Author's Note: Jesus fuck, I get it, consistency issues this, consistency issues that. I don't write sober, actually, I'm constantly not sober and I probably thought I had a different chapter between the last chapter and the next. I honestly don't know anymore, but I hope this fixes the jarring personality change.
Jaune stumbled out the door and carefully made his way down the apartment complex's steps that seemed to be moving back and forth. Upon reaching the last step, he ducked into the alley next to his building, making sure he was out of sight before unzipping his pants. After pulling out his pride, he let loose a stream of yellow rapids onto a pile of garbage-filled bags while whistling the tune of 'row row row your boat.'
"Heh, mine's bigger," Jaune heard from the end of the alley as the last bits of urine dripped from his junk. His eyes shot to the end of the alley he entered from to find no one. Looking to the other end, he saw three figures all with the same familiar long flowing blond hair. After blinking several times while putting away his junk, he squinted to focus his vision, and the three figures seemed to morph into one.
"Aren't you that hooker from last week?" Jaune asked, still trying to piece together who this mystery woman could be, "Wait, no, last week was a brunette. Aurora? No, that's not it. Yasmin? No, that's not it either, I know it started with a 'Y'."
"It's Yang, you dork," the woman said as she walked towards the tipsy huntsman, her hips swaying with every step.
"Yang, I know I've heard that name before. Do I owe you child support, do I have a baby that I don't know about?" Jaune smirked as he rubbed his chin.
"No, you dipshit, we went to Beacon together." Yang's eyes began to glow red from irritation, "I'm Ruby's sister, our team lived right across the hall from your team. Ring any bells?"
"Oh, Yang," Jaune snapped his finger, "If you're not looking for child support from me, who's the lucky, or should I say 'unlucky,' guy. Please tell me it's Sage. If it is, someone owes me 500 lien."
"What? No, I'm not looking for my baby daddy, I don't even have a kid!" Yang raised her voice as she refrained from socking Jaune in the gut.
"Looking to make one?" Jaune lowered his head to meet her eye level, the smell of alcohol on his breath reaching Yang's face. He shamelessly smiled as he jokingly raised his eyebrows twice before receiving a punch straight to his nose.
"Oh god, I just threw up a little in my mouth," Yang gripped her right forearm as Jaune flew a few feet back, holding her shaking fist back from beating him senseless.
"Okay, I deserved that," Jaune said, lifting his arm to point upwards before picking himself up, "Thank the stars that aura is a thing, because I'm pretty sure that would have broken my nose."
"Are you drunk?" Yang demanded as she contemplated kicking Jaune.
"Only enough to make the screams in my head stop," Jaune casually let slip as he sat up, "Anyway, what are you doing in this alley if you're not looking for customers?"
"Oh my god, please tell me you're not Uncle Qrow's new drinking buddy he's been telling me and dad about," Yang's hand went up to cover her eyes as she shook her head, "Wait, what are you doing here? Please tell me you're not homeless too."
"Birb man? Nah, I haven't seen him since Vacuo," Jaune answered as he rubbed his nose, attempting to massage the pain away, "Hold up, you said 'too.' Huh, well I'll be damned, Ruby wasn't lying."
"Oh shit, Ruby," Yang's anger quickly faded as she scrambled for her scroll, "I need to tell her I found you."
"Don't bother, I ran into her about half an hour ago," Jaune waved his hand in dismissal.
"Oh, well, that saves me a bit of trouble," Yang said, shoving her scroll back into her pocket. Looking up from her hip, she returned her attention back to Jaune, "I'm not going to ask where you've been all this time, but I need to ask, why?"
"Why what?" Jaune asked after getting up and leaning against a wall, dusting himself off in the process.
"Why'd you disappear on us like that?" Yang continued to press for answers, "When Ruby thought you were dead, she spent a week looking for you."
"That's old news," Jaune waved in dismissal once again, "the question should be why weren't you guys there when I needed you? Was it so I could be the distraction? Look, if that's the case, I get it. Send the weakest guy to distract the enemy while you take them down when they least expected it. It's basic tactics. I just need to hear it from you."
"Holy shit! You're completely up your own ass about this," Yang gripped Jaune's arms and slammed him to the wall behind him, pinning him in place. Her prosthetic arm exerted more pressure as her anger glowed in her eyes, "Did you stop to actually think about it just once over the last few years? You were the first friend Ruby made at Beacon. For fuck's sake, to her, you were her best friend. Do you know what you meant to her?"
"I- uh, I guess not," Jaune turned his head away, attempting to escape the brawler's gaze.
"The CCT was down and whatever information we got was tampered with by Salem's cronies," Yang continued, "Ruby would have starved herself to death at Vacuo looking for you if we didn't pull her away, and do you honestly believe we'd do that to you? That Ruby, of all people, would sacrifice you? We're your friends, Jaune, and I'm sorry we couldn't make it in time. We failed you, but don't you dare think that we'd ever betray you like that."
Jaune's eyes darted back and forth between the ground and Yang's eyes as he tried to process what he just heard. Eventually his eyes were fixated the puddle of urine as he thought about the year leading up to Beacon's destruction, growing more and more ashamed over his earlier behavior towards Ruby. Growing impatient for any sort of answer, Yang slammed him against the wall once again.
"Ow, hey. Look, you guys weren't the only ones who failed that day," Jaune blurted after his head knocked against the wall, "I let Vacuo fall, and I shouldn't have blamed all of you, especially Ruby. I just couldn't face you guys after I let all of Vacuo down."
Letting go of her grip, Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. Upon opening her eyes to reveal her normal lavender irises, she looked into Jaune's eyes and smiled, "None of us blame you. Besides, it's all in the past now, Salem's dead thanks to Ruby."
"Oh my god, Ruby," Jaune held his face in his hands, "I've been such a massive dick to her and she didn't even deserve any of it."
"That reminds me, where is the little squirt anywho?" Yang asked, placing her prosthetic arm on her hip.
"She's right upstairs in my apartment. I went full edge-lord on her and I just left her there," Jaune fell to a squat, his hands still covering his face in shame.
"Dude, you haven't changed one bit since Beacon," breaking out in laughter, Yang doubled over for a few seconds. After her laughing fit subsided, Yang pulled Jaune to his feet and left him with some advice before walking away, "I guess that's what Ruby loves about you. Oh, and one more thing, strawberries and cookies are still her favorite."