Chapter 4
A Little Wine
Jaune hummed as he was making dinner. Tonight, he and Yang would be dining on the food of kings: macaroni and cheese with dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. It had become a bit of a tradition in their house: since Jaune was the only qualified hunter, he was the breadwinner for their "family". Yang used to cook these meals herself to give him one last taste of home before leaving, but a man can only take so many charcoal-flavored meals before he has to cancel the mission and be stuck at home waiting for the doctor.
As a cook, Jaune wasn't half-bad. In fact, some would even go so far as to say he's a good chef! He cuts vegetables at reasonable sizes, not so big they become a meal themselves and not so small that they might as well not be in the meal at all. The beef is always cooked to a medium rare to well done state, keeping flavor (which Jaune always found important, though he swears he saw Yang eat a boot once), and the chicken is always cooked with no pink or brown in the middle. Yes, what Yang loved the most about his cooking was how he prepared the table; candle-lit, food already on their plates, and a glass of apple juice in each glass. Just because they're able to buy and drink booze, doesn't mean they have to. Yang saves that for when he leaves.
She sat at the table, eyes closed, silently thinking about them living together. Where they will do before bed. What they'll do when he gets back. What they'll do between him getting back and leaving again. She chuckled to herself, because she already knew. They would relax, be happy, and not worry about anything.
No Grimm, because thanks to the combined efforts of both Humans and Faunus, the black monsters haven't made the news since the final battle in the Black Pit of the Wasteland. No late assignments after she dropped out and he graduated early. And definitely no-
Yang suddenly felt cold.
She looked down at her "battle scar", as her father called it to sugarcoat what really happened in the attack on Vale. She moved the stub around, hoping to get some feeling from beyond her biceps. Her father brought home a replacement one day, but Yang refused to use it, no matter how often her father pushed her. Eventually he gave up.
All of her friends had their own way of approaching her since then. Ruby, being the best sister that she is, tries to keep others from stepping too far with their jokes, even if Yang says it's okay. Weiss, keeping her title as the Snow Princess solid as ever, refused to ever comment on anything having to do with the incident; keeping herself distant was her way of coping is what Yang figured. Blake, after much apologizing, spent the next few nights of their reunion staring at her arm, making Yang feel really creeped out. I mean, she just wouldn't stop staring sometimes. Makes you wonder what's going on in that cat-eared head of hers.
Nora, immature and childish as she can be, attempts to high-five Yang with the wrong hand. Ren is usually there to stop it, while also offering some holistic, herbal medicine he always finds and makes himself. Even with heavy liquor, it still tastes like something you'd find at the bottom of the lake. Jaune started out like Weiss, distancing himself, but when that didn't work, he decided to face it head-on. He grabbed it and stared at it for almost ten minutes before looking up with apologetic eyes and a nervous smile, saying sorry until he was hoarse. He was too adorable for her to stay mad at him.
Since then, he was like Ruby, pushing away anyone who went too far. Eventually, he noticed that her biggest bully was herself. Every now and then, Yang would put herself down with some comment about how she screwed up or how she misses her arm. He would then tell Yang to stop. When that didn't work, he tried again, more firm in his tone each time. He made sure she never made herself feel like trash.
Jaune then walked in with two plates of hot pasta covered in cheese sauce and small, breaded poultry shaped like prehistoric beasts. He set his plate down before rushing over to Yang, setting her plate down, he knelt down and held her hand.
"Yang?" he called to her gently. Yang was home at the moment.
"Yang?" he called again, this time more firm, gripping her hand with equal firmness. Again, a less than desirable response.
"Yang, sweetheart, are you okay?" Jaune hated this. He hated that Yang suffers through this every day. He hated that he can't help her any more than what he does. He even hated himself at times for that. Even after everything that's happened, after everything he's done, he's still too weak to-!
"Yeah."
Jaune looked into her lavender eyes and asked her, as gently as he could, "Are you sure?"
Yang looked down at her plate and smiled. "Yeah," she answered again, "I'm gonna be just fine."
"Okay, if you're sure." Jaune walked over to his seat, but did not sit down. In a convincing (if his audience was deaf and drunk) fancy accent, Jaune bowed his torso, one arm over his stomach and another behind his back, "Bone half of teat!"
Yang held her hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing.
In faux offense, Jaune stood straight up, giving a scowl. "Was wron, may sherry? Do you known lake zee on tray of mwah!?"
Yang was really struggling now. So much so that she bent over to hide her red face.
"Pair haps I kin Meg a duck Al orange, or zoom omelet-oh do from age!"
She couldn't take it anymore. Yang let go and laughed harder than she did in a long time. For a solid two minutes she roared in laughter (and ruined the table spread by nearly breaking the table with her fist), stopping once to catch her breath. She then remembered why she was laughing, and the vicious cycle began anew.
Jaune was enjoying himself, too. He was having fun, and Yang was laughing. Nothing in the world could ruin this moment.
Yang finally settled down enough to actually look at Jaune. "Thanks. I needed that."
Jaune gave her a soft smile. "I know. That's why I'm here. That, and the meal."
"Well, let's eat, then!"
Jaune finally sat down and saw Yang was already digging in. He was glad she was actually focusing on something other than her arm. He followed his standard procedure for this meal: cut off the tails, eat the rest of the body first, eat half of the macaroni, and then mix what's left for a combination that sends a man into heavenly bliss. Before reaching step three, Yang caught his attention.
"So," she started before swallowing what was in her mouth and finishing her sentence, "what's this big mission of yours this time?"
"Well, basically, it's just some recon. They're looking to build a new settlement, and they need us to make sure it's really uninhabited."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Sounds boring."
"Eh. Beats that saving the world stuff. You know, one province asked me to stay behind and rule as their king!"
"Why didn't you?"
"I'm just not into that kind of stuff. I mean, yeah, you get everyone's love and respect. And sure, they do everything you tell them to do, but I don't think I'm ready for that kind of responsibility."
Yang raised her eyebrow. "You make it sound like being a parent."
He chuckled. "Maybe one of these days, but not right now."
"Yeah, I don't think I could handle it either."
This time, Jaune raised his. "Being a parent, or ruling a province?"
"Yes." They both chuckled.
Jaune finished off his plate before he started the next topic. "Ruby's gonna be here tomorrow to watch you."
She groaned. "You make it sound like I'm a kid."
He raised his eyebrow again.
"Well, more of a kid. But I can take care of myself!"
He sighed. "I know, but…" Jaune struggled to find the right words.
"You don't trust me." Yang finished for him.
Taking a deep breath, Jaune responded. "Yes."
Yang stood up immediately, walked over to Jaune, and slapped him. He looked up, and, in the candle light, he saw tears. She then stormed off to her room without looking back or saying a word. Jaune just sat there.
"Way to go, Jaune," he said to himself, "you just had to say that, didn't you?"