Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by Monty Oum.
AN: Hey there readers. Last chapter we had a bitter Arkos moment. That still doesn't mean ships are confirmed, it just means something is happening.
To that one guest that asked if Jaune would be like Warden from For Honor, no he's not like a Warden. Just like his partner, he's learning to have a versatile form that doesn't follow any pattern. He can mix things up, but he's not purely of one form. However, I looked over For Honor characters and he seems more like the Peacekeeper with a shield story wise than a Warden. …Hmm. Idea forming.
Now that that's said, let's get to the story.
Chapter 10: Complicated
Pyrrha was pacing in the dorm as she waited for her partner to come back from wherever he was. After the event two nights ago, she wanted to talk to him of what happened and fix what was between them. Before he pulled away, there was a look in his eye that showed he wanted to do it – that he wanted her. And then she saw fear and doubt as he ran out into the night. What was it that went through his mind, and where was he now? She's asked team RWBY if they saw the blonde, but they couldn't confirm anything of his whereabouts. The last person to see him was Ruby, and it just a glance as she was coming back from her counseling with Oobleck. When morning came, he wasn't in his bed to greet the team or give her that bright smile on her way to the showers. He had even skipped classes and wasn't even in the cafeteria.
"Where are you Jaune?" She muttered, taking her scroll out to message him one more time. This was the seventh time message him since he didn't pick up after she tried calling the last four times.
"Just give him space Pyrrha." Nora of all people advised her. "Let him think things through on his own and when he's ready to talk to you he'll come around."
"But we don't know where he is." She shot back with worry in her tone. "What if he's not in the right state of mind, or he get's lost in Vale? Maybe his scroll died out and -"
"Pyrrha!" Nora shouted to snap her out of her panic. "Stop panicking."
"Jaune has shown us that he's a great leader and can be trusted on his own." Ren added in, looking up from his book. "I know we're all worried, but we just have to have faith in him. Whatever happened to have him run off, I'm sure he'll come around just like always."
'But what if he doesn't?' Pyrrha didn't tell her team of what the two had almost done in the gym in case word spread out. It wasn't that she was ashamed, but she didn't want Jaune having others harass him with any gossip spreading around. "I just want to know that he's okay."
Nodding, Nora and Ren let her go through her process of worrying. Chances are Jaune would contact one of them to tell them he was fine and he was coming back.
With Jaune
Unknown alley
Jaune wasn't doing fine at the moment and wouldn't be coming back to his team any time soon. He still felt conflicted of what he was about to do with Pyrrha and it was eating away at him. He wasn't stupid to think that he wasn't attracted to her – any straight male would be attracted to her. What ate away at him was this nagging in his head telling him he didn't deserve to be with her.
'You lied and cheated your way in while she worked her ass off to get where she was at.' A voice of one of his sisters taunted him.
'Ozpin gave me a chance and I've been improving.' He clenched his eyes shut, trying to drive the voices away. He wanted to go back so much, but he couldn't do it now while he was in inner turmoil.
'You don't have a chance with her. She's a champion that can win without using cheap tricks to win a fight.' His fathers voice came next with the laughter of his family behind him. 'Why couldn't you be more like her?'
'Shut up!' The blonde teen banged his fist into the ground.
'She'll get tired of you. You know why?' Another of her sister's voices taunted him. 'Because you're not good enough.'
'You're not good for anything.'
'You're a dork.'
'Loser.'
'Weakling.'
'Useless.'
The taunting wouldn't stop no matter how hard Jaune tried to drown it out. This was all in his head but he couldn't stop it. Why couldn't he stop it?
'She'll leave you for someone better.' His mothers voice whispered into his ear. 'Like that Cardin fellow. Now he's a real man.'
"Fuck YOU!" He shouted to the skies, snapping as he couldn't control his temper any longer.
"Ooh, scathing." A familiar flamboyant voice echoed in the alley. Turning to the voice, Jaune saw Roman Torchwick standing feet away from him with cane, cigar, and bowler hat. "What's got you all twisted up cowboy?"
Junior's Nightclub
"You've been awfully quiet cowboy." The flamboyant man said to the silent blonde as he waited for his drink. "I brought you here so we could have a chat, but it's like I'm the only voice around. Even Neo isn't so quiet, and she's silent."
The quiet girl poked Jaune's cheek to show how bored she was of him. For someone so small she was able to drag him effortlessly into the bar and even threw him onto a stool without so much as a grunt. Or maybe she did grunt and he didn't hear it.
"Your new look is something." Roman continued to talk, looking Jaune over. "The chaps I love. But the hoodie and armor is something I can't ignore. That outfit on the town though - the brown vest and gray button up was a nice combo. Ever thought of changing you look to-"
"Why are you here?" Jaune cut him off, getting tired of hearing the man speak.
"Now that's a question." The thief said, swirling his drink with a deep look. "I ask myself that question all the time, and it keeps me up some nights. Do we really have in this great plan called life, or are we just making our own meaning to life that comes to the same result as every living being? Sometimes I-"
"I meant why are you here in a club that you dragged me to." The blonde interrupted, not wanting to stay with the two criminals. The only reason he hadn't run out was because he was smart enough to know the short girl could catch him and bring him back to his stool. "If you're going to kill me or interrogate me then just get it done with."
The two thieves shared a glance with each other before turning back to the blonde between them. Putting his drink down, Roman spun on his chair to face the blonde completely.
"I thought it over, but killing you wouldn't bring me anything." He answered, getting Jaune's full attention now. "See kid, I'm a master criminal. Know what that means? It means I'm good at what I do and I know how to do it good. Me killing a Beacon student? That's unneeded attention, and I don't want that."
"But why bring me here?" The student asked, not getting the full answer he wanted.
"Well, you interest me kid." The ginger man said, looking into Jaune's eyes with concern. "I see you and I'm reminded of a young blonde me. I can't bear to see someone like that go through troubles alone."
Jaune's shoulders relaxed as he took in the thief's words. Maybe under all the crime, this man wasn't such a scoundrel as people thought.
"Pffthahaha!" The scoundrel laughed, seeing Jaune's face relax. "Yeah right. Like I could have ever been like you."
Scratch that. This man was a complete and utter asshole with no redeeming qualities to his mascara face.
"You are too predictable, you know that?" He continued, ignoring the glare Jaune was sending him. "You're a smart one, I'll give you that, but you keep over thinking so much instead of going with the flow of things. Keep that up and you wont be getting anything in life."
"Thank you for the words of wisdom." Jaune said with sarcasm laced in is tone.
"That's more like it. See kid you're smart. I can see that. And you're also the kind of person that'll do whatever it takes to get what you want." Seeing Jaune glaring at him hard at that description, the ginger tipped his glass to him. "Am I wrong? Could have sworn your face was on some forged papers I made. Maybe it was another blonde boy."
Panic was now on Jaune's mind as Roman said that. It was clear on his face by how the criminal was smirking at him with a gleam in his eyes.
"Chances don't just pop up out of coincidence kid. Next time you think you got a good one, take a real close look at it one more time." The older man told him.
"Well your papers weren't that good since Ozpin found me out." Jaune blurted, putting a fist on the counter. "And he still gave me the chance to stay in Beacon."
"I'm not getting through to you at all, am I? If he gave you that chance, that means he's got something planned. The reason I helped you is because I had my own plans." What he was saying was making sense to the blonde, but he didn't want to believe it.
"What were your plans with me?" Jaune asked, seeing something in what he said that bothered him.
"I wasn't lying when I said you interest me. I want you to keep doing what your doing and keep getting better at it. Keep fighting dirty, keep getting better, and keep trying to get in my way with little red and her crew. So with that said and you boring me now…" Roman said, turning back to his drink and waving him off. "Neo, if you would kindly."
What happened next was Neo cheap-shoting the blonde with a chokehold that had him out in three seconds fast. It was always easy to knock someone out that fast even if they had aura. Just get them unexpected and go in for the kill. With the blonde now passed out on the counter, the ice cream girl gave her partner a look questioning his real motive.
"Neo, dear. I see our ticket out of this hot problem we've both landed in." He said, getting a raised brow to question his sanity. "Just dump him back where you found him. You'll see. It's a work in progress."
He wasn't lying when he said the kid was smart. A little rough around the edges, but he could work with it. He wasn't going to say he'd consider bringing the kid in for a partnership – Roman Torchwick didn't do partnerships. If you asked about Neo being his partner, he'd tsk at their naivety of him. Neo wasn't a partner despite what papers may say. People may call him a thief, but he thought of himself as a businessman – a very stylish and great businessman. And just like all great businessmen, he made investments. That's what Neo was to him and she knew it; and that's what this blonde cowboy knight was going to be too.
How? The kid wasn't like the group that was fighting him - he was strategic and cunning. He knew how to use others and when to use them well. You could never have enough smart people in your arsenal - and lately, Roman's been running out of smart people under him. The blonde wasn't smarter than him, that's for sure. If he wanted some genius to work with he would have checked somewhere else. No, Roman needed someone smart, but not smarter than him. So the kid would be his little project so to speak. A key ingredient in getting him out of this funk he had with a certain burning bitch.
With Jaune
The blonde woke up on a bench in a public area close to the alley he was in. It was morning once more and he was still fully clothed with his weapon still strapped to his side. He couldn't believe he was with Roman Torchwick, a notorious criminal. Fishing his pocket for his scroll, he felt his wallet was a bit lighter. Opening it up, he saw he was a lot of lien short. At least the little thief was courteous enough to leave him something. Although, it wouldn't be enough to get him a ride back to Beacon.
What Roman said was still in his head. He didn't want to think on it too much, so he chose to leave it for a later date. Finding his scroll, he saw he had tons of messages and missed calls from his partner and from his friends. The nagging from his family had came back once more and it was joined with other voices – his friends.
'They want to laugh at you.' His sister's voice reverberated in his mind. 'They all want to laugh at you.'
'Pyrrha told them how you were going to kiss her and they think you're a loser.' Another sister added in.
'You really wanted to kiss Pyrrha Nikos?' Weiss' voice came next in a harsher snark tone. 'If you weren't good enough for me, why'd you think you're good enough for her you dunce?'
'I can't believe Vomit Boy wanted to make out with her.' Yang's voice taunted next with giggling from Ruby and Blake. 'He's not man enough for any of us.'
'Oh poor, naïve, STUPID Jaune.' Nora's voice echoed with the same sweet tone. 'Like any girl would ever think you're attractive.'
'You have no friends Jaune.' His parents' voice came last. 'You don't have anyone. So come back home and give up on this silly dream of being a hunter.'
Despite all the nagging that poured on, he picked a message to read. The first one was from Ruby.
Ruby: Hey Jaune. Pyrrha said you weren't in the dorm this morning. Please message back if you're okay. We're starting to worry too.
'They're lying, son.' His father's voice echoed in his head. 'Stop reading.'
Pushing that voice away, he opened up all the messages and voice mails to see his friends were really concerned on his whereabouts. Even Weiss had sent a message along with Sun.
Yang: Are you okay? We were supposed to have our usual workout together, but Pyrrha said you went missing. If you're in trouble, just give me a call and I'll be there.
Blake: Please text back to let us know you're fine. Ruby is pacing around thinking you're off testing your sword on Grimm all alone. It's starting to get me worried too. P.S. I'd like to borrow the next volume when you get back.
Weiss: First Blake and now you. Is this going to be a thing where students start running away from their team? Whatever your problem is, face it straight on like how I taught you. And stop worrying us you dolt.
Nora: Jaune! Please come back. It's so boring without you. Ren won't stop using Oddjob and Pyrrha's too busy waiting for you to come back to play with me. …Are you gone because I ate your nuggets? If you are, I'm sorry. I wont do it again.
Ren: I feel you should take your time to sort over whatever it is that's bothering you, but please be careful. I have fait you'll be coming back soon, but we're all still worried.
Sun: Yo man, where're you at? I wanted to hang with you and your team today, but they said you were missing. If something's up, you know I got your back.
The nagging had completely vanished after reading the messages and listening to the voicemails. The blonde knight had even laughed at a few of them. His chest felt lighter and he felt it was getting easier to breath. Feeling his eyes, stinging a bit he touched his eyelids to see he was crying.
'Arc men don't cry.' His father's voice scolded him.
'Well I'm Jaune before I'm an Arc.' He shot back to his thoughts, shutting it up.
Looking over his partner's unread messages, he decided to play them all.
Pyrrha: Jaune? Please pick up. I don't know why you ran from me, but please come back.
Pyrrha: Jaune where are you? I'm worried and I just want you safe.
Pyrrha: Please answer. At least pick up to tell me you're okay. I don't want anything bad to happen to you.
Pyrrha: We don't have to talk about what happened in the gym if that's why you're not here. We can pretend it didn't happen and act like everything's normal.
Pyrrha: Please come back soon Jaune. It doesn't feel the same here without you.
Jaune stopped listening to the messages. He's worried his friends too much and it was time to go home. The only problem was that he didn't have any money on him to get back to Beacon. If he walked, there was a chance he'd make it by tomorrow morning, but he didn't know the directions that well. While he was thinking of a way to get back to school, he got another message on his scroll. Looking at the caller ID, he saw that it was unknown.
We'll be in touch cowboy. P.S Always remember to play dirty.
Only one person called him 'cowboy' and he as just kidnapped by him and his short partner a short while ago. He wanted to delete the number and just get a new scroll, but a nagging in his brain that wasn't negative told him to keep it. Listening to the nagging, he kept the number and nicknamed it Mascara. For now, he needed to find a way back to his friends. If he had bothered to look around before leaving, Jaune would have noticed a short girl watching him the whole time while holding her scroll out. Roman may have had his plans for the blonde, but that didn't mean Neo couldn't use him too.
After hours of trekking, Jaune couldn't think of a way to get back to Beacon. It was nearly midnight and the only places open now were shady places he didn't want to go to. He high tailed it out of a block after a fat woman named Chocolate Thunda came out of a strip club and called him over for a dance. He really wished he had a ride to get back to school – like a car or even a bike.
"I am so stupid." The blonde muttered to himself as he did a rewind on his thoughts. He knew someone who had a bike that could get from Beacon to Vale in a short time.
Pulling out his scroll, he hoped she was still awake at this time of night and was willing to come pick him up. After a few rings with him tapping his foot in hopes she was awake, he jumped when she answered – although a bit sleepy. "Hello?"
"Yang?" Jaune said, happy to hear her voice. "Yang, it's me Jaune."
"Jaune?" She mumbled before sounding more awake. "Jaune?! Where are you? Oh my god, you had us all worried. What are you doing calling this late?"
"I know it's late and I'm sorry." He apologized, looking over his surroundings for any landmarks. "I ran into a bit of trouble and now I don't have any money on me to get back to school. Do you think you could come pick me up?"
"sigh* …Where are you now?" Yang grumbled, with the sounds of footsteps and sheets moving being heard in the background.
"Thanks Yang." The lost blonde said, looking for any street signs or a building easily noticeable. After giving her the street name and a building sign, Yang confirmed she knew the place.
"Don't thank me yet." She mumbled, hanging up and opening the door.
With his ride now on the way, all that was left for the blonde was to sit and wait. While doing so, he might as well think of what he needed to say to everyone once he got back. Of course there was the apology for worrying them but there was also the matter of what to say to his partner. They couldn't just go their four years ignoring what happened and he didn't want to run away from it anymore. Depending on how fast Yang could get to where he was at, this would take a while.
One and a half hours later
The leader of team JNPR finally had an idea of what he wanted to say to his partner. …Okay, that was a lie. He had absolutely no clue of what to do once he made it back to his dorm. His mind was set not to ignore what happened and talk it over, but how to do it was still something he couldn't plan out. Maybe he was over thinking things instead of going for something simple.
"Someone rang for a pick up?" Yang's voice brought him back to reality. Looking up, he saw the busty blonde leaning on her bike with Blake right next to her. They had their arms crossed as they looked at him sitting on the curb. "You got some explaining to do Jaune."
That was bad. If the tone in her voice wasn't a clue, Yang usually called him a nickname or something else whenever she was in a good mood. Blake wasn't looking any better as she was looking at him with a critical eye. It was clear he wouldn't be heading back to Beacon unless he fessed up to them.
"Where do I start?" He asked, getting them to share a glance before turning back to him. It was Blake to answer him.
"Why don't you start from where you ran away?"
Café
It was uncomfortable for the three of them to be standing while Jaune told his reasons for running, so they found a café that still had some chairs and tables out to sit. As the blonde told what happened between him and Pyrrha and how he ran off into Vale to sort his thoughts out, Yang sighed as she knew this would happen. Her dad was an okay guy and also a goof like Jaune, but when her ass hat of a mom upped and left them, he went through troubles. He kept blaming himself thinking it was something about him that wasn't good enough for her to stay; and it fell onto her too, making her think there was something about her that didn't make her womb carrier stay for her either.
But then Summer came into the picture and made Yang feel loved once more. Her dad was recovering with the beautiful woman's help and Yang felt like she had a real mom that loved her. When Ruby was born, she was scared the love would go away and she'd be replaced, but it wasn't. Summer loved them both just as much and Ruby became someone Yang loved like nothing else. But then the happiness went away when Summer Rose died.
Her dad fell into despair once more and Yang tried to shoulder on for her and Ruby's sake. She was still so young and her dad wasn't doing any better despite all the encouragement he had. He was a broken man and the only one that could help him was him. It took the blonde girl bringing Ruby with her into the woods alone to look for her mom and getting saved by their uncle for their dad to get a reality check on things. That look in Jaune's eyes she sees whenever he looked himself in the mirror, was the same look her dad always had whenever he saw his face in a booze bottle. She shared the story of her almost getting herself along with Ruby killed, but she didn't go deep about her dad's condition that time.
Sighing as Jaune finished his story, Yang clasped her hands together, trying to think of the proper words to say in this time. Collecting herself, she thought of everything she wanted to say to her dad when she was a little girl and tried to fix it for her talk with him.
"Tell me, Jaune." She said slowly in a calm tone. "Who do you want to be? Easier question, what do you want to be?"
"I–I want to be a huntsman." He said, not knowing where she was going with this.
"You want to be hero." Blake muttered next to her partner, getting a nod from him.
"Why do you want to be a hero?" Yang continued to ask, not letting up.
"I don't know." He whispered after a few seconds of thinking. Not so long ago, Jaune would have said to be just like his dad, but now he didn't know why he wanted to be a hero.
"Then why do you want to be a huntsman?" Yang went on, not stopping.
"I don't know." He whispered once more, not knowing what he wanted anymore.
"Then what do you know?!" The brawler slammed a fist on the table, getting Blake to flinch out of surprise. Collecting herself, she ran a hand through her face and took a deep breath. "Then tell me why you wanted us to help train you? And don't say 'I don't know!'"
"Because." The blonde said, clenching his fists tight. "I wasn't good enough."
"Good enough for what?" She leaned in, narrowing her eyes. "You said you don't know why you wanted to be a hero. You said you didn't know why you wanted to be a huntsman. So what is it you weren't good enough for?"
"I wasn't good enough for my team." He admitted, looking to her with pain in his eyes. "I wasn't good enough to lead them then, and I'm still not good enough to lead them now."
Both partners shared a look with each other at his statement. They knew he had self-esteem issues, but for it to be like this despite how far he's improved, it was looking more serious. Not knowing what to do anymore, Yang motioned for Blake to help her out.
"Jaune, who is it you're trying to compare yourself to?" She asked, edging closer to be next to him. "This cant just be coming out of nowhere. There has to be someone you're comparing yourself to think you're not good enough."
When he didn't say anything, the two thought of listing names down.
"Is it me?" Yang asked, leaning in to see for any signs it was her. Seeing none as he shook his said no, she nodded crossing her name off. In any other situation she may have joked about her not being good enough to compare, but now wasn't the time. "What about Blake?"
"It's not anyone from your team." He informed them, mentally relieving them.
"So is it someone from your team?" Blake asked next. "It's Pyrrha, isn't it?"
"No." That shocked them. Pyrrha may not say it, but she was the best in their group of friends. She was second to Weiss in academics, but she trumped the heiress everywhere else.
"Is it Torchwick?" Yang threw a name out, not knowing who else to put out. Sun came to mind, but he and Jaune seemed like good pals for any of the two to hold some sort of envy. Getting a raised deadpan look from not only the knight but also her partner, Yang knew that wasn't the case. "Sorry. But if it isn't Pyrrha or any of us, then who is it?"
"…My dad." Jaune said in a whisper loud enough for the two to hear.
"What is it about your dad that's so great?" The busty blonde asked, trying to figure out what made Jaune think of himself so small in comparison.
"He became a huntsman without lying his way in." He started, listing everything his father was that he wasn't. "He was able to stand up to anyone that challenged him, man and Grimm – and with just a sword and shield too. He's lead people to victory. He was able to get a wife and raise a family while still being a huntsman. He's always been good at whatever he does… and I'm just me."
"I don't know your dad." Blake said after a few seconds. "But I like you more than what you described of him."
"Thanks Blake." He said, touched she said something like that to him.
"Same goes for me, bud." Yang smiled, pacing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He may sound like the ultimate manly man, but I'd rather hang with you than him. So stop trying to compare yourself to your old man and just start being yourself."
Jaune nodded as he felt better by what they said. They were right too – he wasn't his dad, so he should stop comparing himself to him. The only problem was: He didn't know who he was as a person. He's been trying to hard to be the same image as his father, he didn't know if that was the real him or just a copy. The knight would have to go on a soul-searching journey to find what was the real him.
"So I guess we're going back to Beacon now?" He asked Yang, wanting to go back and meet up with his team.
"Ahahaha, nope." Yang laughed, shocking the two of them. "You may have forgotten, but the dance is tomorrow and I doubt you even have a tux for the event."
"But it's late now." He argued. "Where are we going to find a tailor that has a tux?"
"I know a guy." She smiled coyly, having a place in mind to 'borrow' a suit. Looking Jaune over, she smiled as she imagined him in a certain color. "You're okay with red and black, right?"
"I don't have money to pay?" The knight said weakly, just wanting to go home.
"If we play our cards right, it'll be free." The devious look in her eyes said it was non-negotiable. Jaune was at her mercy since she was his ride back home, and Blake couldn't say anything because she didn't bring her wallet with her. The cat faunus thought it was just going to be a simple talk and pick up. "You're going to need to look sharp if you want to ask Pyrrha for a dance."
"She's probably been asked by some super cool guy." He waved off, getting a smirk from the blonde girl. "And if she hasn't been asked, I'll wear a dress to the dance."
"I'll hold you to it." She said, knowing the champion didn't get asked by any guy. "She was so worried about you she took out her stress on her four on one battle. It was a curb-stomp how badly she beat team CRDL down. No guy wanted to ask her seeing how stressed she was. So you owe her a dance, ladykiller."
Jaune sighed as he was won over by guilt. "Where do we go?"
How they got the suit for him was another story.
The next day
School Dance
"I thought you guys went to get Jaune?" Ruby asked her sister as they greeted people at the entrance.
Blake was currently chatting with Sun and Neptune. Sun had asked Blake out to the dance, but Blake had denied him on the first attempt. Other than worrying on Jaune running away, the cat faunus was also obsessing over Torchwick and his plans with the White Fang. Yang had a talk with her and Blake decided to accept Sun's invitation – although she extremely stressed out it would be as friends and nothing more.
"We got him back." Yang told her sister after waving a couple in. "Last I saw, he went to go take a shower. The guy was in real bad need of a shower. I'm lucky my bike had a helmet or else I would've been smelling him the whole ride back."
"Let's hope he get's here soon." The little leader muttered, shuffling in her lady stilts.
"Aww, don't worry Rubaby." Yang teased. "Your prince will be coming in soon."
"I do not have a crush Jaune!" She waved her arms since stomping would make her trip. Her older sister still hadn't given up on the idea she liked Jaune that way.
"I wasn't saying it was Jaune, but if he's your princely type." The blonde caught her in a trap. Sometimes Ruby wonders if she just played dumb so others would underestimate her.
After greeting another group of students in, Ruby felt a tap on her shoulder as she turned around to look for her friends. Turning around, she was met with a guy in a black suit and red tie wearing a black fedora hat to match his clothes. She nearly jumped at him to try and kick him down since the guy reminded her of one of the goons Torchwick hired to rob a dust shop on the night she met Ozpin and Glynda. Just as she was about to use her semblance on him, Yang beat her to him and greeted the guy with a smile and a pat on the arm.
"Looking good ladykiller." The blonde said, clicking her tongue at the goon. "You look good in red."
"I still think the hat's too much." Ruby knew that voice anywhere. Shakily walking to him, she peeked under the hat to see blue eyes and tufts of blonde hair peeking out. "Sorry for worrying you Ruby."
"Jaune?" She gasped, seeing him dressed up and here. Shaking off her surprise, she tried to keep things cool. "Hey! You made it. And you're well dressed."
"I had a little help." He laughed, taking his hat off to scratch his head. "Nice décor by the way."
"Eh, this is nothing." Yang waved a hand, thumbing to the whole place. "I wanted to do more smoke machines, but Weiss went against it."
"And it still looks great." He nodded, looking the whole place over. He saw Ren and Nora on their own. There was Blake and Sun chatting with Neptune. Weiss was off trying to put a décor in place – she was looking sad for some reason. He even spotted Velvet snapping shots of some of the Atlesian soldiers' weapons. He guessed some things didn't change much. But there was one person he didn't see. "Any sign of Pyrrha?"
"We might have missed her." The busty blonde told him, looking around too. "With so many people, it's hard to keep track of everyone. I didn't even know Ren and Nora walked in until Nora shouted out their entrance."
Jaune hoped he could find his partner soon. He wanted to say hi to everyone, but finding and talking to Pyrrha was the first thing he needed to do. Walking into the dance floor, he scanned the whole floor for her in hopes of catching a glimpse of red to follow. He saw a bit of red, but it was to someone else's dress or a ribbon. Spotting Ruby at the punch bowl, he thought of going over to keep her company for a bit.
"Staying by the punch bowl?" He asked her, getting a yup in return. Taking a cup, he raised it in her direction to have a mock toast with her. "To the socially awkward."
It got a giggle out of her, so that was one accomplishment for the night. Raising her own cup, the two bumped cups and took a sip of their drink. Turning to her partner who was walking around trying to fix more of the décor, Ruby sighed knowing what was wrong. "Poor Weiss."
"What happened?" The blonde asked, looking over to the heiress who was trying to balance a white flower in a vase.
"She asked someone to the dance and he rejected her." She told him in a whisper, not wanting to be overheard.
Jaune didn't need her to say who it was because it was obvious by now who Weiss wanted to go with. Looking to the blue haired teen joking around with Blake and Sun with a smile while Weiss was miserable stirred him the wrong way. He was happy being just friends with Weiss and accepted that there'd be nothing more between them; but to see someone get something others would be so lucky to receive and just brush it away as if he had something better, it ticked him off. From the report Ren gave him during their secret mission, his opinion of the guy dropped a bit finding out he was a flirt.
"Hold my punch." The blonde said coldly, handing his cup to Ruby. He'd walk over to the guy and give him a piece of his mind.
Just as he was a few more steps from lashing out at the guy, Jaune spotted something red walking up the stairs. Turning to the stairs, he saw his partner walking out with head down. Looking to the blue haired teen and then to the retreating back of his partner, he knew what took more priority.
With Pyrrha
Pyrrha sighed as she stood alone outside on the balcony. Tonight was supposed to be smiles and making good memories, but she didn't have it in her to do so. No one asked her out and her partner had ran off and didn't answer her calls. She thinks he might still be in Vale trying to hide away from her – all because she let her hormones take control. Everyone said to give him space, but it hurt her thinking she was the reason he ran away.
"Pyrrha?" She heard her name in a voice she had hoped to hear for days now. Turning around, she saw her partner standing in a nice suit. "I'm back."
SMACK!
The champion didn't know why she did it, but her hand had just moved to slap her partner's face. He now had a red handprint on his face that looked like the perfect size of her hand and his hat had fallen off.
"I deserved that." He winced, rubbing the spot to get rid of the mark.
"I'm sorry." She said instinctively, before she shook her head realizing what she was doing. "I mean- I'm not sorry. You ran away and had me worried sick."
"I know." He groaned, trying to calm her down. "And I'm sorry. I should have answered your calls after I ran."
"You shouldn't have even ran." She got in his face, tears welling up in her eyes. When he took out a red handkerchief from his front pocket to dab at her eyes, she leaned into it and sobbed. "Why did you even run?"
Seeing her cry was like a kick in the teeth to the blonde. He must have put her through hell with the way he left her. After dabbing her tears away, he swallowed the knot in his throat. It was time they talked.
"Remember what I told you when you first forgave me on the roofs?" He asked, tilting her head up by her chin so she could look at him. "I told you I'd make a lot of mistakes. Running from you and making you cry was one of them."
"That still doesn't answer why you ran?" She said, stepping back to get some space. "Was it me? Was there a problem with me? The way you were looking at me before you left… it hurt."
"No!" He nearly shouted, walking towards her while waving his hands. "It wasn't you. Pyrrha, you're amazing! I could never look at you badly."
"But the way you-" He cut her off so he could explain.
"It was never you Pyrrha." He said with resolve. "It was me. The problem was with me. I didn't mean to hurt you but you got hurt anyways. I-I wanted to kiss you, but I stopped myself from forcing myself on you."
There was silence between the two as Pyrrha processed what he had said. She felt a flurry of emotions welling up inside her as she replayed what he said over and over in her mind. He wanted to kiss her. He really wanted to kiss her. She could her heart racing faster as she kept thinking what he had said. Placing a hand over her heart to calm it down, she took a silent breath to respond to him.
"I wanted it too." She replied, getting him to look at her with wide eyes. "W-when we were stuck like that, I wanted to kiss you too."
"Why?" He asked like it was some sort of mystery. Seeing as how subtlety wouldn't be getting to him, Pyrrha guessed she'd have to be blunt and straightforward.
"Because Jaune, I like you." She said clearly with no hesitation. "I like you a lot."
"O-oh." The way he had said it didn't stir her right. She was prepared for rejection, but she had hoped it wouldn't hurt this much.
"Y-you don't have to return my feelings." She said, trying to keep her voice level. "I understand that you don't feel the same way."
"Pyrrha, it's not that. You just caught me of guard." Her leader said, stepping closer to hold her hands. "Right now I'm happy you feel that way about me. I'm happy I can feel something for you too."
"But there's something else, isn't there?" The redhead said, knowing there was a 'but' in there.
"Yeah." He nodded, not letting go of her hands. "Right now I know how I feel about you and the others, but I don't know how I feel about myself. I still have some troubles I'm trying to work through, and I don't think I'll be ready for a relationship while I'm like this."
"Is there any way I can help?" She asked, tightening her grip on his hands. "We can get through it together."
"Not this one Pyr." He said, running his hands up to grab her arms. "I need to do this on my own - and it's not some macho thing or my pride getting in the way. I need to do this on my own because only I can fix this. I have to do this if I ever want to keep looking myself in the mirror everyday."
"Besides." He continued, giving her a genuine smile. "You and the others are already helping me. You keep me grounded and pull me out of the dark every time I get caught. I meant what I said back in the gym of how you mean a lot to me Pyr. Don't doubt that for a even a second."
"I won't." She whispered, burying her head into his chest as she hugged him. "Just know that you mean a lot to me too."
Letting go, she smiled as she saw the handprint on his face had gone away. Turning to where his hat had dropped, she picked it up and handed it over to him. As he took it out of her hands, she giggled when instead of putting it on him, he placed it on her head.
"I'm not much when it comes to style, but I think it matches you nicely." He said, looking her over. "I still wanna know though. Why me?"
"I've asked myself that question a lot since I found out I liked you." She said, sitting on the ledge and tapping a spot for him to sit on. "I guess it all started when you saw me for me. You're not like most people who see money, or fame, or extra ears or a tail. You just see a person and treat them like anyone else. And because of you, I was able to make friendships that would last me a lifetime."
"So, where does that leave us?" He asked, feeling like he got part of an answer to who he was. "I'm still new to relationships so this is a first for me."
"It might surprise you, but this is a first for me too." The champion admitted, feeling a blush on her cheeks. "I've never been in a relationship before, but from what I know – we're both attracted to one another, but you feel you're not ready to be in a relationship."
"Yeah." He nodded, knowing the summary of it.
"And I'm willing to wait for you." She continued, giving him a bold smile. "Now that I know you have feelings for me, I just have to stick by you when you're ready finally ready to be in a relationship."
"You make it sound like I've got a harem of girls waiting to jump me." The blonde said, laughing at the thought. "Jaune Arc, the harem king. Yeah right."
"You underestimate how cute you are." Pyrrha poked his nose while tipping the hat on her head. "I think I'll keep the hat for tonight."
Feeling a lot better now, she thought she'd head in to be with friends. On her way in, she saw Neptune passing by to the balcony. She had no idea of the talk her partner would be having with the blue haired teen. Getting inside and waving to Yang and the others, Pyrrha spotted Ruby standing by the punch bowl while holding two cups of punch.
"Evening Ruby." She greeted the shorter redhead. "Why aren't you out dancing?"
"I'm not much of a dancer." Ruby replied, sipping from the cup in her left hand. "Well maybe I am, but I can't do it in heels."
"Would you like some company?" Pyrrha asked, not feeling like dancing herself. "It would be boring to just stand here all night."
"Sure!" The little leader said, wanting the company. Before they could chat, Ruby remembered something Yang asked her to do if she saw the champion. "Quick question first. Did anyone ask you out to the dance?"
Now that Pyrrha thought things through, Jaune didn't ask her out to dance. He just appeared and they confessed that they had feelings for one another. So technically, no one asked her out. "No."
"Right." Ruby nodded, looking up to her sister and waving her hands in an X formation. "Now that that's done, what do you wanna talk about?"
"Uh, is there something I should know?" Pyrrha asked with a raised brow.
"I don't know." The reaper shrugged, putting the punch down. "Yang just told me to do that if you said no. …And now she's run off somewhere."
Following Ruby's gaze, Pyrrha saw that Yang was now running off into the dance floor with a manic grin on her face. She then grabbed Blake and pulled her head to whisper something into her ear. It was strange how they both nodded together and rushed out to who knows where.
"Hm?" Ruby hummed, spotting something outside the window. Hearing her Pyrrha asked what was wrong. "I thought I saw someone on the roofs outside."
Sharing a look, the two redheads left the dance to go investigate. Neither knew that they'd be heading into trouble.
END
AN: Oh man! This was challenging to right. I had so many different scenarios for this that it was taking so long to figure out what to choose. So Jaune and Pyrrha's relationship status is 'it's complicated.' Pyrrha acting more bold now is just emotions getting the better of her. The past few chapters have shown that she is human and is now comfortable enough to joke and berate Jaune. We even have an intervention and a look into Jaune's low self esteem issue. I'd be lying if I said it hit too close to home.
So now we know a bit of why Roman has an interest in Jaune with a bit of Neo having her own plans with him. Shippers, No! I know what you're thinking with Roman now having Jaune's scroll number. (I better not get any reviews on Jaune being a booty call for either of the two criminals.)
And…
OMAKE!
Suit Up
"I thought I told you never to come here." Hei Xiong, also known as Junior said as he leaned over his counter.
"Relax Junior." Yang waved a hand while keeping Jaune close by. "I just need one of your boy's suits for my friend here."
"What do I look like a tailor?" The owner asked, crossing his arms.
"So what if I just beat one of your guys and take his clothes instead?" The blonde asked, eyeing the now nervous men. "I'll even let you take the pick of which one you don't like the most."
"I don't like you the most, but you won't be punching yourself in the face." The bearded man quipped, getting a chuckle from the blonde's partner. "What's the kid need a suit for anyway?"
"A dance." Yang said simply. "So please give him a suit? I'm sure you guys have it in bulk."
"If I give you the suit, will you finally stop coming here?" The man asked, getting tired of the blonde being in his club.
"I swear this time not to come here." She promised. And she really meant it this time. The place was cool, but the guy's information wasn't that good and she found a better club to frequent – nicer service too.
"Melanie. Militia. Bring them to the back." The twins sitting on a stool eyeing the three sighed as they motioned for them to follow.
Back Room
Blake and Yang were sitting on some chairs as they waited for Jaune's suit. The twins were going through some of their inventory as they scrounged for the goon uniforms. Melanie was the one to find the clothes.
"Here's your suit." Melanie said, shoving the folded clothing in Jaune's chest. "Try it on and tell us if it fits."
"Alright." After walking into a small fitting room and the sounds of clothes rustling could be heard, Jaune called out to them from behind the curtain. "Guys? I think the pants are too tight."
"Those pants are meant to be for the suit's size." Militia told him with hands on her hips. "Besides, suits are supposed to be a little snug on the body and hug the form. You men just like wearing loose clothes too much."
"But it's really tight on the crotch." He said, getting an eye roll from the two. Like they never heard that before – and he looked like such a good boy too.
"Just get out here." Melanie ordered him, not wanting any of his crap.
None notice Yang's face turning beet red while pulling her scroll out. Blake saw this though, but she thought it was more of a joke than a serious thing.
Minutes later
All four girls were blushing after the twins gave the blonde knight a bigger set of pants. It was a little baggy on the legs, but it hugged the hips just nice. Like what happened with Pyrrha, Yang added three more people to their happy secret.
"He's single, right?" Militiades asked the two partners with a blush on her face. "Because with a bath and some nicer clothes, he'd be a real catch."
"Sorry, my little sister already has dibs." Yang lied, not wanting her sister to fall to any of the twins.
"Too bad." Melanie sighed. "Looks like I'm sinning tonight."
As the twins talked with the busty blonde, neither noticed how crossed Blake's legs were. It wasn't like how Ninjas of Love described it, but damn was it imagination fuel. And Yang even stole a shot of him too.
'Now that's a katana.' She thought, coughing to fight down her blush.
END
AN: I have no words to say. Look forward to the next chapter as Ruby and Pyrrha face Cinder. Plus, looks like Jaune will have to keep his word.