Beacon Academy. Jaune was just chilling out with his team and RWBY out on the campus quad. Nora was regaling them with a story about her latest dream. Weiss was trying to study, while Blake read a book. The whole time, Nora's exploits got more and more ridiculous… Which was just how Jaune liked it.
"So there I was, fighting the mighty Grimm Kraken made of oatmeal raisin cookies!"
Ruby gasped.
"That's horrifying! Oatmeal raisin is the Devil's cookie of choice!"
Nora nodded sagely, shaking her fist.
"EXACTLY! And so when it lifted its huge tapioca arms-!"
The roar of a powerful, Dust-enhanced combustion engine shattered the afternoon air. A large silver motorcycle drove up onto the quad, ridden by a blond bearded man carrying a giant rail gun sword on his back. Jaune got up first in shocked recognition.
"DAD?!" Jaune cried.
The seven foot and some change man slid off his mighty steel steed, and laughed. He hugged Jaune tightly, his long brown duster waving in the wind over his black and white armor.
"HEY SON!"
"Dad?!" Yang and Ruby gasped.
"That's his Dad?!" Weiss gaped in disbelief.
Blake stared in shock. Nora whooped.
"HEY DAD!"
"HEY JAUNE"S FRIEND!" Jaune's Dad greeted. "AND JAUNE'S OTHER FRIENDS!"
"Oh-Oh my," Pyrrha mumbled. Weiss blushed a bit, looking back and forth between Jaune and his father.
"Haha! How's it going? Your mother was worried!" Jaune's father said cheerfully.
"Er, I'm fine. Everything's fine. How-How are you?"
Jaune's Dad chuckled and waved his hand.
"I'm great! Killed a dozen Grimm on my way here!"
Yang got right up in front of Jaune and his father, her eyes wide in awe and amazement.
"You drove a Wayland 2005 through the Emerald Forest all the way here? Killing Grimm?!"
"Of course I did! I'm Nick Arc! That's how I roll!!" He laughed.
"With the twin Acerbo Dust turbos?!" Ruby gasped.
"Absolutely!" Jaune's Dad said, giving her a thumbs up. Ruby's eyes sparkled. Yang laughed.
"Your dad is fucking awesome, VB!"
"So fucking awesome!" Ruby repeated. Yang immediately glared at her.
"Language Ruby!"
"You said it first-"
"NO!" Yang growled. Ruby pouted then turned away to ogle the bike.
"Hmph!"
"Hahaha!" Jaune's Dad patted Yang on her shoulder. "It's my Semblance to be awesome, Jaune's Girlfriend!"
Pyrrha, stunned until now, was broken out of it by this declaration.
"Wait, she's not-!"
Jaune also tried to interject.
"She isn't-!"
Weiss also interjected, though for different reasons.
"Wh-Why not take a Bullhead?!"
Blake stared at Weiss as though to ask "Really?"
Nick Arc laughed boisterously.
"Bullheads are for sissies! ... Plus I get airsick. ALSO! I had to deliver my boy's birthday present, didn't I?"
Weiss stared in further shock.
"I... Wha?!"
"But that's not for another month!" Pyrrha protested. Nick chuckled and winked at his son.
"Well it's also supposed to be a bribe." He winced, and Jaune scowled at him. Nick sighed. "Oh. Shoot. Your mother told me not to say that."
"Dad," Jaune said, as firm and hard as steel, "I am NOT going back to medical school."
"Medical school?!" Weiss gasped.
"Yeah," Ruby said cheerfully, "He passed the entrance exams but he ran away to become a Huntsman!"
"... So he's an idiot," Weiss sighed.
"Huh," Blake murmured, "Why didn't I know about that?"
"Because you're a self absorbed drama queen," Weiss muttered.
"You didn't know either!" Blake accused, "Typical Schnee arrogance!"
"Typical Belladonna self-absorption!"
While Blake and Weiss argued furiously, Nick gave his son an exasperated (but still rather proud) grin.
"You're just as stubborn as me and your mom, you know. Still..." He gestured to the motorcycle. "Eh? Ehhhh?"
"Wha... Dad!" Jaune gasped. "You can't give me your motorcycle!"
"What? I got a new one!" Nick affectionately patted the handlebars. "Tarasque here is all yours!"
"But it's... I mean, you've had her since I was a baby!"
Nick nodded firmly.
"True. I blew up my old one getting that Deathstalker for your birth celebration! But now son... She's yours."
Jaune stared at the motorcycle, clearly tempted. He could see how Ruby glowed around it, how Yang was nodding furiously.
However…
"If I quit and go back to medical school, right?" Jaune asked.
Nick coughed, and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Errr..."
At this, Ruby frowned. Yang followed, staring at Jaune.
Jaune shook his head.
"No deal."
Nick drooped and sighed.
"Aw son... Yeah. That's unfair of me." He tossed Jaune the keys. "Take her anyway. It'll make your career as a Huntsman go better, believe you me. Also," He nodded over at Yang, "Your girlfriend has good taste and would probably like a ride."
Jaune sighed.
"She's not my-"
Yang: grabbed Jaune's arm "Of course darling~! Let's go for a ride right now!"
Pyrrha
twitched. Nora and Ren slowly scooted away from her.
Nick laughed. He hugged Jaune cheerfully.
"HAHA! Great! Try not to break her too quickly, huh?"
"Dad, I just got the bike. I'm not gonna break her immediately."
Nick blinked.
"The bike-? Oh! Oh, yes. The bike. That's totally what I meant. ANYWAY! I'm gonna go get a room in town! Don't mind me, I will NOT be cramping your style! Though I will insist we do father-son bonding by killing Grimm tomorrow!"
Nora dashed up to Nick, her eyes sparkling.
"Can you adopt me?"
Nick hummed.
"You like killing Grimm?'
"HELL YEAH!"
Nick gave Nora a bear hug.
"WELCOME TO THE FAMILY, SWEETIE!"
"YAY!" Nora looked over at Ren with a beam. "NOW I HAVE SOMEONE TO GIVE ME AWAY AT OUR WEDDING, RENNY!"
Ren blinked. Pyrrha continued to twitch a bit.
Jaune looked scandalized.
"DAD!"
Nick shrugged at his son.
"What? Your mom is getting Empty Nest Syndrome! COME ON, NEW DAUGHTER!"
"YAY!"
"NO ADOPTIONS WITHOUT MOM!" Jaune shouted.
Nick pouted, as did Nora.
"All right… I'll go get some ice cream then," Nick sighed, then brightened. "I'll get ice cream for everyone!"
"YAY! ICE CREAM!" Nora cheered.
Jaune sighed.
"You know, your Dad is kind of weird, but cool," Ruby said.
"Do not encourage him," Jaune sighed.
While Nick headed off, Yang and Jaune were left to admire the Wayland 2005. Ruby was already checking the stats on her Scroll, grinning happily. Blake and Weiss continued to argue, while Pyrrha shyly examined it from afar. Nora happily babbled about ice cream to Ren.
Yang rubbed her hands almost greedily.
"Oh man, I've wanted to ride a Wayland since before signal! How come you never mentioned your dad had one?!"
Jaune sighed.
"Well, one, it's my Dad. He's… A bit much. Two? Why would I? Waylands are great but they've got nothing on the Fenrir models."
Yang snorted derisively.
"Please! Fenrir's are for dads with mid-life crisis going on. I should know, my dad bought one."
"That's true," Ruby admitted.
Jaune scoffed.
"Mid-life crisis? Fenrirs are rugged, damn near unbreakable and crush every reliability score on the market!"
Yang shook her head.
"Fenrirs are rugged because they're slow! They're only so tough 'cause the manufacturers know the Grimm will catch you!"
Jaune nodded sagely, rubbing the console of the Wayland.
"Exactly! A good Fenrir will pulp any grimm dumb enough to get in between you and your destination! I've seen my Dad drive his straight through a Leviathan gullet without a scratch! While Waylands are great, compared to Fenrirs, they're made of paper!"
"So your dad is going through a midlife crisis too, Jaune?" Ruby asked.
"No, he's always been like that," Jaune sighed.
"You mean
amazing?" Yang demanded. "And hey! The slowest Wayland is at least half again faster than the fastest Fenrir, I won't need to drive through the Grimm because I'm already a speck in the distance!"
Jaune scoffed.
"Just like your savings! New Waylands are way overpriced for what they offer. They've become way too pricey!" He took hold of the handlebars. "I'd better get her to the school garage. No telling how hard Dad rode her here."
"I'll go with you," Yang said, taking the other side of the motorcycle, "Besides, you clearly don't know what you're talking about!"
"I absolutely do!" Jaune insisted.
Yang leaned over the other side of the bike, glaring in irritation.
"What model of Fenrir did your dad get?!"
"Um…" He checked his Scroll.
"A Loup 455!"
Yang scoffed.
"HA! A Loup 455 is overpriced!"
"Not when you do the custom mods yourself…"
The two walked off arguing on their favored motorcycle, Jaune pushing the Wayland between them. The rest of teams look on with a mix of frustration, confusion, and mirth.
"I-I'd be happy to ride a motorcycle with Jaune," Pyrrha muttered.
"It doesn't make him even the least bit more attractive," Weiss muttered in irritation.
"I wanted to help," Ruby pouted, "But I think they're in their own little world. Hmph. I know more about it than Yang does…"
Nora, fresh off her ice cream rant, hummed thoughtfully.
"Soooo, do you think they're gonna fight or fu-?"
"Nora!" Ren scolded her.
"Whaaat? We're all thinking it!"
"No we were not!" Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha all denied very loudly.
Blake smirked.
"Well, one way or another, we know someone's getting a ride very soon."
"BLAKE!" The teams screeched in unison at her. Save for Ren, he just sighed.
"See? She knows what's up!" Nora said cheerfully.
- - -
A fully expanded and edited version of a short I wrote. Along with a bit written by
@Seth ex makina for Dragonslayer Week 2024. What do you think?