This is my promised Lancaster story, currently written to get past my Knightfall writer's block. Along with my current addiction of reading time travel fanfiction, sated by the limitless Percy Jackson stories that provide a solution to that itch. If you need to get going, the summary has properly given you everything I would like you to be aware of. However, I would like to expand upon things and ramble like I tend to. Broken up into bits of a thousand words or a bit more, the goal of these chapters is to introduce you to the world that is most certainly AU with how much changes.
Also, from the dozens of time travel fix-it stories I've read across the fandom (and others) I've gathered a few pet peeves. I wanted these chapters to get as much set up for a reason and get a few things out of the way. The chapters after will have as little flashbacks as possible, the only things might be .5 chapters with Lancaster one-shots that really have nothing to do with the story. Something to get my tendency to revert to one-shots out of the way. Another is I didn't want to keep everyone in the dark and just establish the reasons why Jaune was doing what he was doing because "muh wife", but give the key points that got him to the point so the rest of the story can explore the second and third order effects of these retcons and decisions.
Which brings me to the last thing. I specifically set this up to divert heavily from cannon, likely retconning a lot of the rules and whys that the show has established past around volume 4 and onward. I appreciate the simplicity the show had back then and a lot of the fics that came out with that baseline back in the day were able to keep a certain uniqueness to them. They didn't need overcomplicated, unruly lore, just some simple base rules. The characters and such will stay in character, but I refer more to pretty much everything is different past the first couple/few volumes. Though I'll do my best to include things that later volumes had, at least things that worldbuilt sensably.
I hope this establishes the reasons behind anything and everything Jaune does. It really is to keep me from wanting to sate my one-shot fever with Lancaster that I'm tempted to fall prey to. This will hopefully give enough insight to how I would like the pair to navigate through their relationship.
Please enjoy and leave any reviews and thoughts you have.
Jaune hadn't made much of his wife when he first met her. The swordsman was more focused on embodying the huntsman in training that should be there, that did not cheat, that did not leave his family behind without word. First impressions were everything, and he could see her in a crater of her own doing, covered in dust soot and a snow white princess looming over her. There was not much more to do than help her up, giving her a once over to complete his first impression. It improved drastically once he got past the sulfur smell, and the face marred with various dust colors. She was undeniably the cutest woman he had met in his whole life. At the time, and until the present. Jaune could guess that it would be for the rest of his life.
Her hair was tinged with red, as was the rest of her outfit. A combat styled uniform with the skirt to boot, something she would later insist was specifically for combat which was implied in the name. If he had looked closer at the time, Jaune would probably have noticed the weapon oil stains on it from the subconscious wiping of hands, and the chocolate stains on her top from her favorite cookies. He would have noticed the scar running along the hand he grasped to help her up, an aged wound from her sister and her battling it out at outrageous speeds. Two sisters attempting to knock each other off inflatable tubes on the lake.
Nonetheless, he was more focused on her face, the overbearing brightness it brought to his world even from an initial glance. And throughout the day, the constancy that it was plastered there. Jaune knew now, that the smiles, the unending positivity, and every insistence on selflessness were etched into her soul. He now knew it too well, but how could he fault her for it, it was why he had fallen in love with her in the first place.
The rest of the day he became more infatuated with the equally socially awkward friend he had made. She was obsessed with her weapon, only stopping to talk about it when something else equally fascinating was able to grab her attention. That isn't to say that she was a bad listener. In fact, she listened to most of his life story within the first day of meeting. The two hit it off, exchanging stories about their family and time leading up to the academy. It was reinforced throughout the day with small waves to each other in passing, during orientation, and in the locker room.
Even before liftoff, at the platforms that launched them dozens of feet in the air, Jaune was able to give a goodbye wave to his first real friend he had made that wasn't a sister of his. Within minutes he was able to see the reason she was considered a prodigy. While he struggled to keep his makeshift team together, feeling like he was playing to games of ping pong, a paddle in each hand, his wife flourished in the battlefield. Jaune ran the decision making process on his gut feeling, fueled by stories of hunts from his father and grandfather. His wife on the other hand knew what to do intuitively, she had the momentum in her favor at all times, even when the situation tried to tell her otherwise.
When the pair discussed their plan on their leadership mentality and what their intent would be for their squad, Jaune noticed the differences immediately. He would do his best to study on the off time, and stick to regulation, what they couldn't argue was systematically wrong. Because if he didn't have experience, or even book smart, he mine as well fall back on the book when he was gaining the experience. She planned to dedicate herself to what he would eventually dub "talent management". Every team member would become her best friend, and from knowing them inside and out she would be able emplace them to gain the most effectiveness they could produce.
There was no question he was interested in her at that point. He had an inkling of something in the back of his mind the first couple weeks of knowing her. Their daily leader meetings solidified that. The initial excuse for the meetings were justified, something to compare notes after class, help each other stay away from becoming tunnel visioned. Within the coming weeks, after their first real interactions with each other, the first problem sets solved in class and outside the academy, he knew the interest was becoming more complicated.
The meetings were held anywhere, at the food hall for dinner, in the library secluded away from their rowdy teammates boardgames, sometimes on each other's bed producing products they would share with their teams. The pair shared the responsibilities of the meeting. His wife would bring the snacks, usually something sugary, sweets or dessert of any kind, while he would bring the food and drinks. Jaune's years of living with several sisters gave him an above average cooking skill, and their hall's community kitchen was only ever utilized for hot pockets and the occasional brownies made by his wife to celebrate a successful test or event.
Jaune became complacent in those first months, his wife quickly became his best friend. And he never thought past that, how could he, they were too sociably awkward to consider each other anything but. No matter how much her sister would wink when they sat with their shoulders touching or Nora, the hypocrite, would imply what should exist between them. It would take longer than he wished, longer now that Jaune had the hindsight to look back, to become what they were always leaning toward. The first push came not in the stress of battle, the couple back to back, nor was it some emotionally driven serenade. In fact, it was when she was gone. The first mission she went on, an exception made by the headmaster because of her commendable actions, that was when he knew something was different.
He couldn't stop thinking about her, and he was certainly not dense enough to not realize what the thoughts were leaning toward. And when they were back, and the two celebrated at a restaurant in Vacuo, her in a dress he had seen at their dance, and him in a semi-professional button up. Because apparently even a few months of bulking as a growing teenager made suits unable to wear. She was in flats at her insistence, and he could have cared less if she was in heels. More taken with her dress and the way it accentuated her cuteness.
Seeing the always cute persona become a beautiful woman in front of his eyes, it was the moment he knew that his next years at the academy would be primarily focused on wooing his wife. Of course at the time, he didn't know he would be successful, but he knew at the time that he would give it the most effort he had given anything in his life.
So far so good. A clean slate will leave some interesting doors open. And I look forward to learning where it takes everything. I apologize if anything was out of order, I won't lie and say it has been awhile since I have seen the first few seasons. But I did my guess to peace together what I could, and hopefully I will keep everything generally in order as I continue.
These prologue chapters will be ten chapters spaced throughout moments in the years leading up to Jaune traveling back. They will be posted on the first of every month and cross posted on AO3 for those that find it easier to read over there. Once all chapters have been posted, I'll do the same with the next, and combine the ten into one large chapter for easier reading.
Please review with your thoughts I always appreciate any criticism to improve and anything else!