Breaking Through the Bottom of the Bottle
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Five years after Beacon, Jaune's still going home alone as often as not. An unlikely encounter with Yang may have just the solution- drinks, company, and a hell of a lot of pickup lines.
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Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. Duh.
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Recovery took a little longer, but at least Jaune didn't look ready to bolt in fear. Or to try and find an ambulance. Stemming the flow of apologies would have been harder, had he had the breath to make them.
"Jaune, don't," Yang pre-empted once more, leaning back on her alley wall and looking to where he sat on his. "It's alright. It was just an accident."
Jaune frowned more, but his fright had since calmed. "You didn't say it hurt," he said, neither an excuse nor an accusation. "I didn't-"
"You didn't," Yang reassured, "because it didn't hurt. I just wasn't prepared. Normally it's not like that."
Normally it wasn't that strong, or that deep. Just a surface thing, with people she was more prepared to keep out. But then, it was Jaune, and Jaune had always had a larger than average aura, and it wasn't often another's aura was inside her own, rather than brushing up against her fingers...
She steadied her breathing, finally fully catching her wind. "Say it with me, Jaune," she insisted, looking him in the eye. "It wasn't your fault."
"It was-"
"It wasn't your fault."
"But I-"
"It wasn't your fault."
"But you-"
"This isn't about me. It's about you. Say it," she insisted.
Jaune grimaced, as if biting a sour lemon. "It wasn't my fault," he said like a good boy, before looking away and sneaking in a, "but I am sorry."
Yang gave a little laugh, trying to bring back the ease they'd had. "Fine. And that's your one apology- give me another one, and you'll regret it, got it?" she warned.
Jaune kept looking away rather than answer, so she chose to take silence as consent and filled the void herself.
"I'm not lying about it hurting," Yang said, because physically she felt worn but fine. "As far as close encounters of the more intimate kind go, that was far from the worst."
Jaune still didn't look at her, looking out the alley, but she could tell she had her attention.
"Yeah, it's actually a neat trick if I pull it off right," Yang continued. "If I do it right, I can feel what someone else feels- which is really, really handy. I can totally tell if someone is faking it, not that they ever do," she bragged.
Jaune smiled a bit, lips curling. "How selfless. I bet you don't get anything out of it at all."
Yang grinned back, glad he'd caught on. "Getting a good feedback loop is great- the better I do the better I feel. Just… don't ask me to help with delivering a baby," she said with a shiver, and even Jaune winced in sympathy. "Of course, it's even better with other Hunters," she added.
"How so?" Jaune asked, drawn back to looking at her even as she took the turn to look out the front.
"You should know," she prompted. "Aura mingling is a too way street. Do it right and it goes both ways, and you can feel what I feel." She paused. "Did you, uh, see anything during all that?" she asked, uncommonly awkward.
Jaune shook his head. "Not really," he said, and she released a breath. "For a moment I started to- the metal started feeling soft and warm, and I could feel your aura pulse… but then you realized what was happening, and I felt a flash of fear and everything slammed down at once."
"That, uh, might have been my hand spasm," Yang claimed. "My arm can go haywire if the aura flow messes up. Not the best kind of pinching," she said, as if he didn't already have the bruised finger to prove it. "Sorry," she added.
"No fair," Jaune protested, but with a slight smile. "If I can't apologize, you can't either."
"Call it my freebie, then," Yang said, beginning to smile more easily. "But I mean it when I said you didn't hurt me. I was just overwhelmed. It wasn't a bad one."
"What's bad like, then?"
Yang frowned, and Jaune realized he'd asked a bad question.
"Never mind. You don't have to-"
"Bad is when you brush by someone in the hallways, and realize they they're creeped out just to be touching you," Yang admitted. "Bad is. Bad is knowing exactly what the other person thinks about you, even as they say something else. Bad is when you're with someone, and you realize that just the sight of your arm is a turnoff. Bad is the first time you go through that, and the other person thinks you're crazy and crippled and having a fit."
Jaune hissed, but Yang waved off any apology or sympathetic anger. "It was awhile ago. I dealt," she said.
"You shouldn't have had to," Jaune said. "It's not fair."
"The world's not fair. That's why we have jobs," the young huntress returned. "Was it hard? Sure. Was it fun? Hardly. Especially after Cinder. I thought I was good- thought everything would be back to normal after we beat her and Salem- but 'normal' changed. I changed."
She leaned her head back and laughed in spite of the past, not because of it.
"I thought that when we all got back to Beacon, I'd celebrate by partying and picking up the guys. When we did get back, I thought tastes had changed. But they hadn't." She looked at her arm- still partially disassembled- and moved her fingers, watching the inner workings move as well. Jaune grimaced in distaste, but not at her.
Never at her.
"It was a wakeup call," Yang admitted. "I thought I was fine because I'd gotten back on my feet enough to fight with one arm. I thought I got better when I had two again. It was like taking back what Adam took away. But living with it?" She shook her head. "That was a whole other challenge. I always used to think of myself as one part big sister, one part fighter, and one part looker. Everyone could agree with that. But when suddenly a lot of people would disagree…" she chuckled. "Losing part of my sense of self felt like losing a part of myself, all over again. I was stronger that time, but it still hurt."
"I never knew," Jaune admitted, shaking his head in sorrow. "You always seemed so cheerful around us, once we were all back together."
"I was," Yang said. "Probably because we were all together. You helped."
Jaune raised an eyebrow, a silent question, and Yang answered while looking at her arm.
"You asked what bad was like. Good, though…" she smiled to herself, fondly. "Good is when after someone flinches, someone else moves a bit closer. Good is when you fight and every punch isn't fear or fright, but admiration or even envy. Good is when you offer a hand to help, and someone takes it thinking that it's a good, strong grip." She smile softened even more, her voice barely a whsiper. "Good is when someone feels it for the first time and doesn't think 'she's crippled,' but 'good, she's back, she's better.'"
"The guy you like?"
"Huh?" Yang started, coming back to the present.
"That last one. The guy you still like? From Beacon?" Jaune asked.
Yang paused for a moment, breath catching. "...yeah," she admitted, lowering her eyes.
Jaune didn't say anything for the longest moment. Instead he sighed, and stood up, and walked over to her before kneeling in front of her. "Give it to me," he said, holding out his hand.
"Huh?" Yang said, not comprehending.
"Your hand. Give me your hand," he repeated.
Yang did, slowly, uncertainly.
"I need to finish cleaning and putting you back together," Jaune reminded.
"Oh," she said, and complied, unable to describe the change in the air between them as Jaune began to carefully work. "Right."
"Yang?" Jaune asked. "I need to use some aura for light- just a little. Is that alright?"
"Alright," Yang consented. "Just let me prepare myself," she said, before taking a deep breath, and letting go. Her metal shined again- a bit brighter, but also guarded, ready to filter something other than raw emotion.
[Gentle, soft, barely brushing. The softest sort of pressure, wanting to be let in, wanting to help.]
"Alright Jaune," she said, steeling her heart and giving him permission. "I'm ready."
He fingers shined, a small light in the dark night and darker alleyway that lasted a short while before-
[CautionHesitanceConcern. He wants to help, but doesn't know how. Doesn't want to hurt.]
"Just say it, Jaune," she said, without opening her eyes.
"I saw something. I think," Jaune managed. "During our… moment. Even if you didn't mean me to. Sorry," he apologized, but Yang didn't admonish him. She was too busy holding her breath as his fingers moved inside of her. "You felt a bit of me, and I felt…" He shook his head. "I don't know what I felt, or how to describe it. But I recognized it. Longing. Regret. A sense of missed opportunities. I'm not the only one who can't let go, am I?" he asked.
[QuestionFalseCertainty. He already knows.]
"Not for lack of trying," Yang admitted, even as she flexed her metallic hand and squeezed his in a tentative test.
[I can feel you. If you could feel me, would you finally understand?]
"Then don't," Jaune said, looking intently at her hand and inhuman joints, trying to spot any deficiency that might hurt her. "I know- I know I may not be the best person to say this, that I don't have the grounds to, but don't give up, Yang. We're not in the same boat. I- Ruby won't return my feelings. I don't need aura-mixing to know that. But yours might. Whoever it is, they might still accept you."
[SincereAppealTrust. Believe Me]
Yang sighed.
[Impossible.]
"It's been years, Jaune," Yang reminded. "Believe me when I say it's never crossed his mind. I'm not a little girl anymore, pining because the boy I like doesn't notice me."
[Xiao Longs for so much more.]
"Does he have a girlfriend?"
[LongingEmptinessFulfillment. Does he love another?]
"There's another girl on his mind."
[Yes.]
"Is he married?"
[LongingEmptinessSorrow. Is he happy?]
"…No."
[No.]
"Then you still have a chance."
[HopeSelflessSacrifice. Hope for you, if not for me.]
"Jaune, I…"
[Don't tell me that.]
"Yang, he has to do something right if you're holding out after all this time. What's so good about him?"
[QuestionChallengeHonor. What makes him worthy?]
"Nothing, really. He's decent, sure, but he's stubborn, foolish, and silly..."
[Almost everything. He's brave, loyal, and true. He makes me smile.]
"He's also kind of an idiot."
[He's also an idiot.]
Jaune smiled. "Sounds like your kind of guy, then."
[ProudSmugAware. You can't fool me.]
"No, really. If he were any denser, he'd have satellites. He's a whole other level of clueless."
[I don't need to.]
Jaune laughed.
(Simple, clear, like wind chimes on a warm moon-lit night, simple and pure as sincere days of guileless youth and endless smiles. A familiar longing to hear, and share, and hear again.)
"I thought we already agreed he'd have to be to not go after you?" he asked.
[HappinessTrustConfidance. A belief shared between friends.]
Yang smiled despite herself. "True, but…" she caveated, as if making a great grudging concession. "He's honest, and sincere, and always tries to help others even if he causes them trouble. He never stared at me. He always treated me like everyone else, even after…" she traced her scars.
[He made me feel whole, wanted, even if I wasn't.]
Jaune smiled. "Sounds like we have a winner, then. To echo an old friend, you should go and tell him how you feel."
[PartnerAdmirationHonor. Pyrrha would agree. You are worthy.]
Yang laughed, bitterly. "I have. I tried. I couldn't."
[I'm not.]
"Why not?"
[CertaintyKnowledgeFamiliarity. You are.]
"Did I mention he was clueless yet?"
[He wouldn't believe me.]
"That's him. What's your excuse?" Jaune asked, looking up from his work.
[StalwartDisbelievingUnyielding. Don't lie to me.]
"…I can't say it, alright? No matter how many times I approach it I just… can't."
[I'm afraid.]
"Then don't."
[SimpleReasonableReverse. Don't be.]
"You just said-"
[…?]
"Don't say it. Try something else then," Jaune said.
[TrustFaithOpen. Be honest with him.]
"You think I haven't tried? The guy is oblivious! You could talk about him to his face without him realizing it!"
[I can't say it. I never will.]
"Then keep trying until he has no choice. Until he realizes it's about him and not someone else," Jaune insisted.
[SupportPersistEndure. Don't quit.]
"We're just talking in circles. I give up," she muttered, trying to take her hand back.
[I just can't. It's too close to my heart.]
Jaune didn't let go.
"Bullshit."
[Bullshit.]
Yang stilled at the feeling of real anger, but not one aimed at her. It filled her, warmed her, even as his words heated up the cooling night air.
"The Yang Xiao Long I know wouldn't give up after one failure, or five, or five hundred," Jaune said. "When she was faced with a challenge she couldn't beat, she kept at it until she could. When people said there were things she couldn't do again, she proved them wrong!"
[AweAdmirationAffection. You impressed me. You've always impressed me. I believe in you.]
"The Yang Xiao Long I knew could do anything she set her mind to, and would do anything she wanted to! She didn't quit for or give up on anyone!"
[ImpossiblePossibleYang. Even if no one else can, my Yang can.]
"And what if she ran into a brick wall so thick and so high even she couldn't get over it?" Yang asked softly. "What would your Yang Xiao Long do then?"
[What should I do?]
"She'd break through," Jaune said with absolute certainty. "She'd keep attacking, over and over, until she made a crack and claimed her prize on the other side."
[YangTriumphInevitability. Be yourself.]
Yang looked at him. Just… looked at him.
"You think I should take him by force?" she asked, not quite believing him.
[What if he doesn't? What if he doesn't want me?]
Jaune blinked, moment of tranquil fury and determination passing into confusion. "I meant keep flirting until you found the one that worked, actually," he said. "You are the mistress of pickup lines, aren't you?"
[ConfusionUncertaintyImpossibility. How could he not?]
Yang laughed, so sincerely she almost cried.
(Warmth, billowing, like an oven furnace, but instead of char clean and comforting. A never-ending burn, not harming but full of life and love and desire.)
"Alright, Jaune," she agreed, chuckling. "I won't give up. For you."
[You win.]
Jaune relaxed. "Good," he said. "He should be at the reunion, right?"
[PleasureReliefHope. Be happy, Yang. If you can, maybe I-]
"He should be," Yang admitted.
[I'll try.]
Jaune nodded to himself, removing his hand and beginning to re-attach the metal plates of her arm. His aura began to fade- hers still faintly shined as he turned his attention back to her.
"Then tomorrow, I want you to promise me that you'll find him and tell him what you feel. Swear it."
[PromisesUnbreakableEternal. Never go back, never again.]
Yang stilled. "If I haven't been able to say it straight out yet…"
[But Jaune, I still don't know how.]
He stilled for a moment as he placed the plate back over the hand, holding onto her hand for a brief moment even though his aura had faded. "Then say something else. Do whatever you need to convince him. Actions speak louder than words, right?"
[FadingDepartureResignation. You're leaving me. I know that. But I can be happy for you.]
"That's what they say," Yang said. "Though they usually aren't punching when they say it."
[How can I make him believe me?]
"Pound away anyway until he gets it, then," Jaune said, putting her arm back together. "And if he's so stupid it doesn't work out…"
[MisfortuneLonelinessShared. If you end up like me…]
"If it doesn't work out?" Yang echoed.
[Jaune, please, tell me how.]
"Then come back to me, and I'll treat you to a night on the town to drown your sorrows."
[SympathyFavorReturned. I'll be here for you, like you were for me.]
Yang sighed, and let her aura fade.
"Only if you buy drinks to celebrate too," Yang returned, opening her eyes again.
Jaune paused as he put back on another plate. "So I'm buying you drinks either which way?"
"Only way I'm making this promise with you," Yang conditioned. "Though I'll buy all the drinks until I confess, if you want."
Jaune laughed. "It's a deal- oh, and no more sad stuff, alright? Tonight's already been enough of a roller coaster," he admitted.
Yang held up the hand that wasn't finished being finished, as if she were swearing an oath. "I, Yang Xiao Long, promise not to bring up any more mopey stuff, and that I will buy Jaune Arc drinks until I confess," she said in a childish imitation of a Junior Huntress Scout.
"Nice, if not quite how I would have phrased it," Jaune smiled, patting the back of her hand again as the last plate secured. "Now you just need keep your word," he said, letting her hand drop from his now that it was done.
Yang kept it up just a little while longer, to show him her once-again dexterous fingers. "See? Not even crossing my fingers."
Jaune laughed, offering her a hand as he stood. "I've never pegged you for a liar," he reminded. And she wasn't- she just didn't always say what she was thinking.
Yang took his hand to stand as well, before arching her back with both hands above her head as she stretched. "Well, that was a thing. And I'm thirsty. How about we start hitting on bars again?"
"What time do you need to be up tomorrow to catch a ship to the reunion?" Jaune asked.
"Don't worry about that," Yang waved away. "Tomorrow's a long ways off. Besides, I need to work on my pickup lines. Come on," she urged.
"Wait a second, Yang, I'm not ready!" Jaune cried fumbling with one hand to put his tool back in his pants. "Give me a minute here!"
"Well, get ready. I've waited long enough already," Yang said, pearly whites visible as she gave a cheeky grin. "Besides, I'm going to need your help," she claimed, tugging him to get him moving.
Jaune laughed, and complained, and groused all in one. "Geeze, Yang, save some for your guy tomorrow," he said, catching up and walking on his own.
"Don't worry, I will," Yang said, showing off her canines once more. Jaune shivered in mock-horror, and then shivered again as a thought crossed his mind.
"Yang? One thing," he said, stopping.
"What is it?" she asked.
Jaune paused. "It… the guy you like..."
"It's not Cardin, is it?"
Yang paused.
"How did you…" she began, dumb struck
He stared at her, certainty creeping into his eyes.
And then she laughed.
"Me? And Cardin? How did you get that?" she completed, laughing aloud.
"Whew," Jaune breathed out, relaxing. "Good. I know he's changed a lot since then, but... whew," he sighed again. "I wasn't going to judge- we've all changed- but... remember how he tried to apologize to Velvet? This would have been even weirder." He shook his head. "That would have been completely unexpected."
"Tell me about it. Like one of those lame plot twists from Blake's books," Yang laughed again, leaning against the wall. She smiled at him, and pointed a finger at his nose.
And then flicked him.
"But no. It's not Cardin. And don't bother asking if it's everyone else you can think of either, cause that's the only hint you're getting, buster," she warned.
"Eh, fine fine," Jaune agreed. "I'll figure it out sooner or later," Jaune shrugged, beginning to walk forward and past her. Yang may have muttered something under her breath, but if she did he didn't catch it. "Come on," he said instead, stepping out of the alley. "I know another place this way."
Jaune walked ahead to show her the way to the next bar. For a moment- but only for a moment- Yang watched him walk away again without following.
"Jaune?" she called.
He stopped.
"Yeah, Yang?" he asked, turning to look back at her.
She smiled, eyes closed but entirely sincere.
"I'm glad we had this heart-to-heart."
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End Tenth Round
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Author Note:
And this round's winner is...
So, two brief thoughts. One on aura-mixing as a story mechanic, one on pace of the story.
When introducing a non-canon mechanic, it always pays to be careful. One of the best ways is to not directly contravene lore. There's nothing to say aura-mixing happens... but there's nothing saying it can't happen either. It's in that nebulous 'headcanon' realm that's open to interpretation. Personally, since aura is supposed to be tied to emotions and spirit, I like to think that aura could be a sort of surface-level empathy of sorts. Yang's aura turning into fire being one obvious sort, Cinder's ability to subtly threaten to burn people alive by touching them another. Surface-level empathy, of sorts. It's a personal piece of head canon non-canon, and I let it dangle in my mind for various concepts.
But what's important, when introducing it in a story, is to not just make it a one-time thing or a quick-fix. One time-things are plot devices, or quick fixes, rather than integral parts of the story. I've been guilty of the sin myself, but to make something a part of a story and not just a hand-wave it needs to show up multiple times. Here, we see another application of aura-mixing- something softer, restrained, more significant. It re-emphasizes the role, and the presence, while maintaining consistency. If you ever introduce non-canon elements key to a story, own it. Don't just use it once and never think of it again
On the point of where we are in the story... if you've been keeping track of wordcount, we're already halfway through. In a 7-beat romance outline, we've just gotten through Beat 3- the initial conflict. Backstory is revealed, tensions raised, and things are swell! So look forward to smooth sailing, folks, and take ease that I'm at the helm. It's not like I'd ever steer you wrong, right?
If you fear I will, or just want to comment on the chapter, feel free to leave a review.