Cuts of RWBY

A RWBY Fic Collection by AndrewJTalon

DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and ViZ. Please support the official release.

Jack and Cinder Part 2

Cinder went through the transfer papers one more time. It was late, Emerald and Mercury were already asleep, and yet... She couldn't let it go. She had to make sure it was all perfect, every bit.

This plan... It was everything. Everything she had worked for, everything she had bled for.

She sighed as she looked out the safehouse window. She narrowed her eyes as she saw a familiar form climb out of the window next door and get up onto the roof.

"Idiot," she muttered. She rose and walked to the window. She opened it and then jumped out and up, climbing to the roof. The power of the Maiden thrummed under her skin, and almost felt strongest under the moon. How curious.

She put the sensation out of her mind as she glared at Jack.

"Why are you still up?" She demanded, "You should be resting. You're no good to anyone if you're exhausted."

Jack grimaced and bowed his head. It was strange how easily she could scold him. He actually cared about her opinions, even though if he willed it, she would be killed.

Not now, not when she had the Maiden's power... Well, half of it... But still.

"Sorry," Jack admitted, "I had the dream again."

Cinder stared at him, taken aback. Only the sounds of honking cars and the wind filled the city night. She shook her head slowly.

"You shouldn't... Worry about things like that," she said quietly.

"I do," Jack stated calmly, staring into her eyes. "I got careless, while you were taking the Maiden power."

"You..."

Cinder sighed. Her mind was cast back to that day. It should have been a triumph: They'd cornered Ozpin's Maiden. She had insisted on wandering alone wherever she wished. Her bodyguard, the unlucky drunk swordsman, was distracted. They'd fallen upon her and despite her power, they had taken her down. They were draining her of her magical power.

The power... It was what Cinder had craved all her long life. Even now, she felt so much more. More than some scullery maid or slave.

The swordsman had arrived sooner than they thought. Jack, in his cloak, had thrown himself into battle against him. Despite Jack's skill and training, despite anything else his mother may have done...

He had gotten struck across his chest. Blood had erupted from his armor. Cinder had called it off, and they'd retreated under a hail of flames she had conjured up. Mercury had carried Jack while Emerald cast illusions to cover their escape.

It had been a near thing. Thankfully, Branwen had been more concerned with the dying Maiden than them. Jack's Aura had healed him, and they'd gotten away.

Even so... It was an unacceptable... Interruption of their plans.

"You did get careless," Cinder stated in flat angry tones. Even as a chill went up her spine at the memory. "The Maiden Power is important. Half of it in our possession is... Is better than losing you."

Jack stared at her. Her eyes narrowed.

"Your mother would make me suffer the worst pain and agony imaginable if I lost you," she said in quiet anger.

Jack nodded.

"I know... But if I hadn't, you'd have been cut in half."

That... That was true. Qrow Branwen may have been a drunk, but he was formidable. He'd brushed past Emerald's illusions, parried Mercury's strike with contemptuous ease. If Jack hadn't been there...

"... Still," Cinder sighed, "You really shouldn't be out here. With us."

Jack looked away from her, onto the lights of the city.

"... I should know what the human world is like," he said, "Where I came from... Before we destroy it. I should know what it was before Mother wipes it clean. The New World won't be better unless we know what the Old World was like, right?"

Cinder snorted. Salem's overall plans were vague, at best. She promised power, influence, and a place in a new order. That was enough for her.

"It's not worth remembering," Cinder opined, walking up and sitting next to him. Jack stared at her.

"But you, Emerald, and Mercury came from it. So did Mother, long ago."

"So?" Cinder demanded.

"So," Jack said, looking back out at it, "It can't be all bad."

She was not blushing. She was not.

Honestly, she needed to nip this in the bud. Now. He'd been confusing and vexing her since they'd met, and with how crucial this operation was? They couldn't afford any distractions.

With that in mind... She decided to be direct.

"... If you wanted to woo me... If-If you wanted me," Cinder said, almost nervous, "You just had to ask."

Jack looked at her in confusion.

"Huh?"

Cinder glared, even as her cheeks burned bright red.

"You... You want me, don't you? As... As your woman? I... I'd be willing to do it. You... You'd just have to order me! So why... Why are you doing all this?"

Jack blinked rapidly. He blushed.

"What?!"

"Isn't... Isn't that why you're doing all of this?" She demanded. "The kindness? Defending me? The... The personal entreaties? You're trying to make me care for you, aren't you? Why bother? I... I'm bound to your service! You could make me do anything you want!"

Jack blinked a few times. He cleared his throat as his face burned red.

"Cinder... Y-yeah. I could do that. But... You were already a slave. Already forced to do things you didn't want to do. Why would I want you to suffer like that?"

"I... You have power over me," Cinder explained, exasperated and angry, "Why wouldn't you abuse that power over me?! Why are you playing these games?!"

"I don't know what you mean, Cinder," Jack said, "I just care about you. I want you to be happy."

Cinder's jaw dropped. She stared at him in utter disbelief.

"I... But... Wh-Why?!" She finally demanded.

Jack shrugged.

"I like you. I like Emerald and Mercury too, but... I like you the most. You're strong, you're smart, you... You treat me like a normal person. You look after me." He smiled gently. "And I think you're beautiful. And I just want you to be happy."

She looked at her knees, feeling like a lost little girl again.

"... Why would you want that?" She whispered.

Jack scooted up to her.

"If I have power over people I care about, why wouldn't I want them to be happy?" He asked. "I don't like the idea of anyone I care about suffering or being in pain. You... You make my life better."

He leaned in a bit.

"Do... Do you care about me too, Cinder?"

Cinder was silent for a while, the city ambiance washing over them. She sucked in a deep breath.

"... If I said yes, what would you want me to do?" She asked, soft as a butterfly wing.

"Only what you wanted to do," Jack said earnestly.

Cinder sighed and shook her head.

"You're a sentimental fool, you know that right?" She muttered.

Jack smiled.

"Yeah. That's why I'm lucky to have you around."

Cinder snorted, though there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

"You don't have to answer or anything," Jack said, "Just... Ya know... That's how I feel."

He looked out at the world again. Cinder looked out with him.

"I still think this is a mind game of yours," Cinder admitted.

Jack blinked a few times.

"I was never good at those," he admitted, "Uncle Hazel always won... Or lost...?" He frowned. "I don't know for sure."

Cinder snorted again. He scooted up a little closer. She sighed and leaned against him.

"... You're a hopeless idiot," she muttered.

Jack nodded with a smile.

"I know."

"I might just use you for my own purposes," Cinder muttered again.

"I know that too."

She scowled.

"Do you have to be so sincere?! You're going to get us caught at Beacon."

Jack coughed.

"Sorry..."

Cinder grumbled. She felt his arm go up around her shoulders, and she let him hold her. He was very warm and it was a little cold out.

"Just... Don't do anything stupid, all right? Leave everything to me," she ordered.

Jack chuckled.

"I always do..."

He nuzzled her. Cinder nuzzled him back.

Yang Xiao-Long sighed as she walked back towards the dorms. Her gym session had run overly long due to some stupid drama between Blake and Weiss, and she'd missed dinner. In a word, she was done.

She walked the Beacon campus, grumbling under her breath... When she smelled food. She followed her nose, and her eyes soon located the source:

Jaune Arc, of all people, sitting on a bench and looking up at the sky. He had a to-go box of chicken fingers and fries, with some sodas. Her mouth watered. Okay, so it was greasy and unhealthy as fuck: At this moment, she didn't care.

"Hey VB."

Jaune looked away from the stars, startled. He then sighed.

"Oh, hey Yang," he said. "Late from the gym?"

"Yeah," Yang said with a nod, "Thought you were training with Pyrrha?"

"We had to cut it early due to a call from her mom," Jaune explained. He picked up a chicken finger and put it in his mouth, chewing softly.

"Mind spotting me some food?" Yang asked with a grin, "I missed dinner."

She leaned over and winked at him. Hey, if he was sharing some food, she may as well be nice... And tease him a little. She loved doing that.

Strangely he didn't even seem to notice. He just nodded and went back to looking up at the sky. Yang frowned a little, but soon her stomach growled and she walked over to sit next to him. She dug in happily, enjoying the greasy goodness.

"So," she said, after dousing her hunger with some food, "Why are you out here, anyway? Thinking up love poems for Weiss?"

She popped a soda and drank it. Jaune shook his head.

"No. Just remembering my brother. This was the day he..."

He trailed off, and shrugged.

Yang paused and set the soda can down. She looked at Jaune, really looked at him. His body language could often be overly dramatic but it was rarely so... Down.

She put it together in an instant.

"Oh... I'm sorry," she murmured. "I can go if-"

"No, no, it's cool," Jaune said, shaking his head, "Um... I mean, you're still hungry and... And I can't eat all this myself."

Yang nodded slowly. She ate, though more slowly. Jaune kept staring up at the sky.

She hesitated.

"... You... Want to talk about it?" She asked. Jaune shook his head.

"I... I mean... You probably don't want to-"

"If you want to, that's okay," Yang said gently. Jaune turned to stare at her. He shrugged.

"It... Not much to say," he admitted. "His name was Jack. He was my twin. We were... We were five. On a camping trip around Argus. We were just having fun near the edge of the campsite... We'd found this really cool stick and... Well... We were walking back to the tents. We were still in sight of them so our parents thought it would be safe."

He looked away, back at the sky.

"There was a perimeter breach," he said, "Grimm were on us in no time. My mom and dad... They were Hunters, so they fought them. My big sister tried to get to us but... An Ursa charged through the trees. I..."

He stared at his hand. His tone remained cold and detached, even as it shook.

"Jack got separated. My sister got me... Tried to get to Jack, but the Ursa roared. So many other Grimm charged... My dad threw himself into the fight. He cut through them... But more and more came and... And we had to run."

Yang stared at Jaune intently. He didn't look grief stricken so much as... As tired. Aged.

"When the Rangers got control again, my parents went back in," he said, "They... They searched everywhere. We tried to months, scoured all over the park, but..."

He bowed his head. Yang bit her lower lip, before she reached out. She rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"That's horrible, V... Jaune," Yang said softly.

He glanced at her hand, and for a moment Yang thought about pulling away. Even though a warm hand and some comfort was all she had ever wanted when Summer had...

He nodded, a wan smile on his face.

"... Thanks," he mumbled. He looked back towards the stars again. He sighed.

"I... That's kind of why I'm here, I guess," Jaune muttered, "My parents wanted me to do something safer. Tried to discourage me, but... I don't want that to happen to anyone else."

Yang nodded.

"I... I get it," she murmured. "My mom... She was amazing. A great Huntress. She was basically my hero. She died on a mission when I was five so... So I don't remember her well but she was just amazing. And losing her was..."

Jaune looked back to her. He rested his hand on hers, and squeezed it.

"Yeah," he murmured. He shook his head. "I'm sorry about her."

"I'm sorry about your brother," Yang said quietly.

"I-I mean... I know that... There's nothing I could have done," Jaune admitted, "Nothing I could have tried. I was a kid... But..."

Yang nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean," she said. "You hate feeling weak. You hate feeling helpless. You don't want to... To go through that. Or let anyone else go through that again."

She still remembered how terrified she'd been when those Grimm had closed in on her and Ruby in the woods. How helpless she had felt, how loudly Ruby cried... The relief when Qrow jumped in and saved them, and the guilt over putting her little sister into danger.

Jaune nodded back with similar gravity.

"Yeah... Exactly,"

Jaune sighed. He grabbed another chicken finger and ate it. She did the same. They chewed in silence as they looked up at the stars.

"We'll make them proud," Yang stated impulsively, "We... Both of them. I promise."

Jaune looked over at her and smiled. And despite the sorrowful feeling over them both, she couldn't help but feel warmed by it. Just a little.

"Yeah. Yeah, we will..."

Some drama for you.