The morning began as expected. I awoke with Nora draped over my body, somehow managing to entangle her limbs with mine without either of us noticing. We were both in our Vacuan sleepwear, acquired when she'd accidentally stowed away on a ship headed towards Vacuo and I chased after her. The brief reminder of that particular adventure is enough to make me smile, and still on top of me Nora began to hum in her sleep. The story of Nora and I's relationship could be summed up as an endless adventure, and now that it promised that the cast would include Pyrrha and Jaune, the future only seemed brighter.
I begin to disentangle myself from Nora. Though normally on weekends I'd contentedly lay in bed with Nora for hours well past sunrise, today I had an objective. Tests were coming up, and I knew that I'd be forced to write notes for both Nora and Jaune. Better to begin on it now, rather than later. As I stood up and stretched, my body contorted itself as my mouth stretched open into a yawn.
I took a moment to take stock of my immediate surroundings, and the room as a whole. If Nora had gone on another sleep rampage, I'd have to act quick to cover it up. My worries were assuaged as I realised the room was more or less in one piece, though the lights were off. However, I did notice a strange aberration. Normally, on the weekends, I'd be the first to be awake. Pyrrha slept like a stone when there weren't any classes that day, and Jaune was lax regardless of whether or not there was class in the morning. Nora… well, as you could see. However, this morning both Pyrrha and Jaune's beds were empty. Occasionally, Pyrrha, still adhering to her strict tournament training regimen, would beat me to waking first in the morning. But on those days, her bronze circlet would be gone from where it was typically placed on her dresser and there'd be a note on her bed. Both the circlet was still present, and no note was placed.
An even greater mystery, Jaune was awake! It's famously impossible to wake him and Nora up in the mornings, to the point where neighbouring rooms have begun to complain because of the lengths Pyrrha, and I have to go to. At this point, I began to seriously contemplate kidnapping as the cause. Whoever the potential kidnappers are, they must've had far too much trouble with kidnapping Pyrrha and decided to leave me and Nora. Pyrrha was a champion fighter, so obviously her disappearance would put a lot of strain upon Beacon administration. A single slipped note would make them bend if it meant avoiding any scrutiny. Jaune's value to Beacon was nominal, but it was likely that wherever his family was they'd pay large sums of money to see him safe. One does not produce a brood of eight without caring for all of them.
A good deal later than what would be considered normal, I realise I'm being illogical. In the event that kidnappers did come into our room, it represents a far greater breach of Beacon security than just that. It'd be impossible to simply waltz in and kidnap two people without a single security camera seeing them. I then realise I've wasted a handful of minutes pondering this change in morning routine, so I grab a simple set of clothes and head towards the bathroom. Pyrrha could look after herself, and wherever Jaune is she's sure to be close by.
As I scrubbed my hair, my thoughts began drifting back towards my team. It was assured that my fellow teammates grow and change over the next four years and may even do so during this year. I'd discussed with my senior, a large man by the name of Yatsuhashi Daichi, upon the dynamics of change, and we'd both agreed that within an environment like Beacon, change was unavoidable. The only thing that could be manipulated was in which direction. Though Yatsuhashi and I disagreed on which direction Beacon was conducive towards, I'd walked away with a stronger grasp upon what Beacon is, and how my team may be affected by it. Idly, I wondered if Nora would change as to not sleepwalk across the room into my bed.
Drying my hair off was always time consuming, so with only my pants on I stepped out of the bathroom. Nora was still asleep, so I hand dried my hair while shirtless. She'd always offer to help out, but her definition of 'help' included creative use of fire dust, so I always turned her down. Maybe Jaune would fall for it one day?
A thin shaft of light was cast from the lone window in the room, creating an almost eerie glow in the room. It was just past the crack of dawn, so I walked closer to it in hopes of catching a glimpse of the sunrise. Watching the day begin was always a good way to wake up, though copious amounts of caffeinated drink didn't hurt either. I drew the curtain back to peer through the window but paused as I heard faint voices. As far as I knew, the only people who ever walked out onto the roof was Jaune and Pyrrha, and only for their quasi-legal training sessions. Now curious, I finished off drying my hair and pulled on the green t-shirt I'd picked out beforehand.
It was a short walk from the JNPR room to the flight of stairs leading to the rooftop, made even shorter by the lack of people at such an early hour. It was only the early risers, or late sleepers, walking around at this time, and I've never seen more than a handful of people at once.
When I pushed the heavy iron door, a short gust of air breezed through, lightly ruffling my hair. I was temporarily blinded by the bright light, but if I was seriously incapacitated by such trivial things then I wouldn't be able to call myself a Huntsman. I took several steps through and heard faint voices carried to me by the breeze. It took only a short moment to reorient myself, and then I began to follow the sounds.
It was difficult to discern between the voices, so I continued walking closer, and I caught a glimpse of blonde hair. The strange architecture of the roof obscured my vision further, so I had to walk almost to the edge just to see my friends fully, and what I saw made my mind temporarily stop working.
Jaune, hand outstretched to me, with several shirt buttons untucked and his wild hair swaying with the breeze. His eyes seemed fixated on mine, and the angle of the sun made the background seem washed out. Absently, I remembered that this scene was almost identical something in those old Mistralian cartoons Nora loved.
I'm not quite sure how long I stood there, watching Jaune extend a hand towards me, but I suddenly broke myself out of the stupor and took his hand. He pulled me down to where he and Pyrrha were sitting, but I couldn't quite pay attention to what they were talking about. I'd normally chide myself for my carelessness, but a massive realisation was wracking my brain. I was hopelessly attracted to Jaune Arc, and my days at Beacon had just become infinitely more complicated.
Pyrrha and I were simply talking, enjoying the sunrise when I heard the door leading up onto the roof open. I thought it might be Cardin, so I stood up and got ready to fend off whatever insults he'd have in store this time. But, instead, I saw that it was Ren, and so I extended a hand to let him sit with us.
His strange pink eyes latched onto mine, the intensity hidden within almost shocking me, and my eyes nervously roamed across his body. His stance, with the wind blowing through his hair and ruffling his clothes, only drew my eyes further, and I almost lost track of time as I simply watched his body breath. It was only after Ren took my hand did I snap out of the stupor, and as I guided him down onto the ledge Pyrrha and I were sitting on I memorised every detail of how his hand felt.
It was up there, on that rooftop, that I'd come to one of the most important realisations of my life. I, Jaune Arc, was hopelessly in love with Lie Ren, and my next few years at Beacon had just become infinite more complicated.