Chapter Text
It was a single picture, sent to his Scroll from a number he recognized, albeit had never saved. There was no text accompanying it, no explanation given, though none was particularly needed. A picture painted a thousand words or more, and it was a horrifying painting indeed. Jaune sighed for what felt like the hundredth time, leaning back into his chair and shutting his eyes, careful to not tip over the various cans of beer, some only half-empty, strewn haphazardly across his desk and the floor. How could it all come to this?
She had told him that she would be out for the day, off to some Signal Academy preparatory tournament. She was supposed to deliver the keynote address on the final day of the tournament, the Mistralian prize-fighter that was known to every young boy and girl across the Four Kingdoms. Well, Jaune mused bitterly, almost every. He certainly hadn't known about her two years ago, when they had first met in the Forever Fall Forest. He hadn't known much of anything, really. Simply a young man equipped with a hand-me-down sword and shield and dreams bigger than anything he had ever experienced. They were set to practice together on the rooftops that evening, a pattern that had continued uninterrupted for years, even when Jaune's sword and shield skills were more comfortable and fluid than he had ever thought possible.
The years had been kind, all things considered. 20 years old and in his third year of Beacon, the Jaune of yesteryear wouldn't have expected anything like what he had now. Respect among his peers, a solid middle of the road standing in the rankings, close friends that he would, and nearly had, given everything for, a team he was proud to lead... and a loving, doting girlfriend in the same Pyrrha Nikos that he had been staring at a photo of for the last hour. The same Pyrrha Nikos that was pictured on his Scroll, wearing his now-torn Pumpkin Pete hoodie, sitting atop Weiss Schnee's dick. Jaune stifled yet another sigh, grasping blindly with one hand to wrap around a can, shaking it in disappointment as he realized it was empty. Another was picked from the bunch, over two dozen to choose from, until he found one that was more full than not. The young man brought the drink to his lips, tipping it and his head back as he drank deeply, his blonde locks shaking as he drained the beer, before simply squeezing.
The sound was as loud as thunder in the relative silence of his room, upperclassmen being given their own pseudo-apartments as opposed to group dorms. With a wince, he opened his fist, staring dumbly at the twisted hunk of aluminum that he had reduced the beer can to. Jaune shook his head ruefully, tossing it in a lazy arc to land in the trash can before turning in his chair, shambling drunkenly into bed. The blonde closed his eyes, and for the first time in a long time, he simply wept.
It was hours before he had been able to fall asleep, and if it weren't for the harsh staccato rhythm of someone tapping on his door he would have stayed asleep longer. Groaning as he opened his eyes, Jaune stood up slowly, almost immediately regretting it as a wave of dull pain spread from his temples to his whole body. How much had he drank last night?
"I'm coming!" He announced, blearily reaching out for a trash can as he heaved as quietly as he could. After a few moments and nothing coming out, the young Huntsmen just sighed again and put the bin away, a shambling gait taking him the ten steps from his bedroom to the front door. No food in his stomach, a pounding headache, and now a rather insistent guest showing up at 8 in the morning. It was shaping up to be a rather horrid Sunday.
As he finally managed to open the door, leaning one shoulder heavily against the wall to keep himself upright, he could feel his aches and pains begin to recede, if just slightly. No matter how bad things were or what horrid circumstances befell him, Jaune knew that if anybody could cheer him up, it'd be his first friend.
"Hey, uh, morning Rubes. What's going on?" He rasped out, already hating the way his voice sounded so weak. The young Huntress on the other side of the door took in his visage, rushing in without any words to push him back and into the nearest seat.
"Have you been drinking?" She yelled out, her rather high-pitched voice not doing the clearly hungover Arc any favors. Jaune winced, and she immediately recoiled, an apologetic look on her face. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! Let me get you a water!" She responded, not waiting for an answer as she zipped across one side of the small living room to the equally tiny kitchenette to grab a clean glass and open the tap for water. The apartments were nice for privacy purposes, but they certainly hadn't been made with material comforts as the top priority. Huntsmen were meant to be made of sterner stuff than that.
Even through the throbbing pain in his head and the growling in his stomach, Jaune found it in him to offer the young Huntress a smile, nodding silently in thanks as he took the full glass and drained it. "That is... so much better, Ruby, thank you." He managed to speak in a somewhat normal voice, the pain in his head receding just a little bit more. "So, what's going on Ruby?" He asked.
The red-haired huntress looked askance for a second, her gaze flitting from one area to the next, avoiding Jaune's eyes entirely. The blonde, for his part, simply waited, knowing that sometimes she would need some extra time to approach the more difficult topics. After nearly a full minute, she finally responded.
"It's Weiss..."
Jaune simply listened, sitting there as still as a statue for what felt like eons but was in reality closer to a full hour. At the end of her spirited rant, he could only do one thing. Jaune Arc simply grinned, feeling something dark and twisted and oh-so right in his heart for the first time in a very, very hectic 24 hours.
Just build-up here, next chapter is where the actual smutty revenge shenanigans occur!