'I was already planning to visit today. They were the ones who asked me to bring you along.'

'I… I…' The heiress was at a loss for words.

Lifting her chin up, he looked into her eyes. 'What's bothering you?' he asked gently.

Weiss squirmed under his gaze. '… You'll laugh at me,' she finally blurted, her face flushing red.

'I won't,' he promised. 'Scout's honour.'

Curiosity flashed across her face. 'You were a scout?'

'And damn proud of it,' he grinned. 'I should show you the uniform someti- hey don't change the subject!'

'What subject?' she asked innocently.

He gave her a pointed stare. 'Weiss…'

Seeing that she couldn't get out of answering him, the heiress slumped her shoulders. '… I don't want them to dislike me,' she said in a small voice.

Jaune sighed. He should have figured as much. 'Weiss, look at me.' The heiress shook her head, stubbornly refusing to meet his gaze. Another sigh. He leaned in. 'Please?' he ghosted in her ear.

Slowly but surely, Weiss turned to stare back at him. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears and her cheeks were deep red with embarrassment.

'You know,' Jaune smiled. 'My mum once told me that apparently when I was really young, I had this crush on a girl.'

Weiss remained quiet.

'She was reserved, frosty and really uptight. According to her, I went home each day and cried in her lap because the girl wouldn't give me the time of day. Hell, I probably just wanted to see her smile.' His brow quirked. 'Sound familiar?'

Weiss' mouth upturned slightly.

'Anyway,' he carried on. 'Spoiler alert - I never got her to talk to me… or smile. My mum went on to say that from that day on, she hoped that I'd end up with someone like that.' He rolled his eyes. 'Her reasoning was that even though I cried and cried and cried about it, it was the first and only time she saw me so dedicated to something.' He made a face. 'I wasn't sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.'

Weiss shook her head. 'Your mum's weird,' she said.

'Yeah,' he grinned. 'Yeah, she is.'

'It's a shame about that girl though. You sounded pretty love-struck.'

'Weiss, I was like four. I liked a lot of things when I was four.'

'You still liked her.'

'Are you jealous of a four-year-old girl?'

'What's your dad like?' she asked loudly, abruptly changing the subject.

'Uh…' Jaune paused, struggling for the right words. 'In mum's words, he's kind of like the "me" that's actually good at stuff.'

'And your older sisters?' she pressed.

'According to my dad, they're the "me"s that I should have ended up as.'

'And your younger ones?'

'The "me"s that I should have been. Look,' he sighed. 'Rather than asking me half a dozen questions, wouldn't it be better if you just went inside with me?'

'Yeah…' Weiss finally relented. 'I guess I should.'

'They'll love you, scout's honour.'

'I still can't believe that you were a scout.'

'I know! Aren't I like, really cool to you right now?'

'No. That is about as uncool as you can get.'

'Aw, you're just jealous.'

'Not really,' the heiress giggled, her eyes sparkling with mirth. Then, worry once again marred her features. She shifted uncomfortably. 'Are you sure I'm not overdressed?'

'Weiss, you look fine.' And from Jaune's perspective, she really did. The casual dress and overlaying jacket did wonders to accentuate the white-haired woman's beauty.

It should also be noted then that Jaune may or may not be slightly biased. She is his girlfriend, after all.

He leaned in closer. 'Now are you ready or what?' he breathed.

'I…' Still doubtful, the heiress met his eyes once more, seeking assurance.

'You'll be fine,' he promised. 'Trust me.'

Slowly, after much deliberation, she nodded. '… Okay,' she said quietly.

'I like your mum.'

'Uh huh.'

'I like your dad, too.'

'Mmhmm.'

'Your sisters are great as well.'

'Yep, they're fantastic,' Jaune sighed. 'Though I could have done without you putting me under the bus.'

'Your mother drove a hard bargain.'

'She promised that she'd make you "one of the best chocolate sundaes ever".'

'Hence why I said it was hard bargain!' Weiss defended. 'Besides, it's really good.' She pointed towards the sundae in her hands. At Jaune's mother's insistence, she may or may not have taken another one for the road.

'And here I thought Ruby was the one who had the sweet tooth,' he said dryly.

Night had fallen by the time they left. The two of them had stayed there the entire day. Weiss was instantly bombarded with questions by Jaune's sisters while Jaune himself was interrogated by his parents. Though stiff and formal at first, Weiss eventually mellowed out. Whenever Jaune had the time to look over, he always saw her in the midst of laughter or chatting animatedly.

'It was good seeing you like that,' he said, smiling softly.

'Mm,' the heiress hummed. She had a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. Swallowing, she nodded. 'They were really easy to talk to.'

'And to think that you were terrified of meeting them.'

'I don't what you're talking about.'

A peaceful silence fell between the two as they continued their walk to the train station.

'Your parents are great,' Weiss spoke up after a while. A small smile was upon her lips.

'"Great" isn't really a word I'd use to describe them,' Jaune said sarcastically.

Weiss shook her head. 'Well, at least they're better than my father,' she offered, taking another spoonful of ice cream.

'I guess so.' He grimaced. 'Just promise me that when we get married, we won't end up like them.'

'Deal,' she mumbled back absentmindedly.

It was only a moment later when Jaune felt that something was strange. He looked at his surroundings. They weren't in any immediate danger, but it was still eerily quiet. Too quiet… oh. He couldn't hear Weiss' footsteps any more. 'Weiss?' he called over his shoulder.

No response.

Swivelling around, he found her rooted on the spot, white as a sheet, spoon in her mouth and sundae on the floor. 'What's up?' he inquired as he approached her. Gently prying the spoon from her, he tried again. 'Weiss?'

The heiress in question remained rigid. Her mouth was locked in a thin, firm line. Astonishment did not even begin to define her current expression.

Jaune frowned. 'Weiss, you're scaring me,' he murmured. He brought a hand to her forehead to feel her temperature. 'Are you feeling okay?'

Shocked orbs unfroze to meet warm, concerned ones. Mustering up enough concentration, the white-haired woman managed to swallow her mouthful of ice cream before speaking up. 'Marriage?' she gasped out, her voice hoarse.

It was a beautiful night. The moon was out, the wind was cool, and the stars were bright…

Jaune blinked. 'Did I…' His voice faded. Clearing his throat, he tried again. 'Did I say that out loud?'

A nod. A very jagged movement. Up. Down. Up. Down.

'… I see.'

It was a beautiful night indeed.

'Uh…' Aw crap. 'We can't really pretend that I didn't say that, huh?'

A shake. A very jagged movement. Left. Right. Left. Right.

'... I see.'

It was a very beautiful night.

In a parallel universe where Jaune and Weiss were animals trained for combat, this would be the part where player Jaune would use his diarrhoea of the mouth attack on enemy Weiss.

'W-well,' he blabbered. 'We uh… you know, just came from my family's house, and it was really family-like because my family was there doing family things like a family, you know?'

Up. Down. Up. Down.

'And we were having a good old time with family talk, you know? You with your father and me with my parents. You know, just family stuff. W-wow, I really need to stop saying family, huh?'

Up. Down. Up. Down.

'And then, and then, and then uh… you know, one thing led to another and then my mind shouted out "marriage"! And you know that we've already established that I'm really bad at being tac-tacefa-that word, so it just came out, you know?'

Up. Down. Up. Down.

'And, you know, we're still really young and stuff, you know? I'm the same thing with "you know", aren't I? Dammit. But uh, yeah we're really really young still. Way too young to get married and have children-'

'Children?' Weiss' naturally high voice sounded unnaturally higher.

In a parallel universe where Jaune and Weiss were animals trained for combat, this would be the part where player Jaune's aforementioned diarrhoea of the mouth attack was super effective against enemy Weiss.

'Did I say-? I just-I don't-I-gah.' Jaune slumped forward. 'I'm just gonna stop now.'

The ever so beautiful night was still. No wind, no cars, no birds, no nothing. If Jaune didn't know any better, this was probably Mother Nature's way of telling him that he dun goofed. Well, it was only a matter of time before he was defeated by his own mouth… again.

Dammit Jaune.

'We're going to be late for the train,' he finally said. 'Let's… let's just forget this ever happe-'

'How many?'

Jaune's head shot up. 'Come again?'

'I said…' Weiss had blushed a deeper red than Ruby's cloak. 'H-how many c-children do you want?' She was standing with her legs crossed, staring at anywhere but Jaune.

'O-oh…' Jaune's mind grounded to a halt. 'W-well… I guess two boys would be nice.' Panic spread through him. 'Or one!' he added hastily. 'Y-yeah, one would be fine!'

'Why boys?' Weiss still adamantly refused to look anywhere in his direction.

'W-well… I've been surrounded by nothing but oestrogen for most of my life, even at Beacon.' He scratched his head sheepishly. 'Not that there's anything against having a girl. I'd be thrilled either way! I mean, I'd still play video games and teach them how to camp and stuff regardless. It's just… it'd be great if…' he trailed off.

'If?' Weiss asked softly.

'… It'd be great if there was someone to, you k- if there was someone to look after you if I wasn't home and you were… I dunno, sick or something.'

Right after saying that, he slapped himself on the forehead. Goddammit I really need to stop doing that!

'You've really… thought about the future, huh?' Weiss' voice cut through his thoughts.

'Well… yeah! I mean…' Jaune gestured at her. 'Don't you?'

She shook her head. 'I haven't really thought that far…' she said distantly.

'Well,' he started. 'Like I said, we're still pretty young. All of this stuff is still ages away, you know?'

'Yeah…' the heiress whispered. 'Yeah, I suppose it is…'

'Great.' Jaune clapping his hands together. 'Then let's get going!' he exclaimed, hurriedly trying to change the subject. 'I dunno about you, but I'm really tired…' He held out his hand towards Weiss.

After a moment's deliberation, she took it. Wrapping her arms around his and leaning into his warmth, they began to walk again.

To an outsider looking in, today was… a strange day, to say the least. All things considered, it could and should have ended up being a disaster. But, as fate would have it, instead the pair grew closer and closer still. But what happens next? That is the question. After all, who knows what the future might hold for them?

'It's a shame about your ice cream.'

'It was really good sundae…'

'We could pass by the store on the way home if you want?'

'It's fine… I think I still have a few frozen bananas left in the freezer.'

'I really think it's time we had an intervention.'

Chain Fin

Author's Notes: After two chapters of barely any interaction between them, I decided to up the fluff dial to extreme. Be prepared for cavities, lads and lasses, because this isn't even my final form.

On a small update on this: I probably won't update until sometime after Christmas/New Year. I have quite a few things to do after this, so I can't really dedicate my time to this fic until then. You'll probably see me more so in GEP's work during this period, since editing is something I find easier and quicker to do. Editing was what I originally signed up for, anywho.

Uh… what else… right. I didn't want to write Jaune's family because of my inherent dislike for OCs. Hence their very lightly treaded interaction. All I've established is that Jaune's a mama's boy (doesn't he come off like that to you?), he's the middle child, and both of his parents are alive. I probably will never write proper interactions with them because no.

I don't really have anything else to say, other than that insecure Weiss is the best Weiss. That is all.

Keep it real.

-Narutochaos22

P.S. I feel the need to mention that I'm not from America. Because of this, I use UK English. I only ever use American when I'm editing GEP's work. It's a bit jarring to do, really, but it's what I'm most comfortable with. Sorry if it bugs you.