𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 15

Jaune told his team that a distant family member was dying and that he'd occasionally need to leave Beacon to spend time with them. It felt like a cruel lie to make, and yet it wasn't too far from the truth; it also wasn't like he was using it as an excuse to ditch them. They were sympathetic. Of course, they were. How could you not be when your teammate tells you something like that? They apologised for what he was going through as if it were their faults, promised to stand with him as if they could alter the course of destiny, and offered to be whatever he needed, whenever he needed it. Empty well wishes at the end of the day, but they made them hoping against all hope they could help him, and he loved them for it.

It was impossible to say Amber's situation didn't sap him of joy for a couple of days. He cruised through classes on autopilot, rarely interacting and bombing his spars. Miss Goodwitch never called him out on it, which made him think Ozpin had informed her of what was going on. Yang was the first outside the team to confront him, and he told her the same story, and asked her to spread it among her team so he wouldn't need to. Yang awkwardly gave him a one-armed hug and let him cuddle up to her a little. He could tell it made her feel awkward so he didn't take advantage of it very often.

The strangest development was when Mint – or Vanille, as he now knew she was – sensed his moodiness as well and took it upon herself to help by sitting on his lap and spoon-feeding him ice-cream. It was without warning and she didn't ask for permission, neither to mount him or stick a spoon in his mouth. The first he knew of it was when sugary sweetness slammed into his tongue.

Vanille watched him with mismatched eyes of pink and brown, and bounced in his lap in a way that would have led to a rather unfortunate physical reaction if he wasn't struck by how childish she was acting with him. He could almost see her in pigtails, small and adorable once more.

"Vani-mph!"

Another mouthful.

By now, she had to know he'd invaded her dreams. She shared a team with Cinder, who knew the truth and had probably told her teammate what was going on. He'd expected more of an angry reaction than this when she found out. Vanille knew he wasn't really her babysitter, and she knew they'd never known one another before this, so he wasn't sure why she kept up this strange act. Had she decided to adopt him anyway? Had she decided that the real past didn't matter, and she'd rather live the fake one where he intervened in her poor childhood and offered a friend? It made him think of Amber in the same situation, dreaming a life that was a lie, and his body slackened further.

Vanille's eyes widened. Faster than he could react, she picked up a whole scoop of ice-cream with her bare hand and smashed it into his mouth, forcing the whole scoop past his teeth and holding her hand over his lips. Jaune's eyes shot wide open and he choked, legs kicking and rattling her in his lap. Vanille held on like a bull rider at a rodeo, until Nora had to physically peel her off him. Ren helped.

"I'm sure Jaune appreciates the effort but you're kind of choking him," said Ren, as Vanille struggled angrily in Nora's arms. The girl went slack on hearing that, legs dangling cutely, lips pouting fiercely. A flash of a scroll snapped as Yang took a picture, a hand to her cheek and her eyes sparkling.

"Shouldn't you be a little more upset at a girl mounting your boyfriend?" asked Nora.

"Why?" asked Yang. "It's the cutest thing since Ruby first discovered makeup and painted her face like a clown. I still have the picture of that."

"YANG, NO!"

"Yang, yes," said Weiss, leaning over. "Let me—oh my goodness, she's so small!"

Jaune choked down ice-cream as Ruby choked down mortification. The sugary treat hit his stomach like a lead weight and he groaned. The brain freeze was probably on its way after that. "Vanille, please," he wheezed. "Ice-cream can't solve all problems."