EDIT 6/29: Re-wrote a little to give Yang some more agency and keep Jaune more in character.
Chapter 1: I Have Made A Terrible Mistake
Weiss walked in to the RWBY dorm to thankfully find only Yang. Good, this was a discussion that didn't need any input from Ruby or Blake. This... farce had gone on long enough, thank you very much.
Weiss had overheard Yang egging Jaune on to ask her out. Again. All because she had confided in Yang that she had realized that Jaune didn't give a damn about the Schnee name, or the SDC.
This had to stop, and stop soon. Otherwise, Weiss would have to break Jaune's heart into a million pieces, and that was something she did not want to do.
"Yang, we need to talk." Weiss said.
Yang barely looked up from the video game she was playing on her scroll. Some fighting game by the sound of it. "Can it wait, Weiss-cream?" Yang asked, "Like... two minutes?"
Weiss groaned at the use of her least favorite nickname, "No, Yang... it's about Jaune."
In the time that Weiss had been part of team RWBY, she had never seen Yang put down a video game that fast. "Did he ask you out again? Did you say yes? Oh, please tell me you said yes!"
"No, Yang. Listen-" Weiss started.
Yang cut her off, "Aw, come on. You know he's not after your name anymore, so why would-"
"Yang, this needs to stop. Please." Weiss said, her voice cracking. "I don't want to have to break his heart."
Yang froze. The name thing wasn't the problem? So then what was... why was... Yang felt a pit open in her stomach. Had she been giving Jaune false hope this entire time? "What are you talking about, Weiss?" Yang asked.
Weiss sat down on her bed before continuing. "It's... Atlas. The people that I have to associate with, they would eat Jaune alive. He's too kind, too selfless. They would take advantage of him again and again until he would be nothing but a broken shell."
Yang clenched a fist. "Really wish you would've told me that sooner, Weiss. Damn... this is going to suck..."
Weiss narrowed her eyes, "What exactly do you mean by that?"
She was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Yang gestured toward the door. "Guess who?" She said weakly.
"Yang, what am I supposed to tell him?" Weiss asked, a note of desperation entering her voice.
Yang mulled it over briefly. A lie would just make it worse in the end, and could potentially ruin several friendships. There was really only one option.
"Just tell him, Weiss." Yang said through gritted teeth. "I'll worry about helping him pick up the pieces, this is my fault after all."
Weiss nodded, hesitated briefly, then opened the door, revealing one Jaune Arc. He was wearing his armor, but for once it seemed like he had decided against a gimmick for this attempt.
"Oh, hey, Weiss!" Jaune said, "So, there's true dance coming up and-"
Weiss held up a hand, "Jaune, please... just stop."
There was a very good reason why Weiss typically walked away from Jaune as quickly as possible after any of his attempts. Weiss was kind at heart, and the forlorn expression on Jaune's face was heartwrenching.
"But, I didn't even ask yet..." Jaune said.
Weiss fidgeted briefly then started to explain, "I haven't been... entirely honest about my reasons for not going on an outing with you."
Jaune's jaw snapped shut with an audible click, but he looked at her expectantly, his muscles tensing.
Gods, it's like he knows what's coming and he's bracing himself.
"Jaune, the kind of people that I have to associate with in Atlas are the type to take advantage of any weakness. If they see it, they'll pounce, use... the target for whatever suits their purpose and discard them. If we were attached you would be expected to attend events in Atlas with me, and you would be a prime target for them."
Jaune's shoulders sagged. "You could just say I'm not good enough."
Weiss's eyes went wide with alarm. No, no, no that's not what I meant! "No, that's not what I mean, Jaune! You're... too good. You're kind, selfless, I value you too much as a friend to subject you to that environment."
Jaune nodded. "Alright. That... makes sense." Jaune rubbed the back of his head as he organized his words, "I just... promise me one thing, okay? Find someone that makes you happy, that's all I ever..." Before he could finish, his voice caught in his throat, and he ran off.
Yang jumped down from her bed, it was time to fix this mess. This mess that was partially her fault.
Weiss stumbled back to her bed, and half sat, half fell on it. "He's going to hate me, isn't he?"
"Jaune? Hate?" Yang asked as she got her shoes on, "Come on, the man doesn't even hate Cardin."
Yang left the dorm, now she had to answer an important question. Where did Jaune go when he was upset? Training room probably, it was the perfect place to blow off steam. Goodness knows that Yang had gone there a time or ten for that reason already.
Nope. Zero percent chance of Jaune.
Maybe he was holed up in the library with some of his comic books. He did go there when Nora got to be a little too much to deal with, so maybe...
No such luck.
Yang trudged back to the dorms defeated. Maybe JNPR's dorm room? Nah, that was too obvious, and Yang didn't want to run the risk of Pyrrha getting involved. Weiss might not survive the aftermath of that.
She was about to give up and try calling Jaune when she saw Ren. "Hey, Ren!" Yang called out.
Ren turned to see Yang running up to him. "Oh, hello, Yang. What can I do for you?"
Yang swallowed, hopefully Ren knew when to keep his mouth shut. "Where does Jaune go when he's upset?"
Ren sighed, "He tried asking Weiss out again, didn't he?"
Yang nodded, "Yeah... this time was bad."
"Bad how?"
Yang winced, "Pretty sure he ran away crying."
Ren gestured towards the dorms, "Check the roof. Just be careful how much noise you make, Cardin likes to eavesdrop."
Yang made her way to the roof, stopping before she opened the access door. It wouldn't be a good idea to interrupt if Pyrrha had beat her here somehow. Yang closed her eyes and listened. The only thing she could hear was... sniffling.
Oh, Jaune... I'm sorry. I should've known my matchmaking days were behind me.
Back at Signal Academy, Yang had been known as the class matchmaker, quite a few couples at Signal simply would not have gotten together without Yang's interference.
And I thought I could do that here... stupid!
She opened the door as gently as she could manage. "You up here, Vomit Boy?"
"Not in the mood, Yang." Came the terse reply. "Does Pyrrha know what happened?"
"Don't think so." Yang said. "Weiss told me what happened, Ren told me where to find you, but I didn't give him specifics." Yang winced at the half-truth. It hurt, but it was for the best at the moment.
"Good." Jaune sighed. "I don't need her fussing over me right now."
Yang moved closer to where Jaune sat, back against the wall, "What do you need right now, Jaune?" She asked.
Jaune shot her a look, "Did you know? Did you know about Weiss's real reasons for not dating me?"
Yang shook her head, "No. I didn't find out until Weiss told me a few minutes ago." Another lie, but the truth would only hurt more.
Yang hated herself for it.
"Jaune, what do you need?" Yang repeated.
Jaune stared off into space for a moment, no doubt taking stock of his emotional health at the moment. "I don't want to impose, Yang..."
Yang knelt down so she could look him in the eye, "Jaune, I was egging you on to ask her out again. This is as much my fault as anyone else's. Just tell me, as long as it's not, y'know insane, I'll do it."
Jaune closed his eyes for a moment, when he opened them, he was staring straight ahead, like he was lost in a memory. "Back before I came here, whenever I was going through a rough time, my sisters would always make sure to comfort me." Jaune wiped at his face to clear his eyes of tears, "But now I don't have anyone to do that for me, not in the way I actually need, anyways."
Yang remained silent, waiting for him to finish. "I know they can't be here with me all the time, and I know that it was me that left..."
Yang felt a pang in her heart. Even though Jaune was the one who left his family, he felt isolated from them, not quite abandoned, but it was enough to tweak at Yang's heartstrings. Oh, Vomit Boy, I know how you feel. More than you could ever know. "When you needed it, how would they comfort you?" She asked.
Jaune looked at her like she had just suggested that Cardin was an okay guy. "Yang? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, Jaune. I don't joke about abandonment."
Jaune blinked. That was oddly specific reasoning, especially since he was technically the one that abandoned his family. Questions for later, probably. "Um... they would... cuddle with me." Jaune said, trying and failing to keep the note of hope out of his voice.
That wasn't anywhere near what Yang had been expecting. She had expected things like bake some cookies or get me a new comic book. It reminded her yet again that Jaune wasn't anything like a typical guy. "Sure, I can do that, Jaune."
She sat down beside him, and wrapped her arms around him. "This good?"
"Yeah." Jaune laid his head on her shoulder.
"You weren't expecting me to do this, were you?" Yang said, a teasing note in her voice.
Jaune frowned, "Uh, no. I wasn't, if I'm being honest."
Yang laughed lightly, "That's fair, I suppose. I used to do this kind of thing for Ruby when we were younger."
"Wait, you did? What about your mom?" Jaune asked.
Yang tensed up. Nope, not opening up that can of worms. "Not everyone has a family as perfect as yours, Jaune."
"I'm sorry, Yang. I didn't mean to..."
"It's fine, Jaune. You didn't know, I'd appreciate it if you don't ask Ruby about it, it's an even more sore subject for her."
"I promise." Jaune said, "Arc's honor."
Yang giggled, "What's with that anyways? You're always talking about how an Arc never goes back on his word, what's that all about?"
"Every Arc is a hero in some way. It goes back to the time of the Great War, when the Arc family were one of the noble houses that served the Last King of Vale."
Yang's eyes went wide, "Holy crap! You're royalty?"
Jaune shrugged slightly, "Not anymore."
"And here I thought that you were just a pretty face!" Yang teased, "You really are a knight in shining armor!"
Jaune laughed, then lapsed into silence, content to simply enjoy the moment. After about an hour by Yang's estimation, Jaune started breaking the hold. "I'd better get back before Pyrrha and Nora start a manhunt. Nora probably forced Ren to talk by now."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to make your teammates jealous, now would I?" Yang said, winking.
Jaune laughed, a proper belly laugh, a sign that he was returning to his old self. "Thanks, Yang. I needed that and... this."
Yang grinned, "No problem, Jaune. Now get outta here." Jaune left, leaving Yang alone with her thoughts.
Damn it. Why did he have to remind of... he didn't know. It's fine, he didn't know. Great. Now I feel lonely. Wonderful.
A/N: Well, here comes my first attempt at a slow burn. Which if my normal pacing is anything to go by, means that it will be fast... for a slow burn. hopefully. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, I'd be happy to hear them.