Several days had passed since Weiss officially started to date Jaune and things have been going swimmingly. Their week off was over and they were all attending classes again. Things were different though, a few of the girls were more open to showing their feelings for Jaune in public. They all sat down and talked about whether they should be public with their relationship or not. They all had different opinions and they all eventually turned to Jaune. He simply said that it was up to them and he'd agree with whatever they decided on. They eventually agreed that they could be more affectionate in public but not be, as Weiss stated, 'lovey-dovey'.
Ruby was probably the most affectionate after that. She'd have Jaune carry her more and if she could, she would be sitting in his lap. She also asked him to give her kisses on the head and the cheek when he felt like it and she would do the same for him. Most of the student body just thought that Ruby was just acting more relaxed around Jaune. They always seemed to be like this and many thought that they were in a relationship since the first semester but no one was going to say anything, especially with Yang around.
Yang would hug him and kiss him on the cheek more. If they were sitting together, she'd pull his arm around her so she could sit as close to him as possible. She would also try to get him to feel her up but he would promptly deny to do so, with a huge blush. She knew he wouldn't but she loved to see him get flustered like that, she found it adorable. The other students just thought that Yang was teasing him more because she preferred his reactions over anyone else's. Although, the few that saw her kiss Jaune on the cheek during the dance were starting to believe that they had gotten together. But none were going to ask due to the temperament of both blondes.
Pyrrha was probably the most affectionate after Ruby. She'd cuddle up to and hug him whenever she could. She would also kiss Jaune on the cheek when she thought no one was looking. If she felt like someone was looking at them she would quickly remove herself from him, thoroughly embarrassed. It was practically common knowledge that Pyrrha had feelings for her partner and leader. Their classmates just thought she was upping her game to try to get him to notice her feelings for him. He could be oblivious with some things.
Blake and Weiss were probably the most resigned with showing him affection in public. They didn't do much of anything besides holding hands with him on occasions. Although with Blake's stealth skills, she'd find ways to silently kiss Jaune in class when no one was none the wiser. A skill that Jaune was still amazed over. She'd also find secluded areas to pull him into to have light make-out sessions. Weiss really didn't try much, mostly because she was still hesitant with PDAs. She only recently was able to kiss Jaune in front of the others without blushing up a storm or acting bashfully. Jaune missed those adorable moments though but telling her would only annoy her.
Everything seemed to be going great for Jaune, except for two things. First, that ominous feeling was still in the air. It never dulled or intensified, it just seemed to linger. This bothered Jaune to no extent but he couldn't figure out what was going on. The second was Yang. Ever since the Breach, Yang had seemed to have something on her mind that was clearly bothering her. Jaune tried to ask her about it but she didn't want to talk about it and would advert this attention with a make-out session. She was similar to him in the fact that if she didn't want to talk about something, she wouldn't. He was very concerned, especially because the classes were adding more stress and Jaune was getting worried for his Sun Fire. He was hoping she'd come to him soon before things got worse.
Today didn't make things any better. Ruby had gotten a cold when she was training in the Emerald Forest and it started to rain. Being the protective and caring older sister, Yang made sure that Ruby was taken care of all day. Which meant that Yang was running back to the dorm every time she didn't have class to check up on Ruby. She was running herself ragged and with her already stressed out mind, she looked terrible.
They were all sitting down for lunch and they were all watching the clearly stressed out Yang scarf down her food. Weiss decided to look out for her teammate. "Yang, slow down. You're going to choke."
At that time, Yang was hitting her chest to force the food down her throat. She took a huge gulp of her drink before sighing in relief. "No can do. I need to hurry and check up on Ruby."
Blake spoke up next, "Yang, Ruby is fine. It's just a cold. You don't need to act like she's dying or push yourself this far."
"Look, I'm fine. I just need to check on Ruby." Yang jumped before sighing in content as she felt a pair of hands gently massaging her shoulders. She turned to see Jaune looking at her with a mix or concern and care.
"Your tense shoulders say otherwise, Sun Fire." She didn't reply. She just closed her eyes and hummed in satisfaction. He kept up the massage and leaned down a bit to talk to her. "Why don't you just enjoy the rest of your lunch? I can check up on her for you."
"I'd appreciate it, Jaune. But I don't want to inconvenience you." She spoke up.
Jaune chuckled before he hugged her and rested his chin gently on top of her head. "I think checking on my sick girlfriend and making sure you don't stress out are both my jobs. What kinda boyfriend would a be otherwise?"
Yang just sat there in his arms, thinking. She finally sighed, "Alright. You win but don't get used to you getting your way so easily, Jauney." She said with a smirk.
Jaune just smiled before he kissed the top of her head, "Of course not. The battle is half the fun." Jaune went to throw out his garbage before grabbing a sandwich, water bottle and a bowl of strawberries for the sick reaper. He also grabbed a hot chocolate as a treat for her and used his fire Semblance to make sure it stayed the right temperature. Jaune arrived at RWBY's door and gently knocked on it while balancing the tray of food on his forearm. "Ruby? Can I come in?"
Jaune heard an adorable sneeze before he heard her say weakly, "Yeah, come in, Jaune."
Jaune opened the door and saw Ruby leaning against her pillows. She was sitting up and reading a comic book that he loaned her earlier today in her pajamas. He was relieved to not see her laying in a bed suspended from the ceiling and in an actual bunk bed. She looked slightly flushed from the cold but she seemed fine otherwise. "How you feeling, Rosebud?"
She blew her nose into a tissue before she spoke up. "A bit better. It's just annoying that I have to stay in bed all day. But where's Yang? I expected her to see me."
He smiled before walking in and closing the door. "I convinced her to take a break and decided to come in her stead." He placed the hot chocolate on the bookshelf between the two bunkbeds before stepping onto the frame of Weiss' bed to be eye level with Ruby. He handed her the tray of food. "Sorry it isn't much but I didn't want you to overstuff yourself."
"That's fine." She said happily as she took a bite from her sandwich. "What's in the bowl?" She asked with her mouth partially filled.
He chuckled before grabbing it and taking the plastic lid off of it. "Just a small treat for you. These'll do you better than a platter of cookies."
She looked into the bowl and had a huge smile on her face, "Strawberries!" She shouted happily before shoving one in her mouth with a joyful hum.
"I thought you'd like them." He said with a smile before he took one with his left index finger and thumb. Before he could get it close to his mouth, Ruby ate it but kept his fingers in her mouth. She was giving him a glare with no heat behind it. Jaune just raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, okay. You win. They're all yours." She smiled but didn't let go of his fingers. "Uh, can I have my fingers back?" She gave him a look like she was thinking before she shook her head. Before he could say anything else, he felt her lick the tips of his fingers and gently nibble on them. Jaune was utterly shocked by this. He never expected for her to do something like this.
But he had no intention of doing anything like that with her not feeling well. He reached down with is right hand and picked up the hot chocolate. Ruby quickly eyed the mug before Jaune spoke, "Fine. If I can't have my fingers, you can't have the hot chocolate I got you." He said with a smirk. Ruby looked between the mug and Jaune while having a conflicted look on her face. She soon sighed and let go of his fingers. "Thank you, Rosebud." Was his response as he handed her the mug.
Ruby took a big sip of it and sighed in appreciation. "Thank you! It's the perfect temperature, how'd you do that?" she asked. Jaune just raised his right index finger and used the remainder of his fire aura to create a small flame at the tip. Ruby just looked at it before she spoke again, "Right, that makes sense." She said with a bashful smiled before she took another sip. "But why not coffee? You know I drink it."
Jaune just raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "I wouldn't call that coffee. More like coffee flavored cream with a lot of sugar." He said teasingly.
She blushed and looked away with a pout, "I have a sweet tooth. I just don't know how you drink something so bitter."
Jaune gently rubbed the top of her head before he moved it to the back of her head and gently pushed her forehead against his. He just looked into her silver eyes and spoke gently, "Maybe because you add so much sweetness into my life."
She blushed deeper and was having difficulty looking into his eyes. "You say the sweetest but cheesiest things. You know that?" she said bashfully.
He chuckled and pulled back slightly. He gently moved a lock of hair behind her ear as he spoke. "Blame my dad for that."
The two looked into each other's eyes before Jaune moved in slightly. Ruby pulled back slightly with that. "I don't want to get you sick."
Jaune still had his hand on the back of her head and gently moved her closer before he gave her a brief but loving kiss. He looked her in the eyes, "Worth it." Is all he said with a smile. She returned with her own smile and she leaned in for another kiss. After that, Ruby continued to eat her lunch while the two just talked about whatever came to mind. Although, they mostly talked about the X-ray and Vav comic he loaned her. Eventually, she was done eating and Jaune just spent time with her. He took out his scroll to check the time before he sighed in annoyance, "Well, I better head to my next class. You gonna be okay without me?" he asked with a grin.
She smiled at him, "I think I can handle myself." Jaune leaned in and gave her another brief kiss before he pulled back. He then felt Ruby quickly close the gap between them and give him a loving kiss. This made Jaune lose his footing and fall to the floor. Ruby quickly moved to the edge of the bed to look down at him in concern, "Jaune?!" she asked before she got lightheaded from the quick movement and caused her to fall off the bed as well. Jaune quickly got underneath her and caught her. Jaune was now laying on his back with her half straddling, half laying on him. Before he could ask if she was alright, the door opened up to reveal the rest of her team. Weiss and Blake looked surprised while Yang just looked mad.
"What the hell is going on!?" she shouted. The two quickly stood up. Yang stomped over to Jaune and stared him in the eyes. "You gonna answer or what?"
Jaune just put his hands up in front of him, "I lost my balance and fell off the bunk bed, Ruby was concerned and fell off her bed when she went to check on me. I caught her as she fell. Nothing else happened."
Yang just kept staring him in the eyes, "A likely story. Or this is the reason you wanted to check on her. To take advantage of her." She said with an edge.
Jaune was shocked by this and a familiar heat was rising inside of him. "I have never taken advantage of any of you girls, so why the hell would you even think I'd do that with Ruby? Especially when she is sick?" He said with an edge.
She poked him hard in the chest, "Maybe because you thought you could get away with it!"
"What is the matter with you!? I think after being with me for so long, you'd know more about who I really am! I have no secrets from you, unlike how you've been hiding things from me!"
"Maybe not but your still have a death grip on your past! For all we know, you could be using us as replacements for Amber!"
As soon as she said that a familiar white light engulfed the room and pushed everyone back a few steps. They all looked to see Jaune with his eyes glowing with his aura, this was a level of anger they never saw before. "How dare you! How fucking dare you!" He said this as he stepped closer to Yang and she instinctively took a step back. She never had a reason to afraid of Jaune, not until now. "You told me you of all people know the pain I was going through and now here you are shoving it in my face?! Where do you get off!? I know your regrets too, Yang, and I would never think of using it against you!" Jaune than just stared down a fearful Yang before he forcefully calmed himself down and placed a hand over his eyes. "I knew this was mistake." Was all he said just over a whisper. He made his way over to the window without looking any of them in the eyes. He opened it and jumped out, using his aura to soften his landing and leaving a small crater. He put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked away with his head down.
Yang was still in shock and looked around to see Blake and Weiss giving her glares, while Ruby was just as shocked as she was. "You really stepped over the line." Ruby spoke up softly.
Blake nodded at that, "Yeah, you did. Jaune would never do anything to hurt us. He would do everything in his power to protect us and you just accused him of something awful."
"And we all know that Jaune wouldn't be dating us if he was still holding onto his past. Him trying to convince us not to date him just showed he really cares for us and not just as replacements for his first love." Weiss spoke up with an edge.
Yang looked down in shame, "I know. I don't know why I say that."
"Because you're beyond stressed and won't let anyone help you. Not even Jaune and you took it out on him because your emotions were high." Blake answered her.
Yang nodded, unable to speak. There was a silence until Ruby spoke up, "What did he mean by, 'This was a mistake?'"
Yang looked up and the sisters saw Blake and Weiss exchange looks. Weiss sighed, "Jaune was worried that him dating you two would strain your relationship."
The two were shocked but Blake spoke up before they could say anything, "Jaune's main concern is that this relationship we are all in will damage all of our relationships with each other. More so with you two because you already lost your mother and he didn't want you two to lose the other if things went badly."
"Why didn't he tell us?" Yang asked stunned.
The two shrugged before Blake answered again, "He didn't want to cause an unnecessary problem. He told us because we asked him how he felt about dating both of you."
"You need to talk to him, Yang. You owe him an apology, at the very least." Weiss told her and she nodded before leaving to find him.
Jaune found himself sitting on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest for the last couple of hours or so. He had skipped his last few classes of the day but he didn't care. He wasn't thinking of anything, just looking out over the forest. He was in a lot of pain and didn't want to move. He just wanted to stare out over the view and let everything else just fall away. He heard someone walking behind him but didn't turn, didn't move. They sat down beside him, a foot separating the two of them. Neither said anything for what seemed like an eternity until Yang spoke up, "You're not going to talk, are you?"
Jaune wasn't going to speak up but decided to not bite his tongue for once. "Wow. You're a genius."
"I don't need to be to know you're mad." She said.
"And you know why." He said with no emotion in his voice. "I thought I meant more to you than that."
"Jaune, I'm so sorry about that." She said with so much regret in her voice.
"Sorry you ever thought of doing it or sorry you actually went through with it?" He said without facing her and his pain coming through his voice. "After all this time, how could you think of using my deepest regrets against me? Don't you know what our bond means to me? And to have you abuse it in that way…" he took a deep breath. "Was I just kidding myself?"
Yang wrapped him in a hug and buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm so, so sorry, Jaune." She said with a shaky voice and he was shaking as well.
"I thought you promised to get all the information if a misunderstanding between me and Ruby ever happened again? Not just jump to a conclusion."
"I screwed up, Jaune, I screwed up so very bad. I did something unacceptable and I deserve to have you break up with me. But I don't want to lose you." She said crying. "I just can't."
Jaune wanted to hold her, to stop her from crying but he couldn't. "I just never imagined that you could or would hurt me like this." He said above a whisper.
"I know. I know." She said weakly as she held him tighter, desperate to keep them together.
"I don't want to lose you either, Yang, but how am I supposed to trust you, again? How do I know you won't do this again?" he asked as he finally turned to her.
"I swear to you; I'll never do it again. And if I do, I'll take whatever consequence you think of." She looked into his eyes. They were red from crying and she still had tears running down her face.
He looked into her eyes and saw regret, sadness, fear but above all else pleading and a look that showed she was telling him the truth. He raised his hand and gently wiped away he tears. "You do something like this again, and I'll cut and dye your hair." He said with a very small smile.
Her eyes widened for a second before she started to cry more and buried her face into his chest. "You have a deal." She said while crying.
Jaune finally wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close before resting his forehead on top of her head. "Then I forgive you, my Sun Fire."
She pulled him closer and had a watery smile from hearing her nickname. And after she had calmed down, she told him about the Breach and how she thought she saw her mother save her. That was the least she could do. Things would probably be shaky between them for a while but as long as they loved each other, they could make it through this.
A/N- As I promised, here is the second chapter! Not gonna make any promises but maybe I'll be able to upload the next one tomorrow. Here's hoping!
