Heat Culture 029 -- Epilogue

Several Months Later

Jaune knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was one of the luckiest men alive. How couldn’t he be? He was just a simple human boy from the country, and yet he was living his dream of becoming a Huntsman. Beyond that, he had somehow managed to snag seven drop dead gorgeous girlfriends and he hadn’t even really had to do anything to accomplish it other than be himself.

It was ludicrous – and yet very real. His life was insane in the best of ways, and while Jaune wasn’t a religious man or believed in a higher power, he made sure to slip in a ‘thank you’ to whatever deity may be out there, if there was one. Be it the Brother Gods from the old fairy tales, the Animal God that the faunus once worshipped – or something else entirely, it didn’t matter.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

But not even Jaune’s luck was infinite. Even though he took a ticket in the lottery whenever he could, he still hadn’t won it. As much as he wished for a brother, his parents never delivered. And no matter what he did, he couldn’t seem to convince Cardin Winchester that being anti-faunus was ridiculous and made zero sense.

Though maybe that last one was soon to change, seeing as the big doofus had somehow managed to attract the attention of a certain lioness from Mistral. What Arslan saw in Cardin, Jaune would never understand, but the last he heard, they had entered into some type of long distance relationship.

Thinking about it only made Jaune’s head hurt.

Another example of his luck failing? It appeared on the first day of their second year at Beacon.

He hadn’t seen any of his girlfriends over the holidays because he’d been back with his family but he’d made sure to keep in touch. The one exception was Ruby Rose, who went radio silent after week one and hadn’t returned any of his texts or calls.

Yang had assured him everything was fine – until strangely, she also cut contact about a week before the start of the new year began.

It filled Jaune with dread and none of the other girls knew anything about it.

Once he saw her, he understood completely.

Jaune gaped as Ruby stepped off the airship, her belly unmistakably swollen. He stared as she approached, silver eyes lighting up happily as she spotted him, but there was also something else in her gaze and in the carefully manufactured expression dominating her face.

Trepidation. She was worried.

She was also pregnant. Very, very pregnant.

How far along? He couldn’t tell. The swell of her belly wasn’t so big that he expected her to burst right then and there, but it wasn’t exactly small, either.

How had this happened?

Well, that was pretty obvious, wasn’t it? He’d fucked her raw and dumped countless loads of his cum in her womb, so this was only the natural thing to happen, right?

Right!?

None of the others were pregnant, as far as he knew – but that was because they were taking contraceptives to stop it from occurring. Jaune thought furiously, trying to remember if Ruby ever mentioned taking them and couldn’t come up with anything. Hell, she hadn’t even entered her first heat until mid-way through their first time together, so it was entirely possible she wasn’t…

“Fuck,” he muttered.

They’d messed up. They’d messed up big time. Jaune had gotten complacent because of the others. He’d raw dogged Ruby without a second thought because Li, Nora and the rest of them had everything under control. They’d been used to their heat, and they’d been aware of the possibility of getting into bed with somebody. Precautions had been taken – just in case.

Being a little younger and a little behind everyone else, Ruby hadn’t been preparing.

Yang followed her sister off the airship. Lilac met blue, and she gave him a look of pity before three more people followed her out before the rest of the students could follow.

Taiyang Xiao Long was easily identified from the descriptions he’d heard from Ruby and Yang. Tall, tanned, handsome, blond – all descriptors that they’d used at various points, but it was the massive pair of white wings that extended from his back that gave it away.

By his side were two women, one short, one of medium height. The taller one looked like Yang, only she had red eyes and long raven black hair. Weaved through that hair were black feathers, and as she moved closer, he saw that more feathers were covering the skin around her neck. Long, sharp talon-like nails adorned each finger, painted red to match her overall color scheme.

That could only be Raven Branwen, Yang’s mom.

Just as Raven looked like Yang, the other woman looked exactly like Ruby. Even more so than the resemblance between Yang and her mother, Jaune swore he was looking at a more mature version of Ruby, just several years ahead of time. Everything from the way they wore their hair to their haunting silver eyes. She was slim but more curvy than her daughter in the bust and hip, but otherwise, they could have been twins. They even both wore cloaks, though hers was white instead of red.

“Fuck,” Jaune swore, louder this time.

He was dead.

He was about to meet the parents.

Taiyang spotted him first and Jaune felt the murder in his gaze, the man increasing his stride. Summer hurried beside him to keep up while Raven rolled her eyes, staying close to Yang.

“Daaaad,” Ruby warned, voice sharp.

Oh yeah, he was so fucking dead right now.

“So – you’re the one,” Taiyang began, thankfully stopping short. For a moment, Jaune had seriously considered the possibility of getting punched in the face. “John, was it?”

“It’s Jaune,” Ruby snapped, glaring at her father. “I’ve told you already.”

“Honey,” Summer attempted to placate, placing a hand on his arm but it did nothing to soften the glare Jaune was being subjected to.

“The boy who thought it was a good idea to date both of my daughters,” Taiyang continued. “I’ll give you credit, kid. You’ve got balls.”

“Clearly,” Yang said snidely, trying not to smirk when her father directed his glare at her for a moment.

“So this is the mate you’ve chosen for yourself,” Raven stepped forward, and something about the way she looked at him made his skin prickle. Her movements were graceful, deadly. “The mate that you’ve both chosen to take on. A human.”

She circled him and Jaune tried not to squirm.

“I see the appeal,” Raven finally commented.

“He looks like Tai,” Summer added.

“No he doesn’t,” Taiyang snapped. “We look nothing alike.”

“Yeah, mom – just no, stop,” Yang held a look of disgust. “Don’t ever say that again.”

Taiyang crossed his arms. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

What did he even say in this situation? Jaune thought furiously but it felt like anything he could offer would only make it worse. Sorry, I didn’t mean to knock up your daughter, my bad! Oh, I didn’t realize Ruby was pregnant, maybe we shouldn’t have had bareback sex. Silly me!

Yeah, no.

If in doubt, be polite.

Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, he squared his shoulders and offered his hand. “My name is Jaune Arc. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Tai looked unimpressed but Summer Rose cooed happily and bounded forward, taking his hand. She shook it vigorously.

“Aren’t you just a cutie?” she beamed, and her energy was infectious. Yeah, she was definitely Ruby’s mother. “My name is Summer. I’m Ruby’s mom. This lunkhead here is Taiyang, her father. And that sexy lady over there is Raven, she’s Yang’s mom.”

Jaune nodded, meeting Raven’s eyes. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”

Her lips stretched into a smirk, and damn – that was Yang’s smirk. “Handsome and polite, and no doubt strong. Yang, your mother approves.”

Yang flushed. “I don’t care if you approve or not. It’s my decision.”

Taiyang scoffed. “Don’t let his innocent face fool you.”

“Oh, cut it out, honey,” Summer stood up for him. “You’re just annoyed that you’re getting a little bit of your own medicine.”

A scowl settled on Taiyang’s face. “I didn’t get either of you pregnant before we graduated!”

“Not for lack of trying,” Raven quipped.

“Argh,” Yang gagged. “Stop it! Right now! We don’t have to hear this!”

“It isn’t his fault,” Ruby spoke up, drawing their attention. “I’ve been telling you over and over, it’s my fault. I forgot to take the inhibitor until it was too late.”

“He should have been more careful,” Taiyang grumbled.

It suddenly hit him. He was going to be a father. A feeling of dread washed over him, fear – but then… elation.

He was going to be a dad!

“I…” he tried to say something, anything – but his voice caught in his throat. Overcome with emotion, it felt as if his heart was too big for his chest. Ruby saw his expression, and whatever she saw must have affected her too.

Tears gathered in her silver eyes, making them shine. Suddenly she was in his arms, pulling him into a powerful hug, her belly trapped between them. Jaune encircled her, embracing her, trying to pour every ounce of emotion he was feeling into her tiny body.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get you… Ruby, your career…”

“It doesn’t matter,” she buried her face in his chest, shaking. “It doesn’t matter, you big dummy! I can still be a Huntress, it’ll just take a little longer!”

“You aren’t mad?” he asked. “You don’t regret it?”

“Of course not,” pulling away slightly, she met his eyes. “Never. I would never.”

Maybe it was a stupid move and a little inappropriate, but he pulled her into a searing kiss, giving her everything he had. Ruby met him just as enthusiastically, all of the pent up emotion, the fear, the joy, everything she had been keeping to herself since she found out about the pregnancy, it was all focused into this one kiss.

Ruby was going to bear his child. He was going to be a father.

Their lips moved frantically and it wasn’t until someone cleared their throat several times that they broke apart, breathless.

“Sorry,” Jaune said. “I – this isn’t the time, I know, but…”

Summer looked close to crying herself. “Don’t apologize.”

Jaune met Taiyang’s gaze, and to his surprise, the older man looked away, sighing.

“This isn’t how I thought this would go,” he admitted, annoyed. “I’ve been thinking about nothing else but pummeling the brat that dared to put his hands on my little girl, on both of my little girls…”

“Dad,” Yang said, embarrassed.

“But I can see if nothing else, you care for her,” it sounded like it pained him deeply to say it, though Jaune heard the relief. “My daughters have chosen you, so you better not let them down.”

“I won’t, sir.”

Of course, his luck today was much worse than he realized.

“Jaune-Jaune~!” a familiar voice called out, and he didn’t have time to react before a certain cow faunus slammed into his back. Jaune stumbled, still cradling Ruby against him, and then Nora was whispering in his ear, “Miss me?”

Taiyang, Summer and Raven blinked, startled by her sudden appearance, and by the fact that she was draping her body over him suggestively.

Yang palmed her face. “Right… um, mom, mom, dad… we didn’t exactly share everything with you guys…”

“Hello,” Li greeted, appearing by his side. She looked around with great interest, eyes falling on Ruby. She blinked. “Ruby, your stomach…”

Ruby pulled herself away from him, looking contrite. “Um, uh – eheh?”

Jaune had never seen Li so stunned before, her mouth falling open. Nora peered around him and saw the evidence, a sound of surprise escaping her.

“...Jaune-Jaune, what have you done?”

“...Sorry.”

A certain haughty voice broke the awkward atmosphere, Weiss Schnee marching over with an imperious expression. By her side were Pyrrha – crowned champion of the Inter-School Tournament – and Blake.

“Jaune,” she called, quickly making her way over. Ice blue eyes scanned those gathered, pausing on Ruby and Yang’s parents. “What is going on here?”

“That’s what I would like to know,” Taiyang said, voice filled with suspicion. Their scents no longer overlapped due to their time apart but even without that, he clearly suspected something.

Raven observed everyone gathered. “...Yang. Start explaining.”

“Ruby,” Blake stared in shock. “Your belly…”

Pyrrha covered her mouth while Weiss gaped. It would have been extremely funny if things weren’t so serious.

Jaune cleared his throat. “Um – right, well… the thing is…”

How he wasn’t killed that day, Jaune would never know.

Maybe he really was the luckiest man alive, even on his unluckiest day.

( - - - )

And that is the end~! Ruby is pregnant, and somehow Jaune lived. I will probably do some extra content for this in the future, but as of now, it is complete. This was never supposed to be as long as it was, but I don't regret it!

So now that this is finished, there will be a two week break and then Hooters Yang will take the place of Heat Culture in the rotation, the brainchild of the ideas channel on Discord.