Holy fast update, batman! From a few months to a few days. I wrote this entire chapter in one day, since I had it free and have no other immediate responsibilities. There are still plenty I'm shirking, they're just not immediate.

"Come on Steve, you didn't forget me, did you?"

Jaune didn't know what to say, stuck in one of those moments where the brain just couldn't quite get past the shock. He recognized the man instantly, of course, despite months having passed. Everything about him seemed the same, from the lack of a shave, to the dark bags under the eyes, to the unkempt hair and the dumb grin.

"Qrow?"

"The one and only," he said. "Now what are you doing out here, mumbling to yourself in the middle of the night? Still smoking?" He walked near and plucked the cigarette butt from Jaune's grasp. "Didn't I tell you these would kill you?"

Jaune just stared, dumbfounded. He wasn't sure what exactly had hit him so hard, considering he'd only ever had one real conversation with this man. But Qrow was much more than that, despite their short time together. He'd saved his life… in more ways than one. He'd given him aura and healed him. Then he'd sent him to Beacon where…

"Whoa!" Qrow started as Jaune surged forward and wrapped his arms around him, burying his face into the man's shoulder as he pulled him into a hug. "Damn Steve, didn't think you missed me so much…" He awkwardly patted Jaune's back, not really knowing what to do…

"Thank you…"

"Hm?"

Jaune stepped back, then wiped his eyes with his sleeve, clearing any trace of dampness. "Thank you… for everything."

"Uhh… your welcome?" Qrow shrugged and awkwardly chuckled.

"You saved me."

"Hey, you deserved it after helping those people—"

"No, I mean…" Jaune nervously pointed around them, to the garden, to the school. "Besides that… this. This place… you convinced me to come here and… coming here is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Huh."

Jaune stepped back awkwardly "Um… sorry if this is weird all of a sudden, but yeah." He bowed his head. "Thank you. Thank you so much." He closed his eyes, fearful and wondering if he'd weirded out the man to whom he really owed… everything, actually. "I wouldn't have anything if it weren't for you."

A few seconds passed by, and Jaune didn't dare look up. Sweat trickled down his back as his anxiety heated him up by a few degrees.

Then he felt something on his head.

"Not a problem, Jaune," Qrow said. He patted Jaune's head like one would an affectionate puppy, smiling as he did. "Just trying to do my part and help out the people who need it. I knew this place could do you some good. Did me a lot of good." He then gently rapped Jaune's skull with his knuckles. "Now come on, stand up straight already."

Jaune did so immediately, forming a rigid posture and standing tall before… his mentor? Did that really count? They'd chatted for like… an hour? But he'd be nothing, absolutely nothing, if it weren't for Qrow Branwen.

"Now really, what are you doing out here, just taking a smoke break from some late-night studying?"

"No, I just couldn't sleep." He shrugged. "It happens sometimes. I don't smoke a lot anymore—was just trying to relax a bit but… I probably won't be able to get back to bed tonight."

That made Qrow smile. "Oh really? Well then how about you and I catch up?"

He tilted his head back, and the shot burned as it slid down his throat. He sighed and slapped the shot glass back onto the table, reveling in the feeling of strong alcohol flaming up in his chest. He hadn't had this in a while.

"Damn I wish I had my own personal bar," Jaune said, admiring the cabinet of booze that Qrow had in his personal quarters at Beacon. It was a small room, with only a bed, a cabinet and a mini-bar, which itself was just a cabinet of liquor alongside a small table with some rickety wooden stools. All in all, it was a pretty cruddy little room. Jaune liked it.

"Oh yeah, it's nice," Qrow said after downing his own shot. He immediately poured them both a second. "Wish I had this back when I was still in this school, would have made things a lot easier, solved a lot of headaches I got."

"Yeah? Was it a pain back then?"

"I was a on a team with my bitchy sister and my partner was a mischievous asshole, so yeah." He chuckled. "But still… good days." He sighed, memories floating around, but then he eventually shrugged. "Ah well," he said as he picked up his second shot. "All in the past… though not so bad."

They clinked glasses and had another round.

"Beacon really taught me some of the values of being not a terrible person," Qrow said. "Coming from a bandit tribe like I did, I sorta needed it."

"I think I did, too."

"Oh yeah," Qrow said. "I could tell there was a good kid in you, locked up somewhere, hoped that this place would straighten you out."

Jaune nodded, then looked down, idly tapping his shot glass. "Yeah, it has. I've learned a lot here… and I'm gonna stick it out. And I'm gonna be a good person, right? Not the kind of person you found me as…"

Qrow only shrugged. "Meh, I knew you always had it in you. Saw it back then, see it more now." He grinned. "I got pretty good judgement, huh Steve?"

"Why do you have to call me that?"

"Hey, it's a term of endearment." Qrow chuckled. "Or maybe I just figured it annoys you a bit. Definitely one of the two. Maybe both."

Jaune pouted, then turned his attention away to grab another bottle off of the shelf, one that read as being particularly high proof. "This one any good?"

"Yeah, it's great for stripping paint off of cars." Qrow chuckled. "No joke, my partner, Tai, and I back in the day got a bottle of this, then splashed it on the car of this asshole we knew here. Then we got drunk… and then our team leader beat our asses." He smiled. "Good times. We never even got caught. You done anything like that yet?"

"I beat the shit out of a few of kids here, yeah. They were trying to mess with my friends, so I taught them a lesson." Jaune uncapped the bottle and sniffed, then grinned.

"Attaboy," Qrow said. "Bullies need to get put in their place." He raised his glass for Jaune to fill. "I figured you'd like moonshine like this," Qrow said as Jaune poured one out for both of them. "After the fucking battery acid you gave to me before."

"You asked for it."

"Eh, silly details."

They clinked glasses together, then downed another shot.

Qrow sighed and slapped his glass back onto the table, smacking his lips as his liver braced itself for the most recent brutal assault.

"So you said you got friends here?"

"Yeah," Jaune said. "My whole team, best people in the world."

Qrow smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Tell me a little about them."

So he did. He described the honorable and kind Pyrrha, the quiet and reserved Ren, the bombastic and noisy Nora. They cared for him, and he cared for them in return. And he was the team leader, a responsibility he'd been afraid of at first, but since had settled into.

"Sounds nice," Qrow said, still smiling. "I'm glad that you've got people to count on. That's probably the most important thing in life."

"Yeah. Yeah it is."

"How's the other stuff going? You coming along with your fighting, got a lock on your aura?"

"Yup!" Jaune smiled with pride. "I'm in the top five-percent rankings of the entire academy, not just my own grade. My team ranks in the top five as a whole, too." He pointed a thumb at himself. "You're looking at a bonafide badass right here." He grinned wide, waiting for Qrow to reply, hopefully provide his claim some recognition. For some reason, a part of his mind waited very anxiously for Qrow to affirm his accomplishment. He hadn't wished this from anybody else since coming to Remnant.

But nothing came.

Anxiety ate up inside of him, for the man beside him only quietly smiled.

Qrow nodded slowly. "That's nice Steve, real nice." He looked Jaune right in the eyes. "Compared to the last time we talked, you're so much more… alive." He raised one fist in the air. "I'm proud of you."

Jaune clenched his jaw. He brought his hands together and squeezed. Shakily, he breathed in deep, then let it out, before being able to speak again: "Thank… thank you." He raised one hand and bumped his knuckles against Qrow's.

Qrow chuckled and grabbed a new bottle, refilled their glasse. "Not a problem, kid. Just calling it as I see it. You've done good here, if what I heard about the docks is right."

Jaune smiled. "Yeah… guess I was sorta fulfilling my missions, huh?"

"What, fighting off the bad guys who aren't Grimm?" Qrow nodded. "Yup, you did that damn well."

Jaune's smile widened.

"I knew you'd be happy here, and that you could turn out as something really good," Qrow said. "I saw it in you."

They clinked glasses once more, then drank another shot.

"Water?" Jaune asked, confused at the weak liquid's presence.

"It'll help with the headache in the morning," Qrow said with a laugh. "But how else is school going? Classes still a pain in the ass? 'Cause they sure as hell were back when I came here."

"Yeah, they're a pain," Jaune said, chuckling. "But I'm passing them all so that's what counts, right? I won't be getting any honors for academics but meh, I've never been the book type. Well, except for when my dad tried to force me to read Shakespeare…"

"Shakespeare?"

"Just an old poet from where I'm from," he said quickly. "Just, uh, pretty famous back in my village… probably never heard of him, yeah. Heh." He nervously scratched his neck, feeling hot both from the booze and the lies. "Not a big deal."

"Yeah well, just as long as you pass, right?" Qrow laughed. "That's all that matters."

"Yeah…"

"Anything else big?"

"I'm seeing a therapist."

"Yeah? I forgot they started offering that, didn't have it back when I was here." Qrow grumbled. "Though it probably could have done a lot of people some good, in hindsight."

"Yeah, Peach is my therapist, and she's helped me a lot. I'm taking some medication too, just stuff to help me calm down so I can sleep and chill out better."

"Does it work?"

"Yeah, or at least I think it does." Jaune shrugged. "I take some and then get sleepier, or just more relaxed… sorta. It's hard to explain. More like… my mind doesn't go so fast, and it's easier for me to get a grip and calm down."

"Sounds good."

"It is."

He smiled. "Really, glad to hear you're getting some help, as much as you need."

Jaune nodded.

"But there's something else I was wondering, too." Qrow's grin took a nearly malicious tilt. "You found a girl you like yet?"

Jaune locked up, shoulders immediately hunching as he averted his gaze.

"I think that means yes." Qrow laughed. "Or is it a guy you like? Never really got that detail from you."

Jaune felt his face redden, and he became angry with himself for getting so flustered in front of Qrow, looking like a little girl talking about her first crush.

"It's... it's this girl I know."

"Is it Nora or Pyrrha?"

"Neither."

"Oh? Is she even in the school? Or did you find a nice lady in Vale? Or… did you fall in love with your therapist?"

"What!?" The very thought of he and Peach together… he found it oddly repulsive. She'd taken the role of… mother? Sister? Something close to family. "No! Peach is like family… and no it's nobody out in Vale. It's another team leader here, actually. Her name is—"

"Shh!" Qrow brought one hand up. "Let me guess her name and what she's like…"

He crossed his arms and adopted a pensive look on his face, closing his eyes as if in deep meditation.

"So… if you're into her… I bet she's just as rough as you… so maybe like, Domina? Something badass sounding?"

"Not at all, actually."

Qrow scowled. "So what, is her name Daisy?"

"That's actually pretty close."

Qrow sighed and lazily threw his hands out. "Well whatever, I'll just learn her name when you invite me to the wedding."

"Wha!?"

Qrow opened his eyes and viciously smirked at the sight of Jaune choking on nothing but his own embarrassment. "What, you never imagined her in a nice white dress?"

"I… uh… what…" His face became even redder as he blushed, wanting to come up with some sort of mean comeback, but suddenly overwhelmed by images of Ruby wearing all white.

"Aw come on Steve, I'm just messing with you," Qrow said, jamming his knuckles into Jaune's scalp and grinding them in, causing him to immediately pull back and nearly fall off his stool.

"Stop it!"

"Look at that, you're a mess all of a sudden!" Qrow barked with laughter. "Man you're crushing on her hard, huh?"

"Yeah." He looked down at his hand, which he formed into a loose, weak fist. "I'm in love with her."

Qrow whistled and leaned back. "Damn, that's a pretty big thing to say from somebody so young. You know what love is?"

"Maybe not," Jaune admitted. "But I care for her a lot. She was the first friend I made here and… I think she's really done a lot of good for me. She really has. We're very close, even if I haven't told her how I feel yet."

"Why not?"

"Apart from it being fucking scary to confess… Peach told me not to."

"Your shrink did?" Qrow scowled. "What's the reason for that?"

"She said that I still have develop my ability to cope with my trauma and social interactions, so getting in a relationship would just be a distraction, or maybe I'd get too attached to her." He shrugged. "Good advice."

"Yeah, not the worst…" He hummed. "But I dunno, from what you said, this is more to you than just a crush, huh? How long have you been into her?"

"At least a month since I've outright admitted to myself that I love her. I tried to lying to myself about it for a while, telling myself I only thought of her like a friend." He snorted. "No idea how I was able to trick myself into that when it was so obvious. I was just afraid of committing like that… afraid of maybe getting hurt, right?"

"I get you." He waved his hand, getting that part of the conversation out of the way. "But what is she like? She hot?"

"She's more than hot," Jaune said. "She's really nice and caring and… she's just great. Really great." He laughed and smiled stupidly. "But yeah, she's looks nice, too. Really fit like all huntresses are, but you know, she's a runner too so she's more slim. I saw her in a bikini once—"

"Really?" Qrow smirked. "How did that happen?"

Jaune blushed and said, "My team and hers went out to the pool… and she wore a bikini and that's really when I realized that she's… I mean, I didn't think she looked bad before that but she usually dresses pretty conservatively and man…"

"So she's hot?"

Jaune smiled meekly. "Yeah… yeah she is."

"Nice!" Qrow punched his shoulder. "Go get her, kid."

"Well…" The smile fell off his face, and he instead folded in his arms, drew closer to himself. "But this girl… she's special to me Qrow. She's special in general. She's sweet and nice and innocent and cute and… she's just everything I'm not." His eyes fell. "She's everything I need… but I doubt I'm anything she needs."

Silence for a moment, before Qrow reached over and poured them both another glass. He handed one to Jaune, who gratefully reached for it. They both slammed back the shots, before Qrow spoke once more: "Be careful with absolutes like that, kid."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that there's a lot to each person in the world, right? Maybe she's not as perfect for you as you think… and maybe you're not as bad for her as you seem to think, either."

Jaune's brow bunched up, thinking.

"I'm just saying that we can hardly trust our own perception. Remember that: never trust yourself, not completely. We're people, and people are stupid."

Jaune nodded. "Peach has told me that sort of thing, too. Beware your own judgements."

"Exactly, think I like this shrink of yours." Qrow took both of the shot glasses, one in either hand. "Now let's do a bit of a demonstration." He held up the glass in his right hand and said, "this is you." Then he held up the glass in his left and said, "this is the girl you're into."

"Right."

"So just look at them. What's the difference between these two shot glasses?"

"Uh…"

"Exactly!" Qrow held them next to each other. "Look! There's no difference, because they're both just the same thing. Shot glasses. So you and your girl are the same too, both just people. People doing whatever, doing people things."

He clinked the glasses together.

"And there's really nothing stopping you from doing this." He mimicked kissing noises.

"Stop it!"

Again, Qrow only laughed. Then he poured out two different drinks into either one.

"Now look at this: one's vodka and the other's bourbon. Different types of booze, different types of tastes and effects and looks. But they're still in the exact same kind of glass, and hey, booze is booze, right?"

"Right…" Jaune stared at the glasses. "But… what exactly are you trying to tell me? Like, is this just your alcoholic's version of the cheesy 'everybody's equal' bullshit?"

"You bet!" Qrow held up the glasses. "Now which one you want?"

Despite himself, Jaune chuckled. He took the vodka and poured it back just as Qrow did.

"Hits the spot, right? Nothing like some booze to wash back a good bit of life advice."

"Peach has pretty much told me the same stuff all before," Jaune said.

"See? I knew I liked her, and I knew I was a genius. Who needs shrinks when you uncle Qrow around?" He poured them both another shot of water, then another after that. Jaune had never bothered tempering his drinking like this, but maybe Qrow was just trying to take care of him, show as much responsibility as one could when getting drunk with a minor.

Jaune just shook his head and laughed at Qrow's silly demonstration. But a part of him still couldn't help but feel a little brazened, a little empowered. After all, here were not one but two sources telling him he was good enough… or at least that he could be good enough. Qrow and Peach were both more worldly than he, after all…

He remembered the promise so recently made, the promise that he would be that good kind of person who deserved that happy kind of life. It was a strong promise to make.

"But for real, kid. Like I told you, everybody's got their problems. If you know this girl as well as you think you do, then you can probably think of a few issues she's got, right?"

Jaune blinked, suddenly realizing that… yeah, actually. Ruby's got a lot of her own issues. She's got her anxiety, and her shitty old friends, and her lack of confidence in a deep down part of herself. There were a lot things, actually… a lot things that she'd thanked him for helping her with.

"Am I right, or am I right?" Qrow wagged his eyebrows suggestively. "So come on, just get with this chick already."

"Peach said pretty much the same stuff… yeah." He shook his head. "But she also told me not to get in a relationship—"

"Pfft," Qrow reached over and flicked Jaune's forehead, reprimanding him like a toddler. "Come on, how long ago did she give you that advice?"

"Like… a month? A little more than that, actually."

"Exactly, and how long have you been seeing her?"

"Maybe, like two months or so?"

"Exactly!"

"I don't really see what you're getting at…"

"You look like you've got a damn good handle on things right about now," Qrow said. "If you were the same as when I first met you then yeah I'd say 'fuck no' to getting a girlfriend, this asshat needs to work out his own stuff first." But then Qrow grinned. "You're a mile apart from where you used to be, kid. The new Steve makes the old Steve look like nothing."

Despite the cruddy name, Jaune couldn't help but beam at the praise.

"What? She's scared that you're going to get too attached to this girl? Or it'll 'hold back your progress' right?"

"Right."

"Well it seems like you've done a ton of progress already, not a whole lot left to hold back."

"I dunno," Jaune said. He swallowed nervously, the gulp audible in their quiet little room. "I know I still have some stuff to work on but… this girl… I actually got in a fight with her lately, but I used the skills Peach told me, and I even talked with Peach about it, and then we went and talked together and the fight was just over like that and it was all good again." He nodded. "Peach even told me she was really proud of how well I was doing… how I've been taking in her advice. She even suggested that we go down to meeting just twice a week, since I don't need any more."

"See!? See right there!" Qrow yelled and slammed a hand on the table. "That's it right there! Even your shrink is agreeing with me!"

"Not really, she isn't here…"

"So what? Then just ask her during your next session or something."

"Maybe…"

"But you gotta be fast about it."

"I do?"

"Fuck yeah you do!" Qrow reached out and jammed his index finger into Jaune's chest. "This girl is awesome, right? List them all of again, all the adjectives you used for her."

"Funny, nice, sweet, cute, kind, innocent, perfect—"

"Exactly." Qrow's eyes narrowed. "Sounds like some prime real estate. Let me warn you kid, stuff like that isn't on the market too long. A good friend of mine had a crush on this guy for over a year, a year! But she was too much of a wuss, and then he got picked up by another girl who had more confidence then she did and went for him the instant she decided she wanted him." He sneered and sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. "That was a real shitshow of a mess, let me tell you. That bitch of a second girl eventually just left the guy and then the first girl was able to come in but that was after a few years and… yeah. All just a fucking mess, best to avoid it by taking the initiative. Say it after me: initiative."

"Initiative."

"That's the key. You've been in plenty of fights, right? You know how important initiative is in fighting?"

"It's vital."

"Exactly. Well, listen up kid: love is war." He tapped one side of his head. "You got to use strategy and smarts, just like the battlefield. Especially when it comes to dating huntresses who are just as battle-ready as you are."

"Yeah…"

Strategy… tactics…

"Now think it over a bit: what are your opening moves for any fight?"

Jaune's face became pensive, as he thought over what he would do. The first act in an ideal case would be thinking it all over before the battle even began, the sort of thinking he was doing right now. If that's the case… then he was already at an advantage, wasn't he?

He smiled.

Well, the first part of the planning process would be trying to determine the battlefield…

"The dance!" Jaune jumped out of his seat and stood tall, the plan already coming together. "You always try to get a fight's setting to your advantage. The formal dance is coming up in just a few weeks, that's the perfect time to ask her out for a date! Or just ask her for a dance and then make a move!"

"Sounds good to me. I know a lot of people would hook up after the dance."

And that was when Jaune sank back onto his seat, face suddenly ashen.

"H-hook up?"

"Yup."

"Uhh…" He swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling a specific kind of embarrassed anxiety that he hadn't known for a while. "I dunno about that… I don't think of her just as… like…"

"A fuckbuddy?"

The word made Jaune cringe.

"Yeah, I could tell that much. Not saying you have to hook up with her or anything, just saying that the dance puts a lot of people in the mood." Qrow winked and grinned. "I know you're not the type to bang and book it, that you really care about this girl. Just saying, especially if this girl cares about you too… then it could be a pretty good night."

"She doesn't seem like that…"

"Heh, appearances are deceiving kid. I know from experience that some of the sweetest and most reserved can be damn crazy in bed."

Jaune's face lit up into a new shade red.

"Aw look at you, blushing all cute like that!" Qrow poked his cheek, burning scarlet. "Adorable!"

"You're a fucking asshole," Jaune grumbled.

"An asshole who's just trying to help," Qrow teased in return. "But it's a real possibility if you knock it out of the park. Even bigger possibility if she's already into you. Think that's possible?"

"I don't think so…"

"And I don't think that your emotional radars are the most fine-tuned," Qrow said. "You guys spend a lot of time together?"

"Yeah."

"How much time?"

"Hang out nearly every day, used to be every day but now I spend more time with team and Peach, too."

"You got each other's numbers?"

"Yeah. And we talk almost every day."

"You know a lot of each other's secrets?"

"Yeah."

"What kind of stuff do you do together?"

"Talk, hang out, work on weapons, study, eat…"

"So, like, everything?"

"We've done a lot of different things, yeah."

"But not bang?"

"No!"

Qrow laughed. "Right, of course not. Well, at least she obviously likes your company. Might not be head over heels for you like you are for her, but there's a chance here. Even if she's not into you, she may be willing to give a relationship a shot. You're a cool guy, after all." Qrow poured out two more shots for them. By now, both of them were starting to feel a lightness of the brain, and heat in their chests from the drinks.

"And of course, I'm not gonna let my apprentice go out into the world without the right protection."

Jaune grinned at being called 'apprentice'. Some part of that… made him feel a sense of belonging. The second part of the statement went over his head.

"You've got a wallet, right?" Qrow asked as he pulled out his own.

"Uh yeah, but I left it back in my room."

"Well I always keep one of these in mine, so take it. Keep it in yours."

Jaune looked down as Qrow pulled something out of his wallet, a foil square that he instantly recognized from the vault's mandatory health and sexual reproduction lessons.

"Qrow!" Jaune reeled back. "It's not like that! Sh-she's not like that!"

"Can you be sure? Like I said, the ones you least expect can be the craziest."

"But… uh…" Could Ruby really be like that? No way… she was still so young… but hey, people as young as fifteen back in the wasteland got up to all sorts of things, so what was sex culture like here on Remnant?

"Don't try to bring it up right there and then, of course. Don't bring it up for a long time, not until she brings it up, or until you get some… vibes from her."

"Vibes?"

Qrow nodded. "Vibes. Girls give off vibes sometimes, and even dumbasses like us can tell them, because they're these innate sorta primal vibes. Don't go off of vibes alone, of course. Make sure she says yes every step of the way, like says it out loud, but that always follows the vibes."

"Vibes…"

"Vibes."

"Right… vibes…"

"There are always the vibes."

"Vibes…"

Jaune eyed the foil packet once more. "But I really don't think she's the type… or definitely not the kind to go right away…"

"Like I said, you never know. And yeah, you probably won't need it soon, but sometime. This thing doesn't expire for a little while yet, so come on."

Jaune hesitated.

"You really telling me that if this girl looked at you and said, 'hey Jaune, that dance was great so now let's go to your room and have some fun tonight' then you would say no? Or you wouldn't mind having to say no because you don't have one of these?"

Jaune snatched it and stashed it in his pocket.

"Attaboy!" Qrow cheered as Jaune, face red as a burning coal, sat silently. However, the very edges of his lips tugged slightly upwards.

"You ever done it before?"

"No," Jaune whispered.

"Yeah I could tell. Well now you'll be ready, huh? What kind of trash mentor would I be if I let you go off without being ready?"

"A pretty trash one ,I guess," Jaune said. His voice was shaky, but he forced himself to breathe deeply, then let it out once more. Soon, the crimson was fading from his face.

"Look at you now," Qrow said. "Going from General Edgy McEdgelord the Cringiest to a huntsman with friends, a shrink, a good school and maybe even a girlfriend." Qrow smiled. "I'm happy for you."

Jaune smiled back. "Thanks," he said, "for everything."

"Not a problem." Qrow then poured them both another shot. "But let's move from girls for now. Let's bro it up a bit, huh? Tell me more about who you are, any sports you like? Movies? Foods? Guns?"

Jaune's smile widened. Talks and moments like this reminded him of times he'd been missing for years, times from back in the vault, the times he'd spent with his father. So the two got drunker and drunker, talking and joking more about themselves and each other as the sun eventually rose.

Pyrrha woke from a funny, odd dream in which she had been chasing down a flock of bunnies. She figured that there was more to the ridiculousness than that, but she really couldn't remember any more beyond the fluffy bunnies. It was so pleasant that she woke up with a smile on her face, cracking open her eyes slowly.

She yawned and stretched, then rolled over in her bed and flopped down to the floor. She quite liked getting up as lazily as possible on the weekends, knowing that there was no immediate schedule pressing her to get ready, reveling in the freedom of it.

She eventually pushed herself up and stood, stretching more and shaking out her limbs to bring in some life to her body and help start the day. As it were, the room was still completely dark as the shades were drawn closed. She checked her scroll and saw it was already ten. Time for sunlight.

She grabbed the curtains and deftly yanked them open, filling the room with bright sunshine.

She was immediately greeted by a pained groan.

"No…" said a slumped, pathetic figure that sat at one of the room's desks. "It hurts…"

"Jaune?" Pyrrha rushed to him. "Are you okay—"

As she neared, a strong odor washed up to her.

"Were you drinking?" She recognized the pungent, sharp scent of alcohol.

"Friend…" Jaune groaned.

"What?"

Now both Ren and Nora awoke, alerted by Pyrrha frightened tone and the sudden influx of light.

"Couldn't sleep… ran into friend… had drinks… to much…"

Jaune's breath was labored, and each word sounded weak and hollow. His face was covered in sweat, and his eyes were screwed shut.

"Light... hurts…"

Pyrrha went back to the window and drew the curtains shut once more, rewarded with Jaune's grateful sigh.

"Want to sleep," he said. "Too miserable to sleep…"

"What's wrong with him?" Nora asked, each word wracked with concern.

Pyrrha tutted and crossed her arms, glaring down at her team leader with the most judgmental look she could muster. "He's trashed."

"Shouldn't be so bad…" Jaune mumbled. "Can handle it…"

"Obviously you can't," Pyrrha said. "How much did you drink? And who'd you drink with?"

"Lot of shots… with mentor…" He groaned and nursed his head in his hands. "Feels like somebody… stabbed my skull… should handle it better than this—"

Suddenly he stopped talking, then forced himself to stand. He pushed past his team, wobbling and stumbling like he was running across a ship's deck, a ship stuck in the middle of a violent storm. He rushed forward and flung the door to the bathroom open, then dove in, already retching.

Pyrrha hurried after him, then (with a great deal of gratefulness) saw that he'd made it to the toilet on time to vomit out his insides there, rather than all over the floor.

After he was done with an initial round of gut-expulsion, Jaune mournfully complained: "I've had more than this before! Shouldn't be like this…"

"Well then let it be a lesson for next time, mister vagabond!" Nora called, a scowl on her face, hands on her hips.

Ren's eyes narrowed, a thought coming to him. He backtracked in the room to Jaune's desk, then opened a drawer and pulled out a small plastic bottle. He read the label of the bottle, then grabbed his scroll from his desk.

Nora and Pyrrha continued to chastise Jaune even as they both neared him. Pyrrha ran her hands through his hair and started speaking to him more softly, urging him to just get it over with, let it out. Nora patted his back, like one trying to burp a baby. Ren looked something up on his scroll.

"I think this may be a mistake besides drinking too much," he said as he entered the dark bathroom. "I looked up Jaune's medication online, and it says not to drink alcohol within twenty-four hours of taking the medication." He squinted and looked back at his scroll, reading off his findings: "Side effects include extreme nausea, migraines, stomach pain, dizziness…"

"Yup, yup, yup and yup," Nora said. "Stupid, you need to be more careful."

Jaune only groaned.

"You do though," Ren said. "A lot of times medication with alcohol can have even more serious effects, though it says that this one isn't deadly… just makes you very sick."

"Well we should probably get him to the nurse," Pyrrha said. "But I'm not sure what they'd be able to do for him…"

"Get him in big trouble?" Nora sked. "If it won't be that bad, then maybe we should just let him wait it out here."

"Maybe," Ren said.

Jaune groaned again.

"Just… just leave me," he said after spitting out some more bile to clear his mouth. "Go on without me"- he coughed out some more spittle –"get to class… leave me behind… save yourselves…"

"It's Sunday," Pyrrha said. "We don't have anywhere to go."

"Oh… nice…"

Ren sighed. "You guys go get breakfast, bring back something for him to eat. I'll try to get him in the shower."

"Best…"

"Hm?"

"You all," Jaune mumbled, "best people… best team… best friends… thank you—"

He suddenly wretched even more of his insides out into the toilet, and the bathroom started smelling sour. Despite the general unpleasantness of the whole situation, Jaune's groggy, sickened sincerity was still oddly wholesome, nonetheless.

"Of course," Pyrrha said, standing walking back with Nora to go on their mission. "We'll be here for you."

"Thanks…" he mumbled. Jaune tried to smile and nod to them, but any movement of his head only sent a new piercing pain through his skull. So it was all he could do to dip back down and dry heave into the toilet.

Yeah, mistakes were made.

"You sure he went this way?"

"Totally sure." She squinted, looking deep into the dark tunnel ahead of them.

"I dunno," said her companion. He peered through the Grimm mask which he and his partner alike wore. "Jackson doesn't seem stupid enough to go down this way."

"Don't underestimate him," the other said. "I tell you about the time I had to stop him from putting a metal bowl in the microwave?"

"Really?"

"Yup. And that was after he managed to glue his hand to the refrigerator."

"How do you even do that?"

"Jackson has a knack for stupidity." She stepped forward, away from the light provided by the base behind them. It was reassuring working back there, near the big fluorescent lights, with all the other white fang, noise of work and commotion helping them all to forget that they were buried under a ruined city and pretty much surrounded by Grimm.

The lights were really just for comfort, considering the faunus could see in the dark. Well, comfort for them and necessity for the few humans they had to put up with.

"Really stupid enough to run down this tunnel?"

"He came over here after those nevermore spooked him, and I don't see any other way you could have gone."

"Still…" He looked around, saw that there really was no other nearby way out of the cave. There were many craggy rocks and outcroppings around them, but they'd been assured by scouts that there were only a few real ways in, and the part of the cavern they occupied was cleared of Grimm beside the small nevermore that could fly through the cracks.

"This tunnel is actually pretty safe, though. They sealed it off further up ahead, and last time I checked, Grimm aren't smart enough to unlock a padlocked gate."

"What if they tore through it?"

"There's a sensor that would pick up any damage." She shrugged and stepped into the tunnel. "Just 'cause it's a little creepy doesn't mean it isn't safe. Honestly this isn't a bad place to hide out, really." She started walking forward. "Now come on, let's get him and get back before our lunch shift starts. We'll probably already be late."

"Yeah. Fucking Gerry might eat my damn crackers again." He sneered, bearing sharpened teeth.

"Or that creepy fuck in the gas mask will threaten at you."

"Is that guy even faunus?"

"Considering he's with Torchwick and the princess, probably not." She sighed and shook her head. "But whatever, some humans want to turn on their own? Why stop them. Greedy fucks will get what's coming to them one day."

"True that."

So they walked down the tunnel. Despite the woman's assurances that this place was safe, both held their shotguns at the ready before them. Step after step, the navigated perfectly the dank and pitch-black tunnel, leaving the light of the base behind as they wound through. Their dog ears perked up, taking in every sound.

"What the fuck?" the man asked. "Did that dumbass open the door up?"

Before them a large steel gate had been installed in the tunnel, one of the first tasks done while establishing the excavation base. It was to keep out the Grimm, of course, a thick barrier drilled into the rock walls with an electronic passcode required to unlock the large door, through which they'd transferred heavy machinery and building material.

Some pretty big stuff could get through that door.

"The stupid asshole must have, like what the hell?" She marched through the gate and looked out into the cavern beyond, actually an intact part of the city's old sewer system. After all this time, it still smelled like shit.

"Jackson you dumbass what the fuck are you doing!?" she called into the subterranean halls.

"Crystal?" a distant voice called back. "Oh thank god!"

"You stupid fuck get over here before something nasty comes after us!" Crystal turned to her partner and said, "this area is supposed to be mostly cleared out, but you never know what will sneak in." They both walked further into the subterranean corridor.

They heard footsteps dashing through shallow water, and then they saw Jackson turn around a corner.

"Thank god you guys came for me!" he called at them. "After I saw that Grimm, I ran back into this tunnel and just kept running!"

"Stupid, why'd a bunch of nevermore scare you that much? I mean, did you really have to open up the gate even?"

"Nevermore?" He looked at them, incredulous. His mask was set askew on his face, disturbed by how fast he was running. Now, he could barely talk between pants. "What are you talking about? I didn't get scared by the nevermore; I saw the fucking thing that was behind them. You didn't?" He shook his head. "And I didn't open up no gate."

"What are you talking about? I didn't see anything else, and you had to have opened up the gate because nobody else could have—"

She stopped talking when suddenly, Jackson screamed and raised his gun. She turned to look behind her, just in time to see an immense beast rush through the large gate door, just barely big enough to let it pass.

It charged for them, baring teeth and claws, and they were hardly able to get off a few shots before the creature was upon them.

A few seconds, and their eviscerated corpses littered the floor.

Blood dripped from the giant creature's claws and maw. It crunched on a limb held in its mouth, spraying more blood as it savored the death of the prey.

The monster turned back and stepped to the gate. It braced it's shoulder against the gate and shoved it shut, the metal squealing on its hinges and grating against the stone ground. When the door locked into place, a mechanical voice came on: "Exit detected, input code to prevent silent alarm."

The creature carefully stretched out a single long, sleek claw. It gingerly pressed the tip of the claw against the comparatively tiny buttons of the electric lock, inputting a combination. The voice replied once more: "Code accepted, alarm will not be sent."

Then the monster turned away, took hold of the corpses and dragged them off into the dark.

Well damn, that's a development, hmm?

And yeah, pretty much everybody got that it was Qrow at the end of last chapter. I figured it'd be pretty clear, but I didn't expect for nearly literally everyone to get it right. Ah well, I actually like that. The way I write, I like to make events somewhat predictable for the reader, adds to the dramatic irony, where the audience is aware of things that the characters aren't. I always think of Alfred Hitchcock's example: a simple dinner will appear a lot more suspenseful if the audience knows there's a bomb under the table and the characters don't. I absolutely love manipulating discrepancies in information between the audience and the characters.

Well, next chapter will cover the dance. Will our boy finally confess? Will Qrow regret accidentally giving love advice to the guy who's gunning for his niece? That remains to be seen.

And a quick PSA: always read if your medication allows for alcohol consumption. Jaune got really lucky here that the effects weren't too bad, and his friends really should have brought him to the nurse right away, but I just didn't want to deal with writing about that and any consequences. If you think a friend is having an adverse reaction to alcohol or alcohol poisoning, don't be afraid to get them medical help regardless of getting in trouble, as it can be fatal.