Arc 3 - Chapter 3 - Someone Like You And All You Know

While Jaune didn't have any past experience to compare her to, he still liked the idea that Ruby was the world's most amazing kisser.

By now, making out in their alone time was nothing new, but it had no way lost its appeal. Jaune had a feeling it would be a long time before kissing her lost its appeal, if it ever did. It was late now and the house was still and silent. Aunt Peach had gone to bed early and Demon was outside defending the house from an invasion of fireflies. Jaune made sure to leave the sliding door slightly open, in case the little warrior grew bored of his epic battle. Demon never did, though, and Jaune had a feeling his angry little pup never would. That just left him and Ruby, cuddled up in bed together, getting in a highly productive practice session. Jaune had no complaints about the results. And Ruby was staying the night, too. Which was a blessing since that meant Velvet wasn't likely to pay him a visit.

So Jaune simply surrendered himself to the moment, letting his baser motivations drive him. And boy they did. He held Ruby gently by her waist as they lay next to each other, drawing her close while she laid her delicate hands on his chest, fingers nipping at his shirt. Her lips were the best kind of drug. Soft and moist and warm, her breath tasting like the cheeseburgers they'd had for dinner. Still delicious even after being in her mouth. Jaune cringed at that unfortunate thought. It is a damn good thing people can't hear my thoughts. I embarrass myself well enough as is.

They'd started off modestly, as far as a kissing session goes anyway. Gentle trades, a kiss for a kiss, turn for turn, the occasional nibble and suck of each other's bottom lip, back and forth like a pendulum. Jaune liked this phase of their make-out session the most. Just enjoying her being so close, taking in her warmth, her taste, her scent, caressing her waist and back. He liked to imagine Ruby favored that part of their sessions, too. But she liked even more to ramp up the intensity. Jaune felt a warm shiver as Ruby's bare leg draped smoothly over his, her foot rubbing his ankle. He'd learned what that action meant. A sort of silent command. Touch me here, it said. So he slid one hand from her waist, slowly across her hip, and gently massaged her thigh, winning a squeak of pleasure from her.

Jaune had come to expect that this was when Ruby got aggressive, but it still caught him off guard. It was his turn to squeak.

With surprising strength, Ruby seized Jaune by the collar of his shirt and pulled him until he was on top of her. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she cupped his face and led him to her once more, having at his lips like his saliva was the elixir of life. Jaune pulled away briefly, saw for a moment the pure desire in Ruby's face, eyes dilated, cheeks flushed, lips red as a juicy apple. And just as sweet, he knew quite well. But Jaune was not free for long. There was no escape. Despite him being almost twice her weight, thrice as strong, and on top of her, Ruby controlled and commanded him like a rider spurs her horse. She lunged at him, starved, parched, her legs wrapping around his waist as if to prevent his retreat. Jaune was no longer sure which of them was the bottom in this situation. Ruby pulled Jaune even closer, as if wanting to be crushed under him. She moaned into his mouth and it sent a wave of excitement all throughout his body.

Though there was one body part which had gotten particularly festive. And the fabric of his pajama pants would not hold him back for very long.

Finally managing to wrestle back some control, Jaune pulled free a second time. "Ruby—" She followed, kissed him hungrily, gasping like she'd run a mile and needed air straight from his lungs. "Okay, Ruby. Enough."

Ruby let out a giggle that was at both times adorable and mischievous, seeming almost like she was drunk as she whispered, "Come on, Jaune. Don't you wanna?"

"Yes, but—" Ruby tried to kiss him again, but this time he was able to grab her wrists and press her down. He looked right into her eyes and said, "Stop. I'm serious."

Ruby's smile dropped slightly, as if in doubt or disbelief. Then a little further, like whatever spell she'd been under had worn off and she now realized where she was. Then it dropped completely, as though realizing what she had been doing and was appalled at her behavior. "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry."

How quickly the mood could change. From passionately romantic to intensely uncomfortable. And why wouldn't it be? You just blue-balled your girlfriend. Well done, Jaune Arc. Only you could turn your first chance at sex into an awkward regret. Jaune could only stare at Ruby and she could only do the same. Both waiting on someone to break the tense moment, while Demon's warrior barks raged on outside. Jaune supposed he'd better address it now or risk the night ending badly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so… harsh." he said.

"No, no, it's fine. I'm sorry. Really," said Ruby. "I guess I was thinking you would want to. I should have asked you before."

It would have been a good conversation to have first, admittedly, but Jaune would not tell her that. Not when it was clear her confidence had now taken a hit. He'd made her feel unwanted and had to fix it now. "I do want to, Ruby. Of course I do."

"But not right now?"

"Yeah, I…" Jaune didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't ready to go that far yet. Who knew how it could affect things. He'd heard having sex could change things between those involved, and oftentimes not in good ways. His older sisters had always stressed to him to be careful who he slept with. On top of that, he had no experience. And the last thing he wanted was to disappoint his first girlfriend in the bedroom. For both their sakes. So, how exactly are you going to solve this problem, huh? Go out and bang a few girls I don't care about in the name of training? Should I call up the most experienced sex worker in all of Vale, level up my sexual performance stats, then come back being like "I'm ready now, my love?" Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me? Jaune sighed. "Just not now, okay? I don't even have protection."

Ruby pursed her lips, then surprised him by saying, "I do."

Jaune stared at her. "What?"

"I um… started on birth control a week ago. I meant to tell you tonight before… you know. You should've seen my dad's face when I had to sit him down."

Jaune sat up straight, allowing Ruby to follow, staring at her like she'd grown another head. "Your dad knows?"

Ruby gave him an embarrassed smile. "Well, Mom's not here. So it was either him or Uncle Qrow."

Jaune was suddenly very much more afraid of Ruby's father and uncle than the evil Superior who'd held him at gunpoint. Maybe it had been a mistake not taking that bullet. "You told your dad you wanted to… ?"

Ruby pouted. "Have sex? Well, yeah. I didn't want to keep it a secret from him. He's my dad, Jaune. When Mom died, we didn't talk about anything anymore. Everyone just drifted apart and started keeping things from one another. We used to tell each other everything. And now, with trying to bring the family back together and all," Ruby closed her eyes and let out a steadying breath, "the last thing I want to do is keep secrets."

Ah, guilt. His ever enduring companion. "And your dad said yes? He's okay with it?"

"I mean, I can't say he was happy about it. All he said was if I want to, then I need to be responsible about it. Or we both do."

This was absolutely blowing Jaune's mind. Certainly it wasn't because he was unfamiliar with a situation like this. One of his older sisters had started having sex in her junior year but hadn't been careful, thankfully she hadn't gotten pregnant from it, but she later talked to Dad and had the whole talk about responsibility and safety. None of this was new, exactly. Only in this case, it was happening to him. Or rather to his girlfriend. "Doesn't your dad hate me? After everything I caused?"

Ruby slung her feet over the bed, scratched at a mostly healed cut on her arm. No doubt from some recent training. "We had that talk already. Dad wasn't really happy that you and me, you know, got together. You can imagine what he said."

Jaune lowered his head. That boy is dangerous. He's associated with dangerous people. He almost got you killed. All of which were true. All of which were valid reasons to keep his daughter as far away as possible from the menace called Jaune Arc. "I'm guessing he hasn't changed his mind?"

"He did… once I told him you're not involved in that stuff anymore. I told him you quit," Ruby shook her head like she couldn't;t believe her own hypocrisy. "So, you know, I guess I did still lie to him. I'm still keeping secrets. But I did it because… I really wanted… us."

The weights of guilt piled on. Seemed like they always were. To do all of that? For me? For us? I can't possibly matter that much to you. But the look in Ruby's beautiful eyes made it hard to deny her words. Jaune scooted beside her, taking her hands into his own, gently rubbing her palm with his thumb. "Ruby you're… I don't know what to say."

Ruby grinned weakly. "You could say "get naked". It's not too late."

Jaune barely concealed a smile. "One day, okay?"

"One day? Like when I'm eighteen?"

"Not nearly that long, I promise. Just…" and Jaune took both her hands into his, gave them the most firm squeeze he could, to prove to her that he was serious. "Let me get used to this. I've never done this before. Liking someone, having a girlfriend, and now this? It's a lot. Does that make sense?"

Ruby visibly deflated. "Yeah, I get it."

Jaune scooted a little closer, waited until she looked at him again, her confidence still wounded. Then he drew her into a side hug. "Anything I can do to cheer you up?"

Ruby put a finger to her chin in mock thought. "You could tell me I'm awesome."

"That's obvious."

"Tell me anyway."

"You're awesome."

Ruby positively preened. "I know. It's a gift."

"You're so much better than everyone else. Like, it's not even a competition."

Ruby shrugged her hands arrogantly, a perfect imitation of a certain heiress. "Of course I am, you nincompoop. You'd be an utter moron to think otherwise!"

Jaune leaned over to whisper seductively in her ear. "One day, you'll be Pirate King."

Ruby let out a playful moan. "Oh yes, Jaune. Talk dirty to me."

"Loofy versus Luccy is the best fight in all of pre-timeskip."

"Mmm. So hot. Keep going, keep going!"

"Brooks is the best Straw Man Pirate."

Ruby smacked him on the leg. "No! You did not just say that!"

Jaune shrugged his hands arrogantly this time. He didn't mean it at all, but that character was the one Ruby liked the least. She got easily worked up about it. That was one very fun thing about her. "Sounds to me like you're just being a hater."

Ruby blew a raspberry. "Brooks sucks! He sucks! What does he even do except sniff people's underwear and sometimes fight?"

"Well, he isn't being a hater, that's for sure." jabbed Jaune.

"I'm not hating!"

Jaune smirked challengingly at her. "Hating."

Jaune saw her come at him, but was too slow to prevent it. Back to rolling around on the bed again, though the context was thankfully far less sexual. Ruby screamed at him to take back what he said, along with some well-deserved name-calling, while Jaune goaded her fury on again and again. Eventually, he chose to surrender, allowing Ruby pin him down, while he gave her the cheesiest grin, the both of them huffing and puffing.

"Take it back, jerk." Ruby ordered.

"Make me."

"You're a problem."

"I'm your problem."

Ruby adopted a cheesing grin, all pearly teeth. It really was a smile to behold. To want to see over and over because you simply never got enough of it. Ruby slid off him and now they were back to laying side by side. "I dunno, you've been behaving since you started going to that community center. What's it like?"

"Not much to say. I go in, I get my assignment, I do it, I leave." Jaune said. "I mean, Adam is still showing me stuff but…"

"Who's Adam?"

Jaune explained him to her. His first impressions, how the first few days under Adam's tutelage and guidance had gone, how Adam seemed at both times an open book and a locked box. Like you knew plenty enough to get an idea of the man and yet not enough to fully comprehend him. He was an interesting guy, that was for sure.

"Sounds like he can really help you," said Ruby.

"I guess. I'm just there for a few more weeks, then I'm done. I don't really see a point in getting to know him."

Ruby pursed her lips to the side. "Jaune, is that really how you want to live life?"

Jaune furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Cutting off anyone you could be friends with before you even try. It's like you're afraid to give them a chance."

Jaune resisted the urge to frown at that. "I'm not afraid. I'm just being realistic."

Ruby gave him a stern, but compassionate look. Her eyes glittering like jewel dust. "Will you please try to be friends with your mentor? Try to talk to him about stuff you can't tell me or Neptune or your aunt. It sounds like he knows a lot. He could really help you." Ruby tapped her temple. "Don't you want things to get better up here?"

"Yeah, I do but—"

"Then please. Try. For me?"

Jaune sucked his teeth. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"For me?" Jaune parroted in a high voice. "You're using your position and status to make me do what you want. That's abuse of power."

Ruby poked him in the nose and flashed a victorious grin. "I'm the Pirate King. I can do whatever I want."

Day four, Jaune mentally noted. Four days of good behavior. Maybe it's not much to be proud of. But it's a start, right?

Today Jaune was working with Miss Berry's group, who'd been assigned to clean an elementary school's playground equipment. As usual, Jaune voiced no complaints and got to straight work. While everyone took the work seriously, Adam was not the kind of hardass to keep the group from enjoying themselves. The air was alive with conversation about various topics for which he had no context. Greetings and updates, someone's husband's birthday, some teen girl's cold, Miss Berry having brought cupcakes that were just a little burned, and more swirled together amongst the soap and scrub. One would think it was simply a big family having fun hosing down the family car.

Like usual, Adam supervised, but his attention today was on another kid slightly younger than Jaune. Introducing him to some group leaders, getting him involved in the activities, asking him questions and so on. For some reason, Jaune would find himself watching them every so often, wondering when Adam would be done working with that kid, and feeling somewhat put out at the idea that it might not be any time soon. It was easy to notice then that most everyone worked in groups of two or more, all of whom talking and laughing and fooling around with one another. A very palpable sense of, well, community. Then Jaune would look at himself, scrubbing the dirt and mold from a slide, very much not laughing or fooling around, and very much alone. Not a problem, though. He did not care. Or actually, he preferred being alone. He didn't need someone talking his ear off. He was here to work, after all.

He glanced back toward Adam, who was helping his latest undertaking clean the merry-go-round. He swallowed a lump of jealousy.

A distraction, that's what he needed. Jaune searched his mind for something to put his thoughts toward. Lately, he'd been thinking of getting a gift for his aunt. Apologies may have lost their effectiveness, but Jaune hadn't tried getting her a gift yet. A statement of his appreciation of her. The more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it. He'd get her something nice, something she'd love. He imagined her babbling with excitement, maybe squealing with joy, saying he was the best nephew she'd ever had, though there wasn't really any competition. Who knew? Perhaps this would instantly get him back in her good graces and everything would go back to normal for the both of them. Peach would see that he was doing his best to not make the same mistakes and allow him to resume training. Through this gift, everything would be made right again. It was perfect.

Until Jaune realized… he did not actually know what kind of gift to get his Aunt Peach.

He did not really know her likes or dislikes beyond superficial things. He knew next to nothing about her childhood or how differently she'd grown up than him. Hell, what he did know was that she was a Hunter, but not how she got into it, or how her apprenticeship days had been, or who her master had been. The truth was… he did not know his aunt. Not truly.

Maybe he could try getting to know her, though? Like, actually connecting with her. They could talk about her life, and the things she wanted or was afraid of or needed help with, rather than always having to deal with his needs and screw-ups. Maybe it was time to start showing he gave a shit about her. It was a scary idea, one that took a ton of courage Jaune wasn't sure he had, but it could be done.

Of course, Aunt Peach had to be home for more than five minutes for him to do that. And she was not home often. Even when she was, she was either too busy with work or passed out after weeks of training in the Heart Worlds. And since most of Jaune's time was spent at work or the community center, he only ever saw her late at night, just before bed. And she was never in a talkative mood around that time.

Jaune grumbled. For now, it seemed he would just have to deal with the fact that his relationship with Aunt Peach was not going to improve any time soon. But at least he had Ruby. And only Ruby…

Jaune once again looked over at Adam, who looked about done getting the kid going and seemed like he was headed in Jaune's direction. His heart leapt, but was quickly let down when one of the adults called Adam over about some issue or whatever. Jaune threw himself back into his work, now with a fresh spark of anger that steadily grew until it found a reason to have beef with everything. Stupid Adam and his stupid kid. Stupid community service bullshit. Try to be friends with him, Jaune. How the hell was he supposed to do that if Adam wouldn't even come talk to him? That kid was surrounded by people who could help him. Jaune was the one cleaning this big ass slide by himself.

It was after ten minutes of stewing, cursing, and hating the world, that an idea came to Jaune that seemed both revolutionary and painfully obvious. Equally tempting as it was horrifying.

Go and talk to Adam himself.

Jaune's gut reaction was a disgusted hell no. Approaching people for the singular purpose of socializing? A joke, surely. A completely unfunny and pathetic joke. He could never allow himself to look like someone who needed companionship when for all these years he'd gone out of his way to avoid it. Never. Not in a thousand years. Not even at the threat of death.

Except, he wasn't being honest with himself, was he?

Jaune didn't have real friends in his old school, but at the very least there'd been some people willing to talk to him. Mister Brown, his guidance counselor back in middle school, would always be the one to pull him aside when he got in a fight and talk him down. Jaune remembered getting a gift from him when he graduated eighth grade. Then, of course, there was Mystery. The friendship starting online hardly made it different, because for two years straight she had been his most trusted confidant, the closest to his heart, that real someone who he could be himself with. Who was he fooling? All these years he'd had companionship in many forms and had simply failed to recognize them. Or more likely, refused to.

Jaune felt his anger melt away as he looked toward Adam again, who was helping Miss Berry clean beneath the seesaw now, distantly having a conversation about marriage or whatever. And Jaune realized that he did want someone to talk to. That he wanted to talk to Adam. Perhaps this time, he just had to make that extra effort. Jaune set down his cleaning tools, sucked in a deep breath, then made his way over to the seesaws, making sure not to let any watching eyes discourage him. Thankfully, Adam was already finishing up with Miss Berry and had seen Jaune coming. Maybe it wasn't too late to run away. Did he have an excuse for coming this far?

"Jaune," Adam greeted, "Hard at work, I see. Is something wrong?"

Jaune tried not to look around at the others. Had to clench his butt cheeks just so he'd stand his ground. Whatever method worked, he supposed. "Er, I kind of need help cleaning the slide. Please. If you're not busy."

Adam gave him a smile that he found oddly reassuring. As if having this man's approval was enough to settle his doubts. Jaune had never really felt that for anyone outside of family. "Hm. I suppose I can make some time for you. Lead the way."

And they set to work. Occasionally they'd talk, mostly with Adam bringing up some questions and Jaune answering, but for the most part it was quiet working. Jaune couldn't say he disliked it, though. Not at all. It was nice just to be working on something alongside someone else, be they a friend or not. In fact, he felt strangely proud of himself to have approached Adam like he had. Why didn't he do that more? He didn't feel nearly so angry anymore.

Maybe because he was just happy to not be alone.

I hope it doesn't seem like I'm rushing. I'm just really stoked about this arc. Short chapter is short. Time for our first timeskip and interlude chapter.

ISA