A/N: Hello again! Just a short chapter this time, from Ren's POV. The next chapter will be the first half of Knightshade!
Enjoy!
RWBY was created by the late Monty Oum and is owned by Viz Media
Clout
Chapter 9
A couple of weeks later, after Jaune had returned from the Infirmary, found Lie Ren in the group's shared kitchen area making breakfast for the two teams. It was the weekend. Saturday morning, specifically.
As he was doing so, he happened to notice Jaune as he came back from whereever he had gone, having disappeared quite often these days. Though, not enough to where the others had begun to notice themselves.
Ren was just better at observing things like that.
Blake, too, now that he thought about it. So, he confused as to why she hadn't said anything about it. He hadn't out of respect for his adopted brother and team leader, until now.
He frowned slightly as he observed Jaune's approach, and the ridiculous grin on his face. It wasn't quite a swagger, nor a strut. In all honestly, it resembled a, a skip? No, but he was definitely dancing as he made his way down the hallway towards the kitchen area.
Ren shook his head at that. Then he smiled. That was his brother and leader for you. Jaune was quite the character.
On noticing him, he slowed, his grin dipping, before he smiled brightly at him and waved, saying, "Oh, hey, Ren. How's it goin'?"
Ren nodded at him before going back to whipping the batter in the bowl before him again. "Jaune," he said in greeting. "Lovely to see you. How are things going with you these days? Haven't seen you all that much recently, you know? You okay?"
"Uh, ah-ha hah. Uh, yes. Quite. Very good." He said in reply, nervously rubbing at his head as he came up to stand next to Ren before looking around at what was on the countertop. There was a couple of cartons of eggs, bacon and potatoes. After a moment he took up bowl and began to whip up some eggs for an omelet as he said, "I've been doing great recently. Sorry if I worried you. Had a, uh, a side project going on, but I can put it on hold if you need me for anything."
Ren shrugged at that and began pouring the first of many, many pancakes for his girlfriend. Nora loved pancakes, but really only if he or Jaune made them. She was starting to warm up to Yang's, though.
Jaune set down the bowl of whipped eggs for a moment to lay a thick piece of ham on the griddle next to a line of bacon that was already sizzling there under a press. Then he began to start on making some freshly shaved hash browns as well as buttering some bagels and toast.
The two stood there in companionable silence for a bit before Ren absentmindedly stated while flipping the pancakes, "So, that's what it's called these days?"
Jaune paused at that before going back to neatly chopping up the ham and bacon he had ready before placing the lot in the now ready omelet alongside a good bit of gooey cheese. Then he plated the lot as he asked, "What do you mean, man?"
Ren just gave him a very pointed look before plating the first batch of pancakes and going back to make another batch. This time for everyone else, hopefully. One could never be sure with Nora, after all. Then he answered with, "Jaune, come on. Not only have you been disappearing nearly every afternoon or evening over the past couple of weeks; I've been getting constant texts from the Squad asking on whether or not you're getting any."
He plated another group of pancakes. He turned to him, twerking an eyebrow as he said,"It be nice to have something to say to them, if only so I can get some peace and quiet for my afternoon meditation. So, if you please? What's going on, and who is it with?"
Jaune looked at him for a moment. Then he sighed as he plated the batch of hash browns before whipping up some scrambled eggs for all the bread and shrugged as he asked, "What, do you want me to say something like 'I've made it with a woman. Inform the men!'?"
Ren smirked at that, especially the sudden fake accent that Jaune took on to say that, then he shrugged again and said in answer, "No, no, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."
He placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder as the taller man turned away with a sense of irritation and began to make something else for the communal breakfast and said, "Really. I just don't want to see you to get hurt again. Not like that."
Jaune sighed and nodded before turning back to him to say, "It's, it's not like that, okay? Really. It's, it's complicated, but not for something like that." He shrugged and said, "I trust her, after all."
"Oh," Ren asked. "So then, that just leaves us with the question as to who it is?"
Jaune pause at that, and swallowed, before looking at him with some concern. Ren didn't seem to notice as he leaned back and began speaking to himself, "Is it Weiss? No, she's been with Ruby and Nora for all their study sessions. Blake? Possibly, but I doubt it. She seems to know what's going on after all. Ruby? No. There would've already been a big hubbub over it by now." He turned to him, his pale pink eyes staring into the taller man's blue eyes as he said, "So, that leaves-"
"Ren," Jaune stated softly. He immediately clammed up at that, not wanting to anger his friend. Especially not when he talked in that tone. He still remember some of the adventures they had gone on during their travels across Anima, and that Jaune had a bit of a temper.
Though, he was getting better with that, he was happy to say.
Jaune sighed then before he said, "Hey, it's not that I'm angry with you guys. You're just looking out for me, like always. And, you're right. I don't want to be hurt like that again either.
"It was, rather bad all around that."
"Okay" Ren said as he went back to cooking. "Then what is it?"
He sighed and shook his head before he said, "It's just, I wanted to have some time to enjoy this, own my own. Before you guys all kind of rubbed my nose in it, you know? After all, you all have been kind of nudging me about this for some time now. I just, didn't want to believe that it could true. I mean, how could I? It's, it's them, you know?"
He shook his head at that before smiling as he said with wonder in his voice, "I still can't believe it myself, honestly."
Ren said nothing to that, having notice how Jaune had been mulling it all over the past few weeks. And, while he himself wouldn't have done something like that, Cardin, and the rest of CRDL, would've definitely have done so. So, he could understand that.
The only reason why he had decided to confront him about this was cause Nora was going to put him up to it sooner or later, knowing how much easier it would be for him to get anything from Jaune, especially once she realized something was up. Nora wasn't stupid. She was, however, impatient. She didn't have the same kind of patience he had when it came to getting information to this kind of thing.
Also, her puppy-eyes weren't neither as good as Ruby's, and Jaune had gotten quite good at resisting hers. Course, their combined looks, on the other hand, Ren grinned subtly at that, man folded like a wet noodle.
Also, he was yet here to make breakfast for everybody, just like he always did on the weekends. The two-teams-combined-into-one's typical weekend tradition.
So, you know, two birds, one stone kind of thing.
"Haaah, listen, "Jaune finally sighed and brushed his hair back away from his head and explain. "Me, and Yang, we, uh, we got, we-we, we did the deed." He paused, blushing profusely, then continued on with, "And, afterwards, we got to talking… and we decided to take it slow, for a bit, while also keeping things on the down low until she was comfortable with telling you all. I agreed."
Ren paused at that before plating the food before him and asked, "Why? Blake clearly knows, and none of the rest of us would just judge you two for hitting it off so fast. Heck, I'm sure you realize by now that the rest of those girls are probably just as… uh, interesting, in getting to know you as Yang."
Jaune blinked at that then tilted his head as he he thought about it. Ren knew the instant his thoughts turned… unseiso, as it were, as his face once more burst into bright red.
Then he shook himself before saying, "Uh, anyway. The reason why we decided on keeping quiet about it all - for now, I might add - is because of how sudden it all was. Yang told me that she had been so nervous about getting it just right, that she hadn't really thought about the implications of us getting together would mean to others. She's used to people talking about her in a certain sense, cause, well, it's Yang, and she has a girlfriend. But, uh, I, I didn't want something like that to happen to her, not with me, not after all that shit that was thrown around when I was dating Pyrrha."
Ren flinched at that, and the sudden bite of bitterness Jaune unconsciously bit out over that. He thought about it as they finished cooking the breakfast together in silence. Jaune had been incredibly stressed during that time from all the gossip going on behind his back while he had dated Pyrrha, he had forgotten just how much.
Was it any wonder why the two would want to keep so major a change to their dynamics quiet? At least, for a little while.
"Alright," he finally said as they heard the rest of their friends and teammates getting up as they all smelled the food being made. "I can certainly understand that. If anyone ever said something, anything like that about Nora, well… I understand."
"Hey, Jaune!" Came the voice of Ruby Rose as she led their friends into the kitchen area. "Hey, Ren! Ooh, that looks so good! Hey, is there any strawberries?!"
Jaune glanced his way before smiling at his best friend as he suddenly revealed a plate of sliced strawberries with sugar lightly dusted on top and handed it to her, saying "Hey, Rubes. And, yes, here ya go."
"Ah, yeah! You're the best!" She crowed.
Ren began handing a plate of food to each of their friends alongside Jaune while greeting them all. When he gave Nora her food he made certain to remain visibly unfazed as she kissed his cheek while giving his butt a pinch and made her way to the table in the Commons area with everyone else.
Then he and Jaune gathered up the rest of the food in case anyone wanted extra and made their way towards the table. As he did so, Ren noticed as Yang subtly made her way in behind everyone else, stopping only to give Blake a kiss, before coming around to make her way towards Jaune. He watched as the pair smiled at each other, then Yang gave Jaune a subtle nod which he returned.
He looked back at Ren and smiled as he said, "Hey, Ren, you were wondering when we were going to tell everybody, right?"
Ren could only smile in return. That was his Fearless Leader for him. He should've known that he was going to do this.
"Hey, guys, Yang and I have something important to tell you all." Jaune then announced as Yang sidled up next to him, putting an arm around him.
Team RWBY was understandably annoyed with Yang for being first among them to win over their crush, but also ecstatic that it had finally happened. Ren couldn't keep the smile off his face as the rest of RWBY began to bicker/congratulate her while he sat down next to Nora and smiled as Jaune informed everybody of the good news.
He kissed her as she sniffed and crushed her arms while muttering to herself with a grin on her face, "Took 'em long enough. Jeez."
Only Pyrrha seemed unhappy about the news, but in their excitement, no one noticed.
A/N: This chapter was largely in answer to a comment about how quickly Yang and Jaune got intimate for which I agreed. To that end, my answer. Well, other than the fact this is supposed be after about a year of all of RWBY pining after our favorite blond goofball, so, it's understandable that Yang, and the rest, are more than a bit... impatient.
Also, it's kind of a sitcom. People hook up real fast in those all the time.
Also, this isn't a dig at that comment. My friend Argus456 brought up a great point with that comment. I was already going to write this chapter and I just wanted to add that.
Essiter out! Love y'all!