Jaune stood up from the couch and made his way outside. When the front door opened behind him he could hear Ruby's gasp as her sister greeted her. Jaune spared a moment to look at the blonde woman. Just enough to catch Yang hug her sister. The two had not seen each other since RJNR had left Vale nearly half a year ago. Oh, he had a hint of who it was the moment the bike pulled up. That hum of an engine was too distinctive to be anything but her.
"But her…" Jaune shook his head to try and clear his head. He was still a mess. It felt too soon to even think about Yang again. Despite his personal feelings, Jaune was happy she was here. It meant she had worked through everything on her own.
Jaune walked to the outer yard that dropped off to a cliff. The city below was still alight in the glow of a late dusk. Eventually, he leaned against the chain link fence that stopped only a few feet from the edge of the cliff. He knew why he was here. At this spot in particular. It had been a habit of his since before he started Beacon. It was Yang who pointed it out to him now that he thought about it.
Whenever Jaune needed to clear his head he had always looked for a place that was far above and away from everything. Yang had once teased him that it was to gain a perspective on things. She used to laugh at that like it was the greatest secret she never told him.
Jaune's eyes lowered slightly at that. In hindsight, it wasn't that much of a hint. And it explained quite a few things if he was honest with himself. Yang would have been the kind of girl that would have backed off if she felt she stepped on someone else's toes.
Jaune gripped the fence and started to climb. He reached the top of the ten-foot tall fence and sat down, balanced on the pole that supported the metal wall. The air had just begun to hit his face as he closed his eyes and tried to just get lost in it.
Just don't think of Yang. Or the moments we stole from each other back at Beacon. He didn't like the feeling it gave him to have mourned the loss of Pyrrha, his best friend, and partner, and still think of someone else. He did not want to be the kind of person who was so eager to respond to Yang if she offered to resume where they had left off.
Jaune stared at the city below him as the sun slowly slipped behind the mountains. The stars were just faint lights now. It was a night like this where she first found him. He nodded to himself thinking, Before it got complicated. She had told him once that she looked for him to help Ruby. She did not expect him to have the same problems being a leader with such a cheery team. It seemed like RWBY were the only ones that fought.
Later Ruby would laugh at him. That's not how she remembered it.
The door behind him opened and shut just as quickly. The clunk of heavy leather boots walked behind him on the concrete sidewalk before they muffled to steps on the cool grass. Jaune could hear the hesitation in her voice as she tried to say something. Anything.
It seemed like a lifetime since they talked on a picnic table vaguely taking turns to lean into each other and talk with smiles on their faces. They had always been so comfortably close and so painfully distant from each other. Jaune would admit that it was a lifetime ago when he talked to Yang in any meaningful way. It was before either of them took a journey to Mistral. Even Before the Vytal Festival in Beacon.
Yang sighed and exhaled.
"Hello Yang," Jaune said quietly.
Yang would have missed it if it was any softer. It was all the encouragement she needed to walk up to the fence. She touched it with her good and whole hand. "Hi, Jaune."
Jaune didn't turn to look at her. His mind was still a jumble of everything he did not realize he had kept bottled inside of him. His grief for Pyrrha, for Yangs' lost arm, for all those missed chances. Everything they had lost and tried to move on from. He blinked away the sting before it threatened his voice. "I am glad you're here. Everyone missed you."
Yang exhaled a slight sigh of relief. Days before the attack, Jaune had been distracted whenever they would sit to chat. He grew more distant then. Yang leaned forward and rested her forehead against the clink of the chain metal fence. "I missed everyone too. You weren't inside but I did want to say I'm sorry. I wasn't there for you all when you asked."
Jaune smiled and blinked as he stared at the fading sun. It was easier to stare at something so big and radiant in front of him than the woman who spoke beside him. She was too bright. Even back in Vale when she was at her lowest.
"I understand. You had something you had to come to terms with. We all understood."
Yang closed her eyes and blew a puff of breath from her nose. The clink of the chains her forehead rested against moved slightly as she looked up to his back. "Everyone else seemed to have pulled it together." There was barely a taste of bitterness to that fact. "But thank you for understanding. I am sorry Jaune."
Jaune didn't answer but turned his head slightly to finally look at her. Yang just took in his quiet patient eyes. Jaune was not sure what she saw in his gaze. Jaune knew he had always an open book.
Yang gripped the fence links that were in her hands and sighed out, "I am sorry I couldn't even say goodbye when you left."
Jaune gave her a slight smile before he looked back at the skyline. "Neither of us were really all there Yang. It hurt to see you like that. But I knew you would come around eventually. And you did it all by your self. I'm glad you are here."
Yang looked at his back and realized he was still struggling. Even with everyone here, what remained of his team there to support him. He still struggled with Pyrrha's death.
Yang exhaled an unsteady breath before she put a booted toe in the fence and hefted her self up to the top to share his perch. The fence jostled slightly as she sat down facing the house while he faced the sun. "I figured its still easier to talk when we are not looking at each other."
Jaune laughed that. There was a brief time when he realized he had feelings for her where he couldn't look at her without stammering. "I missed that."
Yang smiled at the appreciation of her humor. "Jaune, you know why I'm out here."
Jaune exhaled and looked over at her. "I do Yang. I missed you."
Yang's slight gasp caught her off guard. She looked back to the house unable to meet his gaze. "I was not sure if you would… after everything." She looked at his waist. She could recognize that red cloth anywhere. She did not say anything to bring it to his attention.
"I was worried about the same thing with you when my team went to meet up with Ruby. I wondered when I visited your family cabin if you would even see me." Jaune breathed in the cold air. It calmed him more than he thought. "Seeing you like that reminded me, it's not just about me. And I almost made it about me before I even talked to you."
Yang, hesitant at first, reached for his gloved hand. She let it rest on top of his for a moment before she let go to re-balanced herself. "So what do we do now?"
Jaune sighed. "There is nothing more I want to do than hold you by the waist, pick you up and twirl you around. I am so happy to finally see you again." Jaune made no movement. His eyes were firmly planted on the skyline before him.
"But you won't." Yang felt the words sit in her liked a lead weight.
"I can't." Jaune looked up at the stars as more began to filter into the night sky.
"I guess it's my turn to wait then." She gave him her best grin. Jaune tilted his head and did not blink at the pained wooden smile.
Jaune would have laughed at the irony if it wasn't so sad. He had been the one to always offer her some time to spend together if she wanted. For all her wild demeanor, she had always been the most prudent of the group. She always tended to observe and see everything while in the thick of it. He knew now why she would catch herself when she offered more and pull back. It wasn't doubt of her feelings for him but in respect of his partner.
When did I realize that there could have been more? Jaune wondered to himself.
Jaune cleared his throat. "Dinner should be ready soon and you probably have been on the road for a while now. You should go clean up."
Yang shook her head. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her golden mane move slightly at the gesture. "I'm right where I belong."
Jaune smiled. When was it that I realized I cared for Yang? Was it one of those times when we skipped an essay to go outside work on her bike? Was it at first sight but I never noticed? Or was it just one of the times where I would accidentally lean on her after our two teams trained, and she would lean back?
Yang and Jaune had started as friends. It was in part thanks to Ruby for shoving Yang off on Jaune so she could work in peace and quiet for a test neither of them could remember. All Jaune could remember was the flashes of laughter as he dragged her around Beacon to show her the nooks and cranny's he found while exploring. The campus was made for many more students than were enrolled. It gave the pair quite a few weeks where they spent exploring the old unused lecture halls.
Yang looked around the backyard. Ruby had stepped out a while ago but immediately walked back inside. The lights to the house were turned on, and judging from the noise, it sounded like everyone was making dinner. Yang sighed as she thought that they should go in. She shifted for a moment to jump down.
Jaune hated the sound of hope that entered his voice. "Could you wait? Just a little longer?"
Yang smiled. She reached for his hand on more time. This time, Jaune immediately laced his fingers with hers. Yang smiled and looked at their hands before she closed her eyes with a smile. If she had to wait for him, she would enjoy this feeling of his hand on hers for a few moments longer.
"I will wait for you Jaune."