Jaune felt his whole body shiver as he set foot off of the small bullhead. His knees weak, he forced himself to book it to the treeline before relieving his stomach of what was left of his breakfast. He never thought he would make it the whole half hour to Patch without throwing up inside and possibly being ejected from the vehicle by his newfound friend. Though he wouldn't use friend as a sure-fire way to label Qrow.
So far the man had been nothing but distant and if he were to think hard on it, somewhat grim. But that was most likely the hangover they were both having to deal with. Jaune pleasantly found that his head had transformed from being in excrutiating pain, to having only a dull throb of discomfort occasionally. Though their joined suffering was not as horrible as he thought. Qrow struck up a few conversations and even told a few raunchy jokes and stories.
"Come on kid, we should get there on time or Tai will rip us a new one!" Qrow shouted from the platform overlooking the clearing in the trees where they had landed.
"Alright, I'm on my way!" Jaune yelled back before jogging over to meet up with the weathered Huntsman. "So Qrow... You never really explained how exactly you know this Tai figure, or why he is willing to do this for you." He says trailing a foot behind his companion.
"Kid, you ask too many questions. Think of it this way, if I didn't tell you something that would more than likely be revealed to you when you arrive and meet Tai, then I probably expect you to be smart enough to wait and find out." Qrow says taking a sip from his flask.
"Ugh, I can't believe that you are still drinking. Especially after the third round last night, you could barely stand." Jaune says shaking his head and pulling his backpack tighter against his back by the straps. "You layed down on the bar, threw your arms and legs up in a cheer, and then fell right off anf knocked yourself out." Jaune finished while laughing softly.
"You see, that is part of the charm kid. Girls don't like it when people act to perfect, they like a little bit of chaos. It gives you character." Qrow says waving his hand like the news of him getting black out drunk and embarressing himself was nothing to worry about. "Think of it this way, when have you ever thought in detail, 'oh I am going to be exactly like that normal guy over there, I bet he gets mad amounts of ladies?' Exactly, you don't."
When put it that way, Jaune supposes he hasn't ever tried to be normal because normal was cool. I mean in a way he was probably to occupied with trying to be normal for other reasons as a kid to even care about trying to be more than that. But looking back, all the kids his age liked to cool and interesting kids far more than normal companions. Jaune could'nt help but feel that maybe his older sister had been right, maybe he should have gotten some cool clothes and cut his hair in a different way.
"Anyway, I wan't to know something kid... How did you end up with Crocea Mors? I know that your mother does not want any of you kids to become Huntresses, or a Huntsmen in your case." Qrow says snatching the ancestral blade from Jaune's belt. To the frustration of said boy.
"Well, I kind of... Well I stole it. She had it locked in the heirloom case anyway, and I...I don't know. Something told me to take it, a feeling in my bones. My dad had his blades mounted above his board in his classroom so that wasn't happening. But ever since Mom slowed down and started staying home more... She put everything away. Almost like she was going to stop." Jaune said, starting slow and unsure of his words. But eventually sacked up enough to reveal to Qrow exactly why he did it.
With a low chuckle and a snort, Qrow held the blade by it's scabbard and examined the wrapped grip of the handle. His eyes told Jaune that something was yet to be seen, or explained. Qrow didn't look as though he was simply familiarizing himself with the blade. It was like he was looking at a photo album, a nostalgic look sat comfortably on his face.
"I can't believe it Kid." Qrow said stopping and holding the weapon with both hands. Something in his tone screamed somber. "I knew her better than most, she felt that this blade was the best part of joining the Arc family. She felt it represented her marraige being destined. She was cheesy like that before she... Well before you kids came along that is. She told me once that the day she put down her sword was the day she would put a bullet in her head." Qrow said running his fingers over the pommel almost longingly.
"Are you sure you are talking about the same Mom I know? The one that is always telling me to be an accountant or to go teach preschoolers cause I was good with my younger sisters? The one who won't let my Father tell stories about defeating Grimm or working with the Atlas Military? She must have changed a lot since you last hung out." Jaune said snatching his blade back before snapping it back onto his belt.
"More than you could imagine kid...More than you could imagine." Qrow muttered to himself as he followed the boy.
...
Tai heard the knock before his daughters. Luckily he was in the kitchen and beat his youngest child to the door. Though it was barely by anything seeing as she had used her semblance to speed from the upstairs bathroom to the front door in record time. His hands pulled the door open and revealed the visitors.
"UNCLE QROW!" Ruby squealed happily as she launched at her uncle with arms spread.
Said man simply threw his arm behind him to grab something before tossing himself to the side and watching Ruby sail off the porch and land with her arms comedically wrapping not around her idol, but around herself.
"Well I hope you are satisfied, she hasn't seen you in months and you can't even let her get a hug in?" Tai says dissaprovingly. He sometimes forgets when he is speaking in a fatherly tone, seeing as it had become second nature at this point. But his sentence fell off on Qrow. But Tai spotted the boy that he has heard about so much, and he saw a problem.
Tai lunged with wide eyes and grabbed the boy and Qrow by their shirts before pulling them both inside quick;y before slamming the door and closing the blinds.
"Qrow! You brought him all the way from Vale without having him at least put his hood up? Are you insane? Ohm above she could be already tracking him here! I can't survive a siege with so little preperation!" Tai catches himself frantically dashing to close all the blinds in the house before peering out the front door to see Ruby pouting and tapping her foot.
"Oh stop it Tai, word has it she isn't working any more. You are safe for now." Qrow says before strolling into the living room and tossing himself onto the sofa. His legs kick up onto the armrest.
"I hope you are correct... I haven't been super active recently, I couldn't fend her off." Tai says finally letting go of his childish paranoia before chuckling and crossing his arms.
"So you just stroll in and ignore my hug? I have half a mind to hide the cookies!" Ruby says suddenly sitting on the coffee table in front of Qrow.
Jaune visibly jumped with a tiny yelp at the exited girl's sudden appearence.
"Ruby..." Qorw said with a dramatic sigh. "We both know that I would find them-"
"Oh my gosh there is a person! Hi, I'm Ruby! It is a pleasure to make your asaintence! Oops! I mean aquaintance." Ruby says cutting Qrow off and zooming forward to stand before Jaune while extending a hand.
Jaune smiled nervously before scratching his neck and shaking the younger girl's hand.
"Uh, hi Ruby. I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc."
"Well hello there Uncle! I didn't know it was time for you to head south for the winter, did we get a birdbath dad?" Yang says jokingly as she strolls into the room and nudges her dad's ribs as she makes her joke.
"Even the birds outside cringed on that one Yang." Tai says pinching his nose.
"Well hell-o stranger." Yang says putting a playful emphasis on the L's. "Im Yang, nice to meet ya. We should Yang out sometime." She adds while shaking Jaune's hand.
If it weren't for his awareness of both Yang's father and uncle being in the room, he probably would have laughed at her joke and made one of his own. But fearing that the said older gentlemen would take that as him trying to flirt with her, he took the simple approach.
"Jaune Arc. It's short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." Jaune said while screaming internally. He could feel the sweat roll down his forehead as the room went dead quiet.
Jaune was about to bolt when Yang started laughing with reckless abandon. Her hands clutching her stomach as he giggled and snorted. Jaune noticed Ruby join in and Tai even shed a light chuckle, but Jaune almost soiled himself as he caught Tai sending him a warning glance.
"Oh that was good! Almost thought you were genuine! Man, it is good to have someone else around with a sense of humor!" Yang says clapping a hand on his shoulder and walking over to sit down next to Ruby.
"Yay! You all have met. Now to the point." Qrow says mockingly as he sits up.
"Good. Now spill!" Tai says.
"Nope." Qrow responds. "Not with the kiddies around. Lets go to the Kitchen." Qrow says swigging a drink from his flask and walking while hunched to said room.
Jaune suddenly felt naked. He was sat down in a living room with two pretty girls and had no way out. It would be rude to ignore them, but what if he said something wrong? He is staying in their house for the foreseeable future so he knows he can't mess this up. But with how this situation looks he can't help but feel at odds. He wanted to start the conversation, but dreaded that his interests probably did not match the girls present.
"So Jaune, do you like music?" Ruby asked while pointing to her earphones that hung over the backrest of the couch.
"Oh, yeah. I listen to all kinds and play instruments occasionally." Jaune says cracking a smile at the memories.
"That's cool! I tried to play Ukelele once but I wasn't very good. But Yang had a drum-set and killed it!" Ruby said exited. "What do you play?"
"Well guitar first off, then there is piano, drums like Yang, and for two years I took violin lessons with my Dad." Jaune responds sheepishly whild fidgeting with his hands.
"Well instruments aside, is that a sword hanging there, or are you just happy to see me?" Yang jokes bored.
Jaune caught himself after spluttering and he could feel the red hit his cheeks with a fury. He had never had to deal with flirtatious women before, his sisters never had many friends over and him being the second oldest made it to where his own lack of friends had pretty much limited his interactions with women to his own family.
"I-I do have a sword yes, it was a...hand-me-down of sorts." Jaune stuttered back while trying to keep his eyes on Yang's own Lilac orbs. He found it harder to do that now that they were face to face sat across from each other.
"Oh cool! What does it do?" Ruby asked with gleaming eyes. Her hands were together in fists and shaking exitedly.
He took it off and un-sheathed it to show it was a normal bastard sword. But then he expanded the shield and showed off the golden arcs that graced it's form.
"It is very old from what I have been told. My Grandfather used it to fight in the War, and before that his father created it. Every generation of Arc men since has used it until recently. My Dad gave it to my Mom when they got married." Jaune explains putting it back to it's docile state and setting it down on the coffee table.
"So let me guess, Uncle Qrow knows you and brought you here so you can go with us to Beacon? Is this what that is lover-boy?" Yang asks while resting her head on her hand.
With another blush and a cough, Jaune lets his smile fade and he shakes his head.
"No... I wish, but I failed to get accepted into Beacon. I am here because Qrow and your dad want me train with them instead." His voice clearly showed his lack of confidence in his skills.
He noticed that Yang narrowed her eyes for a minute, and her features seemed less lax and more conservative.
"Well that's okay Jaune, I don't know why, but I can feel it already. I already know that Dad and Drunkle Qrow will make you awesome as can be!" Ruby says punching his shoulder playfully.
Then the three teenagers all heard Tai's voice from the front.
"Girls! Say goodbye and get on the road, the airship leaves in fifteen minutes!" The older blonde shouts from the front door.
Ruby zooms out to the front with a quick goodbye. But Jaune smiles shyly at Yang as she giggles at her sister's antics.
"Listen Jaune, I apologize for her. She is just exited for all of this." Yang says earnestly.
"Oh don't worry, I am just amazed she is younger and going anyway. I envy you both truth be told." Jaune replied with a smile that hides his pain.
"Cheer up there lady-killer. I know these old men have got what it takes to whip you into shape. Maybe if you get good, ill see you next year and give you pointers in school huh?" Yang says giving him a thumbs up before heading for the door.
Jaune caught himself looking her over now that he wasn't under pressure. The way her body moved screamed confidence. Her clothing choice made his knees weak, and her physique was playing tricks on him. Maybe he dreamed her up, nothing else, just her. His thoughts then set themselves on the next task.
I am going to get better. I will not get denied again.
His eyes hardened and his jaw set, Jaune relaxed his shoulders and felt himself hope again.
...
Qrow hates being required to do menial work. Like right now, he is helping Tai move all of Yang's personal items into her closet. Tai decided that Jaune gets her room for the time being. In Qrow's mind it was the most logical choice, seeing as the walls were Sunflower-Yellow and weren't overly decorated like Ruby's room. Qrow just could not imagine Jaune liking a pink room with red rose paintings on the walls. Most of Yang's items were magazines, books, and clothing. But Tai stared lovingly at her old diary when he found it whilst digging around under the bed.
Qrow found a pack of Dust-Ciggarettes and hastily stored them between Harbinger and the small of his back. If Tai found them he might hunt Yang down and have her explain. He was the cool uncle for a reason, and he won't stop being that now. But he did have concern at one point, finding a shoe box with items that were none of his business. They were a notebook labeled 'failed attempts' and a few pictures of Yang's classmates that had marker scribbled over them. Typical jealous teen stuff.
Eventually they had almost everything put away. Her vanity mirror on her desk remained as it was, with numbers and messages written all over it. They will give Jaune cleaner for it later. But the room was barren and that was interesting to say the least. For the first time in seventeen years this room would belong to someone other than the blonde bombshell. The full size bed was sat in the center with the headboard against the far wall. The desk and mirror were to the left against the left-hand wall sitting about ten feet from the edge of the bed. A simple bedside table sat on the opposite side of the bed with a lamp. It's shade was lilac.
The window, sat in the center of the right-hand wall and let in light from the front. You could see the whole clearing in front of Tai's house from it. A tall brown desser sat cleaned out and to the immediate right against the wall as you come in the door. Overall, it will do very nicely for the young man they plan to turn into a Huntsman in training.
"Qrow." Tai says sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Tai, I know you don't want to hear this, but I can only stay a week before i have to go back out. I will make sure to give weekly reports to Oz in person so I can sneak back here and help the Kid, but that is about all I can manage at first. The Beacon school year lasts about thirty-six weeks. We can have him ready by then." Qrow responds while thinking about how hard they are going to push Jaune.
"Just keep in mind that if she comes for him, I won't be able to hold her long. We both know she would listen to you a hundred times over before she listens to me Qrow." Tai warns.
"I know Tai, shes..." Qrow trails off. "Listen Tai, I am not doing this for the reason you think okay? I am doing this because something told Ozpin, and me that the boy has potential. I felt it in my gut." Qrow says gripping his flask tight.
"Qrow, I know this isn't a question you want me to ask... But what happened the last time you and June spoke? How did you two end such a tight relationship?" Tai asks running a hand through his hair.
Mulling over his options, Qrow decided that the truth was his best option. Tai is possibly the only person he could trust.
"Jaune is seventeen years old. He is the second child of eight. You already know this, but I have a hunch that is very scandalous. June and Nick had one before him. Her name is Dove. Nineteen years ago, we were third years, and June and Nick were just graduating remember?" Qrow starts slowly while drinking from his flask. For this next part he is going to need a buzz.
"Yeah I remember, they were thinking about engagement at the time. Then she got pregnant, Qrow why is this important?" Tai said wary.
"Well let's just say that there is a reason they didn't get married right out of school... Like there was someone else holding her back..." Qrow said now standing and staring out the window.
After a minute of pure silence Tai stood up in a jolt.
"Qrow... are you saying that June was having an affair? With you? Wait a minute." Tai said grabbing his scroll and flipping through old text messages.
Qrow could only sigh in defeat as Tai slowly pieced things together. Soon he would be outed and Tai would question everything.
"Here, a family photo of the Arcs from two years ago..." Tai began. But the surprise was evident on his face at what he found. Every single child looked similar, all eight of them having blonde hair and either blue or green eyes like their parents. All except for the oldest daughter. She had blonde hair sure, but her features were a little more angular and then he saw it... She had red eyes. "Qrow... how could you not tell me?"
"Because I didn't know until two months ago... I happened to be out by Valin so I decided to check up with the Arcs. I had never visited so I decided it would be neat. Before I could even get to their house, June saw me on her way to the store and grabbed me. She told me under no circumstance could I ever meet the kids... I thought something else was up Tai, so I got worried. She promised to talk to me later and went to go home. I turned into my other form and sat on a branch and observed in case there was really something wrong. Then i saw her Tai." Qrow said, his voice getting quieter as the seconds passed by.
"Your daughter..." Tai finished.
...
So I want to get a few things off first, this story from here on out will for the majority only be focusing on Jaune and Yang. With each of them having their own story lines going on. But I wanted to get the news of Big Daddy Qrow out now. Let's just say that it is something that will come up again later on. But the next few chapters will settle our characters into their respective places and show their first steps towards improving. Hopefully you guys enjoy this so far and feel free to review, cause there is a large chance I will respond to it.
-SlyShorty