SOME SPOILERS FOR RWBY VOLUME 8 EPISODE 4 DON'T READ TOP IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT.
First off, TheSlySage I would love to do a fic like that but it'll have to wait for later since I'm usually so busy. Second to my guest I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way but I gotta give props to RT for this newest episode fault cause it really showed how much jaune has changed and I really liked it.
Also I can't be the only one thinking that team mantle has a way better story going on then team amity. I mean they had the hound and are dealing with more problems and have better interactions with each other then ruby's team. Plus that chase scene in the new episode was pretty great in my opinion but did anyone notice how jaune held Ren on his shield with one arm?! Nora was right, he's definitely earned that "mister muscles" title lol.
Most days when they all met in the cafeteria for food they'd chat about either class or how crappy their food was but not today. The two teams sat quietly next to each other and exchanged awkward looks with one another before looking to the blonde leader who was acting like the life had been drained from him. Ruby's eyes darted from jaune to Nora and noticed the red head eating her food like a normal person which was weird in its own right.
Yang looked to her cousin and then to the rest of their friends and gave them a shrug of her shoulders when they silently asked what happened. Weiss was the first to get fed up with the atmosphere and stood up "ok this has gone on long enough". The heiress turned her attention to her team leader "jaune I don't know what's wrong with you but you need to get a hold of yourself. Just watching you sit there like your life came to an end is creeping me out"!
Weiss's words got a reaction not from the blonde but the red head who had stopped eating when the heiress had finished laying into her team leader. Nora glared at the heiress for a brief second before standing up from her seat to walk over to her leader. The two whispered to each other before the red head helped him out of his seat and the two left the cafeteria together.
Weiss held her arms out like she was addressing the heavens themselves "what just happened"? Ren was normally a quiet guy who didn't say much but every once in a while he spoke up and in this moment he felt the need to "I think it's best to leave them alone for now".
Ruby turned to pyrrha's partner with a questioning gaze "do you know what happened? Jaunes never acted like this before". Ren shook his head, a clear action to tell someone he didn't know but deep down he did and could understand the blondes change. Blake got out of her seat and was clearly unwilling to listen to Ren's advice as she too left the cafeteria to hunt down her partner in crime.
/
"You know you should tell them something".
Jaune sat in their dorms window and continued to stare out into the vast blue of the sky "what am I supposed to say to them exactly"? Nora clenched her hands into fists "anything! Tell them you found something else you wanted to do besides being a hunter so your going to pursue that or something close so they won't worry when your gone". The blonde didn't turn away from the scene he took for granted everyday since he got to Beacon "so you want the last thing I give them to be a lie? I can't do that".
Nora's eyes drifted to the floor as her frustration dissipated. He was right and she knew for sure she'd be torn up if that was how someone she cared about left her. "Then what are you going to say"?
"Nothing" he answered.
"You can't just say nothing, these people have grown up with you, trust you and you plan to just disappear from their lives without so much as a good bye" Nora fired off angrily. Jaune turned to the red head with a icy glare "I don't see why what I do about my affairs should matter to you, after all, what I'm doing will save your mistress". When the red head clammed up jaune stepped away from the dorm window "besides it matters little in the end since the jaune these people know has only been a lie from the beginning".
Jaune passed nora and opened the rooms door to reveal the cat faunus he came to call a partner. Blake had obviously been eavesdropping on their conversation but instead of jaune scolding her for doing so he mearly stepped aside to let her enter the room.
The door closed behind her and the first thing she did was ask a simple question to the red head "why do you think jaunes going to disappear"? Nora didn't look like she was going to answer so Blake turned to the blonde behind her "why does she think your going to disappear"? He didn't answer her like she hoped he would so she decided to skip the niceties and pushed him against the door and glared up at him with one hand on his chest "Tell me"!
Jaune stared back into her amber eye's and saw determination in them but also a tinge of fear. Was that because she was worried he'd leave her too or because she'd be left to face her ex by herself was the real question. Blake's hand twitched when she felt jaunes hand cover hers.
The blonde pushed himself away from the door and closer to the cat faunus "all right" he answered in a low voice. Blake didn't move from her spot in front of him as she listened to the blondes current problem. At first she didn't understand why jaune would sacrifice himself for one of their people so jaune went back and spilled everything about who he really was and how things got to this point.
Betrayed was the first thing she felt when he'd finished his long story but more than that she felt hurt. She had placed her trust in the man before her and yet in one fell swoop it felt like he shattered everything she believed in.
The people they were fighting, the reason jaune was willing to throw his life away and worst of all the plan for Beacon, her safe haven after leaving the fang and where her friends stayed. Blake's eyes looked down at the hand that covered her own and wanted nothing more then to smack it away and punch the man it belonged to but she didn't. There was still something she needed to know, something she desperately wanted in the hope it would change things around so she asked "what about us? Do we mean nothing to you" she whispered.
Years he spent with his friends and even though at first it was only to survive he couldn't deny that he came to care for them. Ruby was his best friend, pyrrha a childhood friend, yang a sister just like saphron and Blake...she was something far more precious to him then he could put into words especially in these dark times. "You mean everything to me" he answered without thinking.
The cat faunus's eyes widened and her cheeks darkened at the sudden confession. Nora who had been as quiet as a mouse gasp and covered her mouth. Blake's hand slipped away from jaunes and she turned away hoping to hide the blush that wouldn't go away and to calm her heart before it popped out of her chest.
Jaune was confused by her reaction at first until he played the scenario back in his mind. When he realized what he said he coughed into his fists and turned away "I meant all of you, I mean" he tried but even he wasn't convinced. Blake's head bobbed slightly "y-yeah all of us" she repeated as she clenched her fist to her chest.
Blake wasn't entirely convinced despite jaunes confession but if he was ever going to prove himself, now was going to be the time. She turned back to the blonde and decided to commit to this feeling no matter how embarrassing because it was probably the best chance she had to convince jaune to live and more importantly to change. To say he was caught off guard was the understatement of the century especially when he felt Blake's hand guide his face to hers.
Nora's hands moved from her mouth to her eyes to block out the view except for the fact her fingers spread open so she could still see. Jaunes eye's widened but despite his surprise he neither pushed her away or moved back but instead decided to enjoy the moment. Blake's lips separated from jaunes a moment later but her face remained close with her eyes closed.
"It doesn't matter-" she whispered to him "-their plans, their schemes or how many enemies we face just don't give up on this...on us". Blake's eyes opened and she stared into his blue while giving him a warm smile to show her support.
Jaune didn't really know what to say but he knew what to think and he felt like kicking himself for acting like such a idiot for thinking sacrificing himself would end things. Alec already planned to eliminate him because Alec believed that he betrayed Salem and if he could jump to such a decision like that, who's to say he wouldn't do the same with vernal. She already planned to join him against Alec so that pretty much made her a traitor as well.
Jaune smiled at the cat faunus but blushed a moment later. It was a good kinda weird to think that the woman in front of him could snap him out of his mood with one move but he didn't want to be the only one like this. "I wanna kiss you right now" he said to Blake and her reaction was to blush madly at the request but seeing how she stole his lips earlier she felt it was only fair.
Blake nodded slowly and felt jaune move in and capture her as she did him. The two broke apart after a brief second and jaune stepped past Blake when she turned away with a blush. The blonde stepped up to nora and began to explain what he came up with in the moment he took to think straight.
Nora looked shell shocked at first before she spoke "if he's just going to kill her then what the hell's the point of this so called deal"?
"To gather and eliminate all potential enemies in one go...I suppose that includes you as well as Ren".
Nora gritted her teeth in anger "then what are we gonna do? And you better not tell me that leaving vernal to die is a option". The blonde shook his head "trust me I wouldn't and after thinking about what we could do to death I think I might finally have an idea" he said to the surprise of the others.
"So what's the plan" Blake asked as she moved to join the two. Jaune sighed deeply "it's a bit tricky but the gist of it is that I gotta make a deal with one of the worst criminal in human history". Blake and nora exchanged nervous looks with one another before turning back to the blonde "why torchwick"?
Jaune grimaced "not quite who I meant".
Well now jaune getting some of that Bella booty, Nicholas would be so proud. Jaune is a smart guy but he's still just a human, so getting hit with that doubt and depression would still affect him like everyone else.
It's funny, my uncle is always telling me "a good woman will always change a man for the better no matter how stubborn he wants to be" and I guess I kinda did that here with Blake and jaune. My uncle would be so proud.