Yeah, like I mentioned in a couple of other fics, this is my attempt at a White Knight fic. Besides the romance, it's also an experiment in writing a Jaune with no Aura who never gets it unlocked, meaning he has to rely on other methods to accomplish his goals.
That and writing a Criminal!Jaune fic where he's not some kind of crime boss or evil mastermind. Just like how he would've been at Beacon, he's just a guy willing to learn and goes from there.
By the way, I put up a poll on my profile on what oneshot romance fic you guys might wanna see me write. Given that my two biggest RWBY fics are Lancaster I left it out, but other pairings are fair game.
Jaune ended the day the way he mostly did: running for his life.
"Get back here!" Jaune ducked under the leaning wooden pallet and let out a small sigh of relief when he heard his pursuer stumbling behind him. He was an older guy, probably in his forties or fifties, and stuck out like a sore thumb compared to everyone around him with his finely tailored suit. He looked pretty well-off, all things considered, which only made him stick out more compared to the other people walking down the street; especially in this part of Vale.
"Sorry about this!" Jaune shouted back. He really did feel bad. Contrary to how shows and games made it look, it was actually pretty hard to only steal from bad people. People didn't go around declaring how evil they were and he couldn't exactly ask them if they deserved to be robbed. Hunger and desperation had whittled such pickiness away pretty quick, and any guilt went with it when he was able to buy some actually decent food for the first time in weeks.
The old guy suddenly picked up a sudden burst of speed and, without any warning, grabbed Jaune's right shoulder, "You fucking ba-" Jaune elbowed his gut and made a left down the next corner. He was never the fastest, and he wasn't small enough that he could go into secret vents or anything, but what he did have was stamina. The old guy was angry and hopped up on adrenaline, but that couldn't last forever.
Sure enough the guy eventually lagged behind and Jaune took the chance to pivot to a busy street. With the Vytal Festival coming, tourists and merchants were trickling in; perfect for crowds to lose himself into. Jaune rushed into a particularly thick one and pulled up his hood once he was inside, stuffing his hands into pockets of his hoodie. Long as he acted like nothing was wrong he could get away clean.
Jaune kept his head and and fast-walked past the crowd, muttering apologies as he went. It wasn't the first time he'd done this trick and it wouldn't be the last. He knew better this time, though. No looking back, no running, and definitely do nothing to stick out and draw attention to himself. The first couple of times he'd gotten caught and received a beating for his troubles. He was acutally lucky; they could've called the cops instead.
He heard the old guy screaming about how he'd been robbed, but as expected most people just ignored him. As as they were concerned it wasn't their problem. It was only when he was a block away and the screaming voice had faded into the background that he finally let himself relax. It was still too soon to call it a success, but at least now the worst of it was done.
He went for the wallet in his right pants pocket and froze when nothing was there, "No, no, no!" Please don't tell him he dropped it! This was the first successful thing he'd done all week!
A low chuckle came from behind him. Jaune turned and sighed when he saw Emerald standing nearby, arms crossed and leaning against the nearby wall. In her right hand was the wallet he worked so hard to get, "You really should pay more attention." She smirked and tossed him the wallet, which he barely caught after some fumbling.
"Yeah, yeah..." He opened up the fancy leather and frowned when he saw there wasn't nearly as much Lien as he thought there'd be, "Come on..."
"What did you expect?" Emerald scoffed and took the wallet back. With practiced precision, she emptied it of all its contents then tossed him the small handful of Lien cards, "Rich people pay for everything with credit cards." Which they couldn't use because it'd lead to them getting tracked, assuming the person didn't immediately cancel it. He'd tried before and barely got out of the store without getting arrested.
"I still thought he'd have more..."
"I told you not to pick targets just cause they looked rich." She rolled her eyes and walked down the street, Jaune reluctantly following her. Totaling up, he got a couple hundred Lien for this little venture. Not horrible - at least it was in the triple digits - but the Vytal Festival had jacked up prices for just about every store. That and the money they'd have to use for bribes. This wouldn't last more than a week, if he was lucky.
"Sorry..."
"It's fine." She brought a hand through her hair and jerked her thumb to a familiar structure, "Let's head to Junior's club and grab some drinks."
"Is that a a good idea? I didn't really make a lot today."
"Then I guess it's a good thing you're not the breadwinner in this relationship." She meant nothing by it, but Jaune couldn't help but wince at the blunt reminder. Without Emerald he'd either be in a jail cell or on the streets, "Come on, it's my treat."
It was only a little past six PM, but Junior's place opened up earlier than most clubs. Crime waited for no one, after all, and most criminals didn't wanna wait till ten in the evening to get their dealings started. The Malachites didn't even look twice before letting them in. They weren't part of the gang, but they were 'clients' in a way and so long as they kept up the payments they'd remain so.
Despite the early hour, the place was already crowded. People danced to the energetic tune of Red Like Roses the DJ blared and there were already a couple of people passed out on the floor. A few months ago he wouldn't have dreamed of going to a place like this, but there were a lot of things he'd expanded his horizons to every since his new turn in life. Going to clubs was just one of them.
"I'll get the drinks," Jaune said.
"Sure you're up for it after today?"
"Em, you're already paying. Please let me keep some of my masculinity."
"Right, right, almost forgot how chivalrous you were." She scoffed playfully and handed him the needed cash, "I'll go get our usual spot."
"Sounds good."
Junior was at the bar as he always was. For being one of the most influential information brokers in the city, he hated sitting in the back counting his money. It also made him look more approachable, or so Emerald said, which was a good quality to have for someone in his position.
"Good day of work?" Junior asked, wiping down a glass. Jaune was pretty sure it was always the same glass every time.
"Eh..." Jaune shrugged. The guy was just making conversation; he didn't actually care how he was doing, "We'll have the usual."
"Coming up."
Jaune leaned against the bar and looked over the crowd. Despite coming here with Emerald once or twice a week, he'd never actually partied. All he and Emerald ever did was get a couple of drinks; enough to get a buzz going, but not enough to actually get drunk. As much as Junior said that there were no crimes commited inside the premises, Emerald was never one for trusting blindly.
"Here." Junior handed them their usual drinks then briefly grabbed Jaune's wrist, "Don't forget: payment at the end of the week."
"W-We got it." He took the bottles and shuffled over to Emerald's table. Payment, he called it. Extortion more like. The criminals in Vale were a lot of things, and the biggest of that was territorial. Anyone who commited crime on their turf did so under their payroll; and if you weren't on their payroll they'd either make you or stamp you out. No one liked competition.
He and Emerald were lucky. In any other stiuation they would've been made examples of to show what happened to independent criminals, but they'd hit that sweet spot. Small enough that they weren't a threat, but just big enough that they could be extorted. In exchange for 'some' of their illicit earnings, Junior let them operate on his turf and made sure none of the other neighborhood roughs bothered them.
That and a discount on the drinks, which was the only reason Emerald ever went here.
"Here." He sat across Emerald and took a tentative sip of his Vacuo Sunset. It wasn't too alcoholic, which suited him just fine. It definitely kicked a lot less than Emerald's Mistralian Mule, "Junior 'reminded' me about this week's payment."
"Of course he did." Emerald scoffed and leaned back on the leather chair, "He'll get it."
"Yeah..." Jaune drummed his fingers agaisnt the side of the glass, "Hey, Em...maybe we should just work for him?" She paused mid-sip to look at him, "I mean he's already taking money from us. What difference does it make?"
"The difference is that he doesn't own us." She set the mug back down, "Trust me, Jaune. I've been there before. These guys tell you that if you work for them you'll be part of a family and people'll have your back. It's all bullshit." Her face knotted in a deep scowl, "The second they think they can get more by stabbing you in the back, they'll do it in a heartbeat. Xiong's not any different."
"But can we really keep going like this?" Jaune asked, "We're barely earning enough to keep going, and that's not even counting the cuts the fences take whenever we have to pawn anything off." That was another thing they had to deal with. On top of the bribes they had to pay Junior, and the living expenses, anything they sold to the black market had a thirty percent cut taken. They complained, of course, but what other choice did they have? It was the only guarantee they had that the sales couldn't be tracked.
"We've done good enough so far."
"Yeah, just." He knew that was his fault. Emerald was a good thief, especially with her Semblance, but getting enough for two people to live was a hell of a lot more than when she ran by herself. Even now he had no idea why she let him stick around, especially after he was half-competent at best.
He still remembered the day they'd met. It was the one bright spot he'd had in two weeks of being kicked while he was down. Granted, it was all his fault. He was the one who thought he could get into Beacon with fake transcripts he got from some not-so-trustworthy people. He didn't even make it to Initiation proper before Deputy Headmistress Goodwitch called him to her office and dressed him down for it.
Probably for the best. She'd actually paused in disbelief when he admitted he didn't have his Aura unlocked and told him point blank that he would have died if he'd actually gone to the test in that state.
That was the beginning of the end. He'd gotten kicked out with his family being informed exactly what he'd done. Professor Goodwitch had even gone on the record that she was being extremely lenient by not getting the authorities involved. Something like this could get someone a couple of years in a jail cell. She did tell him that she'd inform any other academies of his attempted forgery, however, so on the off-chance that he did somehow get the skill to be a Huntsman, there'd be no chance of him every trying again.
His mom and dad's words still stuck to his mind. They'd been so disappointed, screaming and crying about how they had no idea what could possess him to do something like this and that he should thank the Brothers that he was getting out with basically a slap on the wrist. Rebecca, his eldest sister, was equally disappointed and told him that he was lucky that he was 'just' barred from ever being a Huntsman. Most other people wouldn't have been able to ever find a job period after this stunt.
They were all right, but it still hurt. That was why when the day finally came for him to come back he'd asked the pilot to drop him off at Vale so he could 'find his own way back'. The guy didn't really care since he was only hired to get him out of Beacon. He only had enough money to stay at a hotel for a couple of days and he lost the rest of his stuff a few days into living on the streets. He had no idea what possessed him to stay in Vale with nothing but his sword and the clothes on his back, but stay he did. He'd even ditched his scroll to keep his parents from calling or tracking him.
He met Emerald on his first attempted robbery. It was a week into living on the streets, days without food and without a shower. No place would accept someone with no credentials or a permanent address for a job. He'd been so hungry and desperate that he'd let his morals slip and easily justified it to himself. He'd just get a few Lien and get something to eat and maybe have a roof over his head. Of course he got caught and the guy kicked the hell out of him. Without Aura he was lucky he didn't get his head caved in.
That was when Emerald showed up. For a second he thought she'd literally kick him while he was down, but instead she'd just shaken her head and told him to follow her if he wanted a roof over his head. She could've been leading him somewhere so someone could steal his organs, but at that point he didn't care. Instead she took him to her place and helped patch him up. It was a few days after that when she started teaching him to actually be a thief.
He'd ducked getting jail time for forgery only to become an actual criminal in the streets of Vale. It would've been funny if it wasn't so sad.
"Jaune." Emerald snapped her fingers in front of his face, "You're zoning out."
"Oh, sorry, just thinking."
"What about?"
"Why you're letting me stick around."
"This again." She sighed and finished off her first glass.
"I just don't get it," he pressed, "You're way better at this thing than I am and with your Semblance you don't even need any help. Keeping me around's just burning a hole in your pocket."
"It's an investment. Sure you kinda suck now, but I didn't start out this way either. You live and you learn."
"It still doesn't make sense that you're willing to 'invest'."
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Jaune." Translation: stop asking cause I'm not gonna tell you. Jaune sighed and dropped the topic. He wasn't ungrateful, just curious. She'd given him food, a roof over his head, and showed him the ropes of surviving in the streets of Vale. Even after all his screwups she'd been patient and never held it against him outside of some light teasing. She was practically his guardian angel.
He just wished he could do more for their partnership.
"You ever think about going back? To your family, I mean." Emerald asked suddenly.
"Ha...no, I think the ship's sailed on that." Another sip, "They were mad already, it's gonna be even worse now that I ran away for months and became a criminal." Even if he was only halfway competent in the latter. Again his mind drifted toward the future. How much longer could things go like this, he wondered. Junior's fees and the expenses meant it was only a matter of time before they missed a payment or got unlucky and had start rationing.
His musings were cut off when two all-too familiar figures stepped into the club. Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan, the two most infamous criminals in Vale. Torchwick walked across the breadth room like he owned the place, his mute partner trailing after him. Even in a place like this they stuck out. Torchwick looked like the quintessential gentleman thief while his partner was akin to a walking art piece with her multicolored hair and graceful movements. It was the first time he'd actually seen them in person. Usually they showed up on the television or scroll vids people posted on the net.
He'd been staring so long that Neopolitan caught him looking and raised a brow. Before he could do anything, Emerald grabbed his head and forced him to face forward, "Don't look. Trust me," she said, voice low and grim. Jaune could only nod blankly and looked down at his drink. He'd heard rumors about the two. Despite the reputation he cultivated as a gentleman thief, there was a reason Torchwick was the undeniable king of Vale's underground. Anyone who thought they were easy pickings tended to...disappear.
Thankfully the rest of the night went without incident. Torchwick talked to Junior about something, but that was none of their business. Emerald untensed and helped herself to a second glass. It was the last bit of luxury they'd have for the rest of the week. If they wanted to keep up with Junior's fees and get enough to survive then they'd nee to step up. Especially him.
The two finished their drinks and were about to leave when Junior called them over. Thankfully, Torchwick and his partner were long gone, "What is it?" Emerald asked, arms crossed. While she agreed to his extortion, she didn't even pretend to like the guy.
"You two up for a job?" Emerald raised a brow while Jaune shifted from one foot to another. He'd made offers to have them officially join Family as associates before, but this was different.
"We told you before we aren't interested."
"Not the same thing, kid." He set the glass down, "Torchwick's looking for some people on a heist he's pulling off. Says he needs more than just the common thugs." He gestured to his men guarding the place. Ouch, "Told him I'd reach out for anyone capable and I thought of you two." Ha, yeah, only cause he had no idea how much Emerald carried him, "Torchwick's jobs always have a good payout. What do you two think?"
"I-"
"Thanks but no thanks." Emerald said, cutting him off, "We'll take our chances."
And then she turned and walked away before he could say anything else. Jaune quickly followed after her and shivered as the cold night air hit him, bunching deeper into his hoodie. It was one of the few things he had left, "What was that about?"
"What do you mean?"
"Shouldn't we have heard him out?"
"No, we shouldn't have." She shook her head, "Trust me, Jaune. People like Torchwick don't end up where they are by playing fair. Five lien says what he really needs are a couple of idiots to be the distraction while he makes off with whatever he's planning to steal. We end up in a jail cell while he and his partner get everything they want. I've seen it before." Her voice was bitter; too bitter to be speaking from anything but experience.
He didn't ask. Despite all the months he'd spend under her tutelage, Emerald was remarkably closed off about her past. The only thing he knew about her was that she'd come from Mistral and that she went to Vale after an incident forced her out. What that incident was was another thing she was remarkably tight lipped about.
The rest of the walk to their shared apartment was a quiet one. It was only when Emerald opened the door to let them inside that he finally spoke, "Home sweet home..." He blew into his cold hands. The place was...well, it was a roof over their heads. There weren't a lot of places offering affordable prices to a couple of teenagers with no I.D, especially not in an already overpopulated place like Vale. The place was nothing more than a single room with a connecting bathroom. Hell, even the bathroom was a luxury. Barely big enough for one person, let alone two, but they made it work.
Jaune knelt down and picked up the envelope slipped under the door, "Let me guess, our illustrious landlord?"
"Uh-huh." He handed her the bills and and sat down on the nearby pull-out couch. That was another thing they had to contend with. It wasn't enough that Junior gouged them or that the fences barely let them get a profit, but their landlord - more slumlord, really - saw how desperate they were and wanted his own cut. You couldn't squeeze blood from stone, but apparently Mr. Frye didn't believe that.
"Damn it..." Emerald brought a hand through her hair and sat down next to him.
"Are you sure we shouldn't accept Junior's offer?" he asked again.
"Bills beats being dead, Jaune." She tossed the envelope over to the makeshift dinner table. Not like they ate here most days. Dinner more often than not ended up being something cheap they could buy from the corner stores or food stalls. How long had it been since he'd had a home cooked meal? Jaune shook his head. No, none of that. If he started reminiscing he'd go back to thinking about his family.
"This sucks."
"What else is new?" She smiled wryly, "Come on, let's get some sleep. We gotta wake up early tomorrow."
"Right."
They changed into their nightclothes and turned in for the night, Jaune on the pull-out while Emerald took the ratty old mattress on the left side. The first few days he'd been shy about changing in the same room as her, but necessity had changed his mind pretty quick. It was just quicker and easier to do it in the same room and, as pretty as Emerald was, she wasn't interested in him that way.
Jaune tossed and turned for hours, unable to sleep. Eventually he gave up on sleep altogether and sat up, grabbing for his scroll as he did. Half an hour past midnight, "Damn it..." He set his scroll down and scowled. Emerald kept telling him not to worry, but he knew they couldn't keep this up for much longer. If they couldn't keep up then they'd have to leave the apartment and take their chances finding places to sleep out in the streets. As crappy as this place was, it at least had four walls and a lock. Out here that was peace of mind.
Making sure to stay as quiet as he could, Jaune changed back into a more appropriate set of clothes and snuck out of the small room. He knew where he wanted to go.
"Here again?" Junior asked when he was inside the club. The place was still fit to bursting, "Where's your partner?"
"She's doing something. Listen..." Jaune leaned in and clenched his hands. This was a stupid idea, and Emerald was gonna be pissed when she found out, but he had to take a chance, "You were saying something about a job earlier? That still open?"
"Sure. Just you?"
"Yeah."
"Fine." Junior didn't question it, thank the Gods. Then again he probably just didn't care, "I'll tell Roman you're in."
"Hey, uh, maybe a bit late to ask, but this doesn't have anything to do with fighting, right?" He still had Crocea Mors back in the apartment, but he hadn't actually used it since Beacon. That and he didn't have any Aura, so he didn't like his chances even with a sword.
"Not from what he told me." He grunted, "I'll send the details on your scroll. Anything else?"
"Uh...no, I'm good." He stepped off the counter, trying to ignore how lightheaded he felt. This was gonna go great.
Things were not going great.
So apparently the job, more a heist, was stealing from Weiss Schnee. Yeah, the heiress to the SDC. It was definitely something Roman Torchwick would do, at least, "Alright, minions, you all know plan?" Torchwick clapped his hands. He wasn't the only one here. All around him were over a dozen guys, each older and more experienced than he was. A part of him wished he'd told Emerald instead of lying and saying he was gonna try to do some more solo pickpocketing.
Jaune gulped and desperately recalled the instructions. Weiss Schnee was coming to Vale for a concert and Roman planned to steal something from her. According to some info he managed to bribe from a guard, Ms. Schnee had a collection of jewelry she kept in her dressing room under lock and key. Their job was to cause a commotion outside the venue in specific spots and draw out any guards, allowing both Torchwick and Neopolitan to slip in.
So Emerald was at least half-right, though at least this time they weren't going to do anything too violent. They'd just pose as some overzealous fans and cause enough of a ruckus that all eyes would turn to them. The worst they'd get if they were caught was a night in a cell to cool off. Apparently Ms. Schnee had crazy fans before, so it wasn't like anybody would think it was out of the ordinary.
Jaune stuffed his hands into his pockets and tried to keep calm as the van drove them towards their position. Jaune looked at the picture of their target on his scroll. Weiss Schnee, seventeen years old, heiress to the SDC, and famous singer. He didn't really keep up with celebrity gossip or anything, but he did recall listening to at least a couple of her songs to pass the time. She was a really good singer.
A few of the other people in the van had some more...choice comments about her. Jaune tuned them out. Typical tough guy talk about how they could show her a good time or how they could make her beg for their swords. He'd heard it all before. Emerald got more than a few comments of that kind sometimes when they went to sell off their ill-gotten gains. The last person who suggested he could offer some lien in exchange for some back alley fun nearly got his manhood snipped off.
Jaune pulled up his hoodie and steeled his nerves as he was dropped off to his position. He eyed eyed his temporary compatriots. There were ten of them, including himself, with the oldest looking to be about forty. Considering he was the most vocal about what he'd do to Ms. Schnee if he had the chance, it was more than a little creepy, but he kept his mouth shut.
Time to do this.
"Let us see Weiss!" Jaune shouted, immediately drawing the ire of the backstage entrance guards. It didn't take long for the rest of the group to follow suit and soon enough they were a loud and angry crowd of fanboys demanding to see their idol. The two guards milling around backstage were quick to call in backup once they got belligerent and soon enough it was total chous all around him.
Jaune tried to put everything out of his mind besides the reward. Torchwick assured them that every person would get five hundred lien for a job well done. It seemed like a lot, especially given their numbers, but he'd reassured them that the profit would be more than enough to cover the costs. Hey, he was the master thief. He probably knew what he was talking about.
And then the gunshot rang out.
Jaune snapped his head to the source of the voice and froze when he saw a guard stumbled back, a pool of blood steadily spreading across his chest. The moment seemed to last forever as everyone realized that this had gone from a scuffle to shooting.
Everything turned to chaos. The rest of the group either ran for it or began fighting even harder. Jaune watched as the gunman, a tattooed brunette who looked to be about in his twenties, raised the gun again to either finish the job or take out somebody else. He moved on instinct and tackled him to the ground. The two of them stumbled to the ground in a crumpled heap and the gun skidded across the floor, lost in the chaos of bodies.
"What are you doing?!" Jaune shouted.
"Getting a bonus!" The older man headbutted him and Jaune fell back. Through his shaky vision, he barely caught sight of the guy running off and leaving everyone else to clean up his mess. Fuck. He was almost tempted to follow his lead before he caught sight of the gasping and gurgling guard on the floor. In the chaos and panic no one had noticed him; or if they did then they didn't have the chance to help him.
He couldn't just leave.
Jaune crawled over to where the injured guard was and pressed both hands against the still-bleeding wound, "Come on, come on..." The blood felt so warm on his hands. Despite everything he'd been through - crying, begging, stealing - he'd never actually killed anyone, and he'd be damned if today was gonna be the day that ended cause of some psycho with a gun.
He barely even noticed anything around him, too focused on trying to keep the guy alive. He remembered shouting for someone to call an ambulance, but he doubted anyone even noticed given the chaos.
"What is going on here?!" Jaune's head snapped up to the new voice and froze when Weiss Schnee herself stepped out of the backstage door. She was still in her stage attire, though in her right hand she held a customized rapier. Behind the irate heiress, the guards were loudly urging her to stay back and run away to safety, though she paid them no mind, her gaze purely focused on the scene in front of her.
And then she saw the bleeding guard and her anger had turned from fiery to chilling.
She moved faster than anyone he'd ever seen before outside of that Ruby girl he met at Beacon. One second she was at the doorway and the next she was taking down the rest of the hired group with precision and ease. Any who attempted to fight back were quickly incapacitated and those who took their chances to run were literally frozen in place, ice encasing everything from their legs to their torsos.
Finally, she turned her attention to him.
He didn't get a chance to run or even attempt an explanation before she rushed towards him and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, lifting him up and pinning him against the nearby wall with ease despite her petite frame. The icy glare she gave made him shiver and it only worsened when he raised his bloodstained hands in a gesture of surrender.
The last thing he saw was her cold eyes before she smacked the side of his head with the rapier's hilt and everything went black.
Oof, Jaune and Weiss' first meeting didn't exactly go very well. He should've listened to Emerald about not working with people like Torchwick. He's really gonna regret it.
This fic has more AU elements compared to 'An Arc for Every Season'. Apart from Jaune being kicked out early, Weiss never attended Beacon despite her training and Cinder isn't present in the lives of both Emerald and Roman. It's more focused on the Vale underworld and the SDC, so stuff like Salem and the Magic plot won't be shown.
As for the other characters like Ruby, Yang, Blake, Pyrrha etc etc, I'm not sure. A part of me is tempted to put them in 'hero antagonist' roles since Jaune and Emerald are criminals, though that seems pointless since, again, Jaune has no Aura and can't really fight them anyway. It could be funny if he somehow ends up befriending Ruby anyway despite being a thief, though.
Anyway, tell me what you guys think. Similar to 'A Game of Cats and Rabbits', I'm less certain of the main overall plot for this fic since I just have a general premise and pairing.