An End to Loneliness

Reestablished Beacon Academy 10:00 PM

"I'm so glad they are together." Jaune whispered as he carefully headed to the dorm's room.

The reason was because of his two sleeping teammates, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. However, instead of sleeping in their own beds, they both slept on Ren's bed. It certainly took some time, but they eventually got together two months ago. Yet, while Jaune was immensely happy for them, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in his chest each time he saw them being affectionate with each other.

"If I had only acted sooner or were stronger, maybe she would still be here." Jaune muttered as he closed the door.

Sighing, Jaune adjusted his hoodie before putting his hands in his pockets before walking toward Beacon's exit. Walking down the halls, Jaune did his best to keep the memories from flooding back. It had been three years since the Fall of Beacon, and a lot had happened since that fateful day. And while many remember this day as the fall of one of Remnant's most prestigious academies, it held a different meaning for Jaune. It was the day when Jaune lost one of the most important people in his life.

"I miss you, Pyrrha." Jaune said, closing his eyes to try in vain to keep the tears from flowing.

Sighing, Jaune brought his arm up to wipe the tears away. Sucking in a breath, he continued down the halls while ignoring the pang he felt whenever he saw others with their significant other. But it was more challenging than one might think, as they were all over the place despite being so late. Yang and Blake were in their dorm watching a movie while huddling together under a blanket. Passing by the cafeteria, Jaune spotted Weiss and Ruby making some Atlas cookies together while occasionally sneaking in a few kisses. Pulling the hood over his head, Jaune sped up his walk, so he didn't have to hear the adorable sounds they made. Unfortunately, while the sounds of Ruby and Weiss having fun soon died out, another sound quickly replaced it.

"COCO!" The voice of Velvet shouted. And judging by how high-pitched it was, Jaune could tell she was embarrassed.

Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Jaune peeked around the corner and saw Coco and Velvet sitting together while going through a fashion magazine. And from how Velvet was blushing while Coco smirked, Jaune knew Coco just suggested that Velvet wear some more 'revealing' clothing. Not wanting to ruin their moment, Jaune resumed making his way to the exit.

If Jaune had seen this about a year ago, he would have felt immensely jealous and furious. Everyone still had their significant other with them, while he didn't. Life had taken Pyrrha far too soon. Now, don't get Jaune wrong. He was happy everyone found someone that could potentially spend their lives together. But Jaune had no one. For most of his life, Jaune was alone but was never lonely. He had his family and friends by his side, and Jaune initially thought that number would grow. Unfortunately, that all changed on the day of Beacon's fall. Cinder had killed Pyrrha, with the Grimm taking most of his family only months later. Only Saphron, Terra, and Adrian remained. Now, Jaune was lonely but not alone. He still had his friends, but the travesty had also put an immense strain on their relationship. And since the rest of his family was in Argus, he had no one.

"Damn it. Didn't think it would be this cold." Jaune said, mentally cursing the weather people as he exited Beacon. Yet, he couldn't blame them entirely since the engineers were still rebuilding and testing the weather satellites.

Blowing into his hands, Jaune put his hands into his pockets before making his way toward the cliff that overlooked the Emerald Forest that Beacon used to use for initiation day. However, since Salem's defeat and the Grimms' extinction, Beacon no longer needed it. As such, they converted it into a viewing point for people to enjoy. But it remained relatively unused as most students and faculty preferred to stay inside. Yet, that only worked in Jaune's and someone else's favor.

"Hopefully, she didn't have any trouble getting here." Jaune said as he arrived at the cliff.

Taking out some safety matches, Jaune used them to light the wood for a campfire. After a few seconds, he had a big enough fire going that would protect them from the cold night and bitter wind. Putting away the matches, Jaune moved to sit a few feet away from the campfire where it would still warm him up but not sting. And as he stared into it, Jaune began to wonder how much of a rollercoaster his life was. While his childhood wasn't perfect by any means, he was incredibly grateful for his family and loved them dearly. There were ups and downs, but they stuck together tighter than glue.

Then there was his life at Beacon, where he met his current friends and teammates. Jaune initially thought he would miss the chaos that only his family could create. But he didn't need to worry about that as his team, and Team Rwby filled the void. Unfortunately, it didn't last, as everything changed on that fateful day. And nothing had been the same since. A hole had formed in Jaune's heart, with loneliness filling it. Even after he and the others defeated Salem, the feeling remained. Jaune had hoped it would leave him over time, but it didn't. After a while, Jaune thought this ugly feeling would never leave him. Fortunately, that all changed one day during a fateful encounter.

"Oh, hey, Trivia." Jaune whispered with a smile when the mute, ice cream themed girl suddenly appeared sitting between his legs. "Glad you could make it."

'You know I wouldn't miss it.' Neo signed with a smile that hid a wave of different emotions. Despite the years that passed, this day always gave her heartache. After all, today was the anniversary of the death of the first person that gave her a new life.

Roughly five months after he and the others defeated Salem, Remnant was finally starting to return to normal. But everyone knew it would take a while. At one point, in an effort to help speed the progress in one of the local villages, Jaune volunteered to work as security for the local schools and guide to get the kids home safely. However, at one point, Jaune's alarm didn't wake him up in time, and he was running late for his shift. But as he ran toward the grade school, he failed to notice someone else crossing the street and crashed into the person.

'Still made an impression that day.' Neo signed as she leaned back into Jaune while he wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace.

"But it changed our lives for the better." Jaune chuckled.

After crashing into the mysterious person, Jaune got up and was about to help the person but stopped when he realized it was the infamous Neopolitan, partner of the deceased Roman Torchwich. Jaune quickly took out his sword and shield to prepare for a fight, while Neo did the same. But neither made the first move. They just stared at each other for about five minutes before lowering their weapons and nodding toward each other. A silent mutual understanding formed between them that they were both hiding and hurting internally and didn't know what to do. They then left each other and continued on with their day.

Afterward, Jaune nor Neo expected to see each other again. They thought they would just move on with their lives, trying to cope with the emptiness that haunted them. However, to their surprise, they met again during the annual celebration of Salem's defeat in Vale. It was immensely awkward for the both of them as they didn't want to fight each other but also didn't know what to do. Knowing something had to be done or said, Jaune decided to take a leap of faith and ask why Neo was there. And to his surprise, she was doing the same as him, trying to escape the cold empty feeling of loneliness within her. A silent agreement formed between the two to spend the day together to try and help each other forget. But they didn't know why, just that it felt like the right thing to do.

"Are you okay, Trivia?" Jaune asked when he felt her tense up a bit.

'Yeah. A memory popped into my head. I just miss Roman.' She signed. 'He was the first one who cared for me, after all. He helped me so much.'

"I know. Pyrrha was the same for me. She helped me so much too, and helped shape my life." Jaune said as they pulled each other into a tighter embrace, not only to comfort each other but to chase away the ugly feeling that sometimes reared its ugly head.

There were many reasons why people fell in love with each other and what helped make them take the first step in a relationship. For Jaune and Neo, it was the sharing of common ground. They both suffered travesties and the loss of important people in their lives. After spending the day at the annual celebration, Jaune and Neo began spending time together whenever they could. Initially, it was only to help the other forget, but over time, they began to enjoy each other's company despite their different personalities. They began to feel complete and genuinely happy. Eventually, they started to go out on dates. It was certainly strange, considering they were once enemies. Yet, they still didn't know why they felt like their old selves when they were together.

But it was when they decided to accompany each other to the graves of the most influential person in their life that they discovered the reason. There were many reasons why people are toward each other. Perhaps they shared common ground like Neo and Jaune, were opposites like Team Rwby, or grew up together like Ren and Nora. But while the first one did help them become comfortable around the others, it was another that helped them feel normal and eventually fall in love with each other. They were an end to the other's loneliness. A cure, some might say. It was a bit hard to believe, even for them. But after a while, it began to make sense. And from that day on, they tried their best to spend as much time together, not just because it helped keep the feeling of loneliness away, but because they genuinely enjoyed each other's company. Although, it wasn't always easy since Neo is still technically a wanted criminal. And while Jaune trusted his friends to not immediately fight Neo, he didn't want to risk Glynda, other huntsmen-in-training, or huntsmen finding out as they would try to arrest Neo on the spot.

'Do you think your family would have accepted us being together?' Neo signed.

"Probably, considering my family had a reputation for being the craziest people on Remnant. But, yes. I think they would have accepted us being together." Jaune answered before giving a quick kiss to Trivia's cheek. He would have kissed her head but didn't since Neo was wearing Roman's hat.

'What about the ones still living?'

"Terra would be skeptical. Adrian would be curious. Saphron, well, she would be on the fence about the whole thing."

'How so?'

"On one hand, she might hate you. But not the way you might think."

'In what way then?' Neo signed, curious.

"In the protective older sister way. Protective of the younger brother and doesn't want anyone near him but also likes the person because their brother is finally in a relationship."

'Your family must have been confusing.'

"Confusing and chaotic. But I think you would have liked them." Jaune said before leaning to give Trivia another kiss on her cheek.

But before he did so, she turned so he would kiss her on the lips instead. It certainly caught him off guard, but Jaune wasn't complaining. After a moment, they separated and turned their attention back to the campfire, neither of them saying anything further as no words were needed. They were simply content to spend time with each other. Unfortunately, it seemed like they couldn't stay there as it began to rain heavily.

"Damn it." Jaune said, quickly raising his shield and activating it to cover them from the pouring rain. "Sorry, Trivia. Looks like we have to head inside."

'Don't be sorry, Jaune. It's not your fault that it started to rain.' Neo signed, slightly annoyed. While she loved a lot of things about Jaune, there were a few things that did annoy her. One of them was how he always blamed himself for things, even if they were out of his control. It was something they had to work on, but she didn't mind. It was another quirk about Jaune that she found endearing. Grabbing Hush, Neo opened it and raised it above their heads. 'And besides, just because we can't spend time outside doesn't mean we have to call it a day.'

"You're right. Sorry." Jaune sheepishly said, deactivating his shield before grabbing Neo's hand. "Anyway. Where do you want to go? We don't have anything planned for tomorrow."

'How about we head to one of the nicer motels and rent a room? We can watch a movie before sleeping together.'

"Alright." Jaune said, smiling as they made their way to the bullheads. Both were happy to be in a relationship with each other but also knew they were a cure and an end to the other's loneliness. And while the road ahead was uncertain, they wouldn't go through it alone; they would have each other.