Arcadia: The Golden Era

by ShamelessSelfInsertAo3Alt

In a world where Salem and the Grimm are barely remembered nightmares, all that remains for the greatest of Huntsmen lines is to be fruitful and multiply.

28. Chapter 28: Sunshine and Roses Part 1

Jaune may have been a rookie, but he was an excellent physical trainer.

Willow had made notable progress in their short time together- her form was flawless and Jaune would always step in as soon as she faltered. No one failed to notice the way the well built young man eyed up his customer, nor did anyone miss how the older MILF lit up under his gaze, and took peeks of her own.

Jaune knew Willow's body even better than she did, knowing when to push her for a few more reps when she was close to giving up, and when to step in and stop her from hurting herself. Willow, for her part, obeyed- his encouragement was like a shot of adrenaline, and no matter how hard he worked her she never once complained.

A few of the other clients of the gym might disapprove of how close they seemed, and quite a few more were jealous- of the busty beauty or her stud trainer- but they had their own workouts to get through. There was no evidence of anything untoward… the pair were still professional in public, more or less.

"Oh, fuck, Daddy!"

Jaune grinned as the Atlesian beauty bounced on his lap, breasts swaying with every thrust. Her breathing was heavy and her face pink, but Willow kept rocking her hips into his as fast as she could manage.

They were professional in public. If Willow wanted to sneak into his room for a little 'endurance training' behind closed doors, who was he to refuse her?

Willow's face flushed red as she cried out his name in a desperate prayer, movements erratic as she slammed her cunt on his rod. " Jaune, Jaune, Jaune, Jaune, Jaune! "

He could hardly ask for a better student.

Jaune laid back in his bed with his hands behind his head as she shuddered and came.

"Come on, Princess." He teased. "That's the 3rd time. How many strokes was that, anyway? 20? 25?"

"...27." Willow said shakily.

Jaune raised a hand to brush a sweaty lock of hair off her cheek. "You kept track."

Willow leaned into his touch. "...You… you told me to." She whispered.

He gave her ass a playful spank. "Such a good girl."

She giggled happily.

She saw stars as her lover bucked his hips into her.

"-D-daddy!" She cried, as he lifted her by the waist and slammed her on and off repeatedly. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and her toes curled as he pounded away, getting ready to cum again before-

-Jaune stopped, holding her up until just the tip of his crown was still inside her.

Her pussy ached.

" Daddy !" She whined.

Jaune grinned mischievously. "Come on, Princess. You remember the rules. You can play with Daddy's dick, but if you want him to fuck you, you need to give him 100 squats without cumming."

Willow's body trembled. "B-but…. B-but."

His grin widened. " No buts, young lady." He ordered, fondling her ass. "The only 'but' I want from you is this one, bouncing on my cock, now. "

Willow bit her lip. How was she not going to cum when he was talking to her like that?

"Y-yes sir." She whimpered. Jaune loosened his hold on her. She sank onto his hips in an instant, cervix kissing his cock.

"Mmmmph!"

1

He chuckled. "Too hard?" He asked.

Willow's legs were jelly as she slowly raised herself back up, moaning as every ridge of his massive manhood scraped against her insides.

"...It's so hard." She mumbled, as she reached the top." You're so damn big." Nearly a foot later, she reached her limit. She fell back down- whimpering as he split her insides again. She was so full.

She cried out, but she didn't cum.

Not yet. She couldn't. Just a little more… just a little…

2

"You have to control the eccentric part of the motion." He said, unfazed. "You can't just drop everything at the top."

Willow squeezed the sheets below her. "I'm… trying …"

Jaune shook his head as she feebly tried to raise herself back up. "I don't think you can even get 10." He teased. "And you were doing so well."

Willow had. The first 'set', she'd made it 94 times, slowly, but surely rocking her way into paradise. But then Daddy had given her that look, one that was so proud of her and she-

" Gnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngh! "

Willow collapsed onto his chest, trembling.

Jaune sighed. "...I think you're done for today." he said, ruffling her hair. He started to pull out.

Willow protested weakly. "But… but you didn't-"

He put a finger to her lips. "It's okay, baby." He whispered. "It's fine."

She shook her head. "It's not!" She insisted. "Let me-"

"Willow-" he said sternly. "You did great. I pushed you too hard today. You can barely handle me as a dildo right now."

Willow stared into his eyes. "Then use me."

Jaune gulped.

"Fuck me, break me, pin me to the bed and have your way with me like a fleshlight."

"-Willow." he growled.

Her eyes were wild now. "My pussy is so hot and achy, and it needs Daddy's cum inside it. I need to make my Daddy feel good, I need you to fuck me, I-"

Willow gasped as he flipped her over on her stomach and rolled her ass in his hands.

"You asked for this." he murmured.

Then he started fuckingher.

Willow could barely think straight anymore.

Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap.

The older woman moaned as the young man let loose on her, pummeling her vagina full force in deep, fast strokes, until he was just a blur. She stifled a moan as he buried her head into a pillow with one hand as he roughly groped her breasts with the other.

"Daddy!" She cried. " Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"

If Jaune hadn't soundproofed his bedroom the entire town would hear her screaming.

Her body rippled with every thrusts, her cunt squeezing down on his cock as she came, over and over again, eyes wide as her master prone boned her into a pile of insensate bliss.

Daddy always tried to be gentle with her, and he made her feel soooo good, but deep down, she was a bad little girl. She loved it when he lost control, and no matter how much it hurt afterwards, she needed to feel his strength. He was so big. So powerful. So manly .

Her heart soared as he hammered into her womb, muscles tensing as his powerful thrusts became irregular. "Willow!" He grunted. "I'm gonna cum!"

"Me too, Daddy!" She moaned. "Cum with me, please!"

Jaune put a finger over her clitoris as his breath got shorter and shorter, applying just enough pressure to set her off!

"DADDY!" She cried, for her last orgasm of the day. Her pussy squeezed around her master's dick, milking it dry as he expanded inside her.

Daddy didn't disappoint.

Hot jets of cum painted her insides as her lover coated her womb.

"Oh, oh, oh!" She cried, fire pooling in her belly as the twitching member inside her unloaded. Willow saw white.

When she came to, she found Jaune laying a trail of kisses up her collarbone, gently resting his weight on top of her.

Her hair was wild, stray strands knocked out of her messy ponytail, her eyes were dazed, and her tongue was lolling out of her mouth. Her body was coated in sweat and a mix of their jism was slipping down her thighs, the still erect cock inside her plugging her leaking hole.

Jaune smiled adoringly at her.

"You're so fucking pretty, Willow." he murmured,

Her breath caught.

"I love you, Daddy."

Jaune stared deeply into her eyes.

Then he brushed his nose against hers. "I love you too, sweetie."

He settled in by her side, spooning her, bodies still connected at every juncture.

Willow wished they could stay like this forever.

Jaune was far and away the best lover she ever had- no one was nearly as good in bed or as loving afterwards, no one made her heart swoon so effortlessly. How different would things have been if he had been there in her glory days- how much fun could they have had if she was still in her prime?

But she wasn't in her prime. Willow knew she was still beautiful, undeniably so, but she wasn't getting any younger. She was nearly 3 times Jaune's age- he was in her youngest daughter's class, for gods' sakes. Someday soon, her looks would fade, her body would begin to fail, and Jaune would move on… nothing more than an old flame.

He wouldn't have a hard time of it either. Willow knew he had at least one other lover, the girl at the front desk, maybe others. Maybe even her daughters, someday- he was obviously interested and they'd be fools to turn him down. But that wasn't any of her business. All that mattered was that right here, right now, she was loved. She was wanted. She would savor every second.

Daddy was still hard as a rock, erection pressed into her lower back. Willow sighed, cradling one of his large hands against her chest, letting him feel the steady beating of her heart.

"I wish I could keep up with you." She murmured.

Jaune laughed.

Willow looked at him, slightly hurt, but he kept smiling, pulling her head closer. He kissed her temple. "Baby." He said gently, an echo of laughter still in his voice. " Nobody can keep up with me."

Willow tried to glare at him for a moment before her resolve cracked and she broke into giggles.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to try." She said, smiling. Then her smile turned devious.

"Turn me around?" She asked innocently.

Jaune chuckled and helped her shift her body so that her head was face to face with his throbbing cock.

"Gotta say," he said, running a hand down her sides as she gave him a tentative kiss. "I love the way you think."

She began swirling her tongue over his leaking crown as she wrapped her hands around the base of his shaft, pumping slowly.

"What can I say?" She whispered proudly, licking up traces of his potent seed and her own juices, reveling in the scent. "I'm a Schnee… and Schnee's always get what they want." Then she started bobbing down, caressing his balls while she worked.

They were very different people, but the pride, the understated arrogance in Willow's voice was all Weiss. Jaune groaned as she hummed around him, flittering about with her skilled tongue.

"Gods, baby, you give the best head-"

The door creaked as someone turned a key and pushed it open. Willow pulled up his shaft with an audible pop but was too weak to cover herself properly. Jaune made no attempt to help her- the soundproofing made it difficult to hear anything outside the room, but Jaune had a pretty good idea who was coming.

A pair of brown eyes narrowed.

"Jaune, you manwhore." Amber said irritably.

Willow stared at the newcomer in shock, traces of spit still connecting her lips to her master's cock.

"You couldn't even take her somewhere outside the gym ?" Amber muttered.

"It's my room."

"Whatever." Amber said, slamming the door behind her. "But if you're going to fuck around on company time, no way in hell am I getting left out of it." Amber stripped out of her top and dropped her pants to the ground, leaving her just in her underwear. "Scoot over, bitch."

Jaune stared at her disapprovingly. "Be nice to Willow, or we aren't doing this. Didn't anyone teach you how to share?"

Amber mumbled exasperatedly, before seeing the edge in his eyes.

"Move over please ." Amber said tiredly, kneeling in front him.

"That's better." Jaune said, sitting up to give the pair better access.

It was cramped getting all three of them into the bed, but the results were heavenly .

Amber had taken the lead and was fellating him furiously, bobbing her head up and down his shaft and dragging her full lips across his veiny dick. Her oral couldn't compete with Willow's skillswise but she made up for it in enthusiasm.

Willow was far more sedate- having been freshly fucked, she ceded his shaft to the younger woman and settled for lazily worshipping his balls, fitting as much of one in her mouth as she could while gently palming the other.

'Coco had a point.' Jaune thought dazedly. 'This threeway shit is out of this world.'

Looking down at the two women allowed him to appreciate their different talents. Amber was trimmer, perkier, and more demanding but Willow's figure was fuller, her touch more refined, her gaze more affectionate. Luscious caramel skin clashed with a snow white complexion, intense brown eyes with shimmering ice blue. If each girl was a unique experience on her own, how many combinations, how many different flavors of pleasure could he taste by throwing them together?

He put a hand on each of their heads, pushing Amber down further and further while gently petting Willow's white tresses. Neither girl seemed to mind.

"Gods, that feels amazing." He groaned happily. Willow cooed with pleasure while Amber seemed egged on even more to prove herself.

He caught Amber sending the older woman's chest envious, disbelieving looks. He lowered his hands, cupping a breast in each.

Amber's tits were denser, perkier, and had a lot less give than Willow's chest pillows- they didn't bounce as much when she was bobbing around, either. He squeezed each tightly, watching as each woman's eyes screwed up in pleasure.

Suddenly the door creaked again.

"Amber, what the hell are you doing in Jaune's-"

Qrow blinked.

Both women looked up at him mortified, caught red handed servicing their blond stud.

Jaune, for his part, looked more annoyed than anything.

"...I'm getting the strangest sense of déjà vu." Qrow muttered.

Amber pulled her mouth off Jaune, trying to say something, but unable to form any words.

Willow was only marginally less embarrassed, her body flushed a very pretty shade of red. "M-M-M-Mr. Branwen." She forced out. "W-we were just… just…"

Jaune glared at the older man. "Leave. " He growled. "Now."

Qrow rolled his eyes before reaching for a flash he didn't have. He grumbled to himself as he realized he had nowhere near enough alcohol for this situation. "Yep… definitely déjà vu." He said. "Fucking blonds."

Then he left the room.

Amber finally found her voice.

"I'm gonna lose my job." She croaked. "And everyone's gonna find out. I'm fucked. I'm so fucked."

"Yeah." Jaune said, picking her up. "You are."

Willow watched in fascination as her master tamed another woman in front of her.

Amber wriggled in his grasp as he lined her up over his cock, pulling her panties to the side. "Let me go, you maniac!" She said. "Now is not the time! You can't just fuck peoples problems awa-AAAAAAAH!"

Jaune grinned as her soaking pussy split itself around his cock.

"Wanna bet?"

Several hours later, the three of them were face to face with Qrow at the front desk.

"You couldn't even bother to lock the door?" Qrow said disbelievingly.

Jaune shrugged. "I did lock the door. I gave Amber the extra key."

"Of course you did." He muttered. He turned to the coed. "What about you? Got anything to say for yourself?"

Amber was as repentant as she could be, which, considering she very much had the 'freshly fucked' look about her, wasn't very convincing.

"No, sir." She muttered, still blushing as Jaune wrapped a comforting arm around her waist.

Qrow sighed. "I'm not paying you to fuck around on my time-literally. Consider yourself lucky I'm only taking today's hours off your paycheck. And you-" he said. "-get that cocky grin off your face you little shit."

Jaune did his best to comply. "I get why you're pissed." he said. "But I was off the clock. It was my time and my room."

Qrow massaged his temples. "...Fucking teenagers." he said. "And Willow," he said.

The Atlesian turned to him nervously.

Qrow shook his head. "What you and Jaune get up to is none of my business, but I'm running a gym, not a brothel. If you're looking for a gigolo, do it somewhere else. And for your kids' sake, at least try to be subtle about it."

Willow looked down at the floor. "...I understand."

'You're just jealous you aren't getting any.' Shadow thought darkly.

'Yeah, it's not like you're distracting his employees or risking the reputation of his business.' Persona chimed in sarcastically. 'Why else could he possibly be mad?'

"Willow and I train together." Jaune said firmly. "She doesn't have to pay me for sex."

"And like I said, I don't care about your extracurricular activities." Qrow said. "But if any of you get caught, people are going to talk, okay? Scandal's bad for business. Just keep it safe and on the downlow."

Willow gulped slightly as the fresh load of semen sloshed around inside her. "...Okay… safe and private." She whispered, biting her lip.

Jaune laid a hand on her knee and gave it a comforting squeeze. "We won't cause any problems for the gym." He said. "Arc's word."

Qrow sighed. "Okay." He said. "You can go now." Amber and Willow rose to their feet and left the building. Neither man missed the subtle limp in their gait.

Jaune rose to follow. Qrow grabbed his shoulder. "Not you." He said gruffly. "We need to talk."

Jaune fought back his anger and gently removed Qrow's hand. "...I said we'll be more careful, and I promise to keep my hands off Amber during work hours, alright?"

"Does Ruby know?"

Jaune blinked.

"...No." Jaune said. "We're just friends, she doesn't need to. Didn't you just tell me to keep my 'extracurriculars' on the downlow?"

Qrow hummed. "Friendly word of advice, kid." He said. "You're playing with fire."

Jaune sighed. "I already said we'd be careful-"

"-That's not what I'm talking about." Qrow said. "Look, I was your age once, young and dumb and full of cum. I remember how it felt the first time I got laid- like I was on top of the world. I dated non-exclusively a bit in college- it was a lot of fun. For a while, anyway. It's all fun and games until someone catches feelings, or gets their heart broken, or gets pregnant." He met Jaune's eyes. "Couldn't help but notice that you weren't using a condom."

Jaune looked away. "...Amber's on protection."

"And Willow?"

Jaune could have lied. But he didn't. "We've…never talked about it, but she has kids, she knows how it works, and she's never brought it up, so I just kind of assumed-"

"-You assumed ?" Qrow mumbled. "Holy fucking shit, kid, who the hell gave you the talk?"

'...My Dad.' Jaune thought unhelpfully.

"...Well, I'm probably the last person to take relationship advice from." Qrow said tiredly. "But, for what it's worth, try to be safe, don't be a dick, and be prepared to roll with the punches."

Jaune sighed. "Alright."

Qrow nodded, before stretching himself out lazily. "Well, now that I've said my piece, I'm headed to the bar." He said. "Thanks to you I have a whole new set of things I need to unsee."

Jaune rolled his eyes. Qrow made his way to the door, but before he could leave Jaune spoke up.

"...I'm glad you're alright."

Only then was the older man reminded of the faint gauze that decorated much of his body.

Qrow grinned. "Well, it'll take a hell of a lot more than an IED to put me in the ground." He said. "Besides, I've always recovered quickly from these kinds of things. What can I say, it's a blessing."

Jaune's heart skipped a beat.

Qrow's grin had a mischievous quality to it as he searched Jaune's face for a reaction. Jaune did his best to hide it.

'He knows.' Jaune thought. 'And I know that he knows. But does he know that I know that he knows…?'

Qrow chuckled to himself. "Later kid." He said, walking out the door. "Try not to get anyone pregnant when I'm gone, okay?"

---

Summer was late.

It was just by a day. It wasn't proof of anything yet. So what if her cycle had always run like clockwork? Women missed days every once in a while. It didn't mean anything.

"Hey." Tai said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Summer sighed, pushing an untouched cup of coffee across the table. "I'm trying not to worry." She said anxiously. "But…"

"Honey, you've been stressing about this for over a week." Tai said. "Hell, that's probably the reason you're late- you got so worked up that you threw yourself out of whack."

Summer tensed. "Maybe." She said, unconvinced. "...But what if you're wrong?" She said, voice trembling. "What if I'm actually-"

Tai hugged her from behind. "Then we'll make it work." He said gently. "It's not like it's the worst thing in the world, adding a new member to the family." His smile grew lecherous. "We sure had a lot of fun making them."

For all her worries about getting pregnant, Summer seemed quite eager to try. Every day for the last week and a half had been filled with sex- a quickie in the morning, and a long session at night, fucking and kissing and cuddling until they were both drained and fell asleep. All bareback, all out of this world.

Summer's eyes watered. "...Yeah." she said.

He kissed her cheek. "Just wait and see." He said. "Everything's going to work out just fine."

Summer clasped her hands as he walked out of the room.

She still hadn't told him.

As far as Tai remembered, they had sex and the condom broke- Mason's drug worked like a charm.

"You can do whatever you want with Tai." Mason said, chuckling. "But if you do get pregnant, it's mine."

Summer knew in her gut the bastard was telling the truth. She had given her lover every chance, but….if she was really pregnant, her baby was an Arc. It was almost terrifying how perfect of a crime it was… the men looked enough alike, and the cover story was planted well. Tai would think it was his, until she shattered that delusion herself.

How could she? She knew her lover well, and she knew that if he had any idea what had happened to her he would be out for Mason's blood. But Mason Arc had connections neither of them knew about- he had ties to the Council, maybe even someone inside VSS. Not to mention the mysterious… powers he had.

Her insides were being split apart by the biggest cock she had ever taken- white hot cum was sloshing in her womb as she was pounded on top of two other women- Master's hand was squeezing her ass while Estelle kneaded her breasts.

Summer couldn't think- she was running on instinct now- addled by lust and nearly incoherent. Lisa had taken her tongue out of her mouth and Summer heard a voice that sounded disturbingly like her own cry out.

"It's so fucking deep! I love it! I love-"

Summer shivered at the memory.

No. They couldn't move against Mason. Not yet. Not unless they were completely sure of what they were up against. They would be destroyed if they tried, and in the end it would be her ass. He let her go last time, hadn't broken her completely, but if she crossed him she doubted he'd be so lenient again. Telling Tai what happened would just torture him, so long as there was nothing he could do about it. Confessing wouldn't take back what happened, what she had let herself do. It might just get him killed.

Her silence had eaten away at her, but until now it was an easy decision. If she didn't get pregnant, no one needed to know.

But if she was pregnant…

Summer clenched her fists. She couldn't do that to Tai. She couldn't keep something like that from him. She wouldn't.

She wouldn't take her anger out on an innocent child, no matter who its father was… but if she was pregnant with Mason's baby, then no matter what the risks she'd have to tell her partner the truth, and… hope it didn't ruin everything .

'If.' She thought tiredly. 'If, if, if, if, if.'

Tai was right. There was no point dwelling on it now. She would go on about her business, buy a pregnancy test, wait a few more days, and then she'd know.

The days since her encounter with the Mason had passed by in a whirlwind- a disconnected series of memories flashed through her mind.

At work, her thoughts constantly drifted… this was the school where Mason's children had gone, wasn't it? All 8… or… more than that. Over the years she had watched countless children grow and roam through the school's halls. Yet for the first time she found herself looking closely at their parents when they were picked up at the end of the day, searching for something.

Were any of them Mason's bastards?

Vale was a big place, but Oum Elementary was in his backyard. If he had any lovers nearby, it wasn't out of the question that some of their offspring might wound up here. So, Summer started looking for them.

A few obvious candidates emerged.

There was a little girl in 2nd grade that was only ever picked up by her mother, a very attractive young woman, with no man in the picture at all. How could she afford a home in this neighborhood on a single income?

There was a charming young boy in her class that looked nothing like his older siblings… she had met the parents at an open house, and wasn't sure if the mother matched Mason's target profile, but maybe she hadn't aged well. Maybe she was looking too deeply into it- traits skipped generations, and loathe as she was to admit it, not everyone needed the influence of sex god powers to stray- not every dirty little secret in the world was Mason Arc's. Summer knew she was grasping at straws, more to distract herself from her own infidelity than anything else.

But one case burned itself into her mind.

She had met a new couple at checkout, the day after her own submission- her body still deliciously sore from the furious fucking she had endured. They were a mismatched pair: the woman was dark and imperious, an austere beauty, tall, leggy and toned. Standing next to her was a shorter, bumbling man, with a soft, friendly face, a rotund body covered in loose, expensive clothes. The woman's beauty was marred by faint lines of contempt; the man was kindly but wore a perpetual expression of slight bewilderment.

'He's definitely a cuck.' Summer thought automatically. She was immediately ashamed of herself - she didn't used to think that way. Sure, those kinds of rumors were mentioned in the teacher's lounge in passing; quiet whispers about how a child looked nothing like its 'father' were one of the juiciest pieces of gossip available, but she had never paid it any mind.

Today it was all she could think about.

The couple approached her. The husband looked away from her awkwardly, keeping to himself.

"Excuse me." The wife said curtly. "Do you know where Rasin is?"

Summer blinked. "Rasin Adams?" He wasn't in her class, but he had made a name for himself as king of the playground- a loud, rambunctious and energetic boy of 7.

Mrs. Adams nodded.

"Knowing him, he probably snuck out for some last minute recess."

Sure enough, four boys had snuck out of the cafeteria and onto the playground. The adults came just in time to see one of them pushed off the top of the jungle gym.

"Haha!" The boy cried, standing triumphantly over his defeated foes. "I'm king of the hill!" He stood a few inches taller than his peers, and shared his mother's dark hair, intense eyes, and a vibrant energy that was all his own. And he looked nothing like Mr . Adams.

"Rasin!" He said anxiously. "Get down from there, please! It's not safe!"

The boy jumped straight down, landing expertly and nearly giving the man a heart attack. "We're just having a little fun." He said petulantly.

The man knelt down to the boy's level. "What have I told you about fighting?"

"We're not fighting." Rasin whined. "We're playing ."

"It's all fun and games until somewhat pokes their eye out."

" Daaaaaaaaaaaad ."

Summer went into super mom mode and took care of the scruffed up boys, who seemed more or less intact, applying a few bandages and wiping away a few stray tears-"I'm not crying, Ms. Rose, some sand just got in my eye". When she was sure they were fine, or as fine as she could make them, she stood up; her gaze drifted to Mrs. Adams.

They were said to be a window into the soul… and Summer could see every emotion flicker across those purple pools as Adams looked at her family- barely hidden contempt for her husband, undisguised pride in her son… traces of bitterness, longing for something she couldn't have.

Suddenly she remembered that Ms. Rose was present, and she wasn't alone with her thoughts. Deep purple orbs met shimmering silver.

A silent conversation passed between them.

Summer's gaze narrowed piercingly. 'Rasin's not his.'

Mrs. Adams' lips pursed, before one side of her mouth came up in a wicked smirk. 'So what?' her eyes glimmered mockingly. 'You gonna do anything about it?'

Summer's fists clenched. It wasn't her business, and even if it was she had no proof. Only a gut feeling, a silent confession. Rasin's father could have been Mason, or the mailman, or the pool boy- it didn't wouldn't exactly take a sex god to steal a woman like that from man like Adams.

Summer's glare faded. Even if she could do something, she had another man's seed sloshing around inside her right now, another potential bastard waiting for an egg to spring free. Summer loved Tai, and even that hadn't stopped her from cuckolding him with a stronger man, from screaming in ecstasy as he blasted his essence into her. She and Mrs. Adams had committed the same crime… maybe even surrendered to the same stud. Who was she to cast the first stone?

The moment passed.

"For heaven's sake, Joe." Mrs. Adams said, looking away. "When will you learn that boys will be boys? Quit wasting time and lets go."

"...Yes, dear." Mr. Adams said meekly.

"Oh, can we stop for ice cream on the way home?!" Rasin asked excitedly. "Can we, can we?!"

His father smiled uneasily. "Well, I don't know, maybe…"

"...Pleeeeeeease?" The boy said with a puppy dog stare.

The image was burned into her mind. A clueless husband, trying to do right by a child who wasn't his. A jaded wife who was not fazed by how obvious her fraud was to anyone with eyes. An absent father, leeching off an unsuspecting victim… and an innocent child, who loved Mom and Dad and was none the wiser.

How many times had this little drama played out over the ages?

Summer shook her head.

The guilt had hung over her like a dark cloud for the rest of the day.

'It's not the same.' She thought, as she sat down with her family, watching Ruby and Yang argue about some new movie… or video game… she couldn't even focus enough to listen. Yang's eyes were a completely different shade than Mrs. Adams', a soft lilac, but the sight of them, filled with mirth, somehow brought her back to the family on the playground and those spiteful violet orbs.

' Weakling. Coward. I don't belong to you. '

'We're not the same.' Summer thought furiously.

The look of cool revulsion, the utter contempt that had adorned the woman's eyes, that was something Summer never wanted to see in herself. Her body may have betrayed her, but her heart had stayed true. Mason hadn't just been trying to sleep with her, he had tried to turn her against Tai, to humiliate him and claim her… and, if only for a fraction of a second, he-

'-but it didn't last. It didn't work. I don't feel that way. I didn't betray my family, I only slept with him to protect them ! I didn't have a choice!"

Summer bit her lip, refusing to look him in the eyes.

"...Deal." She whispered.

Mason pressed his head in and bottomed out in a single, brutal thrust.

'It's bad enough that you're lying to your family. Are you really going to start lying to yourself ?'

"...Mom?"

Yang was looking at her now… Summer was trembling.

"You good?" She asked.

Summer nearly burst into tears.

Yang wasn't her child by blood, but she was hers in every way that mattered. After she had learned about Raven, there was a time when her eldest had stopped calling her 'Mom', when she wouldn't speak to her for days at a time. That distance was one of the worst feelings of her life, and it had taken years to rebuild the trust between them. Yang had quite the temper, and if there were two things she hated above all, they were lying and Mason Arc. If she knew what Summer had done last night… would she ever forgive her?

"I-I'm alright." She forced out. "I'm just… tired. I just had a long day at work."

Yang and Ruby looked at each other, unconvinced.

Tai bailed her out. "Why don't you go to bed?" He asked. "I'll handle the dishes tonight."

Summer nodded, kissing him on the cheek before pulling her girls into a tight hug.

'I love you .' She thought. 'No matter what happens to me, I'll always love you.' All she managed to say was "Goodnight."

When Tai came to join her Summer was still awake.

"What's up?" He asked.

Summer looked into his handsome face, his blue, trusting eyes. Something twisted in her gut.

"...I'm just worried after last night." She said, mostly telling the truth.

Tai sighed. "Well, try and get some rest." He said, before taking off his shirt and getting ready for bed.

Summer grabbed his hand and pulled it to her breast.

"...Maybe…" she said shyly. "...you could help tire me out?"

Tai blinked in surprise, before grinning widely.

"I can do that."

Sex with Tai was as good as it had ever been- she ran her hands over his muscled body, brushed her lips against his subbled chin, felt herself expand as he pushed his long cock inside her, tongues clashing as she reveled in the taste of him.

She was nothing like the woman from school… she had a proper man to come home to. Tai was good looking, and strong, and hung, and just her type.

'This is my stud.' She thought as she rode him. 'There are others like him, but this one is mine .'

Summer was in complete control of herself now, as she rocked their bodies together. She had almost forgotten how fun it was, admiring such a beautiful, powerful body, and seeing how the slightest, softest touch could make her lover quiver in need.

" Summer. " Tai groaned, as she ground her hips against his own, slowly and tenderly. Tai was so much stronger than her, but here he was, pinned under her smaller, softer frame, not daring to move if she didn't want him to. " Please. "

Summer grinned. She needed this.

"Are you getting close?" She teased, trailing a featherlight touch down his abdomen.

" Yes. "

Summer sped up, filling the room with the sharp slap, slap, slap as her ass came down onto him. "Not yet, dear." She ordered. "I want you to come with me."

Tai bit his lip as he neared his limit.

"Summer…. I…."

Plap, plap, plap.

Right there. She adjusted the angle of her hips, trying to find the perfect spot for him to hit. She wanted him… right…there.

"Just a little more. "

Plap, plap, plap, plap, plap-

"SUMMER!" Tai shouted at the top of his lungs, grabbing her butt and slamming it down in a final, brutal thrust.

The feeling of his jism spurting into her was just enough to put her over the edge, and she clenched down on his twitching member, moaning like a whore.

"TAAAAAAIIIIII!"

Summer collapsed onto his heaving chest as the two caught their breath. She buried her head into his neck, taking in her lover's scent.

It was different than with Mason… but it was still good. With Mason, Summer was helpless, and the sex was a never ending rollercoaster of highs and lows, breaking her spirit as her body quivered in ecstasy. This was slower, steadier, and Summer got to set the pace. Tai was an adept lover in his own right, but he gave her so much power, so much control. She was the one who fucked him , she had Tai at her mercy, not the other way around… and while she had been happy as Mason's bottom, she loved being on top.

She felt a hand running through her hair.

Summer met Tai's eyes as he came in for a kiss, letting out a muffled 'oomph' as their lips met.

"I love you." He whispered, as they pulled apart.

Summer's breath caught.

Staring into his eyes, she saw a look of wonder, affection, adoration, that shook her to her core. Here she was, so caught up in trying to forget, trying to reassert control, that she forgot why she had held on in the first place.

Last night Mason had fucked her. Tonight she and Tai made love.

This was the man she loved. The only man she loved. She blinked back tears as she met his gaze, opening her heart to him. She… she didn't deserve him anymore, but if he'd still have her…

"...I love you." She breathed, voice quivering.

They'd made love one more time that night, slower, gentler, each watching the other as they fell into a steady rhythm, not worrying about who was on top, merely worshiping the other body sharing their bed..

Tai was done after his second round, but Summer was fine with that. As she settled in beside him, spooning, she laid a hand over his heart, still beating furiously. They had pushed each other to their limit… she didn't need someone to push her past it.

This was all she wanted.

---

In the days that followed Summer moved away from schoolyard gossip and onto hard intelligence.

Her head was clearer now, her mind sharper. She needed to know the truth about Mason Arc… and Jaune.

She trusted the boy… the young man … who had grown so close to her family, but experience had taught her to trust but verify. When she was in the field she couldn't risk her objective or her life on blind faith, and her daughters were the most important thing she had. It was too late to break the kids up- if Jaune wanted her girls he could have either, powers or not- but that didn't mean Summer wouldn't try if she had to. At the very least, they deserved to know what they were getting into.

She wasn't an active member of the VSS, anymore, but she still had contacts…many of whom were useless. Mason knew about Raven, which meant he had a mole in VSS- or at least controlled somebody with clearance. He had been on the phone with a Councilor before they showed up… who knew what they had access to? In any case, she couldn't risk giving herself away… which meant any female operative was out of the question, because how could any woman possibly resist-

-Summer killed that line of thought. She was getting better at that, ignoring the part of her that was Mason's, that had broken…the part of the whole ordeal that had terrified her most.

She needed to think clearly. Calmly. She couldn't tell anyone what happened without breaking the deal. Whatever the Arc's powers were, Mason had obviously gone to considerable effort to keep them secret, and if she so much as hinted she might compromise them, he would break her in and plug that hole for good.

'Isn't that what you want?' A treacherous, lecherous voice crooned.

'Shut up.'

If she was going to do this, there was only one person with the kind of access she needed. One person she trusted with her life.

" You want what? " Qrow asked.

"I want access to Section 4's investigation of Mason Arc."

The line went silent for a long time.

" You aren't supposed to know that exists. " Qrow said dryly.

"The report might be classified-eyes only, but it's been referenced several times in other reports that aren't."

Mason Arc was a prominent citizen with discrete connections to key figures within Vale's political and business elite- he was at least mentioned in several of their files.

" You aren't supposed to see anyof our reports anymore ." Qrow deadpanned.

Summer grinned. "When we were discharged I may have left myself a backdoor into the system… just in case."

Qrow let out an impressed noise. " Of course you did. " He chuckled. " Casually hacking into Vale's most secure network… most agents would shoot you for that. Whatever happened to little straight-laced Summer? "

Summer's grin widened. "I was put on a team of bad influences."

Qrow guffawed. " Aw… they grow up so fast. I hope the encryption on this line is better than our internal servers. "

Summer paused for a moment. "...Hopefully."

She could hear Qrow's exasperation on the other end of the phone. "Every time I've seen you get reckless in the field, it was because of that bleeding heart of yours. Is this about Jaune's 'condition'?"

Summer bit her lip. She couldn't lie…and she desperately wanted to tell someone. But, as good as she was, her encryption could be broken, Mason could be monitoring her… while she doubted anyone in Mason's pocket would hurt her…

"The Arcs hardly gave us anything to work with." Summer said honestly. "Just a doctor's note. That may be enough for Beacon, but it isn't enough for me. If the file has family records, maybe there's something in there that can help him- that can help us figure out what's wrong."

Qrow sighed. " Trust me, I've looked. Not much there- some dark money donations to politicians, a few suspected affairs, a lot of family gossip- ."

"-Send it." Summer said.

Qrow paused for a moment. " What are you reallylooking for? "

He always could see right through her, couldn't he? Summer kept her voice steady. "I don't know exactly what it is… but I know the Arcs are hiding something. Something big. I need to find out, and I don't have anyone else I can ask. Please ."

Summer felt guilty using that tone- she knew Qrow's line of work was risky enough as it was and she had no right to drag him into her mess. But she knew he would never refuse.

" ...Fine ." He said. A few minutes later she received an encrypted file, with the label 'Mason Arc-S4'.

" ...The access code is SCION ." Qrow said tiredly. " Read what you need and then purge it. Smash the goddamn hard drive if you have to. "

She skimmed it over quickly, her eyes lingering on the bright red 'Section 4, eyes only' left intact, overlaid on every page as a warning for nosy spies from other sections, like her. It seemed like the report was almost all family related… and it was the most sourced VSS report she had ever seen.

"There's nothing criminal here. Why is Section 4 on this case?" She asked. "What were you looking for?"

" ...You know I can't tell you that. "

"Qrow, I'm serious-"

" -So am I. There's a reason me and Raven were told things you weren't, okay? You try messing around in that world, you'll get killed. I won'tlet that happen. Ever."

Summer pressed on. " What were you looking for? "

"...We didn't find it." Qrow said. " As far as Section 4 cares, Mason Arc is clean. Take what you need and then let it go."

"

Qrow -"

"- Drop it."

Summer had only ever heard Qrow use that tone twice in her life; each time was a matter of life and death. She knew, no matter how she pried, this was the best she was likely to get- and from the looks of the file, it was a lot.

"Okay." She whispered. "And… Qrow…" she whispered. "...Thanks."

There was a solemn pause at the other end of the line.

" Don't mention it. " Qrow said. " ...Seriously, don't. I'm not popular upstairs already. If they find out I'm sharing this kind of intelligence, even with a former agent, it'll be my ass. "

"Don't mention what?" Summer said airily.

" Exactly. " Qrow said. " As much as I love these little chats of ours, can we keep the next one to stupid things my nieces have done, preferably with drinks? "

Summer giggled. "Sure. Bye."

Her good mood didn't last long. For a man who was officially 'clean', Mason had a very hefty file.

Some of it she already had access to. Within Section 2, there was an investigation into tax evasion and money laundering that was ultimately dropped. Mason Arc was one of the highest paid athletes in the history of Remnant, but while he didn't lack for the finer things in life he wasn't a lavish spender, either. Most of his money went to investments.

…Very profitable investments, apparently. Public estimates of his net worth were off the mark… so many of his assets were held in trust, tangled together under shell companies and buried in instruments so complicated the people who put them together would barely understand them- 'there's the pregnancy slush fund' she thought irritably. There was a pattern to his dealings though… fashion companies, media conglomerates, top universities… Mason held quite a few keys to the Kingdom. All told, VSS estimated his net worth at Ⱡ50,000,000,000, chump change compared to the trillions controlled by the Schnees, but still an absurdly vast sum, and far more than all but his closest business partners would be aware of.

Ultimately the investigation had been dropped, as all of the ways the money was hidden were at least nominally legal- the various facades each paid their taxes and it all could be traced back to Mason if you were willing to work hard enough. Plus, Mr. Arc had friends in high places who were perfectly content to keep his dealings in the dark, so long as he cut them in on it.

From what she could gather, Mason had funneled millions into the political campaigns of all three elected members of the Valean Council, and smaller sums to select local officials. In public, Mason was largely apolitical, occasionally appearing at events with leadership from the Lawful Peace Party, but never taking a public side on any issue. Privately, he had deep ties to members of the LPP and the Reform Party, and seemed to make a lot of phone calls before crucial votes. All of it technically legal, buried in half a dozen loopholes and write offs… no one wanted to shut down their own gravy train.

She looked more closely at the three men at the top.

Jimmy Vanille.

Edward Pallette

Clifford Stepford

She looked at the Vanilles first. Jimmy was a fairly milquetoast politician from an upper class background, who's only real skill seemed to be being just inoffensive enough to get elected. Despite his squeaky clean image, there were rumors that he had collaborated with the Xiong Family to smuggle dust back when he was City Manager for the City of Vale, although nothing was ever brought to court. Mason had apparently gotten the message, though: Vanille was a man who could be bought.

And Carmel looked like just the kind of woman he'd like to claim. An elegant socialite, with a pretty face, soft brown hair, and a lithe, slender figure, she remained a pristine picture of aristocratic beauty even into her 40s… and there were several occasions when she had been spotted near the Arc Mansion without her husband. The two men worked closely together, and VSS believed that Vanille was aware of the affair.

'So, that's how it is?' Summer thought bitterly. 'You run on 'family values' while taking bribes and pimping out your wife?'

Her irritation waned. Who's to say Vanille had volunteered? If Mason had conquered his wife there wouldn't have been much he could do about it. Mason would have access to all the couple's secrets and the kind of political leverage that could snap Jimmy's neck without raising a finger. She had her own deal with the devil hanging above her head.

The couple had 4 children, two boys and two girls, all born in the last 10 years, none of whom looked much like Jimmy… and one late daughter, conceived years before they had ever met Mason, who had died years ago in a tragic house fire.

Summer's eyes widened.

' When a lion moves into a new territory he… kills all the cubs that aren't his. '

'He… wouldn't. He… he couldn't. '

Summer voraciously consumed the other files on various affairs, and thankfully found that this was an outlier. Mason did have mistresses with children that predated him… none of those children had mysteriously turned up dead.

Summer rolled her eyes as she recognized one of the suspected mistresses' names.

'Violet Adams- Arc's personal secretary for 6 months in 72 AGW.'

The Vanilles were a very unusual case. Their 'later' children had been conceived quite easily, but they had spent years trying before, when they were younger and more fertile, eventually settling on an experimental In Vitro procedure at an obscure clinic in Merlot Province. Stolen medical reports showed that Vanille had a very low sperm count and was unlikely to father any children without medical help… if Summer had any doubt that Mason was the father of the other 4 children it vanished.

The eldest daughter had a disability of some kind, and the family rarely spoke of her in public before or after her death. Apart from her birth certificate, there was little evidence that Trivia Vanille had ever existed… and what little there was suggested that she might have been the only one of Vanilles who had nothing to do with Mason.

Edward Palette, the head of the Council, was another Arc ally, but seemed to be under much less direct control. He had married an older woman from a prominent political family to get his start and his wife was hardly a candidate for Mason's lust, and the VSS had evidence suggesting that over the years Palette had one or two affairs of his own. The couple had a single daughter, who went to Ansel College with the Arc Twins, and was in the same sorority as well. Mason visited the area on occasion, but he could have just been visiting his daughters, or screwing with any number of other hot young women on campus.

Still, the two men had extensive ties- Mason was one of Palette's most important financial backers, and Opal Arc was interning in Palette's office. Mason held his ear, whether or not he had the man by the balls.

The last Councilor, Clifford Baines, was as bland as Vanille publicly… and privately, apparently. He had started off as an executive at one of marketing firms that handled Mason's matches… and dozens of other major media events, which helped obscure the connection from those who weren't looking very closely. Baines' best work was supposedly behind the scenes, and he had very little stage presence for someone in such a high office- but he knew how to make friends. The only truly remarkable part of his life was his wife, Amelia Baines, neé Derringer.

Amelia Derringer had been a leader in the Women's Liberation movement before her very public downfall. It was a fringe political movement- women in Remnant felt fairly liberated already, having equal legal rights encoded in the Vytal Treaty, and generally being able to study, work and marry as they pleased. Most mainstream political attention was on Faunus Rights, internal government structure, budgets and diplomacy, and the 'Movement' was confined to a handful of dingy departments in universities that most students of both sexes mocked openly. The stereotype of such 'leaders' was a fat, angry and lonely spinster… and it did not apply to Derringer.

Derringer was a champion swimmer at Prism, was incredibly photogenic, fit and poised, measured and gracious in her public appearances and seemed to be a true believer in the cause, someone even the most skeptical people would take seriously. She was the champion her comrades had longed for… until her stunning reversal in her senior year of college.

Derringer's politics had shifted so far so fast that she rapidly became more extreme than even the Kingdom's most reactionary voices, arguing that women had no business working or voting and that their only place was in the home.

"I was such a silly little girl." She said famously, when asked about her old speeches. "A woman can never be truly happy unless she submits to a man."

There were plenty of off-color jokes wondering who was the man that had 'turned' Derringer- after a highly publicized shotgun wedding the credit had gone to Baines, although he hardly seemed the type. The kind of man who could bend a woman's mind so completely would be a lot more like...

Summer's mind raced. 'Does he think it's funny, twisting people until they can't even recognize themselves? Does he get off on it? Or was it an accident… did he fuck her for her looks and shatter her worldview as a side effect?' Summer had felt the cognitive dissonance of struggling against Mason's influence, eventually something would have to give. What if Derringer simply overcorrected? Love can change a person… and Mason's dick was actually that good .

How much did Mason control, realistically? Maybe he could use his influence to isolate political opposition, but probably he was just using it as a source of sorority girls. It's not like he could have affected the structure of the institutions themselves. He wouldn't have been around long enough to alter too much.

...But there were other Arcs.

Summer looked through the pieced together family records that Section 4 had assembled- it was by far the most extensively researched part of the report.

The first known ancestors of Mason Arc were Aaron Arc and a woman named Giselle. Aaron was a veteran of the Great War, who fathered a son, Simon, while on leave. During the chaos of the Great War documentation was spotty, but Aaron in particular left very few public records of his existence- outside of his son's birth certificate, filed by his lover in his absence, the only evidence they were able to find that he ever existed was a record for a court martial, for fraternizing with an officer's wife. The officer died in battle and the charge was dropped.

Simon was a mercenary and also kept a low profile, though some of his contracts were recorded. There were also child support claims filed on him across Remnant, none of which had ever been served. Simon had a reputation as a womanizer and was said to be worth at least 10 men on the battlefield- despite jumping headfirst into every conflict in the post war era, he lived for about 50 years before being killed while serving on the security detail of a local kingpin, though he killed 15 of his attackers. The number of assassins involved in the hit was way out of proportion for a minor crime lord… who they allowed to escape.

Julian was the child of Simon and one of his favorite mistresses, a disgraced young socialite named Marie de Léon, who dropped out of finishing school and cut all ties to her family to have his baby. While his father had skirted the edge of the underworld, Julian dived head first into it. According to public records Julian had dropped out of school and left home… after he turned 15.

A few early arrests for petty crimes were all they officially had on Julian's activities. Unofficially, 'King' Julian was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in several major investigations, including drug running operations, money laundering, embezzlement, and the largest prostitution ring Vale had busted in decades. There was never enough evidence to nail him on anything, and while no one could say how much he had or where exactly he had gotten his money, he took very good care of his lawyers.

He never stayed in one place for long and frequented at least a dozen households in Vale. Detectives tracking his movements believed these were all romantic entanglements, but Julian was promiscuous and could have had many other unknown children. Mason was the child of a woman named Chantal Domrémy, the third of five children… two sons and two daughters. The family had been poor, but mostly stable, with occasional visits and suspected cash infusions from Julian until his death in 40 AGW. His brothers and sisters had stayed in the home until they finished highschool… but Mason was emancipated and out on the streets soon after he turned 15.

From there the story was fairly well known- Mason in his teenage years made waves in the ring and once he graduated from amateur to professional he established himself as the greatest fighter in the world.

There were countless other Arcs, siblings, cousins, half siblings- all of Jaune's paternal ancestors had a fair number of confirmed or suspected bastards, but most of them didn't follow the same pattern as Mason's branch of the family.

Mason's older sister, Gemma, was the manager of a department store. Armelle, the younger sister, was a housewife, married to a police officer, and a mother of three. Arthur, the eldest brother, was an actuary, and divorced, with no children. Oliver, the baby of the family, had been a struggling actor who had been killed 18 years before in a car accident. There was no evidence that Mason had ever sought them out after his exile, or ever offered them a cent, and they had all stayed away from him. Mason hadn't even gone to his brother's funeral… though someone was paying for monthly wreaths to be laid at the grave.

Going over the scant details, Summer was struck by how… normal most of the Arcs on record were. They lived a few years longer than average, had fewer reported medical issues, higher typical academic success and, judging by the pictures she had access to, most were at least somewhat good looking, but they were otherwise a cross section of Valean society- teachers and lawyers and clerks, housewives and firefighters, soldiers and nurses, bankers and scholars or day laborers, beach bums, even a handful of petty criminals. The hyper promiscuous, hypermasculine, domineering and aggressive pattern only manifested itself in a tiny fraction of the males… an unbroken chain of fathers and sons.

There was one other outlier that VSS was aware of.

Long Dong Silver.

Summer zeroed in on the final word.

" I've never bred a Silver before. "

With a shaky hand she opened the file.

She was disappointed to see a pair of soft brown eyes, framed by shoulder length locks of silver hair.

Jason Plata was a suspected bastard of Simon Arc- his mother was a Mistrali belly dancer that had been seen in the company of the mercenary shortly before getting pregnant but there was no further contact between them. Their complexions differed, but the family resemblance was uncanny if you knew what to look for. Tall, broad shouldered, built like a tank, with a strong jaw and a massive-

"-Oh my god."

Plata didn't have much education, but he had an Arc's body and he knew how to use it- he had made his name in pornographic films.

Long Dong Silver was famous for his muscled physique, massive cock, huge cumshots, and tendency to get his female co-stars pregnant. Professional pornstars had done scenes with him and many of them escaped unscathed- they took creampies for a living and most were on birth control. A few of them had been pursued for repeat scenes and signed exclusive contracts, becoming Silver's baby mamas and exclusive fuckmeat, but he quickly developed a reputation and any working girl who wanted to stay independent would avoid him like the plague. Amateurs, on the other hand…

..The poor girls never stood a chance.

Plata's personal site, ImpregNation , was the pre-eminent pregnancy fetish site on the CCTS, and contained a gallery of over 200 girls he had bred on camera in his porn studio, with before and after shots to prove it. Summer's right hand anxiously typed in the url while her left drifted unconsciously beneath her panties.

A slew of videos splayed themselves across her screen.

'Mistrali Schoolgirl Demolishedby the Dong'

' Ebony Womb Painted White'

'Big Tittied Blondes Get Bred'

'Co-Ed Conquest 12'

The videos were crude and long, hours long… Summer lost track of time as she consumed them religiously.

A petite eastern girl with silky black hair was sitting nervously on a coach.

" So, why do you want to be an adult actress? ' The man asked, in a booming bass voice.

The girl tittered nervously. "Well, money's tight… and… I already… do it a lot. Might as well get paid to do what you love, right?"

The pornstar smirked. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Now, let's cut the shit." He then stood up, unbuckled his belt and smirked even wider as the girl stood in shock faced with his monster cock. "Suck it."

Summer watched, transfixed, as the young slut struggled getting his cock into her mouth, then as she whined when he started fucking her face. She nearly lost herself as the stud wrenched his newest plaything off his cock and bent her over his desk, lining up his shaft with her tiny slit.

Her voice shook. "Mister… please… you're too big!" She whined. "I-I don't want to do this anymore!"

"Too late!" He cried as he buried himself to the hilt inside her.

The girl's body shook with every impact. Her eyes were wide and mouth open in a startled shriek. her Summer's eyes were locked to the screen as the girl's cries shifted from protest and agony to pleasure and ecstasy, her sanity cracking with every orgasm.

"Please- ungh- stop! "

Smack, smack, smack!

"I don't wanna c-cum. Not like this. Not like thi- N-NOOOOOOOOO!"

Clap, clap, clap!

" You're so fucking huge! "

Smack, smack, smack!

" I can't stop cummmmmming! What did you do to me?! "

Summer started as the image before her shifted in her mind. The girl was slightly bustier now, and the tips of her hair were tinged red. Her voice was familiar, and her eyes were silver.

" You feel so good! Fuck me, fuck me, FUCK ME! "

The man behind her was suddenly a familiar blond. His face was screwed up in pleasure as he neared his end.

"I'm going to blow! " He warned.

The woman's eyes widened- it was her last shred of resistance.

"Don't cum inside me!" She begged. "I'm not sa-"

Her voice shifted into a squeak as the stud exploded inside her. Her objections were all overruled- nothing would ever feel as good as that massive cock pummeling her pussy, and now she had to pay the toll. Summer writhed in arousal as the Arc mauled the slut's ass, holding her down as he unloaded shot after shot into her most sacred place.

The woman came harder than she ever had in her life. Her life, her future, her family- nothing mattered to her more than servicing her stud- this was all she wanted.

" GET KNOCKED UP, BITCH! "

"Oh FUUUUUUUUUCK!"

Summer squirted right through her panties.

When she came to she saw the epilogue of the video, 3 months later- the woman… Aoi… was kneeling before her master, alongside 2 other girls, each of whom wore makeup and clothing that somehow seemed even sluttier than leaving them in the nude. Her exposed stomach showed a small but noticeable baby bump.

" Say the line, slut. " Silver ordered.

Aoi pulled away, smiling for the camera with a white strand of pre-cum from her lips. " For more bitchbreaking content like this, subscribe to the ImpregNation. For a few lien, you can look while Master fucks."

Summer closed the laptop and took a long, freezing shower.

Then, when the rest of the household was asleep, she came back to it. The site was archived, and had a list of every girls first name and the number of times Silver had bred them, as well as a gallery of their photos.

The last post was 12 years ago.

Summer pulled herself away and blocked the site from their home network so she wouldn't be tempted again, and then went back to the report.

After becoming one of the most famous names in porn, Long Dong Silver was violently murdered by an at large serial killer. His butchered body had been nailed in pieces to the doorway of his studio.

Summer's gut wrenched as she looked into the killer's file. The Porn Killer, as they were known, had one discernible pattern- they hunted down every girl who had ever done a scene with ImpregNation. And their babies.

Summer fought back vomit as she scanned the photographs of the crime scenes. From the look of things, the killer had turned the old porn site into a hitlist, and the few survivors were forced into hiding. She had seen some grisly things in her time as a field agent, but this … this was…

…The only case she had ever seen like this was when the Bonecrushers carried out a hit on a rival gang.

Summer skipped to the final analysis of the report, and was flabbergasted.

The subject displays peak levels of human physical ability, and his family history includes a pattern of extreme sexual behavior. However, while the violent deaths of certain family members follow a familiar pattern, the Arc family structure does not. There is no evidence to suggest a tight knit clan and all data suggests the exact opposite- no known bloodline of interest behaves this way towards its offspring, enhanced or otherwise.

' Enhanced? '

It is the opinion of this agent that Mason Arc and his family should no longer be considered persons of interest to Section 4, and all further investigations of his connections and character should be left to our mundane colleagues. No concrete evidence of exceptional power has been found, and our resources are spread too thin as is.

'So there are others like him.' Summer thought.

…Maybe not quite like him, but close enough. Other superhumans, hiding in the shadows, with power that could bring 'unenhanced people to their knees.

Superhumans like Jaune.

She wiped her hard drive immediately. This was what Qrow had been worried about. What she and Tai were never supposed to know.

'Were the Branwens…?'

Yeah, that made sense. Qrow was a damned good agent, but not better than Summer or Tai. Not in the ways they knew about anyway. Was that what Section 4 was meant to do- track down and eliminate these supers, recruiting a handful of the ones they could trust to do their dirty work?

…Now she had an even bigger secret to keep from Tai. 'Our best friend is involved in a Shadow War with enhanced humans who dominate the underworld and pull the strings in the Kingdoms from the Shadows, and is probably superhuman himself. Raven too, actually. Wait, does that mean that Yang…?'

No, if Mason was one of them then most of the children turned out normal. It was only a small fraction that showed any signs of powers… something you'd have to breed for.

Why were the Branwens so heavily involved in human trafficking? Why was the Porn Killer so methodical about eliminating all Silver's offspring and mates? Why was Mason doing everything in his power to stay in the dark?

Summer suddenly felt very sick.

She rushed down the stairs and unloaded her stomach into the toilet bowl.

Tai came up behind her as she wretched, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I told you we shouldn't have gone to that Mistrali place with Qrow." He chided gently. "They undercook everything - just because he has an iron stomach-"

"-Tai, for the love of- bleeeeech !"

Her lover held her hair back from the toilet bowl, while he drew comforting circles on her back.

"That's it." He said. "Let it all out. You'll feel better."

Summer was crying now- she'd never felt more repulsive in her life.

Her period was supposed to start today, but it didn't. The Arcs had knocked up every one of their girls sooner or later and she had done Mason bareback, and she was getting nauseous right when a woman would start to get morning sickness, and her daughters were in love with a superhuman stud who was marked for death, and she was carrying his father's bastard, and-

"- I'm so sorry. " She whimpered.

Tai sighed. "It's fine." He said. "Just try not to get any more barf on me."

After the couple cleaned themselves and their bathroom as thoroughly as they could Tai helped Summer into bed for a restless night of sleep.

---

Summer was naked, except for a collar around her neck that bound her to Master with a thick, white chain.

She didn't mind. Her sisters were all chained as well, dozens of sluts crowded around Master's throne, exposing their bodies for his pleasure. Some of them were leaking his potent essence, while others bellies swelled with his seed. But whatever condition they were in, they were all beautiful, and they all served a single purpose.

They were broodmares for Mason Arc.

Summer rubbed her thighs together eagerly as she bobbed her head on Master's shaft. It wasn't her turn to get fucked today, but she would please him all the same.

Master smiled as she buried his cock deep into her mouth, swirling his precum around with her tongue.

"You give the best blowjobs, slut."

The other girls glowered at her jealously, but she ignored them. She was Master's new favorite, given pride of place, right next to his wife.

Estelle was the only girl who didn't envy Summer- she was lovingly playing with her sister slut's breasts for their Master's viewing pleasure. Nibbling on her old friend's ear, Estelle whispered- 'I told you that you'd come around sooner or later.'

Summer hummed happily around Mason's cock.

The doors to the harem creaked open. Master gently pulled Summer off him and stood up his slave girls to greet the newcomers.

A small group of men were escorting a set of familiar faces into the harem. Summer recognized them, but she didn't remember their names. Why bother?

The men's eyes darted across the room, stealing glances at the orgy before them. Summer smiled contemptuously at the lot of them.

Master towered above them all.

Some of the other girls were more viscous than her, glaring at the intruders with pure hatred. The ones on the edge of the circle knew that these men served Master too, and that even peons like this had to be rewarded for their services on occasion. When Master tired of them, he may offer them up to his underlings as sloppy seconds. There were only so many hours in the day, after all- Mason only had time for the best.

Summer was marginally more tolerant; she was his favorite for now, and hopefully would be for a long time, but if her day came she would bite the bullet and trade down, make room for a new model. Anything for Master.

Summer looked over their shoulders, beyond the palace door, and saw a landscape littered with broken bodies and shattered homes. Rival males, beaten, killed or enslaved- none allowed to challenge the Master. It had bothered her, for a time. It didn't anymore.

The new girls hadn't gotten with the program. Their hands were tied behind their back, and they had been stripped bare, but they were obviously untouched- the men knew they were Master's prizes.

'Even Betas have their uses.' She thought coldly.

"Master." The leader of the bunch said, bowing his head. "We have done as you asked."

Suddenly, one of the captives shouted. "You!" She screamed.

Summer looked her over- she was a tan cat faunus with amber eyes and dark hair, deep bosomed and with wide, childbearing hips. Summer recognized her, even if she didn't recognize the uncompromising rage.

"You did this!" Kali shouted, tears streaming down her face. "You murderer! You monster! You-"

"-They're as beautiful as you said, Summer." Mason said, stroking her head. "Though Belladonna is a bit mouthy for my tastes."

Her friends looked down, stunned. They had finally noticed her. Summer was looking down at them with an indulgent smile.

"Was I any different before you taught me?"

Master smiled. "No." He said. "That's what made breaking you so fun."

Summer looked over the group curiously. Willow and An were standing side by side, looking at the ground and trying to make themselves appear small, feebly covering their breasts and crotches with their arms. But where was Glynda…

Summer looked straight down. The ceiling and floor were clear crystal, and on the level below she saw a familiar face building a harem of her own.

"Oh, Jaune!" Glynda cried. Breasts bouncing as she was railed from behind. Crowded around her were Yang, and Ruby, and Blake, and Weiss, and Nora, and Pyrrha,and countless other women from the next generation.

Fainter chains extended down from the level above Jaune had sprung from the joining of Mason's and Estelle's, Blake from Kali and Ruby from her own. Summer darted up, and saw a familiar sight.

She saw her mother's chain, and her grandmother's chain, and hergrandmother's chain, on and on as far as the eye could see. They were all bound, all of mankind, in a never ending web.

The web was not evenly distributed- clusters of threads were concentrated around single points in the network, perhaps 2 or 3, or even 100, and for every superlink there were dozens of abortive little chains that had fallen out of the system, to wither and die alone.

They perished to make room for the Masters of the world, the Masons and Jaunes and Silvers. Even they, the mightiest among them, were bound- an ancient chain of studs, passing the mantle from father to son. They were not free, but they were the locus around which the network formed.

The most beautiful sluts, surrendering to the most powerful stud, to bear the most beautiful, powerful heirs.

Summer had dallied, but she had found her proper place at last. She belonged to Mason- her daughters belonged to his son. Like their forebearers and their descendants, they would repeat the same drama of love and heartbreak, conquest and submission, death and rebirth, over and over, in an endless saga as old as life itself.

Summer was only a small node in that great chain of being, but she would do her part.

"Well boys, I have business to attend to." Master said calmly. "Leave."

His servants rose and scurried out of the room, unwilling to risk angering him.

Kali seemed to grow bolder without her captors, but before she could make a move she was surrounded by the other sluts.

Summer, Lisa and Estelle grabbed her and held her tight, as she squirmed futilely.

"Bring her over."

Kali struggled feebly as the girls obeyed, squirming in the grasp.

"Summer, please!" She begged. "Don't do this. Let me go!"

Summer smiled. "You'll thank me for this."

Despite all her kicking and cursing and screaming, Kali was brought before Master, who's cock twitched hungrily at her curvaceous form. "Don't you dare touch me!" Kali said, spitting in his face.

Mason wiped it off, before palming a generous cheek in his large hand.

"Well… the fabled Bellabooty doesn't disappoint." He said, grinning as he spanked it, watching it jiggle.

Kali's eyes dilated from the involuntary pleasure. She was close to Master now- close enough for his pheromones to work their magic, for her breeding instincts to be overwhelmed. Her face was flush, her nipples stiff.

Her will was still there, though.

"I won't break." She said. "Not like the others."

Mason smiled. "I'll give you 5 minutes."

Then he pounced.

His lips were on hers, his cock rubbing against her body as his hands roamed. Kali went slack and the others let her go- she was already his.

Her pussy was dripping wet already.

She shivered as Master parted her lower lips.

"You Faunus sluts are all the same." He teased. "One whiff of the dick and you're done."

Kali had no answer to that. "Fuck you."

Master gripped her hips and lifted her off the ground.

"That's the plan."

Kali bit back a moan as he slammed into her.

It was entertaining, seeing her struggle against her own body. Kali's cries of protest quickly morphed into mewls of ecstasy.

An and Willow both stared at the spectacle before them, transfixed.

Summer slid by their side- she delivered them to this, and she would savor every moment.

"You see that?" she whispered, as Kali came, her tongue lolling out her mouth. "That's you in about 10 minutes."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Kali cried as her hips automatically started slamming into her lover's lap.

"Some freedom fighter you turned out to be." He grunted, nearing his end. "You're just another pet whore-"

Kali trembled as his words shook her to her core. Her mind was starting to crack. She hated this. She had to hate this. She-

-She locked eyes with Summer. The silver sent her a look of pure compassion.

'Just let go.' Summer mouthed.

Kali lost it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed, convulsing wildly as Master slammed her down one last time and filled her to the brim with his seed.

She was still twitching when Summer came forward to gently pry her off.

Master turned to the others. "You two." He said. "Clean me off."

The other newcomers obeyed without complaint. They were already half broken, and Master hadn't even touched them yet.

Tears were beginning to form around Kali's dazed, amber eyes, as she looked down at her creampied cunt. Before her eyes a new chain began forming, a thick white bond connecting the collar around her neck to the Arc's great throne.

"...Summer-" she breathed, trembling.

Summer lovingly stroked her hair, pulling her in for a hug. The first time was always the hardest.

"Welcome to the family, Kali." She said warmly, pressing their bosoms together as a hand trailed over the Faunus's still flat stomach. "We belong to Master, now. Forever."

---

Summer's eyes shot open.

Her body was trembling and covered in sweat- her panties were soaked. She groaned, before rolling out of bed to change. She'd had several such dreams since that fateful night, and they'd all ended the same way- with her dream self bred and her panties ruined.

Her womanhood was still slick and sticky with… was that blood?

Tai rolled out of bed and playfully smacked her rear. "Not that I don't appreciate the view," He said cheerily, " but what's got you up so early?"

Summer wordlessly showed him her panties, and the familiar red stain.

He stared for a moment, before he let out a relieved sigh.

"Well, we dodged a bullet there." He said. "Now, was I right, or was I right?"

Summer said nothing. Tai was right. She hadn't been fertile at all that night- her cycle was like clockwork and she had ovulated days before. It didn't matter how much punch Arc sperm packed if there was no egg for them to find. All Mason had done was get inside her head, stress her so much that she actually threw off her cycle, started to fall into hysteria, convinced that he had knocked her up.

She wasn't really pregnant.

She never had been.

Summer felt a strange sense of loss.

Tai saw the pinpricks of tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Summer forced out a feeble chuckle. "Nothing. Hormones… I'm being silly.."

Tai drew closer. "You can tell me."

Summer looked down. "You'll think it's stupid."

Tai laughed. "Probably." He said, pulling her in for a hug. " But not as stupid as what I'll come up with if I have to guess."

Summer giggled. Then she grew quiet. When she finally met his eyes there was a somber expression on her face. "It's just… I was so worried about how we would handle the baby, that… that I stopped wondering if I was having a baby. I was already picking out names, figuring out how to break it to Ruby and Yang and…" she stopped short. "...and now that I know the life I thought was growing inside me… wasn't… it… it almost feels like I lost it. "

Tai squeezed her tight, cradling her head against his chest. "...You can't lose something you never had."

Summer buried her head in his shirt. "...I know." she whimpered.

Tai walked them back to bed and they snuggled until sunrise, never quite falling asleep.

"This is for the best." Tai said gently, wiping a stray tear off her cheek.

Summer smiled. "...Yeah." she agreed.

Then her smile turned sultry.

Tai's heart quickened as the love of his life gave him the most intense bedroom eyes she had ever seen.

"...Summer." He gasped throatily, as her fingers began to roam. Gods, the things this woman could do with her hands.

"Tai…" she breathed, snatching a kiss from him. Then she bit her lip. "I… I want another baby."

"W-what?" Tai stammered, as Summer straddled him and began grinding his hips against his stiffening erection.

"I said…" She whispered huskily into his ear. "I want another baby. I want your baby." Tai was too distracted to notice the emphasis, but Summer meant it.

This was what she wanted. It was fair, and it was right. Nothing could ever erase her night with Mason, but Tai was the man she loved. He had stood by her side, he had given her a family, and he was the only father of her children. "Fuck me." she murmured, stroking his cock to full hardness. "Make me a mommy again, Daddy."

Tai's eyes darkened, before he fought back his own lust and pulled her hand off him. "Wait-" he said. "We need to talk about this."

Summer frowned, but she got off him.

"Where the hell did this come from?" He asked, once he had calmed down enough to think.

Summer's hands clenched. 'I already gave in once.' she thought. 'And it's dumb luck that I'm not pregnant already. If he comes for me, I won't be able to stop him… and next time, he'll make it count.'

" When was her last period? "

Mason wasn't stupid. If he knew her cycle he'd know when she was at her most fertile. For all she knew her escape was just a stay of execution, when she was ready Master would claim his prize-

-Summer flushed with lust and anger as her cunt quivered. She stared at her man, willing him to understand. 'If you don't breed me, hewill.' He'd break her will and turn her into just another one of his baby mamas… an Arc Slut.

Summer didn't want that.

Shedidn't.

But she couldn't tell that to Tai… so she'd have to tell him another truth instead.

"I…I've wanted another one for a long time, actually."

Tai sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Honey, Ruby and Yang are almost out of the house. We're at the finish line."

"I know." Summer said. "But I don't want an empty nest."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

Summer pinched her temples. "Because there was never a good time. We had Yang, we were in a strange new part of the Kingdom and we were rookie teachers- we were barely paying the bills. We hadn't even planned on Ruby, and when she came along it was all we could manage to stay afloat. Then there were toys, and clothes, and vacations, and college funds to worry about. I love our daughters more than anything in the world. I wanted them to have the best we could give them… even if that meant we only had them." She looked at Tai, begging him to understand. "But things are different now. We're in a better place, and we're still young enough to try; we're not even 40 yet. Retirement can wait."

Tai grumbled noncommittally.

Summer cradled his cheek. " I know it isn't a great time, but, like you said… we could make it work."

Tai shook his head. " Could doesn't mean should."

Summer's face fell.

"...I'm going back to bed." she murmured, with a faint edge in her tone.

Tai stood up and got dressed, while his lover buried herself under the covers.

Truth be told, Tai would love nothing better than to start the day with a morning quickie, especially after being spoiled with constant sex, but now it seemed like even putting on a condom would start a fight. It might be a while before they'd sorted this problem out.

Well, the sex fest was fun while it lasted.

He broke the awkward silence.

"I'm not saying no." he said.

Summer pouted. "...But you're not saying yes."

"I'm saying let's think about it." Tai said. "It's not like you to rush into things."

Summer smiled despite herself. "...When did you become the responsible one?" she teased.

Tai grinned. "Well, you deserve a break once in a while."

She giggled.

Tai leaned in for a quick peck before going off to his morning workout. "Love you." he said.

Summer closed her eyes. "...Love you." she whispered.

Taiyang Xiao Long was the man of her dreams. He always would be. But Mason Arc was their Master. His power had stained her soul, and no matter how she fought it could never be fully clean. One false step, one wrong move, would turn even her waking hours into an erotic nightmare.

And this time, she would never wake up.

---

"I love you. "

Ruby's heart pounded as Jaune stared at her. She felt naked under his gaze. Everyone else in the room was staring at her, making her even more embarrassed. She had messed up, and she could never take it back.

Why did she have to say it? Jaune had always been there for her, he was her rock, and she had to go and ruin that by opening her big mouth?

It had just slipped out. She hadn't thought about it, she didn't need to. Jaune was kind, and fun, and smart, and handsome, and his smile made her heart do loop-de loops in her chest, and now he was going to leave her forever because he didn't feel the same way-

"Ruby."

A strong, calloused hand cupped her cheek, and turned her chin up to face him.

He was smiling, deep blue eyes twinkling with joy.

Her heart stopped. "Jau-"

He kissed her.

Everything else melted away as their lips met. They were alone, the only two things in the universe, struggling to become one.

Ruby stood up on her tiptoes to meet him as she leaned forward and deepened the kiss, hooking her arms around his neck.

Salty, happy tears ran down her cheek as they were forced to part for air.

"...I've wanted this for so long." She confessed.

"Me too."

She wasn't sure exactly what happened to their clothes, but soon they were both naked as the day they were born. Ruby leaned back in ecstasy as Jaune nibbled on her neck, squeezing her butt while she ran her hands up his corded back.

'This… this is so naughty.'

She didn't care.

Soon she was sitting on top of him, and Jaune was waiting for her to make the first move.

She stared nervously at his… thing.

It looked big.

She thought it was big, anyway, she didn't exactly have a frame of reference. But she didn't need one. It was Jaune's and that meant it was perfect for her. But she was still nervous.

"Ruby." He said gently."You don't have to do this."

She smiled, as her nerves disappeared. "I know." She said, raising her entrance right above him. "But I

wantto."

She sank down and everything became a blur. It felt… weird.

It felt good.

She focused on Jaune's face, and the pleasure she was giving him.

He was so big, and strong, and he was coming undone with every sway of her hips.

"R-ruby." He groaned. "You… feel so… good."

Ruby smiled. She felt powerful. Desired. Cherished.

"That's right Jaune." She cooed. "Don't hold back. Give it to me… I want it all! It's

mine! You're mine!" Her voice softened. "You're mine …and I'm yours… I love you."

---

"I'm your girl, Jaune." She muttered drowsily. "I'm your dirty, filthy girl-"

" Arrrrrf! "

"AAAAAH!"

Ruby's eyes shot open.

She wasn't lying in a bed of roses. She was in her bed, with her fingers buried in her snatch.

She woke up face to face with Zwei; her cheeks burned red.

" Woof."

Ruby wrenched her hands free and threw her head under her pillow.

"Morning, boy…" she whispered. "I think I'll just curl up and die now."

It was bad enough she'd had one of thosedreams, but did she have to have been walked in on by her dog?!

'It could be worse.' She thought. 'It could've been Mom… or Dad… or Yang.'

At least Zwei couldn't talk.

The little canine hopped into her bed, tail wagging eagerly.

Ruby removed herself from her pit of shame. She stared at him menacingly.

"This never leaves this room." she growled.

" Hmmmmmmm."

"Never!"

If anyone learned about this, Ruby would never hear the end of it. So what if she had naughty dreams every once in a while? She was a healthy young woman and it was a natural part of growing up. It wasn't a big deal, it was just a dream. It wasn't like she would ever… Ruby never had time for boys, and even if she had, she was never the girl they wanted. She was the baby, the runt, the brat shunted up two grades ahead. She had other things to deal with and they had other options… even if she was one of the hot ones now. Besides, none of them had ever caught her eye anyway.

'You've always had time for Jaune.' A voice, half Nora and half Yang, called mockingly in her head.

Well, of course she did! She and Jaune were friends. Best friends. And they would only ever be friends.

…

...

…Ruby had made her peace with that a long time ago. So why did her dreams keep getting ideas? Why did her heart keep pounding whenever he looked at her, why could he make or break her day with a single word-

' You're beautiful. '

"Uuuuuuuuuuugh." She groaned, burying her face in her pillow. "Stupid hormones. Stupid dreams. Stupid, sexy Jaune."

Zwei slipped under the pillow and pushed his soft snout against her cheek.

Ruby rolled over and scooped him up into the air. "Okay, fine, it was Jaune! I was having a dirty dream about Jaune!"

"Arf!"

"Yeah, I know." Ruby said sheepishly. "Me and Jaune? Like that? That's crazy." She laughed. Then she stopped. "...What if it isn't crazy?"

Zwei listened patiently as one of his favorite humans worked herself into a tizzy (again) about her dreamy would be mate.

"I mean, I kinda liked him when I was little… hey, don't give me that look, I only planned our wedding once! I was 7 , I can't be held responsible for that!" She pouted. "...Ruby Arc totally sounds better than Yang Arc… not that it matters."

And that was the heart of the issue. Ruby's childhood crush was never going anywhere and she knew it. Because while the three of them were all best friends, Jaune and Yang were the obvious pair. They were the one people teased for being a couple, Ruby was practically their baby. They always treated her fairly, always included her, and she always insisted she was their equal, but nothing would ever change the fact that they were the same age and she wasn't. Yang was older and prettier and when they were old enough to date Jaune was going to pick her. No matter how much it made Ruby cry.

But… but that wasn't true anymore, was it? Like Jaune said, they were all grown up now. Yang might have bigger breasts, but Ruby was just as much of a woman as she was… and she was one of the hot ones too! She had been picked for the calendar, she made people stare when she walked by, she had just as good a chance with Jaune as anyone else.

"...Everyone said it was going to be Jaune and Yang who ended up together." Ruby said. "But… that was supposed to happen ages ago." Instead Ruby had her heart broken for a completely different reason. She remembered how lost, how broken Jaune had looked on that first night, how little she could do to help him… watching as he shut them out… watching her sister cry.

She whimpered. "It wasn't supposed to be me." And it still wasn't her, either. Not yet. Jaune had pushed them both away, but Ruby had held on- she didn't have anywhere else to go. Even without their past closeness, she had cherished what little she had… and now that Jaune was finally opening up she was so happy to have her best friend back. Could she really ask for more?

"...Jaune's getting better." She murmured. "And everything's going back to normal." her smile strained. "But… that means, sooner or later, Jaune and Yang will be back to normal too." Her sister had never wanted to leave Jaune behind. She had seen them at the calendar shoot, and despite their years apart they had fallen back into the old routine effortlessly. Well, not exactly the old routine… Yang didn't have quite the same assets back then, and she was never that forward showing them off… but Jaune had seemed very interested.

"Yang and Jaune are the two most important people in my life." she whispered. "My big sister and my best friend. If they do end up together… I… I should be happy for them." She'd held onto that line for years, and she believed it.

That didn't make it hurt any less.

"But… they're not together now."

Ruby paused. For years she had been too young to catch Jaune's eye. Ever since they got to Beacon he had been too badly hurt to be with anybody. Now he wasn't, and he was so incredible that someone was going to snatch him up any day now.

But Ruby was closer to him than anyone else.

And he thought she was beautiful.

Maybe not better looking than Yang, or Velvet, or Pyrrha, but she was at least in the running. She hadn't lost him yet.

If she ever was going to have a chance to be with him, that chance was now .

But all her years of ignoring boys, of cringing at romance scenes in movies and burying herself in other things, meant she had no idea what she was doing. Nora could push her all she wanted, but she hadn't made her move on Ren for the exact same reason- they had been friends forever, and seeing how many couples crashed and burned, how many former friends never spoke to one another again, was terrifying . Jaune had always been there, even in his darkest days- he made her happy.

Even if she couldn't be with him like that , it was better than trying and screwing their relationship up forever. Even if he did end up with another woman, as much as that thought hurt , Ruby could always be his friend. A world without Jaune would be sad and lonely.

'I can't lose him.' She thought savagely. 'I won't.'

,,,

'But if I mess this up… I will.'

Ruby choked up.

"Zwei." She said. "...I don't know what to do."

Zwei looked at her.

' Ruby, I am a dog. I am ignorant of the senseless contrivance of human courtship rituals. My very capacity for speech is a mere figment of your imagination meant to provide you a secure confidant and emotional outlet. What new information could I possibly share? '

Ruby pouted. "If you're just in my head, why don't you talk like me?"

' You've always imagined me as a posh gentleman. Remember the tea parties? '

Ruby smiled slightly. "Okay, fluffy boy. If you can't help me, why are you even here?"

Zwei wiggled his stubby little legs.

" ARF! "

' I require snuggles. '

Ruby smiled. "I can do that."

She pulled Zwei into her chest and laughed when he licked her nose. "Alright, alright, I'm happy to see you too!" She said, ruffling his ears. "...Who's a good boy?"

Ruby tucked them both into bed and settled in for a bit more sleep. It was a weekend, after all. She had plans with… Jaune… but she had time. Later… she'd deal with that later.

'I hope I don't smell like dog.'