Ruby wanted to be a normal girl, once. She wanted to live a normal life, have normal friends, go to a normal school. Maybe settle down for a normal marriage with a normal husband and have normal kids.
She gave all that up when she and her sister were nearly killed by a pack of Beowolves. She gave it all up again when Beacon was destroyed by the machinations of Cinder Fall.
Everyone lost something that day. Everyone lost a lot that horrible day.
Over the next few years, everyone lost a lot more.
Friends died, innocents suffered; and all in all, it was kind of a horrible time to be a Huntsman. To be a hero.
Through it all, there was one person Ruby always felt she could depend on. One person who never balked at the challenge. One person who took charge, fought hard, and pulled his team through this.
It made it jarring to see him now.
She stood in the light rain of an early spring morning, watching Jaune Arc snore beside the grave of Pyrrha Nikos.
The damned fool had taken his coat off and laid it on the ground.
To keep her dry.
A year ago, Ruby might have cried to see him like this.
A month, and though tears might well in her eyes, she would have struggled to get him home.
She was used to it now, and it stung like a knife in her heart.
Ruby sighed and turned to Ren.
"Looks like he's been out here all night," the quiet young man said, "I have no idea how he keeps sneaking out."
Ruby forced a smile onto her face, for Ren's sake. "Don't beat yourself up, Ren. He's crafty like that."
Ren sighed softly, clearly still upset with himself.
Jaune reminded the pair that he was still around by snoring loudly.
He truly looked the part of the vagabond, in those days. Unshaven, covered in dirt, wearing old clothing.
Some time ago, to her dismay, Ruby noticed that he'd stopped carrying his sword. She learned from Nora that he'd returned it to his father, despite the fact that the two men were as far from seeing eye to eye as a father and his son could be.
"Come on, Jaune," Ruby said soothingly as she knelt down beside him, "It's time to wake up. She wouldn't want to see you like this."
Jaune slowly blinked awake as Ruby shook him gently. He looked up at her, eyes bleary from sleep and tears, before cracking a smile that was far from convincing.
"Hey, Crater Face. How's it going?"
Ruby felt the knife in her heart twisting as he spoke. She knew it was a show, and he knew he wasn't fooling anyone, so why wouldn't he just admit it?
Jaune Arc was bereft of purpose, adrift on a sea of his own self-loathing.
Everyone knew it, but no one wanted to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
Jaune clearly had no further interest in life.