Chapter 13

The Deepest Cut

Qrow's crimson gaze flicked fitfully back and forth between the two kids in front of him, his breathing steady as his only slightly-marinated brain worked feverishly to defuse the impending fight before it happened. Tai would never let him hear the end of it if they trashed the cabin. The slowly receding sound of boots on the stairs behind them was a countdown, further ramping up the tension in the room.

Now to use just the right angle to get these kids talkin' instead of throwin' blows, Qrow mused silently.

"All right, I don't know what's going on between…"

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Jaune hissed, unwilling to traumatize Ruby any further by making their argument loud enough to be heard upstairs.

Mission accomplished. Have a drink, Qrow, he grumbled to himself.

"Aww, come on, tough guy. Don't tell me some words got under your skin," Yang scoffed.

"This isn't about me, and you damn well know it. She didn't need to find out about that at all, let alone you just slapping her in the face with it! How could you do that to Ruby?"

"She's a tough girl, she'll get over it."

"You trying to convince me? Or yourself?"

Yang paused a moment, the fire in her eyes dimming briefly. "All right, fine. I'll make it up to her, I always do," she said in exasperation.

"Until the next time, right, Yang? Because there's always a next time," Jaune retorted viciously, building up a full head of steam. "You always have to have the last word. You always have to get your laughs. You always have to be the center of attention. And for what? It's not like you don't have anything else to stand on. You're one of the best fighters in Beacon, let alone just our year! Why can't you be happy with that?"

"Now listen here, Vomit Boy, I wouldn't put up with this lecture from my dad…"

"Obviously."

"So what makes you think I'm not gonna pound you into paste for even trying?" she replied, voice rising to a growl.

"Because even if you could," he began, catching a rush of adrenaline as he saw her eyes go wide at the insinuation that she possibly couldn't, "You'd just prove me right. You have to have it your way, and to hell with anyone else, because they can just 'catch these hands', right?" he added, mocking another one of her catchphrases. "What's next? Shoving me into a locker for fun? Threatening to expose my school records if I don't do your homework?" he continued, the implications clear to her, if not her uncle.

Maybe I can sneak out the window and pretend I was never here, Qrow thought, his body tensed for when, not if, the first punch was thrown.

"Don't you dare compare me to him!" Yang fired back, her eyes shifting red in the span of a heartbeat.

"Then stop acting like him! Stop hurting the people I care about!"

"She doesn't need you protecting her! She's stronger than you think, and there's no way in hell I'm gonna let you white knight for her. Just because your Semblance is so special, you're not gonna swoop in and steal her away! Not on my watch."

"For fuck's sake, I'm not trying to get into her pants! What is it with you? Why do you have to go there in every conversation? Have you ever had a normal relationship?"

"More than you, Vomit Boy," she cut back viciously.

"What, you have a boyfriend, but he's from Vacuo, so I wouldn't know him?" he asked, mocking the cliched trope.

"I've had plenty of boyfriends. And more girlfriends than you'll ever get."

"Oh, I bet," he retorted, rolling his eyes. "I'd also bet that none of those lasted more than two weeks."

"Well if they can't handle me at my worst, they don't deserve me at my best," Yang replied immediately, clearly a practiced line from the mocking tone she put into it.

"That's a shitty reason, used by shitty people, to excuse shitty behavior," Jaune fired back, teeth clenched even as he could see flames flicker to life across her body.

"Who the fuck do you think…?" she growled before Jaune cut her off.

"The right way is to always give people your best, so that they'll be there when you're at your worst. I may not be the smartest student in Beacon, and I know for damn sure I'm not the strongest, but I still try to be the best friend I can be! The way you keep plowing ahead, without caring what damage you cause along the way? It's gonna get someone hurt someday. What are you going to tell Blake's parents, when your stubbornness gets her hurt? What happens when one of your selfish ideas puts Ruby in danger?" he bulldozed on before stopping, the look of shock on Yang's face bewildering him for a few seconds before the realization hit him harder than an Ursa Major.

"That's already happened?!" he said, his voice equal measures of anger and horror.

Oh, fuck me, Qrow thought, the memories of that day written across his own battle-scarred face.

Jaune's gaze darted back and forth between niece and uncle, seeing the vastly different expressions on their faces and not liking either. Yang was an unholy amalgam of guilt and fury, whereas Qrow was showing obvious concern for his niece and more than a little anger towards him.

Not that he cared.

"I can't believe this," he muttered, his azure eyes wide.

"You don't fuckin' know me, Jaune," Yang growled.

"And whose fault is that?! Does anyone know you? Just this morning I got a peek behind the mask, and I didn't even recognize you! Why do you have to act so fake all the damn time?" he asked, Yang pushing out of her chair as her fingers threatened to crush the edge of the table. "Did you not receive enough love and attention as a kid? Mommy wasn't there enough for you?" he pressed on, standing to stay eye to eye with her.

Before she could respond, the sword tip of Harbinger landed on the table between them, neither one of them having heard the weapon's telltale ratcheting in their anger. "All right you two, that's enough," Qrow began, eyeing them both warily. "Why don't you go cool down, Firecracker? Let me deal with hothead here," he added, the dire implications clear in Qrow's narrowed eyes.

"Oh, you are not taking his side!"

"I'm not taking anyone's side here…"

"Then why do I have to…?"

"Take a walk, Yang!"

With only a sidelong glance for Qrow and a contemptuous sneer for Jaune, she turned about, stomping out of the kitchen and towards the yard. With a wordless scream, she slammed the door behind her with such force that it didn't actually latch. Qrow spared a glance at the still shaking back door, unsure of exactly what he'd gotten himself into. He retrieved his weapon, retracting it before he stowed Harbinger behind his back.

"Listen, I'm not gonna pretend to know what the deal is between you two, but I'm not about to let my friend's house get trashed because you two had a little temper tantrum," he rasped. "The only reason you're not in the hospital right now is I owe you one. I promised their mom I'd always look out for Ruby and Yang."

"I wasn't the one starting the fight," Jaune answered, his face set in a mask of mild disgust.

"And that's another thing. You've been giving me the stink eye since you walked through that door. Not that I particularly care, but it seems like it might actually be important for once."

"We've never met. How could I possibly dislike you, Qrow?"

"Oh, people have a habit of finding a way; guess I just have that kind of face."

"Apparently."

"Listen, kid. Yang's been through a lot, and yeah, sure, she's got a temper. But what you said to her is way outta line."

Jaune regarded him for a moment before answering. "But I'm not actually wrong, am I?"

The way Qrow let out a long sigh was answer enough for Jaune. "Not my point. You know her temper, and yet you still kept poking the Ursa. With a damn chainsaw. You were out for blood, and I wanna know why."

"You say that like it's out of the ordinary for me."

"I asked Yang about you, when I heard what you did for Ruby. She described you with one word. Harmless."

Jaune barely managed to hide the disgust he felt at the revelation.

"So something's changed, and you immediately went for the throat. Why?"

"A fight worth having is a fight worth winning," he said, idly wondering if Sensei would approve of him recalling the Animan proverb he'd been taught. Such musing was immediately crushed by regret and panic, much as his throat was now being crushed between the wall and Qrow's forearm.

"Who told you that!?" he demanded, his face inches from Jaune's, red eyes wide in shock.

"My...Sensei," he managed to gasp out.

"Who?" he asked, easing up just enough that Jaune could almost breathe.

"It's an old Animan..."

"I know what the damn word means! Who was it?"

"Someone who doesn't want to be found. Someone who I promised I wouldn't give up, no matter what."

"That's nice. News flash, kid: I don't give a shit."

"Good for you."

Qrow offered a witty riposte that consisted of a swift punch between the eyes that bounced Jaune's head off the wall. "You're about two seconds away from the morgue here, kid."

"And you're not scarier than my Sensei. At least they don't hit like a bitch when they're torturing me."

"Kid, you don't know what torture is. Yet," Qrow growled.

"Yeah, I don't know a lot of things. It's part of my charm."

"There are less painful methods for committing suicide, you little shit."

"Yeah, I hear drinking yourself into an early grave is fun," Jaune replied, earning a punch to the gut for his troubles.

"And you damn sure don't know me."

"Yeah...I don't," he said, trying to regain his breath. "You know what else I don't know? I don't know what it feels like being pinned down while my soul is ripped in half. I've never prayed for death just so the pain will stop. And I definitely don't know what it's like to be left wondering why the one person who was supposed to keep me safe, the one who'd promised they'd always be there, wasn't. Maybe he was, oh, I don't know, balls deep in some bar skank? Sleeping off a hangover perhaps? Still piss-drunk? Knowing him? Probably all three."

The color drained from Qrow's face as the strength to hold Jaune against the wall faded entirely, his heart in freefall even before he heard Ruby speak.

"Uncle Qrow? What's going on?"

The both of them turned to face the stairs, finding her there with a look of apprehension on her face. Qrow and Jaune both deflated, feeling shame for letting her see conflict between them, and Qrow finally took a step back from interrogating the boy.

"You don't deserve her, Qrow," he said, barely audible even to him.

Qrow regarded him for a brief moment, his eyes narrowed as he took a deep breath to calm himself. Cutting his gaze back to Ruby, he spoke barely louder than Jaune. "Neither one of us do, kid, but there she is."

Jaune would have corrected him on the spot, but Qrow instead disengaged, slipping past Ruby on his way upstairs.

"What was that about, Jaune?"

"It...got ugly, Ruby. I was probably too harsh on your sister, and your uncle got pissed about it. I need to apologize to her, but not after I talk to you."

"What about?"

"Emerald," he said, wishing he didn't have to. Ruby's slight frown at the mere mention of the girl's name certainly wasn't making him feel any better about the whole affair. "She kissed me. Once. And I'm pretty sure it was something to distract me from whatever her team was up to. We never dated, and I promise I didn't know what she had planned. I just wish I hadn't been so surprised by it that I didn't ask questions. Like, why would a beautiful girl like her be interested in me? I should've known better," he muttered darkly.

"Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you think a girl would...like you?" she asked, barely avoiding a potential minefield of emotion for both of them.

"What, tall, blond and scraggly me? The guy who wore a onesie on Initiation night? The worst student in Beacon? The guy who by all rights shouldn't even be there?"

"You mean the best friend I've ever had? The guy who does everything he can for his friends? The Huntsman who, even if he shouldn't be there, still tries? That guy?"

Jaune couldn't help but smile just a little at that.

"Besides, I thought it was kinda cute. Which sister gave it to you?"

"Ivy. Saved up a hundred damn box tops. She said Vale got colder than Orleans in the winter. She's right, by the way. Even if she didn't understand everything going on at the time, I guess she's the only one who believed in me after all."

"I believe in you, Jaune."

He couldn't tell which caused him to start like he did, Ruby's words, or the gentle touch of her hand on his shoulder. He covered her hand with his own, his smile growing as he looked her in the eyes, seeing nothing but Ruby's unbridled optimism staring back at him.

"Thanks."

"Us leaders gotta stick together."

"Yeah."

They shared a silent pause, taking a few breaths before Ruby pulled away, moving to take a seat at the table.

"So now that we've got that out of the way, what did you do to my sister?"

Jaune sighed in shame, taking a seat next to her and toying with a slice of buttered toast. He took a large bite out of it, buying time to compose his response as he chewed. "I probably said something I shouldn't have. I was angry, and lashed out, and crossed a line I didn't know was there."

"You were angry about her telling me about Emerald?"

"No. Well, yes, but that's not all of it. I found out something about her, about the both of you. That she'd put you in danger because of something stupid, and I lost it."

Ruby could only sigh in frustration at the revelation. "What did she tell you?"

"Well, nothing, really. I kinda blundered into it on my own. I was trying to get her to see how her stubbornness was going to get people hurt some day, and I got a lucky guess in."

"But you don't know the details?"

"No."

"I...I don't remember everything, but Yang told me the story. Dad doesn't like to talk about it. Neither does Uncle Qrow," she admitted sheepishly. "When Mom...disappeared," she said softly, choosing her words slowly and carefully. "Dad was a mess. I was four, and Yang was six. She'd found an old picture of her mom," she added before she was interrupted.

"Wait. You don't have the same mother?"

"No. Yang's mother left right after she was born. She hasn't seen her since."

"Holy hell," he replied, leaning forward and bracing his forehead against his folded hands. "I...I can't even imagine…"

"I know. Me either," she conceded, idly plucking a strip of bacon off the platter at the center of the table and munching on it.

"What's the picture got to do with it?"

"Oh. Well, Yang recognized the cabin she was standing in front of. Uncle Qrow had taken her into the woods once and they'd passed by, I guess. So Yang decided to go looking for her mom there in the woods. Dragged me along because she didn't want to leave me alone in the house. I just knew I was going for a ride in my little red wagon with my big sister, ya know?" she added, and Jaune couldn't help but smile at the mental image.

"I'm guessing things didn't go well."

"No," she said flatly, her shoulders slumping a bit at the admission. "Two little girls alone in the forest, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Grimm."

"Got it in one."

"Wish I hadn't. I take it someone else showed up?"

"Yeah. Uncle Qrow had tracked us all the way from the cabin. Watching him in action was the greatest thing ever. Like getting to see X-Ray and Vav, but real," she said, barely suppressing a squeal. "I mean, he's not perfect or anything, but he's my hero."

"Even when he's trying to choke out your best friend?"

"What did you do?" she asked, almost immediately regretting it when she got a flat stare levelled at her for a long, awkward moment before he spoke.

"I recited an old Animan proverb; something my Sensei taught me. A fight worth having is a fight worth winning."

Ruby's eyes cut up and to her right for a moment before she made eye contact again. "Doesn't ring a bell, Jaune."

"Sensei said that it meant that if you are going to throw yourself into a fight, that you'd better be prepared to do whatever it took to win, or you were just wasting your time. Kick. Bite. Scratch. Go for the throat. Hit every weak point. Get in their head. That kind of thing."

"Sounds kinda out there, especially for you, Jaune."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just...you're one of the nicest people I know. I can't see you kicking someone when they're down."

"If that's what it takes to make sure he stays down, and doesn't come after me or the people I love, yeah."

"Even if they're a friend?" she asked, pulling him up short.

"Yeah, even if," he said softly, pausing to take a breath. "I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"A little, yeah," she whispered.

"Any idea where she might have gone?"

"If she's mad, I'd check the barn. Though you might wanna get dressed first."

"I'm not dressed?" he asked in confusion.

"Armor?"

"I thought you said the Grimm weren't really a...oh."

"Yeah," she replied with a grimace.

Qrow plodded up the stairs slowly, leaving his niece alone with a kid who'd managed to eviscerate him without taking a single swing. The picture he'd painted had been far too accurate to be mere coincidence. Guilt hung over him like a storm cloud, even if it was something he'd planned on addressing with Amber. Eventually. At some point. She was a good person, especially having to bear the burden of a Maiden, and Qrow…

He'd failed her.

There wasn't any sugar coating it, and an ocean of booze wouldn't drown his mistake either. It was so simple a thing, so trivial a diversion that he should have seen right through it. But he'd been tantalized by the prospect of finding Raven at the time that he'd allowed himself to be pulled out of position. That he'd gotten there in time was a minor miracle, even if it meant that Amber suffered silently for a year and a half rather than being killed outright and her power stolen by one of Salem's minions.

Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, Qrow realized that he'd been standing outside the door to Tai's room for over a minute, and knocked on the slightly ajar door. "Amber?" he asked hesitantly, waiting for an answer that didn't come. He gently nudged the door open, cautiously looking around before he spotted her pack lying open on the bed. "Amber?" he called out again, only now recognizing the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.

"Be out in a minute, Ruby!" she called back over the sound. Given the apparent noise differential, Qrow didn't bother to correct her.

"Hey, Zwei. How ya been, buddy?" he asked, scratching behind the dog's ears as he lay at the foot of the bed. Zwei gave off a low, rumbling sound as he rolled onto his back and stretched, now begging for belly rubs. "Attention whore," Qrow grumbled even as he acquiesced to the corgi's demand, taking a seat next to him. "You're lucky Ruby likes you." Thus occupied, his attention was elsewhere when the bathroom door opened, a cloud of steam heralding the arrival of the Fall Maiden like some cheesy music video.

Amber's head was bowed as she finished wrapping a second, smaller towel around her hair. The first, being from a man's bathroom, was hardly what would be considered 'large' by any sane person. "I hope your dad doesn't mind that I borrowed his razor, but my legs were just...eww," she said before stopping as her eyes rose to meet Qrow's. More accurately, she was looking into his eyes, while his, well…

Qrow sat, mouth agape, as his traitorous gaze roved over Amber's form. The towel she wore barely covered anything in its brevity, stopping just below the curve of her buttocks and just above her bustline. She'd also had to wrap the thing tightly just to get it to hold in place, which only amplified her modest bust to the point where she was nearly spilling out of the pale blue terry cloth. Qrow's lecherous side couldn't decide whether to focus on that, or long, slender legs the color of caramel. Anywhere but her scars, his lizard brain rationalized, the entirety of the damage on display with her hair up.

"You finished?" she asked, finally drawing his gaze away from a water drop slowly making its way down into the valley of her cleavage.

"I...yeah, sorry," he mumbled, his eyes finding the floor for the brief moment it took for him to turn away from her.

"We're going to be stuck together in close quarters for gods know how long, Qrow. Let's not get awkward about things, all right?"

"Yeah. I'd just forgotten how beautiful you are," he said before ducking his head under his shoulders. Damn it, mouth, why? he thought, even as silence took them both. Maybe she'll just kill me instead of castrating me.

"Even with this?" she asked of him, stepping in front of Qrow, a single fingernail pressing up on his chin, elevating his gaze to look her in the face. The dark, blotchy scar covered her entire left cheek, from her nose to her ear and all the way down to her jawline, with a smaller portion on her right. Her piercing light brown eyes regarded him warmly, a wan, hopeful smile on her face.

"Yeah," he replied softly, his gaze swinging wide right under her scrutiny. "I'm sorry, Amber. I screwed up, and you paid the price for it. I just…" he trailed off, barely registering the sensation of Amber taking a seat next to him on the bed. Slender, warm fingers traced over the back of his left hand before she squeezed down firmly.

"You didn't do this to me, Qrow. Cinder did," she reassured him, only knowing the name from a conversation with Ozpin.

"But…"

"No buts."

They sat in silence for several heartbeats, Qrow still avoiding her gaze.

"I'm not going to make that mistake again, Amber. I promise."

"I'll hold you to it then," she replied warmly, giving his hand another gentle squeeze. "Let me get dressed, and then we can figure out what to do with the day," she said, moving to stand. Or, she would have, had Qrow's hand not had the misfortune of ending up resting on a corner of her towel. The unexpected tug backwards threw Amber off balance, and she crashed to the floor next to the bed, a disconcertingly loud bang heard as her head hit something solid.

"Scheisse!" she hissed, clearly in pain.

"Amber! Are you…" he trailed off, rounding the corner of the bed to find her lying on her back, knees bent and splayed apart, her hands clutching her head, eyes squinted shut. His eyes were wide at the sight, blinking rapidly as his mind tried to process what he wasn't seeing in front of him before he realized the towel was now dangling limply from his left hand.

Guess she really put that razor to good use, huh? he thankfully kept to himself. No! Damn it, BAD Qrow! he rebuked himself. "Here," he said aloud, handing Amber the towel again, so that she could cover herself. Every nook and cranny, each and every delicious curve of smooth caramel, from the depths of the valleys, to the peaks of the hills, and... DAMN IT, OTHER BRAIN!

A slightly trembling hand grabbed the other end of the towel from Qrow, yanking it down to cover what she could in her vulnerable position. "Thanks," she mumbled, clearly chagrined.

"I'll just, uhh, wait outside, okay?" he muttered in response, taking his leave before she could burn him to ash where he stood.

Amber watched a bedraggled red cape sway gently as Qrow retreated, closing the door behind him. She couldn't tell whether or not she was glad that he couldn't see the bemused smirk on her face, but she still had to voice her opinion on the matter.

"Damn dumb bird."

Jaune looked back over his shoulder one last time, verifying that Ruby was watching from the back door to the cabin in case things went sideways, which was a distinct possibility if the noises he could hear from within the barn were any indication. Muffled grunts of effort and staccato bursts of impacts on something large and metallic rang out in the quiet late summer air as he peered around the edge of the door jamb.

Yang was working over a steel drum dangling from the rafters from a heavy chain. Every punch she threw caused the barest lateral movement, even as the surface appeared to ripple under her punishing blows. Each of these produced a small spray of water drops over the top edge of the barrel, a decently sized puddle underneath showing just how much work she'd already put in. Whether it was the water filling her punching barrel, or just her own exertion, Yang was drenched, her tank top and shorts clinging to her powerful body.

"Hey," he said just loud enough to make sure she'd heard him.

Yang turned her head, crimson eyes regarding him just long enough to refresh the mental image she was projecting onto the drum before she resumed hammering it even harder. "The fuck you want?" she growled between flurries of jabs.

"I want to apologize, Yang."

"You can't walk that shit back, Vomit Boy."

"No, I can't. All I can do is hope to show you how sorry I am."

"Not fuckin' likely."

Yang switched from simple jabs to one-two combos that followed the initial left jab up with a right cross, sending the object of her ire into a slow, oscillating spin. Jaune sighed at his failure, watching her work for nearly a minute, the barrel beginning to be almost unusable in its erratic motion. Setting his jaw, and making sure his Aura was shielding him, Jaune stepped forward, putting himself on the opposite side of the barrel and steadying it for her. Her assault paused for a moment before she began laying into the suspended Jaune surrogate with renewed vigor, water sloshing over the top and beginning to soak him as well.

"Do you have any idea how many lines you crossed?"

"Now I do, yeah."

"Then why are you even out here? You want to die?"

"Not again, no," he quipped dryly. "And because I don't want this hanging over us, Yang."

"I've got a mother who couldn't be bothered to even change a diaper, let alone be a part of my life, and then my actual mom just walks out the door one day and never comes back. And that's where you went?"

"I'm sorry, Yang," he quickly replied, cut off before he could say more by a thunderous punch slamming into the barrel. The impact split the heavy gauge rolled steel like a ripe melon on his side, a cascade of water soaking him from the waist down.

"No!" she shouted. "Not until you tell me why," she added, stepping around the ruined training implement and getting dangerously close to him.

"Why what?" he asked with as much calm as he could muster.

"Why did you turn into an asshole?" she demanded angrily.

"What? Just because I wasn't putting up with your shit?" he asked, his demeanor melting into pure incredulity.

"You aren't being you!"

"Because I'm done being the doormat, Yang!" he barked angrily, causing her to flinch back with her eyes wide. "You. Cardin. Weiss. Goodwitch. All the people who don't think I'm good enough. Strong enough. Everyone who thought I was just a joke. The comic relief. I let you all convince me. No more," he said with grim finality. "I'm standing up for myself, and for everyone I care about." For a moment, Yang couldn't find the words, shocked by his declaration and how he apparently felt about her.

How she'd made him feel.

"I...Jaune, I'm your friend."

"That's the problem, Yang. You're not. You haven't been my friend for a while now."

Her eyes blinked once, lavender showing through once again as her face drained of color, aghast lips parted slightly before he continued.

"You're family," he clarified, the faintest hint of a smile ghosting over his lips. "I've had plenty of people who said they were my friends. Who I thought were friends. Never lasted. Friends move away. Move on. You have fights and lose friends. They do something to make you not want to be their friend any more. They were just being nice to you to get brownie points with your sister. Family is forever," he added, trying to get through to her. "No matter what you've done, Yang, I want you in my life. Ruby too. Pyrrha, Ren, Nora. Hell, even Blake and Weiss," he admitted sheepishly. "My life is better because of you all."

Yang paused to digest his words for a long moment before speaking. "Then what the hell was all that inside?"

"I was protecting my family, like you would in my place. At least I hope you would. Besides, you know family fights are the worst."

"Ain't that the truth?" she groused softly, sighing as her eyes closed. "Listen…" she began, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You're hurt!" he interjected, blue eyes wide at the blood soaking through the knuckles of her boxing wraps.

"What? Oh, this? It's nothing," she deflected, waving Jaune off. "Aura'll have that fixed in an hour."

"Not before Ruby sees it. Let me take care of you, Yang." He only received a half-lidded gaze that spoke of smoldering anger for a reply, but Yang lifted her hands for inspection nevertheless. He gently went about removing the long strips of cloth from her hands, finding more to worry about with each turn of his hands around hers. "Geez, I think I see bone on that one," he muttered as he finally had a good look at the damage.

With a brief moment of concentration, he drew upon his Semblance, allowing a trickle of power to flow through him and into her. White and golden yellow mixed together before their eyes, the glow enough to be seen over the daylight filtering through the windows. He could hear Yang hiss softly as her flesh knit itself back together, but a quick glance up saw her meet his gaze and offer him a slight, but still grateful, smile.

"That's nice," she whispered, flexing her fingers to check for lingering pain and finding none. "Still, I can't believe you went and pumped your sister full of your warm white essence, you naughty boy," she said with a sultry purr in her voice.

"One, another sister, and two, weren't you offering to make out with your brother earlier? And now look at you; you're drenched." he shot back with a grin to match her own.

"Dork."

"Takes one to know one," he replied, the both of them chuckling for a long moment. "Come on, Yang. Let's get cleaned up so we can get to that shopping, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll take this mess down later, I guess," she said, turning and taking a couple steps towards the door before stopping. "Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"You...you know you're important to me too, right?"

"Yeah. I love you too, Yang," he replied with a soft smirk.

"Like a sister, right?"

"Ehh, more like this cat we had once. Really hissy and temperamental, but once you got past that, she was a sweetheart."

"Ass," she fired back through a smirk, closing in on him quickly enough that he flinched in response before she wrapped him in a fierce, but brief, hug. "Thanks for being my friend, Jaune. Just...let's try and not bring out the worst in each other again?"

"I can get with that," he said softly, letting Yang out of his arms again. "So, are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good. Gimme a hand?"

"With?"

Yang simply put a finger to her lips before looking to her side, a mischievous smirk taking over her lips before she darted to her right. She reached the door quickly enough to grab a now-squirming Ruby in her arms, lifting her sister's small frame with ease. "Sides of the ribcage, Jaune!" she ordered him, Ruby's eyes going wide at her sister's betrayal. She could only squeal in protest as he found the right spots immediately, his fingers practiced from endless tickle wars with his sisters over the years. Jaune, of course, ignored her protests, pressing on until her giggles became breathless and her pleas for mercy became more desperate.

"Meanies," she grumbled once she'd been set down, her cheeks flushed and her breathing labored.

"You know you love us," Yang beamed.

"Yeah, yeah. You two done killing each other yet?"

"Yeah, we're good, Ruby," he replied, cutting his gaze to Yang for confirmation and receiving it with a nod.

"Lemme go get showered and then we can go into town. Jaune wanted to pick up some tarts," she said, giving her sister a wink.

"The pastry, Ruby."

"I figured."

Yang trotted off, leaving the pair of friends standing in front of the barn.

"Are you two really okay?" she asked, knowing her sister well enough to see a possible front.

"I promise," he replied, giving her a warm smile that she returned after a moment.

"Okay. So, what do you wanna do for the next hour?"

"That long? Seriously? Violette would murder her!"

"Welcome to my world," she deadpanned. "Sooo, video games?"

"I mean sure, if you want your butt kicked."

"As if, Vomit Boy!" she scoffed, turning and walking towards the cabin. "I call Soaring Ninja!"

"The true tool of button mashers everywhere," he countered, more of a White Knight main himself. Even so, he couldn't help but smile despite everything that had happened today, and the situation he found himself in..

The location mattered not.

Jaune Arc felt like he was home.