- - -
Why did everything have to sound so loud right now?
Everything, from her breath, to the pounding of her heart, to the little creaks of the dorm hallway-It was all hideously loud in Yang Xiao-Long's ears. Yet at the same time, everything just felt... Muffled. Numb. Like a dream.
She rested a hand over her stomach. The same hand that held the test results from the nurse's office. She'd had Nurse Tsune run them five times before the racoon Faunus had shooed her out of the infirmary.
She had pamphlets the school handed out for this situation. Many, many pamphlets. All with bright, comforting titles and words that didn't ease the panic in her at all.
She again reached out for the door, her hand shaking... And pulled it back.
Yang took some deep breaths, focusing on meditation exercises she'd had drilled into her since she was a child.
After all, they should help with Jaune, given he'd done the drilling-
"Ugh, I-I can't even laugh at that," she mumbled. She sucked in another deep breath, filling her lungs. She reached out again, and gave the door a quick knock.
The door opened, and a familiar redhead stood there with a smile.
"Hey Yang! What can I do for you?" She asked, polite and kind as always.
Oh geez...
"I uh... I-I need to talk to Jaune, please," Yang managed. Pyrrha frowned.
"Sure. I'll get him... Are you okay?"
"I..." Yang shook her head helplessly, the words just not forming. "Just... I need to talk to him, okay?"
Pyrrha nodded slowly.
"He uh... Did anything bad happen on your 'date' a few weeks ago? He didn't really want to say anything."
Oh geez. What a loaded question.
Yang shook her head.
"It's... I just need to talk to him about it," she said, "Then... Then you'll know."
And probably hate me forever...
Pyrrha very slowly nodded, her smile a bit strained, before she turned and went into the dorm. A moment later, Jaune walked up. His eyes focused everywhere but directly at her, even as he gave her a friendly smile.
"Uh, h-hey Yang," he greeted her, still a bit nervous and awkward around her.
"H-Hey, Vom-I mean, Jaune," she managed. Shit, she was just as awkward. "Um, so... I need to talk to you. Alone."
Jaune blinked, and slowly nodded. His face was very serious.
"Sure."
She nodded. She turned and... And he reached out to hold her hand. She looked down with a start, then back at him. He flushed but shrugged.
"J-Just... Um... You're trembling."
"Y-Yeah," she managed. "Yeah..."
She led him outside, to a park bench on the quad. They sat down together in silence. Birds were chirping, and there was the faint buzz of Bullhead engines in the distance. None of this was as loud as her heartbeat in her ears.
Jaune sat with her, his hand still in hers.
"So," Jaune began, "Uh... Look. About our date... If... If you're... If I did anything wrong-"
"No!" Yang shouted. "N-No, you... You didn't."
It had been stupid and impulsive, so of course it was her idea. She dragged Jaune away from studying because nobody else was up for going out. She was bored, he was available, and they went out. They had... They had honestly had fun, once Jaune had had a few drinks and loosened up. They'd talked about their childhoods, readily bonding over having to wrangle their siblings. She'd snorted her cocktail out her nose over his description of chasing his sisters while in a dress, he'd laughed hysterically when she related the tale of Ruby's first experiments with cooking.
It was... Funny how easily they'd just gotten along. Made her wonder why she hadn't hung out with him more.
After that, things got blurry. She'd overindulged a little, especially when he said he'd been drinking wine since he was five. They'd woken up in a hotel room, in bed, with no clothes. He was a stammering mess, she was... A little numb.
Appearances aside, she wasn't a slut. She hadn't gone all the way with a boy before, and... Well, she couldn't remember most of it! What kind of bullshit was that?! So they were a little awkward around each other after that, because Jaune had admitted that he was a virgin too. Still, what bits she could recall made her think it wasn't... A terrible experience.
But there was Pyrrha to think about. And Weiss, she supposed.
She hadn't thought much about that night until the last few days. Jaune had walked on eggshells around her.
Wonder how he'll take this, she thought.
"So," she began, taking a few deep breaths, "Um... You know how... Huntresses get Contraceptive Implants, right? All of us?"
"Y-yeah," Jaune began quietly, though his face was still blank.
"It's about 90 percent effective," Yang said. She managed a little nervous laugh. "M-My dad said that before it became mandatory, half the class graduated late. M-My mom graduated pregnant with me, heheh..."
Jaune nodded again.
"Right," he said quietly.
Yang licked her lips, holding back her frustration. Come on damnit, figure it out! Don't make her spell it out!
"So uh... Yeah... 90 percent effective is... Is pretty good, but uh... N-Not always," she said.
She fell silent. Jaune stared. He blinked. He blinked again. His eyes went wide.
"Oh," he muttered quietly. "I-Oh. Ohhhhh..."
Yang slowly nodded and handed over the piece of paper. Jaune took it in the hand that wasn't holding hers.
"Ran it... Had her run it five times," she admitted.
Jaune slowly nodded.
"Y-Yeah, um... Yeah," he managed.
Yang kept staring at him. He looked... Serious. Very serious. Like he did when he was in battle, and wasn't just flailing around like an idiot.
She sucked in a deep breath.
"L-Look," Yang began, "You... There are programs for this. I-I mean... A bunch of super-fit superhuman teenagers? This-this happens a lot. I-I'd just take a different study program, and get back into shape after-after I-You don't have to-"
Jaune was on his knees in front of her, grasping both of her trembling hands in his. He looked up into her eyes. She found herself going red over the intensity of his expression.
"Yang. This is my kid too," He stated, "All right? I-I promise, I'll be the best husband and father ever."
"Wha-?"
"I will never abandon you, or our baby, Yang," Jaune said, "I-I want to be part of their lives. I-I mean, you don't have to marry me if you don't want, to but I-I will always be there for you both. An Arc never goes back on their word."
Yang flushed.
"You... You mean it?" She whispered.
"Completely," Jaune said firmly.
"We've had... We've had one date-"
"And you're gorgeous, you make me laugh, and-and you're an amazing fighter," Jaune said, blushing a bit, "And you were a great mom to Ruby! I... I know you'd be an amazing mom. I just want to try to be a decent dad... And husband, too. If you'll have me."
Yang laughed. She felt a massive weight lift from her shoulders. The pounding in her ears stopped being so loud.
"I... I mean, the marriage bit... You were probably going to have to do that anyway, so my dad and uncle don't kill you," she giggled, tears slipping from her eyes down her cheeks, "But... I-I'm glad..."
Jaune smiled warmly.
"If it helps? I... I always wanted to be a dad," he admitted.
"It does," she said, "You have no idea..."
Jaune sighed.
"Who else knows?"
"Just you, and the nurse," Yang said. Jaune nodded slowly.
"Good... You can protect me when we tell our teams."
Yang giggled.
"Please, let them kill off my breadwinner? You've gotta be... Kid-in-me~!"
Jaune laughed, hugging her tightly.
"There's the Yang I know," he murmured.
She hugged him tightly back, resting her chin on his shoulder.
Was she still scared? Absolutely. Completely terrified.
But with Jaune at her side? Somehow, it didn't feel quite as scary...
- - -
Bit random, I know, but I always wanted to explore a more realistic view of things in Remnant when it comes to teenaged pregnancy. Especially among Huntresses. Birth control is obvious, of course, to minimize the losses of your forces, but at the same time, it's still a death world where humanity is on the edge of extinction. So Huntresses who do get pregnant would probably get a lot of help to have their babies, but also be able to graduate later, once they recovered.
If Aura can let you recover from deadly injuries over time by healing, recovering from childbirth would be a LOT easier, and would allow Huntresses to get back into fighting shape much sooner.
I'm not making a political statement or anything, just proposing a means of exploring this idea in a different way. And adding more Dragonslayer to the world.