Author's Notes: Don't forget to review and let me know your thoughts when you're done.

Yang sat down with a sigh, leaning back and enjoying the moment of calm. Her nap had been just what she needed to recharge her… whatever powered magic. Aura? Mental fortitude? Mana?

Ozpin hadn't said much on how it worked… he hadn't said anything actually, but from what she gathered it wasn't quite the same as physical effort or a semblance. It felt more… like it came from her core, if that made sense.

She groaned just thinking about it.

"Rough day?" Jaune's voice was filled with far too much delight and she simply glared at him in response. He chuckled, the bastard.

They had decided to meet out at one of the more secluded seating areas offered by Beacon. In truth it was nothing more than a couple tables with a few chairs but it had a nice view of the garden and was just isolated enough to give them some much needed alone time. It being later in the day certainly helped as well.

The sun hadn't quite set yet and was giving off just the right amount of warmth.

"You could say that." Yang sighed. "Training went… less than ideal."

"How so?"

"It's more difficult than I thought it would be to use." She avoided saying what on the off chance they weren't alone. All the talk of secret wars and conspiracy theories had her a fair bit paranoid. Jaune of course had no such paranoia.

"Oh, you mean the magical powers only a handful of women in all of history have had access to, a power people have apparently killed and waged wars for, is difficult to control? Who knew?" Jaune smirked.

"Drop the sarcasm, it totally doesn't fit you." She leaned forward to flick his nose. "But yes, who could have known. I was practically knocked out after only an hour of practice. I only just woke up from my nap."

"That explains the bed head." Yang glared at him and he rolled his eyes, smiling despite how she went for her best Miss Goodwitch impersonation. "You haven't had any other troubles though, right?"

Yang looked away. "You sound just like them."

"Your team?" He waited for her to nod before continuing. "They're just worried about you, you know?"

She huffed but didn't say anything, leaning further back in her chair and closing her eyes instead.

She didn't hate them for their concern, in fact she loved them all the more because of it. Despite the fact that she had gone behind their backs, despite the fact she hadn't talked with them at all about the most important decision of her life, they still cared.

She didn't know what she had expected. They were all good people by themselves, despite the baggage most of them had brought to Beacon, but together they were something more. They had forged a bond far stronger than she had expected in a far faster time frame than was probably normal.

Despite how cliché it was, they were family; and family had issues sometimes. It was a sign they cared enough to be worried for her safety. She thought she should have been offended that they didn't think she was strong enough but… oddly enough she didn't get that impression.

They were her family, one of them literally, and she couldn't hold anything against them. They had all the right in the world to be mad at her, and they were to a degree, but they hadn't let that become something worse. They weren't mad about her choice, they were mad that she hadn't trusted them.

It might have been better to say they were disappointed. Funny how that didn't make her feel any better.

Still, despite how much she loved them, the constant presence had gotten on her nerves in a way she wasn't used to. There had been one of them with her at all times since she woke up after the transfer. That wasn't strange in and of itself of course, they all shared a room after all, but something about it was just… different.

Blake had stayed behind to watch her while she slept off the exhaustion from training; and didn't that sound creepy thinking about it?

The moment alone with Jaune was greatly appreciated, but it had been difficult to get. In the end, he had been forced to promise to contact them immediately if anything went wrong.

She just wanted to be left alone for a moment, time to think on all th-

A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders from behind, snapping her from her thoughts and causing her to jump slightly.

"Relax," Jaune whispered. "You're too stressed." He began to move his hands in a way that could only be described as magical.

Yang leaned back into her chair closer to his fingertips, allowing him to better work the muscles there.

"Handsome, funny, kind, and now this?" Yang closed her eyes, sighing contentedly. "It's a miracle I'm not beating the girls off of you with a stick."

She heard Jaune scoff softly. "I did have seven sisters after all, I had to find some way to apologize for my stupidity... on more than one occasion."

"Well, I for one am grateful for such stupidity." She smiled. "It made you nearly perfect."

His hands stilled a moment before continuing. "I don't know about that, stupidity was rarely a desirable trait."

Yang leaned her head back looking up at Jaune's face. Her hair draped over his forearms. "I find you plenty desirable." She smirked as his face grew red.

"Y-yeah, well, you'd be the only one." He looked away but kept his hands working.

"I better be," her smirk fell away, adopting a more serious look. "If there are other girls you're involved with I would very much like to know."

Jaune looked back to her with horror in his eyes. "W-what?! Of course n-" He was interrupted by the sound of her laughter. "That's not funny."

She disagreed, the blush on his face was quite entertaining.

"Besides, you're the only girl for me." It was Yang's turn to blush, her laughter slowing dying. She lifted her head back up in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. Judging by the sound of his chuckle she hadn't managed it.

"That was super cheesy." She crossed her arms under her breasts, attempting to adopt a glare at nothing in particular. Thankfully, Jaune was behind her, meaning he couldn't see that it had come off more as a pout.

"That was the point." He ran a hand through her hair, fixing it back in place. "You like cheesy, don't deny it."

"Tch." Yang tutted, again feeling the heat build up on her face.

Jaune moved his hands away from her shoulders and walked back in front of her. She missed the feeling immediately, the gentle warmth and soothing motions had felt nice.

She turned her head away from him in an attempt to hide her still red face. He placed his hand gently under her chin, bringing it back to him.

His lips met hers only for a moment before pulling away. He smiled even as her cheeks took on a new, far darker, colour of red. He didn't say anything, simply pulling a chair closer in front of her and grabbing one of her hands.

She appreciated the subtle support, squeezing his hand back as a sad smile came over her face.

"I-I'm really sorry Jaune." Her voice shook slightly and she felt his hand squeeze hers once more.

"You don't ha-"

"Dont." She cut him off with the single word, ducking her head in shame. "Don't say that I don't have anything to be sorry for. Don't pretend that I didn't do something wrong. I-" Her voice cracked, she coughed slightly to compensate. "I should have talked to you, I should have told you before I made my choice. I'm so sorry."

There was only silence between them for a moment, Yang unable to force herself to look up for fear of what she might see. He had every right to be just as angry as her team and yet he hadn't shown a single bit of that.

"I forgive you."

"J-just like that?! You're not even mad that I-" Yang looked up to see the beginnings of tears in his eyes. She froze, unsure of what to do. Thankfully Jaune took the moment to speak.

"I was never mad." He smiled all the brighter, a stark contrast to the sadness behind his eyes. "I was sad that you felt you had to do it alone. I would have been there for you, your friends would have been there for you."

"Jaune I'm-"

"But I don't care." He shook his head. "You're here now and the worse didn't happen. I refuse to be mad at you because I would have made the same choice in your place, I just wish you had told me so I could have been there if the worst…"

"I'm so sorry." She apologized again, gripping his hand tight enough to flare aura. "Jaune I l-"

Somebody grabbed the chair from their table, pulling it back before sitting down. Yang took a second to gather herself and turned, prepared to tell the person off.

Her words died in her throat.

"U-uncle Qrow!?" She practically shouted. She wasn't sure who she had been expecting but this certainly wasn't it.

"Firecracker, how's it going?" Yang sputtered, her brain unable to form a response to the sudden appearance of her Uncle. He turned to look at Jaune, eye's narrowing slightly. "Who's this?"

Oh, oh no.

This was the moment she had been dreading ever since Jaune and she had started dating. This was the infamous 'boyfriend meets overprotective uncle' scene playing out before her eyes.

She had hoped to introduce him to her dad first, since Jaune would have been able to make a good impression on the more gentle, and most important, mild tempered man.

Instead, it seemed Qrow was going to have the first crack. She almost told Jaune to run, thankfully, or regrettably, he had already reached out a hand to shake the older hunters.

"Jaune Arc, I'm a friend of Yang's."

Qrow took the Jaune's hand, shaking it for a moment but not letting go after. "Just friends?" His voice was clipped, and judging by Jaune's expression he had caught it to.

Yang swallowed before speaking up. "N-no, he's more than that. He's…" her voice fell to a whisper and her face once again started to heat up. "My boyfriend."

Silence. Perfect silence. Not a single sound from all of Beacon. How was that even possible?

"W-we've been dating for a couple weeks now."

It was then that Yang realized Qrow still hadn't let go of Jaune's hand. In fact, his grip appeared to be far tighter than before.

Jaune winced and for a second she thought she saw aura flair before Qrow finally released his hand.

"What about that. Yang hasn't mentioned you... at all." Qrow kept his eyes locked on Jaune, even as the younger man turned to look at her. She laughed nervously, bringing a hand to the back of her head.

"Is he the reason you got the hair cut?"

"Y-yeah, well it wasn't his fault but he was… involved… sorta." Yang rambled.

Qrow finally broke his eyes away to look at her. "We need to talk. Alone."

Jaune looked at her and, once she nodded, stood up. "I'm gonna go grab something to drink. I'll be back in a couple minutes." He didn't look like he wanted to leave but slowly he stepped away.

Qrow never looked away from her. "Really? Him?" Yang made to speak but he cut her off. "Forget it, I don't have time to hear it. Ozpin will know I'm here before too long."

Yang was confused but stayed silent. Qrow always had an air of comfortability about him. A mix of familiarity and a joking nature. Today though… there was something different. His face was rigid, jaw clenched and he seemed more agitated.

Was it because of Jaune? But, if it were, why mention Ozpin?

Wait… he'd been the one to save Amber, that meant he-

"I know all about what he did to you."

Yang froze, looking away. "I don't know wh-"

"The Maidens Yang, I know everything." He paused a moment to let it sink in. "I worked with Ozpin to fight the people after it." He rose from his chair. "We need to find Ruby and leave."

"L-leave?" It was an automatic response that had her standing. "What are yo-"

"Ozpin is gonna use you, put you in danger and get you killed! Just like-" He growled and looked away. "There's a place we can go that Ozpin can't find, and even if he does the people there will protect you."

"Qrow I ca-"

"It's your mother's tribe." Yang fell silent. "I managed to get in contact with her after I found out what that bastard was planning. She agreed to offer you a place to lay low."

"My… Raven?"

"You'll be safe there, from whoever is after the powers. She has experience staying hidden from Ozpin and she isn't a pushover. She'll keep you safe. She agreed to let Ruby stay as well, though I dou-" Qrow was cut off by a slap.

"You knew where she was!?" Yang cried. "All this time!?"

"No, Yang, I didn't. I just managed to get a message to-" She tried to slap him again but he ducked back.

"You knew?!" She felt her eyes snap red as she reached out to punch him. Again, he dodged back.

"Yang! We don't have time for this!" Qrow yelled. "We need t-"

"I won't leave!" Qrow brought his arms up to block her next punch, being pushed back several feet from the force of it. "I won't run like she did! I wont leave my team like she did!"

"You'll die if you stay!" Qrow spoke but Yang didn't hear him.

"I wont leave my family like she did!" It took monumental effort for her to not punch Qrow again, to reign in her anger. Her eyes flicked back to lilac. "I won't abandon them."

"Yang, you don't understand."

"Leave." She whispered.

"What she did was wrong, yes, but you need to look at the bi-"

"Leave!" Her eyes burned as she swiped her hand in front of her. Qrow was propelled backwards by a sudden gale of wind. "Get out of here!"

He landed hard but managed to roll into a low kneel. He looked back up to her before cursing under his breath and turning away from her.

A moment later he was gone.

"Argh!" She felt the burning in her eyes slowly fade as she fell to her knees. Anger turning into something else.

She wasn't sure exactly how long it took but she eventually heard footsteps approach her. She looked up to see a very surprised Jaune kneeling down before her. She pulled him down into a hug.

He didn't comment on how her tears spilled over onto his shirt.

A bird cawed from a nearby tree., breaking the eerie silence of the world around them.

Authors Note: I started this chapter with a very clear idea in mind of how I wanted it to end… and then I remembered something that I completely forgot to take care of and promptly threw myself through a wall... I had to basically restructure the chapter and how I wanted it to go, hence why the ending section might feel a bit… off.

Apologise but it had to be done. Hopefully, this will allow for the next couple chapters to be better… hopefully.

It would be fair to say I'm less than pleased with this chapter and will be striving for better in the future.

In other news, I've started drafting the idea for my next story. It'll be an interesting one for sure but a little ways out yet. I'll also have two new editors to help with it so we should be able to avoid some of the issues that have persisted in this one.

GeneralMayhem is a great editor, and a really good friend of mine, but he can't do everything himself. These two new guys also happen to be friends of mine but they have very different perspectives on how to go about storytelling. Which will actually be really helpful.

I'll give more details about the new story the closer to the end we get but it's shaping up to be interesting, if a lot different than this one.

I hope you all enjoyed and as always I encourage you to review and let me know your thoughts.

Sincerely SE