Jaune felt like a middle schooler. This was absurd of him; to feel this way. He didn't mean to imply he was demeaning the idea of apologizing to Velvet. And yet, his pride got in the way of the first step to making things right. He stood before Team CFVY's door. Behind it was someone he needed to have a serious talk with. Sure, striking up conversation was easy. The problem was that he always initiated a chat with someone that disliked him by provoking them. In this case, opening with some crude remark would only worsen what hope he has left.

There were still plenty of things to ponder about. Especially with that transpired the previous night. But his feelings regarding Cinder would have to wait. No matter how badly he wanted to speak to her again for answers. Now that he was done going internal because of his feelings, it was about time to set things straight. And that all started with begging for forgiveness from the bunny girl.

Maybe he should've brought Pure with him for this? No, he didn't want to involve her with someone she didn't know. Blake? Now the desperation was kicking in. He had to do this himself. He let the worst of him drive her away; it'd only be fair for him to do this himself. If things turn out poorly, then so be it. No need to get hung up on this burnt bridge.

He mustered up everything in his gut, embraced it, and allowed the fear to set his legs into overdrive as he ran.


Jaune almost felt a tear roll down his cheek as Pure gently stroked his head. She tried to whisper some encouraging words into his ear once he confided in her, but she was butchering everything awkwardly. Then again, Flustered Pure was Adorable Pure. The two of them sat on a bench together in a rather remote part of Beacon's courtyard. He leaned against her and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Come on, you big baby..." Pure shifted a bit and faced him. She cupped his cheeks with her hands and refrained from laughing at the face he was making. "I know it's hard trying to apologize to someone, but you can do it!" His melancholy expression did wonders for her own confidence. "I mean, look at me! I had to rely on Yang to help me get my feelings across. This... this is the part where you're supposed to tease me about my incompetence, Jaune."

"Even teasing you isn't going to be enough..." Pure appeared to now understand just how much this meant to him. "Why is friendship hard...?"

Earlier, Jaune ran back to Pure's room, brushed past Ruby, and ignored the other two occupying the room and startled Pure as she was in the bathroom. Perhaps it was a bit rude breaking down their door, but this was important! Plus, she only about to begin her shower so it was fine. He could bear the sweat making her body moist.

"Heh, moist..."

"J-Jaune?"

"How would you go about this, Pure?" he asked.

"W-Well... What was it that made her start distancing herself from you?"

"I uh..." He scratched his cheek. "Sort of implied she was easy."

Pure simply stared. She held up her hand when he was about to continue.

"No, I don't need to know what else you said. I can already get an idea." She sighed. He was relieved she was already used to his mindset. It only complimented her patience with him. "Maybe we should start with something easier? Before I confessed to you the first time, I practiced with a pillow."

"So I'm not your first?"

"No-" Pure blanked. "J-Jaune! For crying out... I'm trying to say you should practice. Maybe not with a pillow, but with a person. There's other people that don't exactly paint you in the best light, right? Why not start there? With someone that doesn't hold you in as negative of a light at the moment."

For some reason, Jaune could imagine Pure trying to practice her confession with Yang, with Yang teasing her in response. Speaking of which, he felt a pang of guilt when he remembered her current situation. He'd have to look into that soon. It'd be another first step to an apology.

"Can you think of anyone that you could begin with?" Pure asked.

"Yang," he said immediately. Pure was a bit taken aback. "I don't know about me, but I know she's been concerned about Blake. Blake mentioned a few times how Yang was on edge when I was out with Blake too late." Pure shuffled a bit awkwardly. "Plus, when we first met, I didn't exactly act... civil."

"What did you do...?" The way Pure asked that reminded him of his mother when he was very young. He purged the memory.

"I uh..." He couldn't help but hesitate. "I pushed the wrong buttons."

"And I suppose it's best for you to leave it at that." Pure stroked a few strands of her hair. Come to think of it, he wasn't used to seeing Pure with her hair down like this. He'd have to barge into her bathroom more often. "Well, from I've gathered about her, she's an upstanding young lady that has an open mind. There's a lot more to her than how she portrays herself, I can assure you. No, I don't think she'd just forget whatever it is you said, she's more layered than that. But it's good to get a start on that road to forgiveness. You think it'll be easier to start with her compared to Velvet?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she's on your team, right? Even better!" Pure stood up and offered him a hand. "When you get back, start with her."

Jaune took her offer.


Jaune stepped into his dorm to see Weiss working on something at the room's desk. She sighed and began to tidy up her things, probably intending to head over to the library to not be disturbed. He didn't see Yang or Blake and the bathroom door was wide open, so it wasn't occupied. He'd just have to wait. That's all. Just wait...

"Could you help me with something?" he asked. He began to scream internally at what the heck he was doing. Instead of storming off, Weiss actually humored him.

"With what, Arc?" He grimaced at how she addressed him.

"There's... something I don't quite understand about the assignment Professor Port gave us the other day. Do you mind helping me?"

"Just get the professor to help you. He's practically your father anyway."

Weiss continued to gather her papers. Jaune wasn't sure what he was doing. He didn't plan on speaking to Weiss nor did she seem interested.

"That's the problem, though. If I go see him, I'll only get distracted and listen to his stories all the time."

"Right... For some reason, you actually listen to him. I cannot ascertain as to why you wish to allow him to brush his ego like that."

"Professor Port is my hero," he admitted. "When I was young, my village was attacked by Grimm. He was the one that saved my life."

That was enough to stop Weiss from what she was doing. Her eyes darted all over the place. Was it fair for him to put her in such a spot? No, but he was being honest with her. Professor Port was his hero, and it meant the world to him how the man treated him like his own son. But he couldn't find it in himself to ask the man if he remembered him. It'd only bring the discussion to Ashlynn if he remembered.

"Oh, I see..." Weiss said slowly. She sat back down, contemplating. "Does he know who you are?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "I know we look like absolute morons wailing about the stupidest things, but he really does mean a lot. He called me son the other day and I got a little too excited and started wailing in joy and sorrow. Heh, Pure did her best to console this fool and a grown man crying their eyes out."

"Pure?"

"Ah, that's my nickname for Pyrrha. You know, since she's amazing."

"Hm, you two did always seem to get along."

"She's too good for me. I don't understand how it is I've managed to capture her attention in spite of all I've done."

Weiss eyed him oddly. "You two are an item?" He nodded. "Ah... Wow. That is quite a shock. W-What did you mean by in spite of all I've done? I take it you mean everything you've done to annoy just about everyone you've met?"

"Well, that's one way to put it." He wasn't sure what Weiss was thinking or how she felt, but he saw this as progress. If not to forgiveness, at least to an understanding. "At first, it was fun demonstrating just how stupid most of our peers are. Especially Cardin." Weiss snorted. "But I've been seeing some repercussions for my actions lately and Pure has been helping me try to make some sort of amends for that."

"I see..." Weiss began to fidget with one of her pencils. Weiss probably picked up on what he was trying to say. She's smart, so enough has been said for him to make some sort of progress. For some reason, he thought about Pure and how he still hasn't told her everything about himself. Half-measures...

"I'm sorry," he said. Weiss silently stared at him. "I've been an asshole to you, which is an understatement. I had no real reason to do so. I implied it was because of your family which made it easier to mess with you. In reality, all of that served no real purpose. For that, I'm sorry."

Weiss didn't say anything. He didn't dare meet her eyes after that and felt the urge to leave. The sound of a textbook opening kept him from exiting though.

"What specifically was troubling you regarding Port's assignment?"

"Eh? Uh, sorry?"

"If you were referring to the best way to pierce a Grimm's hide, a focused attack would suffice. Or a weapon suited for a role like my rapier. For something with armor, you're better off chipping away at it, especially since you use a different weapon compared to yours truly. It's hard, and you won't get it right away. But with time, you can make it to the core of the issue. Understand?"

Jaune simply stared at her and suppressed the urge to smile. It overcame him.

"Yeah. I think I get it."


It's a start, Jaune.

Originally, I was going to have it be a bit more difficult for him. However, in my mind, Weiss is more mature regarding a situation like this and Jaune hasn't antagonized her like he has Velvet. I had this whole, huge apology and over the top nonsense in front of a crowd idea to match his nature, but felt it'd be too much. He'd trying to deviate from that, after all.

Moreover, he has bigger obstacles incoming.