At the Arcade
If there was one thing Yang Xiao Long knew how to do, it was read people.
It wasn’t just her natural charisma or the way she effortlessly picked up on social cues—it was a survival skill. When you grew up taking care of a little sister, and when that little sister was Ruby, you learned to pick up on shifts in behavior.
And Jaune Arc?
Jaune Arc was way off.
Not in a huge, obvious way. He was still an idiot. An idiot who lately encouraged Ruby’s worst ideas. Jaune was still up for dumb bets, still had a ridiculous sense of humor, and still got lost in Beacon at least once a week as if he’s trying a new running gag.
But then he’d have days like this.
Days where he got quiet. Where his usual goofy grin faded into something blank. Where he still participated, but it was like he was doing it out of necessity rather than actually enjoying it.
And today, at the arcade, was one of those days.
Jaune sat in front of a pinball machine, hands on the buttons, watching the ball bounce around with zero expression.
Red was loudly obliterating a dance game. Nora was, somehow, winning three claw machines in a row.
Yang, meanwhile, was doing what she did best… making puns.
“Man, this place is electric!” she grinned, nudging Jaune’s shoulder. “You having arc-ade fun yet?”
Jaune didn’t even blink. “Hah. Good one.”
Yang stared. “That’s your reaction?”
“Mm.” He pressed the pinball button.
Yang squinted at him. “Okay, what gives? Normally, you at least pretend my puns are funny.”
Jaune shrugged. “Guess I’m just tired.”
That was bullshit.
Jaune had the stamina to spend hours doing dumb things with Ruby as of late, but the moment things quieted down, he got like this.
And the kicker? They were all 1000% sure that whatever happened to Jaune after the festival—the ‘secret training’ he claimed he did—was not complete nonsense.
Nora and Ren eventually wandered off, leaving Jaune and Yang alone.
Yang wasn’t against hanging out with Jaune, but the problem was… she had no idea how to talk to him like this.
She was cool with him—kind of. But she had never really put much thought into it.
Jaune wasn’t uncool, but he also wasn’t cool.
He just kind of existed in that weird middle ground between ‘friend’ and ‘guy who exists near her sister too often as of late’.
“So,” she tried, leaning against the nearest arcade machine. “You, uh, wanna play something?”
Jaune blinked at her like he had just realized she was still there. “Oh. Sure.”
He nodded.
That was it.
Yang scowled. “Dude. You gotta meet me halfway here.”
“Huh?”
“You’re giving me nothing! I’m being all, y’know, Yang-y and you’re just—” She made a vague, motionless gesture. “—not reacting at all!”
Jaune tilted his head. “I’m nodding. That’s a reaction.”
Yang groaned. “No, nodding is what Ren does! You’re supposed to, like—banter! Throw something back! Where’s the Jaune I can mess with?”
Jaune gave her a half-smile. “Maybe I got too cool.”
Yang rolled her eyes. “Pfft. No such thing.”
Jaune just shrugged.
Yang hated this.
But then—an idea.
A brilliant idea.
“Hey,” she said slowly, eyes narrowing. “Can you ride?”
Jaune blinked. “I mean sure?”
Yang smirked. “Wanna bet some Lien?”
Jaune’s expression shifted—just slightly. There was a flicker of interest, like he wasn’t sure what to expect. “Yeah.”
“Sure,” Yang grinned. “Let’s do this!”
There was an old, slightly battered motorcycle game in the back corner of the arcade.
It had two seats, two sets of handlebars, and was technically meant for racing.
Yang expected Jaune to fumble. To wipe out immediately. To suck.
Instead—
He was annoyingly good at it.
Jaune gripped the handlebars, tilted the machine at just the right angles, and took every turn like he had been doing this for years.
Yang stared at him. “Since when the hell can you ride?“
Jaune grinned, eyes focused on the screen. “Told you—I got too cool.”
Yang narrowed her eyes. “No way. Where’d you learn this?”
“Oh, y’know.” Jaune shrugged, casually dodging an in-game obstacle. “Vacuo.“
Yang nearly crashed. “EXCUSE ME?“
“Yeah, yeah,” Jaune continued, waving a hand dismissively. “Did some training out there. Rode bikes across the dunes. Lots of dust. Lots of wind. Lots of Grimm.”
Yang stared at him. “Jaune. You expect me to believe that you—Mr. ‘I Had to be Dragged Through Initiation’—became some kind of desert bike-riding badass?”
Jaune smirked. “I’m just saying, maybe I picked up a thing or two. In my secret training.”
Yang squinted. “Lies. All of it.“
Jaune just kept smirking.
Yang scowled. “Where in Vacuo?”
“Uh… the… uh… Dune Basin. Yeah.”
“That’s not a place.“
“It is to me.“
Yang groaned, dragging a hand down her face. “You are so full of shit.”
Jaune just laughed. “Maybe.“
Yang huffed. “Fine. If you’re so good, then let’s make it interesting.”
Jaune raised an eyebrow. “Oh?“
Yang grinned. “Race me again.“
Jaune, for the first time that night, grinned back. “You’re on.”
Ren and Nora returned just in time to see the two of them completely absorbed in the race.
“What… is happening?” Ren asked.
Nora folded her arms. “Jaune and Yang are duking it out.”
Ren blinked. “In a motorcycle arcade game?”
Nora nodded. “It’s intense.”
And it was.
Jaune and Yang leaned into their turns, gripping the handles like their lives depended on it.
“Can’t keep up, Arc?” Yang taunted, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Jaune smirked right back. “I dunno, Blondie. I’m right behind you.”
Yang’s eyebrow twitched. “What did you just call me?”
Jaune passed her on the inside lane.
Yang screeched. “OH, IT’S ON!”
The game ended in a photo finish.
Jaune won.
Barely.
Yang groaned, stretching her arms over her head. “Ughhh, I can’t believe you actually beat me.”
Jaune smirked. “Maybe I really did train in Vacuo.”
Yang narrowed her eyes. “You absolutely did not.”
Jaune just kept smirking.
Ren, watching the entire thing unfold, simply took another sip of tea. “You know,” he murmured, “Jaune has been acting strange lately.”
“Right?!“ Yang spun toward him. “Thank you! He’s all quiet sometimes, but then he does this, and now he can ride?! What happened after the festival?”
Nora, ever perceptive, hummed. “Maybe he’s hiding something.”
Yang crossed her arms. “He has to be.”
Jaune just stretched. “Or, maybe, I’m just too cool now.”
“LIES!“
Jaune just laughed.
Yang refused to accept that Jaune Arc was suddenly a competent rider.
It’s just an arcade game? That could’ve been dumb luck. A fluke. A glitch in the universe.
But real riding? That was different.
That was skill. That was her thing.
And there was no way Jaune freaking Arc could pull it off.
So naturally, she was about to prove him wrong.
“Alright, Jaune.” Yang crossed her arms, leaning against Bumblebee with a smirk. “You talk a big game, but let’s see if you can handle the real deal.”
Jaune blinked, looking at the sleek black and yellow bike. “Wait, you’re serious?“
“Oh, very serious,” Yang grinned. “No video game bullshit—real road, real ride.”
Jaune eyed the bike, rubbing his chin. “Hmm.”
Yang narrowed her eyes. “Hmm?“
Jaune gave her a thoughtful look. “Well… I mean, I could—”
“Could?“ Yang snorted. “Jaune, you’re gonna wipe out in five seconds.”
Jaune smirked. “Now, that sounds like a challenge.”
Nora bounced excitedly. “Ohhhhh, this is gonna be great! Ren, get the popcorn!”
Ren sighed. “We don’t have popcorn.”
“Get something!”
Jaune stepped forward, rolling his shoulders. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
Yang grinned, tossing him a helmet. “Try not to cry when you eat pavement.“
Jaune caught the helmet effortlessly, smirking as he hopped onto Bumblebee. “You first, Blondie.”
Yang’s eye twitched.
Oh, he was going down.
Jaune started the engine.
The worst possible thing happened.
He actually knew what he was doing.
The second he twisted the throttle, he took off smoothly. No wobbling, no hesitation—just controlled acceleration.
Yang stood there, slack-jawed, as Jaune adjusted his posture, leaning into a curve with absolute confidence.
Nora giggled. “Ohhhh, Yang, he’s good.”
Ren simply nodded. “Unfortunate.”
Yang watched as Jaune effortlessly handled the bike, smoothly shifting gears, the engine purring beneath him like it was his own damn ride.
Jaune came to a gradual stop, flipped the visor up, and gave her a lazy grin. “Huh. Rides nice.”
Yang’s eye twitched. “What. The. Hell.”
Jaune tilted his head. “What?”
Yang stomped up to him. “What do you mean, ‘rides nice’?! How do you even know that?!“
Jaune shrugged, tapping the handlebars. “I mean, it’s got good balance, decent handling… but your transmission needs maintenance.”
Silence.
Yang blinked. “What?“
Jaune pointed at the bike. “Your transmission. You can feel it when shifting—there’s a bit of a drag. You should check that out before it wears down too much. I mean it’s not hoverbike, so it should be easy.”
Yang just stared.
Her brain could not process this information.
Nora snorted. “Oh my gods, he’s serious!”
Ren calmly sipped his tea. “Fascinating.”
Yang clenched her fists. “Jaune. Arc. You. Are. Not. A. Mechanic.“
Jaune smirked. “Well, no. But, you know. Vacuo.“
Yang lost it.
“YOU DID NOT TRAIN IN VACUO!“
Jaune gave her a completely straight face. “You can’t prove that.“
Yang smacked him.
Hard.
Jaune’s Aura flared, absorbing the hit like it was nothing.
He barely even moved.
Then, with the most infuriatingly smug expression Yang had ever seen, he grinned.
“C’mon, Yang. You’ll have to hit harder than that.”
Yang growled.
Jaune tapped his chin. “I dunno… maybe try hitting as hard as a Colossus?”
Yang’s eye twitched violently.
Nora cackled. “Oooooohhh, he got you there, Yang!“
Ren simply nodded. “Regrettable.”
Yang took a deep breath. Then another. Then another.
Finally, she just threw up her hands. “I give up. I’m done. I’m leaving.“
Jaune smirked, stepping off Bumblebee. “Want me to check your suspension while I’m at it?”
Yang popped a vein.