A month later...

Two red lines.

Finally.

Jaune Arc slumped in a mixture of relief and dread against the couch he shared with his wife. Blake Belladonna-Arc, on the other hand, simply stared at the results in her hand. All the while, First Lady Kali Belladonna was screeching with joy.

"You're father would be so overjoyed!" the older faunus hooted, prancing around the living room of the Belladonna residence. "Grandchildren! I can't wait!"

Jaune sighed, rubbing his hand over his wife's back. "... Well, congratulations to us."

Blake nodded, her expression locked in near-fugue as she put down the pregnancy test to rub her belly. "... I'm going to be a mother."

"And I'm going to be a proud grandmother!" Kali declared, ending her dance in front of them so she could embrace her daughter. "Our bloodline continues!"

The blond noted the hesitancy in his wife's actions—from reluctantly returning the hug to a discernible shakiness in her voice when she tersely replied to her mother's near endless queries and jubilations. It seemed that Blake, despite being a quarter of a century old, was far from ready for parenthood. He could hardly blame her—he was in the same boat. He was a fully-licensed, well-respected, and capable Huntsman with nearly a decade of experience in the field. But he was confident he could manage in this new phase of their lives; the Arc family always adapted throughout the ever-changing times.

Jaune waited until his mother-in-law hurried off to inform his father-in-law (and pretty much everyone else on Menagerie) of the good news before he huddled closer to Blake and wrapped his arms around her.

Which startled her.

And he pulled back, startled at her being startled.

"S-sorry," she mumbled, her hands locked over her abdomen. "I'm... This is... I'm still taking this all in."

"That's okay," he returned softly. "Me, too. We're both...in for a whole new world, I guess. Don't know how else to say it."

Blake eyed him flatly. "You have experience."

Jaune smirked back. "You more than me."

She smacked him on the arm. "I meant with raising kids. Seven sisters, half of them are younger than you? And out of all of them, you caused the most trouble. Meanwhile, I was an only child and even before I went to Beacon, I had to wrangle a lot of rowdy recruits older than me. Not to mention the occasional dissenting soldier and...Adam."

"Not much of a difference when you look back on all of that now." He slowly crept his hand atop hers. "How're you feeling?"

Her cat ears folded over her scalp as she stared nervously at the carpet. "... Scared."

"Why?"

"You know why. You're as sharp as I am, dear."

"Oh, honey, if you're scared, I'm terrified."

Blake pouted that cute little pout that he was starting to find more and more endearing as their married life progressed. "I suppose I should stop worrying and consider the fact that I'm fortunate that I have two sets of parents and a roster of step-sisters who're willing and eager to teach me the ropes and guide me along."

He tilted his head. "... But?"

She sighed. "But that still doesn't take away the fact that... Even for all that effort, I might not—no, I mean—I might turn into, um, someone like—"

"Raven Branwen?"

With eyes wide in alarm, the cat faunus slapped him on the back of his head hard.

Jaune snickered despite his grimace while he rubbed the sting away. "Sorry, bad joke."

"Just... If Yang heard you say that, I'd be a widow."

He snickers didn't stop. "If Yang was my wife, she'd be the first suspect."

"Lucky you that you get to joke about this. I'm going to be carrying our child for the next ninth months and that's going to be nine months of...challenges...for both of us."

"Add in the lifetime of raising our child into adulthood," Jaune quipped. He caught Blake's hand before she could slap him again. "That one's not a joke. I'm serious now. We're going to be parents."

Her hand slipped off his grasp and back down to her lap. "It's a new phase of life. Almost ten years after Beacon, a storied career as a Huntress, and now...motherhood."

Jaune sank further into the cushion of the couch. "If it'll help make you feel better, I'm scared of being a horrible dad. Might make same the mistakes my old man did like not letting his son go to Beacon and unwittingly insulting his dreams despite the good intentions."

His wife scoffed. "Brothers, we're both halfway through our twenties and we're acting like this is a teenage pregnancy."

"Have you ever been pregnant before this?"

"No," she deadpanned. Sliding against the leather, she ended up slumped against his side with her head on his shoulder. "Do you get so snarky when you're nervous?"

"Pretty much. If I was younger, I'd be panicking. You know, bouncing off the walls harder than Ruby on a sugar high or Nora drunk."

He snuggled into her, his arm now worming around her waist and pulling her close. That was when he caught himself and realized that their marriage was starting to evolve beyond the face-saving politics faster than he would have thought. For a moment, he reached up to rub against her hair, the faint smell of her perfume triggering that the carnal response that got them those two red lines in the white stick on the table.

"... Blake?"

"Yes, Jaune?"

"... Are you...starting to feel something...romantic towards me?"

She pulled away to regard him with an almost offended look. Which softened when she, too, realized that she was pulling that face. "... Do you?"

Jaune had no idea. But in his heart, he was starting to feel it. And he wondered if he was discerning the same sentiment from Blake as well. "... I don't know if I can even answer that myself."

"I can't say that I'm in love."

"Not yet?"

The cat faunus was silent, instead staring at him like they were the awkward protagonists in the first season of a slow-burn telenovela.

The blond cleared his throat. "I suppose the love will come later."

She nodded slowly. "Same."

"So... I don't mind putting my Huntsman career on the back burner for a while." He rested his hand over her belly. "Could use the sabbatical. Haven't had one since graduation."

She rested her hand over his, flashing him a rare cheeky smile. "You and me both."

And for a moment, Jaune thought that he might actually be in love.

The Zing call that afternoon was a mixture of emotions with all those present expressing their well wishes to the couple. For a while, Jaune was tempted to either mute everyone, end the call, or leave. Blake, who had been sitting next to him, never uttered a word since the announcement was made to their private group. Over the next few weeks, it might become public.

And that was an entire global shit-show that no one was really prepared for. Well, no one within this particular circle of friends. Then again, there was a silent shit-show happening somewhere and Jaune was among the more discerning; he quickly saw through the facades.

Ruby, his best friend, was genuinely happy. And immensely jealous and possibly heartbroken (again). Pyrrha felt three times as much and had a hard time hiding all of it. Those two women, as much as he loved them like extended family, seriously needed therapy.

Weiss offered an atypical Schnee congratulations—a formal greeting with a PR face followed immediately by an informal congratulations delivered with some very non-PR words and expressions. Yang, on the other hand, was boisterous and cheerful though it was apparent to whole call as to why; a simple mention of Sun and she failed to hide for a moment that bashfulness that betrayed her persona. Red cheeks, a sideways glance, and a brief stutter was enough to draw some smug looks and a loud groan from her younger sister.

Ren stoically bestowed his blessings even as Nora rambunctiously hooted and howled with glee even after she was muted. The former moved the Zing call forward by asking Blake how she was feeling and how she was planning on approaching the coming months.

The cat faunus looked to her husband and steeled her expression when he squeezed her hand.

"... I honestly don't know," she started. "But I'm ready to face it. I'm...still figuring out the details but...I wouldn't be going through this alone."

"Damn right, you're not," Yang declared, grinning and holding up her fist to the camera. "We've all got our own little shindigs out here in the world but no one's forgetting the old partnerships from Beacon."

"Likewise," Pyrrha intoned with a far more genuine smile. "I will be ever be present and available should you need assistance or simple company."

Jaune beamed. "That's great. There wouldn't be a lot of moving around until next year what with the baby and all—"

"Ooh, ooh!" Nora squealed. "How many kids?"

The call took on another direction and one that the parents-to-be did not anticipate. The guesses started: girl, boy, twins, triplets, special. Jaune and Blake grew increasingly apprehensive at the prospect of having to raise even more offspring. Resources would not be a problem. It was just that both were more concerned about what they couldn't offer to a multitude of little Belladonna-Arcs running around: time, attention, love...

By the time the group call concluded late in the evening, the cat faunus was holding her belly and staring at the mirror in their bathroom. Her husband idled over, leaning by the doorway.

"You alright?" he prodded.

"What's your guess?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Boy?"

"Not a girl?"

"Either way."

"What if I'm carrying twins?"

"Or quintuplets?"

She gave him a flat stare. "That's...going to be painful."

He smirked. "For you?"

Blake threw the shampoo at him hard enough that he fell on his rear. "Expect more of that."

"Seven sisters have trained me," he returned cheekily, rubbing his head, unable to stop the smile from reaching his ears.

His wife juggled the can of shaving cream. "Need more training, sweetie?"

He got up and backed away. "I'm good, I'm good. I'll, uh, wait for you to get to bed."

The brief smirk she flashed him before she closed the door definitely suited her. That and Jaune made a mental note to actually phone up his mother and sisters to ask for advice on how to deal with the incoming erratic behavior of a pregnant cat faunus.

-~oOo~-

The next week...

Jaune found his wife staring in the mirror again, rubbing her hands across her stomach. She had been doing that a lot lately. There was hardly a bump but his brain was convinced that he could already see it. But he was tired after a long day of dealing with the press—the official announcement that Blake was pregnant drew in way more attention than he was ready for.

Sure, his wife was the only daughter of the widely-revered leader of Menagerie but damn, did the rest of Remnant treat them like royalty? The faunus country was run by a parliament, for crying out loud! Sure, it had the trappings of a monarchy but that was just the veneer of it—the governmental systems in place here were far from anything like that kings and queens of the past.

Or at least, he hoped it was.

Damn it, no more thinking about politics. It was going to give him another migraine and he really did not want to go to sleep with a head throbbing with conspiracy theories. Thankfully, he had a beautiful wife to ogle which helped with reducing the stress and...

Jaune rubbed his eyes.

Okay, no need to go that far. Not yet. Maybe a little.

But, his brain argued, Blake was very attractive (even more so when they consummated their marriage). And the way she cradled herself with that uncertain look on her face in front of their bathroom mirror... The blood was starting to pool somewhere else and he clenched his fist ready to sock his own gonads for the sole reason that tonight was not the time for any of that steaminess.

Perhaps not tonight but—

For fuck's sake, brain, shut up.

"Jaune?"

He blinked and noticed her staring at him. "Huh?"

"Are you...okay?"

He nodded. "I'm good. Just...trying not to think of...things."

"I'm sorry you had to deal with all of that by yourself."

Yeah, the media was a monster in and of itself that, if it were a Grimm, it would have been something as bad as an overgrown, two-headed Goliath. "It's okay. Your parents were there. They made it easier."

"I'm guessing the press kept asking about me."

"They were."

"And?"

"They wouldn't be asking about you anytime soon."

Her expression hardened. "Jaune."

He raised his hands. "Relax. We just diplomatically told them to back off. No one got hurt. Really, we just sat in front of the cameras and tried not to be too passive-aggressive. Much."

She shook her head and sighed. "Good job, then."

"Thanks."

Jaune remained leaning by the threshold of their bathroom. His eyes roamed over her body and he had to admit to his increasingly prurient brain that Blake was indeed hot. Again, he threatened to sock his own nuts until he opened his mouth and said, "You look nice."

"Thank you."

Screw it. "You look pretty. Attractive."

Blake raised her brow at him. "Same."

"Just saying."

She hummed. "You're not good at being romantic."

The blonde simpered at that. He strode over and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in, while he pressed his nose against the nape of her neck, savoring her scent. Unlike the first few times he did it, he was fully conscious of what he was doing and remained glued to her while she leaned back against him, reaching up to cup his head and bring it closer to her cheek.

"Now that we're getting mushy," he mumbled below her lower ear. "Does that mean we're actually...?"

She eyed his reflection in the mirror. "... Falling in love? Hard to say."

"To be honest," he said, pulling back and meeting her gaze in the glass. "I'm starting to feel it."

Blake hummed again. "... So am I."

He sighed and rested his chin on her shoulder. "But it's late and I don't want to get a headache. Want to clock out, honey?"

She let herself be swooned to their bed. "Of course, dear."

Meanwhile, in a bar on the outskirts of Kuo Koana...

Adam Taurus, former White Fang commander and now reforming citizen of Menagerie, was halfway through his first bottle of the night when he was joined at the bar by Sun Wukong.

"Hey, buddy," the latter greeted. "Haven't seen you in a while! How's it going?"

If this was years ago, the bull faunus would have cut him down for such insolence. But those days of radical extremism had long passed with the world having shifted far too quickly for him to catch up. And now, as he struggled to get through his year-long probation, he hoped that the idiot next to him wouldn't say anything stupid enough to provoke him into a fight that would land him back in jail.

"I'm fine," he grunted.

"Uh-huh, okay." Sun paused to order his drink before regarding him fully with an expression far more solemn than was common for the likes of him. "So the word's out: Blake's expecting."

Adam's grip on the bottle tightened. "Yes."

"How're you taking that?"

"I'm...pleased to the utmost for her."

"In other words?"

He scowled at him. "I'm trying to be better."

"That's good. Been going through motions too since, uh, you know, we tried to make things work back in the day. But it is what it is and I'm happy for her."

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself down—these stupid heartaches were driving him insane. He was getting worked up too quickly and over nothing. His therapists were right; his anger issues were more than just anger issues.

Sun received his beverage and held up his glass. "... Want to toast?"

"To Blake's child?"

"You might be the godfather."

He grit his teeth.

"Or an honorary uncle," the monkey faunus pivoted. "Oh, yeah! I heard you've been doing better in rehab."

"And I heard of your shameless trysts with that woman who spited me all those years ago."

Sun awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. But, uh, I think Yang's gotten over that. I mean, you almost cut her arm off but you didn't and—"

"Because Arc and his compatriots intervened," Adam retorted, recalling the sudden arrival of reinforcements led by that young boy—now Blake's husband—who threw his shield in front of his target right as he released his deathly strike.

"And here you are. Alive and trying to be a better person." The monkey faunus once again raised his glass. "Toast to that?"

The bull faunus stared incredulously. Then acquiesced. "... Fine. Toast to...being better."

They had a round of shots after that. And Sun, being less tolerant to alcohol than the former White Fang commander, began gargling out his worries that he may have gotten that Xiao-Long woman pregnant despite all the protection. The Vacuoan idiot could not resist detailing the many intimate moments he had had with her since the wedding and a buxom woman could have so much stress pent up over the years and...

"... I get it," Adam growled. He really did not want to think of a former nemesis in such comprising positions. Enemies were meant to be destroyed, not lusted after. But was Xiao-Long still an enemy though? It had been years...

Sun shrugged, chuckling. "Hey, man. She told me one time—"

"Sun, I get it. You and her. Are intimate. I get it."

"No, no, let me tell you what she told me. About you."

Adam raised his brow. "About me?"

"Yeah. She thought...she thought that if you were less of an asshole, she might consider you? Might have? Might still? Dunno, but she respects might. Or something like that."

He gawked at him. "... You're drunk."

"And you need to loosen up some more." The monkey faunus was thankfully not drunk enough to sling his arm over him. "Ever thought of...moving on to someone else, y'know?"

"No."

"Want to try moving on?"

A part of him did. The rest of him was still hung-up on Blake though. "... Not anytime soon."

"Aww. But at least you're thinking of moving on. That's better than being stuck in the past, right?"

Adam begrudgingly nodded.

Sun downed one more shot then slid off the stool. "I'm heading back. Gotta catch the ship tomorrow. Nice talking to you, buddy."

The bull faunus grunted back. Long after he was left alone at the bar and imbibed another full bottle off the top shelf, he pulled out his scroll and thumbed through his contacts list. Then he stared at the wall in thought. Infuriating as she was, in retrospect, he had to admit that Yang Xiao-Long was as much a memorable opponent as she was undeniably attractive.

"For a human," he muttered, looking back down on his scroll as it vibrated with a message.

From Yang Xiao-Long.

He groaned; why again did he agree to exchange contacts with her? Right, his therapists. Probation. Rehab. And a personal favor from Blake a few weeks before her wedding to let go of the past and move on with his life.

Taking a deep breath, he flicked his thumb over the 'read' option. And stared in disbelief.

'Hey. U wanna talk?'

His brain told him to reply before he could refuse. 'Why?'

The response came several seconds later than he expected. 'I just wanna talk'

Adam had no idea how long he spent doing mental and emotional hula-hoops over the fact that a woman he used to hate with a burning passion wanted to have a chat with him. Eventually, he replied with an 'ok.'

Then his scroll rang.

Adam sighed tiredly. He really was not drunk enough for this. Then again, he ran out of fucks to give at this point in his life so...

Sun Wukong was a man who wanted the best for his friends. That was the reason he gave to Yang when she admitted to him after Blake's wedding that she still had a lot of baggage dating back to their Beacon days. Mixed in with that baggage was a former terrorist commander currently undergoing rehab and therapy. And the blonde wanted to patch things up with said ex-terrorist leader. Sure, most everyone had moved on, but one does not simply forget a life-or-death fight especially when it took place during a dark chapter of Remnant's history.

From his little corner on the bench in the park, with faunus senses honed through countless missions to be more sensitive than humans, he could hear Yang taking deep breaths to steel her nerves as she held up her scroll to her ear. It was still ringing. She looked anxiously across the lawn to him and he gave her a thumbs-up.

She exhaled again and this time, her face lit up with surprise—Adam had picked up.

"Hello?"

Yang gulped, too unnerved to tone down the speaker volume on her scroll. "Hello."

"... Miss Xiao-Long."

"Just...just call me Yang. And I'll call you Adam. That fair?"

"... Very well."

The blonde was shaking but pressed her hands against her sides. "... Cool. Okay. Um, so, ah...h-how... How're you doing, Adam?"

"... I'm doing better, Yang."

"Right, yeah. That's...that's nice. That's great to...to hear, um..." Yang took another deep breath and then stared resolutely at the waves rolling against the beaches just beyond the edges of the park. "... So. You heard the news?"

"I have."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Why?"

Instead of looking over her shoulder back at Sun, she instead paced over to some lilacs cultivated on a flowerbed next to the walkway. "I want to talk about it with someone."

"Why not discuss it with your companions?"

"I did. But I thought I'd get a bit more clarity if I talked about it with you."

There was a long sigh on the other end. "... Why me?"

"You know why."

' "What am I supposed to say to you?"

"Anything. We can start with anything." Yang exhaled. "I want to move on but, after all these years, I feel like I haven't moved an inch. And I think it's because I'm still hung up over...well... You remember."

"... I do. The feeling's mutual."

The blonde's lips curled into a small smile. "Noted. So, uh...what's on your mind."

"... Much. The foremost being you. At the moment."

"Yeah, I get it. Same here. That's why I'm...calling you. To talk. And...maybe get some things off our chests, eh?"

The line was quiet for a while on the other end.

"... Adam?"

There was a pained hiss that seeped through. "... Do you wish to continue this discussion, Yang? Because I will not mince words."

"I wouldn't either. But it's high time we rip the band aids off. For our sakes. And for the sake of Blake and her, um, kid-on-the-way. Or kids... Can't really say 'cause it's too early but...you get it."

Another long sigh. "... So be it. Where should we begin?"

"Um, you first?"

"Fine. You—"

At this point, Sun decided that it was time to clock out for the night. Whether or not Yang and Adam would patch things up or end up at each other's throats again was not for him to say. But what he can say is that he tried to be a good friend. And so far, during the long walk back to his hotel, over the quiet breeze brushing through this scenic corner of Kuo Kuana, he never heard any yelling.

ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: June 21, 2024

LAST EDITED: June 27, 2024

INITIALLY UPLOADED: June 27, 2024

NOTE: I thought to add a bit more. It's little more somber with the more serious topic of the anticipation of being parents in a relationship that was based on pragmatism than passion.

The last bit with Adam popped in randomly and I went with it until it snowballed into this. I set this in an AU birthed from canon divergence hence it is what it is.

Again inspired by Knightshade fics, particularly Cuts of RWBY by AndrewJTalon.