Just a little something to get us all ready for the 9 Days of Lancaster 2023 while I try to get back to my main stuff and new work. Sequel to Operation: Blackmail Ruby. Please enjoy!
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Italics – Inner Thoughts
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Operation: B.R.A.T.
(Bring Ruby a Treat)
In a world where Grimm roam the world of Remnant, and in a world full of corrupt organizations owned and operated by the insanely wealthy looking to expand their greed across the planet, to groups like the White Fang who once stood for a noble cause that were usurped by extremists, there was only one thing for certain when it came to the lives of those who would stand against them. Yes, those chosen to protect the precious innocent lives of Remnant didn't have many certainties in life. They were never guaranteed holidays, retirement, or a long life unfortunately. That's why any assurances were welcome once you had that license. That assurance to Jaune Arc was this:
Saturday nights were made for gaming.
Actually, any days off were meant for gaming, but specifically on this Saturday that he had somehow scored off, Jaune was content with a pleasant night in catching up on some of the online gaming he had neglected throughout the week of arduous missions and training with his own team. Not to say he didn't enjoy the job and all the different aspects it involved, but when a day off came around, it was not to be wasted.
Gaming, date nights with Ruby, or sleep was usually on the docket, not in any particular order or level of importance just to name a few options. It also depended on Ruby's schedule as well, and while they had both somehow managed to be off on the same Saturday, her monthly subscription of comics had arrived earlier much to her own anticipation, so her day had been decided earlier on. Jaune didn't mind that much either. He recognized that while they were a couple, doing your own thing was important even when they achieved a day off collectively.
If she was going to have her nose deep in her important reading material tonight, he would just have to make do with keeping himself entertained and level up his character. Yes, a real shame. Once they had finished dinner together, Ruby collected her "minor amount", or absurdly large as Jaune considered it, stack of comics and made her way to the bedroom as to not be disturbed. After that, it was time for him to get to work.
He strolled over to the living room television and powered on his gaming system, all while pulling up a chair. Soon after, he knew he would need to keep energized and opted to grab an after-dinner snack from the kitchen. He skulked the cabinets and fridge with little success, much to his own dismay until he noticed a small box behind the disgusting milk on the bottom shelf. He opened it to find a partially remaining bakery treat inside. Normally, Jaune wasn't one for sweets, but with the lack of snacks in the apartment, he wasn't opposed to it. He tried to make out the brand of the product, noticing some sort of words on the box, but it was too difficult to make out.
None the less, he grabbed the snack from the fridge and a drink just to have, you know, for gaming purposes, not giving it much thought. He wasn't sure when Ruby or he had bought the cinnamon roll he had obtained from the fridge, but it was looking plenty tasty. Shame there was only one left. Yes, a real shame once more.
Once the game was ready, he logged into his character, and he was off to the races. He had to keep leveling so that Sun didn't get too far ahead. He never understood how the man had so much time to play. If he had to guess, it's because Blake banished him from their bedroom for being too much of a pain in the ass, but that was his own theory. In any case, it was annoying always playing catch up. Tonight, he was going to be all business.
After about a half hour of button mashing, and near-swears, Jaune was into a groove. Not to brag, but he was kind of a gamer, or at least he would say. It was to the point where he would pray to the RNG-Gods to give him items while he was preparing to log in. Nothing too over the top, just the promise of naming his first child after the game's creator if he was gifted any rare items.
Of course, the stress and focus of gaming was a surefire way for the brain to burn off some calories. Burning said calories was a good way for the brain to require further sustenance, and in order to replace those calories, sugar was a quick solution. With that in mind, Jaune took a hefty bite of the sweet treat he retrieved from cold storage, not thinking anything of it. In fact, it was so good, he took another. Then another until all that remained were a few crumbs.
"Delicious." He commented to himself. He would have to get more of that wherever either of them had picked this up from.
After taking a swig from his drink to wash it all down, he resumed his game, trying his best to not get any of the sticky goodness on his controller, all the while not taking note of the footsteps coming down the hallway from the bedroom Ruby and himself shared.
The redhead strolled past the blonde, noticing he was entranced in the game he was playing. Being a gamer all her own, she thought it best to not disturb him as throwing off any true gamer that was button mashing the way he was, would result badly. No, instead she would attempt to retrieve the comic snack she had prepared and purposely saved for this occasion.
Yes, she couldn't believe she had forgotten such an important portion to the comic-reading experience, but perhaps in her excitement of her monthly load coming in, it had somehow escaped her mind. Maybe she was getting old? She sure hoped not.
Ruby opened the door to the fridge with a childish grin, ready to devour the cinnamon roll she had saved from her day out with Yang. The smiled that adorned the girl's face slowly faded to a frown as she skimmed the fridge over repeatedly, not finding the white box from "Tyrian's treats" she had left within. Okay, now this was getting scary.
"Hey Jaune?" Ruby asked, causing the boy the perk up a bit at the sudden noise.
"Oh, hey Rubes." Hey replied. "Sorry, little jumpy."
"No, it's okay. Have you seen the white box that was in here? I could have sworn I left it on the bottom shelf."
That's when the fear set in.
How did he not realize? How did he think this would not happen? Had a single day off caused his brain to seize up? He was going to have to navigate this very carefully or risk bodily harm possibly.
"Uhh…" He started all while moving the crumb-filled plate under the coffee table in the living room while the girl remained ensnared on the inside of the fridge. "Nope. I don't think I've noticed anything like that?"
"You sure? I wrote on their 'Don't touch Ruby's comic snack' on the top of it?"
Now, as much as Jaune wanted to chastise her for her illegible writing to the point a five-year-old would probably shake their head in disgust, he would have to hold his tongue, all while having to think on the fly how he would rectify this dilemma.
"I don't think so." He lied with a stutter. "Maybe you finished it off in one your sleep-walking episodes where you raid the fridge?" He had paused his game at this point, opting to move towards his apartment keys just in case he needed to make a quick escape.
"Hmm… Possibly." She admitted with a tinge of frustration. Ever since she was little, Ruby had been known to do such a thing, though Yang had argued she knew exactly what she was doing multiple times when they lived at home with their father. To her credit, she was right… sometimes. "I could have sworn I saw it earlier."
Having seemingly bought his ruse, Jaune sighed in relief as his tachycardia began to slow. He kept his keys in his pocket, just to be prepared, but for now, he thought himself safe.
"We all have those moments. I thought I left Crocea Mors in Vacuo earlier, but then Nora reminded me she returned it to storage for me."
The short girl sighed at her boyfriend's comment, not feeling any better. "Yeah, I guess that is possible. Maybe it's the job? Might be time to consider a vacation."
"You might be right." Jaune laughed as he made his way down the hall to the bathroom. Stress-induced urination was quite the genetic issue men in the Arc family had dealt with for generations, and he was no different. "I'll be right back."
Ruby watched as the boy disappeared from the room slowly, all the while sighing once more. It was a feeling as closed to heartbreak if she had to try and make a comparison. She had possibly shattered her own heart but unconsciously devouring the snack without even noticing. Oh, if only she could interrogate sleeping Ruby, her new arch nemesis.
Imagine eating something that delicious while asleep so you could not enjoy it. Horrible. Unforgiveable.
The girl turned her gaze towards the hallway, ready to get back to reading, snack-less and sad. That's when she noticed the lid to the trash can was protruding. Normally, old Ruby would have just left it, but since she learned from Jaune to be a proper roommate, she'd taken strides to make sure if the trash needed to go out, she would at the very least, tie off the bag and remove it from the can before replacing it with another.
When she opened the lid, she noticed something startling. A peculiar white box, a white box she had just spoken of. That's when the paranoia set in. Slowly, she removed the box, investigating it slowly. She didn't know what struck her internally, but she figured she had to investigate the living room now. Was she in love with a treat thief? Not Jaune, surely! She had to confirm, none the less.
Moments later, she noticed a plate sticking out from under the table. Yes, things were most definitely adding up now. She examined it, rubbing bits of crumb together before her eyes as it turned to dust. Cinnamon roll dust that is. She felt her left eye twitch as the toilet from their bathroom gave a loud flush. It was time to see if what she presumed was true.
In one fluent motion, she left the plate and made a steady pace towards the bathroom, waiting for the door to open. When it finally did, she was greeted by a blinking and confused Jaune. He was lucky he was cute, or else she'd have laid hands immediately.
"Uhh, do you need to use the bathroom?" He inquired.
"Nope."
"Okay, do—"
"Open your mouth."
"Excuse me?"
"Open. Your. Mouth." She commanded once more.
Jaune only became further bewildered as he complied with the strange request, opening slightly.
"Wider."
He again fulfilled her request, opening as best he could. Had he known she was going to be inspecting his oropharynx, he would have brushed his teeth while he was in there after washing his hands. He watched as the girl got closer to him, causing him to be slightly uncomfortable when she began sniffing him.
This was getting weird.
He continued surveying the girl as her eyes narrowed at him. He was getting a little nervous at this point. He gulped faintly as she took her fingers and grabbed something off his lips. She rubbed it together between her fingers and watched as it came sprinkling down from her digits.
"You ate my dessert, didn't you?"
Oh crap.
He froze there at that moment as she refused to blink. Jaune left his mouth ajar as he tried to think of how to get out of this one.
"W-Why would you think that?" He tried.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the box in the trash that has to be recent, or the plate in the living room…"
"That could have been you in your—"
"Or the smell on your breath partnered with the crumbs you had so blatantly wasted on your lips instead of finishing."
Jaune wanted to make an off-hand comment about her concerning obsession with desserts, but she probably wasn't in the mood for a lecture, and he surely wasn't in the position to give one right now. Despite the inner-Neptune telling him to 'Deny, deny, deny', it was probably best he get ahead of this situation, lest he deal with another set of consequences.
"I… didn't know you were saving it." He admitted. "I thought the scribbles on the box were the brand, and I couldn't even make out what it said."
"So, you blame sleeping Ruby for it? You had better apologize to her and I."
"I… uhh, what?"
"You heard me."
"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have eaten it, and I definitely shouldn't have lied about it. I just…"
"You just what?" She probed with a raised eyebrow of curiosity.
Jaune gulped at her interjection. He felt the need to alleviate himself returning as the small girl continued her inquisition. "I just know how… passionate you can be about your sweets."
Ruby remained eerily still as she glared daggers into his very soul. Jaune tried his best to not falter in place under the immense pressure he felt. It was more intense than any training session with Pyrrha or any spar against Nora. Women really were scary.
There were no words spoke between the two for at least a minute before Ruby huffed loudly. Jaune took note of her changed disposition as she rubbed the sides of her head before heading back off to the kitchen. He heard the fridge door swing open with force as he cringed at how loud it was. Perhaps she had another snack in the fridge that would—
"If I don't have my snack, then I'll have to make my own." She spoke, returning to the hallway.
That's when Jaune noticed something… alarming.
"W-What are you doing with that milk?"
Ruby merely smiled at as she raised the large jug, shaking it as it made an awful 'swishing' noise in her hand.
"Why don't you step into out bedroom, and I'll show you?" She offered, a subtle undertone very apparent.
Before her semblance could activate, Jaune swung the bathroom door shut, and locked it. He felt the girl's frame barrel into the door from the other side, counting himself safe now, but only for a moment. It wasn't long until she began banging loudly from her side, causing the door to tremble, much like Jaune's legs.
"Jaune Arc, you open this door right now!"
"Ruby, please! We're going to lose the deposit if you—"
"You're going to lose your kneecaps if you don't surrender immediately, you brat!"
It was no use. She wasn't listening to reason. All she saw was red. Red like roses. It was all about escaping death now. Jaune's survival mode had been something he had trained on the battlefield, but that was going to be put to the test now more than ever.
Without delay, Jaune's eyes moved to the bathroom window. It was inconvenient and would probably gain him a few unwelcomed on-lookers from the street below, but once again, this was about survival. Another bash from the other side of the door, pushed him towards the window, both physically and metaphorically. Rapidly, he unlatched the snaps and slid the frame open as the bangs became louder. He would never understand how such a small girl could have that much power.
Steadily, he helped himself out of the bathroom and onto the fire escape. Once he had his balance, he stridently made his way down each floor before reaching the ladder. Despite dropping down so many floors, he could still faintly here the door from his apartment slowly giving way to pure, unadulterated rage. He had to get Ruby a snack, and fast.
"Jaune?"
The blonde heard his name being called from the street below. Much to his surprise, he noticed Neptune staring at him as he sat atop his motorcycle. Perhaps, fate was trying to help him out a bit.
Jaune didn't answer, but rather, slid down the remainder of the fire escape before moving towards his once-conspirator.
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" Jaune admitted with exasperation, nearly hugging the blue-haired man.
"You are?" He replied concerned. Jaune wasn't one to yell something like that out so brazenly.
"Yes! I need to get out of here. Where are you headed? You know what, it doesn't matter. Can I come with you?"
Neptune blinked at Jaune's confession. Yep, something was definitely up again. He finished snapping his helmet on before turning the ignition.
"I don't know. I was planning on going shopping by myself and—"
"Buddy," Jaune interjected. "you owe me for the last two times I listened to you."
"Yeah, but did you die?"
Jaune merely stared at him with a flat affect before motioning to Neptune for his spare helmet, knowing he had one. The other boy sighed before tossing it to him, watching as Jaune quickly fastened it to his head before getting into the passenger compartment.
Neptune revved the bike as a loud crash was heard from above both boys.
"What the hell was the noise?" They blue-haired boy commented. "Sounded almost like—"
"GO! GO! GO!" Jaune exclaimed before revving the handle himself, causing the pair to violently take off down the street.
From the window above, Ruby gazed onward with gritted teeth as she saw both of them make off into the distance. He had escaped… for now.
"JAUNE ARC!" She screeched from the open window, causing several car alarms from below to go off as dogs began to bark.
This wasn't over. She would have her revenge soon enough. Both sleeping Ruby and herself.
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Once Neptune had regained control of the vehicle and berated Jaune with a slew of profanity for nearly killing them, the blonde let out a sigh of relief for his temporary reprieve. He knew he didn't have long, but he had to find something to replace the snack he had so negligently devoured.
He hadn't been this stressed since… well since the cookie jar fiasco not too long ago. This time would be different though. It had to be. For the sake of his sanity, pride, and body.
"No seriously," Neptune commented once more. "what was that loud noise?"
"That my friend, was the sound of my deposit not being returned. Now please get me to the nearest bathroom."
"Right…"
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Please stay tuned for the conclusion on this two-shot, I promise it won't be long! Thanks for reading! For those of you interested in joining the Kingdom of Lancaster discord, please shoot me a private message!
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