OKAY FIRST OFF I am sorry I am such a terrible writer who doesn't ever update shit. This has been a really hectic month and on the rare occasion that I haven't been eternally busy I have been playing Fire Emblem and I love it and I'm not even sorry. Okay I am sorry but I'm not sorry for playing I'm sorry for not managing my time better. Pls forgive this young stupid soul

Chapter 57

Jaye spun the knife between his fingers, eyeing the item before him with a deadly glare. He breathed deeply, still twirling the blade in his hand, and brought it down onto the board with a flourish. He began slicing the meat with impressive precision, each strip coming out perfectly even and whole, and Kamina applauded his technique with awe. Jaye bowed gracefully, continuing to slice the meat, and the twins stared at the two idiots with a disgusted look plastered across their faces.

'What the hell is wrong with you.' Artemis said flatly, and Jaye rolled his eyes at the uncultured girl.

'Silence child, cooking is not to be taken lightly. It is a blessing upon the soul, and not something to be done carelessly.' He placed the knife down on the table, retrieving his perfectly cut char siu and laying them out on a plate for topping. He turned over to Ren, who was currently stirring the pot of broth gently. 'How's that broth coming along buddy?'

Ren took a precautionary sip from the pot, making a face of satisfaction. 'It is perfect.'

'I knew I could count on you.' Jaye said, giving the boy a thumbs up as he washed the dishes. Apollo rolled his eyes, nudging his sister and returning his attention to the table he was setting. Ren gave his soup a satisfactory sigh.

'Alright, the first batch is just about done.' He declared, and Ruby gave a mini bounce on the spot.

'Awesome! Now we just need Qrow and we're all set.' She said, and Nora munched happily on the carrots she was cutting.

'Do you really think he's going to bring that many people?' She tossed another piece into her mouth. 'This is a lot of food.'

Ruby turned her attention back to the pan she was holding, shrugging her shoulders. 'Uh, I don't know, but it sounds like we could use all the help we can get.' Qrow's voice sounded from the doorway, and Ruby glanced over her shoulder as Ren leaned over her pan. 'Be right there!'

'You're going to overcook that.' Ren said.

'No I'm not shut up!' She wiggled, and Jaye peered over her shoulder.

'Forget going to, it's already overcooked.' He said, and the red-haired girl promptly told him to shut up as well. A puff of smoke rose rather comically out of the pan, and the ruby-haired girl rolled her eyes.

'Fine! You take over!' She handed off the pan to Jaye, who contented himself with removing its contents to a nearby plate, grabbing the tray of tea and stalking into the living room. She balanced it precariously in her small arms.

'So uh, we didn't know how many people were coming, so we just cooked all of it.' Ruby's eyes widened as she stared at the new arrivals in the doorway. The tray slipped from her grasp, the pot shattering on the floor with a resounding crash, and Jaye immediately darted to the archway. He skidded to a stop as a mop of blonde flashed before his eyes.

'Yang! I-I'm so sorry!' Ruby blustered, tears streaming down her cheeks, staring at everything except the blonde girl in the middle of the room. 'I-I should have stayed; I should have talked to you more! I-I just…I wasn't sure if you wanted me around-!'

The girl froze, her words caught in her throat as Yang wrapped her arms around the crying girl. The blonde choked silently, tightening her grip on her sister.

'I love you.' She whispered, closing her eyes as tears began to flow. Ruby buried her face in the taller girl's shoulder.

'I love you too!'

Jaye shifted quietly on the spot, stepping aside to allow the other three to step out from the kitchen. Weiss brushed a tear discreetly away from her eye, avoiding looking at the girls until her name was called. The sisters held their hands out to her, and with barely a second of hesitation the ex-heiress dived into their arms. The three girls contented themselves with their group hug, and Jaye quietly returned his attention to the food still sitting on the stove. Kamina patted him on the back.

'Not going to join in?' He asked, and the raven-haired boy shook his head.

'Let them have their reunion.' He said, and Kamina turned the boy around. He caught the eyes of the girls, who were standing patiently in a circle for him.

'It's not a reunion without you.' Yang stated simply, smiling at the surprised boy. Jaye relented, chuckling quietly to himself as he obligingly wrapped his arms around the girls. They squeezed him tightly, laughing gently to each other, and Jaye rolled his eyes.

'You guys are idiots. I love you.'

At the dinner table

'How do you lose your map at a time like that?' Yang choked out between fits of giggles, and Jaune shook his head at his noodles.

'Believe me, I've asked myself the same thing ever since.' He sighed, and the table burst into laughter. Jaye laughed along, nudging the twins who were awkwardly seated between him and the fox boy. They seemed wholly alienated from the conversation, and Jaye gave them a smile that said they weren't alone. Kamina on the other hand, looked right at home, and Jaye had to applaud the boy's ability to instantly blend into any social situation at will.

'Hey, but you made up for it, Mister Muscles!' Nora pointed. 'You shoulda seen this guy take a giant Grimm head on!'

'I couldn't have done it without Ruby wearing it down.' Jaune said, and Ruby waved her chopsticks in the air.

'Uh, me? Did you see Ren during that fight? He was out of control!'

Ren's face turned apologetic. 'I'm sorry, I may have lost my temper momentarily.'

'No, no! Out of control as in "awesome"!'

'Ooooohhh. Thank you.'

The conversation continued as the friends caught up, and Jaye smiled at Kamina from across the table. The fox boy nudged the twins, his ears flicking back and forth.

'What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?' He grinned, and Artemis glared at the faunus boy. Her ears pointed angrily at him, and Kamina raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. The four looked up at the icy blue Boarbatusk summon as it snorted at Nora, and the girl fell over in a bundle of screams.

'If you think it's so easy to join the conversation, why don't you try?' Apollo hissed, and Jaye shrugged.

'Nah, let them talk. They've been apart for too long; friendships are all about communication.'

'Aren't you friends with them too?' Artemis said.

'Making a lot of assumptions there girlie. I'm not even really friends with Mina, let alone them.'

'That hurts. Right here.' Kamina sniffed, placing a hand over his heart and staring foxy eyed at the boy. Jaye snorted at him, turning his attention back to the group, his eyes drifting again to the blonde girl. Artemis eyed Yang across the table.

'Is that her?' She whispered, and Kamina nodded. 'I thought so. Never seen this asshat so starry-eyed before.'

'Um, excuse you, that's none of your business.' Jaye shoveled more noodles into his mouth. 'Private, Jaye Ryder only business. No room for little itty-bitty bitchy kitties in here.'

'Um, excuse you, if it's your business it's our business as well.' Apollo said, popping a piece of char siu into his mouth. 'Oh, shit that actually tastes amazing.'

'You're welcome.' Jaye sniggered, and Apollo made a retching noise at him. They looked up once more as Yang and Nora slammed their arms down on the table. The boys cheered behind them, and the four oddballs watched the scene unfold with mild curiosity.

'C'mon sis! You can't lose to a girl in a skirt!' Ruby yelled, and Weiss raised an eyebrow at her.

'Ruby, you wear a skirt.' She pointed out, and the redhead grabbed the ex-heiress by the shoulders.

'WEISS YOU'RE NOT CHEERING LOUD ENOUGH!' The white-haired girl's expression turned to one that said, "I'm so done with these idiots", and Jaye mirrored the girl's expression as he watched the match. Yang launched the girl into the wall, her ejected arm still in Nora's grasp, and the pink-clad girl threw it back with a scream of terror. Weiss covered her mouth with her hands, and Jaye raised an eyebrow in surprise.

'Well, that's one way to disarm yourself.' He punned, earning himself a punch from Mina.

Later

'Ugghh, we ate it all.' Jaune groaned, hefting the massive pot into his hands. Piled high with other dishes and scraps of food, it was certainly a sight to behold, and Jaye could tell the blond was not looking forward to washing that. 'I think I'm going to be sick.'

'Easy there, vomit boy.' Yang smiled, eyes twinkling mischievously at the boy. 'I believe in you.'

'Ooh, we're doing nickname throwbacks now. Wonderful.' The boy lugged the massive pot behind the dividing wall and into the kitchen. Weiss giggled behind her fingers, and Nora waved a hand at the girl.

'I mean, the Ice Queen seems to like it.' She said, and Ruby snorted loudly, bursting into peals of laughter at the ex-heiress. Weiss rolled her eyes at the girls.

'I so did not miss you people.'

'Oh my gosh!' Nora gasped, slapping her hands to her cheeks. 'She really does like it! What went and warmed your heart while you were gone?'

'Hey! You make it sound like I used to be terrible!' The heiress exclaimed, and Jaye set his cup down on the dark wooden table.

'I don't think "used to" is the right verb for the situation.' He said, swirling a finger around the mouth of his beverage. Yang shrugged from where she'd moved to sit next to the boy.

'Nah, just a lot to deal with at once.' She said, earning a glare from the white-haired girl. She stuck her tongue out in response, and Ren smiled at the group from the head of the table.

'It's been a long time.' He began. 'We've all grown in our own ways.'

'You really think so?' Ruby asked, and the boy cast his eyes wistfully down at the table.

'Well, think back to when we were all at Beacon.' He said. 'Would you say you ever did anything foolish or embarrassing? Or do you think you were perfect?'

The students glanced across the table at each other, and Jaye picked at his nails nonchalantly. Weiss buried her face into her hands, and Yang shifted uncomfortably on her cushion.

'I may have been a little too gung-ho from time to time.' Yang admitted, and Ruby snorted.

'Heh, you? I tried to 1v1 a Nevermore on the second day of school.' Jaye nodded emphatically at the girl, earning him a nudge from Yang.

'Yeah well…don't even get me started.' Jaune leaned against the wall behind them, arms crossed as he stared a hole into the floor. Ren chuckled at them.

'Well that embarrassment–that desire to go back and tell yourself to not be so stupid–that just proves you're not the same person you used to be.' He took a sip from his cup, casting his gaze across the people in the room in turn. 'You're smarter, or kinder, or stronger.' His eyes came to a rest on Jaune, who stared at the wall. 'And you're not done growing yet. None of us are.'

The students gathered around the table stared at the ninja boy for a long moment, and Jaye raised an eyebrow at him. Ruby cleared her throat.

'Yeah, turns out Ren gets real deep when he feels like talking.' She said, breaking the mood and setting the table laughing once more. In spite of this, Jaye understood the implications of the boy's words, glancing unobtrusively at Jaune. The boy still had half of a wistful look plastered across his face, and he suspected the boy's thoughts were still locked onto a certain…absentee. Jaye touched his hands to his swords unconsciously, offering a silent prayer for those who didn't make it. Nora got to her feet.

'Well hold on.' Nora jerked her thumb at herself. 'I thought I was pretty great in school.'

'Even at the dance?' Yang started, waving her robot arm at the girl. 'When you spilled punch all over yourself in front of–!'

'YES, ESPECIALLY THE DANCE! THANK YOU, YANG!' Nora cut in, blasting the soundtrack of "Shine" from her scroll. The girls giggled in response, and a surly voice cut in through the doorway.

'How can six kids possible make so much noise eating dinner?' Qrow grumbled, placing a hand on his hip as he stared at them from the hall. Oscar/Ozpin chuckled nervously, and Jaye raised a suspicious eyebrow at the pair who'd been absent for the duration of the meal. Qrow scratched the back of his head.

'Gather in the hall, five minutes. There's something you need to hear.'

And that's the end of this chapter. Thanks for being patient guys.