A/N: This is a RWBY oneshot collection containing oneshots relating to my longer fic, Laws of Attraction, and its spiritual sequel, What We Call Home. You don't necessarily need to read those first, but they provide the little bit of context for detailwork in each of these fics.

For anyone who hasn't read Laws of Attraction: There will be spoilers about certain plot points in these oneshots, so be warned. LoA is a canon-compliant retelling of RWBY Vol. 1-3 from Pyrrha's POV, detailing her entire personal journey through Beacon until the end of Vol. 3. If you're currently reading that fic, hold off on reading these oneshots. And if you don't care about spoilers/don't want to read LoA, then go ahead and read these!

Previously, many of these fics were separate oneshots. All of my LoA-verse oneshots will be moved over here by next weekend, so if you are wondering where a oneshot has gone, it has likely been added to this longer collection. I just wanted to clear up my profile a bit and ensure that people could find my LoA-related oneshots separately from other, more general RWBY pieces I've written.

*Cover artwork done by me, myself and I. Go MS Paint gooo

Hope that clears it up! Cheers :D

Summary: Jaune's first birthday after the Fall of Beacon isn't the same without Pyrrha by his side.

Genres: Hurt/Comfort & Friendship

This is set at the start of their journey to Haven in S4.

Let me know what you think!

chocolate reminders

He blew out the candles, a weak smile pulling his lips. The flames flickered and danced atop chocolate ganache for just a moment before they succumbed, and the group fell into darkness at their little table outside the small inn where they had stopped to rest for the night. Across the table from him, Ruby, Nora and Ren all cheered and clapped, grinning excitedly.

"C'mon, Jaune. Take a bite!" Ruby cooed.

Nora nodded enthusiastically. "It'll be delicious, we promise!"

"Just don't forget to keep your wish in your heart," Ren chastised, but his voice was warm, and he was unusually chipper thanks to the festivities. "That's the only way it'll come true."

"That's just a kid's tale, Ren," Nora scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. She picked up a fork and scraped off a bit of icing for herself, much to Ruby's horror. Her eyes flashed, menacing as the orange-haired girl added, "We all know that what really matters is caking the birthday boy for good luck."

Jaune clumsily readjusted the party hat they had stuck onto his head only a few minutes before when they had first pulled out the candle-covered chocolate cake. Where they had managed to procure such treats at random, he didn't know- they had barely been apart for fifteen minutes upon first arriving in this small village. He didn't remember telling them his birthday, either. Yet, looking at the hidden pinpricks of loneliness and worry in the back of their eyes, he knew that this was their way of cheering him up. He hadn't spoken a lot since they had begun their trip to Haven Academy.

Ren cut the cake at last, and both of the girls cheered. Jaune cracked a feeble smile, thoughts lingering on the wish which Ren had mentioned. There was only one thing he wanted.

As Nora shoved an entire piece of cake into Jaune's face for 'good luck', and Ruby screeched at the waste of a good dessert, and Ren clumsily attempted to clean up the blond's face in the aftermath with a tiny napkin, Jaune's smile didn't grow. All he could do was keep his eyes closed, clenching his fists tight into the bottom of his hoodie. All he could do was repeat his one wish, his one desire, over and over again in his mind.

God, I wish you were here, Pyrrha.

He had promised to celebrate his birthday with her, after all. He could still remember how she had looked back on her birthday all those months ago. The way she had simply lit up, her eyes aglow in the starlight, chocolate frosting covering her nose until he had pointed it out-

He didn't even like chocolate that much, but his team didn't know that. He had always liked vanilla more. After her birthday, though, he had always bought the dark sweets for Pyrrha, just in case Nora's seemingly-endless stashes ever ran out. It was no wonder that the orange-haired girl had attributed the flavour as something he enjoyed, too.

It didn't feel right to not have the redhead there, clapping and giggling along with Nora, helping Ren clean up the mess Jaune had become. It wasn't right.

Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. When he finally opened them again, he let out a ragged laugh, blaming the liquid's appearance on Nora and her pastry-related assault. They all knew why the tears fell down his cheeks, though.

The moon shone above them all, and he lifted his gaze, staring up at the stars above. The other three fell silent, giving him his space as they slowly ate their own slices of cake. He was thankful for the moment of peace, allowing himself to just close his eyes again, allowing himself to picture flaming red hair and brilliant green eyes and gold armour and safety and acceptance and warmth-

I wish you were here.