Blonde Roast, Pt. 4
Jaune's mind was racing. Later, he'd tell people his first reaction was "Oh no! My secret is out! Whatever shall I do now?" In reality, it was something more along the lines of "Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit."
He looked out the corner of his eye for any possible escape route while simultaneously turning his back to the door and the accusatory figure of his teammate. He felt sweat beading on his forehead and he subconsciously wiped it with a rag. He could head into the back room, but Junior would send him right back out and tell him to keep working. If he kept his head down, he might be able to make it to the door, but Ren would probably see him if he took that route. Maybe the bathroom; he could just wait until Ren got tired and left. But what if Ren didn't leave, and just waited until Jaune had to come out? Or Junior came and… No, no that was an even worse idea than going out the front.
He heard the bell on the bar behind him ding and cursed himself for waiting too long. He turned slowly, the moment he had dreaded finally come. His mind was abuzz with fears; what if Ren goes to the headmaster? What if Junior finds out I go to Beacon? What if Ren tells the rest of the team? Facing one member of team JNPR was bad enough; he wasn't sure he would be able to handle Nora and Pyrrha as well.
His gaze rose arduously, royal blue meeting magenta with agonizing slowness. Ren's eyes were full of something Jaune couldn't identify. Disappointment? Sadness? Guilt? When Ren finally broke the silence, his voice was totally neutral – placid as still water but backed by the quiet confidence that possessed the dark-haired young man's entire being.
"So this is where you've been going to every weekend," he said calmly. It was not an accusation; merely a statement of fact. Jaune suddenly felt a great deal warmer and he held up a finger to stop Ren, silently promising, in a way that Ren somehow understood, to explain everything. Jaune slipped from behind the bar and walked to the back room. Knocking twice on the doorframe he stuck his head in. Luckily, Ren's visit coincided with Jaune's midday break and when he tapped his watch face his boss got the message.
"Ten minutes," Junior told him gruffly before returning to his business. Jaune walked out to the counter and was relieved to notice that Ren had taken the liberty of placing the "Out to Lunch, Be Back in 10!" sign on the bar surface, though Jaune did wonder how his teammate had known where to get it. He walked past the bar and straight out the front door, only checking back after he was outside to make sure Ren was still following.
Outside of the shop, Jaune had no restrictions on his speaking or manner thereof. To that end, what came next was little more than babble.
"Ren, look man, I'm sorry, I know I lied to you and to Nora and Pyrrha – oh God Pyrrha; you haven't told them have you? Or Ruby? Or Yang? Or Ozpin? Does anyone know? How did you know? Oh God why does this have to happen every time. First the papers, now this, I swear Ren I'm so close to flunking out of Beacon I can—"
"Jaune."
His rant interrupted by the single utterance of his name, Jaune stopped dead and looked at Ren. The young man was still as calm and collected as ever, but the emotion in his eyes had changed. Jaune still couldn't identify it, but he saw the difference. Suddenly, the realization of everything he had done and said came to him and he hung his head in shame. He turned away from his teammate.
"I… I'm sorry, Ren. I should have told you – I should have told all of you but… I knew that if you guys knew I needed the extra money you'd force me to let you pay for it." He started walking and a moment later realized Ren was beside him, matching Jaune stride-for-stride. The other man was silent, so Jaune continued. "I got into Beacon my first year because… well, you know why. The tuition for the first year just came as part of the package there but now… I'm still not a good enough fighter to start doing real work; not on my own. And I spent the break with my family, so I couldn't work then either. This was my last option."
Ren mmed at Jaune's explanation before stopping and turning. Jaune stopped too and looked his teammate in the eye for a long moment before Ren spoke.
"If you were in such dire need of financial aid, why were you so reluctant to ask one of us for help? If you had another person, especially Pyrrha, you could have easily made all the money you needed by working as a Huntsman."
"That's just it," Jaune said. "If I had another person. As in, I needed help. Yeah; bet I make a real impressive Huntsman – going out and fighting evil… with Pyrrha following me everywhere I go to make sure I don't mess anything up. People don't want to hire Huntsmen who need babysitters, Ren." Jaune walked to the wall at the edge of the sidewalk and slumped heavily to the ground with his back against it. He knew the wall would wear the back of his uniform but at this particular moment he didn't care. He closed his eyes and for once, he wished he was as invisible as he had always seemed to be. At least when people didn't know you existed you didn't have anyone to worry about disappointing.
"Jaune," Ren said again, voice finally hinting at emotion. Jaune was surprised to find that it wasn't condescension or anger, but concern. He opened his eyes and looked up. "You know what this has been doing, don't you? Your constant running off to work in the evenings? It's not a matter of financial security alone, anymore. Pyrrha has been worrying herself half to death about you." He must have seen the flash in Jaune's eyes and known that another tirade was coming but he held up a hand and waited until Jaune slumped back down before continuing.
"You've been coming and going late, failing to complete assignments until the last minute; you've been antisocial, moody and worst of all, you've been neglecting your team. Pyrrha has been picking up the slack, but her greatest concern is still for you. She hasn't been sleeping because she's up all night worrying about you. Her grades are suffering, and she constantly wants to follow you or ask you and fight out what you've been doing, but she can't because she's too tired to even stand."
A wave of guilt washed over Jaune, made all the worse because he realized now that he hadn't even noticed. He'd been so concerned with his own troubles that he'd neglected his team, and even worse, he'd neglected his partner in her time of need. Jaune looked at Ren and finally recognized the emotion in his eyes and now on his face as well. It was not solely anger or disappointment or even guilt as Jaune had expected. Rather, it seemed to be an amalgamation of all three. Anger at Jaune's not telling him or the rest of their team. Disappointment at Jaune's unwillingness to accept help. Guilt because Ren himself did not recognize it sooner. Jaune's head fell again as a fresh wave of remorse threatened to swamp him, even as Ren continued.
"I know you think that telling us will inspire a wave of pity-driven good will towards you; and of course we would want to help our team leader. But leaving us out of the loop because you don't want our help is only doing more harm than good. Please Jaune… just tell Pyrrha and Nora what you told me. They will understand. I will speak to them also, and tell them that you don't wish help… that this is something you feel you must do on your own. They will not like it… but they will respect it." He leaned in close, his eyes locking onto Jaune's.
"Because that's what teammates do."
He offered a hand and Jaune took it, rising to his feet. He brushed himself off and stood awkwardly for a moment before embracing Ren in the manliest way he could muster. He remained that way for a few moments before it occurred to him that a barista and a Huntsman hugging it out on the sidewalk might look a tad strange. Stepping back, he rubbed a hand through his hair subconsciously.
"Sorry," he muttered and Ren chuckled, bringing renewed hope to Jaune. He stood a little straighter and faced the green-clad young warrior. "Ren," he started, "I promise, I will come home early tonight. I'll tell Pyrrha and Nora everything… but I can't quit my job here. Not yet. I've finally found something I'm really, naturally good at all by myself. But more than that, I still need the money, and I have a plan to make it all by the time it's due."
This elicited an eyebrow raise from Ren and Jaune briefly considered telling him about Junior's side business and Jaune's looking into it before thinking better. Ren already has enough on his plate, he thought. He doesn't need to be worrying about this as well. And Pyrrha certainly doesn't. Jaune took a breath and braced himself mentally the way he always did before telling a lie.
"My boss is offering a ah… a bonus, yeah, a bonus to the employee with the best sales record for the month. I'm already well on my way, but I'm going to need to keep working at it in order to earn that extra pay." Ren considered this for a moment before nodding slowly.
"Well then," he said, "I guess you'd better get back to it." Jaune nodded before noticing that Ren's attention was fixed over his shoulder. Turning, he followed his teammate's gaze back towards the "Three Bears," just in time to see somebody hastily stride into the coffeeshop. He turned back to Ren and prepared to ask the question, only to find that in the moment he had used to turn and look, Ren had disappeared.
Straightening his uniform, he turned and walked back to the shop, thinking on the go. He'd just lied to Ren. Again. He felt bad about that, but he wouldn't do anything different. Ren needed to know the truth… just not the whole truth. Not yet, maybe not ever. It didn't matter; he'd talk to Junior about using a few of his extra minutes that he'd stayed overtime to get out of work early tonight. He might even try and make it back in time for dinner, if he could manage it. Then he could explain everything to his team.
He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't see the person in front of him until it was too late. He hit the big man's back and fell heavily, his balance thrown completely off. As he shook his head and stood again, he heard a chuckle and a quiet, stern, female voice.
"There you are! Tsk tsk, Laying down on the job? I might just have to file a complaint.
Opening his eyes, Jaune saw the imposing form of Yatsuhashi offering him a hand off the ground. As he stood, he saw that it was Coco who had spoken and was now tapping one foot and checking her watch in mock-impatience. Velvet and Fox merely stood by and watched the interplay with silent amusement.
"We were starting to worry that you might have gone and taken the rest of the day off," Coco continued. "Not that you'd do that to your best customers, of course." Jaune smiled sheepishly and rushed around to the back of the bar, throwing away the "Out to lunch" sign and pausing for a moment, holding up a hand and stopping Coco from placing her order. A moment later it came to him.
Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, he presented the entirety of the aptly named team CFVY their drinks. Coco nodded in appreciation as she took the tray and slowly allowed each of her teammates to take their drinks.
"Got it memorized now?" she asked and Jaune shrugged. He was thankful that he had actually spoken to Fox a few weeks earlier and told him why he didn't speak, though he could tell that his incomplete explanation still somewhat confused the team. As the rest of the team set off to take their place at their usual table, Coco lingered and took a long drink of her coffee, smiling blissfully.
"You're not really much for conversation, are you?" she asked and Jaune shrugged again. She chuckled as she continued. "You sure know how to mix a girl a drink, though." Jaune did a mock bow and pantomimed an ol' tip 'o the hat as she took another appreciative drink. Jaune stood awkwardly for several moments, unsure of where to go next. Luckily, she kept the wheels on the road for him. "The rest of them were telling me we wouldn't be able to come in and get our drinks today; said we had too much to do. You're in Oobleck's "History of Kingdoms" theory, right? Ten-to-noon class?"
Jaune checked over his shoulder to make sure nobody was listening before nodding. She nodded as well before asking, "Did you finish the reading he assigned after last class?" Jaune kicked himself mentally and shook his head. Coco gave a small smile and a shrug. "Me neither; though, if you're free tonight, I was thinking I might head over to the library and get as much done as I could. If you… wanted to join, I mean, I wouldn't say no, if that's… something that uh… mhm." Jaune stood and waited for a moment before realizing she wasn't going to continue. It was a moment after that he realized that she had just effectively asked him out on a date.
He felt sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. Suddenly it felt as though everybody was listening in on their conversation, though he knew the only other people in the shop were a few midday stragglers and team CFVY, plus Junior in the back room. He took a deep breath and nearly said yes, before a calm, collected voice rang in his head.
"Just tell Pyrrra and Nora what you have told me."
"They will understand."
"That's what teammates do."
He took a deep breath and for the second time that day, he broke his golden rule.
"I'm… sorry, Coco but uh, not tonight. I… already promised someone else I'd give them the time of day." The words had sounded good in his mind; they got the point across without mincing words. It was only after a moment and seeing the sudden spark in Coco's eyes that he realized the other potential interpretation of "giving someone the time of day."
Oh fuck.
"Oh, alright then. Sorry," she said, turning and walking haughtily away from the bar. "I'm sorry I got in the way of all your plans. Hope you have fun, whatever you end up doing." Jaune briefly considered going after her, but the universe chose that moment to dump half a dozen customers on him; a great group coming through the door all at once, laughing and chatting over the tingling of the little bell over the door. Coco walked to her team, said something and did not wait for the rest to stand. She made her way to the door, wading through the crowd of newcomers and somehow managing not to put a hair out of place. As the rest of team CFVY fought to escape the coffeeshop, Jaune looked over the heads of the customers and saw Fox give him one backwards glance before exiting.
It only took Jaune a few minutes to serve the group who had entered. After that, he set about polishing the mugs, the way he always did in between rushes. For once though, it wasn't because it occupied his hands. In this instance, it was his mind that needed something else to focus on. Because if idle hands do the devil's work, it's the idle mind that suffers the consequences.
AN – And thus we have Part 4. Little longer than usual (had some extra time over the weekend), so I hope you guys enjoyed.
Some valuable life lessons from Sensei Ren, plus a little step forward (and roughly sixty steps back) on the JaunexCoco ship. Seriously though, I sometimes find it difficult to write Jaune, because while I love him to death, in character he's such a dumbass. Still, I digress.
Things are certainly picking up and I think you guys will enjoy the next chapter; I have some big plans to really get the gears turning. Expect it either Thursday or Friday this week. Until then, favorites, follows and reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!