His eye fluttered open, warm sunlight filtered through the partially drawn curtains. He leaned his head forward, off of the pillows behind him, supporting his torso and head, and looked down at himself. At what was left of Jaune Arc.
His legs were missing from well above the knee; all that was left were the stumps of his upper thigh. His gaze drifted to his left, where the cold metal connection for his left arm was. Currently his arm was not attached; it lay on a table beside him on the right. His gaze drifted back to his right arm, going down over the scars and resting on his hand, where his only remaining fingers were his thumb and index, the rest had been lost and replaced with cybernetics.
The one time I don't wear my gloves….. he thought, his gaze flicking to the mirror across from him on the wall. He was propped up in a sitting position, with a blanket that didn't really cover much of anything. His gown was open in a deep V, revealing even more scars across his chest. His gaze lingered on his head, where a breathing mask was attached over his mouth and nose, pumping in oxygen to his lungs, which he knew had never really recovered from that fight all those years ago. He tried not to look at his face too much, as of all the injuries he'd had, the ones to his face and head were the only ones that truly frightened him. The left side of his face was partially missing; his cheekbone and an empty eye socket were exposed, the skin having healed around it.
He averted his one good eye, so that he didn't have to look too long on himself. Instead it settled on the people gathered around him. There was Ruby's oldest daughter, and her son, who looked like a male version of his grandmother at that age, with red-black hair falling into his face, a red and black hood that he was practically hiding in. Jaune smiled at him and he smiled back, his eyes genuinely happy, despite the occasion. Ruby herself was at his immediate right, and while he certainly looked like a 94 year old man, she did not. He locked eyes with her, and she took his hand, squeezing it gently. His gaze returned to those gathered around him, Yang's grandson was there, in the back talking with Blake's granddaughter. Jaune closed his eye as he remembered them. Blake and Yang had decided to go on a besties hunt together in Vaccuo. He and Ruby and everyone had seen them off at the pier on Patch, Blake and Yang had hung over the rails of the ship waving like school girls, though they were well into their thirties. He remembered their smiles, their shouted farewells, he himself had held up Yang's daughter to wave goodbye as their ship pulled away from the pier and headed out to open sea. The ship never made it, simply vanishing into the great blue ocean.
Jaune's gazed drifted to the few others, his grand niece and nephew, the only family that he had left. Weiss's grandson, and his mother, with signature Schnee hair and cold yet tender eyes. They sat close together, holding hands and talking quietly to themselves. Weiss had passed away only a few months ago, Jaune had been devastated, and so had they. Thinking about Weiss led him to others no longer with him, those he had failed to keep safe. Cardin, team Sun, Velvet and Coco, Ruby's uncle Qrow, who'd died soon after the dust settled from the Salem adventure. General Ironwood had been assassinated by dissenters in Atlas and Mantle, and Glynda had disappeared on a hunt like Yang and Blake. He thought of all the people who had died, most of all Ren and Nora who hadn't made it through that business with Salem and those accursed Relics, and of course her. Pyrrha.
He closed his eye and whispered her name softly.
"Pyrrha."
He opened his eye again, the sun was lower in the sky, and only Ruby sat beside him now. He shifted in bed, and reached with his arm, gently shaking her awake. Her silver eyes fluttered open, focusing on him, and she smiled. He smiled back, even at 92, Ruby Rose was still quite beautiful. If he hadn't been so in love with Pyrrha, he might have loved her.
"Hey there Jaune, how are you feeling?"
"All things considered, not too bad."
Ruby smiled at his joke, even on death's bed Jaune Arc still had a sense of humor. She looked down at what was left of him, and his missing cybernetics.
"How come you asked to have them removed?"
Jaune looked down at himself, gaze flitting from his legs to arm and mirror.
"I wanted as much of ME as I could. I want to die as human as possible, not some kind of cyborg."
He looked down at himself again, Even though it's what I've become he thought.
He leaned his head back, exhaling slowly through his nose, his mask fogging up as he did so.
"I once said that an Arc endures. I've endured Ruby, and I'm tired."
His gaze shifted from Ruby to the off-white ceiling of his room, tracing the curves in the ornate light fixture. The sun threw deep shadows onto the walls along with warm orange light. He looked back at Ruby, now silhouetted with the sun behind her. He blinked. For a second she had looked just like the awkward girl he'd found in a crater on their first day at beacon.
"I'm just so tired….."
He closed his eye and let out one long breath.
"Hey."
Jaune ignored the voice, he was trying to rest.
"Hey, Vomit Boy."
He felt his eyebrows come together automatically at the sound of his old nickname. He opened his eye to scold Ruby for calling him that, but stopped.
Only one person ever called me that. He thought as he opened his eye and looked around him. At the foot of his bed a young woman was sitting on a backwards chair, her arms folded up under her chin, long yellow hair flowed from her head like rays from the sun. Yang Xiao Long.
"Yang?"
"That's me Vomit Boy."
She smiled, her lilac eyes alight with joy and mischief.
"Wait, how are you here? You and Blake-"
"I'll tell you all about it later, but first get on up, there are some people waiting for you."
Yang got up and stretched, it was then Jaune noticed she looked like he remembered her from before the fall of Beacon, even her right arm was there.
"Yang….. You look like the pictures I still have from Beacon."
Yang looked down at herself and laughed.
"Why thank you Jaune, now get up off your ass already."
Jaune gazed at her open mouthed and looked around for Ruby, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Ruby?"
"She's not here Jaune, not yet, now come. Seriously, I'm getting bored over here."
Yang's eyes flashed red for the briefest of moments. Jaune frowned at her. I must be having a Lucid Dream. Fine I'll just see where this goes. He thought.
"Fine Yang, jeez. Just give me a second to get my arm….?"
Jaune looked down in amazement, he had reached for the table where his left arm and legs were, but had reached WITH his left arm. He turned the limb over, looking at the back of his hand, and flexing his fingers. He slowly reached his arm up to feel the left side of his face. Smooth skin met his finger tips and he ran his hand across it, feeling his ear, hair, and teasing over his left eye, which he blinked as if opening it for the first time in a long while.
"What happened, who did this?"
Yang looked at him her gaze hard at first then softening.
"I'll explain, or rather WE'LL explain, but first get up out of bed already before I have to hit you."
Jaune looked down, half hoping half expecting to see his legs. He was not disappointed. He brought his knees up, seeing them tent the sheets and blankets. He ran his hands down his legs, and noticed that his right hand was whole and complete. He brought it up to his face to remove the breathing mask but found there was none now attached to his face.
"This is one incredible dream."
"No dream Jaune, now come on vomit boy, we're expected."
Yang pulled out her aviators and walked out, shutting the door behind her. Jaune watched her go, and pulled the sheets off of himself, revealing not the hospital clothes he'd been wearing but his old attire from his days at Beacon. Swinging his legs out over the bed, he stood warily expecting to be wobbly. Instead it felt like he was standing up after a very long time sitting down. He stretched his arms as Yang had done and walked to the foot of his bead, looking at it now empty. He was certain it was a dream, but if he squinted his eyes he thought he could see himself still laying there, parts missing and tubes running out of him into various machines. He turned away, the last thing he wanted to see was the horror he'd become in being the shield of Vale.
He pulled open the door Yang had gone through, and took one final glance over his shoulder back at his bed. He didn't need to squint this time to make out the shape of Ruby Rose, still watching over him, gently patting his grizzled white hair on what was left of his head. Her head turned to look in his direction, her silver eyes found his. Jaune knew it was impossible since he was dreaming but it seemed as if she could see him. She blinked and smiled, as if to say, go on. He smiled back and walked through the door, letting it softly thunk to a close behind him.
Ruby knew it was no trick of the light or delusion of old age. She had seen a soft white silhouette of a man at the door of Jaune's room. She looked back at Jaune on the bed, his chest was still and his breathing had stopped. Tears began to form in her eyes, and she softly grabbed his hand, still warm despite the cold metal fingers. Leaning over him she kissed his forehead.
"Goodbye old friend, rest well."
Jaune stopped, and looked back at the door, absently bringing a hand to his forehead.
"Hey, come on Vomit Boy."
"Really? I throw up on myself ONE TIME!"
Yang laughed, loud and merry.
"And it was memorable. Come on, the others are waiting."
"What others?"
Yang smiled.
"You'll see, this way."
She led him down a long hallway to a set of double doors, much like the front of the Crowbar pub in Vale. Yang stopped and stood aside, waving Jaune up next to her.
"You go in first. This is your party after all."
"What is all this Yang?"
Yang smiled again,
"Go on Vomit Boy, some of them have been waiting a long time."
Jaune sighed. Might as well see what this is.
He grabbed the handles and pushed the double doors open, revealing a large bar full of people, definitely not the Crowbar he had been expecting. A hush fell over the crowd, as all eyes turned toward him. Then a cacophony of noise assaulted his ears.
"HE's here!"
"Finally!"
"Took ya long enough!"
Jaune gazed in wonder around him, taking in people's faces. That was Cardin! There was Sun, and Neptune! He turned to look at Yang, and was startled to see Blake slide up to her, and loop her arm through one of Yang's.
"Blake!"
"Hello Jaune, it's nice to finally see you again."
"But your trip, the ship, it never made it…."
Blake frowned ever so slightly, her cat ears turning down.
"Yeah, we didn't make it. A leviathan got us two days into the trip."
"I knew it was Grimm, I told them, 'no way would pirates get the best of them'"
Jaune stopped and looked around one more time. Some people were still clapping; others were going back to their drinks and conversations. He looked again at the faces. There was General Ironwood, and Glynda, with Qrow slumped between them. Coco was over there, sharing a drink with Velvet; his sisters were crowded around a large round table with some of their children and so many others he had known.
"I'm not dreaming am I?"
Blake and Yang shared a look,
"Sorry Jaune, you're not dreaming. Blake, me, you, all of us. We're-"
"We're dead. Aren't we?"
Yang nodded.
"It's not so bad actually. You can choose how you look, though most of us kind of defaulted to when we were students at beacon."
"Everyone I left behind, Ruby, your grandson Blake, and yours Yang-"
"Stop it. Don't worry about the people still on the other side. We'll see them again. Now come on, I bet it's been years since you had a proper drink."
Jaune looked up. Blake had wandered off and Yang was offering her hand.
"Besides, everyone has been waiting to see you again Jaune."
Jaune took her hand and let her lead him through the crowd, stopping to chat briefly with everyone. At some point Yang wandered off by herself and Jaune continued on, meeting all of his old friends and family again. Much later it seemed, Yang and Blake both reappeared, interrupting his conversation with Weiss, who had given him a bear hug when he'd found her.
"Over here Jaune. There are some special people you need to see."
"Oh, Yang, are they all here?"
"You betcha snow queen."
"Would you PLEASE not call me that!"
Yang smiled and winked.
"Nah."
Weiss huffed and folded her arms across her chest briefly.
"Fine, I'll come too. Goodness knows I've been waiting to see them too."
"See who?"
Weiss, Yang and Blake all looked at him as if he were very stupid.
"You'll see Jaune. They've been waiting a long time to see you. Longer than most of us."
Weiss took his arm and Yang covered his eyes and frog marched him across the bar. Yang removed her hands, and Jaune blinked as a woman with orange hair came into focus in front of him.
"JAAAUUUNNEE!"
Nora Valkyrie slammed into him and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"Nora, you're breaking my ribs…."
Nora relaxed a little, leaning back to look at him, grinning from ear to ear.
"You can't silly! I've already tried, isn't that right Ren?"
Ren materialized almost out of thin air.
"Quite right Nora."
"REN!"
Jaune wrapped a free arm around the silent ninja, and pulled him into the hug as well.
"I'm so sorry you guys. It shouldn't have ended the way it-"
"Jaune, stop it. There was nothing you could have done. It happened. Don't beat yourself up too much."
"Indeed. Don't worry about the past. It is the past now, and I think we should focus on the present."
Jaune looked at both of his dearest friends, his teammates. Tears formed and ran down his cheeks.
"I missed you guys SO much."
"We know silly."
Nora's voice was soft and wavering. Tears were slowly falling down her cheeks too. Jaune pulled away from both of them to get a good look at them. They looked just as he remembered, as he watched, their hands drifted toward one another's and slowly interwove.
"So, are you guys finally together?"
Ren laughed, which surprised Jaune.
"We always were, we just didn't know it."
Nora giggled and kissed Ren on the cheek, then turned to look at Jaune.
"Come on. There's one more person who's waiting for you."
Nora reached out and with Ren took his arm and led him to the bar, where a woman was sitting with her back to them. She was wearing a flowing red dress that exposed her shoulders, revealing pale skin. Jaune stopped. Her red hair was done up in a long almost waist length ponytail, the back of a small tiara-like headband wrapped around her head.
"Pyrrha."
She turned on her stool, vivid green eyes meeting his. Jaune wasn't sure if everyone else literally faded away or not, his vision narrowed to the woman before him.
"Jaune."
He practically ran forward and wrapped his arms around her, and hers around him. Several long seconds passed, and Jaune remembered every time they had practiced on the roof of the dorm, unlocking his aura in the forest, the dance…. Every moment he'd had with her. Eventually they leaned back to look at one another. Tears were forming and running down both of their cheeks.
"Jaune, I'm so, so sorry."
"What for?"
"For what I did to you, how I left you like-"
"Pyrrha. Everyone keeps telling me to forget the past and focus on the now."
He raised a hand a wiped a tear from her cheek and guided her to look at him.
"We're here now, you and me."
Pyrrha blinked several times, and wiped a tear from her other eye, and looked at Jaune again, her green eyes staring into his blue.
"Sorry."
Jaune sighed.
"Good grief, what for?"
"For doing this only once before."
She leaned in and kissed him, an arm wrapping up to the middle of his back. He braced one arm on her back as well, and lifted one to cup her cheek. Jaune wasn't sure how long they held the kiss, but when they broke apart, it felt too short.
"I've waited a long time to do that Jaune. I should have done it sooner."
Jaune chuckled weakly.
"You're not the only one who should've done things sooner."
She raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.
"I love you Pyrrha Nikos."
"I love you Jaune Arc."
They leaned back into another kiss with passion, and this time everyone else did fade away, leaving the two of them alone in the empty bar, then it too started to fade into white. She was what mattered most to him, and he to her.
They didn't notice that they were fading too, their forms losing focus, becoming clouds of white and red that slowly began to intermingle, and form one cloud of red and white. After so many years, so much pain and torment, they were together, from now until forever.
AN: The main plot-lines of this story were thought of and planned out before Volume six, particularly the events of episode 9, which to me signify Jaune beginning to move on with life. That didn't happen in my fic, obviously. Anyway, thank you for reading, feedback is welcomed. Have a question about this, that or another thing pertaining to this fic, send me a message, or ask in a review. I'll do my best to get back to you.