There were many things that Jaune missed while being out in the badlands. At the top of that list was hot showers. He sighed as the hot water ran down his tired body, easing his muscles. He had already cleaned himself from all the dirt he had accumulated from keeping an eye on the Grimm in the Emerald Forest. He was now just taking a few minutes to just unwind.
Ozpin had been right; the Grimm had been acting up and he saw that they were becoming cannibalistic. Not as severe as out in the badlands but it was still troublesome. So, he and Qrow had been trying to take care of as many of those Grimm as possible. But both knew it was impossible to take care of all of them. They were just delaying the eventual rise of a Drake. Luckily though, he was able to figure out around where the Drake would manifest, and Ozpin had let the students know that the area was off limits for the time being. Jaune had also placed a few motion sensors and cameras around the area so he'd know when the Drake would be formed.
He was also glad to have Qrow backing him up. He still wasn't a hundred percent and he didn't want to think about fighting a Drake at anything other than perfect. Hopefully, it would work out in his favor. But knowing his luck, it wouldn't.
Jaune gave one last sigh before he shut off the water. He opened the curtain and grabbed his towel to quickly dry himself off. He then hung his towel on the rack before putting on his boxers and some blue pajama pants. His shirt was in his room attached to this bathroom, pretty much the master bedroom. He would've left his pants as well but with Neo staying with him, he decided to not poke the bear, so to speak. She could be worse than Yang. He wiped the mirror clean and looked at his reflection. His hair was longer now, an inch or so than when he was a student but what stuck out were his eyes. He still wasn't used to looking at his reflection and seeing those dark purple eyes instead of his usual blue. Another thing he had lost after the Fall. He shook his head and went to the door to leave.
When he opened the door, he had the mild shock to see Neo standing outside the door, reaching for it in only her underwear. She just stared up at him before he usual smirk came to her face. Jaune just looked at her for a few seconds, most girls he knew preferred to wear matching underwear, but Neo was wearing a brown bra with pink panties. But, it suited her usual style.
He sighed, "I'm guessing Qrow told you I was back." She nodded. "And you decided you would tease me while I was in the shower, like you've done countless times before." Her smirk shifted to a more flirtatious one. "Well, too bad for you. I'm done." He then walked past her, "It's all yours and I'll make us some coffee."
Neo looked disappointed for a second before she had her mischievous smirk in place. "And put some clothes on when you come out, not just a towel." Her smirk faltered for a second. "And not just your underwear." That made her pout as she closed the door behind her.
Jaune grabbed his shirt off the queen-sized bed before he left his bedroom. He entered the massive living room. It was set up similar to Gin's house, with the tv and entertainment stand right by his door. The entire floor was carpeted with three couches surrounding it and a coffee table set on top of it. In between the couches were end tables. The right of where he was standing was the front door, which was locked, with a mat on either side of the door for shoes and coat racks. Across from him was the kitchen that was separated by a wall but with most of the middle cut out so anyone in either room could see into the other. To the left were the stairs that led to the second floor. That floor consisted of six bedrooms and three bathrooms. The rooms had two beds in each, so three full teams could stay here if they wanted.
Jaune snorted at that, "Yeah, right." Not many would stay here. The only ones he could think of were Qrow and his girlfriends. No, ex-girlfriends. He corrected sadly. That's when he saw a white electric guitar with gold accents siting on one of the couches connected to a small amp. Curious, Jaune walked over and laid his shirt over the same couch. He picked it up, to see a note tucked into the strings with a pick. He took both and saw the note was from Qrow. It simply read: Happy Birthday Kid. Jaune smirked, "Few weeks early." He said to himself.
He strummed the guitar before he readjusted the strings to get it back in tune. After that, he started to play randomly. Even though he hadn't played in nearly two years, he was playing almost perfectly. After a few minutes of playing, the rust that he had acquired was gone. He smiled slightly before he realized that he was playing a song he learned when Amber died. He frowned and stopped playing for a few seconds. "Screw it." He said disheartened. He fished out his scroll and looked for the same song he was playing, except without the guitar or vocals. He placed it on the end table, sat on the arm of the couch and started to sing.
(Play UNRAVEL sung by Jonathan Young)
Oh, can you tell me, can you tell me the way the story ends?
A monster in my heart
A ghost inside my chest
I'm broken down, the world around us
Surround my suffering
You smile and laugh at me
But you don't see a thing
With that he started to play his guitar. His fingers playing the familiar song he knew all too well. He stopped just before singing the lyrics again,
Damaged and broken as I am
I'm trying not to breathe
Unraveled, I'm not unraveled by
The truth I finally see, freeze
I'm breakable, unbreakable
I'm shakeable, unshakeable
Unraveling since I found you
He started to play again but continued singing.
And now I'm turning to dust in a world that's twisted
Don't come searching when I go missing
Close your eyes or just try to look away
Don't want to hurt you
We live in a world someone else imagined
The ghost of what's left of me all but vanished
Remember my heart, how bright I used to shine
He stopped playing again as the music continued, shaking his head to stop the tears from forming in his eyes. Trying to reign in his volatile emotions.
Entangled in the loneliness
The memory of innocence
It's stinging me, it's breaking me
The pain is spreading endlessly
Again, he started to play.
I cannot move, I close my eyes
I try to breathe, I realize -
I'm paralyzed, I'm paralyzed
UNRAVEL THE WORLD
The last line was pretty much screamed as all his frustrations and pain were finally released and fed into his guitar playing. Before he had to stop for the next part of the song.
I'm not what I was then
Don't touch the infection
Entwined we will both die
So stay away, and stay alive
I'm breakable, unbreakable
I'm shakeable, unshakeable
Unraveling, I won't infect you!
He nearly shouted the last line again as he played once again.
Now I'm turning to dust in a world that's twisted
Don't come searching when I go missing
Close your eyes or just try to look away
Don't want to hurt you
We live in a world someone else imagined
The ghost of what's left of me all but vanished
Remember my heart, how bright I used to shine
A few tears escaped with that a she continued to play. The next lines came out as him practically begging.
Please, just don't forget me...
Just don't forget me
Just don't forget me
Just don't forget me
Don't forget me
We live in a world someone else imagined
The ghost of what's left of me all but vanished
Remember my heart, how bright I used to shine
More tears escaped as he stopped playing and started to sing brokenly.
Oh, can you tell me?
Oh, can you tell me?
A monster in my heart
And now there's nothing left..."
With the song over, Jaune just sat there with the guitar in his lap and the tears still falling from his eyes. He had no idea how long he stayed like that, but he was pulled from his pain when he heard someone knocking on his door. He quickly wiped away his tears and sat his guitar down, so it was leaning against the couch. He picked up his scroll and walked to his door. Considering the person didn't open the door, it was most likely Qrow. No one else ever came out here and he was staying there temporarily. So, to mess with the Huntsman, Jaune asked Ozpin to not let his scroll unlock the door. With a smirk Jaune started to open the door while saying, "Back already, Qrow? What did the bars kick yo –" he cut himself off there.
Standing there were his ex-girlfriends and his honorary siblings, still in their uniforms. All had reddish eyes and moist cheeks. They clearly heard him play. "Uh, what are you all doing here?" he asked nervously.
None of them responded, mostly because the five girls were staring at Jaune's body. The door was blocking the left side of his chest and stomach, but they could still see his muscled torso and arm. He used to be toned but now, it was similar to an Olympic athlete. The muscles were firm but not too bulgy, the perfect mix of strength and speed. They all came out of their stupor when Ren cleared his throat, "We wanted to talk to you, Jaune. But, could you put a shirt on?"
Jaune looked down and his eyes widened slightly, "Right, sorry about that. Just got out of the shower." He turned away from the door to walk into the building. Ruby noticed a blur of colors on the left side of his chest as he turned around. "Come on in, just leave your shoes on the mats."
They all walked in and took in the nicety of his temporary home while taking off their shoes. Ruby was still looking at Jaune though, still curious about that weird assortment of color. He was now by the couch and was raising his black shirt to put it on. When he did, she saw what the color was, and her eyes widened. She used her Semblance to clear the distance between the two, while almost sending Weiss to the ground with her usual, 'Hey!' Jaune was shocked when he felt the wind blow past him and felt something grab his shirt. He looked to see Ruby staring. "Ruby? What're you-" he followed her gaze and he felt his heart sink slightly.
"What's up, sis?" Yang asked as they all walked over to him. They all saw what she was looking at and they were all shocked by the sight. They saw the old scar that ran across his chest and the newer one that was just to the left of his naval. It was almost perfectly vertical and was half a foot wide. That was the scar Cinder left him. But what they were looking at was the bullet scar over his heart. Or more accurately, the five symbols around it, forming a pentagon. It was their emblems in their color. Yang's was at the top, Weiss' was on his right, Blake's was on his left, Pyrrha's was on the bottom right corner and Ruby's was on the left-bottom corner. They were all in shock and Yang had a small smile, "So, that was the tattoo Qrow was talking about."
Jaune groaned as he turned to the ceiling, "Damn it, Qrow."
"Why'd you get it?" Ruby asked innocently.
Jaune looked at them all before he sighed. "Fighting every day, trying to help Oz and Qrow… It was getting harder to keep moving forward." He looked at the tattoo. "I needed something to remind me of what I was fighting for. Why I was doing all of it."
The girls were all stunned by this and Pyrrha was close to tears. That's when Nora spoke up, "What, me and Ren aren't good enough to have tattoos?" she asked annoyed.
Jaune just smirked at her, "Of course not." He turned his back to them and pointed at his left shoulder blade with his thumb. Where the scar on his back from the gunshot was, were two more emblems. Nora's on the right and Ren's on the left. He looked over his shoulder to them, "Seemed appropriate since you two always had my back."
Nora had a huge smile with that and Ren had his own smaller one. "So, why did you get ours on your chest?" Blake asked but suspected the answer.
Jaune turned his head to face forward, "Because my heart belonged to you five." He said quietly as he finally pulled his shirt over his head. Although, he wasn't quiet enough because they all heard him. "I was going to make coffee, make yourselves at home." Was all he said as he made his way to the kitchen.
Jaune came back a few minutes later with a tray with several mugs on them. He saw that the seven of them had sat themselves on the couches across from the door and by the kitchen. So, he set the tray on the coffee table and moved to the couch by the stairs. He started to pick up mugs and hand them out. "Okay, hot chocolate for Ruby and Nora." Nora gave him a beaming smile and Ruby gave him her usual one. "Tea for Blake and Ren." Both giving him small but grateful smiles in return. "And coffee for the rest of us. There's sugar and cream, so help yourselves." As he finished handing Pyrrha, Weiss and Yang their mugs and they added what they wanted to it. Jaune grabbed his, leaving one on the tray. He sat down on the last couch by himself and drank his coffee with a sigh. This was his first cup in months, he ran out in the early months of being in the badlands.
There was an awkward silence for a while. All of them just drinking their beverages. Jaune eventually had enough, "So, what brings you all here?" They all looked at him. "Last time we saw each other, you made yourselves pretty clear on how you felt about me." He said this in a neutral tone, so none of his emotions could seep through.
They all looked away in some way. He didn't push the subject and drank more of his coffee. They'd say what they wanted soon enough. Eventually, Ruby was the one to speak up. "Uncle Qrow came by and he explained to us everything." Jaune froze at that. "How you've been hurting and why you had to stay away."
Jaune turned to the side, "Meddlesome, old bird." He muttered.
"Jaune." He turned back to Ruby, who was slightly teary eyed. "We are so sorry for jumping to that conclusion. We were hurt and angry. We didn't even think of why you did what you did. Or how much it was hurting you as well." She sniffled.
"Ruby, please don't do that." She looked back to him. "I maybe a Grimm killing expert but you crying is still something I can't stand to see." He gave her a reassuring smile. She wiped her tears away and gave him a smile in return. He sighed, "Besides, it really doesn't matter. Even if you all know about me and why I did this….nothing really changes."
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked a bit stiffly.
Jaune placed his coffee on the table and leant forward, his hand together as he rested his arms on his legs. "I'm involved in something deep. There are secrets that most people on Remnant have no idea about. And the Maidens are just the tip of that massive iceberg." He could see them all stiffen with that, but his eyes never moved from the mug in front of him. "When you know what I know, everything changes. And no matter how much you want for things to go back to the way they were, they won't. You are pushed into the real world with no way back."
He lowered his head to stare at the ground. "I don't want any of you to be a part of this. Ever. You all have bright futures ahead of you. Or maybe if you believe in what Pyrrha does, a destiny to accomplish. But, something gets taken from you when you join in what I have. You have to give something up. Most times, it eventually becomes your life that you must sacrifice." He let the silence linger before he finished what he had to say, "I want you all to live your lives to the fullest. And if you follow me, you won't be able to. So, please, just do me this last favor and let me go."
There was deafening silence after he said that. He refused to look up, it would just make this all harder. Once they left, they'd be safe. He closed his eyes and waited but wasn't expecting what came next. "Nope."
Jaune looked up in confusion at Ruby, "Nope?"
"Nope." Ruby replied simply. "We're not just going to let you keep hurting yourself."
"Ruby, I appreciate what you're trying to do. But, trust me this is for the best." He tried to reason with her.
"Nope!" she denied.
Jaune groaned in annoyance as he ran a hand down his face, "Monty Oum in a handbag."
"I'm agreeing with my sister." Jaune's eyes snapped over to Yang. "Hey, I know a thing or two about being overprotective and that's exactly what you're doing. But we don't need it. So, we aren't going anywhere. Besides, I need to punish you for leaving us for so long." She gave him her trademark smirk with a wink.
"This isn't about me being overprotective." Jaune spoke up sternly. "The Fall was just the beginning and things can and probably will get much worse. We all barely got out by the skin of our teeth. Next time you all may not be that lucky."
"You have a point." Weiss said as she crossed her arms. "But we have a better chance of making it out alive, together. You going out and doing this whole 'lone wolf' thing isn't helping anyone. And we all know what you will do if you have no one watching out for you."
Jaune had to stop himself from glaring, "I can take care of myself just fine. Have been for a while. And considering what happened to you all when you though I died, I don't wanna think about what'll happen if you get involved in this. Plus, the Drakes will probably become more of a problem soon and you four didn't do so well against the one you saw."
"You're not the only one that had to get stronger." Blake spoke up. "And speaking of the Drake, you were in pretty poor condition after that fight. It seems you need us just as much as we need you." She then put on her classic glare, "So stop acting like an asshole just to push us away. We aren't leaving."
"Ahhh!" he shouted as he stood up. "None of you have any idea on what's going on. And any info you do have, is just the bare basics. You're skilled but that won't help you out there. You're not the first teams that were special. The last team to get involved in, didn't work out too well. One just ran away, another dead and the last two broken beyond what anyone should've been. And you seven could end up way worse. For once, just stop being stubborn and listen to me."
They didn't know what to say. But Ren tried, "Jaune, you can't make this decision for us. We want to help you, we don't want to lose you again."
Jaune didn't know what to say. He just wanted to grab his gear and get away from this situation. Away from them. To just fall under the radar again so they wouldn't find him. Even if it tore his heart out to do so again. He'd live with it and more importantly, they would too.
He was shocked when he felt someone grab his hand. He looked to see it was Pyrrha, who hadn't said a thing since she arrived. She had her head down. "I'm sorry." She said just above a whisper. That just confused him. She looked up at him and she was crying. "I wasn't strong. You would've been so disappointed in me. I wasn't Pyrrha Nikos, top of the year Huntress in training. I was just…"
Jaune squeezed her hand, to stop her, "Pyrrha, it's okay." He said to her reassuringly. "You had every right to be hurt and vulnerable, don't put that blame on yourself." He slowly raised his other hand and gently wiped away her tears. "That was because of me. I was the idiot that left."
With that, she couldn't hold back anymore. She surged forward and captured his lips and pulled him close. That shocked everyone in the room, no one more so than Jaune. His eyes were wide. His mind was overloading, he was being kissed by Pyrrha, one of the women he loved more than anything. His mind was telling him to do what he needed to. Push her away. Break the kiss. Let her go.
But he didn't. He couldn't. As he said on the recording, he wasn't strong enough. He was so tired of putting up this front. These walls around his heart. And with that, a tear slid down his cheek and those all came down. He closed his eyes and returned the kiss as he held her just as close.
The kiss lasted a while, neither tried to go further. They just wanted to bask in the feeling of kissing the other after so long. They eventually pulled away to breathe and they just stared into the other's eyes. They soon smiled. Jaune eventually closed his eyes, "That's cheating." She just giggled and placed her forehead against his.
"Now you know how I felt all those times." Ruby spoke up. The two turned to look at her and the other's, all had a variety of grins or smirks.
Jaune just looked at all of them. He knew he shouldn't do what he was going to do next. But, he was just too tired to care anymore. Physically, mentally and emotionally. Plus, this standoff would just keep going on. They were all dead set on this."Well, looks like I lost. And if you're all positive about this…we'll talk to Oz tomorrow."
They looked at him stunned, "Are you kidding me?!" Yang shouted. "After all of that, if one of us kissed you, you would've agreed?!"
Jaune just looked at her, "Not really. I was getting warn down since coming here. I probably would've caved, eventually." He gave her a shit eating grin. "Pyrrha just gave me a little extra incentive to do so sooner."
Yang was interrupted when Jaune's bedroom door opened. They all turned to see Neo, with damp hair and her wearing just the dress shirt to her Beacon uniform. Luckily it was long enough to hide her underwear. She looked to Jaune with what would've been a flirtatious smirk. But that fell when she realized they weren't alone. Her eyes went wide, and she gained a very deep blush.
Jaune just smirked at that reaction and couldn't resist. "Well, I told you to put some clothes on after your shower. Guess this is karma."
With that said, Neo snapped out of her stupor and quickly slammed the door in embarrassment. The others were stunned and more so when Jaune let go of Pyrrha to double over. He was laughing like a maniac. "Oh, my Oum! That was great!" He looked at the others while he was still laughing. "She can be worse than Yang with her teasing. But that reaction was totally worth it!" He collapsed onto the couch while trying to breath. Apparently, his laughter was contagious because the others were soon joining him.
Meanwhile, Neo was leant against the door and could hear them all. She couldn't help the genuine smile stretch across her face at that sound and a few tears escaping her eyes. 'It's so good to hear him being himself again.' She thought to herself. She then went to go put on the rest of her uniform before she went to join them.
A/N- The song was Unravel but this specific version was song by Jonathan Young, go check him out. That version made so much sense because it explained Jaune so well after the Fall up to this point. Anyways the next chapter should explain a bit more about how Neo met Jaune and their relationship. See you all then!