Arcfall (Male Reader Insert)

Chapter Twenty Seven

  "Just hold on!" You said as you tailed Jaune, who was evading you at a brisk pace. He was quite adept at weaving through the crowds of Vale without slowing down. You did your best to keep up as you passed many shops selling a variety of things. Then you could catch him... and try and make him talk to you... which might make him hate you more. Okay, maybe it wasn't the best plan, but he was your brother. Jaune would be eighteen soon, and then he could get an apartment in Vale... and easily avoid your reach... even issue a restraining order... you sighed and shook your head free of such thoughts as you pushed through. You and Jaune were family. You were blood. He would understand with time. As the crowd thinned you managed to finally get an iron grip on Jaune's wrist, before pulling him off to the side.

  "What do you want (Y/N)?" Jaune asked as you kept your right hand pressed against the wall to the side of his head, keeping him from running.

  "Look can we just talk for a minute?" You calmly asked.

  "Fine," Jaune responded, his eyes downcast. He put up a tough act but you could see it. It hurt, speaking to you. You had hurt him. And you could tell it wasn't a pain that would be easily overcome.

  "Why are you in Vale Jaune," you said. It felt like a safe opener, not too intrusive.

  "Since when have you cared where I spend my time?" Jaune retorted. Okay, maybe it wasn't as safe as you thought.

  "Well you're my brother and if you're in town I'd like to know," you asked again, trying to keep a lid on your emotions.

  "I'm only passing through Vale, although once I have I'll be nearby," Jaune responded, the tension in his voice loosening.

  "Oh? Are you heading towards one of the cities to the south?" You asked.

  "Something like that," Jaune responded. You bit your lip as you racked your head for conversation starters.

  Think dammit, think! This might be your only chance to patch things up! You thought. "So... how is school going?" You asked, "Have you decided what you want to do with your life yet?" As soon as the words left your mouth, you regretted it. You visibly winced as Jaune cut his eyes at you before reversing the situation and grabbing you by the collar, switching your positions and pushing you up against the wall. You hadn't noticed until now, but Jaune had easily grown to be equal to you in height. You currently had boots which gave you an extra inch, but he cleared six foot one easily.

  "I wanted," Jaune spat, "to be a huntsman."

  "I-I'm sorry. But I couldn't let you walk into that life," you meekly opposed.

  "You couldn't stop me either," Jaune muttered as he walked off. You sighed before spinning and pushing your fist into the brick wall behind you, sending a spray of red rock towards the ground. No point in being sober after something like that.

  Your first thought was to go for the Vacuo Comfort in your liquor cabinet. You had never drunk enough to pass out, nor enough to throw up, but that would most likely change tonight. Your second thought was the Crown Royal, if anything would get you smashed it was probably that. Not to mention you had a bottle of the green apple variety entirely unopened. Of course when you threw open the door to your apartment you chose neither. Instead you went straight for the bottle of Mantle Scotch, threw off the cork, and tipped it back.

  "Good day, huh?" Joan asked from a dark corner of your apartment. Funny, you didn't recall giving her a key. You flipped the bird behind your head for her to see before finishing your drink, sputtering as you were finally overwhelmed by the burning sensation.