Yang grumbled in irritation as her avatar burst into pixelated blood and guts.
Again.
Blood and brain matter splattered onto the screen, trickling away until a splotch of messy letters was all that was left.
ZHU WINS. FATALITY.
Jaune smirked at her. "And that makes 9." He said cockily. "Wanna make it 10?"
Yang hummed in frustration as she went back to the character select screen.
"It's been years since we've played this game," she said dryly. Years since she'd beaten the digital snot out of him - 'Fists of Fury' was her jam. " When did you get this good?"
Jaune shrugged smugly. "Who knows?" He said airily. "Maybe I've always been this good and I used to just let you win?"
Yang gave him a piercing stare as something dangerous flickered in her eyes. Then she smiled wickedly. "We'll see about that, tough guy." She said, playfully bumping her shoulder against his before scrolling through the arena select screen.
Jaune sighed in contentment. The first few matches had been close things, but as he got back into the groove he'd been dominating Yang more and more. His reaction time was superhuman, and once he figured out her attack patterns it was trivially easy to beat her.
He was still having fun though - seeing Yang squirm as his health bar was left more and more intact at the end of each game made the whole thing worth it. Even when they were little he had always loved riling her up - her entire body lit up with emotion when she was angry or happy or excited or frustrated. All it took was a little tug on her hair or poke at her ego to get his sunny little dragon to come alive - while her temper terrified everyone else he'd always been fascinated by the fire in her eyes.
Right now her lilac orbs were narrowed in concentration as her mouth was pressed in a thin line, thinking of her best avenue of attack. Even her anger couldn't hide the full, soft lips that would feel perfect wrapped around his-
-Jaune blinked and shook his head, clearing his thoughts as the countdown began.
That was the only opening Yang needed.
When the game started she landed a clean uppercut, launching Jaune's character in the air.
Jaune winced, but figured it was fair enough - if he was going to fantasize about his friend instead of playing she had every right to punish that, and he'd return fire as soon as she gave him an opening.
She didn't.
Jaune could only stare at the screen as Yang perfectly timed each hit to knock him back into the air, chipping away until he was almost out of the game until-
Slam
She ax-kicked him into the ground and shattered his character's spine.
'Poor Zhu.'
LANG WINS. FLAWLESS VICTORY!
"YES!" Yang said, shooting off the sofa with a triumphant cry. "GET YOUR ASS WHOOPED!"
Jaune swallowed as he watched her breastsbounce, straining against her top as she jumped for joy.
He blinked and looked away, determined not to stare, but apparently he wasn't quick enough, because as she turned to him in triumph Yang saw exactly what he was looking at.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise before her lips turned up into a pleased smirk. Then she crossed her arms under her chest, accentuating her assets, before looking him dead in the eye.
"You've been a lot less subtle recently." She teased.
Jaune let out an embarrassed sigh. "I have no idea what you're talking about." he said unconvincingly.
Yang's smirk widened. "Come on dude, I'm not mad."
"...Really?"
"Really." Yang said, sitting back down. "Look, if I got mad every time a guy checked my girls out I'd spend the rest of my life punching most of the men I know in the face. I have to let some shit slide for my own sanity."
Jaune hummed thoughtfully. "So…" he said, "as a purely intellectual question, when does staring go from okay, to… not okay?"
Yang shrugged. "It depends."
"It depends?" Jaune asked.
"You know." Yang said, waving her hand inarticulately. "Who's the guy? Where are we? Am I trying to show off? How long is he staring?" She leaned back into the couch, her breasts pushing out deliciously as she arched her back. "Hell, if I'm dressed to impress I'm almost offended if I guy doesn't take a peak or two. It's nice to be wanted, you know?"
"Mhm." Jaune grunted, his heart pounding as he thought of all the interesting places this conversation could go.
"But," Yang continued, unaware of the fire she was fueling, "if some weirdo is stalking me down an alley at 1 in the morning, then it's suddenly not so nice to be wanted. It's all about context."
"So, basically, the more you like a guy, the more he can get away with."
Yang smirked. "Yeah, pretty much."
Jaune sighed deeply. "Good to know."
Yang giggled. "Honestly, guys act like it's rocket science figuring us out. It's hilarious ."
"Well, I'd better share my findings then, for the good of men everywhere." Jaune said. " I'm sure it'll be a best seller. How does this sound? 'A Complete Guide To Understanding Women, By Jaune Arc'."
Yang snorted.
Then she patted him on the shoulder.
"Relax dude. We're pals. You're… decent looking, I guess," she teased.
Jaune rolled his eyes, ready to put this bitch in her place-
"-and, more importantly, I trust you."
It was all Jaune could do not to wince.
"-I know you're not going to do anything I don't want you to." She said. "I'm more surprised than anything - I didn't think you were much of a boob guy."
Jaune arched an eyebrow. "...What makes you think that?"
"Oh, I don't know," Yang drawled, "maybe the fact that you're constantly checking out Blake's ass."
Jaune's blood ran cold.
"And Weiss's." Yang continued, "and Pyrrha's… hell, you sneak peaks at my friends almost as much as you eyefuck Ruby."
Jaune buried his face in his hands.
"...Am I that obvious?" he asked.
Yang smiled softly. "Not really." she said. "Honestly? I don't think any of them have ever caught you. You're waaaay slicker than most of the guys at school. But you can't get past me."
"Apparently I can." Jaune shot back. "Considering this is only the 2nd time you've caught me."
Yang opened her mouth to retort, then closed it. She looked herself over, inspecting her figure, before she met his eyes.
"Oh, you're good."
Jaune laughed. "Not really. I'm a guy with a brain and I go to school with some of the most gorgeous girls on the planet - 'only ogle when the girl isn't looking' isn't exactly rocket science."
Yang rolled her eyes. "You'd think so, but most guys I know haven't cracked that code."
'They probably haven't practiced as much as I have.' Jaune thought.
'Nah,' Shadow said in the back of his mind. 'You fuck more than they do - everyone looks.'
The duo settled back into the game, Jaune fumbling with the controller as his mind went elsewhere.
After Yang beat him three times in a row Jaune couldn't help himself any more.
"...How many times have you … caught me?" He asked awkwardly.
"Twice." Yang said casually. "We just established this."
"No." Jaune said. "I mean, with-"
"-Oh, the other girls." Yang said. "A couple times a day, at least."
Jaune sighed. "I thought you said I wasn't obvious."
Yang shrugged. "You aren't, compared to most people. I had to get half naked in a room full of the hottest broads at Beacon before your eyes got too greedy to sneak past me - just because I notice you taking peaks at my friends doesn't mean they do."
"Well, how do you notice?"
Yang snorted.
"Dude." She said bluntly. "I've known you since kindergarten. I know all your tells. I know you still wear Pumpkin Pete pajamas for gods' sake."
'Only when I'm sleeping alone.'
"Hey, don't diss the onesie." Jaune shot back. "It's warm, it's comfortable, it's fluffy, it is the greatest thing you will ever wear."
Yang giggled. "Whatever, pansy."
Jaune shoulder checked her. "Jackass."
Yang scooched over to hip check him. "Jerkoff."
"Bimbo."
The blonde clicked her tongue. "You kiss your girlfriend with that mouth?"
Jaune growled. "Alright, that's it."
Yang shrieked as her friend pulled her in for a noogie.
"Hey, watch it, not the hair- not the- " she let out a muffled gasp as the blond adonis buried her face into his bicep.
She struggled and squirmed as Jaune trapped her head between his rock hard chest and his big strong arm, filling her nostrils with the smell of his skin and sweat. Yang's eyes widened as her heart started slamming against her ribcage, feeling light and heady as a growing warmth filled her core.
She rubbed her legs together anxiously.
'This is bad-' she thought, as the stud playfully ran his free hand over her scalp, sending shivers down her spine.
Her fingers dug into his arm, but he didn't move a millimeter.
The pressure pinning her down was finely calibrated - his grip was loose enough not to mess with her airflow, but only just. His control was absolute - just one little squeeze, and it was all over - and it was all the more overpowering because no matter how hard she tried he wouldn't need to. He didn't need to hurt her.
Forcing her to submit was effortless.
Natural.
Inevitable .
'Oh fuck .' Yang thought, biting back a needy whimper as her mind went straight to the gutter. She had to stop this now before she did something really, really stupid.
She tapped her hand against his arm, letting out a muffled. "I give, I give!"
Jaune obliged, letting Yang slip free, grinning widely.
Yang gasped for air, blaming the flaming blush on her face on shortness of breath.
"Jeez… dude." She wheezed. "What the hell?"
Jaune smirked wider, holding eye contact. "You were asking for it."
"...You suck." She said, running her hand through her hair, trying to assess the damage.
"Someone sounds like a sore loser." Jaune teased.
Yang stuck her tongue out as if to prove his point. "Why do you always have to fuck with my hair?" She whined, putting her precious locks back into place.
"Because it's fun." Jaune said shamelessly.
He was telling the truth - Yang had always had such pretty hair, soft and full and smooth, a luscious mane of wavy gold curls that felt so perfect in his hands. Hell, after he fucked her senseless he could spend hours running his fingers through it while she snuggled against his chest-
'Down, boy.'
Jaune shifted himself slightly so his raging erection wasn't as obvious and thanked whatever higher power existed for his jeans.
Yang sputtered in indignation for a moment. Jaune smiled as she stared him down.
Then she burst into a fit of giggles.
"God, you are the worst!" She said, beaming brightly at him. Then she leaned back into the couch, splaying herself wide and taking up as much space as she could.
It was a petty play at dominance, nudging Jaune to the edge of the sofa, and they both knew it.
But Yang didn't know that as she stretched out to appear big and strong, she had raised her hips and spread her legs nice and wide for him. Her brushing against him was a challenge, but she was leaving herself wide open, and for every conscious move of defiance there were a dozen little signals of submission - the arch of her back advertising the depths of her bosom and the shapeliness of her body, the tilt of her head offering up her pretty little neck, her playful kicks showing off the long, toned legs, and the bared, creamy skin leading up to the feeble patch of cloth protecting her virtue.
Her 'boyshorts' were nothing more than a glorified gusset, hugging her hips like a second skin, and they would give under the faintest tug of his fingers.
The buxom blonde might be ignorant of her instincts, but Shadow never missed the signs of a bitch who was ready to be bred.
Jaune, on the other hand, could be as dense as a black hole if he wanted to.
He did his best to keep his eyes on the screen, and his dick in his pants.
The two traded barbs as the battle went back and forth; Jaune would win a few rounds, Yang would win a few rounds - both teens were too distracted to fall into a proper rhythm.
"I'm going to get you back one of these days." Yang muttered, as Jaune's character caught hers in an Izuna Drop. "Right when you least suspect it."
Jaune chuckled. "Careful throwing those sparks, Firecracker." He said. "Wouldn't want you to get burned."
Yang smirked. "Big talk coming from a guy who can't handle a bit of old milk without blowing chunks."
Jaune's eyes darted down hungrily to Yang's massive milk jugs, although this time she was too distracted to notice. He reached for a stray curl of hair near Yang's butt, in order to keep her focus on his hand and away from his eyes, for just a moment longer.
"Well, Goldilocks," he drawled, twirling the golden strand along his index finger. "if you can't bear having your hair tugged every once in a while you have no room to talk."
Yang smiled dangerously as her eyes showed the faintest tint of red.
"...Because of the pun, I'm going to let you have this one." She whispered. "But if you pull out so much as a single hair, Vomit Boy, no one will ever find your body."
Jaune chuckled. "You know, that line was a lot more intimidating the first hundred times you said it." He leaned back as Yang's character dealt his a knockout combo.
"I meant it every time." Yang said, gradually leaning closer, until her head had almost met his shoulder. "I've only kept you around this long so I'd have more opportunities to get rid of you."
She closed her eyes in contentment as her cheek faintly brushed against his shirt, victory music blaring from the TV.
'I missed this so much.'
Jaune cleared his throat awkwardly.
Yang shot up, retreating back to her corner with butterflies in her stomach.
'What the fuck am I doing?' She thought guiltily. 'He has a girlfriend, and my little sister's in love with him, not to mention Pyrrha. He doesn't even look at me-'
-No, that last part wasn't true. Jaune had definitely checked out her tits and ass, probably a lot more times than she knew about.
"Yang." Jaune said. "Serious question."
"...Yeah?" She hummed.
"Has… Ruby… ever caught me?"
Yang sighed.
Then she let out a sad smile.
"Nope." Yang said. "Not even once."
Jaune exhaled in relief.
"Don't get too excited," Yang teased. "Even if she's missed all the times you've undressed her with your eyes, she's definitely caught you sneaking peeks at Nora."
Jaune blinked. "How often?"
Yang shrugged. " I mean, not nearly as often as I have, but often enough for it to be awkward."
"...Fuck."
"Hey man," Yang said. "I don't blame you. Nora's got a nice rack." Almost as nice as her own in Yang's expert judgment. Almost. "Buuuuttttt-" Yang drawled out meaningfully, "that's not usually where you end up looking."
" Yang ." Jaune warned.
"Nora's got such a bubbly personality. Awesome squat too."
Jaune sighed. "Look, I'm a guy, okay? I check out everything. Breasts, butts, legs, faces, tummies, everything. We're very visual."
Yang smiled at him patronizingly. "Jaune, you have a type. You don't get to like everyone, that's not how it works. I'm telling you this as your friend. I know you. You're an ass man."
"Hey, the girls I like all have pretty faces too." Jaune countered. "If anything, that's probably what matters most, since it's what I'm going to end up looking at most of the time."
" No it's not ." Yang teased in a sing-song voice. " Because that's not what you do. "
' Slut, you are on thin ice. '
"Well, what if I look at asses more because it's harder to get caught from behind?"
Yang rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "...I hadn't considered that." she admitted. "Counterpoint: when you and Cinder do it, is it usually from the front or the back?"
Jaune went stiff as a board.
Then he buried his face in his hands, body trembling as he used all of his self control to stop himself from showing the beautiful blonde EXACTLY how he liked to fuck.
"Holy shit, Yang." he breathed.
Yang bit her tongue as her brain caught up to her mouth and her cheeks went pink.
"Uhm… yeah." She muttered, blushing madly. "Probably… probably shouldn't have asked that one."
"You think?"
"Obviously I wasn't thinking, okay." Yang said hotly. "It's just… most guys are pretty open about that sort of thing. Whenever I let a guy do anything he'll have told half the school by the next morning." the blonde's countenance darkened. "Hell, sometimes even when I don't let him do anything."
Jaune's embarrassment faded, and in its rose a cold and implacable rage, twisting nastily in his stomach.
"Doesn't change the fact that it's a shitty thing to do."
Yang bit her lip. "I mean… girls do it too."
Jaune's head jerked up at that. "What?"
Yang grinned sardonically. "What, you think we don't get together and talk shit about all the cute boys? Who's the best date, who's the worst kisser, what size is everyone's dick."
"Are you serious?"
"Oh, plenty of it's bullshit." Yang said. "Girls make stuff up to seem more mature, the same way some boys do, or when we're pissed off or jealous with an ex. Hell, depending on who you ask Cardin is either hung like a horse and the best fuck in the school or a four inch, one pump chump - they can't both be telling the truth."
Jaune grimaced. "Unfortunately, I can answer that one."
Yang arched an eyebrow. "Pause."
"He took pictures." Jaune explained.
Yang gave him a teasing look. "Pause."
"With a girl."
The blonde's eyes narrowed. "...Reese?" She asked.
"Wait, you knew-" Jaune asked.
"-I heard rumors." Yang said. "I didn't actually believe… what kind of pig does that?" She pinched her temples. "Alright, what's he working with?"
Jaune let out an awkward laugh. "Seriously?"
Yang glared at him. "Yes, seriously. I have a lot of money riding on this-"
"-about 8 inches long - on the girthier side, apparently - and he went through 3 condoms while he was fucking her."
Yang's cheeks went pink. "Fuck." She whispered. " Fuck! "
She dramatically flopped down on the couch, laid out in despair. "I owe Blake Ⱡ10,000."
Jaune rolled his eyes. "You bet Ⱡ10,000 that Cardin had a tiny dick?"
"I figured he had to be compensating for something ." Yang shot back. "But Blake said that no one would be that obnoxious if they didn't have a little heat to back it up. Neither one of us thought the asshole would have the biggest dick in the school-"
"-He's not the biggest."
Yang rolled her eyes. "It doesn't actually matter you idiot, it's actually one of the least important parts of picking out a guy- "
' Someone obviously hasn't had a proper cock inside of her. '
"-but it's something GUYS care about. Cardin of all people doesn't need anything stroking his ego."
"Yang." Jaune said seriously, "He's not the biggest."
Yang sighed. "Let me guess." She said. "You've seen pictures." She raised up a hand. "Oh wait, don't tell me, you guys have literal dick measuring contests in the locker room, don't you?"
"Something like that." Jaune said - he was one of the only boys at Beacon who didn't spend time in the locker room - who knew what kind of weird shit went on in there?
"Well, doesn't change the fact that I'm broke." Yang said. "But I appreciate the moral victory - and please, don't tell me who does have the biggest dick. I don't want to know."
'You'll find out soon enough.' Shadow thought darkly.
'Stop. It. '
Instead he pivoted to a similarly perverted but less threatening line of thought.
"Do girls measure each other up in the locker room?" He asked cautiously.
"Are you kidding?" Yang asked. "Of course we do."
Jaune felt the back of his throat dry.
"We can get real bitchy about it too. God forbid someone puts on a couple pounds over the summer, it is all some girls will talk about for the next month. We gossip about whose breasts are bigger, who's been filling out more recently, what cup size everyone is - you have no idea how many girls have tried to guess my-"
"34DD."
Yang blinked. Then she gave him a long, cold stare.
"How the fuck do you-"
"I grew up with older sisters who made me carry their clothes when they shopped, and sometimes I even had to do their laundry." Jaune said. "I've heard enough talk about fits and fashion that I can make a pretty educated guess."
Yang looked at him, non-plussed. "What size is Blak-"
"32C."
"Rub-"
"32B."
Yang sighed. "Weiss-"
"30A."
Yang closed her eyes in frustration.
"...We took measurements at the photo shoot." She said suspiciously. "You peaked at them, didn't you?"
"Who, me?" Jaune said innocently. "Never."
Yang looked at him accusingly. "Oh yeah? Prove it." she said. "What size is my mom?"
Jaune hesitated for a moment.
"Gotcha!" Yang said. "You have no idea-"
"30C."
Yang gulped and then slumped down into the couch.
"Alrighty then." She said weakly. "Maybe you are a tits man… Gods, there are so many parts of this conversation I wish I could unhear."
Jaune rolled his eyes. "Well, since you're so obsessed with my type, what's yours?"
"What kind of girl is my type?" Yang asked teasingly. "Sorry pal, can't say I've thought about it much."
Jaune rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
Yang was silent for a long moment, focusing on the game.
Jaune nudged her shoulder. "Yang."
Her eyes darted up to the ceiling.
Yang let out an awkward sigh. "…What I like in a guy…" she murmured nervously.
"Hey, if you're going to take me over the coals, turnabout is fair play-"
"-I'm getting to it!" Yang said awkwardly.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Any time now." Jaune said.
" I'm still thinking!" Yang said tersely. "It's not like tits or ass men where there are two big camps, girls have a lot of types!"
"Like what?"
Yang relaxed instantly. "Oh, well there's body type, personality, style. Tall is always a plus, and most girls like fit guys, but not always the same kind of fit - Weiss is more into pretty boys, so the face is more important, while Pyrrha's a sucker for a hard body." Yang said.
Jaune hummed interestedly. "Have they told you that or can you read them too?"
Yang smirked. "Oh, a little of both. Girls talk… girls look."
"So, your-"
"Blake is into bad boys, and she really likes a toned set of abs, obviously." Yang continued. "Pyrrha tends to check out the upper body more - chest, back, arms, shoulders… she hasn't dated but she seems pretty vanilla in her taste, she'd probably go for a man's man who treats her right. Weiss likes confident guys with a sense of style and a nice ass, although if you call her on that last part she'll deny it."
While this was all valuable information and Jaune would commit all of it to memory, he wasn't letting her off the hook that easily.
"And you?"
Yang blew a strand of hair out of her face.
"…eyes…" she muttered awkwardly.
Jaune looked at her, confused.
"Eyes?"
"I like guys with nice eyes, okay!" She said, not looking him in the face.
"…"
"Don't get me wrong, I like a good body as much as the next girl, but … the eyes are like a window into the soul, right? So, when the mood is right, and your eyes meet, it's like everything else fades away. It's just the two of you… all of you, and that connection you feel, staring into the other person's soul, and baring your soul to them, it's… magical ."
Jaune snickered.
Yang's eyes darted up to meet Jaune's, shocked and a little hurt, but instead of the mockery she was expecting she saw an ocean of fondness and warmth.
"Gods, Yang." He teased, smiling widely. "You're such a girl ."
Yang smiled and relaxed. "Yep." She admitted. "But if you tell anyone I'll kill you. I've got a rep to worry about."
"Don't worry." He teased. " I won't go blabbing that the mighty Yang Xiao Long turns to mush if a guy looks at her right."
Yang sighed as she curled up defensively. "I'll admit I've made a few… questionable decisions because of it."
"Like what?" Jaune asked automatically, even though the thought of Yang's love life made something awful twist in his stomach, cold and merciless.
"Well… Neptune, for example," Yang said awkwardly, keeping her eyes on the character select screen. "Not the worst guy in the world, but I could tell from the start he was kind of a fuckboy who was trying way too hard to be cool." She sighed. "Still… he was brave enough to ask… and he had such dreamy blue eyes."
Jaune caught himself clenching his fists and did his best to relax.
"Terrible date, though." Yang continued. "He wouldn't let go of my hand the entire time, which might have been sweet if his grip wasn't so tight and clammy - it's like he was scared I'd blow up on him or something."
'Can't imagine why.'
"He picked out the worst romantic comedy I've ever seen because he thought I'd like it. Could've had fun shittalking it, but he was taking it so seriously… or at least pretending to so I wouldn't notice him staring at my tits whenever he thought I wasn't looking-"
"-Okay, I get it!" Jaune said
"Awful kisser too." Yang concluded, cringing at the memory. "So … stiff , and …. wet and …awkward ."
Part of Jaune felt sorry for the guy - another, darker part of him enjoyed hearing Yang trash him… well, as much as he could enjoy the thought of any man doing anything with -
"To be fair," Yang murmured under her breath. "It's not like Weiss was any better."
It was a thoughtless sentence, barely even a whisper. She shouldn't have said it at all, but Jaune shouldn't have heard it-
"-Wait, what?"
…
Jaune was looking at her like he had just discovered water.
"What?" She asked, playing dumb, expertly hiding the bitchy panic entering her voice.
Jaune's eyes were unwavering as he dissected her every move.
"How do you know how Weiss Schnee kisses?"
Yang laughed, rubbing the back of her head.
"Pffft, what?!" She said, "I didn't say anything like that."
"Yes you did."
Yang sighed. "Okay… I hear things, but it's shitty enough that I'm bitching about my ex-boyfriends, I shouldn't be gossiping about my friends."
Jaune grinned like he had just caught the canary.
Fucker always could see right through her.
…Except when it mattered most.
"…wepracticed." she mumbled.
The blond raised an eyebrow. "You what ?"
"We practiced !" Yang said exasperatedly.
…The thought of Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee swapping spit was bringing back all of his fourteen-year-old fantasies at once.
"…Holy shit." He whispered.
"Dude, it wasn't like that!" Yang said, her face turning a delightful shade of red.
"Really?" He said. "Because the way you're acting it really sounds like it-"
"That's just because guys always make it weird!" Yang insisted. "Girlfriends practice kissing all the time, it's a totally normal thing!"
"…Really?"
"Yes, really!" Yang said hotly. "It's not like we like each other or anything, it's just, well… how else are you supposed to get good at it?! Practicing with a pillow can only get you so far!"
If anything Jaune looked even more confused.
"…You've made out with a pillow?"
…Yang wanted to bury her face in the nearest seat cushion and die.
Instead, she switched tactics.
"You haven't?" She asked, far more boldly than she felt.
"No!" Jaune said, very confused. "Who the hell needs to practice kissing?"
Yang rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't know, people who don't want to suck at it."
Jaune shook his head. "It's pretty intuitive, actually, once you start. It's like riding a bike."
" …Really ?" Yang drawled. "Because if I recall correctly someone kept riding a tricycle until he was 7."
Jaune shrugged. "It was a badass trike." He said glibly. "Until someone stole it and crashed it into the creek."
" Borrowed ." Yang shot back. "And I said I was sorry a hundred times!"
"Sorry didn't bring my trike back."
"…Your parents bought you a brand new bike that same day!" Yang shot back. "Besides, I wouldn't have bothered if you hadn't been so obnoxious about 'how awesome it was' and how 'no one else could handle it'-"
"-I was right though, wasn't I?"
"-That's-"
Yang stopped short when she caught the ghost of a smirk on Jaune's lips.
"…You're just fucking with me."
"I would never ."
Yang pouted and started another match.
"Whatever." She said, mashing buttons. "The point is, your analogy sucks, and in all probability, you suck."
Jaune shrugged. "I haven't gotten any complaints.
Yang snickered. "Shit, man, if there's a problem, Cinder isn't going to tell you . She's probably too sweet on you to care."
'She's 'sweet on me' because I can fuck her brains out.' Shadow thought savagely. 'Kissing is so easy it's barely even foreplay.'
"That's why you practice with friends." Yang continued. "Because they aren't going to pull any punches." She grinned wickedly. "You know, for a guy, Ren is really pretty. I'm sure if you asked him to give you some pointers, he'd-"
-Jaune retched.
"Yang." He said, wincing at the thought. "Ren is a great guy, but I promise you, no pair of straight men has ever decided to 'practice kissing."
"…That explains a lot, actually."
"So you prefer kissing girls." Jaune teased.
Yang rolled her eyes. "I mean, it explains why so many guys are bad at it - it's like half of you don't even try!" She sighed. "Look man, the same way you can tell when a person is good looking without being into them, on a purely technical level you can tell if someone's a good kisser whether you like them or not."
"Have you ever heard the term 'spaghetti bi' before?"
"I dunno," Jaune said. "It sounds to me like most girls are at least a little gay."
Yang snorted. "Keep dreaming buddy."
"So, how many times have you done it?"
Yang clucked disapprovingly. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She joked. "...Honestly, maybe a couple times, at most… you only 'practice' until everyone gets the hang of it. It's been years at this point - most girls are over the hump by the end of freshman year… maybe the start of sophomore year at the latest."
"…So, how many people do most girls practice with?"
Yang grimaced. "I don't know dude… you don't just do it with anyone. It's something you only even talk about with close friends. I mean, there are rumors… everyone knows NDGO practiced together, but for a lot of other girls, if you weren't there you don't know. Some girls practice with a lot of people, some don't practice at all-"
"-you mean the straight girls."
" Jaune ."
"Hey." He said, "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, just calling it like I see it."
Yang rolled his eyes. "For the record, it's not like I enjoyed it. Weiss needed work."
'Willow could give her a few lessons.' Shadow thought wickedly.
"Of course, that was where she was years ago." Yang finished. "She and Neptune have had plenty of practice together so I'm sure they're way better at it than when they did it with me. Now, if you'll stop distracting me- " she hissed, glaring at the TV as a blood red 'Zhu Wins' spread across the screen. "- I have an ass to kick."
Jaune kept silent and bided his time for an entire round, lulling Yang into a false sense of security.
Then, after letting her have a relatively easy victory, he gave her everything he had, forcing her full attention onto countering his assault.
As she unleashed a flurry of combos Jaune casually lobbed the question at her.
"Out of everyone you've made out with, who was the best kisser?"
"Blake." She said without thinking.
…
Yang's eyes widened as her brain caught up to her mouth.
She dropped her controller and buried her face in her hands.
Jaune kept his eyes on the screen, but he couldn't hide the shit eating grin on his face.
"It's always the quiet ones." He said.
Yang took a deep, calming breath. "…Yeah."
Jaune won the round and turned to face her. Yang's cheeks were glowing bright red.
"Jeez, Yang, what did she do to you?" He asked.
Yang bit her lip. "Well, we were having a sleepover, and when we decided to … practice, Blake stayed in the corner with one of her books. She had a boyfriend back in Menagerie - a serious one, apparently - so she said she didn't need practice. It's embarrassing enough to ask your friends to do it and it was awkward having someone just… watching us, so we gave her shit for it. I had the bright idea to really get under her skin, and told her that she had probably made the boyfriend story up so she could wuss out, and if she really knew what she was doing, she ought to at least give the rest of us some pointers."
Jaune shook his head. "She showed you."
"…Yeah." Yang said awkwardly. "I mean… just the things she did with her tongue-
"-You french kissed Blake Belladonna?"
Yang glared at him, flushing pink. "I didn't mean to!" She insisted. "I wasn't expecting her to cop a feel, so when I opened my mouth in shock she just sort of slipped in there and-"
Yang stopped short.
"-It is not cool that I'm telling you this." She said. "Deeply and profoundly not cool."
"This is the greatest conversation we've ever had."
"I'm serious, Jaune." She said. "No one can ever find out I told you. If the girls knew I blabbed, none of them would ever speak to me again."
She's never told a soul before and she never thought she would. It was just…
…It was Jaune.
She'd never had to keep secrets from him before - they told each other everything. He knew about Raven, he knew about Qrow, he knew how freaked out she'd been during her first period and he'd didn't just see the firecracker incident, he had front row seats. She'd seen him puke his guts out, heard his high pitched scream during scary movie night… seen him broken after his fucking family threw him out.
Trusting him was as automatic as breathing.
Jaune shrugged. "My lips are sealed."
"…Good." Yang muttered.
"After all, why would I run my mouth now when I can hold this over you for the rest of your life?"
The blonde stared at him incredulously. "Are you for real?"
Jaune grinned. "How much is my silence worth, Firecracker? Double homework? Half your allowance?"
"Go fuck yourself."
The blond rose to his feet. "Oh, well. I guess I'll have to let Blake know how much you appreciated her mouth to mouth. Think she'll give me some pointers-"
Yang threw a sofa cushion at his head.
Jaune laughed as it bounced harmlessly off him before Yang lunged at him with a pillow, her face and eyes a brilliant shade of red.
"If you say one word, I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do!"
She pounded away at him, and he kept laughing.
The fucker kept laughing!
Finally, after a shower of cushioned blows, Jaune put his hands up in surrender.
"Alright, alright, I get it." He said, chuckling warmly. "Not a word."
Yang cautiously lowered her pillow.
"I promised I won't tell anyone how much you like pussy." He said, with an infectious smile.
Yang slugged him in the shoulder, but she had already started laughing hysterically.
'A lesbian… Faunus… pun…'
"Shit, dude, really!?" She wheezed, collapsing back onto the couch in a fit of giggles.
Jaune snickered as he settled down next to her, watching her chest rise and fall."I learned from the best."
"You're goddamn right." Yang said, wiping tears from her eyes. She let out a few more snickers as she tried to control herself.
Jaune braced himself as he saw a familiar glint in her eye.
"Gotta say, it takes a lot of balls to tell a lady a joke like that." Yang drawled. "You really are Jaune of a kind."
"…That was terrible."
Yang sighed. "…Even a master and pupil can't always see eye to eye."
Jaune shook his head. " Eye see what you did there-"
"-Hey, that was my pun -chline."
"-Okay, we aren't doing this any more."
Yang scoffed. "Yeah, because you know I'd beat your ass in a pun-off even worse than in 'Fists of Fury'-"
The sound of footsteps caught Jaune's attention from behind.
Ruby was tiptoeing out of the kitchen, but froze when she met Jaune's eyes.
She had stayed in the kitchen for over 15 minutes, and gotten the tears out of her system, but her face was pink and blotchy, her eyes were rimmed with red, and drops of water clung to the hair around her face, lingering evidence of the streams of tears she had splashed away in the sink.
"Are you okay?" Jaune asked. "You look like hell."
Ruby stiffened. "Gee, thanks," she murmured, looking down at the floor.
"I mean you look like you're still in pain." He said.
Ruby clenched her hands. She could use this as an out, to go back and have another good cry.
She refused.
Jaune was with Cinder now. Running away wouldn't change that. She would have to face reality, face her feelings sooner or later. She had promised herself that she wouldn't let her unrequited crush get in the way of their friendship, and she wasn't about to go back on that promise now.
"I'm fine," she said, walking into the room.
Jaune, so perceptive yet so clueless , wasn't fooled that easily. "Look, it's fine if you need more time to get the spice ou-"
"-Gotcha!"
Yang took the opportunity to pounce on Jaune while his back was turned, wrapping a hand around his mouth and an arm around his neck as he stood up and tried to shake her off.
"I told you I would get you back, didn't I?!"
Ruby smiled softly as she took in the scene.
Jaune had quickly run out of patience and turned the tables on Yang, trapping her in a headlock of his own.
"Just give up already!"
"NEVER!"
Ruby giggled.
'You're the best big sister ever, Yang.'
Ruby settled in on the edge of the couch, nudging Yang to the side as Jaune unceremoniously dropped her back on a cushion.
"I play winner." She said.
Yang's hands darted for her control and she drained what little remained of Jaune's health bar in less than a second.
Jaune sighed in irritation but took his place by her side as the sisters duked it out.
While he was on the sidelines, he took the chance to look over Ruby.
The remnants of her tears were still there, although she had done her best to wipe them away. Jaune was still furious on her behalf, but it was an unfocused anger - it was hard to stay mad at Yang and harder still when Ruby had completely forgiven her.
The two sisters were trading blows of course, Yang dominating the digital battle, but Ruby seemed to be having the time of her life.
'It was just a little spice.' He thought dully. 'No need to make a big deal of out of it.
But as the gaming session went on, Jaune couldn't shake the sense that something was a little off .
Ruby looked lovely as always, and as the minutes ticked by the faint traces of pain seemed to become less pronounced. She was laughing, and grinning, and talking mad shit, and by all accounts appeared to be enjoying herself.
But her smile never quite reached her eyes.
Something niggled at Jaune more and more with every passing minute.
Yang was the better player of the sisters and Jaune was either distracted enough or generous enough - "Keep telling yourself that, buddy," - to let her win most of their rounds, but whenever he and Ruby were playing together she went silent.
No taunts, no boasts, no dramatic cries at an inevitable asswhooping. Her focus was entirely on the screen.
She wouldn't even look at him.
…Come to think of it, when had they ever arranged themselves like this? Even if Yang and Ruby had already been seated together, whenever he showed up they invariably made room for him.
Yang took his left, Ruby took his right. Him being shunted off to one side threw the entire dynamic off kilter.
'You always have to be the center of attention.' Persona noted derisively.
He tried to let it go. Really he did.
But, no matter how much he trash talked, no matter how hard he thrashed her on screen, no matter what in-joke he pulled out, Ruby wasn't responding at all. No laughing, no smiling, nothing.
Yang sat bemused in the middle of it all as Jaune poked and prodded at her sister, trying to get some kind of reaction. She tried to run interference as much as she could - Jaune could tell something was bothering Ruby but couldn't tell that something was him .
Finally, after switching games and having Ruby 360 no-scope him from halfway across the map twice, without even a hint of a smirk, Jaune knew he had to break out the big guns.
"I'll be back in a second." He said, rising out of his seat. "I left something in the car."
Ruby hummed in acknowledgement but kept her eyes on the screen.
She relaxed as soon as she heard the door close behind him.
Yang sighed. "So, are you going to start eye contact with Lover Boy any time soon, or…?"
"... Was I that bad?" Ruby squeaked.
"Jaune might be dense, but he's not that dense." Yang said. " He'll have to figure it out if you keep acting like this - he worries about you too much not to."
Ruby's controller trembled in her hands.
"I- I'm trying." She said, voice cracking. " I don't want to make things weird, and I can hold it together, but whenever I look at him I… I…"
Ruby chucked her controller to the ground with a pained cry.
"Why does it hurt so much!"
Yang gently wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulder.
"Hey." She said softly. "If you need him to leave, he'll go. We can just saying that you aren't feeling we-"
"NO!"
Yang pulled back.
Even Ruby seemed startled by the fierceness in her voice.
"No…" she said again, more softly. "I've been looking forward to this all week. I…" Ruby curled herself up defensively, pulling her knees up to her chest and her arms in front of her knees. "...I don't want him to leave me."
Yang nodded. "Alright, sis." She whispered.
She bent over and picked up Ruby's controller - which was now chipped slightly on the bottom left handle - and handed her back to her.
Ruby took it gratefully and started playing again.
Yang watched her sister carefully as her silver eyes were laser focused on the screen. When Ruby focused, really focused on something, she could be terrifying.
50 kills and 0 deaths later, Yang decided it was time to talk.
"It's not the end of the world, you know." She said.
Ruby stiffened. "If you say 'there are plenty of fish in the sea-"
Yang shook her head. "No, that's not what I was going to say."
Ruby huffed. "So, what's today's piece of sage advice?" She grumbled.
Yang grinned. "Well, as your big sister, I can tell you that there are plenty of ways you can still get with Jaune."
Ruby's breath caught. "I'm not a homewrecker." She said stiffly. "If Jaune's happy with someone else, I'm not going to mess it up."
Yang rolled her eyes. "They're fucking, not married." She groused. "But I'm not saying you have break them up."
Ruby turned to look at her. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying you can let nature take its course." Yang said. "Jaune's known this girl for less than a month. Sure, they're in a honeymoon phase now - she's drop dead gorgeous and getting his dick wet - but that isn't going to last. She doesn't want to commit, so they aren't exactly going steady. I give them another month - two tops."
Ruby shook her head. "...She'd be an idiot if she let him go."
Yang smiled. "Well, most people are idiots. Maybe she breaks her heart - maybe he breaks hers. She can't be as perfect as she looks - eventually the 'new girl' shine will fade and she'll do something to piss him off."
"And when it all falls apart I can just swoop in and pick up the pieces?" Ruby asked bitterly.
"It worked out for me."
Both girls whipped around to see their mother walking behind them.
Ruby's eyes widened.
Summer bent over and pulled the two of them in conspiratorially.
"You might wanna keep your voices down." She whispered, barely audible over the screeching electric guitar emanating from the kitchen. "I'm doing my best to distract him, but there's only so much I can do."
Jaune was distracted alright - while he was putting his batter in the oven, he couldn't help but notice Summer's succulent ass bent over the sofa. He could pick up faint whispers, but no words, as he did his best to focus on the music.
His hearing perks could only do so much - there was so much background noise in any given environment that while he could make out whispers from the other side of a room, he would have to focus on it, otherwise it would get drowned out by everything else.
He could tell as soon as he walked back in the house that the sisters were having some kind of private conversation, but Summer Rose had decided to get chatty as soon as he walked in, asking him about everything and nothing.
'Is that cookie batter?'
'How's school been? Glynda's been saying so much about you.'
'How's Qrow been since the incident? I haven't seen much of him recently, and he keeps insisting that he's fine, but you know how men can be about looking weak in front of their friends.'
He answered as best he could, trying not to let his eyes wander too much.
Summer wasn't wearing anything indecent, exactly, just casual wear any woman might wear at home - but her body was indecent and would be eye-catching in almost anything.
'Like mother, like daughter.'
Summer's figure had caught more of his attention than the small talk, but her body language was even more intriguing. For most of the morning she had been keeping her distance, and she seemed quiet, and closed off - her eyes nervously darting in his direction from time to time.
Just now she had been constantly within arm's reach, and had given him her full attention. There was nothing unusual about it - Summer was an affectionate woman and knew him very well, the occasional brush or touch to get his attention was on brand for her - there was nothing flirty about it.
But…
…There was something in her eyes.
An anxiousness, a tension, an excitement that hadn't been there before. Something about the way she was carrying herself flaunted more of her assets than usual, something about the casual brush of her hand felt less innocent than it should have, something suggested she wasn't looking at him like the little boy she had taught in kindergarten.
When her girls raised her voices Summer had casually pulled out a speaker and set it to the loudest metal channel she could find.
"I'll leave you to it, then." She mouthed over the music, before walking out of the room with a delicious sway in her step.
Jaune bit his lip as he heard the oven chime.
He focused on cleaning up his mess so if Ruby walked by it wouldn't spoil the surprise, and tried to keep his raging lust at bay.
Summer knew she was playing a dangerous game: she could feel the Arc's eyes wander, feel the burning desire as they roamed over every inch of exposed skin. She was an object of lust for Jaune every bit as much as her daughters, and if he got his hands on her-
-She shivered.
She would be fucked and she'd love every second of it.
But so would her daughters.
Jaune could fuck every woman in this house right now, and there was nothing any of them could do to stop it. But while she could feel his desire, his overwhelming presence, Summer could also see his struggle to hold it back - Jaune was a strong man and a good one, but even he had a breaking point.
She was making the gamble that her teasing would be less dangerous than Ruby's feelings and keeping Jaune's focus on her . Maybe she couldn't stop him from claiming her baby at some point, but she could at least buy time - time to learn more about the Arc situation, time to prepare her daughters as best as she could, time to come up with a plan.
'Plus, if Jaune needs an Arc Slut, youget to be first in line .'
Summer frowned slightly at the unwanted treacherous thoughts.
'Whatever happens, happens.' She thought resignedly. 'And I'll pick up the pieces afterwards.' She might be powerless to stop him if Jaune set his heart on her family, but she didn't have to hand them over on a silver platter either.
"Look, Ruby." Summer whispered. "Nobody ever said that love was easy. Right now, you have three options.
"You can accept that Jaune is with Cinder and move on."
Ruby winced.
"You can do what Yang says and wait your turn.
"Or… you can take the plunge and tell him how you feel now."
Ruby swallowed.
She met her mother's eyes with a serious expression.
"...I don't want to mess this up." Ruby said. "He's too important."
'She's a goner.' Summer thought, with a strange mixture of emotions: happiness, despair, pride, and a tinge of jealousy that she squashed down ruthlessly.
"There's no right answer." Summer said. "If you move on, you might lose your chance to be with him forever - but you might be able to stay friends. If you wait, you might get him… but you might not.
Summer exhaled. "Hanging around someone for years like a lovesick puppy hoping that someday they'll notice you might be the stupidest thing you could do. Moving on and respecting the other person's choice would be healthier."
Ruby stared down at her hands as she considered the idea.
Then her head shot up as she really considered it.
"But you-" she hissed.
Summer shushed her. "Do as I say, not as I do." She whispered.
Yang laughed under her breath. "Hypocrite."
"But," Summer continued, "If your heart's really set on him, you could always tell him."
"But Jaune's with Cinder-"
"-A woman both of you barely know." Summer shot back. "They aren't serious now. Maybe Jaune picks her over you - maybe he doesn't. Either way, it's his choice, and you'll have to live with it, but you can't expect him to choose you if you never even let him know it's an option."
Ruby bit her lip. "I don't want to break someone else's heart."
Her daughter was too kind for her own good.
"You probably won't." Summer said. "If you make him choose between you and her, you might have an angry ex to deal with, but she'll get over it." She paused. "...But if you're going to do it, you'd better do it soon. Because you never know - what you think is a passing fling could get serious, and before you know it you could watch the man of your dreams walking down the aisle with another woman. If you think it's hard now, imagine what it feels like at the wedding, when they ask for objections that you've lost all rights to give." Summer slumped over. The weight of the memory still stung.
Yang gulped guiltily. "Mom-"
Summer pulled her in and kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't change a thing, sweetie." She said sincerely. "But I can't pretend it didn't hurt either. There isn't always a Yang at the end of a tunnel to justify the broken heart - sometimes that's all you get."
Ruby met her eyes and nodded solemnly.
"I can't tell you what path you should take." Summer said. "But I can tell you to trust your heart - and that no matter what happens I'll always love you, no matter what.
"Ditto." Yang said, pulling the three of them into a crushing hug.
Ruby smiled and nuzzled into the embrace.
After a long moment, the trio broke apart.
"Thanks." Ruby whispered, smiling faintly. "I needed that."
Summer smiled back. Then her smile grew mischievous. "You know, if this Cinder girl's kinky, you might not have to make him choose at all." She whispered. "The two of you could always share."
Ruby flushed until she was glowing bright red.
" MOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" She whined, as Yang snickered at her expense.
Summer smiled as she tried to play the inevitable off as a joke.
The conversation stopped as the music went silent. A screamo song had come on and Jaune could only tolerate so much.
Summer stood up. "I'll buy you another minute." She mouthed. Then she popped back into the kitchen.
Ruby relaxed as best as she could.
Yang shot her a concerned look.
Ruby waved her off. "I'll get over it." She said. "I've always known that Jaune might end up with someone else - he's my best friend and he always will be."
Yang sighed. "…You always were the more stubborn of the two of us."
Ruby looked at the floor, suddenly unable to look her sister in the eye.
"I never really had a chance." she whispered. "I always thought it would be you and him."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Me too."