Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY, I just love the setting and characters.

Jaune stood under the shower head, letting the scalding hot water run over him. He sighed in pleasure as the heat massaged his overworked muscles. As his body was soothed, his thoughts started to wander. Thank god for the locker room having nigh-unlimited hot water. I'm not sure that I would have survived this training schedule otherwise. Catching up to everyone else is hard work.

Jaune had become an almost constant presence in the training rooms since the breach. That horrible event had pounded in the stakes, and just how far he still needed to go in order to make a difference as a Hunter. When he wasn't in class, sleeping, or training with Pyrrha, he was down here, working on his fighting style, pushing his body to its limits to try and gain even the smallest advantage.

As he reached for the shower knob and turned off the stream of nirvana-inducing liquid, he heard his Scroll chime from the locker room, with the distinctive tone that meant it was from Yang. Well, he mused happily, not ALL the time. A silly grin found its way across his face as he considered his beautiful girlfriend. He wasn't sure what higher power he had found favor with to be lucky enough to date Yang, but Jaune was smart enough not to question it too closely.

The start of his relationship with Yang had been an incredibly unexpected event, to both Jaune and pretty much everyone else. During a break that his team had forced on him, he ran into Yang out on the town. They had ended up spending the day together, as both of them were trying to deal with what had happened before and during the breach. All of team RWBY had been noticeably shaken that they hadn't been able to stop the White Fang before they caused the damage, but Yang seemed to be distracted by something even beyond that. Jaune had been unexpectedly moved by talking to the normally irrepressible girl and had made it his mission to cheer her up, even taking the bullet and laughing at one of her puns. He considered the smile and kiss on the cheek that she had given him at the end of that day to be one of the most fulfilling accomplishments of his life so far. Every time that they met up after that drew them closer and closer together. Jaune found himself looking forward to meeting her every day, and just meeting her was like watching the sun rise with the happiness she brought to into his life. As he found himself deeper and deeper in love with the blond brawler, he was eternally grateful that he had made the effort during their chance meeting.

Things had moved surprisingly fast after that day, and now they were coming up on the one month anniversary of them starting to go out unofficially. Things had been going fantastic so far, and Yang had said that she was letting her dad know that they were dating today, which made it official as far as Jaune was concerned. Honestly, despite the pressure he felt to improve and the stakes involved, things seemed to be going very well.

Jaune should have known better than to even consider thinking that.

As he stepped out of the shower room, wearing only a towel as he made his way to his locker, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cool air, already looking forward to meeting up with his girlfriend and spending some time to just enjoy life. He reopened his eyes just in time to see the red Dust blade come to rest against his neck.

He froze as he tried to understand exactly what was happening. He was face to face with a Nevermore mask, and he could barely make out a pair of red eyes focusing on his own beyond the bone white covering. His eyes frantically glanced up and down, taking in the woman's black and red clothing and, more importantly, the sword in her hand as it rested against the side of his neck. Even more than that, though, her very presence exuded menace to a degree that Jaune had never experienced before in his life. Not even an irritated Glynda Goodwitch had managed to instill the same basic terror that this woman did naturally.

Jaune was too shocked to even jump in surprise, which was probably a good thing considering the situation. Jaune's mind raced as it tried to switch gears. Where the hell did she come from? Better yet, who is she? Her mask gave no answers as she remained silent, apparently taking his measure even as she casually threatened his life.

Still off-kilter, Jaune found his mouth opening even as he tried to stay very still. "Umm... Can I help you?" If he wasn't afraid of accidentally slicing himself open, he would have slapped himself in the face. Seriously? That's what I come up with? Mouth, you have to run these things by me before you speak them. Yang may find it amusing, but this is not the time!

The woman cocked her head, and it was difficult to tell behind the mask, but Jaune thought that she might have been grinning for just a second before she spoke, her voice only slightly muffled. "You are Jaune Arc, correct? The little boy with the audacity to date Yang Xiao Long?"

Now Jaune was truly lost. What did Yang have to do with any of this? In this situation, he didn't really have a choice but to respond, but his curiosity was pushing him despite the danger. "I... am, yes. Might I know who's asking?"

Whoever this woman was, she completely ignored the question to take a long look at him, her eyes roaming up and down his body without any visible shame. Jaune was suddenly very aware that he was not only completely defenseless, with his sword in the locker behind her, but his modesty was only protected by the towel that he was holding around his waist. She continued for what felt like an eternity to the boy, before she huffed and said, "Well, I suppose that I can't fault her taste in appearance at least."

She once again fell into silence as she apparently waited for his reaction. Jaune felt himself floundering as he tried to come up with something, finally settling on just, "Uh, thank you?"

Apparently that was the wrong answer as she suddenly shifted her blade, and Jaune could feel the point start to cut into the side of his neck. Although his instinctive use of Aura was keeping it from actually breaking his skin, he was under no illusions that it would hold if she actually made an effort. Her glare through the narrow eye slits in the mask was just as menacing. "Too bad it's attached to such a pathetic human being."

The sudden shift in tone took Jaune by surprise. "Wha..."

The woman took a step forward threateningly, and Jaune was forced back. He barely noticed that she managed to effortlessly keep the pressure on his neck despite the movement, as she continued to speak. "You think you're worth her time? You, someone who is barely even competent? Do you believe that you can actually help her? This mismatch is ridiculous. She's clearly humoring you because she pities you. Give it up, boy."

Jaune was struck speechless as his attacker effortlessly hammered every doubt that lurked in the back of his mind. He was weak, he was much less skilled than her, and he had nothing like the social skills that she wielded so easily. In the back of his head he had whispered all these things to himself, and imagined everyone else speaking them behind his back. Only Yang's radiant smile when they were together had let him shut out those voices, but here he was, being forced to confront them. Was this woman right? Would Yang be happier with someone else? Should he just step back?

The woman took his silence as acceptance as she nodded her head in apparent understanding. "I know, she's a wonderful girl. She makes you feel like you're important and on top of the world. But you're just not right for her. It's best if you give up now before you hurt her." Jaune heard those words, and they seemed to consume his world. Everything else he could accept as true, they were all things that he knew.

But that? That was the wrong thing to say.

Jaune straightened, his eyes filled with a fire that he barely knew that he could summon. Suddenly the sword at his throat didn't matter. The fact that this woman was the most menacing thing that he had ever faced didn't matter. Even the fact that she might be right was completely immaterial to him at this moment. His voice was so firm that he could barely believe that it was his own. "That won't happen. Ever. I would fall on my own sword before I would hurt her."

The woman under the mask, however, wasn't intimidated in the least. She leaned forward, her control over her sword flawless even as she tried to shake his newfound courage. "Do you think you can guarantee that? What do you believe that you can possibly do that would make such a fantasy possible?"

Jaune laughed in her face. It was a surprisingly bitter sound, and it was the first thing that took the woman aback. "Guarantee? There are no guarantees in this world. That was made abundantly clear to all of us when some crazy bastard blew a hole in the city wall and killed hundreds of innocent people despite our best efforts. What I can promise is that the first time she gets hurt will be after my sword falls from my cold, dead hand. Anything that even considers harming her will suffer immensely, no matter how powerful. I may not be strong enough to follow through on that at this very moment, but I will get there, and anyone who dares to threaten her will not get away with it. I can't protect the whole world, but I can certainly dedicate myself to protecting those I love." Inside his head, Jaune was almost as surprised as she appeared to be by this outburst. Where is this coming from? Has this really been in the back of my mind since the breach?

The swordswoman shifted her blade again, trying to reinforce the threat, but Jaune was unmoved. Her voice was still menacing as she refused to back down. "And so you're willing to die right here, right now, for her? You'll just disappear without achieving anything."

Jaune scowled at her mask, growing annoyed at such a stupid idea. "Like hell am I going to accept death that easily. I'm going to fight until my last breath no matter what, but prestige had nothing to do with it. Such a thing doesn't mean a damn after you're dead, and Yang has already lost enough people in her life." Jaune almost missed the flinch behind the woman's mask, but continued regardless. "Even if it seems like a complete mismatch, she cares for me, and protecting her also means protecting that which she cares about. Even if you don't approve, I won't go down easily." Jaune found himself taking in the situation and trying to find a way out. All he really had to work with was his towel, so if she went for him, he'd have to depend on his Aura to protect him. Maybe throw the towel up across her vision, go for the sword? No, she'd expect that. Try and grab the sheath maybe? That might work as a makeshift weapon until...

Suddenly the sword was gone, sliding gracefully back into its sheath. The woman spoke calmly, switching gears flawlessly. "Quite impressive, young man. I expected you to be less intimidated by my weapon as a Hunter-in-training, but you were certainly the first to show that level of spine. I underestimated your maturity."

Jaune suddenly found himself floundering again at the shift in tone. "I... what? The first?"

The woman laughed loudly as Jaune's composure deserted him. Jaune couldn't help but feel that there was something familiar about it. "Oh, that's adorable. I imagine that Yang finds flustering you to be hilarious."

Jaune knew she was right, but his train of thought was still a few seconds behind in the conversation. "Wait, you said the first. Yang mentioned that she's never had a relationship longer than a week or so. Did you do this to those guys too?"

Her posture was much more relaxed as she answered, despite staying in a combat-ready stance. She seemed to be so used to fighting that remaining prepared was practically a reflex. "Well, this or something similar. You were the first one to avoid wetting yourself from the outset, and you were almost impressive even after that."

Jaune felt kind of lost, but tried to respond, "Um... Thanks again, I guess? Who are you that she's so important to you? I mean, this is the kind of thing one would do for fam..." Jaune's eyes shot wide open as the pieces began to click into place. Yang's mother had disappeared years ago, and Yang had been searching for her since then. A mysterious woman who could teleport had saved Yang during the battle before the breach. And now a woman who was fiercely protective of Yang had appeared in the middle of the greatest Hunter school in the world to threaten her new boyfriend. Jaune could only stare as he realized that Raven Branwen was standing before him, and he had just threatened her.

Raven smiled at Jaune's epiphany, and there was no missing the mirth in her eyes even behind the mask. "Well now, you're not entirely oblivious, now are you?" Her hand pointedly stroked her sword's hilt. "It would probably be in your best interest if Yang weren't to find out about this little conversation. Otherwise there's no way to tell where one might wake up. I hear the mountains around Atlas are quite cold this time of year."

Jaune gulped at the not exactly subtle threat. This was the same kind of playful remark that Yang would drop, and Jaune could never determine whether she was serious. He guessed that now he knew where she got it from. But still, Raven was asking him to deceive his girlfriend. Maybe a compromise? "I won't bring it up myself. But if she asks, I won't lie to her."

Raven leaned forward, and without his spine hardened as it had been earlier, Jaune took a step back; but no more than that as he attempted to meet her gaze. She was looking for something, and apparently found it as she leaned back and hummed in approval. "My, my. You continue to surprise, don't you? That should be fine." Jaune sighed in relief. Her next words made him do a double take, though. "My daughter has found quite a catch, hasn't she?"

Jaune felt the blush start to rise in his cheeks at the compliment. It wasn't helped by the fact that he could have sworn that she had given him another once-over surreptitiously, lingering on his chest and towel. It was made even more difficult by the fact that now that she wasn't threatening his life, he could tell that unless she had some horrible disfigurement under that mask, she was at least as stunning as Yang was. Reminding himself of the situation he was in, Jaune attempted to rally himself. "I try, ma'am. Yang certainly deserves the best."

Raven waved her hand easily to dismiss the formality. "Oh, drop the ma'am. I'm not that much older than you." And now Jaune was starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable. "And don't worry about whether Yang really likes you or is just playing along. She's definitely into you, so you shouldn't worry too much about that."

She seemed very certain about that, and Jaune felt the need to point out, "How can you be so sure? I mean, you haven't really spoken to her in years..." He immediately regretted asking as he caught the look in her eyes.

He almost flinched as Raven raised one hand, bringing it up to caress Jaune's cheek. "Oh, that's easy. I just have the same taste in men as my daughter. Tell me Jaune, how do you feel about older women?"

Leaving that very dangerous question hanging in the air, Raven stepped back into a blur of red and black and disappeared. And just like that, Jaune was once again alone in the locker room.

Jaune attempted to corral his treacherous thoughts as he finished his trip to his locker. As he opened it and started to change back into his clothes, he muttered to himself, "Oh yeah, there's no way that's not coming back to bite me."

A/N: Well, there it is, my first foray into RWBY fanfiction. Please be gentle. This came about because one of my favorite Jaune ships is Jaune/Yang (I've yet to hear a good name for it, though). While I was talking about something similar with another author, I realized that Raven might have a few words for any of Yang's prospective partners. I borrowed the idea of a more hardened Jaune with a steel spine under certain circumstances from Coeur Al'Aran's excellent "One Good Turn Deserves Another" although these two stories are entirely unconnected. And that ending... well, I'm a shameless Jaune/Raven shipper due to "The Games We Play", so I couldn't end it any other way.

Feel free to write a review or drop me a line if you enjoyed the story.