CHAPTER 2: LET'S BE KISSY FRIENDS
Beacon Academy
Yang was far more perceptive than people gave her credit for. She might not be book-smart like Blake or an academic like Weiss, but she had her own way of looking at the world. It's what helped her navigate her life until now.
Perhaps her most important skill was looking at people closely and seeing more than what everyone presented to the world. She knew that on some level, everyone hid who they really were. Everyone was afraid of being scorned for certain aspects of themselves, but everyone was even more afraid of being ignored entirely. That's why everyone had their own way of projecting themselves to the world.
In the brawler's case, she was always happy, go-lucky, flirtatious, easy-going, and somewhat hot-headed. She wasn't lying when she presented those traits, merely presenting the more positive traits of herself for everyone to see. People like dealing with good things more than bad things. Her positive traits made her more sociable, and more desirable to be around, and generally netted her more relationships. Nobody needed to know about her problems, her inner demons, and her dark side.
Yang even hid things from her little sister. As much as she loved her baby sibling, there was an unspoken divide between them. Ruby wasn't old enough to understand the tragedies in their family, so her positivity, while wonderful, was ultimately naive. By contrast, Yang's happiness was a result of doing her best in a shitty situation. Life had gotten better, but it had to get really bad before it got really good.
Over time, she had learned to pick up on some of the things that gnawed at people and she considered herself something of an expert or at the very least she was proficient. However, as of late, she began to question if she was really as compassionate as her ego had led her to believe.
If she really was as good at picking up on the more unsavory aspects of people that they didn't want to know about, maybe she might've seen that Jaune was hiding plenty of his own problems as well. If she really thought about it, she didn't know the first thing about him aside from the fact that his fighting skills were subpar and his leadership skills, while rough, was overall sound.
But what Yang knew about him the most was how he tried and failed to flirt with Weiss. It was clear that he had no idea what he was doing and whoever told him to do what he was doing was either a total goofball themselves or were intentionally setting him up to fail. If she had to guess, the former seemed more likely. The knight was a bit boneheaded, but he was kind, and that could lead to others taking advantage of him.
Her thoughts turned to a few nights ago when he accepted her gift of good and ate it with that look of contentment, it made her ask more questions about him.
What do I really know about Jaune?
Maybe she was more shallow than she wanted to admit.
So she wanted to try something.
When Team RWBY arrived at Professor Port's class, she bid farewell to her teammates and found herself a seat next to Jaune.
"Hey, Jaune." Yang greeted him with a light nudge on the shoulder.
Jaune looked up at her. "Hello, Yang."
Because her team was usually barely on time for class, that was all the words they could exchange before the huntsman began his class.
The brawler got out her notebook, but instead of writing notes, she began to scribble a message.
Do you want to play twenty questions?
She lightly tapped the boy next to him to get his attention, then pointed to her message. He debated for a moment before writing in his own notebook.
Why not? I'm not going to learn anything, like usual. Hit me.
Yang snickered at his words, then wrote her own response. Remind me how many sisters you got.
Seven. I'm one of eight children and I'm the only boy. Jaune tapped his pencil lightly on the table.
Now she remembered and it still amazed her. Damn, that's a lot of sisters. No wonder Nora looks up to you like a big brother.
Do you think Nora looks up to me like that? He wrote down the question. I just assumed she was naturally outgoing.
The blonde girl took a moment to look up to make sure that Port was still teaching and predictably, the rest of the class had fallen asleep or were otherwise pretending to appear busy with only a handful still actually taking notes somehow.
Yang wrote in her notebook and showed her fellow blonde. She is known as bubbly and energetic, but when it comes to people she admires, she looks up to you like an elder brother. Have you ever seen her talk multiple times to anyone outside our team?
Jaune thought for a moment before he wrote in his book, also checking to see if the coast was clear. Besides Team RWBY, not really. I honestly didn't know she thought of me that way.
I had a feeling you weren't an only child. Yang smiled a little as her pen moved across the paper. People with siblings act a certain way. It's almost like you think of Team JNPR as another set of siblings.
Jaune nodded once, then responded. I was made team leader. That's basically being the big brother who guides and leads his siblings. At the end of the day, I have to make sure they come back alive and well.
Based on what the brawler had seen, the knight did indeed take his role seriously, perhaps more so than even Ruby, and that was saying something. Very few could match her little sister in her very biased opinion.
She felt her pen move faster. So seven sisters. How did your parents deal with that?
They did the best they could even if it was exhausting for them. They never say it, but I know that it was tough raising eight kids. His hand didn't stop moving across his notebook page. But they were good to all of us.
Although the words he wrote looked genuine, one look at his face and the blonde girl could see something else there.
Yang naturally decided that maybe she could find out more. I'm guessing that your parents were pretty happy about you getting into Beacon. It's the best huntsman academy in the world.
Lilac eyes flickered to him and his expression set into a frown, but only for a moment. If she hadn't looked up when she did, she would've missed it.
They are now. Jaune wrote the note more slowly as if he was thinking of the best way to respond. But they weren't always.
She clicked her pen a few times, then wrote. Why not? It's a good profession, if not a little dangerous.
This time, his expression was hard set. He was clearly debating what to tell her. She had never seen such a look on his face. Or maybe he had made that face before and she had never noticed it.
So the brawler wrote down something else. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to.
When he saw her words, he looked her in the eye. She smiled in return; when she did, he seemed to lighten up.
I didn't actually get into Beacon Academy legitimately. I forged my way with false transcripts. He paused to let his hand rest before continuing. My parents never really believed I could be a huntsman. That's why they never trained me. When I left home for Beacon, they told me not to worry if I had to move back home. How cruel is that, when your own parents don't believe in your dream?
The knight, who stared at his own words on the paper, appeared like he wanted to express it more, but he settled for pressing his lips together for a moment before gritting his teeth lightly and letting out a breath, then frowning. Then he schooled his features.
Yang decided that for now, she knew enough. There appeared to be some pain that was still fresh for him. The last thing she wanted to know was unnecessarily bring his mood down. He needed a pick me up right now.
So without much thought, she reached her hand out and gently grasped his own, squeezing it lightly. When he looked down, his eyes widened in surprise, then he met her lilac eyes with his sapphire ones. Again, she smiled.
His dour expression went away as he turned away, a light tinge in his cheeks appearing. It was only after she saw this did she realize what she had done in the heat of the moment. She also turned away, embarrassment now catching up to her.
The girl's body tended to move a little faster than her brain at times.
As far as excuses were concerned, it wasn't a very good one.
…
They were still holding hands.
RWBY - - - JNPR
Although Jaune wasn't shy about revealing the entire truth behind his enrollment into Beacon Academy, he didn't talk about it openly either. The people who needed to know did and that's all that mattered. What he didn't anticipate was telling Yang as he did during Professor Port's class.
A part of him was worried about what would happen if he told her. While he didn't think of her as malicious intentionally, she did have a tendency to be somewhat teasing about people's shortcomings or weaknesses. What did catch him off guard was how she simply digested and accepted it just like that.
It was a much different response than what Pyrrha had given him. Granted, there was some shock and awe as well as some emotionally-charged words at the time he told his partner and teammate. Still, it wasn't what he was expecting from the blonde brawler.
Truthfully, his parents and their lack of belief in his dream still hurt, even if he knew that they didn't mean to be mean. His spartan partner had fortunately taken it in stride and worked tirelessly to help him perfect his swordsmanship, but at times he couldn't help but feel that she was still babying him like she didn't really take him seriously.
But what did that mean for the brawler? How did she think of it?
It did make him wonder about Yang. Of all the ways to describe his fellow blonde, soft and kind weren't the go-to words he would use. Not to say that she was a total bitch or anything, but if he had to give anyone those two descriptors, it would be Ruby.
These days, his fellow blonde had shown sides of herself that had never considered that she had. Holding his hand while they were in a class, giving off that good vibe that lifted his spirits considerably, none of those things were expected.
Jaune took a breath in, held it for four seconds, then released. He found it odd that out of all the people on Team RWBY to find out about his troubles first, it would be the one he would least expect.
Ruby, he could see. She naturally wanted to help people and she wanted to do her best for the people around her.
If Weiss were to ask, he'd tell her without question. She was the girl he was crushing on after all.
Blake was tracking that she had her own issues with being a Faunus, so maybe they could relate on some level.
But Yang? Never did he think she would be the type to listen and comfort him, even if they communicated via paper.
The knight could only count himself lucky that he could think about all of this in peace since the two of them sat towards the back of the classroom, where they were relatively unseen. More often than not, people in Port's class were asleep or finding their own ways to be entertained as opposed to looking at others save for teammates.
"I thought you might be up here." And speaking of Yang, that was her right now. "Where's Pyrrha at? Don't you two usually train up here?"
Jaune only had a moment to think. "Um, I was doing some thinking. We do train, but we're done for today. Thought I'd get some distractions out of my mind before my team notices anything."
"... those distractions, they wouldn't happen to relate to you… to me… um, to us?" She joined his side but didn't look at him, instead staring at the ground several stories below them. "I mean, you know, what happened in class."
He nodded more to himself than to her. "Yeah… something like that. You, me, us."
…
…
"Makes us sound like boyfriend-girlfriend." Two voices said at the same time.
Then they turned their heads to each other. "What?"
The blondes had spoken in parallel again.
…
"Um, you have something to say?" Jaune gestured to her.
Yang shook her head. "Nonono, you go first."
"...alright." The knight bit his lips, took a moment to contemplate his words, then asked a question. "Why did you want to know about my family situation?"
The brawler looked stumped. "I… don't really know. I just asked at the moment. I guess I just wanted to get to know you better."
"Any particular reason why?" Jaune didn't suspect her of anything, but this was strange even for her. "We've never talked all that much before. You never seemed interested before and I've never had a reason to talk to you."
Yang appeared to fidget a bit, her left arm hugging her right arm, her face apprehensive as she looked down once again. "I'm… reevaluating my original opinion about you. We both know that my opinion of you is not flattering. I didn't mean to be nasty, but then again, since we'd never talked before, it could be interpreted that way."
She sounded truthful, but it also sounded like she was leaving out something else that was just as substantial.
"I don't hold any of it against you," Jaune replied to her evenly, "You know that I've learned to grow some thick skin."
The blonde girl looked up at him with a frown. "That doesn't make it right to say the things that I did. They might seem harmless on the surface, but you can't tell me that they don't affect you over time. I know, I've been there. Sure, people say I'm cool, sociable, and hot, but I'm not blind. I hear the other side of things just as much."
"What do you mean?" Jaune frowned, not sure he understood her meaning.
Yang laughed with no trace of humor. "Dumb blonde, attention whore, airheaded bimbo, shallow bitch, pass around hoe, and a few other colorful phrases. Probably just as many people talk me down as people who praise me. I pretend like that shit doesn't hurt me, but it does. I know you're a good guy despite your shortcomings, and usually, when good people hear others talk about them like that, it hurts."
She hit the nail on the head. He'd never talked about it before, but back home, he had heard the whispers behind his back. Because he didn't live up to his father and grandfather's legacy, he wasn't a worthy heir. He was a failure of a son for the Arc family. Of course, his parents denied such things, but their comfort was not what he wanted; that was the same as tacitly admitting he was a failure.
"I… didn't know you felt that way." He couldn't find any more appropriate words. "I thought I had you figured out."
She didn't appear offended by that. "You and me both. My first impression of you was bad, but these past few days have made me realize that maybe I am kind of that shallow bitch that people make me out to be. I never pegged you as the decisive and daring type, but that kiss… I haven't been caught off guard like that in a while."
And there was the Goliath in the room he was wondering that would ever be spoken of. "I never knew I had it in my either."
They stared each other in the eye, their previous awkwardness gone now that they were speaking in more honest and direct terms.
His eyes glanced towards her lips.
Luscious.
"...what would you say if I kissed you again?" Jaune carefully kept himself composed.
Yang's eyelids raised at his words, then she stepped closer to him, almost completely closing the distance between them. "I would say give me some warning next time. I… didn't get to enjoy it the first time."
… did she just give him permission?
His eyes searched hers carefully.
She met his eyes just as intensely.
The knight, for as dense as he could be, couldn't miss the signals that were being sent his way.
But he wasn't ready for this.
Wait, that was the wrong thing to think.
If he had learned one thing about being at Beacon, it was that he was never going to be ready for everything.
He just had to do the best with what he had right now.
So he steadied his nerves, then he slid both hands over the small of her back and brought her to him. In response, she placed her hands against his chest. Their eye contact remained for a moment.
Then she closed his eyes.
He kept his eyes open for a moment to make sure that he didn't aim wrong, only closing them when he could feel her breath against his mouth.
Then their lips touched.
Her lips were just as soft as the last time.
And this time, instead of shock value stupifying her, she pressed into him, matching his lips.
His second kiss was different than the first one.
In a good way.
Then she moved her hands from his chest to the back of his head to begin pulling lightly on his hair, eliciting a light moan from him.
Definitely different.
JNPR - - - RWBY
Yang felt his response to her hands playing with Jaune's hair. She had to note that one down as something he liked.
Then she returned to the sensation of his lips against hers. They were both inexperienced in intimacy, but she could greatly appreciate that despite this limitation, he took the lead and did his best, a trait of a good leader.
Not that she minded their little frenzy one bit. If anything, she wanted this too. That electrifying feeling she felt last time was there, but now that she was invested in it, it had multiplied severalfold.
When he pushed, she pushed back. When he hugged her back tighter, she dug her hands into his hair harder. He led, and she followed, matching him blow for blow. She wanted to make clear that they were both at the moment.
He was the first to break away, gasping for a breath, which prompted her to do the same, but they stayed that way only for a moment before he went in again, and she accepted him once more without hesitation. She felt his breath against him, no doubt him breathing through his nose, which prompted her to imitate him. He must've figured that one out and she was simply picking up along the way.
He stood nearly a head taller than her, which made him lean slightly into her, no doubt if he was standing straight, she would have to reach up on her tippy toes just a little bit in order to gain full access to his lips.
Next time, she'd do that.
Next time…
That stray thought only lasted a second as she felt his hands move towards her hips, a move which prompted a shiver in her entire body. She in turn turned her hands from his hair to his face, feeling the sensation of his cheeks against her skin. It was warm and it contained just the slightest bit of stubble.
They separated a second time, but she kept his head framed in her hands, foreheads and noses touching and the two of them gazed into the eyes of one another.
Sapphire and lilac.
She had never looked at him up close before, but she was getting a real good once-over of his features, she had to say that he looked good for some reason. Odd how one moment, he didn't register for him and now, he was looking like the most attractive person in the world.
What had changed exactly?
Was it perspective?
Was it simply because he was the guy kissing her?
Or was it something deeper?
For once, she cursed herself for not being as academic as Weiss was. If only she had the right word to describe what she was feeling.
"Yang?" The knight called out to her.
The brawler realized what her expression might signal, so she smiled quickly. "Sorry, just confusing myself, nothing bad about you or the kiss."
"...did you get enough warning this time?" He continued to train his eyes on her. "And some enjoyment?"
She grinned playfully. "Definitely both. Keep this up and I'll have to keep other girls away from you."
"There aren't any other girls right now." Jaune declared softly but firmly. "Only you."
Yang felt an odd thrill at his words. "Careful. Keep the smooth-talking going and you'll have to take responsibility."
"Sounds to me like I've got something good going." Jaune chuckled. "But another time maybe. Duty calls and all that."
They separated their foreheads, their hands slowly leaving each other as well. The feeling of each other's warmth left her feeling lacking, but she understood what he was trying to say as well. They both had things to do.
But she had to ask. "So… does that make us… you know…"
"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" He finished her question. "I… think it's too soon for us. I mean, sure we kissed and we've got something going on, but I don't know if it's love or just the feels. This is going to sound kind of old-fashioned, but if I date a girl, I'm pretty sure I'm going to marry her. Does that make sense?"
She did, more than he knew, although she couldn't deny she was disappointed. "I guess. I just… I do tend to get caught up in the moment."
"I do too. Nothing to be ashamed of. We're both consenting parties." Jaune smiled. "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends still. No need to be awkward about it. What do you say?"
Kind of an anti-climatic way to end things, but she couldn't deny that there might be just a little bit of emotion and infatuation at this moment. After all, she had given her first, second, and third kisses to this guy. That fact alone was likely to cloud her judgment.
Still, Yang appreciated him not being awkward about it. "Sure. We fellow blondes gotta stick together, yeah?"
Both of them looked to the shattered moon, their minds more settled no doubt. At least hers was. She had no idea what he had in mind.
"So… you still gunning for Weiss?" The brawler decided to try a sensitive topic.
The knight nodded, although he appeared half-hearted. "Yeah…"
"You don't sound very convincing." She noted. "What, did I derail your resolve."
He laughed lightly. "That's part of it, but I'm honestly wondering if maybe… I went into it too hard."
"I can give you a second opinion." Yang shoved her hands in her pocket. "I can't promise you'll like hearing it, but it might help you understand better."
Jaune only hesitated for a moment. "Alright, give it to me straight. What am I doing wrong?"
"So, keep in mind, this is just my opinion. Don't take it as gospel." The girl gave her disclaimer before speaking. "But I think… you don't see Weiss as an actual person."
The boy frowned. "What?"
"Don't take that the wrong way. I'm not saying that the way you treat her is cruel or harsh, but from what I can see, you don't actually take her seriously." She looked up at him. "Like, I'm saying that the way you treat her is like she's a princess in a tower that needs to be saved. She doesn't like, the idea that she needs to be rescued by someone. She wants to be her own person. If I had to guess, that's one of the big reasons why she constantly rejects you."
That seemed to hit a nerve because his expression became hardened. A lesser guy would've denied it and probably would've insulted her back for speaking the truth. He held his tongue. His silence prompted her to continue.
He let in a breath, then let it out. "Any other reasons?"
"Well, she might think that you're in it for the name, the money, all the perks of being with a Schnee." Yang listed off the other reasons. "All of that is probably a holdover from her days in Atlas. No doubt she's been courted a lot by the men in high society. Also, it didn't help that you came off as somewhat desperate."
Jaune scoffed. "... you're not wrong about me being desperate. I mean, I've been desperate ever since coming here. I want to be a hero, but I know that I'll never be the perfect hero. That doesn't stop me from wishing I could be better."
And there was the real issue at hand. There was something about himself that he wasn't proud of and his desire to become more manifested in him trying to do his best, sometimes biting off more than he could chew, and being plain reckless.
She needed to steer him in a better direction.
"You are better. When I look at you now and when I look at you when we first started, the difference is night and day." The brawler grabbed his hands and forced him to face her. "Okay, so you aren't at the level of us yet. The more you compare yourself to us, the less you see your own accomplishments. Take pride in the fact that you have made strides. Don't be worrying about everyone else. Worry about yourself. If you're having trouble figuring out the goals, I'll help you find them."
The knight regarded their joined hands. "Why are you helping me so much?"
"Because I want to help a friend in need." Yang gripped his hands tighter. "I believe you've got massive potential. A lot of people in your shoes would've given up by now, but you're still here. Plus, you're a team leader. Team JNPR is looking to you for the answers. If not for yourself, do your best for them."
Her last words seemed to reach him because Jaune began chuckling heartily. "You really are Ruby's sisters."
"What?" She tilted her head.
He squeezed her hands back. "She said something similar to me last semester, helped me get out of that whole spat with my team."
"There you go." She grinned. "Now do you believe me?"
He grinned back. "Yeah."
She believed in him.
RWBY - - - JNPR
Yang's words to the previous knight put him in a better mood. Waking up this morning, he felt a little lighter and more ready to tackle the challenges of today. The rest of JNPR noticed very clearly as he put the finishing touches on his uniform.
"You're in a good mood, Jaune." Pyrrha was the first to note it. "Did something happen?"
Jaune just shook his head. "Nothing drastic, just got some things in my head sorted out with a little help from Yang."
"Yang?" Ren seemed interested in the person.
Nora was just as perplexed. "We talkin' about the same person?"
The knight understood the confusion. "Yeah, wouldn't you know it, she's surprisingly deep when she wants to be. Guess she and Ruby have that in common."
"Well, I'm glad to know that you're doing well." The spartan placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's hope that translates into sparring later today."
Jaune appeared chipper at her words. "I think it should. It should give me a different mindset to work with at the very least."
With the mood of the team overall excellent, they proceeded to class. Today was going to start with Professor Peach's class. Planet Science wasn't a class that any of them could have foreseen as part of a huntsman's curriculum, but it was surprisingly informative not to mention pretty entertaining.
They were quick to link up with Team RWBY.
"Jaune! Good morning!" Ruby saluted him.
Jaune saluted back. "Rubes. 'Sup?"
"Fellow blonde, right here!" Yang held a fist up.
He responded in kind. "Right back at ya!"
"Blake, hello." The knight met the ninja's eyes.
The raven-haired girl simply nodded.
Then Jaune turned to the SDC heiress. "Morning, Weiss."
He didn't linger on the girl for long before looking forward. Yeah, today was something to look forward to. Another day to get better, one day at a time.
"Um, Jaune?" Ruby waved a hand in front of his face. "You okay?"
He looked at his fellow team leader. "Yeah, why? Did I… do something?"
"It's more about what you didn't do." Blake seemed a little fixated on him as well. "You greeted Weiss normally."
Jaune now was really out of the loop. "Okay, and? What about it? Isn't that the polite thing to do?"
"It's just that… you normally try to make a move on her." Ruby was the blunt one on Team RWBY.
…
…
…
Realizing their intent, he found annoyance leaking out. "Guys, I can be perfectly normal and not flirt with Weiss, okay?"
"Alright, enough of that, girls." Yang got between them. "Let's not go making fun of the man, okay? How about we appreciate the fact that he did the normal thing, kay?"
Thank you, fellow blonde for the assist.
"Yang, you're the one that makes fun of him the most," Ruby replied. "What's up with you?"
Now it was the elder sister's turn to be slightly frustrated. "What, I can't be supportive of my friends once in a while?"
Their dynamic had changed.
I've been so busy that I almost forgot this story. That's life for you.
I will say that revisiting old grounds is forcing me to reevaluate One-Night Brand in so many ways. The story's flaws show more now than ever despite my satisfaction with its overall quality. Story 2.0 will make improvements on those foundations so to speak. Let's hope it goes as well as I think it will.
What are your thoughts on this chapter? Reviews and feedback are appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
"Love does not dominate; it cultivates."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
