When Blake awoke, she found that she was enveloped in a comforting warmth, concentrated at her back. It reminded her of the days of her youth when she shared a bed with her parents, held between them and wrapped in their embrace. Eyes yet to open and mind still groggy, she sighed and snuggled backwards into that soothing heat, content to simply bask in it for the rest of the morning.
Something hard poked her from behind.
Frowning and unwilling to open her eyes, she attempted to readjust herself to avoid whatever was prodding her.
"Ngh… Weiss, stop moving so much…"
Golden irises jolted open as Blake's entire being froze, realizing what that offending object was.
Mind now at full alert, she recognized the feeling of a masculine arm wrapped around her waist, hugging her loosely against a muscular frame. As the horror of her predicament settled in, she finally noticed a slow, steady breath tickle the top of her head; the tips of her cat ears brushing lightly against something she now knew to be the blonde's chin. Recalling the events of last night, the Faunus had come to a startling realization as to her current state of being.
She, Blake Belladonna, former terrorist and aspiring Huntress, was being spooned by her partner, Jaune Arc.
Her mind raced a mile a minute, racked with thoughts of how exactly to react. The initial want to immediately extricate herself and shout at him was briefly considered, but ultimately discarded. She wasn't one of those anime girls who overreacted in similar situations. Jaune had simply mistook her for his usual bedfellow in his unconscious state, an honest mistake as clear as day.
A part of her actually enjoyed the intimacy. It was nice, waking up in someone's embrace again. She'd forgotten what it felt like.
'Adam…'
There was once a time when that name would bring a smile to her face. Now, it brought only heartbreak, regret, and fear.
'How could you change so much?'
Blake suddenly did not feel so comfortable in her partner's embrace. She slipped out of his hold easily enough, managing not to wake him as she exited the bed. Now that she was free of his grasp, the cat Faunus checked her scroll for the time; finding it to be just past 6:30 am.
'Only half an hour before we need to check out.' She thought to herself.
She turned to look upon the slumbering blond and was surprised to find how photogenic he looked while asleep: She even dared to liken it to a princess in a movie. The ravenette rarely ever got to gaze upon her partner's face as he slept, for he usually got up earlier than her. Now that she thought about it, it was strange for him to be sleeping in so late today. Perhaps last night's events took more out of him than she thought.
After switching out of her bathrobe and back into yesterday's outfit, Blake gently shook Jaune awake. She felt him tense for the slightest moment before relaxing as he opened his eyes. Blinking the blurriness away, he scanned his surroundings briefly before stopping on her.
"Morning, Blake." He greeted her with a small groan.
"Morning."
"I'm surprised you're up before me."
"Me too," she returned with an amused huff. "Go get dressed. We need to be out of here soonish and catch the first bullhead back."
He sat up and cupped his face, letting out a disgruntled sigh. "I'm really not looking forward to getting yelled at by the girls when we get back."
'I think they'll be yelling at ME more than you,' she thought to herself.
Grabbing his clothes, Jaune went to the bathroom to get dressed. Once the door closed behind him, Blake thought to herself for a moment before reaching under the bed to pull out the gift basket she hastily hid yesterday. While most of its contents were useless to her—she would never admit otherwise—the rope might prove useful to their future nighttime ventures.
She tore open the thin plastic wrapping on the basket, then frowned when she realized that the rope was wrapped tightly around the other contents. Before she could attempt to unravel her desired item, Jaune stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed in yesterday's clothes.
He spotted her fiddling with the gift basket. "Whatcha got there, Blake?"
Frantically, Blake shoved the entire basket into the duffel bag. "Oh, j-just grabbing the complimentary gift basket!"
"Oh yeah? What'd they give?" he asked, stepping closer to see.
Panic rising, Blake managed to pry one of the boxes from its rope bondage, glance at it, then raise it up for him. "Just some lotions and stuff."
"... LOLA™ water-based personal lubricant," he read. There was some more writing on the box, but Blake's fingers were purposefully covering it. "Huh, I think I remember some of my sisters using that brand."
"It's a rather popular one," she lied, having no idea herself. She haphazardly threw the box back in the bag. "A-Anyways, we should get going. If we somehow miss this bullhead too, Weiss is going to kill us."
"Right," he agreed. "Hopefully she won't be too angry when we get back."
{ I }
"Explain yourself." Weiss demanded immediately upon their return, arms crossed. Pyrrha stood by her side, leveling an equally icy stare at their Faunus teammate.
"Good morning to you too," Blake snarked, already feeling a headache coming on.
"Morning Weiss. Morning Pyr." Jaune greeted, trying to cut the tension to no avail. "Did you girls end up not doing that run?"
"I'll get to you in a moment." The petite girl said frostily, not once removing her gaze from the black-haired girl in front of her. "Now, explain."
"The place was cheap and close by. We were tired. End of story." Blake replied simply. "Nothing happened besides us sleeping, by the way."
Weiss quirked a skeptical brow. "Really? Then why did you react like that when we found out about your place of stay?"
"Because I didn't feel like getting yelled at just before bed." The disguised Faunus returned irritably.
"Weiss, please," Jaune tried to step forward to intervene, but Pyrrha matched him, placing a hand on his chest and keeping him back.
The white-haired girl sent a thankful nod at her partner before continuing. "Why did you lie about forgetting an assignment?"
"I didn't lie-"
"Please," Weiss interrupted her with a scoff. "If you needed help with any sort of academia, Jaune wouldn't have been your first choice." She turned to Jaune. "No offense."
He held up his hands, nonplussed. "None taken."
"It's Peach." Blake emphasized. "Her class is one of the few that he scores as well as you do. Hell, he did even better than you on the practical exam."
"That's… true." Weiss hesitantly conceded. Jaune's frequent ventures into the wilderness in his youth proved quite the valuable experience in the woman's class.
"Listen. I know how bad it looks, but I promise you that I've no interest in getting involved in all… this." Blake gestured at the three of them. "It's not worth the headache."
"… Truly, nothing happened between you two last night?" Pyrrha asked, having been completely silent until now.
"Brothers, yes!" Blake groaned frustratedly. "Can we please just drop this already? I just got back and I already feel like leaving again."
Pyrrha and Weiss shared a look, then nodded. "Very well. We shall drop this issue for now."
"Thank you!" She let out a relieved sigh.
"Can someone please tell me why we're fighting about this?" Jaune asked with visible agitation. "Is that hotel we stayed at really that bad?"
Weiss gave him a pointed look. Seeing the genuine confusion on his face, her gaze softened a tad.
"You really didn't know…" She whispered in relief.
"Know what!?"
"Jaune," Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder, her cheeks flush with a shy embarrassment. "A love hotel is a place where two people go specifically when they want to have, um…" She swallowed nervously. "… relations."
"… Oh."
Suddenly the half-hour rates made much more sense.
"We were worried that people may have assumed you and Blake have entered a relationship." Weiss told him.
"And that's an issue because…?"
"Because—you forgetful oaf—people have already seen us kiss in public." A faint blush appeared on both their faces as they recalled that event. "If people saw you two enter that establishment, they'd think you a womanizer; and that the whole of our team are perverts."
"Ah, I see how that could be bad then, yeah." He said sheepishly. "Sorry, I know you put a lot of emphasis on appearances."
"Hmph," She crossed her arms over her chest with a self-satisfied expression. "It's good that you realize this. Endeavor not to let this happen again."
Blake looked on in utter awe, still completely baffled by not only how well Jaune could maintain his ignorant façade, but how easily he escaped the smaller girl's reprimanding.
{ II }
Team AWBN slipped back into their usual routine well enough, though there was still some lingering tension between Blake and the rest of the girls that continued throughout the week. Though Blake and Pyrrha were still on friendly enough terms, whatever rapport built between the ravenette and Weiss had been vastly diminished. It was enough to be noticed by their friends on Team RRYN during one of their lunch periods.
"Is everything all right?" Ren asked, glancing between the two with a small amount of worry. "Things seem to be a bit strained."
"Everything is fine, Ren." Weiss answered curtly. "We are merely recovering from a spat we've had over the weekend."
Blake nodded in agreement but said nothing more, her eyes drawn down to her scroll as she picked at her food.
An awkward silence loomed over them for a moment before Yang spoke up. "So, um… speaking of the weekend: Did you guys hear about that Dust shop robbery that happened in town?"
"I did, actually." Weiss said with a contemptuous huff. "As if the White Fang were not content with stealing from my family's company; now they must take from aspiring shopkeepers in civilian districts. Vile mongrels, the lot of them."
A loud 'smack' rattled their table as Blake pounded her fist into it. "I'm sorry, but could you please rephrase that?"
"Rephrase what?" The heiress scoffed. "Those who support or are part of White Fang are naught but rabid animals."
Amber eyes narrowed dangerously as Blake remembered all the friends she left behind in the organization that she knew were still good people. "The White Fang started as a noble organization. I'm sure there are good people that joined up thinking it's still that."
The pale girl's palm hit the table as Weiss leveled a glare at her teammate. "Then they are fools that need to read the fine print."
Suddenly, Jaune's own hands slammed into the table. "All right, break it up. Now."
His commanding tone of voice was enough to make the girls flinch. For some reason, when he looked between them, neither Blake nor Weiss were able to meet his gaze for more than a second.
The table shook again as another pair of fists struck its face. All eyes turned to Nora, who smiled exuberantly for a moment before noticing everyone was looking at her.
"What? Everyone was doing it."
Sighing, Jaune turned to his fellow blonde with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Yang. You were saying?"
She returned an awkward smile. "No biggie. Anyways, apparently there's a new pair of crime fighters on the scene. Some Faunus chick and a guy in masks were the ones that stopped the robbery."
Pulling out her scroll, Yang sent the news video to their group chat so that they could all watch.
A woman with short purple hair stared back at them with a microphone in her hand. "This is Lisa Lavender at Bite the Dust, the store that was the site of the attempted robbery. With me today is the owner of the store, Frederick Mercury. How are you today, Fred?"
She held the mic to a nondescript man that Jaune and Blake recognized from their night out. "I prefer Freddie, actually. I'll be honest, Miss Lavender, I'm still a bit shook. I mean, I'm just a poor guy trying to make ends meet. I don't know why I was targeted by anyone, much less the White Fang."
"Would you happen to discriminate against Faunus customers?"
"Brothers, no! Of course not! I'm a brand-new store with lots of competition. I can't afford to discriminate. Not that I would want to!"
"Right. So it's true that the White Fang have tried to rob you, then?"
"Yeah. Walked right in wearing those Grimm masks and everything. One of them right up to me and waved a sword in my face, asking me for all the Dust I had."
"Just the Dust?"
"Just the Dust. Didn't want any of the lien I had in the register or anything else."
"Interesting. Luckily they were stopped, right?"
"Yeah, these two people in black and white masks came in and kicked their asses in a blink of an eye."
"Freddie was kind enough to share the security footage of the event."A video played of Blake and Jaune subduing the White Fang, earning a few excited noises from Ruby and Nora.
"Now Freddie, judging from how fast these two vigilantes took down these White Fang operatives, they seemed to have some combat training. What do you think?"
"I think they saved me a couple thousand grand. I'll be honest, I don't care who these guys are, but if they're going around stopping the White Fang, they're good guys in my book."
"I see. Is there anything else you can tell us about these good Samaritans?"
"I remember them calling each other's names. The girl was Shiro, and the guy was Noir, I think."
"You heard it here first, folks. Shiro and Noir, masked vigilantes and defenders against the White Fang. Any final words, Freddie?"
"Yeah. Thanks again you two. And Noir! Don't throw them into my display case next time! That glass wasn't cheap!"
"Woah," Ruby awed excitedly. "Real life superheroes! That's awesome!"
"I wouldn't exactly call them 'super.'" Weiss mused. "They just seem well trained, especially compared to the riff-raff they were up against."
"I like the cut of that Noir guy's jib." Yang said. "He really knew how to knock some heads together!"
"I'd give him a solid nine out of ten." Nora agreed.
"Only a nine?" Jaune asked curiously, earning an incredulous look from his partner.
"Yup!" The ginger-haired girl confirmed. "Didn't have a good battle cry, so I have to take points off."
"I see," he laughed.
"It's good that there are people who won't let criminals run amok." Pyrrha praised. "Though I do hope they understand the massive target they've painted on their backs. An organization as large as the White Fang is sure to have the resources to hunt them down."
"I'm sure they'll be fine." Blake assured the redhead. "They're but an insignificant annoyance in the grander scheme of things. They're not worth the resources to stamp them out."
"That's a fair assumption." Ren agreed.
Suddenly, Blake's scroll buzzed in her hands as she received a new notification. Glancing down to check it, her eyes widened by the smallest margin. She quickly pocketed her scroll, stood up, and left, excusing herself with but a small wave.
"She seemed to be in a hurry." Ren noted with a raised brow.
"Blake has been somewhat distant these last few days." Pyrrha said with a small frown.
Weiss let out a noise of disinterest. "Leave her to her own devices. We shall see her again next period anyhow." She turned to Jaune. "Speaking of, you do have your essay for Dr. Oobleck prepared, yes?"
Immediately before the blond answered, his scroll vibrated again. He didn't even need to look to guess who it was. "I actually left it back in our room." He laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh Jaune…" The fair-skinned girl sighed disappointedly. She pointed towards the cafeteria exit. "Go get it now. If you hurry, you'll make it before the next period begins."
"Right!" Swiftly shoveling the rest of his food into his mouth, he grabbed his tray and ran off.
"Jaune Arc, you uncouth-!" he heard Weiss begin to yell, but her voice was drowned out by the cacophony of the busy cafeteria.
As soon as he was out of the room, he looked down at his scroll to see exactly what he thought he'd see.
Blake: Clear your evening.
The leader of Team AWBN sighed: Guess he had to tell Ruby he couldn't make it to the range tonight. Thank Oum he built a resistance to cute tantrums over the years at home.
Of course, he'd have to neglect to tell Weiss and Pyrrha about his cancellation as well; the thought causing him to frown. He hated having to hide the truth from them, but he promised Blake he'd keep their involvement with the White Fang a secret.
"Hopefully we'll make it back in time tonight." He muttered to himself. The blond really wanted to avoid another confrontation.
Pocketing his scroll, he made a beeline for his dorm room: He didn't lie about forgetting his essay there, after all.
{ III }
The broken moon shone brilliant once again, illuminating the starry night sky above. Jaune awed at the natural marvel as he always had, remembering the stargazing he did in his youth with his family. Recalling the camping trips with his father, he found the North Star–despite the light pollution making it difficult–and began tracing out constellations.
"Ursa Major, Draco, Cassiopeia… Hey, it's Felis!" He looked over to his partner, who laid dutifully by the edge of the rooftop. "It looks kinda like you, Blake!"
She tossed him a brief glare from over her shoulder before resuming her watch. "Honestly, could you please start taking this seriously?"
"I am," He rebutted. "I'm just trying to have some fun while we wait. Is that so bad?"
"You could help me on stakeout instead of goofing around."
"Ugh, fine." He playfully groaned as he took up a spot beside her. "Scooch, spoilsport."
Peering over the edge, Jaune had a prime view of the street below; as well as their observation target: The Dust Bin. It was another Dust shop, larger than the one they had staked out before. However, unlike last time, the store was closed; which meant that they didn't need to worry about hostages. "How many did Tukson say there were gonna be this time?"
"Twelve."
"Twelve? That's almost double the amount from last time." A cocky smile crossed his face. "You think it's because of us?
Blake shrugged. "Could be. Or it could be because the store is bigger and they need more hands."
"Aw, and I was just about to feel flattered, too."
They only had to wait a few more moments before a large black van came into view. It stopped in front of the shop, after which White Fang came filing out of its back. This time, a few of them were armed with rifles alongside their blades. Walking up to the door, one of them shot off its hinges before kicking it in.
"Seven, eight…" Jaune quietly counted them as they broke into the shop. "Ten inside, two in the van. Looks like they're getting smarter."
"I doubt it." Blake whispered harshly. "Why would they bring guns inside of a Dust shop? Do they want to set off an explosion?"
Had the standards of deployment really deteriorated that much since she left?
"How do you want to do this?" Jaune asked her.
"Same plan," She replied as she slipped on her mask. "Quietly take out the ones in the van, then blitz the ones inside."
A skeptical frown marred his features. "I don't think that's gonna work as well this time around. Extra person in the vehicle means that there's no blind spot we can approach from."
"Do you have any better ideas?" She asked.
He took a moment to judge the distance between them and the van. "… Maybe."
{ IV }
Within the van, the two White Fang operatives kept an observant gaze on their surroundings. They were wary of the new vigilante duo that took out their last group.
"Think they'll be here?" The one in the passenger side asked.
"Oh, for sure." The driver replied. "But they'll have a hell of a time getting the drop on us." He gestured to the rear-view camera on the dash. "We've got a camera at the back and two of us looking at the side-view mirrors. Unless they can fly-"
Just then, a hooded figure landed on the hood of their vehicle, leaving a large dent where they landed and eliciting screams of surprise from the White Fang inside.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"WHAT THE FUCK!?"
Taking advantage of their shock, the figure reared a fist back and smashed it through the windshield. They grabbed the driver by the collar and yanked him out the front, taking half the glass window with him.
Before the remaining operative could move, his door was wrenched open and he, too, was swiftly dragged out of the vehicle. Thrown to the ground and landing on his back, the last thing he saw was a blank white mask and the pommel of a sword coming down on him.
{ V }
The loud yells and shattering of glass alerted the White Fang within the store.
"What the fuck was that?" One of them asked.
Peering out the store window, one of the White Fang spotted their damaged getaway vehicle. "Shit, it's those vigilante pricks."
"Gunmen to the front!" Another of them barked. "Only the one in the white mask is a Faunus, so keep to the shadows."
Three people rushed forward and knocked over a few shelves for cover, then trained their rifles on the front door and window. The other's hid behind the shelves in the back, waiting anxiously for combat to begin.
A beat passed. Nothing but silence.
Another beat. They could hear blood rushing into their ears, the sounds of their heartbeats deafening.
A third beat. The gunmen's trigger fingers twitched with anticipation.
On the fourth, the store window shattered as Jaune burst through it, sending a screen of glass shards flying inwards.
"Open fire!"
The gunmen let loose a barrage of bullets in Jaune's direction, the bright flashes of gunfire illuminating the otherwise pitch-black shop.
Jaune's Aura flared as the bullets struck his body, but the projectiles did little to impede the vigilante's charge. Crossing the distance in the blink of an eye, Jaune wrenched the rifle out of one of the gunmen's hands, twisted their arms behind their back, then put them between him and the rest of the White Fang.
The other two gunmen held their fire, not wanting to shoot through their comrade. Jaune took full advantage of their hesitancy, using the terrorist in his clutches as a meat shield as he charged at them once more. Once he got close enough, he launched his captive at one of the gunmen, knocking them to the ground, then continued on to engage the other in hand-to-hand combat; dragging the fight towards the shattered window and into the moonlight cascading into the shop.
The other White Fang rushed forward to help their comrade. With the entirety of their focus on Jaune, they didn't see another figure silently slip in through the broken door.
Just as they were about to reach Jaune, Blake leapt into the center of their formation with a flying kick, connecting with one of the terrorists' chest and launching them into a shelf. She then herded the back half of their number away from her partner, forcing them to fight in a narrow aisle where they couldn't easily leverage their superior numbers.
The remaining White Fang were suddenly struck with indecisiveness, unsure if it was better to deal with Blake or Jaune first.
Alas, their choice was swiftly taken from them all together as Jaune turned his full attention to them, having just finished his last opponent with a brutal haymaker.
Within minutes, the White Fang were defeated. They were, at the end of the day, only civilians against Huntsmen-in-training. Their superior numbers meant very little in the face of years of martial training and combat experience.
After ensuring that all of the White Fang were unconscious and subdued, Blake proceeded to tie them all up while Jaune notified the police via one of the terrorists' scrolls.
"… Yeah, the one on Tempest Street, that's right. Please hurry." Jaune left the scroll on and placed it out of reach of the White Fang he took it from. Turning to Blake, he said, "Police are on their way."
"Good." She replied with a grunt as she finished tying up the last of her former comrades. "I've just finished wrapping their gift for them."
"Where'd you get the rope?" He asked curiously.
She hesitated for a moment. "It was from the hotel we stayed at. They gave us a bundle of rope as a welcoming gift."
He made a face behind his mask. "That's kinda weird."
'Considering we were staying in the Shibari Suite, it really isn't.'
Unwilling to explain that to her partner however, she began to walk out the store. "We're done here. Let's go."
The duo left the store and ran down several alleyways, arriving at a dumpster where Blake had stashed the duffel bag containing their school clothes. Double checking to ensure that no one else was nearby, the duo began to get changed.
"What time is it?" Blake asked as she slipped off her top. It was dark enough that she was sure Jaune wouldn't be able to see anything; not that she thought he would attempt to sneak a peek at her in the first place, but she appreciated the extra layer of privacy the darkness afforded her.
The blond, after slipping off his pants, checked his scroll and immediately cursed. "Crap, it's five of! We're gonna be late!"
Hearing that, Blake also swore under her breath. The two of them hastily changed into their clothes and bolted out of the alley, racing towards the nearest landing pad.
{ VI }
"No!" Jaune cried in despair as he saw the last bullhead to Beacon disappear into the night sky. "Crap, we were just a minute too late…"
Blake clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Brothers damn it. I thought we had enough time tonight."
The leader of Team AWBN let out a frustrated groan. "And it's a school night, too. Even if we take the first bullhead back, we won't be in time for morning classes!"
Neither of them even had to mention the absolute nightmare of explaining their whereabouts to the rest of their team either. Their first time out had been suspicious enough. If they had to go through that song and dance again, they doubted either of them would come out unscathed.
"We need to find a way back to Beacon tonight." Blake said in a somewhat panicked voice.
A conflicted expression crossed Jaune's features. "… I might have a solution."
"You do?" The ravenette exclaimed with surprise.
"Yeah," He replied hesitantly as he reached for his scroll and scrolled through his contacts. "Though you might not like it."
"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.
Her partner, in lieu of answering her, raised the scroll to his ear. "… Hi mom. Could you please come pick me up?"
"You're calling your mother?" Blake said incredulously.
Jaune raised a finger towards her, turning away as he continued to talk to his mother. "I'm in Vale with my partner… No, I mean Blake… Yes, again… Um, it's kind of a long story…"
As her partner conversed, Blake looked on in confusion. She didn't know much about Jaune's mother other than the fact that she was human. Was she a bullhead pilot, or owned a private aircraft? She supposed the latter wouldn't be out of the question, seeing as the woman likely had access to no insignificant portion of the Arc family's wealth.
"Awesome, thanks mom! I'll see you soon. Love you!" He sighed in relief as the call ended, then turned to face his partner once again. "She'll be here soon."
Blake also let a relieved breath escape her. "Thank Oum."
They both took a seat on a nearby bench, finally taking a moment to relax as they waited for Jaune's mother to come for them.
"Gods," Jaune groaned as he leaned backwards against the backrest. "Why can't the White Fang rob stores a little earlier? Don't they know how inconvenient it is for us to be out this late?"
Rolling her eyes at his joke, she decided to indulge him. "I'm sure if we told them how hard it is for us, they'd be willing to reschedule."
"Right?" He tossed her a smile. "I should ask to speak to their manager next time."
"Be careful," She returned with one of her own. "I have it on good authority that the manager is quite catty."
They shared a chuckle at that, their quiet laughter echoing into the night.
"Good work tonight." She told him earnestly. "I'm surprised how well your plan worked."
"I didn't really change much from yours. I mean, I was still the one that got their attention while you slipped in unnoticed."
"By breaking a windshield and a storefront window." She giggled. "Careful there, partner. The tabloids will start calling you 'Glassbane' if you keep this up."
"It's not like I particularly enjoy breaking glass!" He defended himself. "'Glassbane,' Gods…"
Jaune allowed her to laugh at his expense for a moment longer before putting on a serious face. "Blake, about what happened during lunch today…"
Immediately, her mirthful expression disappeared; replaced by a neutral, if slightly annoyed expression. "What? You mean when Weiss called those in the White Fang 'vile mongrels?'"
He winced, but continued on. "She didn't mean it like that."
"Didn't she?" Blake spat. "She also called them 'rabid animals.' You can't just expect me not to react to that!"
Jaune's lips pressed together in a thin line. "… To be fair, Blake, Weiss was speaking explicitly about the new White Fang; not the one that your father led, nor of the Faunus in general."
"Like that makes it any better." She scoffed. "The people we fought are just misguided. I'm sure that-"
"You don't know that." He cut her off swiftly. "You don't know if they're fanatics or not."
"I know that we're not all Faunus supremacists!"
"'We're,' Blake?" Jaune repeated critically. "Last time I checked, you weren't part of the White Fang anymore. She's not talking about you."
He had her there. "But still…"
"I know that Weiss's words were… not exactly pleasant, but please know that her hatred is reserved specifically for the White Fang and those who support them."
"… I'm sorry." She said after a moment of reflection. "It's just… I got so angry when she was using that language to describe the White Fang. I still have friends there who still believe that what they're doing is right, that they are making the world a better place for Faunus-kind. I couldn't stand having people who I know are good at heart insulted like that."
Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder. "I understand. If my friends were insulted like that, I'd get mad too. But at the same time, you need to remember that Weiss has several very good reasons to hate the White Fang and those within it."
"Beyond the fact that they're stealing from her family's company?"
He nodded slowly. "They don't just take Dust, Blake. They take the lives of SDC employees and affiliates as well." A forlorn look crossed his features, his eyes closing as he let out a deep sigh. "Weiss used to have a lot more friends while we were kids. When the attacks started, some of them were targeted just because they were friends with her."
Wide amber eyes stared at him with disbelief.
They went after children?
"That's…" She couldn't wrap her head around it.
"Messed up, right?" The blond finished for her. When he received a muted nod from her, he continued. "Soon enough, everyone started to avoid her. Anyone she associated with became a target, simply because she was Jacques Gelé's daughter; because she was a Schnee."
Blake was silent for a few moments, unsure of how to respond. A deep feeling of guilt and shame welled within her as she realized how lonely and tortured Weiss must have been at that age, with only Jaune to comfort her.
A thought suddenly came to mind. "Jaune…" she whispered almost inaudibly. "Were you attacked, too?"
To her horror, he nodded. "If you recall, my grandfather was once one of the White Fang's biggest supporters. After Sienna Khan radicalized the organization, he stopped offering donations. Coupled with our fraternization with the Schnee family, well, you can guess why we weren't afforded any leniency."
"… I'm sorry." Her cat ears tried to flatten against her head; her hands clenched tightly into fists as she choked back a sob. "I didn't know. I didn't think we were that far gone already."
He gently pulled her into a hug. "They, Blake. Not you," he assured her. "Not anymore."
She leaned into his embrace as she tried to steady her breathing. As Jaune held her, Blake felt the raging inferno of self-loathing die down to a smolder. The embers were still there, of course, but Jaune's comforting words smothered the guilt she had for simply being part of the organization during that time.
Suddenly, her ears perked up as she caught the sound of an approaching bullhead. She raised her head off his shoulder to stare up into the sky. Feeling this, Jaune released her to turn around and do the same.
It was a Beacon bullhead that touched down, which caused Blake some small amount of confusion. Wasn't Jaune's mother coming to pick them up?
The side door slid open, revealing the stoic visage of one Glynda Goodwitch. She seemed to stare at them with an expectant look.
"Good evening, Professor Goodwitch." Blake greeted as she and Jaune approached the vehicle.
The older woman returned her greeting coolly. "Good evening to you as well, Miss Belladonna." Emerald eyes glanced at her partner. "Jaune."
Jaune's next words chilled the Faunus girl to the bone. "Heya mom!"
The world seemed to freeze around her, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the two blondes in front of her. Suddenly, with the two of them so close to one another, she could start to see the resemblance, especially when a motherly smile stretched across the woman's face.
"Get on, you two." Glynda gestured for them to come aboard. "Let's not make our pilot wait."
It was only because Jaune had pulled her into the bullhead that Blake didn't remain standing there for the rest of the night.
{ VII }
Glynda took the seat opposite of the duo, who sat next to each other. Jaune had a queasy look on his face, while Blake seemed to be in somewhat of a daze.
"Thanks again for coming to get us, mom." Said Jaune.
When Blake didn't do the same, he gave her a gentle nudge to bring her back to reality. "R-Right! Thank you, Professor!"
"Of course." Glynda replied matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't dare leave you out on a school night." Affixing her gaze to Jaune, she continued. "So, could you explain to me why you were out so late?"
"U-Um," Jaune began to stammer nervously. "Do we really have to have this talk right now?"
"I don't see any reason why not?" She said simply, her stare becoming slightly sharper. "It's not like you to be so tardy, Jaune. I raised you to be punctual."
"We lost track of time." He answered vaguely, but Glynda wouldn't have it.
"Doing what?" The vice-headmistress of Beacon asked critically. "This is now the second time you've missed the bullhead back to Beacon within the same week. I just find that a tad bit suspicious."
"C-Can we please talk about this later?" He pleaded. "I really don't feel so-"
"Jaune Miles Luna Arc." The use of his full name caused the boy to visibly stiffen, his posture becoming ramrod straight. "I have been through both your elder sisters, and they've never once been able to hide the truth from me. Do not try to dodge the question."
The blue-eyed blond audibly gulped. His fingers began to drum on his legs as he wracked his mind for a plausible excuse.
He had nothing.
Jaune couldn't lie to save his life. Faced with his mother, who knew exactly how he operated, he couldn't hope to pull one over on her.
… Yet he made a promise to Blake to keep her secret.
Torn between telling the truth and betraying his partner's trust or trying to lie and immediately being called out on it by his mother, it would be the understatement of the century to say Jaune was left in a precarious position.
Deciding to trust his gut, Jaune opened his mouth. "We've-"
"We've been having sex." Blake said calmly, subtly grasping Jaune's hand and interlocking their fingers.
Both blondes turned to her with owlish eyes filled with disbelief.
"Excuse me?" Glynda said to her son's partner. The woman's gaze was so focused on Blake that she didn't see Jaune's similar expression.
"We've been having sex." She repeated herself confidently, despite the furious flush of her cheeks. "I've recently come out of a bad break up and I've been occasionally having strong urges that masturbation doesn't satisfy. Jaune's been helping me with them. It's my fault that we've been out so late recently."
Her partner was shocked into silence, his face a bright red. All the better for Blake's narrative that he kept quiet.
Glynda seemed to take a deep breath to calm herself. After a moment, her professional visage was back. "… I don't believe you."
There was plenty of reason for the Arc matriarch to doubt the young woman's claim. After all, her son was much too young, much too innocent to partake in such carnal intimacy. Certainly, if he had, he would have done so with Weiss first above all.
Or so she'd like to believe.
Flustered beyond all belief, Blake reached into her duffel bag and withdrew the rope from earlier, as well as a pack of condoms and several egg vibrators, all of which were part of the gift package they received while at Hotel Hedon. She had meant to throw these away, but the opportunity never presented itself and had eventually slipped her mind. Thankfully, her forgetfulness worked in her favor tonight.
As both Glynda and Jaune looked on in horror, Blake managed to utter, "I have a rope bondage fetish, s-so that's why I needed Jaune's help."
The bespectacled woman was suddenly in front of her, gently but firmly forcing the items back into the bag. Gone was the stoic disciplinarian that Blake was so used to seeing: In her place was a woman who was ashamed to have forced the younger girl to expose herself. "I'm so sorry dear. Say no more. Please, forgive me for putting you in that position."
"I-It's all right." The amber-eyed girl assured her, internally sighing in relief that she managed to keep their secret for a bit longer. "I'm sorry I kept your son out so late."
"It's fine. Again, I'm very sorry."
To the side, Jaune sat with his face in his hands, red to the tips of his ears with embarrassment. He couldn't look his partner in the face after her 'confession,' let alone his own mother, who tossed him worrying glances between repeated apologies.
They had managed to keep their vigilantism hidden for another night, but at what cost?
{ VIII }
"Are you ready, Ruby?"
"Let it rip, Ren!"
The pink-eyed teen nodded, then pressed the start button on the console. Suddenly, several targets popped up at varying distances, ranging from 5 to 500 meters. Some of them were stationary while others were moving side-to-side and back-and-forth.
Swiftly, Ruby shot down each and every target with precision, none of them taking more than a single shot each. When the last target was knocked down, the buzzer rang. A large holographic screen displayed in front of her, showing her her time.
"Woo!" She whooped. "10 seconds flat!"
"Good job." Ren praised with a smile. His partner had beaten her previous score by more than two seconds. Walking over to her, he prepped a hand to be high-fived.
The little reaper enthusiastically smacked it before giddily glomping him, nearly knocking him off his feet. "That's my PB! My PB, Ren! Oh man, I'm so happy right now!"
"Congratulations!" A voice called out, accompanied by an enthusiastic applause. The dark-haired duo turned to see Pyrrha walking up to them with a big smile on her face.
"Pyrrha!" Ruby exclaimed before rushing over to hug her fellow redhead. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, Weiss and I finished studying a bit early today, so I'd thought I'd join you." Her emerald green-eyes darted between them before scouring the premises for a mop of blond hair. "Where's Jaune? Is he in the bathroom?"
Ren gave her a confused look. "Jaune canceled on us tonight. He said something came up."
"That no good slacker!" Ruby growled petulantly. "He should have been here to see me beat my record!"
"He's not here?" Pyrrha repeated with a dumbfounded expression.
"Did he not tell you?" Ren asked with a furrowed brow.
"... No," the redhead answered with a frown. "No he didn't."
A/N: Hey guys, long time no read XD
As you may have noticed, updates have slowed to only a single update a month. Let's just say life's a bitch and hasn't left me much time for writing.
Not much else to say, really. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. See you next time.
Omake: Why Not Weiss?
After an awkward flight, the trio disembarked at the Beacon air docks. As Glynda thanked their pilot profusely for the trouble, Blake pulled Jaune aside and began conversing in hushed tones.
"It'll be suspicious if we arrive at the dorm together. I'll go back first."
"R-Right," Jaune nodded, still flustered from earlier. "Tell them that I needed to talk to my mom. Weiss will understand."
"Will do." Before she left, she bowed deeply to him. "Also, sorry for making you go along with… this." She gestured to the duffel bag containing their saving grace. "I didn't have any other choice."
"It's… It's fine." It was most definitely not fine, but he didn't want to tell her that. "I'll see you in a bit."
With a nod, Blake hurriedly scurried back to their dorm. His mother came up behind him just as his partner's silhouette blended into the shadows. He turned to face her, trying to look her in the eyes despite the incredible embarrassment he felt.
"Jaune…" Glynda began apprehensively. "I know it's late, but we need to have a talk."
Swallowing nervously, he nodded. "Yeah, I know. This… isn't something I ever thought we'd need to talk about."
"Neither did I, Jaune." She took a deep breath. "I know you're at that age, and Miss Belladonna is quite a beautiful girl. It's just…"
"I know mom," He already knew what she was going to say. "I need to be more responsi-"
"Why couldn't it have been Weiss?"
He blinked, clearly not hearing that correctly. "What?"
"She's loved you for so long, Jaune. She's smart, beautiful, responsible, comes from a good family," Glynda sighed exasperatedly. "I've already been treating her like one of my daughters, Jaune! She's so good for you!"
He began to blush. "I-"
"I can see why you might've fallen for Blake. She has that demure mysteriousness going for her, and she is very attractive, but… but she's not Weiss!" His mother grabbed him by the shoulders. "You know she's a troublemaker, right?! I have it on good authority that she was part of a gang for several years until she joined Beacon!"
He visibly stiffened. His mom knew Blake used to be in the White Fang?!
"My darling son shouldn't date a bad girl like her. You need someone on the straight and narrow, someone with a good head on their shoulders! Someone like… Someone like…!"
"... Someone like Weiss?" He hesitantly offered .
"I'm glad you agree." Glynda nodded approvingly. "You should take her out some time, just the two of you. I'm sure whatever it is you get up to will be less… degenerate than what you do with your partner."
He let out an awkward laugh. "Ahaha, uh, I guess I'll do that?"
As Glynda continued to sing his childhood friend's praises, two of the three girls of Team AWBN felt a sudden mood shift. One began to feel inexplicably happy while the other felt nothing but dread.