"What makes you think you can just barge in like this, Blake?" Yang asked. She retained a calm expression, but her eyes suggested she was mustering every bit of herself to refrain from lashing out on her ex-partner. "It's been, what? Seventeen years now? Not once did you call or even give me anything to indicate you weren't just dead in a ditch somewhere."
Jaune winced when he felt the weight behind that. He could only imagine how it'd be for Blake to face her parents if Yang was this upset. It really was for the best; getting over Blake and focusing on raising Vanessa with Reverie and Yang among others.
"Y-Yang..." Blake whispered. She was trembling. "I-"
"No, there's no need for excuses. I simply believe I rightfully deserve a few answers regarding your whereabouts for one. I understand not telling us you were going to transfer from Beacon, it's a classic Blake move to just run away and not properly say goodbye. But having the common decency to let us know you were doing alright for yourself? Now that's a new low."
"What choice did I have, Yang!?" Blake cried. "Nothing was the same after Vanessa was born. Weiss couldn't bear to look at me, Ruby was torn about supporting me or allowing everyone else to stand against me, and you... Hell, I didn't see you anywhere. You only showed up for class-"
"That's because I spent every free second I had with Jaune before you left. Someone needed to look after his daughter as he tried to train for his new career. One he was quite miserable with for a few years."
"To be fair, I grew to love it." Jaune interjected. "Meeting Reverie and advancing myself in this career made me who I am now."
"And you only had to give up your dream, endure fatherhood at a young age, and adjust to a whole new life in order to accomplish that."
Jaune bit his lip again. He got the message.
"So Blake, please," Yang did a grand gesture, opening her arms as if to invite Blake in for a hug. "Enlighten me. Would you care to start with that ring? I'm pretty sure Reverie already claimed the former knight's ass, so it couldn't be him. Not to mention he's developed his tastes along with his maturity over the years."
"Sun proposed to me about a month ago."
"Ah... so the stowaway has promoted himself to simp. And only after chasing you for all these years... What is it that I saw in you?" She caught herself. "To think I could trust you with my life, to rely on you should anything happen to the team."
"Sun didn't abandon me. I was alone when Team RWBY drifted apart, Yang. And I'm well aware that it was my fault. But don't you know how hard it was carrying that weight? I can't ascertain how it may have been for Jaune, but I went through my own pain and then some. Far more than a person should go through. And don't you dare tell me I'm feeling sorry for myself, I want to change. I want to offer Vanessa the closure she deserves that I don't. I don't need to be here for her every day like Jaune or you. I simply want to make sure Vanessa carries no ill feelings about herself."
Reverie's insight on her own family situation helped Jaune see things from Vanessa's view. His daughter never really asked about her origins, but it didn't stop her from wondering. Was she a mistake? Simply unwanted? Did she hinder him from achieving what he wanted in life? He always told her he loved her, but that didn't necessarily address the issue. He and Reverie were aware her situation was different from Vanessa's, but...
"Yang," he forced. "I can never forgive Blake for the mistakes she's made and the ones she has yet to attempt to atone for, but I am trying to do everything for Vanessa's sake." He eyed Blake. "Go talk to Reverie. I'm sure she can offer some words. They should be back soon, so wait in the other room. And Yang? There's a few things I'd like to discuss with you."
Blake was rather eager to leave. She did so and averted her gaze from Yang's.
"Letting her run again?"
"You're letting your emotions get the best of you, Yang." Jaune sighed. "She's already on the verge of having a panic attack, I don't need you going ballistic on her."
"I'm not going ballistic," she retorted. "What is this? I haul ass to get shit together at work so I can hurry over to Vale. I was hoping for a nice pizza dinner with V, maybe get some drinks with you and Revy to catch up and all. And what do I find? The poor excuse of a life crawling back to your doorstep?"
"Yang!" Her eyes began to return to their normal state. "As I've said, I don't forgive her. But I will at least give her a chance. She's going to settle down, she's finally come to properly introduce herself to Vanessa... And that's the first of many things she's trying to make up for." He sat down in his chair, eager for his cup of coffee. "There's a few things I want to discuss with you regarding this. Especially whether or not Vanessa learns about what happened at Beacon nearly eighteen years ago..."
Blake wanted to find some semblance of solace when she first arrived at Beacon. It was meant to be a fresh start from her past life; an opportunity to start doing the right thing and make use of herself. She even found peace in her place there. Amongst her team, her friends. And despite the odds, she found herself falling for a dorky, lovable, loyal boy she could claim as her own. The way he looked at her when he got serious always enthralled her.
Perhaps... being enchanted by the situation was her biggest mistake.
The nausea was one thing, but suppressing the urge to hurl was another. A trip to Vale was normally a way for her to vent out and enjoy herself after some brutal training and difficult academic work. Her last trip was to buy a pregnancy test. And the weight on each step back to Beacon was much for her. Surely it was just her imagination. Maybe it was bad fish she ate? Her and Jaune got passionate at times and absorbed in the moment, but that didn't mean they were careless, surely...
And then the results were positive. Negative in the long run.
What was she going to do?
What... was she going to do?
What was she going to do!?
So I just got home for the first time in nine months. Sadly, the whole virus fiasco made it impossible to take leave after my initial training, but now I can finally enjoy some time with family and friends.
Apologies for the delay. My family moved recently so it was an entirely different issue figuring all of that out. And for that, I believe this chapter is lacking in a few areas, but I'll be sure to make up for it next chapter.
Until next time.
-Colure
Next chapter: August 1st
