Hey, there! Been some time, huh? I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Also, there's an important announcement at the bottom.

Arc Lane II

What would Jaune Arc do if he woke up next to a naked woman?

Each of his friends would give a different answer. Pyrrha Nikos would blush, stutter, and inevitably imagine herself as the woman in question. Ruby Rose would giggle and snort as she imagined Jaune's panic. Nora would launch into a twenty-minute tale containing repeated uses of words like wenches, lusty, and manly prowess. Ren would stay quiet but be secretly amused by Nora's antics. Weiss Schnee wouldn't dignify the question with an answer. Blake would pretend she was above such things, yet her journal contained several saucy tales starring her friends.

Yang would make a bad pun.

In the end, none of Jaune's friends would come close to getting it right.

When Jaune woke up next to a naked woman, he just blinked a few times, letting the last vestiges of drowsiness fade away from his vision. As usual, her sleeping face was the first thing he saw.

Her delicate features and the peacefulness of her expression made her look innocent in a way that she wasn't. She mumbled something her sleep, though her voice was too low for Jaune to make out the words. Her grip on his arm was tight. She must have grabbed hold of him after they fell asleep. It had been happening with increasing frequency as of late.

Slowly, he extricated himself from her grip, doing his best to ignore the temptation of her naked body rubbing against his. She frowned and groaned as he did so, but Jaune managed to leave the bed without waking her up.

The bed sheets had fallen to the floor sometime during the night. Now that he was standing up, every inch of her milky white skin was exposed for him to see.

She was beautiful.

It was not the first time Jaune was struck by her beauty. No matter how many times he saw her like this, she never failed to take his breath away. Her dark hair falling on her bare shoulders. The softness of her body that belied the muscles hidden underneath. The many scars that had gone unnoticed by him as a child, but were now laid bare before him. Each time Jaune saw her, he couldn't help but notice something new to be entranced by.

The rise and fall of her chest drew his attention. Pink nipples atop perfectly-shaped pale mounds. It was not something Jaune had noticed before—perhaps because he didn't use to think of her that way—but she was surprisingly large. Her small build made her curves stand out all the more.

If Ruby grew up to be even half as hot as her mother, she'd be beating the boys off with a stick in a couple of years.

Assuming Yang didn't do it first, that is.

A lock of hair fell over Summer's face as she shifted around, looking for something to hold in his absence. She frowned as it started to tickle her nose.

Jaune smiled, his hand reaching to brush it away.

It stopped inches from her face.

A frown appeared on Jaune's face. He pulled his hand back, looking at the offending limb as though it were something dirty. He shook his head and wordlessly pulled the bed sheets over Summer's body.

The door closed behind him moments later.

xXx

All Arcs knew how to cook.

Even though they lived in a big, fancy house, the Arcs didn't hire any cleaning staff. All household chores such as cleaning the floors, mowing the lawn, and washing the dishes were taken care of by members of the family. Naturally, this included cooking as well. All Arcs were at least somewhat competent in the kitchen.

Except Bleu, but they preferred not to talk about it.

Jaune Arc had been helping out in the kitchen since he was a kid. Making breakfast for ten people was hard but simple. Doing it for two? Easy as pie, which he was also good at making. Jaune was a fan of anything that required kneading. It helped him relax.

That morning, the smell of bacon and eggs had already taken hold of the kitchen. Summer wasn't fond of sweet stuff in the morning, so he didn't bother making waffles.

As good as Summer was at making cookies, it was clear to Jaune that Ruby had not inherited her sweet tooth from her mother.

"Hmm, smells great."

Summer walked into the kitchen wearing one of his shirts and nothing else. Jaune tried to keep his eyes on her face, but her bare thighs proved to be too much of a temptation.

"Morning," Summer said sleepily. "Where is…?"

Another yawn cut off her words. Jaune tried to ignore the way Summer's bust strained against his shirt when she arched her back.

"Your coffee is on the counter." Jaune pointed to the steaming mug while he set the plates. As expected, Summer's silver eyes zeroed in on the beverage, her hands reaching for it in a zombie-like daze.

As she bent to grab it, Jaune blushed and looked away, guilt gnawing at him.

It was perhaps silly for him to be acting this way. He and Summer had done way more than see each other naked. Under different circumstances, Jaune would probably even feel proud of himself. He was, after all, living out a fantasy.

He was having sex with his best friend's hot mom

Despite being close to forty, Summer combined youthful energy with a mature allure in a way that was undeniably sexy. The number of admirers she had among the teachers and students of Beacon was a testament to that. However, it was him, Jaune Arc, who got to live out what many others could only fantasize about.

Yes, under different circumstances, Jaune would count himself tremendously lucky.

Unfortunately, the circumstances that had led to their situation were anything but desirable.

It was one thing to look at Summer during the ceremonies. In those cases, it was a matter of necessity. They had to do the things they did. It was the only way. It was no different from putting out a fire before it grew too wild to control.

However, the ceremony was over.

There was no need to pretend anymore. Summer was free to what she wanted.

At least, until the next ceremony.

That was why Jaune couldn't allow himself to get ideas. Summer was just doing what she had to. He would not take advantage of her kindness.

No more than he already was.

"Mmm!" Summer moaned as she nuzzled her morning coffee. Jaune knew for a fact that it was boiling hot, yet Summer had no trouble guzzling it down. "Jaune?"

"Yes?"

"Marry me."

Jaune choked on air. A plate of bacon was barely saved from being shattered into a dozen pieces.

"W-What?"

He must have looked very foolish because the now more awake Summer giggled.

"Come on! It'd be fun! You get along with my daughters and know how I like my coffee. That's like half the challenge for single moms out there." Her smile turned impish. "I'm sure we can warm Yang and Ruby to the idea of calling you daddy. How about it?"

"I-No-That's—"

Summer's giggles turned into chuckles, then into guffaws.

"Oh, the look on your face!" Her fist banged against the table. Had her cup not being nearly empty, the coffee would have spilled all over.

Jaune's tomato red face started going back to normal before turning red once more when he realized he had let her tease him.

Summer could be a lot like Yang in that regard.

"Please, don't joke about that."

"Oh? Scared of ending up with an old maid like me?"

"Scared of Yang ever finding out."

Jaune considered himself to be a guy who could roll with the punches. The past few years of his life were strong evidence of that. However, even he had his limits.

Yang or Ruby ever finding out about him and Summer was that limit. He was sure of it.

"Aw, afraid of big, strong Yang?"

"Very."

"Please." Summer rolled her eyes. "While it's cute you can still be scared of my daughter after everything you've been through..."

That was cute?

"It's not as if my daughters are any threat to you." A fork with bacon on it was pointed at him as Summer spoke. "Can you imagine what would happen if they ever tried to hurt you? You'd just—"

"No!"

Jaune's chair clattered to the floor as he abruptly stood up.

"I won't! I wouldn't!" Anger and fear warred on his face. "I'd never…."

"Oh, Jaune." Summer's expression softened as she realized she'd gone too far in her teasing. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to imply something like that. Of course, you wouldn't hurt them. You'd never hurt anyone."

She rose from her seat. Her hand reached out to touch his cheek, but Jaune pulled away.

"I'm hurting you, aren't I?"

Jaune's words cut through the friendly atmosphere of the kitchen and tore it to pieces, leaving him and Summer standing in awkward silence.

"Ah." Summer pulled her hand back. "So that's what this is about."

Her silver eyes looked into his blue ones with empathy. Shame welled up within him, compelling him to look away, yet Jaune stood his ground.

"I am not wrong." His nails dug into his palms. "It's because of me that things are like this."

Jaune's finger alternated between him and Summer, leaving no doubt as to what he was talking about.

"If I was normal, there'd be no need for the ritual. You wouldn't need to be here once a week to… You'd be free to do whatever you wanted to."

If only things were different.

If only he hadn't been damned before ever been born

It had all started many generations ago, back when the first Arc had set foot in the New World. The exact circumstances of the event had been lost to time. All everyone knew was that his ancestor had called for help, and those calls had not gone unanswered. The first Arc had enjoyed wealth, health, and prosperity. He lived a long, happy life and died surrounded by friends and family.

Sometimes, Jaune hated him from the bottom of his heart.

The first Arc had died ignorant of the consequences of his actions. It had been latter Arcs who discovered the price they'd have to pay for their prosperity. They had found the truth, and the truth had horrified them. Some Arcs had buried their heads in the sand and lived their lives trying to ignore the truth. Others had done their best to prevent what would inevitably happen.

Bad things tended to happen to those Arcs.

In the end, no one had been able to stop it. Jaune Arc had been born, and by the mere act of doing so, he had put everyone and everything in danger.

That was why Summer Rose was so important.

Trying to keep himself under control through sheer force of will was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Life didn't work that way. Only the Silver Eyes could keep his true nature in check. Only through Summer did Jaune have a shot at something resembling normality, especially during times like these when the stars and planets were aligned in all the wrong ways, and the urges became stronger than ever.

However, for the Silver Eyes to bind his true nature, certain steps needed to be taken.

Some more intimate than others.

If Jaune wasn't what he was, Summer wouldn't feel forced to do this with him. She wouldn't have to hide the truth from her daughters. She wouldn't need to worry about people finding out she was sleeping with someone so much younger than her.

"Jaune," she said his name with sadness and eyes full of understanding. "I thought we talked about this."

Jaune frowned, absentmindedly grabbing hold of his arm.

"We did, but…"

But the urges kept getting stronger, which meant more rituals were needed. Every day, he had to lie to his friends and pretend he didn't know they were out there being hurt by things that wouldn't even be in this town if his ancestor hadn't been such a gigantic idiot!

"But you're stubborn." Summer sighed. She leaned against the table, the warm food forgotten. It occurred to Jaune that he had ruined breakfast.

"Hey," Summer spoke after a while, her gaze looking out the window. "Have you ever thought about what our lives would be like if things were normal?"

All the time.

"I do sometimes," Summer admitted. "If things were normal... I think my husband would still be alive."

Jaune flinched.

Taiyang Xiao Long. Another one in the long list of lives Beacon had claimed.

"Qrow wouldn't be like he is right now. I always thought he'd settle down eventually, you know? My kids would play with his kids, and I'd be cool Aunty Summer." Summer sighed, a melancholic look on her face. "I tried to set him up so many times, but he always chose the bottle."

Qrow Branwen. To most, he was just a rowdy drunk. Only few knew he was one of the best hunters around, though his skills had been dulled by years of alcoholism.

"Then there's Raven. If things were normal, we wouldn't have lost her. When I think about that, I also think that if we hadn't lost her, Tai and I wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have my Ruby."

Another sigh left her mouth. Her eyes focused on the empty coffee mug.

"Sometimes, I'll dream we're all together. Tai is alive, and Qrow is sober. Raven is there, but so are Yang and Ruby. It doesn't make sense, but I dream about it anyway. That's my happy place." Summer brought the cup to her lips, trying to get what few drops of coffee remained there before setting it back on the table.

"What about you?"

Jaune blinked.

"Me?"

"What do you imagine a normal world would look like? Your friends wouldn't be fighting eldritch horrors every other night. You'd all be doing regular teen stuff instead. Getting drunk. Driving without a license. Using fake IDs. Oh! And dating. A young guy like you needs to be out there dating. Have you ever thought about it?"

Many times.

"Maybe you'd be going out with the Nikos girl," Summer mused, a finger tapping her chin. "Or maybe you'd go for the Schnee girl? You did seem to like her quite a bit." A small smile appeared on her face. "Maybe even one of my daughters? Can you imagine that? Yang would show you off right away. Tai would try so hard to be intimidating, but he was never any good at that. Ruby... she would try to hide you, but she'd fail. Yang would catch you two within days."

He could almost see it.

"But that's not our life," Summer said, her smile now gone. "You are Jaune Arc, the last gate of the covenant, the golden arc through which none must pass… and I am Summer Rose, the last rose of summer, here to inhabit this bleak world alone."

Jaune hated the way she said it. Not because she reminded him of his role in the world, but rather because of the grim acceptance with which she spoke of hers.

"That's not…" Right. It wasn't right. "You're not alone."

"Aren't I?" Summer laughed humorlessly. "Jaune, my husband is dead. My best friend is gone, and the man I consider my brother numbs himself to reality. Meanwhile, my daughters are out there fighting in my stead."

She seemed to grow smaller as she spoke. Her black hair fell over her eyes.

"It all seemed so easy when I was young. Everything was so colorful, so vibrant. Now it's all faded, decayed, scentless and dead."

Sometimes, it was to forget, Jaune thought.

The woman who always had cookies ready for them when they were kids was someone who had experienced tremendous loss. She had gone through many harrowing experiences and had not come out of them unscathed. Her body may be whole, but that didn't mean she was fine.

How could anyone be fine after experiencing so much loss, so much loneliness?

The answer was simple. They couldn't.

Summer Rose was no different. She was the last rose of summer, her lovely companions all faded and gone.

"That's wrong," Jaune said, already moving closer to her. "You're not alone. Even if things are bad, you still have…"

"What? Tell me. What do I have?"

"You still have your daughters," Jaune tried, but Summer's snort told him that was the wrong thing to say.

"My daughters? The ones that can't ever know what a hot mess their mother is?"

"Then you have me!" Jaune snapped. He didn't want to see Summer like this.

"You?" Summer smiled sadly. Jaune could see something shimmer in her eyes. "Didn't you already say it? We're just together by circumstance."

It was true. He'd as good as said that. However...

"I'm still here," he said. "No matter why we're together if I can be there for you, I will."

"You promise?"

Jaune nodded with a resolute look on his face. He was tired of seeing people suffer, unable to do anything.

"I promise."

"Then why is it so hard to even consider I can also be there for you too? Why make yourself the bad guy over something you have no control over?"

Jaune stilled for a moment, then looked down to find Summer's silver eyes looking at him with a certain amount of self-satisfaction in them.

Oh.

He frowned.

"You tricked me."

Summer looked as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

"Nope! It was all true, and you can't trick anyone with the truth."

Jaune begged to differ.

"Jaune, we wouldn't be together if you weren't you, and I wasn't me." Summer's hand touched his cheek, and this time, he did not pull away. "That doesn't mean you get to hate yourself over it."

"But I—"

"Nope!" Summer said, her fingers on his lips. "Do you really think I find you so unpleasant that I hate doing this with you? I'll admit it was a little awkward the first few times, but I'm certainly not suffering in silence over oh so cruel fate of bedding a hunky blond. I'd have been a lot less enthusiastic last night if that were the case."

Jaune blushed. It was true that Summer had been more… active as of late, but he had chalked that up to the ritual. Once the chanting started and the ceremonial knife came out, things could get a little weird.

And that was before Summer's eyes started glowing.

That was when things got crazy.

"I thought I had made my stance on this clear, but I now see what Ruby and Yang meant about you being a little dense. It's fine. Raven was like that too." Summer removed her fingers from his lips and took a deep breath. "I'll make things as clear as possible then. You're easy on the eyes and pleasant to be around when you're not being mopey. You're also the person I'm closest to right now."

"What about Ruby and Yang?"

Summer laughed.

"They're my daughters, and I love them. But when I'm around them, I have to be super mom. That's how it has always been. I bake the best cookies and give the best monster-hunting advice." She smiled mirthlessly. "It's like I told you. They can't know what a hot mess their mom is."

Jaune was about to tell her that wasn't true, but she beat him to the punch.

"You do that too. Don't think I don't notice. You try so hard to be the supportive friend they can count on. It would be sweet if it wasn't so painful to watch."

"It's not painful," Jaune said a little too quickly. "It's just... the least I can for them. I don't mind it."

"I do," Summer told him as her hand found his. "You don't need to do that around me. You don't need to hold anything back. You don't need to beat yourself up for things you have no control over. When I'm with you, I'm just Summer. I want you to be just Jaune."

Just Jaune.

"I am not sure if I know how to do that."

"How about we start with this?"

Before Jaune could ask what she meant, he felt the feather-soft touch of her lips on his.

Summer pulled back before he could do anything. Compared to everything they had done, that kiss was almost chaste. Still, Jaune couldn't help the blush appeared on his face.

"You mean… you really don't mind…"

"Nope!" Summer then seemed to think a little and added, "Well, I don't enjoy the part where you have to drink my blood, but everything else is good."

Jaune swallowed.

"I am not sure what to do now."

"Lucky for you, I do. You see, the Summer Rose experience comes with a required amount of cuddling, and you, sir, have been skimping out on me." She poked his chest with mock seriousness. "From now, you don't get to leave me alone in bed."

"I won't," Jaune promised.

"Good" Summer wrapped her arms around him. "Now, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to start making up for all the cuddling you have skipped out on. Don't you think so?"

Her lips met his again, and this time, Jaune was ready. His mouth welcomed hers, their tongues dancing against each other as Summer pushed him into the chair, straddling him.

"I think… that's a great idea," Jaune said, between kisses.

"Of course, it is. I'm a sexy older woman. I have the best ideas."

Jaune believed her.

AN:

I think it was almost a month ago now when I was in the waiting room of the hospital and told myself, "You know what? I want to write a Summer/Jaune fic."

So I did. Took me a while, but I did. Summer/Jaune having some sort of relationship was an idea I toyed with while writing the first chapter of Arc Lane, so I figured I might as well put it in.

I kept going back and forth on whether I wanted Vale to be big or not. In the original Arc Lane, it's a big city. Here, I envisioned it more as a small town. I think it fits the vibe I'm going for better.

Also, some of Summer's lines are taken from The Last Rose of Summer. Her epitaph in the show is taken from there, so I figured I'd use it. I'm unsubtle like that. Unlike in the show, Summer's the one member of STRQ that's left (Qrow is there too, but not really). I wrote her personality thinking of her like that. Ruby-ish but not quite.

Overall, I'm not happy with how this turned out. I guess that's the weakness of doing the scenes without any of the build up associated with them. I'm just dropping you guys in the middle of their relationship without much context. Also, I felt really out of shape while writing this. Like, seriously rusty.

Anyway, announcements!

I'll be having surgery in February, and the doctor wants to keep me around for a while. I want to say I'm going back to the regular update schedule, but that's not looking likely. Right now, I have my hands full getting everything sorted out IRL. I want to try having a new chapter of Individual System out before the month is over, but I'm not promising anything.

Also, I'm thinking that the next chapter of The Jaune-Shots might be the last for a while. This has nothing to do with my health. I've been thinking about this for a while. I'm reaching the point where thinking about a new scenario to write about is becoming something of a chore, and I don't want that to happen. So after the next chapter, I'll be taking a break from this fic to recharge those creative juices.

Till next time!