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Jaune was in trouble. Actually, he was in trouble several times over. Qrow was going to have his head on a platter over the whole Neo thing. That was the new trouble. The old trouble was Neo herself. There was just something about the chaotic little troublemaker that just…she captivated him. She got into his head, mixed him all about, got him all confused about what's what. Jaune knew better. He knew. He was perfectly capable of understanding just how insanely risky his stunt on the roof was. But all of those reasonable, logically-sound arguments for why involving himself with someone like Neo Politan, of all people, flew out the window when she fixed that pink and brown heterochromatic gaze on him.

Neo was completely assured in who she was and what she wanted from life. She was as wild and free as the wind, and for just a moment on that rooftop, he'd caught the wind in his own two hands, held it close as it bestowed its favor to him. The girl was many things, but 'subtle' was not amongst them. Jaune could clearly see how her playfulness had yielded to a sudden and intense desire, a desire for him. Just the memory of that smoldering expression had his tights riding even tighter, and he had to shift the three-piece suit that he wore over his costume in his civilian guise to avoid having to walk strangely to accommodate it. Gods, why was it that everytime he crossed paths with Neo Politan, something happened to his groin?

He winced at the memory of Yang laughing at him as he sulked in the Crow's Nest, a bag of ice held to his crotch. She had thought that a girl kicking him in the nads for supposedly "patronizing" her was just the funniest thing that had happened in the history of ever, and cheerfully offered to buy Neo a drink if they ever met. And that was before she and Jaune had dated and then broken up. While they remained on good terms, as close as family, he just knew that Yang would have all manner of choice words to say about this latest Neo-related debacle.

Jaune lingered outside of the Crow's Nest, the bar that served as equal parts hangout and hub for Vale's population of costumed crimefighters. He'd always found it to be a bit dangerous for there to be a known superhero hangout, especially one so easily-connected to The Crow, but when he'd asked the older man about it, Qrow had explained how things worked in Vale.

"See, there are rules," Jaune could practically hear his mentor's distinctive, raspy voice from memory. "So long as they play within the rules, we do the same. We fight, we chase them, maybe some of them do some time if they get caught, but the game stays non-lethal. We don't leverage their families, especially kids, and they do the same. So let's say someone got the cute idea of, say, sending a mail bomb to the Crow's Nest. They do that, the gloves are off, and they know that. They start bringing lethal force, we put them down, without mercy. They go after my girls, and I'll fuckin' kill 'em and put their heads on spikes over the front fuckin' door."

"That's, uh, that's a figure of speech, right?" a much younger Jaune had asked nervously.

Qrow pointed out the spikes, and Jaune never questioned the existence of the Crow's Nest again. It was easy to forget, sometimes, that Qrow was a gods-be-damned Branwen. It seemed that Vale's criminal element was perfectly willing to play by the rules and keep the criming down to a dull roar if it kept Qrow from enacting total war on their various syndicates.

And now his very own former sidekick had gone and started kissing one of them.

Jaune sighed. Hanging out by the front door wasn't going to make anything any better, and from the looks of the ominous clouds gathering overhead, it was about to start raining anyway. Time to face the music. Stepping inside, he saw that the bar was moderately busy. Two of his superhero colleagues, The Green Lotus and Thunderstruck, actually worked for the bar in their civilian guises, with Ren tending bar and Nora waitressing. He gave Ren a friendly wave as he approached the bar.

"The boss is upstairs," Ren said, idly cleaning a glass. "Everything okay on the last job?"

Jaune coughed awkwardly. "Uh, yeah," he managed to croak out. Ren cocked an eyebrow, clearly not believing his assertion. "Well, er, it's nothing you can help with. Just gotta talk to the old man."

Ren just shrugged. "Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us."

"Sure thing. Thanks, pal."

With that, Jaune pressed on, entering the employees-only area and pulling a switch on the hot water heater in a boiler room. A hidden door opened up in the far wall, and Jaune passed through. Climbing up the spiral staircase, Jaune entered The Rookery, the base of operations for The Crow. It looked out over the historic downtown district of Vale, with large windows. Within the large chamber were situated various workstations for fabricating weapons, armor, and gadgets, a cutting-edge biological and chemical laboratory, a fully-stocked medical station, miscellaneous exercise and training equipment, and the various souvenirs and trophies that one accumulated over a crimefighting career spanning decades.

All of that, however, paled in comparison to the display case that held the suit and cowl of The Crow. The suit itself was black and gray, with armor plating set atop of bulletproof armorweave. The belt was festooned with various pouches. Even after years working as the man's sidekick, Jaune still had no idea how The Crow had managed to keep track of what gadgets and gizmos went where, or how he always managed to have just the right item for the job, no matter how obscure or bizarre that might be. Emblazoned on the gray chest piece was a black enameled symbol of a crow, its wings outstretched. Around the suit's shoulders was the black cape, which The Crow could use to glide a surprisingly long distance. And finally, completing the outfit was the Crow's Cowl, with its long beak and unsettling goggles.

The center of the room bore a thick, marble pillar that contained an elevator within, and as the chime drew Jaune's attention away from The Crow's suit, the door slid open.

Yang Xiao Long stepped out, clad in coveralls and completely filthy with engine grease, her long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. At twenty years of age, she was a devastating beauty, with striking violet eyes and a flirty, outgoing personality. It was obvious that she had been up in the hangar, working on her uncle's one-of-a-kind airship, the Corvid's Claw. She smiled when she saw him, waving jauntily as she walked over to a cleaning station and began scrubbing the engine grease off of her forearms. "Hey Jauney. How'd the job go?"

Jaune winced. Might as well rip the bandage off, as it were, and get it over with. "Yeah, so, you remember Neo Politan, right?"

Yang grinned. "Wasn't she the one who kicked you in the nuts that one time?"

"Yeah…her." He shook his head. "Well, she was with Torchwick at the bank, and one thing kind of led to another, and I kinda…sorta…macked on her. A little."

Yang's violet eyes went wide. "What?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, I mean, it all happened so fast, and next thing I knew, she was kissing me, and then I was kissing her back, and then Roman, of all people, broke it up, demanding to know what the hell we were doing."

The blonde girl just shook her head slowly, remaining quiet for a moment as she worked on scrubbing off the engine grease from her hands and forearms. "Wow. When you screw up, you don't do it by halves, do you?"

"I guess. But the thing is…I don't regret it. Not really. I mean, I'm sure I'm going to regret what your uncle's going to do to me when I tell him, but with Neo…" Jaune could only just shrug helplessly.

"Looks like you've got it pretty bad," Yang said, her tone soft.

"Yeah. Looks that way."

With a sigh, Yang turned off the sink and made her way over to him.

Jaune saw what she was going to do and tried to hold up his hands to ward her off, but it was too late. "Not the suit, not the suit!"

Yang pulled him into a tender hug, heedlessly smearing engine grease into his tasteful - and very expensive - suit. The damage done, Jaune could only sigh and hug her back. "I want you to be careful," she said. "There aren't so many decent men out there that we can afford to lose you."

"Well, if your uncle doesn't kill me, my dad will when he sees that I've ruined another suit."

"And why am I killing you, exactly? What, are the two of you back together or something?"

The man himself, Qrow Branwen, exited the elevator in the center of the room. He was tall and lanky, his hair more gray than black now, with a permanent five o'clock shadow and piercing red eyes. The man was disconcerting to behold, his body language constantly speaking of a taut readiness, like a bow drawn and ready to loose.

Sheepishly, Yang let go of Jaune, taking a couple of steps away from him.

"I take it this is about the bank robbery last night?" Qrow asked.

Jaune coughed nervously, clearing his throat. "Well, see, it was Roman Torchwick this time, and he, you know, had Neo Politan with him and…"

The older hero rolled his eyes. "What, you let her kick you in the nads again?"

"Why does everyone keep bringing that up?" lamented Jaune.

"Because it's funny." At Jaune's look of betrayal, Yang could only offer a shrug. "Well, it is."

"But anyways, no, it's…uh…not anything like that." He swallowed, fidgeting with his hands. "I, uh, ended up tangling with Neo again, and things kinda got…heated," he finished lamely.

Qrow stared at him.

"I mean, it just kind of…happened," Jaune began babbling, trying not to break out into a sweat. "I had her pinned against a wall, and then she kissed me, and I was kissing her back, and it was…um…yeah…"

Qrow stared at him.

Yang started getting nervous by proxy. Ordinarily, when one of them screwed up, her uncle would have some biting commentary, soon followed by announcing a modification of the training regimen to fix the issue. This time, the old vigilante just stared down his former sidekick. The man might as well have been a statue for all that his unyielding gaze gave away. "Oh, look at the time!" blurted Yang. "I should go pick up Ruby from school. So I'll just…" Her nerve failing her, she turned and outright fled The Rookery, no doubt looking to meet up with her fifteen-year old cousin and lay low until her uncle's dangerous mood had cooled a bit.

Jaune couldn't blame her. Neither could he have joined her in her flight, as he had some degree of self-respect. He didn't regret what had happened with Neo, and that meant that he had to stand by his choices. Come what may.

After a long moment, The Crow finally spoke up. "What were you thinking?"

"I kind of wasn't - "

"Obviously."

Jaune tried not to wince at the venom in his mentor's tone. "I just -"

"Save it." The Crow glared at him, fixing him with the stare that had terrorized the criminal underworld into compliance by sheer force of personality. "There are rules. I know you know that. I made damn sure that you know that. But now you've gone and thrown aside everything I taught you, because you were thinking with the head between your legs and not the one on your shoulders."

"It isn't like that!" protested Jaune.

The Crow just stared at him. "No? This isn't a repeat of the Copycat situation?"

Jaune felt his cheeks burn at the memory. "And that wasn't like that either!" Copycat was a cat Faunus criminal who targeted businesses and institutions that were discriminatory or exploitative towards her people. The Huntsman had had a few run-ins with her, but instead of just subduing her and bringing her in, Jaune had ended up engaging in conversation with the raven-haired beauty. The Crow had been livid, especially when he had announced that he would turn a blind eye to her activities so long as she could provide evidence of her targets' malfeasance - and scrupulously prevent collateral damage.

He actually resented his mentor's implication that he was only swayed by Copycat's physical beauty. Sure, she was stunningly gorgeous, with long ebon curls, richly-tanned skin, and piercing golden eyes, and that catsuit did things for him too, but the woman had made damn convincing arguments. Every time Jaune investigated one of her targets on his own, she'd been one-hundred percent correct in her assessment. Yes, she was a criminal, but she was also a far more morally-upstanding person than Cardin Winchester, one of the young Valean aristocrats with whom Jaune was obliged to pretend to be able to stand.

The Copycat incident was the first faultline between himself and his mentor, and now it looked like the incident with Neo threatened to widen that schism.

"Should start a sidekick neutering program," Qrow muttered to himself. He shook his head. "You said she kissed you first, right?"

Jaune couldn't bring himself to lie to Qrow in the best of circumstances, and now, the idea of trying to deceive him in any way was unthinkable. "She did. But -"

Qrow had immediately set off towards his suit.

"Hey!" Jaune dashed forward to interpose himself between Qrow and his suit. "What are you doing?"

"Like I said, there are rules. You know that. Neo Politan knows that. And rules aren't rules if there aren't consequences for breaking them."

"You're going to hurt her?!"

"Consequences."

Jaune blanched. "I won't let you!"

His declaration hung over the Rookery, which had fallen silent in its wake. After a long, dangerous silence, Qrow quirked a brow at his former sidekick. "Let?"

The younger man gulped, visibly steeling himself…and took up his fighting stance. "I-I won't let you hurt her!"

The Crow stared at him. He had never spoken of it to the boy, hadn't wanted to shame him, but he knew that Jaune was scared shitless of him. Part of the reason he was so fearless in action was because he was more afraid of the cape that he had trained him than the criminals on the street. Furthermore, retired or not, suit or not, Qrow knew that Jaune knew that a full-on, no-holds-barred fight with him was not one that he was going to win. Still, there he was, arms raised, knees slightly bent, ready to fight through what was, to him, that downright apocalyptic scenario.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little proud of the boy. He'd known hardened killers, professional assassins, who'd broken under his glare, let alone the threat of facing him. Jaune had not only not broken, he'd thrown down the gauntlet at his feet.

And all for the girl.

"Fuck."

Whatever Jaune was expecting The Crow to say in response to his challenge, it wasn't that. Still, he kept his stance ready, in case it was some ploy to get him to drop his guard, a lesson he'd learnt from painful example. His eyes were wary, guarded, and he was deliberately keeping himself as loose and relaxed as he could in light of the circumstances, ready to snap to the defense in the space between one heartbeat and the next.

Qrow turned his back on his former sidekick, ambling over to a drinks cabinet. He pulled out a strong brandy, pouring himself a glass and taking a long draw.

"You know," he said, assessing Jaune as he stood there, confused but still on guard, "this would have been so much easier if you'd just been thinking with your dick."

Jaune blinked. "Uh…what?"

"If it was just a case of you being dumb and horny, I'd have thrashed you bloody, done the same to the girl, and washed my hands of the both of you. But this is…this is more dangerous than that."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you know of Yang's parents?"

Jaune was thrown by the abrupt change of topic, but he allowed himself to lower his hands. He was still on edge, but he wasn't outright expecting to fight at that very instant. "She said that her parents are dead, her father was the Sun Dragon, and she wants to follow in his footsteps as a superhero."

Qrow grunted. "That's the…safe version. Thing is, her father, Taiyang, wasn't my brother. Oh, he was like a brother, but Yang is my niece through her mother." He chuckled bitterly. "It's funny, you bein' so scared of me…because between the two of us, me and my twin sister, I was downright cuddly."

He tried not to laugh at the mental evaluations going on behind the boy's guarded expression.

"Whatever you're thinking, I'm here to tell you, she was ten times worse." Qrow shook his head. "Raven…there's no love in that woman. But Tai…well, he just couldn't help it. Was completely head-over-heels for her, and for the life of me, I could never understand why. Still, he was the only one who could keep her even somewhat under control, and when Yang was born, my wife and I figured that she'd probably settle down a little."

Qrow took another drink.

"We found him with his throat slit, ear-to-ear."

"Why?" Jaune, shaken, asked.

"Hell if I know, and we weren't stickin' around to ask," Qrow answered with a shrug. "We tracked down the Branwen Tribe's main camp. Stole through, kidnapped Yang and ran for it. Did our best to keep her away from the Branwens. Tried to raise her right, even after Summer was gone. I figure one day, Yang and her mom are gonna have a damn interesting conversation about why she killed her father, but that's on the horizon. Here and now, I have a dumbass protege walkin' down the same path. Let me tell you, fuckin' a crim is bad enough, but falling in love with one? I guarantee that that will get you buried."

"You don't know that."

"Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot. Thing with love is, it demands sacrifice, and one day, that little criminal girl is going to be faced with a hard choice. When that day comes, she'll put herself over you and your relationship, and a dagger right between your shoulder blades."

"Cowardly? Neo?!" Jaune scoffed. "You can call Neo a lot of things. 'Larcenous little chaos gremlin' comes to mind. But a coward, she is not. I don't think she even understands fear. And she's a thrillseeker, not a murderer."

"She's a criminal," Qrow said, as though that resolved the argument in and of itself.

"Not every outlaw is Raven freaking Branwen!"

"Only because I won't let them."

Jaune was about ready to pull his hair out in frustration. "You know that some things aren't clear-cut, right? Yeah, Copycat breaks laws, but those laws are fucked! No one's going to stand up for her people legally, so of course she operates outside the law! Neo's an unapologetic thief, but that doesn't mean she's just going to flip a switch and start murdering people! Don't you have any faith in people?!"

The Crow just stared at him. Jaune shook his head. "Of course not. Sorry, forgot who I was talking to." He sighed. "So, what happens next?"

"I've warned you. Told you exactly what will happen if you pursue this criminal. You're not a boy anymore, Jaune. The consequences will be on you, when she turns on you."

"She won't." Jaune took a breath to steady his nerves, and then, with great force of will, turned his back on Qrow, moving towards the exit. When he reached the door, Qrow's raspy voice stopped him.

"Jaune. What am I going to tell the girls when you wind up dead?"

"If."

"When."

"If I turn up dead," Jaune reiterated, "Then tell them that some gambles are worth risking it all."

"Is it really worth it?" challenged Qrow. "All of this, just to possibly start a relationship with some girl who'll kill you?"

"No. It'll be worth it just to make sure that I don't become you."

With that, Jaune left.

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