Shattered Dream, Broken Soul
Ren, Nora and Pyrrha were sitting in the cafeteria, having already grabbed their respective dinners and waiting on the arrival for their new leader and probably his girlfriend. When Pyrrha arrived she had told the other two about Blake overhearing their conversation from earlier and that they may be a bit late. But as more and more time went on, the more confused they were becoming. Pyrrha turned to the entrance as another group of students walked in, "I wonder where they are? They can't still be talking, can they?"
"Maybe they are getting cozy." Nora said mischievously with a smirk. Although the fact her mouth was full of food and her cheeks puffed out took a bit away from the gesture.
The insinuation caused Pyrrha to blush as she realized what the ginger was talking about. Ren on the other hand just turned to his partner, "Nora, your mouth is full."
She nodded her head before finishing her food and swallowing, "Sorry, Ren." She said cheerfully.
He just nodded to her, "Anyways, they could just be spending some time together alone. They've only been together for a week or so and are probably just getting to know each other better." He said calmly as he took a sip of his drink. "They'll probably be here soon."
It was only a few minutes later that the aforementioned couple walked in but they were all thoroughly shocked when they saw the third person of their group: Yang. It wasn't hard to tell that Jaune wasn't the biggest fan of the blonde brawler of their sister team, so they had asked him about it a while ago. He didn't go into detail about her but he did say that the two had a history and they could fill in the blanks somewhat with that.
Since his fight with her, the two have avoided each other openly. So seeing the two of them now walking in together was a mile past normal. They did have Blake in between them, holding onto Jaune's hand, but the three of them seemed to be talking civilly with each other with Blake adding something here and there.
At that moment, Jaune looked over and saw them. He smiled and raised his brace hand; the one Blake wasn't holding to wave at them. His team replied with their own waves, at different levels of enthusiasm depending on who it was, and saw the trio move to get their own dinners. "Well…" Nora started, still trying to get a grasp on all that she was seeing, "That was the last thing I was expecting to see today."
Pyrrha nodded but was still looking towards her partner, "I agree." She then turned back to them, "But maybe this isn't exactly a bad thing."
"One way to find out." Nora added before stuffing more food in her mouth. Ren just nodded alongside her partner.
Eventually, the trio came over to their table. Jaune sat beside his partner and Blake was at his other side and at the end of the table. Yang took the seat opposite of her partner and turned to the other three, "Hey, guys. How's it going?" she asked happily.
"Hey, Yang!" Nora said happily. "How was your day?"
She shrugged as she took a bite of her steak, "Usual. Classes were the same and I don't even wanna think about my homework until Sunday. You?"
"Same." She said through another mouthful. Ren just gave her a look and she swallowed her food before continuing. "Sorry. But yeah. Same as you. Except!" she said with a new level of excitement. "Our team is now official! You are now looking at Team JNPR! And our new Fearless Leader, Jaune!" Nora had a megawatt grin as she extended both her arms towards the blonde, like she was revealing a grand marvel.
Yang just looked over to the blonde man just as he stuck a bite of his own steak into his mouth. He just looked up at her, "You're the leader?" she asked.
He nodded and waited to answer when his mouth was empty, "Apparently." He said with a grin.
"Huh." She said before cutting into her steak again, "No offense but I thought Pyrrha or Ren would be leader."
Jaune pointed his fork towards her, "That's what I said!"
Not expecting that reaction, Yang just stared at him before she started to laugh like crazy. Realizing what he just did, Jaune lowered his arm and looked to the side sheepishly. But that made him look directly at Blake, who was giving him a small but honest smile, "I think you'll be a fine leader, Jaune." she then kissed him on the cheek. Causing him to blush and getting a series of chuckles from his team.
Yang just watched this , it being one of the first times she has seen how her partner acts in a relationship. That made a genuine smile come to her face. It wasn't hard to see how happy she was being with Jaune. "Wow." She started. "You two are cute together. Anyone ever tell you that?"
Jaune just grinned while Blake gained a slight blush to her cheeks, not expecting the compliment. "That is also new." She added seeing the blush. She then turned to Jaune, "You are definitely making her come out of her shell." She took another bite of her steak, "I'm all for her not being so introverted." She teased.
Blake gave her partner a heatless glare as her blush got just a bit darker, "I am not an introvert."
Yang shrugged, "Antisocial then." She added with a grin.
Her eyes narrowed slightly but didn't do anything before Jaune's arm wrapped around her shoulder in a side hug. "Don't worry, I like you just the way you are, Blake." He then gave her a kiss to the side of her head. She just grinned, blush still on her cheeks, and leant into the hug just a bit more.
Around that time, the last two members of team RWBY walked into the cafeteria. The two looked around before seeing Yang sitting with their sister team and both froze at that image. Yang just waved them over and they snapped out of it. They both nodded and headed over to grab their own meals before taking their seats on her side of the table. Ruby next to her sister while Weiss took the seat on the other side of her leader. "Hey, guys!" Ruby said cheerfully as she sat down.
"Hey, Ruby." Jaune said with a smile at the reaper. "Were you two off somewhere together?" He asked looking between her and Weiss.
She nodded, "I had some ideas for some awesome comb moves between us! So we went down to the training rooms to practice them. You should've seen us! We were awesome!"
Weiss nodded slightly, "I was a bit skeptical at first but Ruby had some ingenious ideas and once we get a few… kinks worked out, they will be worthwhile tools to have at our disposal."
"Good to hear." He said with a grin before he gained a thoughtful expression. "That's actually a good idea." He turned to face the rest of his team, "What do you all say? Wanna head down to the training rooms this weekend to work on our teamwork?"
"Absolutely!" Nora shouted as she threw her arms into the air. "We're going to kick so much butt with our badass combos!"
Ren nodded, "It would be wise to get to learn some actual team synergy for combat situations."
Pyrrha just grinned, "I couldn't think of a better way to christen our new team, partner."
Jaune smiled back, "It's settled then. If not tomorrow than Sunday." They all nodded and looked excited at the prospect in their own ways.
"Wait." Weiss spoke up and the new team turned to the confused Heiress. "What do you mean by that? I thought you were only an interim member to their team?"
He nodded, "I was until Ozpin called us to his office earlier." He then grinned at her and Ruby. "We've been made official and I have been made the new leader."
The two were shocked until Ruby gave an excited yell. She then used her Semblance to race around the table and slam into his back. The air was forced from him as she hugged him from behind as tightly as she could. "Congratulations! Now as a fellow leader, we can discuss tactics and strategies and we can do all of our extra assignments together."
He sighed at the mention of the extra assignments but smiled at how happy Ruby was for him. Blake smiled similarly but turned to look at her leader after a few seconds, "Ruby, you do realize your hugging my boyfriend, right?"
The young reaper froze before quickly getting off his back. She started to scratch the back of her head sheepishly, "Sorry, Blake."
"It's fine." She waved off. "I know you were just excited."
"Geez, Blake." Yang spoke up after taking a sip from her drink. "Territorial much?" The cat Faunus just kept eye contact with her partner before she scooted just a bit closer to him. That made Yang chuckle, "Fair enough."
"Regardless, I have no doubt that you will excel in your new role." Weiss told him, trying to sound as proper and professional as she could. "You did come up with several ideas to fight each of us. And even after coming here, you have kept improving."
"Well thanks for the vote of confidence, Weiss." He thanked her. He watched as Ruby walked back around to take her seat again. He grinned, "I hope to be as great a leader as I can be. Maybe just like your own."
Ruby seemed to glow at the compliment while her partner just gave him a deadpanned expression, "I would advise against that. You already have Nora; your team doesn't need another one."
"What does that mean?!" Ruby and Nora shouted at Weiss incredulously. She just looked at the two with a half grin in response.
Yang just looked into her drink, "Did someone put something in this? I swear I just heard Weiss tell a joke."
"Hey!" said heiress responded in indignation. "What are you insinuating, exactly?"
"She does have a point." Nora spoke up with a grin. "You really don't joke around much. You're always so serious."
"Well excuse me." She huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Getting flashbacks to his sisters teasing each other and how bad those could get, Jaune's brotherly instincts kicked back in. He turned to look down the table, "Nora." He said loud enough for her to hear him. She turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Don't tease her too much, okay?"
She just looked at him, surprised by what he said, but saw the intent behind it and nodded. "Alright, Fearless Leader." She then turned to Weiss with an awkward smile, "Sorry, Weiss. I was only teasing."
Weiss just stared. Not expecting the apology or Jaune saying anything. "It's alright, Nora." She then turned to Jaune, "You didn't need to do that. I am tougher than I look."
He shrugged, "Maybe. But it's reflex for me to step in if I can." He raised his cup to take a sip of his own drink. "Having seven sisters and all is great conditioning."
That got him a lot of reactions he wasn't expecting from Team RWBY. Weiss accidentally inhaled whatever she was drinking, causing her to cough uncontrollably. Ruby just stared wide eyed as she dropped her silverware onto her plate, making a racket. Yang just stared at him while keeping her fork in her mouth, just frozen completely. Blake, on his left, just turned to stare at him, looking like a mix of shock and neutrality. "What?" he asked them all.
"You have seven sister?" his girlfriend asked.
"Yes." He answered, still unsure.
She was silent for a bit, "Why didn't you tell me that?"
He opened his mouth to answer but stopped when he didn't have a reason. "I guess it never came up before." She just raised an eyebrow at him. "What? We haven't talked much about our families. I guess I would have brought it up when we started to discuss that."
She just held his gaze before she finally relented, "I guess you have a point. It's still just shocking to hear."
"I'll say." Ruby said after getting over what she just heard. "Seven sisters. I don't know how you survived that. I only have Yang and that is more than enough."
The aforementioned sister turned to her younger, "And what exactly does that mean, my adorable little sister." There was a distinct edge to her voice when she said that.
Ruby looked like she was trying to figure out what she should say, "Yang, I love you but you can just be a handful. For everyone."
Yang gained an expression between offended and just attacked. Jaune snorted and that gained him everyone's attention, "I think that is most older siblings. Honestly, my oldest sister, Saphron, can be summed up just the same."
Blake looked at him, "You're sure it isn't just a blonde thing?"
He shrugged with a grin, "Possibly. I do have my moments."
That caused most of the table to have a good laugh. And from the outside, it just looked like eight up and coming hunters and friends just having a normal day. Different compared to how it was even earlier that day. But it was a welcomed change to all of them.
It was Saturday afternoon and Jaune was currently in his team's shower. He sighed happily as the hot water washed away the dirt and sweat he had gotten from the workout he had with his team. They had all gone down to the sparring rooms around mid-morning to start on trying to figure out some combo moves and get used to each other's fighting styles. That way they would me more effective in battle going forward.
They spent the first hour or so with Jaune watching each of his teammates fight against some of the training bots so he could get a grasp on how they fought. Nora's focused on brute strength and explosives, which wasn't much of a shock after getting to know her. Ren's was a flurry or blades and bullets, and as some would refer to it as run-and-gun. But there was precision along with it. Pyrrha's was just amazing, a perfect blend of skill and experience. Like a mix between a dancer and warrior. But that made sense coming from a four time champion.
He grinned when they were done, 'My team is nothing short of amazing.' He thought to himself. 'I won't be the thing to hold them back.'
After that, they paired up with Jaune to start building some sort of plan for if they needed to work together. He found out that with Nora it was best to allow her to have free reign and support her with his lefthanded fighting style. Let her deal with the bulk of their enemies while he took care of stragglers or those that would try and take advantage of when she was focused on what was in front of her. But ready to reel her in if she got too out of hand.
With Ren, it was better to use his righthanded style to draw focus from his ninja-like teammate. To shield him from attacks he shouldn't have to deal with and take down troublesome opponents as quickly as possible. That would free Ren up enough to find those key moments to fully capitalize on with his fighting style. Or he could distract their enemy so his leader could deal a devastating attack.
He didn't miss the fact that he was just taking the place of the other's partner when they teamed up. But that wasn't a big deal for any of them. It just meant that they would have less to worry about if those situations came up. And less could go wrong.
But Pyrrha was different. She had a very flexible style so that allowed him to use either of his styles with her. Or swap between them relatively often when needed. And as they were fighting together, he noticed that unlike with Nora or Ren, they didn't have a set role for support or tank. They actually swapped relatively often. Possibly because they both used a shield and sword in combat. But he did prefer to just let Pyrrha take the lead. She did have a bit more experience compared to him and it would free him up to come up with a plan.
When that was all done, they all sat down and started to toss around ideas for combo moves. Nora was the most excited about that and would throw out any and all ideas that came to her. Some of them were good while others were just in line with her usual brand of crazy. The three of her managed to dissuade her from them without much difficulty, thankfully.
An hour or so later, they had a couple dozen ideas for possible combos. As they were looking through them, they all decided to look over them again in a day or two with a clear mind and try to trim the ideas down some and then figure out a training regimen on how to work on them.
With that said and done, the team split up before agreeing to meet up a bit later in the library to work on their homework assignments. Nora went down to the cafeteria to get some food. She had worked up a large appetite after all the of sparring they had gone through. Ren quickly went after her to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. Pyrrha went out for a light jog as a cooldown before she was going to take a shower in the locker room. Then she would also go grab her own lunch.
Jaune decided to just head back to the dorm for his own shower. He had little problem showering in the locker room but not many people knew about his brace. Only the professors, his team and Blake knew about it in detail. Even Yang had no idea, she probably thought it was a prosthetic. And as much as he made peace with it, him explaining it to someone who saw him putting it on was the last thing he wanted to do at the present time.
With one final sigh, he reached down and shut off the water. He then dried himself off before getting dressed once again. He looked around for the compression sleeve he usually wore under his brace but he didn't see it anywhere. After looking for it for a minute or so, he smacked himself on the forehead, "Left it on my desk with my brace." He sighed to himself, "I mustn't have had enough coffee this morning."
He hung up his towel to dry before he went to the door. He opened it to what he thought would be his empty dorm room. He was wrong because sitting on his bed was none other than Blake with a book in her hands. He just stared at her as she looked up from her book to him. She smiled that small smile of hers, "Hey."
He shook his head slightly before he smiled back, "Hi. Sorry I wasn't expecting you to be here." He thought for a second, "How did you get in here? The door's usually locked."
She grinned as she closed her book and place it down on the bed, "I ran into Pyrrha as she was jogging. She told me that you came back here and I wanted to surprise you. She gave me a temporary key to open the door."
He chuckled, "That makes sense and you certainly surprised me." He then became painfully aware that he was not wearing his brace or even his compression sleeve. Subconsciously, his left hand reached over to gently grasp his right wrist. Like he was trying to hide or protect his arm.
Blake noticed this and her eyes looked down at it before looking back up to make eye contact once again. He cleared his throat nervously, "Uh… Just give me a second." He turned to his desk and started to reach for his sleeve.
Blake's next words stopped him, "Can I see?"
His hand was half extended towards his sleeve when he stopped. He just stared at it for a second before he managed to find his voice again, "I'm sorry but what did you ask me, Blake?" He asked without turning to her.
"Can I see your hand?" she asked again. He still didn't turn to her, just processing what she had asked. "If you're not comfortable with me seeing it yet, that's okay. I don't want to push you into anything." She told him genuinely with a caring tone.
He stood there for a few seconds, just processing before he made a decision. He took a deep, shaky breath before he exhaled, trying to calm himself. He then turned to her with a just as shaky smile, "Sure."
He walked over to her before sitting down on her left. He then slowly held his hand out to her. She in turn gently took it in her own hand. She looked down at it and the first thing she saw was that his knuckles and fingers were all uneven. She could see small scars over his hand and even his forearm. Probably from when the doctors had to reset the bones and possibly remove any fragments that may have broken off. She then wondered if any more of those scars were on his upper arm. And as she gently held his hand, she could feel the slight tremors going throughout it. Even though he wasn't doing anything.
She hummed to herself before she gently brought her other hand to lay on his own. She then ran her fingers over the back of it with a feather light touch. Jaune involuntarily flinched at her touch, having no one touch it besides himself since his surgery. But after a few seconds of her gently ministrations, he relaxed and even started to enjoy her touch, "I knew it was a lot but I still wasn't expecting it." She said quietly.
He shrugged, "I've grown use to it. Although, you are the only one to have touched my arm since the doctors."
He hand came to a stop but she didn't pull it away, "Really?" He just hummed in confirmation. She was silent for a bit, "If that's the case…" she trailed off and gently placed his hand on her leg. Her hands then went up to her head and with a shaky grip, undid her bow. She pulled the ribbon away and gently placed it on his bed, next to her book. But Jaune didn't notice that. He was more focused on the pair of black ears on her head that seemed to twitch now that they were free. "Then this should make us even."
That made him pull his eyes from her ears to look her in her eyes. Or he would if she weren't looking down and to the side. Her hands seemed to be playing with one another as she spoke up nervously, "So, what do you think?"
He just had a small smile, "I stick to what I said the first time I saw them, they are adorable." She slowly looked up to meet his eyes, "And they are a part of what makes you, you."
She just gave him a relieved smile. "Thank you…"
"Would you mind…?" he started to ask but was unsure if he was crossing some sort of line.
She knew what he was getting at and after several long seconds, she tilted her head slightly toward shim. "Okay. But be gentle… They are sensitive…"
He just nodded and extended his left hand slowly to her head. The tips of his index and middle finger gently met the back of her left ear before he slowly traced towards the top of them. When he reached the very tip, he went just as slow and gently back down. As he did this, he notice her shiver a bit at his touch. And he couldn't help but say, "They are so soft."
Blake blushed a deep red with that, "Th-thanks…" she spoke up bashfully. "Y-you're the first person to touch them besides my parents."
He stopped and looked down at her in shock. She had a bashful smile on her lips which he returned. "Then I thank you for this chance." He said quietly.
Her left hand gently grabbed his shirt and she pulled on it gently. Getting her hint, he leant forward and the two met in a loving kiss. They pulled apart but just stared into the other's eyes, seeing a glimmer in each, they came together for another. His left hand lowered to cup he cheek as his right just came around to lay on her waist. Her own hands moved similarly to settle onto his shoulder and around his lower back.
They kept separating before coming back together for yet another kiss. Each one getting just a bit longer than the last. During this, Jaune just had a single thought, 'I don't think my team will mind if I'm a few minutes late.'
It actually turned out to be much longer than a few minutes. It wasn't until an hour after they were supposed to meet up that his team grew worried for their leader. He wasn't answering their messages or calls on top of that. So they went back to the dorm to see if he was there. He was but they weren't expecting what they saw.
Jaune and Blake were both leant against his headboard. Jaune was missing his brace and Blake's bow was gone, her ears still out in the open. And both were fast asleep. Blake had her head tucked under Jaune's chin and her hand gently holding his broken one. His other arm was around her back, drawing her a bit closer as her own left arm went over his stomach. But the sweetest part were the matching happy and content smiles on their lips.
The rest of JNPR just smiled before quietly leaving the room. They thought their leader could use an afternoon nap with his girlfriend for a bit longer. They could always do their assignments later.
A/N- Here it is! Kept getting distracted while writing this one but finally got it done. A bit of a slice of life/fluff chapter but I felt it would be a nice reprieve before I jump into the next plot point. Plus, it is a necessary step in closing the chasm between Yang and Jaune while tackling the new couples lingering insecurities.
And for those of you who don't know, I have a poll on my profile to see what story I will be writing next. It will probably be up for another week or two before I close it and start the first chapter to it. So, feel free to head over and cast your vote.
With that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all in the next update!