Hey, all, sorry that it's been such a long time. Life always seems to catch up with you in the end, huh?
The only thing I really have to say is take care of your own mental health. It'll help you in the longrun. With all that said, please enjoy and tell me what you think.
Le Chat Noir was the perfect home for the wrecked and weary. A quiet little cornerstone in a city that had no idea how to sleep. Vale had very few places to rest among all the festivals, parks, attractions, clubs, and stadiums that this little cafe stood out in its own way. It was a little home away from home- a lonely fireplace in the middle of a snowstorm. Much of its inside followed that trait well.
The walls were cream-colored, with lantern-like lights filling the room with a golden flickering glow. Mahogany tables, cushioned stools and chairs, decently spaced room, paintings of flowers, bookshelves, and even a fireplace for good measure gave the cafe an uncanny feeling of home. Warm, inviting, filled with the scent of cocoa and vanilla, it was a good rest depot for the young and old, huntsman or otherwise. All it cost was a bit of lien and a good attitude.
It was nearly closing time. Most of the patrons had vacated, with a few customers left sipping from their now-lukewarm coffee cups, completely absorbed in typing away on their laptops or reading. It was relaxed enough for the current Barista, Felix, to lean over the counter, head propped up by one tired arm. Well dressed in dress pants, button-up white shirt, and matching pin-stripped black vest, herein was a professional barista of the highest callibur. Even his neck-length black hair was neatly combed back, with his thin, wispy five o'clock shadow nicely trimmed, face narrow-eyed and very handsome.
A young man with messy teal hair, tall, and bearing a grey short sleeved jacket and dark pants. From the slight whirring sound with each step, and the slight limp he had, those were obvious leg prosthetics he was packing. Top dollar ones too. Definitely not legitimately bought.
Felix subtly perked his head up, eyeing the clock. Eight thirty-nine. He sighed. Not quite late enough to kick him out.
"Mercury Black. Good evening. Can I help you?" Felix asked in his deep, gravelly voice.
"A shot of the strongest shit you've got." The young man sighed, plopping down into one of the stools.
"Please. This isn't a bar. Have some class," Felix said bluntly, pouring a hot brew of straight black coffee in a mug. "Or maybe if it's to your liking, I could just fetch something from under my sink." The young man scoffed, taking the drink and downing it all in one go, face scrunching up afterwards. Felix wordlessly started cleaning it. "Is work getting you down?" He asked without looking up.
"Every time," Mercury bemoaned, head meeting the table. "She's getting harder and harder to deal with on a daily basis, you know? Always with that snobbish, pissy attitude. I can't take it half the time."
Felix nodded, placing the clean mug away. This was the status quo at this point. Felix was a vacuum for others' complaints and despair, simply because he wouldn't shut his ears and not listen. Still, if he didn't listen, who else would?
"Have you tried going under Roman instead? That man is at least slightly less agitating."
"Insulting Roman? In this part of town? You've got some serious balls." Mercury scoffed, tapping his fingers anxiously on the table.
Felix only grunted back. Before he could say anything to that, the doors swung open, and in came a younger man, who couldn't have been more than seventeen, stumbled in. To put it simply, he was a mess. Not mess in the sense of being poorly dressed, or having a bad-hair day, it was in the vein of having lost a fight with an Ursa and being flung off the side of a cliff kind of messy.
First off, his skin was pale and covered in smudges of dirts, closed gashes and scrapes, with his messy mop of blonde hair covered in leaves and splinters. His jumper was covered in rips, tears and smudges of mud, same as his jeans, which also sported a massive hole at his bloodied knee. The look on his face was hollow and gaunt, and he could smell him from all the way across the bar. The boy probably hadn't showered in days.
With little more than a gesture from Felix, the young man trudged his way closer to the bar, all but falling into the stool. The bar patrons stared curiously, but one look at Felix put their attention back on their drinks. The ragged boy leaned forward on his elbows, and let out a hoarse, tired groan. Mercury exchanged glances with Felix before raising his hands and walking out of the cafe, leaving a five lien card on the table. Felix began fixing a glass of water, not so much as looking at the boy.
"Can I help you?" He asked in monotone.
"You're Mr. Felix, right?" He asked, rather politely.
"Ditch the 'Mr', and yes. Can I help you?" Silence for a moment, the kid eyeing the table like it held the secrets of the universe. "You've got a name?"
"... Jaune."
"Well, Jaune. From the looks of you, you have a story to tell."
Jaune let out a bleak chuckle. "You could say that."
Once again, Felix propped his head up on the table, eyeing the clock. Still too late to bring out the closed sign and the iron boot. "By all means. Get it off your chest."
Jaune licked his dry lips before giving his story. "Would you believe that I was a Beacon Student about say… five days ago?"
"Clearly. The dead leaves behind your ears are a nice touch." Felix sarcastically droned.
Jaune quietly chuckled. "Yeah, I wouldn't believe it either. Imagine someone like me being big, strong, muscular, with a bunch of ladies at my beck and call." He said, flexing possibly the noodilest string bean bicep Felix had seen in a long time. For a moment, he had the fleeting thought of the boy with literal spaghetti arms, whipping around in circles like the world's most delicious helicopter.
The boy staggered for a moment, hiccuping. Felix's eyes narrowed, smelling something familiar in his breath. "Kid, are you drunk?"
"Probably. Maybe." He hiccuped again. "The bar was nice enough to gimme free drinks. Before someone in there stole my wallet."
Felix winced a little. "You had a rougher night than I thought."
Jaune leaned over the table, eyes glazed over. "It's not that bad." By the slight slur in his voice, it was a tad more than bad. The boy couldn't have been more smashed than a vase in a sports arena. How that kid managed to stumble into the building was an answer only the gods would know. "The place is real pretty though." He hiccuped. "Am I in a flower?"
Felix blinked. "What?"
"Mmm, flowers, you know? They're super pretty. This place is like… ultra pretty. We gotta be in a flower. It makes sense, right?" He giggled, head swaying backwards before smacking back down on the table again. A few of the guests jumped in their seats, startled.
"Listen, kid, just drink some water and sober up." Felix sighed. Jaune's fingers seized the mug and he all but heaved it's contents into his face, probably in some attempt to gulp it down like a shot glass. At this point, Felix just shook his head and poured some more from the tap. "Take it from the top again, and make sure to aim for your mouth this time, there's a good boy." He said, sliding it over. Jaune took a sip this time, some color returning to those brilliant sapphire eyes. He hunched over the table, head hanging.
"Sorry. Really."
"Don't mention it." Felix replied, taking the mug and cleaning it out after he finished. A looming silence fell between the two. There was a storm brewing behind those eyes, swimming in misery-laced tears. In a moment, there could've been a downpour, and Felix wasn't sure he was ready for that. He was just a barista, after all. He didn't exactly do people, not like his wife does. "You were a Beacon student, right? What changed?"
Jaune swallowed, face paler and teeth grit, like he was preparing himself to fight a war. "I didn't earn my way in, you see." He almost mumbled, too ashamed to speak up louder. "It was great at first though. I led a team, fought criminals, Grimm, had adventures out the wild zoo, participated in a food fight that nearly destroyed the school- ain't that a story for the ages, but it's kinda simple from there." His voice lowered. "The principal found me out and expelled me on the spot. I wasn't even allowed to say goodbye to anyone."
Felix narrowed his eyes. "That's it? How'd all this happen then?" He asked, pointing at the boy's current state. "Did they throw you overboard or something?"
"Some of the students followed me on board. A guy named Cardin. They kinda threw me overboard into the Emerald Forest when I kinda refused to give any secrets about my previous partner." Jaune solemnly stated.
Felix shook his head in disgust. "Bullies? At their age? What's wrong with kids these days? Wait." Felix blinked. "You mean to tell me you survived five days in the Emerald Forest with presumably half your aura left?"
Jaune rubbed the back of his neck squirmish. "Yup, that's me. Professional camper, hiker, and boy scout. You should see my knots," Felix's eyes narrowed, driving a pit in Jaune's stomach. "Okay, okay, It's not as cool as you think. I kinda just kept on running for the most part. I must've fought what, five Grimm at most? And most of that was me doing my best ragdoll. I did make it to the city sometime this morning, then got mugged, drunk, pickpocketed, chased out of a school I accidently walked in with a broom, and somehow, I ended up here."
Felix sighed, resting his chin in his hands, processing all of this. "Don't you have parents to call?"
Once again, Jaune's head hung. "No, not really. I can't. I just… can't." The boy looked like the embodiment of shame, trying to search for a way to punish himself just for existing. It was a pitiful sight, to be honest- one that Felix just wasn't used to seeing. It ate at him a little. He rubbed his chin a little bit, listening to the rhythmic ticking of his clock. He looked up. Nine-o-three. He looked around. The customers had all but cleared out during the kids story, with the last one packing up after a single shared glance from Felix.
When you got right down to it, this was rather pitiful. No, it was downright tragic for all the wrong reasons. This kid wasn't a trainwreck, he was a natural disaster in progress. A real tornado in a bottle. He sighed in his hand, head stuck in debate mode. At the end of the day, the kid was a complete stranger, but by the gods, he couldn't just leave the kid. He physically couldn't.
He pointed upwards. "Up the stairs, at the end of the hall, there's a shower. Get yourself cleaned up. I've got spare clothes."
Jaune blinked. "Wait, what?"
"Or do you want to keep smelling like a sewage drain? You're stinking out my cafe," Felix tersely said. "Move it. C'mon."
The boy stood frozen, no doubt weighing his options. After a few seconds, he stood up stiffly and stumbled his way up the steps, tripping over a few cases along the way.
Felix sighed into his hand. "What've you gotten yourself into now, Felix?"
/
It was amazing just how much a shower could make a new man. The hot water was its own gateway to heaven. By the time he came out, the small bathroom was filled with steam, days worth of dark gunk and grime swirling down the drain. As the man downstairs said, there was a fresh set of clothes lying on top of the toilet seat; a plain black shirt and a rather clean pair of jeans. It was a little bit on the tight side, but god did it feel great actually slipping into something clean for once. Maybe with his luck, they won't rip.
He crept down stairs. The machines were down, lights already dim. The smell of vanilla and cocoa still hung in the air like a warm, fresh blanket. The Barista still stood behind the table, cleaning every nook and cranny of the place with a white rag. Jaune swallowed. Showing gratitude wasn't the hard part. Deciding whether or not he was deserving of it was something else entirely. His mouth fell open, but the Barista went first.
"You're welcome," He without looking up. A loose little stutter from Jaune drew a sigh from the weary-looking man. "Trying to spit something out? Aim for the sink."
"Just, thanks." Jaune gratefully sputtered. "I seriously appreciate this. You have no idea."
The Barista grunted back, peeking up at Jaune with a one-sided smirk. "I already said you're welcome. We don't need any brown-nosing here." Even so, that little smile stayed on Felix's face for quite a bit after. "Felix."
"Hmm?"
"That's my name. Felix."
"Ooh, like that cat you see on TV?" Jaune asked excitedly. Felix's face had gone deadpan stiff. "You know, that black and white show that's probably a good hundred thousand years before our time?" If it could be possible, some more life went and fizzled out of Felix's eyes. Jaune's face paled. "You know the song. Felix, the cat. The wonderful, wonderful… I'll stop now."
"Oh God, you think you're a comedian," He groaned in a dulcet tone. He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking more like a disappointed father than anything else. "You looking for a job?"
"Ah- what?" Once again, Jaune was dumbstruck.
"Parrot. I am asking you. If you need a job." Felix spoke intentionally slowly, enunciating to the point of annoying him.
"Don't you think this is a bit sudden?"
Felix shrugged. "Some of the best things in life are spontaneous. Don't think too hard about it. It's simple. Boy wanders into my cafe, boy looks like he lost a few fights with an ursa, boy needs a damn shower before he puts my cafe under for hazmat and health issues, boy needs a job to get back on his feet. I can offer all of this, and I don't really have a reason not to, so are you in or not."
It didn't take too long to weigh those options on the proverbial scale. Out of school, no money, no place to stay, and going back home was far off the table. Being offered a job like this so far out of the blue sounded like it was too good to be true, but at the end of the day, what were his other options?
"Yeah, I'll take it." Jaune nervously answered.
Felix nodded. "Very well, then," He stretched out. "Come back here the day after tomorrow and we'll get you sorted," He gave Jaune an expectant look. "Were you expecting a red carpet? Get on outta here." He waved Jaune out the door as it closed behind him, Felix disappearing on the other side of the stained glass door window. With little else to do, he walked out into the city.
Having grown up in the countryside, the city was always a bit of an enigma to him. How could anyone get anything done with all this noise? The constant grinding construction, honking cars of careless drivers, even the smell of fast food, motors and sewage nearby drove him insane. There was just too much to take in, adding an overwhelming amount of salt to that festering wound in his head.
An hour of walking, still somehow getting nowhere. The city of Vale blurred by with each step, people passing by the scattered soul as if all was right in the world, but it wasn't. His teeth clenched, heart clenching even tighter somehow. He hadn't felt so alone in such a long time. So vacant. No friends, too ashamed to call family for help, it was like a heavy weight was placed on every part of his body. His legs shook with each step until he couldn't take it anymore and collapsed onto a bench, watching the kids play lakidasily in a park, mind drifting off to a singular question.
"What do I do now?" He mumbled to himself.
He closed his eyes for a moment, just to rest them. When he opened his eyes again, it was night, the atmosphere a lot more quiet and somber. He checked his scroll. Nearly Ten-thirty. Nope. He looked to his side and found his rucksack, still strapped to his shoulder. He sighed. Nope, it wasn't a dream. He heard someone clear their throat in front of him and he spared a tired glance.
His eyes widened. "Ruby?"
That squirly little grin said it all. A grin spreading nearly from ear to ear. A short girl with neck-length black and red hair, silver eyes, red and black gothic dress, and one of the sweetest smiles in history. A smile bright enough to flag planes down, and sweet enough to give even the most intolerant soul diabetes. She stood in the streetlight view like an angel straight from heaven, or perhaps that was Jaune's muddled mind messing with him. Simply seeing someone he knew was good enough.
"How'd you know I was here?" He asked.
"I didn't," She answered, rubbing the back of her head. "I kinda just ran around till I found you. It worked, so there's that," She giggled, wiping glistening sweat off her forehead. "You doing okay?"
"Right as rain." Jaune managed wearily.
"You sound like you are," Ruby sarcastically said, sitting next to him, legs swinging in the small gap between her feet and the ground. "What're you doing all the way out here?"
"Oh you know me. Checking out the sights, causing trouble, being the lady-killer that I am and… stuff," He ended with a sigh, leaning his head back against the bench. "You can probably figure out now why I told you I wasn't leader material."
"I'm not gonna take back what I said, you know," Ruby said with a pout. "Come on, I sounded really cool back there. I don't wanna take it all back because of something like this."
"But I was right. I didn't belong there," Jaune said sadly, clutching the knees of his jeans. "I didn't. I never have or will," His head hung, eyes tightened. "I lied my way in, and lied to all of you. That's not… the way it should've gone. I should've done… anything better than that. I'm really sorry."
"Good."
Jaune's brows furrowed. "Good."
"Good," Ruby affirmed. "You're sorry. You look like you mean it too. Now do something about it."
"Do what? Beg for my student license back on my hands and knees? Throw the old man a parade?" Jaune asked. A little thought in the back of his neck made him chuckle. "Maybe bring back some dodo birds to soften him up. Only he'd remember them."
Ruby burst out laughing, music to his ears. "Yeah, yeah, maybe get a Tyrannosaurus Rex to bring us the cake. But anyway, I was being serious. I'm gonna wait for you to come back"
Jaune gawked. She couldn't be serious. This wasn't just asking for a miracle, this was just asking for a frozen day in hell. Penguins would be skating across the frozen abyss before he would ever get the chance to be a Huntsman again, Ozpin made that very clear. It wasn't the best idea to get his hopes up, especially now with the wounds so fresh.
"You're asking for a lot, Rubes." Jaune said with a sigh.
"Not really," She insisted, bouncing in her seat. "Because I can see it in you. You're a really great guy, you know. Great guys like you have gotta do great things. You're just stuck in a rut right now, but that's all it is. A rut. Give it time, and I know you'll come back out of it. Even if I'm long gone out of the academy and you're just coming back, I can keep a seat warm for you. Somehow," She tapped her chin. "Okay, maybe not literally, but you know what I mean."
A little chuckle escaped Jaune's throat. That little warm tingly feeling in his chest. Was that faith? How strange. He had scarcely felt that before.
"Even after all this-"
"Don't bother finishing that, you doof," Ruby grinned. "'Course I think that, or I wouldn't say it. What do you take me for?" Her eyes widened, like a lightbulb going off in her head. "Oh! I didn't think about it before! Do you have a place to stay?" Jaune blinked. Had he really not thought of that yet? "Okay, by that look on your face, I guess not. What to do, what to do," She mumbled to herself, tapping her chin. Then eureka. Another lightbulb. This girl was on fire today. "Here, get it while it's hot." She passed him what looked like a keycard. A serial number and apartment complex was written on its side.
"Wait, what's this?" He asked.
"Well, there's a place nearby that my dad has the keys to. It's a small apartment he still pays for, and he left some keys for us in case we were in trouble and needed a place to stay- Don't give me that look, I have an extra set." She quickly added in, seeing Jaune's look of concern. "You can stay there for however long you need to. If Dad asks, I'll just say I need a place outside of school every once in a while. Trust me, he won't ask questions."
"I don't know what to say." Jaune rasped, taken aback. This key felt oddly heavy in his hands. No, he really didn't deserve it. He hadn't done anything to deserve it- hadn't done anything worthwhile to her to even consider it. It wouldn't be fair for him to just mooch on her like that. "Can we just talk about this a little?"
"Nope." Ruby said simply with a cute little grin. It spelled it all right in front of him. She'd made up her mind and there was no going back. Any argument would flow in one ear and out the other. Even though he still felt adamant, he was glad too. This girl was really looking out for him.
"Then could you at least stay over with me on the first night?" Instant beet red. Any confidence in Ruby's stride burnt up with that red face. "N-No, not like that, not like that! We can play games, read comics, something other than that!" The poor noodle sputtered.
She played with her hair. "No, no, I get it, completely understood, I just... never stayed alone in a room with a boy before. It's a bit overwhelming."
Jaune sighed, rubbing the back of his head nervously. It made sense. The poor girl was a social nightmare. Crowds were an outright phobia to her on its own. "Sorry about that."
"That wasn't a no," She said quietly, tugging at a strand of her bangs. "I've got my scroll with me, and there's a TV there. Nothing wrong with some gametime, and tomorrow's a day off, so why not, huh?"
Jaune cleared his throat. "I guess not. Well, lead the way, fellow leader." He said jovially.
Ruby giggled, grabbed him by the wrist, and all but sprinted down the street. It took every last bit of energy just to keep up with the ball of rosy fluff. A good ten minutes of grinding his leg muscles to dust, they arrived at a small apartment complex on the outer area of town, and went right to the top floor. Jaune opened the door, testing the new key out, and walked right in.
The room was nice, all things considered. Cream-colored walls, small kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom, furnished with rather old looking leather couches and an old TV. Nothing extravagant for such a small area, but as studio apartments go, it was a miracle in a bottle. Ruby kicked off her boots and jumped on the dusty couch with reckless abandon.
"Everything's still here! Sweet!" She cheered.
"When was the last time you were here?" Jaune asked, tracing a finger along the concrete walls curiously.
Ruby tapped her chin. "Around say… three or four years ago? My dad keeps paying for it so we have another place to go in case things go south. Don't worry. The most you have to worry about is Yang."
Jaune froze, heart sinking. "Please tell me I'm not about to sleep in Yang's hookup place."
"Ew, no!" Ruby gagged, face scrunching up. "Yang doesn't do that kind of thing! At least I think." She tossed a controller his way. "How's your Bash game, by the way?"
"About as good as my Lady Killing skills." Jaune grinned, catching the controller.
"Oh? Then this should be real easy then. Pop a squat, you giant."