NOTE: I re-watched Volume One and was reminded of the fact that Jaune had a onesie. The troops are going to love this...

The moment Captain Arc and First Lieutenant Rose entered the makeshift mess hall—which was actually more of a wide open tent stretched over a large portion of Beacon's massive courtyard—both the RDF personnel and private mercenaries fell silent. Jaune and Ruby were quick to catch onto some of the troops shuffling away their scrolls.

"At ease!" the Captain hollered.

It took another long moment, filled with gawks and nervous stares, before the din of chatter resumed, albeit more hushed and controlled and...was someone laughing? No. This was a time of rest. They had just retaken a major landmark in this offensive. Best to let the troops unwind while they still can. Release some pent up stress and... Seriously some tables were starting to hoot with laughter. When he looked over, they shifted their gazes away to avoid eye contact.

"Let them have their fun," Ruby muttered quietly, following him to the buffet line and picking up their trays.

"I'll give them that." Jaune sighed, letting the caterers pour him his bowl of vegetable soup and diced pork. "It has been stressful."

Nothing was done or said between them as they made their way to a vacant table on the far end of the hall, conveniently close to where one of the bright crimson trees once stood. At least the engineers managed to clear out the rubble, uproot the weeds, restore some dignity to the campus.

"You think we could rebuild?" wondered Ruby.

Jaune eased back. "We're already rebuilding."

"No, no. I mean." It was a rare sight, more so in the presence of so many people. Lieutenant Rose rested her spoon onto her plate and sighed into her food, her head bowed and her eyes downcast. She was mulling again. "Replant the same trees, refurbish the old rooms, hold the same classes...hopefully with the same people again."

The Captain resisted the urge to reach over and cup her hands. It was very unprofessional and over a hundred subordinates were watching. He could tell; some of them were stealing glances their way, failing to be inconspicuous. He let it slide. Or tried to. "Ruby. Beacon will rise again. We will revive the legacy and continue the practice of training Huntsmen and Huntresses. You know that."

"I know, Jaune." She closed her eyes to take a long deep breath before meeting his. "I know. Thanks. I...got lost again."

He didn't crack a smile, instead went back to his food. "You're welcome."

They continued in silence. Until they both heard the audible click of the camera app from someone's scroll. Instinctively, they looked to the source. Predictably, they were not amused.

The private was sweating into his uniform, shakily holding his device with the camera trailed towards them. The other soldiers behind him tried to pretend that he wasn't a part of their unit. Too bad they didn't hide the lien that was piled behind the cutlery. They were betting. Probably dared the poor sap to sneak a candid shot of the two most terrifying and deadly people in the entire RDF in their down time.

Jaune shot him a glare that paralyzed him. Ruby steeled her scowl, enough to make him pee where he stood.

"Yes, private?" she asked venomously.

"N-nothing, m-ma'am!" he stuttered. Then he turned on his heels and marched back to his bench.

The moment Jaune and Ruby turned their heads away, they heard the soldiers erupt in loud whispers, congratulating their mortified squad mate, raving nonsense about the kid 'having cheated death' and 'being a true man' and 'Captain Arc looking good in a onesie'...

Wait, what?

Jaune snapped at the squad, fire in his eyes while Ruby stared in shock. The sound of his boots thudding against the concrete stilled the troops—and the whole mess hall—into tense silence.

"Private," he seethed.

"Y-yes, sir?" the younger man squeaked.

The captain offered an open palm. "Your scroll. Please."

With a gulp, the private handed him the device...with a full-sized picture of that one time... That one fucking time...

"Jaune, what is..." Ruby trailed off, seeing the incriminating photo from years ago, when they were still freshmen and a certain set of unfortunate circumstances involving pancakes, blankets, and explosives forced her and Jaune to share a bed in her dorm. It was cold and rainy and they had to keep warm. It didn't help that they were in their pajamas...Pumpkin Pete onesie and all.

If looks could kill, the three platoons of RDF grunts and military contractors would have been eviscerated by now. The silence stretched for a full uncomfortable minute with no one moving, no one making a sound, no one daring to even eat. All staring, all waiting for the inevitable sweet, sweet release of dea—

"Shit, didn't think it'd spread this fast," Cardin piped.

"Sergeant?" Jaune hissed, slowly turning towards the unkempt mace-wielder standing with an empty tray.

"Oh. Hey, Arc!" he greeted with a smirk. A knowing smirk. "You two looked adorable. I think I found your onesie, too, hah!"

If anyone ever noticed how red the captain and the specialist had gotten, no one dared say it lest the mess hall would burn down. But not Cardin. Nope. Only the crass, unsullied, and brutally efficient contractor with the mace the size of an Ursa's head had the balls to press Arc and Rose's buttons.

"You... You took that photo..." Rose seethed, Crescent Rose unfolding in her grasp as she stomped towards him and creating a ripple effect of troops scurrying away from her while carrying their plates.

"Actually, it was Yang. One-time deal, if I recall correctly," the Sergeant continued, unintimidated. "Can't believe she actually had those printed. Good thing I found them before any of these lug-nuts did."

"Say goodbye to your balls."

Cardin grinned. Crescent Rose flew up in the air... And stopped short of landing thanks to a well-placed sword that stopped the scythe from scratching a single ginger hair on his head.

"Stand down, Rose," Jaune commanded.

The Lieutenant let out a hungry, feral growl before retracting her weapon and stomping away. Probably to go on a stress-relieving stroll around the perimeter. Or crush massive chunks of rocks into fine dust. Meanwhile, the captain channeled his pent-up frustration on the mercenary.

"Damn it, Sergeant! What the hell was that for!?"

Cardin shrugged. "Stress relief. You two could sure use a break."

"You spread the photo?"

"Photos, actually. If I remember right, I think I took about three or five of them." He chuckled, seeing how both crossed and embarrassed the officer was. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, I just sent out that old video of you beating me in Goodwitch's class. Ah, yes. The memories."

That seemed to diffuse the situation. Jaune shook his head, slightly relieved but confused. "Where did you get the footage?"

"Beacon's databanks were still intact. Some of them. It wasn't that hard to decrypt the files. IT nerds were having a laugh watching all the good stuff caught on camera. Old Ozpin must've been paranoid to have cameras literally everywhere."

The Captain blinked. "Right. Well, do you still have the original photos? The printed ones? The one you found...somewhere?"

"You can't order me to burn it," Cardin replied. "But you can buy it off me. Fifty lien. Good deal?"

Jaune stared. He was too tired to deal with this and he needed to make sure Ruby didn't kill anyone while raging somewhere. "Keep it. Just...don't do that again."

He chuckled. "Sure thing, Arc."

First Sergeant Cardin Winchester may be an ass but he knew when to stop. Jaune trusted him on that even as he heard the constant dings of the scrolls of every soldier present in the mess hall. The sound of his seventeen-year-old self giving eighteen-year-old Cardin a solid beating in his tenth match with him during Goodwitch's class all those years ago echoed through their speakers, giving the Captain a small proud smile.

ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: March 12, 2018

LAST EDITED: May 8, 2018

INITIALLY UPLOADED: March 12, 2018

NOTE: While I'd like to say that this technically a finished story (there's a reason why I labeled it 'complete' instead of 'in-progress'), I can't help myself from expanding on a plot bunny that came off of Jaune's onesie. Somehow, I find this healthy for my creative juices.

So, yes. I might be dropping more of these one-shots and Future AU stuff as a break from writing Pit Stop. If any of you are curious, Pit Stop is a RWBY-Fallout crossover I've been working on that started off as a one-shot and expanded into a series with a potential story arc thanks to the reviewers and their suggestions. Shameless promotion, I know.

Anyway, this was a quick one to write. Took about an hour to think through and put on paper. No edits yet. So, yeah. Hope you find this chapter entertaining (or satiating in the least).

Have a nice day, folks. :)