09/13/1999….

When Jaune woke up this morning, he was in a strained, but still loving relationship with the young deaf girl that saved his life. A girl he also helped save several months before from being struck by a car. They had been seen as a sort of "Power couple" sorts, everyone on campus, including some of the teachers that had seen them together.

That relationship is now over, A decision that Jaune made alone. A decision that he only had himself to blame.

A decision that after long walk home left with only the uncomfortable thoughts that he struggled with.

"Did I make a mistake?"

"Was she telling the truth?"

"How do I know Cardin didn't force himself on her?"

"Fuck it, I know what I saw! None of it matters now!" Jaune thought as he walked into the door of his home, slamming the door behind him as his rage made him blind to the strength he was throwing around.

It was enough to get Mina's attention as she rounded the corner calling his name "Jaune was that you?"

Once she had seen him, alls she was able to see was his back as he was already facing away from her and down the hall. Mina noticed that the knuckles on one of his hands were bleeding.

Jaune paused in his steps as his body language radiated with an almost visible aura demanding that anyone seeing him just plain "fuck off". Mina, however, knew her son well enough to know that no amount of anger would make him lash out her.

"Jaune… what happened." Mina asked softly as Weiss maneuvered herself into view from the kitchen as well.

Jaune just looked over his shoulder, leaving on a single crying eye to look at them. He didn't sign a word to them. He didn't need too.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked Jaune. "I take it… it didn't go well with her then?"

If Jaune could scream his would shout, he would scream, he would swear "Of fucking course, it didn't work out, why the fuck would it have worked out!" However, all he could do was look away from the two of them as he was left to simmer in the rage stewing in his own head.

"Jaune, why don't you come out here and talk to us about-" Mina was cut off at the sound of the door opening and Alan walked into their home.

"Did I manage to beat Jaune home?" Alan asked with a worried look on his face.

Weiss answered, "No, he just got in."

Alan walked over to Jaune and put a hand on his shoulder saying "Good, Jaune lets you and I step out back and talk, I talked to Cardin and-"

Alan never finished the sentence before Jaune grabbed Alan and pushed him into the wall in a rage before signing [I don't want to fucking hear his name, Alan!]

Mina covered her mouth in shock as even Weiss had recoiled back from the sudden display of unchecked rage from Jaune. Only Alan was able to maintain his composure as he stared down his Stepson. "I should let you know, I'm only going to let you get away with that once," Alan said as he narrowed his eyes into an intense gaze at Jaune. "I'm going to need to you take your hands off of me."

Jaune backed down and stepped back leaning against the wall [I don't want to hear it Alan.] he said still rather pissed off as he left for his room to drop his stuff off and be alone for a bit.

Mina walked over "I'm sorry I've never seen him like that. Do you know what happened?"

Alan sighed out "He dumped Ruby today…" Alan paused "Just had a chat with a concerned Mr. Winchester, he says he misinterpreted some conversations he and Ruby were having as romantic intentions, and Jaune walked in on him kissing his now ex-girlfriend."

"That stupid bitch…" Weiss said holding a hand to her head

"Language Ms. Schnee," Mina said.

"It never would have happened if ruby didn't let Cardin hit on her. She should have shot it down when it first happened." Weiss said with a frustrated tone.

"I've never seen my son that angry Alan, Never enough to attack someone like that," Mina said still in visible shock of what her son just did. "He's been in fights, yes, but he's never been known to start them. I don't know what to do."

"Hey, your his mom, but maybe he needs an understanding friend right now," Weiss said looking at the pair. "He's not going to want to hear excuses, or get mothered, he's going to want someone to be there for him with an understanding frame of mind."

"Ms. Schnee you lost me," Alan said to Weiss.

"Well, we both want to kill the cheating little shit right now," Weiss said, perfectly, through clenched teeth.

Alan and Mina looked at each other silently for a few moments, neither knowing how to respond to what Weiss just said. Alan just stepped out of the way and invited her to pass as Weiss leaned on her walker and walked towards Jaune's room.

"Alan, would you be a dear and warn Summer that Weiss might beat her daughter to death with her walker tomorrow?" Mina said.

Alan shook his head "Mr. Winchester did sound sincerely sorry for all of this."

"He can blow it out his ass dear," Mina said as she made her way back towards the kitchen.

Weiss stepped into Jaune's room knocking to announce herself. Jaune was sitting at the end of his bed nursing his still slightly bleeding knuckles.

Weiss rolled a chair over to him watching his reaction, Jaune still looked pissed, but his anger was far more subdued than it had been only moments ago. Weiss stared at him for a moment waiting for him to say something.

[I broke up with her.] Jaune signed out.

"Yeah, we all know," Weiss replied rubbing her hands together. "Want to talk about it?"

[It was like my brain couldn't process it, I round the corner. Cardin's leaned in kissing her, and she didn't exactly look like she was struggling out of it.] Jaune signed. [I just don't think I've ever felt so angry about anything in my life.]

"I can understand where you're coming from, I mean that's not a great thing to stumble upon," Weiss said.

Jaune fumed in his spot on the bed. [Yet here I am, regretting it. I dumped her on the spot, I didn't even give her a chance to explain herself.]

Weiss shrugged and said, "Look, she didn't deny that she was letting Cardin get close to her, she didn't deny that she liked the attention. I hate to say this you made the only choice you could. You don't deserve to have an unfaithful girlfriend no matter your history with her."

[Thank you for the reminder Weiss, But I just don't know how it all went so fucking wrong in the last week…] Jaune signed angrily.

"Maybe that's not what happened, maybe it's been going wrong for far longer," Weiss said. "Can you honestly say things have been going the way either of you wanted it to?"

[No, but I never once considered cheating on her!] Jaune signed his entire body tensed up.

"My dad used to say, and don't take this as a comment on you as a person." Weiss cleared her through and did the best impression of her father "A man's duty is to make his woman happy, an unhappy woman is going to stray."

[Seriously? So you're saying that it was my job to keep Ruby happy? That I failed her?] Jaune signed with a look of genuine confusion in her face. [Who's fucking side are you on?]

"Well I don't really believe that, and I'm on your side here Jaune," Weiss said. "But I think you know that you were never the perfect boyfriend, you never had a chance to be. I mean how on earth were you supposed to make her happy when you couldn't even find your own happiness?"

Jaune just silently scoffed out as he signed [Okay, I never pretended I was the perfect boyfriend I'll admit.]

"That's not my point, Ruby has always struck me as naive, I think she had ideas about how relationships should work, I get that you were her first boyfriend, but I'm not sure if she ever really grasped what you went through before her."

[That I might have been jaded because of my last relationship?] Jaune signed out

"Nah, I mean yes, but no." Weiss stumbled over her words "You already knew what kind of work went into a relationship. your mom, well she told stories of your old home and how much work you put towards your first girlfriend." Weiss leaned in to put a hand on his shoulder stopping at the last moment. "I mean, you made yourself so solely responsible for her happiness, that you forgot how to be happy yourself."

[My mom really needs to learn to shut up] Jaune asked.

"It's my fault, I was asking for advice about Blake. I think the idea of two girls dating is a bit weird to her though." Weiss said.

[To be fair it was weird for a bit for me as well, to see two of my best friends sucking face.] Jaune signed.

Weiss giggled as she adjusted in her seat "Okay it was weird watching you and Ruby doing the same"

Jaune just leaned forward in his seat smiling sadly. [Weiss be honest with me, did I just make the second biggest mistake of my life?]

Weiss leaned forward rubbing her sore legs "I don't know Jaune, I don't think anyone is really going to know until the dust settles."

Jaune leaned back in his seat. [So you need to borrow the computer to chat with Blake? I don't think I'll be on IM tonight.]

"Yeah, do you want me to give her the heads up?" Weiss asked.

[Yeah you should, best she hears it from you.] Jaune signed, [I think I'm just going to pop in a CD and listen to music for a while.]

Weiss nodded as she got up to let Mina and Alan know she at least got Jaune calmed down, and to get a drink before she sat down to talk with her girlfriend…


Meanwhile while as Jaune was getting home, Ruby sulked her way into her own home, her dad's car was not home. Ruby knew this meant that she'd be walking into an empty house or her mother.

She didn't know what felt worse.

As she walked in she heard a loud banging in the area of the kitchen. She followed the sounds and walked into her mother as she was struggling to open a Jar of Spaghetti sauce.

Her mother doesn't really like Spaghetti, but her mother knew she did. "Oh well, this doesn't bode well for me."

Her mother turned and looked at her saying "Hey hon, I uh… I got a call from the principal about fifteen minutes ago, and I figured you'd need some comfort food."

Ruby's carefully crafted and skin deep shell of calm came crashing down as she slumped to her knees crying. Her mother was kneeling next to her in moments pulling her into a tight hug.

Summer said to her daughter, "I hope your Hearing aids didn't die on you because I want you to know it's going to be okay."

Ruby pulled away wiping her eyes as she sat there in the middle of the kitchen floor. "I feel su ah-shamed right now"

Summer was right down on the floor with her "I know you do, believe me, I was there once as well. I think what I did was far more disgraceful than just letting some boy kiss me."

"Ah… I can't eben luck at him now, not afber wat happened." Ruby said sobbing.

Summer smiled and gently stroked Ruby's hair "I know your hurting now, but you're young, and we all make mistakes when we're young."

Ruby sniffed and spoke out in her own broken way "Ahm I ah mistake?"

Summer smiled and said, "I never once thought you were a mistake, or unwanted. If anything your proof that sometimes Mistakes can lead to wonderful things"

"Eben though I caused Dad and Raven to divorce?" Ruby asked.

"Is that what you think? My god Ruby I don't even think Raven blames you for that." Summer said.

"Ah feel like if I was naver born then…" Ruby started to say before she was cut off.

"Ruby long, there were a lot of parties to blame for that, but you were not one of them. The truth is, your dad blames himself for being unfaithful, and I blame myself for seducing him away from Raven." Summer Paused "But we had the most amazing girl I've ever seen in my life."

"Ahm Broken, without mah Hearing Aids I can't eben hear" Ruby sobbed out.

Summer put her hands on Ruby's cheeks and shook her head. "Your not broken, the world is broken, this town is certainly broken, Jaune was broken once I'd say." Summer paused as Ruby winced at his name. "But you are not broken. You've endured hardship, you have a gift for making and creating things."

Summer pointed out the window at some wind chimes that hung from the window. "You were 5 years old when you made those with your father, you picked out every piece of metal in it. I mean sure they honestly sound a bit terrible. But that's not on you."

Ruby just looked down "They really do sound kinda bad."

Redirecting Ruby back on the positive. "Also what you did for Weiss's Legs was a stroke of Genius on your behalf. You gave her her legs back."

Ruby did smile at that a bit. "Ah, guess that's true."

"You were born with a gift Ruby, you're smarter than me and your dad ever could have hoped to be, you have a creative soul in you." Summer said to her chile. "And I'm sorry that I never knew how to appreciate it."

Ruby shook her head "Ah you saying I can fig this?"

"I'm saying that nothing can stop you once your mind is one something, I know that mistakes can lead to something beautiful, and maybe this mistake might do just that." Summer said. "Go get cleaned up while I finish dinner okay?"

Ruby wiped the last tears from her eyes and stood up with Summer's help. She took her hearing aids out and walked towards her bedroom for a change of clothes. Her mother smiled as she left. Knowing that she wouldn't hear her she said. "Just don't fuck this up and end up like me…"


So begins the fallout of the breakup. So, when I started writing this story, I knew two things for certain, how I plan on starting it and how I plan on ending it. So far everything has more or less been part of that plan. My other project is coming along nicely, and hopefully I'll be able to talk about it soon, some people know already but I don't talk about it outside of a small group of people. Look forward to it. I think since Broken shield more or less failed as a Fic, I'm going to work what I had planed for it and integrate it into this story instead. Possibly as part of this story arc as well. It's kinda nice to Write Summer as being a mother for a change to be honest. I don'y imagine she'll ever be mother of the year, but hey it's a work in progress with her.

I am pretty happy most people were also pretty happy with how the last chapter worked out, It's was a major concern that I would turn some people off if I went to hard against one person, or treated anyone as being purely at fault for what happened. I think Cardin confessing his sins the way he did in this chapter was a fun little touch and brought everyone surprisingly up to speed as I try to make it a point to not fall on the "Adults are useless" trope you tend to see in these kind of stories.

As always, thank you all again for reading and i'll see you all next time.