'In the end, we didn't get to visit either of them,' Ruby pouted that evening. Team RWBY had already declared lights-out, with Yang and Blake fast asleep off to the side of the room, but after duct taping a desk lamp to her headboard, she'd been able to study behind the privacy of her curtain. 'I hope they're going to be alright,' she thought to herself as she turned a page, studying intensely for finals.
*Click*
'Hm?' Ruby hummed as she peeked out from behind her curtain, seeing the door to Team RWBY+1's room open. "Weiss?!" Ruby yelped, Yang grumbling as she rolled over in her sleep. "Weiss, what're you doing back here so soon?" she whispered as she hopped down, taking a look at her teammate.
The swelling around Weiss' right eye had gone down, but her left eye was still bandaged. There were thicker bandages running all the way down her legs, and she could see more running up her arms, while others made her clothes a little baggy. Instead of her usual side-ponytail, the heiress had her hair down, her tiara clutched in her hand as she closed the door behind her. What most surprised her was the crutch Weiss had propped under her right arm.
"Dr. Katt said I was good to go home whenever I felt like it, and I wanted to give Jack his privacy," Weiss said as she hobbled into the room.
"What about him?" Ruby asked as Weiss made her way to the closet.
"They said they wanted to keep Jack overnight for observation," the heiress answered as she changed into her pajamas. "Between his fights with Nora, and Ren, and… me, they want to make sure there isn't any underlying damage before releasing him."
"I see…" Ruby whispered as Weiss made her way over to the bed, stashing her crutch underneath it as she gingerly pulled the covers over herself. "Weiss?"
"Yeah?"
"Why were you and Jack fighting?"
" . . . "
"Please, I need to know… I need to know what I did wrong…" Ruby pleaded, her eyes watering up and on the verge of tears. "What I can do to make things better."
"Ruby…" Weiss said as she gripped her bed sheets. "What happened wasn't your fault. All that… It was on me. You didn't do anything wrong, so don't worry about it."
*Sniff* "Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"I see," Ruby said nodding her head.
"Yeah… But, listen, I'm… really tired right now," Weiss sighed tiredly. "We can visit Jack in the morning if that'll make you feel better. How does that sound?"
" . . . I want to make him a get-well-soon present," Ruby said after a few moments.
*GIANT-SLAYER*
*Cock-a-doodle-doo*
"Son of a bitch…" Jack groaned as he was roused from his slumber the following morning. "Who the hell keeps a fucking rooster so close to the hospital?" he groaned as he looked out the window, the sun just barely over the horizon. Deciding to ignore the obnoxiously-loud poultry, he looked over to his left, seeing the hospital bed empty. "Huh. I guess Weiss must've gone back to our room," he said with a shrug as he attempted to sit up. Jolts of pain running through his body now that he wasn't doped up on Morphine, he slumped back onto the bed before fumbling around for the remote. 'That reminds me for whatever reason. I wonder if anyone noticed the missing morphine packs.'
"Hey, there are four packets of Morphine missing from the supply closet!" someone said from outside the room.
'Well holy shit,' Jack deadpanned. 'Glad we knocked that doctor and nurse out in a way that they didn't remember getting knocked out,' he thought to himself finally finding the remote, raising himself into a sitting position as he watched the eastern sky.
The sky beyond his window was a deep shade of blue, bordering on black, the sky beyond the mountains to the east turning a lighter shade of blue as the sun began to rise. As it rose, the dark sky turned lighter blue, the stars in the sky winking out as tinges of pink and orange began to peek over the mountains in the distance. With time, the bright yellow sun in all its glory began to rise, first as a sliver of light, then a half-circle, until a brilliantly-glowing sphere of the brightest yellow rose into the heavens.
However, no words could ever convey the beauty of such a sight to one not seeing it for themselves.
Then again… it didn't really matter because Jack nodded off again halfway through.
*Click*
The sound of a tumbler opening, Jack was once again roused from his slumber, looking sidelong to the room's only entrance. An eyebrow quirked in surprise when he saw Weiss of all people coming in, a large paper bag in her hands. Instead of her usual pale blue bolero jacket and white thigh-length dress, she was now wearing a baby blue pantsuit with a red blouse that really made her eye pop. On top of this, her hair was down, now brushed over the left side of her face, concealing almost the entirety of her injuries, while giving her a more casual, almost relaxed look.
Certainly a refreshing change of pace, considering she had more than a half-dozen copies of the same bolero jacket and thigh-length dress in Team RWBY's closet.
"Hello, Weiss. Didn't expect to see you here this morning," Jack greeted with a tired wave. They weren't completely buddy-buddy like she and Ruby had gotten, but at the very least they'd upgraded from the cold intolerance of one another they'd had before.
"Don't read into this too much. I just wanted the chance to talk with you in private before the others arrived," she said taking a seat at his bedside. Opening the paper bag in her hands, she suddenly drew out a knife of all things.
"Weiss… Why do you have a knife in your hands?" Jack said flexing his claws out of reflex as the morning light glinted off of Weiss' blade.
"I'm not up to anything malicious. You can afford to let down your guard around me," Weiss said casually; she probably thought that sounded less-malicious in her head. Setting the knife down, she put a pair of plates next to it, followed by a few perfectly-ripe apples that glistened like rubies. "As your… friend," she said grousing for the word she never thought she'd say, "I'm here to make sure you meet certain dietary requirements until your release."
"Oh, that's why," Jack hummed as Weiss put the first plate in her lap and began to peel the skin from first apple. It wasn't the prettiest job in the world, since there were big chunks of apple still on the skin as she cut it, but by the look on her face, she was putting a lot of effort into something she would've normally left for the hired help.
"So… About what you said yesterday," Weiss said as she began cutting slices away from the core of her first apple. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"About my mom, or my dad?" Jack asked as Weiss handed him a plate of apple slices.
"Well… I'm afraid if we talk about moms, I might accidentally set you off like those other buffoons did, so… daddy issues it is."
"Good choice," Jack said taking a bite from the first apple slice. Juices exploding through his mouth with every bite, it didn't take a genius to know that the quality of the produce was a great-deal better than what the school itself had to offer. In all likelihood, Weiss had had this brought in from Vale proper, maybe even rush-delivered.
"Yes, well, with this commonality between you and I, I feel like I can understand you a little better," Weiss said as she began slicing into her second apple. The peel on this one was much neater, showing her aptitude for anything she put a genuine effort into doing. "So… What was your father like?"
"Don't know. I barely ever saw him," Jack said between bites. "After my mom was murdered, he changed, and probably not for the better."
"Probably?"
"It depends on who you ask," Jack shrugged.
"So…" Weiss groused trying to find the words. "What was your father doing that had him away from home?"
"Nonviolently fighting for equal rights before the Fang's change in leadership, getting his ass kicked because he wouldn't fight back," Jack answered plainly.
"Oh…" Weiss flinched. "Might I ask why he didn't fight back?"
"My mom didn't want him making things any harder for me if I ever left the Frontier," Jack said finishing a slice. "In the end it didn't matter, and I had the privilege of seeing the ugly side of humanity that makes genocide seem like such a good idea," he spat as he angrily bit into an apple slice, causing Weiss to flinch. "The only reason the new Fang hasn't started, is because your kind breeds like cockroaches. If it has a vagina, willing or unwilling, more often than not a Human will shove their dick into it. They don't even have to be Human and the men of your species will still try and fuck it, willing or otherwise," he said angrily as his eye flashed crimson.
At this, Weiss clammed up. She knew all too well about how Faunus were discriminated against, and up until just recently she was just like any other racist stereotype about Humans. By the way he said it, Jack had probably seen the absolute ugliest that Humankind had to offer. Based on how graphic he was being, he'd probably seen those kind of actions too.
"When you say unwilling, do you mean-"
"Rape? Yes, and no shit," he said bluntly. "Before coming to Beacon, I stopped more would-be rapists than I can care to remember."
"I figured, but didn't want to assume."
"Yeah, well, in the end my actions didn't change anything," Jack said as he flexed and retracted his claws. "Every day, countless Faunus get raped, or killed, or robbed, and the police force doesn't do jack-squat about it because they're all crooked."
"I guess you've seen enough to substantiate your claims, then?" Weiss asked, not knowing if she'd regret the answer or not.
"Half the rapists I beat up were cops. What the fuck do you think?"
"Oh…" Weiss said as she began twitting her thumbs, her ideal image of Human law enforcement tarnished just a little more.
"And don't even get me started on the Huntsmen. They think that just because they slay monsters, they can do whatever the fuck they want. Makes me sick to my stomach how hypocritical those assholes can be," he growled as he popped another apple slice. "Hunters hired by less-than-reputable people for less-than-reputable reasons were my bread and butter before coming here."
"So… you were a Bounty Hunter I take it?" Weiss asked coming to the sensible conclusion.
"Most of the time I was a Sweeper, but yeah, I was also a Bounty Hunter."
"Might I ask the difference?" Weiss asked. She genuinely did not know the difference between the two, and just assumed they were both the same thing until Jack threw that "also" in there.
"Sweepers have a strict no-kill policy, either because of their moral system, or because a live target fetches better coin. Bounty Hunters kill their targets either for fun, or because the target won't come quietly," Jack answered.
"So what made you be a Sweeper?" Weiss asked. "No offense, really, no offense, but if there's anyone I think would enjoy killing for money, it'd be you."
"Since you're making such an effort to be kind to me despite my heritage-" At this he ran his fingers over his ears. "-I'll abstain from taking offense to that. As for why I became a Sweeper, part of it was because the money was better."
"And the other?"
"The pathetic whimpering sounds they made when I broke their legs and/or arms were way more satisfying than listening to them gargle on their own blood," he said with a toothy grin, his eyes glinting crimson for a few seconds.
"I see," Weiss deadpanned, resisting the urge to hurl at the mental image his words evoked. 'At least he's honest,' she thought to herself as she sliced another apple. "Out of curiosity, how high a priority would someone like Roman Torchwick be?"
"High-B, Low-A I guess?" Jack shrugged. Seeing Weiss raise an eyebrow, he decided to elaborate. "Fairly weak criminals like purse snatchers are F-Rank, while extremely-dangerous ones like serial killers with a track record are S-Rank. Any significantly powerful Rogue Hunter normally falls under SS-Rank because conventional methods don't work on them."
"I see," Weiss hummed. "What's the highest rank you ever went after, if I might ask?"
"Well, most of the time I went after B-Rank criminals. The first time I went after an A-Rank, I almost got myself killed," Jack answered, Weiss' eyebrow shooting up in surprise at the admittance. "If my aunt hadn't been there to bail me out, I wouldn't even be here right now."
"On your mother's or your father's side?"
"She wasn't technically my aunt, but she and my mom were like sisters, so I guess my mother's side," Jack answered as he gained a distant look in his eyes. "At the time, I wasn't exactly happy with how she bailed me out, and I was pretty vocal about that. I told her if she'd given me a minute, I could've handled things on my own, and that I didn't need her help."
"What did she have to say about that?" Weiss asked, curious about his family and how they influenced who he was now.
"Nothing," Jack answered, the heiress raising an eyebrow at that. "She just washed my mouth out with soap bubbles."
"Don't you mean soap?"
"No," Jack said with a shake of his head. "Still..." he said as a smile of all things came to his face at the memory. "It may've tasted really gross, but I'd been starved of a mother's love for so long... I guess I was willing to take whatever scrap of it I could get."
"At least you had family willing to put that sort of effort into your upbringing," Weiss said with a small pout, looking at her reflection in the apple in her hands. "Growing up, I was always showered with words of praise and commendation, but never by my family after my mom died. No matter what I did, as long as I put some effort into it, I could become better than most. For the sake of being the best... For the sake of being a Schnee... I thought that had value. I thought my results were as expected." At this, she paused, a sour look overcoming her features as she proceeded to peel the apple in her hands. "That was what my father thought as well. "Expected." "Just as I thought." He would always say those things, always walking off towards some appointment or meeting, never once looking me in the eye. Even when I was training to become a Huntress, not once did he check in on me or ask about my progress. He just left the oversight of my training to his secretary and carried on like he always did. Not once did he have time to be disturbed by such a trifling matter," she all but spat. "He even had the gall to call it selfishness. The nerve!"
"Didn't you have a sister who joined the Atlesian Military's Special Operations or something?"
She wasn't aware of her father's borderline-illegal activities, so they'd never crossed paths.
"Yes. Winter. My elder sister," she heiress sighed. "For as long as I can remember, I've always been in her shadow, always following her footsteps. Anything I'd done, she'd done better and when she was younger than me... Maybe that's why I wanted so badly to come to Beacon. Because I was just tired of having to live up to someone else's expectations."
"You wanted to be seen as your own person," Jack stated more than asked.
"Essentially," Weiss returned with a nod. "I don't hate Winter. On the contrary, I love her with all my heart. Its just... It's just hard, always being second-best. At everything."
"Well, if it means anything coming from me... I think you're doing a pretty good job becoming your own person, stepping out of your sister's shadow."
" . . . Thanks," Weiss replied with a smile.
"No problem," Jack said popping another apple slice.
" . . . Let's change the subject, shall we?" Weiss asked, not wanting to talk about her family -or lack thereof- anymore. "When did you first become a Sweeper?"
"Three, four years ago I guess?"
"Then that means… You were only fourteen at the youngest!" she said in shock. "Most fourteen year-olds only have a year of formal combat training by that point! Why would you go into such a dangerous line of work?!"
"Well, it's not like a guy like me can hold a steady job in any other occupation," Jack said lazily with a shrug as he bit into another apple slice. "No matter how much he didn't fight back during peacetime, it doesn't change the fact that during the last war, my dad killed a lot of people. And I mean… a lot of people. When people saw me, they really saw him, even if they didn't know I was his son, or even who he was."
"So your father was a war veteran then," Weiss said lowly.
"So was my mom, but it's not like anyone went after her for it or anything," Jack said biting into another apple slice.
" . . . I'm sorry," Weiss said after a moment. "I shouldn't be holding your father in contempt like that. If he hadn't fought, you'd probably be living in Menagerie right now."
"That or they would've burned it to the ground once all the Faunus were in one place," Jack said plainly. "Unlike Faunus, Humans had almost no reservations about going after women or children. It's why after the initial stages of the war, so many of us moved out to the Frontier, huddling together in whatever hole we could away from all the fighting until the dust settled."
"Why wasn't this in any of the history books I've read? Attacking civilians, especially women and children, is a war crime."
As was occupying a church. And destruction of property. And destruction of landmarks. And use of poison gas among other things.
"Because history is written by the winners. That's why."
"But at the end of the war there was a ceasefire. Menagerie was given to the Faunus as a concession after the fighting came to an end, and Faunus were allowed to stay in their respective Kingdoms while having complete freedom to do with Menagerie as they wished."
"On paper that may've been the case, but Menagerie was only a small loss, so far out of the way no-one wanted to put the time and effort into colonizing it themselves. Faunus were still the minority after the war, even more so because nearly a quarter of our total population got wiped out, and it's not like any of us have a say of what goes into the history books," Jack explained.
"How could something like that happen?"
"It's called Victor's Justice, where the winning side of a war gets to judge what was right or wrong in the actions of both its own troops and those of its enemy. In other words, by winning the war, even though the Councils labeled it a tie, Humanity got the ability to show themselves some favoritism in a court of law. Whether it's the punishment or lack thereof of its own troops, or writing the history books, none of what Humans did wrong mattered because Humans could choose what came to light and what stayed in the dark."
"That's… That's horrible!"
"That's life," Jack deadpanned. "Racism runs deep because Faunus don't have the numbers, or the money, to make their voices heard. In Vale, the police force is largely dominated by Humans, and not a single member of the Council is a Faunus. In Atlas, the police force is exclusively Human and supplemented by Robots, while the government, military, and schools are all controlled by the same people, none of which are Faunus. Vacuo's had the longest-standing Faunus Council-members, due to how-varied their culture was from the very beginning. Mistral on the other hand only got Faunus in its governing Council in the past couple years. Vale isn't predicted to get Faunus in its Council for another ten as things are now, and in Atlas, the lack of Faunus in its Council probably won't change ever with how racist everyone is. Especially those with all the money and controlling interest in the economy."
"I… I didn't know things were so bad."
"Of course you didn't. Humans could do no wrong in your eyes. Probably why you got that B-minus in Dr. Oobleck's class."
"Hey!"
"Don't try and deny it," Jack deadpanned. "Part of why I got that A plus is because I mentioned Victor's Justice. It's ugly, and sickening, but it's the truth. If there was even one person like Oobleck in Vale's Council five years ago, maybe the White Fang would still be non-violent, and maybe we'd make some fucking headway."
" . . . You're probably right," Weiss consented. She didn't want to admit it, but Jack had solid logic and was making concise points.
"Bitch, I am right," Jack said crossing his arms. "Sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. Force of habit."
"I'll let it slide since I did stab you," Weiss sighed.
"That you did," Jack said rubbing his side "Just be glad the White Fang didn't catch wind of that. Any incident with a Schnee attached to it gives them all the traction they need to mobilize. And don't even get me started on their recruitment rates."
"I'm guessing after what happened at Mt. Silver, the White Fang got a lot of manpower, huh?"
"It was mostly orphans and widows, but yeah, you'd be correct. Any atrocity committed by a Schnee pushes more Faunus into the White Fang's arms, and the Schnee still think knuckling down on us is a good idea. Bunch of idiots if you ask me," he grumbled as he crossed his arms.
" . . . Hearing all this, it makes me wonder if maybe I should've taken that job back in Atlas," Weiss said as she put her knife away. "Maybe I could've changed things from the inside. Made things better."
"As sweet as a sentiment that is, there's a big hole in your logic," Jack rebuked, prompting Weiss to look at him. "Even if you did stay in Atlas, you wouldn't have become who you are now. You'd have been the same ignorant and racist little princess you'd been on day one. It's because you left, because you've been learning, and growing, that you've started to understand what's right and wrong without Atlesian propaganda filling your ears. Not even Winter can be a better you than you."
"You really think I've grown?" Weiss asked, an upward lilt in her tone.
"At the risk of sounding like every sleazy guy from those parties you told me about, I'd say you've grown in more ways than one," Jack said with a cheesy grin as he scratched the back of his head. And he really did mean it when he said she'd grown in more ways than once. Since she'd been eating less healthy at Beacon in comparison to what she'd been eating at home, that fat was adding just the slightest curve to her chest and hips, while her training was adding a little bit of muscle to her lithe frame. Weiss' twin sisters didn't jiggle like Yang's or Nora's, but it was progress.
"Heheheh... I don't think anyone's said that to be before," Weiss said as a giggle left her lips.
"Really? I'd have thought all those self-entitled little twats read through the whole playbook of cheesy pickup lines."
"Oh believe me, they have. They just weren't very sincere about it. Not like you anyway."
"Huh. Imagine that," Jack said with a shrug as he bit into another apple slice.
" . . . Do you think things will ever change? The way you say it, makes it sound like the chances of things getting any beter are really slim."
"If whoever's in charge screws the pooch bad enough, probably," Jack shrugged. "Mistral's going in the right direction, they just need some more time. The problem with Vale is that most of the Council members come from "old money", and everyone has their price, especially voters. As for Atlas… I figure it'd take something really big to make them get their shit together. Something so huge that the other Kingdoms can't ignore it anymore. Like, breaking-the-laws-of-nature huge."
"What about Skyrim? There's barely any information available about their culture that's credible, and you haven't really mentioned them until now," Weiss stated.
"Well for one, the Nords don't really care whether you're Human or Faunus, only whether you do right or wrong by one another. Like I told Ruby, most of the Nords were originally people punished for crimes they didn't even commit because the government back then was even worse than it is today. Every major settlement has a village chief that represents the people for a larger council, and whether they're Human or Faunus doesn't matter because discrimination by race is practically nonexistent. People still hate one another for personal reasons, but that's what happens everywhere. They have a natural distrust of outsiders, but given their history, can you really blame them?"
" . . . What is it like? Being a Faunus, I mean?"
"What's it like being Human?" Jack asked sarcastically.
"That came out wrong," Weiss said shrinking in on herself.
"Open mouth, insert designer boot made by Faunus under-paid labor."
"I get it, I said the wrong thing!" Weiss snapped, before sighing deeply. "And my designer boots did not come from a Faunus sweatshop!" she argued, the Faunus rolling his eyes at her. "What I meant to ask is…" she said trying to keep her cool. "What's it like having senses like you do?"
"You realize that's like asking me to describe sight to the blind, or sound to the deaf, right?"
"I know that, I'm just… really curious," she trailed off in a whisper.
"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."
"I said I was curious, alright?" she asked a bit louder.
"There, now was that so hard?"
"Don't patronize me."
"Sorry, sorry," Jack said biting into another apple slice. "If you really must know, I guess it isn't all that different from how you perceive things. Darkness for Humans is like having the lights dimmed for a Faunus. Things don't smell any different, we just pick up on them easier."
"Do Faunus pick up on sound easier if they have more than two ears?" Weiss asked.
"It varies based on breed," Jack said with a shrug of his shoulders.
" . . . "
"You look like you want to say something else."
" . . . I just don't want to say the wrong thing again."
"Say what you want to say, and I'll tell you if it's offensive or not."
"Can I… Can I touch them?" she asked as her eyes darted to the eyes atop his head.
" . . . You know, I honestly thought Ruby would be the first to ask," Jack said with a shrug. "Why do you want to touch them?"
"I'm just curious, alright?" Weiss asked as she shifted in her seat, a bit of red running across her face as she twitted her thumbs. "God, this sounded far less stupid in my head."
" . . . Fine, you can touch. But no petting! That's just too personal. And demeaning," he emphasized. "Doesn't really help the whole not-an-animal point we're trying to get across if we let Humans touch our ears whenever they want to."
" . . . "
Weiss didn't say any words, instead opting to get up from her seat and stand at his bedside. Raising her hands and trying to look non-threatening, she slowly reached out to Jack's scalp. The first thing she noticed was that his hair felt really thick, but not hard like she thought since actual Honey Badgers had fur made of keratin. After getting used to the texture, her delicate finger then went up to the ears atop his head. Pinching them lightly a couple times, then rubbing them between her fingertips, she realized that unlike the pets she'd had in the past, his ears were little more than ridges of skin with almost no muscle on them. Despite that, there was a certain warmness about them that heated up her hands a bit.
" . . . Did anyone ever tell you you look really nice with your hair down?" Jack asked after a few seconds, trying to dispel the awkward silence.
"Yeah, well… I don't let my hair down for just anybody, you know," she said with a small smile.
"Well look at you two getting all cozy like this," Yang said from the doorway, Weiss yelping as she jumped away with a red face. "Hey, don't mind me, I'll come back later. Still, I'm surprised you could be so bold, Weiss. I'm impressed."
"Nothing happened!"
"I didn't say anything happened, but now I'm really curious," Yang said with a grin on her face. "Jack, did Weiss do anything to you before I came in?"
"She touched me in places."
"JACK!?" Weiss cried with a red face while he just grinned.
"Oh-hoh, how bold of you, Ms. Schnee," Yang said crossing her arms under her voluptuous chest. "However, don't think I'll give up on him so easily. His chocolate-colored ass will be mine! All miiine! Mwahahaha!" she laughed exaggeratedly.
"Yaaang! Don't say stuff like that!" Ruby pouted as she came in, a bag in her hands. "Sorry about her. She can be a little embarrassing at times."
"That's just my feminine charms at work," Yang said stretching her arms above her head, making her chest puff out, and Weiss' eyes narrowing as she pouted at the display.
"It's just nice to have a little color in here," Jack said popping another apple slice. "No offense," he said turning to Weiss.
"None taken," the heiress sighed.
"Sooo… Jack, how are you feeling?" Ruby asked coming to his bedside.
"Better. A bit sore, but I'll live," he said rubbing his side.
" . . . I'm sorry," Weiss said as she shrunk in on herself.
"Dummy, I already forgave you for that," Jack said ruffling the heiress' hair. She wanted to slap his hand away, but looking up and see the scars criss-crossing his arm kept her hand firmly in her lap. If things truly were as bad for Faunus as Jack portrayed them to be, it didn't take a genius to find out who he'd gotten those scars from, and why she'd hesitate –at least now- to lash out at him. "And Ruby, Yang, I don't want either of you giving her a hard time about putting me here, alright? I'm at fault too. It takes two to tango, and I did my part of egging her on too."
"I hear you. Just… Just take things easy, alright?" Ruby asked. "I don't want you fighting again until finals next week. That's an order, you hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear you," Jack replied with a wave of his hand. "I'll be all healed up by then, guaranteed."
"But seriously, Weiss, were you trying to kill him?" Yang asked as she took the clipboard from the foot of Jack's bed and flipped through it. "There's like, five pages of injuries on here. I don't even know what half of these are and I still know they're bad. What the hell?"
"That's enough!" Jack growled as he slammed his fist on the bed's railing, shocking the room's occupants. "I already forgave Weiss for this, now drop it!"
" . . . Sorry, Weiss," Yang said with crossed arms.
" . . . " *Pow* An elbow to the ribs caused the heiress to scowl, before she sucked up her pride and said- "I forgive you."
" . . . So…" Jack hummed to diffuse the tension. "What's in the bag?" he asked turning to Ruby.
"The girls and I all made you some get-well cookies!" Ruby said with a large grin on her face. "We made them this morning after getting some stuff from the cafeteria."
"Seems like you've got quite the fanclub back there," Blake said with a smile making her presence known. "They got really helpful when we said they were for you."
"Don't worry. She only ate half of them on the way here," she conspicuously whispered into his ear.
"I did not!" Ruby pouted as she rounded on her sister.
"I brought milk," Blake said with a small smile as she held up a carton of milk. "I don't know how you take it, so I just went with two-percent."
"Thanks guys. The milk and cookies will really help the hospital food go down," Jack said as Yang put an in-bed table out, setting the milk and cookies out.
"Just don't eat them all at once. Too much sugar is bad for you," Ruby instructed.
"I don't think you should be talking to him about 'too much sugar'," Weiss scolded lightly.
"Weiss!" Ruby pouted.
"I'll be sure to ration these," Jack said reaching into the bag and taking one out. The cookie was a round disk with a little thickness to it, and instead of chips, it used large chunks of chocolate, probably from a broken-up chocolate bar. It was still warm, fresh from the oven with chocolate smearing his fingers, the scent making him feel nostalgic as he stared into the circle of baked dough and chocolate.
"Is there something wrong? Did they not come out right?" Ruby asked worriedly.
"Hm? Oh! No, nothing's wrong," Jack said snapping back to reality. "Just taking it all in is all. I can't remember the last time someone baked me cookies like this. I'll be sure to repay the favor someday."
"What? Nooo, nononono, you don't haaave to," Ruby tried waving him off. "But if you do decide to return the favor, I like them with extra chocolate chips," she whispered into his ear. "Don't tell Yang. She's always such a nag when it comes to me and my cookies."
"Ruby, I'm right here," Yang said with crossed arms.
" . . . You heard nothing!"
"Whoo! Sounds like there's a party up in here!" Nora whooped as she came into the room, a nearby nurse angrily shushing her before going back to her duties.
"Sorry we didn't get here sooner," Jaune apologized. "We were momentarily delayed."
"Oh hey, Jaune. Didn't know you were up," Jack said.
"I was up yesterday morning."
"Really? I didn't care-er-notice."
"Smooth," Weiss said, a small smile on her face.
"So, Weiss, I was wondering how you're feeling today," Jaune said immediately turning his attention to the object of his affections. "If you want I can carry your books for you until you recover, maybe escort you around campus? Help change your bandages, maybe?"
"Keep one meter away," Weiss deadpanned at that last statement. He was quickly getting into creepy stalker territory, and it wasn't the first time she'd dealt with someone like Jaune. Her bodyguards had to restrain a lot of "super-freaks" during her brief career as a singer.
"So Jack, how are you feeling?" Pyrrha asked while Jaune slumped in defeat.
"A little sore, but I'll live," Jack said as he pounded a fist into his hand, cracking his neck before nodding his head. "I just need to limber up a little and I'll be alright."
"Just be sure you get plenty of rest," Ren stated. "If we wind up fighting during Finals, I want you at your best."
"Can do, Pancake Prettboy," Jack said giving a mock salute.
*GAAAAASP* Nora gasped loudly. "How on Remnant did you know about my secret nickname for Ren that I never told to anybody?!"
"I didn't," Jack deadpanned.
" . . . "
" . . . "
" . . . "
" . . . You heard nothing!" the ginger teen shouted as her teammates, especially Ren, gave her weird looks.
"That… reminds me for whatever reason," Jaune said to dispel the awkwardness around him. "Team Juniper brought you pancakes, fresh from the cafeteria" he said opening up a to-go box tucked under his arm. Jack, raising a brow and saying nothing, prompted Jaune to turn the box around and look therein. His jaw dropped when he saw that, aside from a few crumbs tucked in the corner, the whole Styrofoam Tupperware had been licked clean, nary a pancake in sight. "Nora! You ate Jack's pancakes?!"
*GAAASP* "Jaune!" Nora gasped quite audibly. "I am insulted and offended, that you'd even insinuate I ate the pancakes we lathered with warm honey just for him! The nerve of some people!" she pouted as she turned on her heel and crossed her arms.
"Honey?" Jack deadpanned. "Oh I see. Because I'm a Honey Badger Faunus, I must love honey, right? That is a vicious stereotype."
"You don't like honey?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course I love honey. I'm a Honey Badger Faunus, don't be ridiculous, I just don't like you saying it," Jack said with a half-lidded expression as Ren wiped his thumb across the corner of Nora's mouth, a drop of honey on the opposable digit.
" . . . I regret nothing!" Nora cried as she tried to leave the room, Ren holding her up by her collar causing the girl to kick out her legs. Clearly, the Mistrali teen was stronger than he looked.
"So… When do you think they'll let you come back to HQ?" Ruby asked as Nora continued to deny the allegations placed against her, even with all the mounting evidence.
"If Dr. Katt gives me the green light later, I'll probably be home tomorrow evening after dinner. You can go another day without me around, can't you?" Jack replied with a smile as he ruffled the girl's hair.
'Home…' The word deeply resonated with Weiss when she heard that. It made her realize just how safe he must've felt there… and how much harder she'd made things for him just like his old team had. 'And to think I used to be on their side,' she said wrapping her arms around herself. 'Don't you worry, Jack. I'll try and be a better person from now on… For both our sakes. And Ruby's,' she said seeing how Ruby lapped up Jack's show of brotherly love.
"Anyway, it was nice seeing you all, I appreciate the visit, but I'm still hurting a bit, so I'm going to go back to sleep, get some rest," Jack said as he reclined the bed. "Even with Aura *YAAAWN* it'll still take me a while to get healed up all the way."
"Alright," Pyrrha said with a nod. "Get better soon."
"See you later, alligator," Nora rhymed as she skipped out, followed by Ren and Jaune.
"We'll be by again tomorrow," Ruby said with a nod as she rose from her seat.
"And we'll bring you some good food, so don't fill up on what they give you here," Yang said with a smile as she walked off.
"Take care," Blake said as she walked out.
" . . . "
"Weiss?" Ruby asked, seeing that her partner hadn't left her seat.
Cue Star Wars OST – The Force Theme
" . . . Jack," Weiss said as she took his hand between her own. "I know it isn't much, but let me give you what little Aura I can spare," she said as she closed her eyes. Her body was suddenly alight with a soft white glow, the light from her body slowly flowing down her arms to where hers and Jack's hand met. Looking up at her for a couple seconds as Weiss scrunched her brow in concentration, Jack nodded his head as he closed his eyes and leaned back. The next moment, Weiss' Aura began to run across his hand, turning crimson at his wrist and flowing up his arm and suffused into his skin.
Jack and Weiss' eyes opened as Ruby came up to them, putting her hands around theirs. Her body coming alight with a bright red Aura, flowing down her arms, Yang and Blake walked back into the room, standing at Jack's right side, Auras of yellow and dark purple alighting their bodies as well, their spiritual energy pooling around their hands. Looking up at his teammates, receiving nods and smiles in turn, Jack nodded his head as he laid back, the energy his friends were giving flowing into his body as he let them in, streams of red, white, purple, and yellow flowing up his arms before turning crimson and flowing into his body.
After a few minutes of silence, Jack's breathing steadied, and the flow of colored light ceased, the four slowly letting his hands come to rest at his sides. With a smile on her face, Ruby brought a finger up to her lips as she tip-toed out. Weiss followed suit, turning out the lights as she left. Blake drew the blinds shut, while Yang, with a soft smile on her face, tucked Jack in and lightly fluffed his pillow before walking away and closing the door.
"Thank you…"
"Huh?" Yang asked as she whirled around and looked back into the room. "I thought I heard a woman's voice just now…" she said to herself as she looked around. Seeing a hazy, transparent figure colored light-green at Jack's beside, Yang rubbed her eyes before looking again, only to see nothing. "Maybe I'm just seeing things?" she said to herself as she walked away, the figure flittering back into sight just as the door closed.
"Jack…" the voice that Yang heard from before whispered into the air. "I'm sorry… that I couldn't protect you… I'm so… so sorry," the figure said as it brushed Jack's hair. "But now… there are those in your life you can truly… truly trust... Shoulders that you can lean upon… and be leaned upon in turn," it said with a relieved smile on its hazy visage. "Stay strong… and know that no matter what you do… that I'm proud of you… and that I'll always love you…" At this, Jack shifted uncomfortably in his sleep, his face scrunching, tears trickling down his cheeks. "Don't worry… This isn't goodbye…" the figure said as it lovingly stroked his cheek. "I'm not really gone… I'm just… not here right now."
Moments later, the enigmatic figure faded from sight and memory, from all but a single man who had made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet.
*GIANT-SLAYER*
DELETED SCENE:
'Alright Jaune, remember what your dad said. All women look for is confidence,' Jaune told himself as he made his way to hospital room #356 ahead of everyone else so he'd get there the moment visitation hours started. 'And what could be more confident than a bouquet of white roses and a box of get-well chocolates?' he asked keeping the aforementioned goodies behind his back.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, Weiss' voice came out in a whisper from the other side of the door. Though there was a degree of sound-proofing to the rooms, if you pressed your ear right up to the door, you'd be able to hear what was being said within.
"Hey Jack."
"Yeah, Weiss?"
"I just want to say… thank you for what you did for me the other day. I really needed that."
"It was no big deal. It's not like I haven't done that sort of thing before, and you looked like you needed something to take the edge off."
"Though that may be the case… I had a really good time yesterday, so… Thank you, for taking care of me like that."
'No… No... Don't rush to conclusions, Jaune,' the blond told himself as he processed the heiress' words. 'They could be talking about a game or something they played the other day. I mean it isn't like the two of them would ever-'
"On the off-chance we ever do something like that again… I want to be on top next time," Jack went on to reply.
" . . . I don't see the harm in letting you be on top," Weiss returned, causing Jaune's heart to stop in his chest. "I might not be all that strong, but I'll try my best if we ever do do what we did the other day again."
"I look forward to the opportunity. I'll be sure to be gentle like you were with me."
"Well… My thanks in advance."
"You're welcome… in advance."
'How… How could this have happened… and why him of all people?' Jaune thought to himself in shock on the verge of tears.
"There you are, Jaune!" Nora's boisterous voice called out, a nearby nurse shushing her. "Sorry," she apologized. "Anywho, you went off on your own pretty quickly."
"Jaune, is something wrong?" Pyrrha asked, the rest of Team JNPR coming up to them. Team RWBY were only momentarily delayed.
"No… Nothing's wrong…" the blond slumped.
"Really? Because you look like you just found out the love of your life had sex with someone else instead of you."
"Uuuuugh…"
"So… Might I ask who the chocolates are for?" Pyrrha asked seeing the bouquet of white roses and heart-shaped box of chocolates in Jaune's hands. She already had an idea of who they were for, but it didn't hurt to make conversation.
"No one…" the blond deadpanned, sounding like he didn't want to talk about it.
" . . . Oooooh, I see how it is," Nora said nodding her head in understanding. "How very progressive of you."
"I'm sure he'll appreciate the sentiment," Ren stated, following along with Nora's joke.
"I don't think Jack plays for the same team, but who knows, he might just give you the time of day."
"Or a reacharound," Ren chuckled.
"I hope so," Jaune sighed only hearing half of that, Pyrrha reeling back in shock, while Ren had a WTF look on his face, and Nora was grinning widely.
" . . . "
" . . . "
" . . . "
" . . . Wait, what?"
"Oh look, it's Team RWBY!" Nora said pointing to the color-coordinated team down the way.
*GIANT-SLAYER*
Since Weiss opened up about her daddy-issues last chapter, I figured I'd stick with the momentum and have some more character elaboration between herself and Jack. I've revealed some more hints and clues about Jack's backstory, but there's still more to come. Chapter-after-next is Jaunedice, and then things get REALLY crazy as I step into new territory.
Also, on note of RWBY Volume 3 Episode 11 "Heroes and Monsters", am I the only one who thinks Jaune screwed the pooch on that one, or is everyone cool with him abandoning his post like that? I mean, Ozpin gave him one job to do, one, and the moment Pyrrha starts screaming the guy turns his back on the only way in/out of that vault, and not even five seconds later Amber takes an arrow to the… sternum, I guess? I mean, I had my suspicions that somehow Jaune would muck things up {Insert dumb blond stereotype}, but I didn't think he'd mess things up THAT badly. I mean seriously, if he'd kept staring at the elevator doors, he'd KNOW that Cinder was coming, and maybe he could've even saved Amber.