He was right.
She actually was out here in the rubble of the Beacon gardens. Shoulders slumped. Head bowed. Her posture sagged. And the pieces of a shattered wine glass spread between her boots. She had finally cracked.
Captain Arc thought he would have gone first given how much he had been drinking. It was quite surprising to find his partner caved earlier than he did.
He made his way over to the sentry standing stiff and confused ten paces back. The younger man straightened and threw a hasty salute.
"Sir!"
"At ease. I'll handle this," he said.
The corporal nodded and shakily marched away.
Jaune turned to his subordinate who remained sulking on the bench before the remains of what once been a beautiful tree. Their exchange was loud enough for her to hear but it seemed she stopped caring. Knowing her, she must have been aware of the unassuming sentry shocked still by the most intimidating person in the entire company being completely out of it. Normally, she would have torn the eavesdropper a new one.
At this point, the Captain understood that First Lieutenant Ruby Rose didn't care anymore.
He was sure she heard his boots thunking against the concrete when he approached. By the time he rounded the bench, he could hear her sobbing.
"Ruby."
She sniffled, wiped her face, and forced herself to gaze up at him with the most neutral face she could muster. The cracks around her irises and the tear streaks betrayed her intimidation. "Sir."
Jaune gestured at the bench. "May I?"
Ruby nodded and scooted over. "Sir."
The Captain sat down and for the next moment they were silent. Foliage rustling, twigs creaking, and the din of the noise from the men unwinding at the bar halfway across the campus was all they listened to as they both gazed at the dead tree illuminated by the shattered moon. Macabre as the scene was, the unchecked overgrowth restored some of the allure lost during the Fall. It was a dead tree that still stood, twisted and bald, sealed by concrete rubble entangled in layers of far reaching roots.
It was a captivating sight. Death reclaimed by life.
A short breeze ruffled through them both, delivering with it the excess shed by the forests surrounding Beacon. Among them, a single dried maple leaf wafted against the broken stone.
Both of them saw it. Both of them were hit with the surge of the past.
And Ruby, cracked as she had already been, ultimately broke down.
How long had it been since she cried like this? How long had been since she even cried? Hell, how long had it been for him? Too long, he thought. Long enough.
Jaune reached over and snaked his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in. She was trembling now as she dipped her head to wail into his chest plate. By then, her hands had worked their way around the grooves between the plating, fingers laced around the edges in a desperate grip, holding on to a stronghold in the tsunamis of her grief. She was clinging onto him, her hair coming lose over her head and her tears dripping down the Atlas-grade steel.
It was out of instinct that he enveloped her completely. Nothing he had not done before.
Slowly, Jaune rested his chin on her scalp, catching a whiff of her sweat and the alcohol she had consumed. Too many Strawberry Sunrises and most likely the nightmares that had been coming and going for the past couple weeks. He had his fair share of them. Cardin, too. Even half of the company and none of them had ever been students here.
Ruby's wails had died down to sniffles.
He ruffled her hair. "Hey. You feeling better?"
She unlatched from him. In the moonlight, she was still as beautiful as she was when they were first started out on their journey that led them here. "I...I'm not okay..."
Jaune nodded, occasionally glancing at the broken glass scattered on the ground. He decided not to wipe the mess on his chest plate and instead rested his palms on his knees. "What happened?"
Lieutenant Rose released a long sigh. "This place...just brings back so many memories..."
"I see." Captain Arc turned back to the garden. The leaf was still there, standing out from the overgrowth. He bit his lip and his breath came out with a bit of difficulty. "It's part of the job."
"I know, I know."
Without thinking, the senior officer stood and picked up the leaf. He looked it over. Almost the same as the one... He shook his head, letting it flutter out of his fingers. "We're doing this for them. For everyone we've lost. For everyone who's still with us."
"I'm sorry. I...I lost control and I let my emotions get the better of me—"
He knelt and took her hand, meeting her startled silver orbs. "It's okay. It's normal. Dam it up too long and it'll break you. Nothing wrong with having a release like this now than later."
"Yeah. You're right."
"Didn't think you'd hit the bottle this hard."
"Moment of weakness." She huffed. "Bit hypocritical of me. Telling you off to keep you from drowning yourself at the bar and here I am...out here...a tipsy mess."
"It's one way of coping. Best not to make it a habit."
"Understood."
Captain Arc then pressed his lips to her forehead before standing up to leave. Lieutenant Rose held onto his hand, tugging him down.
"Jaune, I..."
Jaune waited.
"I..."
"Yes?"
Ruby let go and sat straight. "Thank you, Jaune. I can't begin to say how grateful I am for all you've done, how much you mean to me...for how being my...my..."
He stooped a little to showcase her a smile he rarely gave to anyone. "Likewise, Ruby. Likewise."
That could have been the end of it but there was one more message that his subordinate apparently desired to deliver. She sped around to meet him as he turned his back to retire to his quarters. He registered her expression in the barest second, understanding exactly what she was going to do, before she sealed their space with a kiss. Sudden. Deep. Heavy.
He made no move to resist, letting her take control until she released herself.
"Sir," she said stiffly.
Jaune had no words to say. Instead, he watched her spin on her heel and march hastily back to her quarters.
First Sergeant Cardin Winchester was leaning against one of Beacon's still standing lamp posts sporting the smuggest look he had seen in a long while. Without a doubt, the mercenary had been waiting there, expecting him.
Captain Arc sighed, stopping on approach. "Yes, sergeant?"
Cardin grunted. "You're welcome."
Jaune glared at him.
The mace-wielder unfolded his arms and shrugged, evidently having been privy to the whole exchange. "Yeah, yeah, I know the drill. I saw nothing. I heard nothing."
"Thanks...for letting me know where she was."
Cardin chuckled as he dipped his hands into his pockets and walked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Any particular reason why you're out here this late at night?"
"Thought I'd stretch my legs." The mercenary stretched his arms over his head. "Catch some fresh air while I'm at it, too."
"Of course," Jaune mumbled, shaking his head while a small smile reached up to his cheek. He peeked over his shoulder at the mercenary rounding the corner. "Get some sleep! It's late!"
Cardin raised a thumb. "Aye, aye, cap'n!"
ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: May 6, 2019
LAST EDITED: May 6, 2019
INITIALLY UPLOADED: May 6, 2019