Dark Rose

Chapter 20: Respite in Likely Places

"Come on. Let's go." Cardin said, waving for his team to follow him. Team CRDL froze immediately at their leader's proclaimation. Cardin himself struggled to get to his feet, even with Dove rushing over to help him up. He staggered to his feet, and used his teammate for support. "We...We should leave for now.." Cardin huffed. The bully looked Jett directly in the eye. He mouthed: This isn't over. Jett gave a sly smile despite his own exhaustion. Cardin waved over Russell. "Come on and help me, you idiot." he ordered. A scared-looking Russell gulped, and rushed over to Cardin's side, putting the young man's remaining arm around his shoulder. The team limped back through the large hole in the wall that Miranda had created, and back into the building.

"Ten Lien says that Goodwitch is going to have us clean this up." Eccon joked. "You'd normally be right!" a voice rang out through the courtyard. JEMM turned to see the upset, blonde school teacher walking towards them at a healthy clip, anger rolling off her lithe frame in waves. "But, I'm the only one who can repair this kind of damage." Goodwitch said with a huff. Team JEMM sighed collectively in relief. "So, you'll all just serve detention instead." "Uggggghhh..." The team collectively groaned. In that instant, Jett's Aura decided to fail, and hundreds of cuts rained over his body in a hail storm. Goodwitch looked taken aback by this sudden change. "We need to get you to the-" "Just give him a minute." Eccon cut across her quickly. "But-" "Trust us."

Jett wounds healed minutes after his Aura recovered; these ones were not quite as bad as ones he had gotten when he faced Tyrion. Jett winced at where the wounds were, gingerly touching the skin. "I am never going to get used to that ability.." he mumbled to himself. Eccon turned back to the teacher. "See? Good as new!" he remarked. Professor Goodwitch closed her mouth, and readjusted her glasses. "Well, this just means that you'll be able to serve detention sooner." she smiled.

The Professor pulled out what looked to be a retractable riding crop from a pouch behind her, and pointed it a the hole in the wall. Purple smoke trailed off her instrument, and the stone rubble surrounding the wall started to glow with purple energy. Slowly and methodically, the pieces of the wall lifted into the air, and landed back in their respective places, like puzzle pieces. Jett watched with awe as the chucks of the wall fit together perfectly, finally making a perfect wall, as if nothing happened.

Goodwitch blinked twice, and smiled, satisfied with her work. She directed her attention back at the 4 of them. "Now, back to business." She stated sternly. The blonde teacher pointed towards the entrance, directing them to move. Team JEMM hung their heads, and followed the teacher back into the school reluctantly.

...

*Tick Tock* *Tick Tock* *Tick Tock* Jett looked up at the clock against the far wall. 9:30PM. He sighed, bracing his face against his palm. I don't know if I can go through another hour of this.. Jett looked back down at his paper in front of him. Advanced Dust Theory.. Why does anyone need to learn this to fight Grimm? He thought to himself, furrowing his brow at the subject. Suddenly, Jett's Scroll went off in his pocket. Looking around to see if Goodwitch was looking, he dived his hand into his pocket, and fished out his Scroll. As he opened it, he noticed that there was an unread message from Ruby flashing on the center of the screen. Hmm.. I wonder what she needed..? Jett thought to himself as he clicked on the message to open.

Ruby: Hey, you. Are you busy? I wondering if we could meet somewhere? :)

Jett smiled at Ruby's message. Just the thought of her made him happy. He frowned, as he looked around at his current predicament. Focusing back on the keyboard, he responded.

Jett: I'd love to, Rubes. But I'm serving detention with my team right now.. :/

Jett stashed his Scroll into his pocket quickly as Goodwitch walked by. As soon as the Professor rounded back to her desk, Jett whipped back out his Scroll and hid it underneath the table, as he talked to his girlfriend. He saw that Ruby had already messaged him back.

Ruby: Awwww...I really wanted to see you tonight. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaassssssseee? With sugar, spice and Zwei on top?

Jett: Who's Zwei? O_o

Ruby: Oh! Zwei's my Corgi! And he's the sweetest little puppy!

Jett: As much as I like to have dogs on top of my ice cream, I can't do it right now, Rubes. I'm not leaving my team to serve this alone. What kind of leader would I be?

Ruby: Yeah, you're right... What about after? Are you getting out soon?

Jett: We get out of detention in an hour. So, 10:30PM?

Ruby: Perfect! That'll give me plenty of time!

Jett: Wait, plenty of time for what? O.o

Ruby: Can't talk! Gotta go! See you then, Jett!

Jett put down his Scroll, and looked forward, only to be meeted with the slender legs of the Professor. He looked up, and saw Goodwitch's outstretched hand, motioning for him to hand over his Scroll. *Sigh* He gave it over without a word, dropping his head in shame. Snickering off to the side caught Jett's attention, and he saw Eccon laughing slightly. The young man shot him a frustrated look, much to Eccon's amusement. An irritated Jett faced forward again, and began to work on the paper in front of him.

...

Jett groaned as he rose from his seat, stretching his muscles from being idle for so long. *Beep Beep* *Beep Beep* Professor Goodwitch looked down at her own Scroll, and turned off the alarm she set. "Alright, you are all free to go, students." she stated calmly. Jett started to walk off, when he felt a firm hand on his shoudler. Goodwitch thrust his Scroll forward, turning him around to face her. "Here." Jett gratefully took his device back from the teacher. "And if I see you messaging someone else again while in detention, you won't just get a slap on the wrist!" she exclaimed, punctuating her last word with a slap on the table from her riding crop. Jett swallowed hard, and nodded with a scared expression on his face. Goodwitch opened an eye. "Well, what are you still doing here? Go. I have to prepare for bed." Cracking a quick smile, Jett whipped open the door leading out, and ran down the hallway.

...

"And...here it is..?" Jett said quizically, looking around at a deserted overlook. Since Jett left detention, Ruby had been feeding him misleading directions via Scroll message. Her final message had led him here, to this overlook, which admittedly gave a pretty good view of the surrounding forest. "Grrr...It looks like she's been sending me on a wild goose chase.." Jett stated, looking dejected. The young man took a seat on the ground, and let his feet swing over the edge. It really is a nice night, though. Jett thought to himself. Air feels just right. Not too hot, not too cold. There's a slight breeze, and there's not a single cloud in the sky. Almost perfect, even.

So absorbed he was in his thoughts, that Jett failed to notice the young girl with red and black hair who had snuck up behind him. She put her arms around his head covering his eyes, and rested her chin on his head. "Guess who?" Ruby whispered. Jett put a finger to his lips, and pretended to think about it. After a minute, he put down his hand, and shrugged. "No clue." he responded, blank look on his face. Ruby flinched, and he felt her grip loosen on his head a bit. Jett smirked, and patted Ruby on her head. "Of course I know it's you, Rubes." he smiled from underneath her arms. The young Huntress beamed, and leaned down to kiss Jett's hair. She released her arms after one final hug, and helped him up off the ground.

Oh. My. Gods. I think I may be in love. As Jett turned around to face the young girl, he was taken back by what she was wearing. Jett had only ever seen Ruby in her combat skirt outfit, with her hood on her back. But this...He was lovestruck. She wore a dark pink, light jacket, that cut off at her elbows, and was open in the front. Underneath, she wore a muted yellow u-neck shirt, that extended just under her breasts, exposing her stomach and midriff to the open air. On her waist, she wore simple, black faded jeans that seemed to hug her curves. Around her neck, hung a matte black choker, with an intricately designed silver rose attatched to the left side. She wore her hair in her usual style, but Jett happened to notice silver studs in her ears, hiding just underneath her bangs. Ruby also appeared to be wearing light makeup; only a bit of mascara and lipgloss. And perfume. Jett noticed that the air around them smelled sweetly of roses in bloom.

"What's the matter? Faunus got your tongue?" Ruby teased playfully. "Uh...I, uh..." Jett tried to get out his words, but he was dumbfounded. He's always seen Ruby as a conservative girl. She's always looked cute to him, but now...Now she is absolutely radiating feminine charm and beauty. Jett couldn't help himself, he kissed her as fast as he could. Ruby's look of sudden surprise was soon replaced by one of love. The two parted as soon as they embraced, both looking away embarassed. "Jeeze, Jett.. At least let me sit down first." She teased. "Yeah...sorry.." Jett trailed off, scratching the back of his head. The two sat down in Jett's spot, and began to talk.

"So, you know everything about my life, Rubles." Jett started. "Why don't you tell me about yours?" The temperature dropped around the two slightly. Ruby looked away from Jett, and at the ground below. Jett grabbed for her hand, and squeezed tightly. "Is it any worse than my past?" Jett asked. Ruby shook her head. "No, it's just...hard to talk about." she responded, barely audible. "Take your time, I'm here." Jett smiled sincerly. Ruby looked up from the ground, and gave a weak smile to her boyfriend. She pecked him on the cheek, and rested her head on his shoulder.

The two of them sat there in silence for a while, just taking in the night around them. Jett felt he had to break the silence before things got too awkward, but Ruby started first. "Back when I was little, I had two parents around. My mom, Summer Rose, and my dad, Taiyang Xiao-Long." Ruby began. Taking a breath, she continued. "Along with Yang, and my Uncle Qrow, we were all we had. My Mom would bake me my favorite chocolate chip cookies when I was feeling sad, and Dad would sing me bedtime stories at the end of a bad day, to help me fall asleep happy."

Ruby's eyes glistened as small tears started to form. She wiped them away quickly, and continued on. "I used to go to school at Signal Academy, where my Uncle Qrow would teach. He would teach me and look after me, then I'd go home and see Mom and Dad at the end of the day." "One day, after Uncle Qrow wasn't teaching, I went home to find that Mom and my Uncle had gone away on a mission together." "That seems normal though, doesn't it?" Jett asked. He put a hand on her head, and started to stroke Ruby's hair to calm her. She nodded. "Yeah, but this time something was off. Dad wasn't going with them. See, he, Uncle Qrow, Mom, and one other were on a team together called STRQ. So, they'd go on missions together all the time."

"Their mission lasted longer than it should. Dad, Yang, and I started to worry about them." Ruby stopped suddenly. Her hand was quivering in Jett's grip. "F-finally, after 3 weeks, Uncle Qrow came back alone. He was delerious and near-death, holding a scrap of white and red fabric to his chest. He was raving that 'It was all his fault.' and 'It should have been h-him.'" Ruby's voice caught, and tears started to fall in streams down her pale face. Jett felt terrible. He shouldn't have asked Ruby about this. Dammit. "I am so sorry, Ruby." Jett said morosely. She shook her head from side to side, tears landing on Jett's jacket. "I-it's n-not your f-fault. Y-you didn't k-k-know." Ruby choked out as the tears came flooding out. She turned to Jett, and buried her face in the young man's shoulder, her arms wrapping tighly around his neck. Jett took a hand and started stroking Ruby's soft hair in an attempt to calm her down, to no effect. He withdrew his hand, and placed it on her back.

Ruby lifted her head off Jett's shoulder, and looked him in the eye. She looked down his face, and locked lips tightly with the young man. The two lovers closed their eyes, and let their feelings overwhelm their senses. Minute after minute, waves of passion washed over the two, as their lips never left the other for more than a few seconds at a time. Ruby's hands left their resting spot on Jett's back, and made their way to his waist. Jett's eyes snapped open when he felt Ruby's hands rest on his belt buckle. Jett broke their kiss, and put his hands up between the two of them.

"Whoa. W-we need to stop." Jett huffed, trying to calm his racing heart. The scarlet-haired girl looked up at Jett with confusion, then looked down at where her hands were on Jett's body. With a deep, heavy blush, Ruby withdrew her hands quickly, and put them together in between her legs. "I...I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to.." Ruby apologized, firmly staring at the pavement. Jett laughed. "It's okay. I know that it was an emotional moment, and we both kind of lost control a bit." "Yeah..." Ruby smiled faintly, still looking at the ground.

"Come here." Ruby looked up to see her boyfriend holding an arm open, inviting her closer. The young girl smiled with a slight blush, and scooted over to Jett's side. He drapped his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her in tight. Ruby wrapped an arm around his waist, and snuggled up closer to him. The two sat in silence for several minutes, before Ruby spoke up. "I'm sorry.." she apologized. "What for?" Jett looked over, surprised. "For breaking down earlier like that." Jett chuckled. "What?" Ruby asked. "There's no need to be sorry, Rubes." He looked directly into her eyes. "We've both had a messed up life so far. It's up to the both of us to help each other out, whenever we need to." Jett stated, confidently. Ruby rested her head on Jett's shoulder, sighing. "You are such a dork." she stated, smiling. "Yeah. Yeah, I am..." Jett responded wistfully. The two lovers looked up at the sky, and took in the night around them, thankful to be where they are.

Author's Note: I'd like to apologize about the delay on this chapter. I recently lost my job, which also was the place where I had the best ideas for this fanfiction. It's been hard trying to write this at home, but I've been trying my best! That being said, this chapter might be of different quality than my others because of that. Also, this is the end of this Arc, and the end of Vol.1 for this fanfiction. Next chapter, will be in Vol.2! Shoutout to Maenos Kaen for letting me use the outfit that I had Ruby wear in this chapter! If you have no clue who I'm talking about, search up the name "JPDE" on Tumblr, and you'll come across his page, and the game he's developing! It's where I got Ruby's costume change from! Thank you guys for reading what I've got so far. I hope you enjoy what I've got in store for the future!