Making up for Lost Time

It only took a few minutes after their being reunited for Bryce and Natalie to retreat to a private room, with Professor Ozpin, Team RWBY, and Team JNPR joining them, excited and curious to meet the person Bryce had spoken of so highly. As they sat in one of the more secluded classrooms, having escaped the hustle of the paparazzi that was the student body, Bryce and Natalie took a moment to just hold each other in silence, both of them still crying quietly.

"Archons almighty, I never thought I'd see you again," Bryce muttered as he looked into Natalie's eyes. She smiled, choosing to give him a quick kiss before responding.

"You said that earlier." She said, trying to be funny, but she could barely get the words out before she would hug Bryce tighter. "You're real, and this is real. Right now, that's what matters."

"I hate to cut the moment short," Yang said slowly, causing the two Septonians to remember they weren't alone. Not that they cared, but it would be good to talk, "But I'm assuming if this is who we think it is, this is a big deal, right?"

"Yes." Bryce couldn't stop smiling as he looked to the rightly curious teenagers. "Guys, this is Natalie, my girlfriend." Natalie gave a wave to the group, a large smile on her face, wiping away her tears and stepping away from Bryce.

"Hello. It's nice to see who's been taking care of him for the past few months."

Bryce let out a small chuckle. "Agreed. They've helped out a lot." Bryce smiled as he looked over his friends. "I need to thank you for that. You all have been what's kept me sane for the past while."

"No problem." Yang grinned. "It was pretty easy, piece of space."

When everyone groaned, Yang began to laugh. "I know, I know, that was Terra-ble, but c'mon, I have to 'star' somewhere. I'm just trying to help us all have a 'sunny' disposition for the new girl."

Natalie let out a long sigh. "I'm assuming you're Yang Xiao Long, then."

Yang looked rather surprised at the comment and responded slowly. "Yeah. How'd you know my name?"

"Your jokes are just as terrible as your dad's." Natalie's comment took both Ruby and Yang by surprise.

"What do you mean? When'd you meet our dad?" Ruby asked. It was at this point Natalie explained her coming to Remnant, landing in a forest, her journey to Salus, meeting Tai there, and then finally recognizing Bryce and arranging to come to Beacon for the dance. At the end of it all, Ruby pointed at a silent, smiling Ozpin who drank silently from a cup of coffee.

"You did know something!"

"Ms. Rose, it would be wise to assume I know most everything about the situations that involve Beacon and its students. Including temporary ones from another dimension."

Ruby wanted to respond, but couldn't find the words, and merely turned back to the rest of the group, who were now just trying to get to know Natalie.

"How was the funeral?" Bryce asked, a sad tone tingling his voice. Natalie's face fell at the memory.

"It was a really bad day. For all of us. None of us could accept it, and maybe it's good we didn't." Natalie said, looking at Bryce and leaning into him. "But it was so hard to think you were dead and I wasn't able to say goodbye. I was getting hurt from the dreams I would have, all of which felt like a cruel joke." Natalie laughed through some tears as she remembered something specific though. "Miles gave a speech at your funeral and apparently somebody recorded it. It went viral, and Miles has been requested to speak at a few different places now. He always wanted to be a public speaker, but his career started a bit earlier than he was expecting."

"I'm glad to hear that," Bryce said. "I always told him he had a gift for inspiring people." Bryce was silent for a moment before he shook his head and gestured to the eight other teens in the room. "Where are my manners. Natalie this is Teams RWBY and Team JNPR, my friends for the past few months. The one in the red cloak is Ruby."

"HI!"

"You already know Yang."

"Sup."

"The white-haired heiress is Weiss."

"It's a pleasure to make you acquaintance."

"The one with black hair and a bow is Blake."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Following team RWBY the blond and the Redhead that look like they want to make out in private are Jaune and Pyrrha respectively."

"Hey, I take offense to that." Jaune protested as Pyrrha blushed and stuttered. Natalie laughed at the reaction.

"You two recently got together, then?"

"Yesterday," Jaune admitted. "Though we should've started a while ago."

"You'll get used to it. Bryce teases other couples because we skipped that phase to some degree since we were already comfortable with each other and didn't feel the need to constantly be kissing to show each other we liked each other."

"Though it doesn't hurt," Bryce added. "Moving on, we have Nora and Ren."

"Heeeeeelllo!"

"Greetings."

"It's nice to meet all of you," Natalie said, bowing slightly. "I do appreciate all the help you've given Bryce when we couldn't. It means a lot to see that other people care about him. Especially when I thought he was gone for good."

"No problem," Jaune spoke first, still giving Bryce a bit of teasing stink eye. "He's helped us out in a lot of ways. It was only repaying the debt to be his friend."

"I'd say being a friend is far more helpful to me than any of the things I've done for you all. Being sane has been rather nice and I can't say I've done much in those terms for you all. Just added a lot of unnecessary stress."

Pyrrha had a comment to add but chose to keep quiet about the stress he had relieved from her life as she gripped Jaune's hand tightly. It was then the questions began. For the next hour or so, Bryce and Natalie answered questions about their relationship and Natalie talked of how things were going on at home. As time drew on, everyone began to feel fatigued getting to them, and Bryce could barely keep his eyes open. Because of the stress and trying to break the mental barrier he'd built up, he'd gotten very little sleep in the past while, and he needed it rather desperately. Natalie could see the bags under his eyes, and cut the interrogation short.

"You know what, let's just save the questions we have for each other later," Natalie said. "I'm sure we can all answer any questions we have as time goes on. For now, I vote we go to bed."

"I would advise that as well." Professor Ozpin said. "Your First Missions are coming up soon and you'll want to be as fully prepared for that as you can be."

As everyone turned to leave, Professor Ozpin stopped Natalie. "I would like to officially welcome you to Beacon, now that we have the opportunity to meet face to face. You and Bryce will be team BN (Bane), and I hope you enjoy your stay for as long as you're here." Natalie looked at the older man for a moment before smiling.

"Thanks, professor. I am more than happy to be a student here."

"As am I," Bryce said. He slowly began to guide them to their dorm room, Natalie pulled out the device she'd been given from the Anderson's and sent a brief message.

I FOUND HIM. HE'S ALIVE AND BEING A HERO HERE TOO.

Natalie sent the message as soon as she finished writing it. Bryce looked at her curiously.

"What was that? Who'd you send a message to?"

"A device your parents sent me to be able to let them know if you're alive," Natalie responded.

"Really?" Bryce's voice became excited at the prospect of messaging his parents. "How many times can we send a message?"

"Maybe once or twice, depending on the response they send us." Bryce's face fell slightly, but he was still glad to know his family would know he was alive.

"You know. Maybe things will finally turn around." Bryce said. "After all the pain and heartache, maybe we're finally getting some light at the end of the tunnel."

"I hope so," Natalie admitted as they reached their room. "I don't want to lose you again."

"And you won't have to," Bryce promised, giving her a light kiss on her forehead. "As long as I'm alive, I'm not going anywhere… Unless another portal decides to eat me, that I can't seem to control."

Natalie laughed and laid down in one of the beds next to Bryce's. "Works for me. I'll just come to find you again if I need to. Though I may not be so kind when I do find you."

Bryce didn't respond verbally, instead choosing to shake his head, an amused look on his face. As he got into his bed, his clothes quickly changing to something more comfortable, he whispered a few final words.

"Good night Natalie. I love you."

"Good night Bryce. I love you too."