A/N:
A few more weeks pass mostly without incident. Jaune has returned to his nightly trainings in secret. Though he is careful of his mindset now. He has added in a bit of meditation before and after. He had scared himself with his previous outburst and was doing his best to not let it happen again. The group were yet again in a charming little settlement. Their supplies and funds had ran quite low so the stay in this little town would end up being longer than usual. The mission boards in this town had plenty of work for unlicensed huntsmen as well. With plenty of work, and plenty of sleep the team was in high spirits lately. The stress of not needing to watch their back for grimm and bandits at night was very much needed.
Ranger had just finished their last job of the day. A simple matter of clearing a few lancers from a local farmers land. The job went very smoothly, he managed to take down as many of the things as Ruby had, not that he was counting or anything. He takes in the town as they slowly stroll the streets. It's quite charming the little shops are all quite warm and welcoming. The people are friendly and the entire place just feels cozy and safe. He makes a conscious effort to focus on the present when they are in towns, as much for his own benefit as for his teammates. The foursome are sitting in a small café eating dinner and chatting. Ruby telling the story of how she designed Crescent Rose, it sparks something he's been mulling over in his head for a while.
"Hey Ruby, I've been thinking of adding some modifications to my shield and sword. I'm not that great with designs but I have a few ideas. Would you mind helping me out?" He begins.
Ruby's eyes light up "I thought you'd never ask!" She cheers! "Are you thinking ranged or are you wanting to stick close to the classics? Are you looking to add weight or make it lighter?" She rattles off questions one after the other. Nora's jaw even drops at the speed the tiny reaper speaks at right now. Ren sits back amused and amazed. Ruby had produced a pen and paper and had already mocked up a pretty accurate representation of Crocea Mors. It looked like an outright blueprint complete with a mock up of what the mechanism in the shield most likely looked like. She appraises her work before handing it over to Jaune. "Does this look about right? This is the base model of course, can't make modifications if its not right."
Jaune looks over the sketch, but honestly calling it a sketch seemed degrading. The pictures were in perfect scale and accurate to the last detail. He is absolutely blown away. He had always known the girl was a prodigy, but seeing her in action with her eyes blaze and watching the gears turn in her head he couldn't help but be overcome with admiration and adoration. "Wow, this is amazing Ruby, yea I'd say that's exactly right." Ruby beams up at him clearly proud of her work. He can't help but return a soft smile of his own. Ruby announces they're going to the weapons store now bouncing out of the diner without waiting on an answer.
Jaune follows her movements still at the table and holding onto the sketch. He's brought out of his reverie by Nora snapping her fingers in front of his face. He actually blushes embarrassed to which Nora smirks. "What?" He demands. "Nothing" she says simply walking off towards Ruby. Jaune looks to Ren who just shrugs. The weapons store was one of the bigger ones they had come across on their travels. it's honestly almost overwhelming in the variety they carry. "What are we doing here again?" The young knight asks.
"So you can get some ideas for your modifications of course, that and we are low on dust rounds." Ruby's eyes trace each weapon in her field of view. The look of pure contentment on her face. "Here, take this and write down any ideas you have while we're here." She hands him the notebook from earlier. She levels him with a serious look. "It's best to do this part alone, just put in whatever speaks to you. I'm going to look around, come find me when you're done okay?"
Jaune nods and makes his way to the swords along the wall, not really sure of what to do. He taps the paper with the pen a few times absently staring at the selection. A patron passes behind him causing the light to glint off of one of the displays. It catches his eye and he begins to understand what she wants from him. He slowly works his way through the store making notes and drawing crude sketches. He stops along the way to chat with Ren and Nora, the two are discussing different dust rounds they might implement. The idea of Jaune modifying his weapon got Nora to thinking Magnhild could do with an upgrade too. They are in the shop for several hours when Jaune is finally satisfied with his notes.
He finds Nora and Ren in much the same place he left them. The shop keeper showing them several items and giving his input on what might work for Nora's ideas. "Hi guys, has anyone seen Ruby? I must have walked the store three times over and I don't see her." The shop keeper laughs. "So she belongs to you lot eh?" The shop keeper is met by three confused faces. "She's been keeping my boy on his toes all evening. Never thought I'd see the day he'd be out matched by a bigger weapons fan than himself, let alone a cute little girl. They're in the far corner behind the staffs." He motions to the rear of the store.
"Thanks" The blonde boy manages before stalking off towards the back of the store. Nora and Ren nod at each other walking briskly to catch up. If the look in Jaunes eyes was anything to go by they needed to be nearby just in case. As they close the distance they begin hearing the coos and squees coming from the corner. Nora rolls her eyes smiling, Ruby sounded the way most other girls sounded in the presence of a baby. Jaune tenses up at the turn past the display of staffs. His fists are clenched and he's definitely actively trying to control his breathing.
Nora and Ren round the corner and are met with the sight of Ruby and who they assume is the shop keeps son. He's holding up a shotgun crossbow hybrid for Ruby to inspect. She leans in close to inspect it her eyes glowing and huge smile on her face. "It's so cool! Does it take small or medium dust rounds? Ohhh can it use dust tipped arrows?" She asks shaking the boys arm excitedly. "Yea, yea, it can even be modified to take the large rounds too!" He explains pointing to the back of the weapon. "So cool!" The two chorus together.
Jaune clears his throat causing Ruby to look up. "Hey Jaune! Is it time to go?" She asks smile not fading. The young knight simply turns walking away. Ruby blinks confused "Thanks for showing me the weapons Chase." She waves before taking off towards Jaune.
"What just happened?" Ren asks confused. Nora smirks, "Don't worry about it." She smiles dragging Ren out of the store. They catch up with the other two easily. Ruby has somehow already managed to get the notebook from Jaune and is appraising the notes and sketches. The blonde boy seeming to already relaxed just being out of the store. Ren and Nora hang back a little watching as Ruby's questions and praise of his ideas brings Jaune out of whatever overcame him in the store. Nora chuckles quietly to herself, skipping down the street and smiling. Ren quirks an eyebrow at the redheaded girl. "I'll tell you later." She says with a wink, the dark haired boy can only smile in return.
Ruby has completely overtaken the little desk in their lodge room. She's sketching and hmming to herself after having had a long talk with Jaune about what he'd like the modifications to be. Her three companions being captivated by this side of her. Jaune allowing naked admiration to show on his face. Nora takes time to glance in his direction now and again, each time she lets out a small happy noise just loud enough for Ren to hear. It's then that Ren catches on to what Nora is thinking. He smiles at her but harbors a bit of worry in the back of his mind. He doesn't get to mull it over much as Ruby stands up triumphantly. She nods sharply at her drawing and announces "It's perfect!"
She's practically vibrating with excitement as she calls the group over to view her newest masterpiece. Their jaws all drop. She's got schematics, materials needed, how to swap the shields mechanism to work with the mods. She has every detail worked out to perfection down to the arcs on the shield where she has it drawn fully opened. There is only one detail he can't place. "Ruby, this is amazing, how did you even come up with this design? It's so far beyond what I dared to even hope for."
She smiles proudly reveling in the praise. "I just thought about you and Crocea Mors. She really likes you, ya know? So I just listened to what she was telling me and drew that. Do you like it?"
"I'm completely blown away. I do have a question though." He looks to her and she raises her eyebrow at him. "This bit here." He motions to the bottom of the drawing of the fully opened shield. "It's beautiful, a little familiar even, what is it?"
She smiles a gentle sad smile that seems quite out of place. "Go sit with Ren and Nora and ill show you." Her somber tone catches them all off guard but he does as instructed. They watch as she retrieves her pack from under her bed. She works to gently pull out something. Her back is to them but whatever it is causes her to take several deep breaths. She brings the object to her chest hugging it almost protectively before turning around. When she faces them they can tell she's actively trying to keep herself from crying and their faces fill with concern. She walks over to Jaune silently and almost reverently she places a small bundle covered in red fabric in his lap. She steps back a few paces and looks him in the eyes. "Open it." She says barely above a whisper.
All eyes turn to the young knight as he gently unwraps the bundle. The three gasp when he brings up Pyrrhas golden circlet. He can do nothing but stare for several long minutes. It takes great effort to tear his eyes away from it but he does to find hers. "how?" He breathes out.
She sighs. "Uncle Qrow said I had it when he found me. I.. I don't remember going over to it, but I must have after…." She shakes her head not willing or able to continue that train of thought. "I was going to take it to Argus, after we got done at Haven. I thought I could give it to her family, you know?" She stops to calm herself. Her companions wait patiently, sensing she isn't done. "I've thought about it a lot, and.. Jaune, I think she'd want you to have it. She was your partner, and I thought, maybe this way, she could always be at your side." Ruby breaks and begins crying quietly, in seconds Jaune is up wrapping her in his arms also in tears. "Thank you" he chokes out, the two are joined by Ren and Nora in a tangle of arms they comfort each other.
A/N: Man, I made myself cry. This chapter was an emotional rollercoaster.