Dancing Under the Broken Sun

The title is a play on the shattered moon in the series canon, i.e. reversals. And the idea was to play the flipside of anything that seemed interesting. I've about three other versions of this but this one came up when I was thinking of genderbending the Arcs. All of the Arc sisters I'd made had a level of sass and snark and when I genderbent them, all of that slid into Jaune (now Joan) instead! And I ended up really liking the idea of a flirtatious girl-Jaune giving even our boy-Yang a run for his money.

It was purpose built for tumblr so the format for this one, even if I decide to continue it, will stay this way.

Yin is working on his car. Oil drips coldly onto his cheek.

Y: "Fuckin'…"

A loud thud slams onto his workbench.

Y: "Whoa! Scar-!" He slides out, looking up at the dark skirt beneath a cheeky blonde. "Fuck! Joan!"

He pulls up and out and keeps his eyes shut.

J: "Relax, big guy." She lifts one side of her skirt. "I've got spats. I don't take any chances."

Y: "Well as much as I like seeing pretty face, it's getting late. Shouldn't you be heading home?"

J: "Aren't you sweet, but don't worry about me. I've got a ride coming." She's doing something on his workbench with her canvas sling bag. Joan was never really one for purses.

J: "Here." She's on him in a breath, a tissue drenched in alcohol wiping the oil off his cheek.

Y: Swallows.

J: "Too close?" Inches in. "I could get closer."

Y: Breathes. Rolls his eyes playfully. "Thanks, princess, but I was plannin' on a shower anyway. Let's not dirty those delicate little hands of yours."

J: She pouts, pulling her hands back to her chest. Her hands have calluses, just like his, and he knows she's conscious of them.

Y: "What are you doing down here anyway? Got lonely in the living room?"

J: "Just got finished tutoring Scarlet. He's a shoe-in for Beacon High if he keeps this up. You should be proud. Might not even need me to come over anymore."

Y: "I don't think he'd like that very much. And, FYI, I'm plenty proud but that's no secret. 'Sides, looks like someone's dodging a question."

J: "I just got bored, Firecracker. Don't read into it."

Y: "C'mon. I know that look. You've got something to say so just say it."

J: She says nothing and slips onto his armless swivel chair. Her scroll pings. She puts on some glasses he doesn't remember her having before. She types.

Y: He manually pops the hood off his car with a wooden stick. The support struts were missing when he bought it.

J: "I need a date."

Y: In a panic, he slams his head onto the propped-up hood. "Ow! Fuck… What?"

J: Giggles. "You alright?"

Y: Waves her off.

J: "With a potty mouth like that, I'm surprised Scarlet's as pure as he is."

Y: "You were talking about a date…?"

J: She isn't smiling anymore. "There's a party down in Vale this week. And I'm not going stag."

Y: "This have to do with your shadow? Doesn't have the guts to ask you out yet?"

J: "You talking about Achilles? Please, boy's too soft. If anything, I'm his shadow."

Y: "Cause of Saffron?" Her other shadow.

J: "Maybe. Or Ace just isn't into me."

Y: Chuckles. "Sure. But it's not like he's your only option."

J: "Same answer: Saffron."

Y: "It's the twenty-first century, honey. Why don't you try asking someone out instead?"

J: "Either you're not getting the hint or I'm not making myself more obvious."

Y: "Right. And I'm supposed to be putting myself between you, Saf, and your six other brothers? Doesn't matter that half of the them are adorable little runts. They're all boys with white knuckles and a contact sport each."

J: Sighs. "Hence my social suicide."

Y: "Since when do you care about what any of the rest of them think?"

J: "I don't, but I've never been on a date. Ace chokes on his lunch any time I even suggest being alone, Scarlet's like a baby brother, White still hasn't forgiven me for freshman year so I'm not even gonna go there, and Blake's… Blake." She fixes him with a serious look, half lidded and striking. "So, I either get the stoic bad boy with a bar fight on his belt to take me or I ask a gutsy stranger on campus."

Y: He doesn't like the idea of her asking out someone outside of their circle but if Ace was going to sit out, this might jolt him into action. They'd already tried urging him on so this might work. "No strings attached?"

J: "At least one. You're already taking me on my first date. Even as a friend, that makes you special." She smirked. "Plus, I haven't had a first kiss yet."

Y: "And if I refuse?"

J: She laughs. "I'm not forcing a kiss on you. I'm just confident I can bring you around." Winks.

Y: Gulps.

J: Her scroll pings again. "It's Saff. Almost here. Could you open the garage door for me?"

Y: He grabs the remote off the wall. The garage door loudly slides open.

J: "Am I taking your stunned silence as a yes? Or am I gonna have to get a date somewhere else?" Her hip is tilted, angling in a way so she can look up at him behind her glasses (they're the same height). He is also fairly certain she's puffing her chest out deliberately.

Y: Scratches the back of his head. "Y'know what? Why not. But we keep it casual."

J: "I won't do anything you won't want me to."

Y: He laughs. "Okay, okay, you're doing this on purpose."

J: She relaxes. "Sorry. When a girl has to scream her confession to a pretty pale prince in the middle of campus just to get through to him, you can't blame her for having to lay it on thick." She stops giving him bedroom eyes and moves loosely. This is more like the girl he knows.

Y: "White's dense. Naut's still trying to get him to notice her."

J: "Bless her. She'll need a billboard."

They laugh.

Saffron's car comes up from the long road ahead.

Y: "Hey, since when did you need glasses?"

J: Takes them off. "Oh, these? Blake said you'd be into them." She bites it. "Are they working?"

Y: Blush.

J: She puts them on him instead. Looks him up and down with a bit lip. "They look good on you. Maybe I'm into them too."

J: She jogs off and hops into her brother's car.

Saffron waves at him.

Y: He flinches but recovers and waves back. He has to keep telling himself that the Arc brothers don't suspect him of anything yet.

Y: The garage door shuts behind him. He takes off the glasses. "What have I gotten myself into?" He's still blushing. "Damn it, Blake. Whose side are you on?"

…

J: Slides into the passenger seat and tosses her bag into the back.

S: Pulls the car into the road. "So did you do it?"

J: She exhales sharply and buries her face in her hands. "Yes! Oh my god, my heart is racing. I was so fucking scared."

S: "Language." He hasn't stopped smiling for her, his cheeks seem stuck.

J: "Sorry. Anyway, he said yes. Can you believe it?"

S: "Never a doubt in the world. My baby sister gets everything she wants."

J: "Stoooop! You boys spoil me way too much."

S: "Just calling it how it is. Oh! By the way, Parm was asking after his prop glasses. They've got dress rehearsal tomorrow."

J: "Oh, I've got them right… here…" Her eyes widen. "I left them behind…"

S: Chuckles. "Y'know, if you wanted to keep seeing him, I could have taken the long way around the neighborhood ."

J: She won't look up from her hands. "Just drive please. I'll grab them in the morning."