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Yang Xiao-Long was many things. Kickass older sister to an adorable little cookie monster. Kickass Huntress-in-Training who takes names and kicks more ass than whoever gets flirted on by Drunkle Qrow. Kickass partner to a flaky ex-terrorist who liked reading smut and kickass friend in general to Team RWBY's sister team.
Hence her current situation. Jaune Arc was many things. A dork, her sister's harmless best friend, a noddle, a Vomit Boy, a genuinely nice guy. Also a dork. And oblivious.
The last one was why she was currently watching a movie with him. The poor guy was too dorky to realise Pyrrha 'Invincible Girl' Nikos had a crush on him, so as a good friend from their sister team Yang had done the logical thing and forced the two to watch a scary movie with her late at night.
They'd slowly inch together out of fear, their hands might brush as they reached for the popcorn, a jump scare might lead to them instinctively seeking the other for comfort.
Except Pyrrha had fallen asleep. Except she was the one who'd ended up jumping towards Jaune, who had the audacity to hide his fear.
Dun-Dun.
"No!" Yang whispered, eyes half glued to the screen and half hidden in Vomit Boy's shoulder. "Go away! Shoo!"
Dun-Dun.
"I said no you overgrown fish!" Yang hissed, turning to glare at Jaune as his shoulder started shaking. He looked away quickly, hand over his mouth to hide his giggling. "What's so funny huh?"
Duuun-Dun.
"Nothing." Jaune answered, though Yang ignored his obviously fake answer. She didn't understand why he felt the need to hide the fear he clearly must be feeling. "Just wondering if you'd call it an overgrown fish to its face."
"Of course I would-"
Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Dunda-Dunda-Dununaaa!
"-'nt!" Yang squawked, creeping in on herself as something moved through the shadowy, murky waters towards the oblivious swimmer overhead. "Run you fool! Swim! Don't just float there flaunting your long, beautiful legs damnit! Sexiness in horror movies means death, don't you know the rules?!"
Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Dunda-Dun-Dun-Dun-Dunda!
"Oh gods I can't watch!" Yang cried, hiding herself in Jaune's shoulder once again. "Tell me when it's over."
"It's over." Jaune answered immediately, earning himself a punch to the gut. "N-Not over!"
"Thought so." Yang grumbled, clutching onto Jaune tighter as the music reached a crescendo and cringing as the sound of splashing water and terrified screaming blared out from the television.
Finally, mercifully, the sounds stopped, and Yang dared to open her eyes and look at the television screen once more.
Only to see a half-eaten body floating in the water, and a grey fin surging towards it, parting the calm water in a frothing white wave.
Yang quickly turned and slammed her head into Jaune's shoulder, wincing a little as her forehead surged with pain. She then punched him again.
"W-What the heck was that for?!"
"You didn't tell me it wasn't over!"
"Exactly!"
Yang flinched and patted his belly softly, mumbling out an apology. Pyrrha snorted, drowning out the sound of flesh being devoured and Yang peeked over Jaune's shoulder at their sleeping movie partner.
"Damn she really is out like a lamp."
"Pyrrha trains super hard, it's why she's the best." Jaune smiled, pride towards his partner and her dedication clear. "Unfortunately that means she tends to be an early bird."
"Fairs fair." Yang shrugged, though part of her felt a little vindicated because of it. She may never be the best fighter in their year because of Pyrrha's insane skill, but Pyrrha may never, actually would never-it just wasn't in her blood, be the super cool party girl Yang was.
Being the best was cool and all, but having fun and enjoying life was just as cool.
"Is it over?"
"Not quite."
"How about now?"
"Nope."
"Now?"
"Still no."
Yang huffed, and adjusted herself on Jaune's shoulder, snuggling deeper and getting comfier as she pressed up against the soft hoodie. What was once a noodle had actually gotten a little bit…meatier, if what she could feel was any indication. Shame. She might not be able to use Noodle Boy anymore. At least Vomit Boy counted still.
"You still owe me for those boots you barfed on." Yang grumbled, and she felt Jaune shrug.
"You never brought it up so I thought we were cool about it." Jaune replied, and Yang's fist curled up, ready to unleash divine justice. "But we can head down to Vale tomorrow and I can get you some new ones if you want? Arc's promise."
"Arc's promise huh?" Yang mused, before shrugging. "Sure. I could use some new boots. These ones are…uh…well a little scorched from when I've been a little overzealous with my semblance."
"Really?" Jaune asked. "I don't think I've seen you use your Semblance in Goodwitch's class. When have you had to use it?"
"Uhm…places?" Yang mumbled, wincing as she remembered the club she'd trashed. Yeah…that one was on her record now.
"I'll pretend to believe that." Jaune snorted, before tapping her shoulder. "It's over by the way. The scene, not the movie I mean."
"About time." Yang huffed, rolling her eyes as she leaned back onto the sofa and turned to face the television. "Seriously, who wants to see a shark eating someone for like five…"
Yang trailed off as something surged out of the water of the ocean, jaws wide open and displaying serrated teeth and torn flesh in its open maw.
"You rat bastard!" Yang howled, slamming her face into Jaune's shoulder as she punched him in the stomach three times for his transgression. "Not cool!"
"I t-thought it was over!" Jaune wheezed. "I swear!"
"I know your tricks, Arc!" Yang hissed as she buried herself as deep as she could in the warm, comfy confines of his dark hoodie. "I had to grow up with Taiyang 'Punmaster' Xiao-Long for a dad and Drunkle Qrow, this is a crappy prank they always pull!"
"I swear!"
"Liar!"
"Arc's promise!"
"You can shove that Arc's promise up your-!"
"What is all this ruckus? Arc? Y-Yang?!"
"Weiss Cream!" Yang exclaimed cheerfully, turning to face the resident Ice Queen of Beacon, dressed in her white cotton nightie and illuminated by the glow of the corridor's lights. Thankfully Yang couldn't see the television, even if she could still hear it. "How are you? What are you doing up so late?"
"What are you doing up so late?" Weiss retorted. "This is a school night Xiao-Long, you should be asleep. You too Arc."
"Watchin' scary movies." Yang replied easily. "What are you doing Weiss Cream? Prowling Beacon's empty halls for the souls of the innocent to devour? Or is it virgins you need to sustain your eternal youth?"
"If I wanted to devour a virgin's soul I'd smother you in your sleep to do it." Weiss hit back, and Yang grinned wildly at the snappy comeback. The Ice Queen was starting to melt, even if it had taken the better part of a year for it to happen. "If you really must know, I was going to get a drink when I heard you two shouting at one another. For the sake of everyone else, be quiet. Look at poor Pyrrha!"
Yang turned, making sure her hair hid her view of the television, splashing water and people talking about how mangled the body was echoing in her ears. She peered over Jaune's shoulder and found Pyrrha still sound asleep, a trail of drool dripping from her open mouth.
"Oh now!" Yang gasped fakely. "We made Pyrrha fall asleep by being loud and noisy and causing a ruckus! Don't arrest us Weiss Cream! Hear, have Vomit Boy's virgin soul as a bribe!"
"Hey!" Jaune exclaimed, echoed by a resounding 'Ew' from Weiss, who glared at her as Yang 'tried' wrestling Jaune off of the sofa.
"Whatever." Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Just shut up and watch whatever you're watching."
Weiss shut the door quietly behind her, and Yang let Jaune go, the not-so noodley boy glaring at her afterwards.
"For the record, I'm totally telling you it's over when its not now." Jaune warned. "Intentionally this time."
"Right." Yang drawled, daring to glance at the screen. It was a boring dinner scene. "Whelp this is boring."
Before Jaune could react she darted across the room and ejected the DVD. Jaune protested, but was either too lazy or too unbothered to get off the sofa to stop her.
"Let me…ahah!" Yang crowed, picking out a box from a stack of horror movies she'd rented. "This is a classic. It's about a couple that move into a house and it's haunted and stuff. It's a slow burn, but the ending's cool. Shame all the sequels just made it seem lame and tacky."
Yang slid the DVD into the player and plopped back down on the sofa, making sure there were a few good inches between her and Vomit Boy now she didn't need to use him as a not-so-effective shield. He was unusually quiet, and she blinked when she turned over and saw him looking as pale as Weiss.
"D-Did you say haunted?" Jaune asked, voice wavering slightly. "Like a ghost?"
"Yeah." Yang replied, shifting a little before patting his shoulder. "It's just a movie though right? Ghosts aren't real, so you'll be fine VB."
"Y-Yeah." Jaune laughed, one that was painfully fake. "Ghosts aren't real. Why wouldn't they be? It's not like we live in a world with monsters of darkness that want to kill us all right?"
Yang blinked, before cocking her head thoughtfully as the movie title played. When you put it like that…
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Patch was an island, and not a very big one at that. It was a ten minute drive from the cabin in the woods they called home to the sleepy seaside town that called itself Patch and was the big reason the island was on any map, alongside Signal Academy of course.
Yang turned to her dad, who was humming a simple tune as he drove through the streets towards the sea. Uncle Qrow had been forced to sit in the back for his usual drunk shenanigans that got him in trouble with dad, so Yang had got to sit in the front for once.
"What's are you humming?" Yang asked, and her father smiled.
"Just a song." He replied, eyes falling to mirror in between them, where a rose scented car thing bobbed. "Summer likes…liked it. It was her favourite. In fact, she took me dancing to it once."
"Really?" Yang asked curiously, eager to know more about the woman she had eagerly called mom, the woman who had left their lives as suddenly as she had appeared.
"Yup." Taiyang answered, popping the 'p' in the weird way he did and making her giggle a little. "In fact it was the Beacon dance. Rav-Someone I asked out had turned me down pretty harshly, so I was pretty bummed out. Summer was a little awkward at stuff like that, not really liking the thought of doing anything to stand out. Heh, her biggest fear was being the centre of attention. But she saw I looked sad and decided to risk embarrassment to cheer me up and asked me to dance when her favourite song started playing. It was like the stars had lined up and…it was a shame I didn't realise that at the time."
"Cool." Yang said, trying to imagine it in her mind. It was like something out of those Schneesney movies she liked to watch.
"Yeah it was." Taiyang smiled, before nodding ahead. "Help me find a space to park this old rust bucket will ya?"
They parked and Yang entertained Ruby whilst Taiyang and Qrow grabbed the beach stuff from the car. Afterwards they wandered down to the busy beach, clambering over the sandy dunes and avoiding prickly green things growing out of them.
Whilst Qrow slept off his hangover under the guise of sunbathing and Taiyang helped Ruby build a sandcastle, Yang splashed around in the sea, trying to peer in the water and searching for pearls she'd use to make a little pearl necklace for Ruby.
She jumped when she felt seaweed brush against her leg. She yelped when she stood on shell that thankfully didn't cut her. She was puzzled when she stepped on a half buried can of Uncle Qrow's 'Crappy but still Special Juice'.
She wandered deeper and deeper, thinking about what she would actually do with any pearl or pearls she managed to find. Some people were looking at her, but with the look of concerned parents wondering why a kid was swimming out so deep rather than creeps. It was kind of them to worry, but Yang could swim and decided to show them that, kicking forward and cutting through the incoming wave that messed up her hair and made it all wet and soggy.
She surfaced and spluttered for breath, but she was still afloat and she turned to grin cockily at the parents she'd seen. But they weren't there. They'd scooped their children in their arms and were hurrying towards the shore. She could see her dad rushing towards the water, Uncle Qrow with a confused Ruby and waving his arms and yelling. There was a siren ringing loudly, and Yang turned around to face the open ocean, wondering if it was one of those tsunami things she'd seen in the documentaries her dad liked to watch late at night.
Something caught her attention as she turned, something in the water. It was grey and looked sharp, kicking the murky water around it and causing a white froth to bubble in its wake. It was heading towards her.
She didn't know what it was exactly, but her body acted on instinct and moved to swim away. Was it a kraken? Or was it some other horror from the dark depths of the ocean?
Her eyes stung from the seawater as she swam as fast as she could, her lungs burning and legs and arms swinging wildly. She turned, feeling safer in the shallower waters. Surely the kraken would just get stuck on the sand if it was so big?
She saw grey skin emerging from the gloom, mouth open and displaying a concentric circle of sharp, serrated teeth. Its maw was large, looming and filled with a seemingly endless pitch black Yang realised was going to engulf her entirely.
The thing that terrified her was the pitch black eyes that stared right back into her own, utterly soulless and without remorse. Was this what it was like to fight Grimm? Was this what Summer had seen in her final moments?
Had she been scared too?
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"Sonofa!" Yang mumbled, groaning as she woke up tense and uncomfortably warm. Stupid nightmare, stupid horror movie, stupid Jaune, stupid memories.
If Yang's dad hadn't been a Huntsman she probably would've been ripped in half by the overgrown fish that had tried eating her when she was kid. As it was, her dad had managed to leap in the water and literally beat the shark to death in front of her, his Aura protecting it from the thrashing aquatic predator. She hadn't been physically scarred, but mentally?
To this day she avoided open, natural bodies of water. Swimming pools were fine. Shallow rivers were tolerable. Lakes were a no-no and anything related to the big blue sea was a big hell no.
She also didn't like watching a certain shark movie. A shark movie Pyrrha had chosen before she nodded off as the opening credits played. Stupid Invincible Girl.
Yang sighed and hopped out of bed as quietly as possible. It was still dark out and she didn't want to wake her teammates, least of all Ruby. The attack had had its effects on Ruby too, but at least she had been young enough at the time she could barely remember. Gods forbid if it had been Ruby that damn stupid fish had tried eating then Yang would've slaughtered everything living in the open seas.
Tuna included.
She saw Blake frown in her sleep and her partner rolled over. Yang paused stealing Weiss' slippers she was shamelessly stealing, fancying a walk to cool off. It looked like Blake was having a nightmare, and Yang pondered on whether to wake her up before shrugging and leaving Blake be. Knowing her partner she'd be more likely to get a Gambol Shroud in the back rather than a thank you.
Since it was the midnight hour or whatever it was called she felt comfortable in her pyjama shorts and tank top, so once she'd slipped on Weiss' slippers she unlocked the door to Team RWBY's room and entered the hallway outside.
"Yang?"
"Jaune?!" Yang whispered back, eyes wide as she saw Vomit Boy leaving his room as she shut the door to hers shut. "Jinx!"
"It doesn't work like-"
"Ap-ba-ba-ba!" Yang interrupted, pointing at him sternly. "You know the rules."
Jaune sighed, and pouted at her. She thought about showing mercy, before she decided to enjoy the silence for a bit longer.
"Let's head to the roof." Yang said, grabbing Jaune's wrist and dragging him along behind her. "I'm bored and for now you're entertainment until I feel sleepy."
Jaune followed along silently, though it was clear that was only because he was a strict adherent to the unbreakable rules of jinx. Well they could be broken, but only by douchebags like Cardin Winchester and drunks like Drunkle Qrow.
"Jaune, Jaune, Jaune." Yang said when they arrived at the roof. The air was cool but not chilly, though she still wrapped her arms around her for a little extra warmth, regret at her chosen clothing rising.
"Thanks oh merciful Yang." Jaune intoned dryly, shifting from one foot to the other before giving her look of curiosity and mild concern. "What's up? From what I know you sleep like a rock and snore like a chainsaw."
"Lies and slander." Yang replied, silently plotting ways to get revenge on Ruby, who absolutely was the person who'd spread such lies about her. Yang may be a bit of a tomboy, but she did not snore. "I had a bad dream and knew I couldn't get back to sleep immeadiately so I went for a walk to clear my mind. Your turn."
"Same." Jaune answered, shrugging helplessly when she gave him a sceptical look. "I'm being honest! Can…Can you promise not to talk to other people about this? Not even Ruby?"
"Sure." Yang said cautiosuyl. She'd keep her word so long it wasn't something super serious, like 'I accidentally killed someone and need to hide the body' or 'I intentionally killed someone and need to hide the body'.
He looked over both his shoulders before heading to the edge of the roof and peering down, likely to try and see if there were any open windows. Once confident enough the area was secure he turned around to face her with the most serious expression she'd ever seen.
"Ghosts are real." Jaune said, the genuine seriousness in his tone and on his face making giggle explosively. "I'm being serious!"
"T-That's why I'm laughing!" Yang giggled, coughing a few times before composing herself. "Oh Vomit Boy, I should've known you were a believer."
"I had an experience!" Jaune hissed. "Some ghost tried getting me for whatever reason until my big sis saved me."
"And how did she do that?" Yang asked, wiping a tear from her eye.
"She gave me a loved ones kiss." Jaune answered, making her blink. That was new. "Ghosts are ghosts because they're bitter and stuff, so the kiss of a loved one who isn't being haunted too can stop it getting you. It worked for me because after Saph did it I wasn't haunted again."
"Right…" Yang drawled, crossing her arms over her chest. "So you're scared of ghosts and had a nightmare or did you have another 'encounter' with the souls of bitter old guys and gals?"
"Nightmare." Jaune sighed, clearly a little down she was so sceptical of his story. Yang felt a little bad but couldn't help it. At some point people needed to grow up from certain things. The tooth fairy, the Schneester Bunny and Santa Claus to name a few. Ghosts and things like that were amongst the tooth fairy and Schneester Bunny. They just didn't exist and only did because people exploited them for crappy 'documentaries' or exorcist movies. "It was that stupid movie we watched earlier, so you don't need to be worried about being haunted."
"Same." Yang admitted, ignoring the latter half of what he'd said on account of the fact it sounded like he was comforting himself more than her. "Though in my case it was the shark movie."
"I didn't want to say anything but…" Jaune scratched the back of his head. "I've never seen you act like that."
"Girlish?" Yang frowned.
"Scared." Jaune clarified, and she blinked. "You were genuinely scared back there Yang. If…If you're not comfortable talking to me about it then fine, but if you want to get anything off your chest then I'm here."
"Curious." Yang began, pausing for a moment as she thought of something to say. "Most guys tend to want my shirt and bra off my chest rather than my feelings."
"Uh…" Jaune mumbled, eyes bulging and looking more embarrassed than she was, an admirable achievement considering what she just said.
'Foot, meet mouth.' Yang thought, before shaking her head.
"I'll take you up on that offer, Vomit Boy." Yang replied after a few more moments, voice soft as she dredged up the memory she'd prefer to forget, just like the time she'd nearly gotten herself and Ruby killed by Grimm. "When…When I was younger my dad and my uncle took me and Ruby to the beach. I don't know if Ruby's told you this, but we lived on Patch, a small island near Vale. It's easy to get to the beach and kinda the only real way Patch makes money, being a touristy place. Well a few years back when we went something was going one with the water currents. It was either too hot or too cold but basically it was like our typically milder water was the Vacuoan sea."
Yang paused for a minute, glancing up at Vomit Boy and surprised to see him watching her intently, clearly listening. Most of the guys she had dated in the past had the attention span of a goldfish unless it came to the thought of them getting some, so it was odd Vomit Boy of all people would…that wasn't surpring actually. It was Vomit Boy afterall.
"Yang?" He asked, worry clear in his voice. "Are you okay?"
"Uh…Yeah." Yang coughed, blushing upon the realisation she'd been staring at Jaune without saying anything for a few moments. "Where was I? Right, the water. Basically the sea was warmer and so some things that aren't typically around came to visit. One of them being sharks. One…One of them nearly g-got me, but my dad saved me and beat it to death in front of me. I haven't really been good around any of that stuff since."
"I'm sorry." Jaune said, and she scoffed before punching his shoulder gently, genuinely so this time.
"It's not your fault was it." She sighed, looking up and letting her hair fall back as she scared at the sky, the broken moon shining overhead. "It's getting late. We should get some sleep otherwise Goodwitch'll maul us tomorrow."
"You go ahead." Jaune said. "I think I need a few more minutes to get sleepy or whatever."
"It really bothers you huh?" Yang wondered aloud, and Jaune smiled sadly.
"I know it seems childish." He admitted, and from the tone of his voice she could tell it was something he was used to saying about this particular topic. Was this something he'd done before? Opened up to a friend about one of his fears only to be met with scepticism, doubt and mockery? She felt a little twist of guilt in her stomach. "But I know what I saw, what was happening, even though I was just a kid."
"I believe you." Yang said, and the sad look on his face only told her he'd seen through the lie. The twist of guilt grew a little stronger. "C'mere."
"Wha-huh?!" Jaune yelped as she grabbed his face gently and tilted his head downwards before pressing her lips against his cheek.
"The kiss of a loved one right?" She said, thankful the darkness hid how red her face was. "You'll be safe from any ghosts now, so get some rest."
"Huh?" Jaune asked dumbly, eyes wide and face slack with shock. Yang rolled her eyes.
"Come on Lover Boy." She teased, dragging him along behind her. "Let's get you to bed so Goodwitch doesn't kill you tomorrow.
"Huh?"
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"Jaune?"
"Saph!" Jaune gasped, her younger brother throwing off his bedsheets and racing towards her like a little blond missile. She gasped a little as he slammed into her, arms wrapping around her waist and eyes shining as he looked up at her. "Help! There's a ghost and it wants to eat me or something!"
Guilt was bitterly poisonous thing that overwhelmed her in that moment. Jaune, cute little tyke that he was, could occasionally have his moments of brattiness everyone was guilty of. Saphron had gotten a little too overzealous after he'd gotten her in trouble with their parents for sneaking out to see Terra, though in his defense he didn't do it on purpose and was too young to realise the potential implications of what she'd done.
Saphron on the other hand had no such excuse. She should've known Jaune was too young for the prank she'd set up, involving some of her friends who she was starting to doubt she should be friends with after seeing the utter terror on Jaune's little face.
She leaned down and kissed his cheek, and he blinked up at her before rubbing his face.
"What was that for?" Jaune asked innocently, more confused than terrified. Which was good. Except Saphron was just as confused and he was asking her questions like a good little brother.
She'd been thinking something like true love's kiss, but beyond her own personal preferences the fact they were related made that concept icky beyond belief.
"Uh…loved one's kiss?" Saphron thought aloud. "If someone who loves you kisses you and isn't haunted by a ghost then you are exempt from hauntings. Your welcome."
"Really?!" Jaune gasped, eyes widening with hope rather than fear shining in the little blue orbs. Saphron nodded, and he held her all the more tighter. "Thanks sis!"
"No problem little bro." Saphron smiled, ruffling his soft hair a little before guiding him towards his bed. "Now get some sleep before Mom beats us both up."