Before we start I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much for the amount of support you gave me on my decision, and believe me it wasn't an easy one.
For those of you that don't know, I previously started a fic titled "Cold Days Are Better Spent Together" and got pretty far into it. Then I pulled a classic FanFiction move and bopped out of existence for a few months. It's a special ability us author's have called "Dimensional Warp." We can quite literally bop ourselves out of existence for an extended period of time, so to you guys we just completely and very randomly disappear. Anywho, in case you aren't familiar with that story and haven't read my little update at the end, I have my reasons for writing this story. Mainly being that I was not happy with the quality of the story. I didn't know where to go or what to do even though I had a path laid out, it was just all crumbling. I guess you could say I pulled a RWBY move and dug myself into a hole I couldn't pull out of. Well this is my way of pulling out.
I received a review taking a few jabs at my story, which I beg for! Take his example and roast me on a spit, please! However, he said that the writing didn't have to be Coeur's level for it to be enjoyable. I agree, Coeur Al'Aran is on a legendary level of writing that I could only dream of achieving, but who am I if I don't even try? I'm not a very complacent person, I want to improve, and that's what I plan to do. Sure, I'm not on that man's level but I'll be damned if I don't compare my writing to his everyday to see what I can do better.
I know some of you probably don't have faith that I'll finish this story, but I will, I'm not one to leave something behind. You'll literally have to hit me with a diesel truck to stop me from writing this, and if I survive, you can be damn sure I'll continue this in my hospital bed.
Anyway, I've rambled on long enough, without further adieu, I present to thee... Between Two Dorms!
Chapter 1
Jaune was familiar with the snow, growing up he experienced a lot of it. Often times he'd found himself snowed in with no one but his sisters to keep him company, as his parents were likely working on clearing some of that god awful snow. However, none of that could ever prepare him for the winters he faced at Beacon Academy. His first winter here was terrible, the second even worse, and now it was the middle of December on what's been reported as the worst winter Beacon has had in it's long lifespan.
Third times the charm right?
Temperatures alone reached negative thirty-five, sometimes lower. Add the fact that snow height peaked almost five feet on a bad day and you were in for one hell of a time. Jaune had the luck of being well acquainted with this sort of situation, given his rather frigid upbringing. However, one look at his teammates reminded him that not everyone was raised the same. Pyrrha seemed more tolerant, likely due to her warrior's discipline, though Nora and even Ren showed signs of struggle in the cold environment.
He then shifted his gaze to the scroll in his hand, tapping on an icon of a wand. He scrolled to the top of Beacon's news feed, seeing the bold letters that read simply:
Classes cancelled until further notice.
He grunted to himself, the message had been there for a few days with no updates. It was certainly nice to have time off, but annoying all the same to not get out of the dorms much.
"Jaune." Pyrrha snapped her fingers, bringing the blonde back to reality. "Ren made dinner."
"Oh..." He slipped his scroll into his pocket with a sigh.
"How are you feeling?"
"Peachy." He groaned.
"Sorry."
Pyrrha leaned against the entrance to the kitchen, exhaling sharply.
"Don't be, just cabin fever. I'll be at the table in a moment." Jaune offered her a smile, taking a step into the bathroom.
He shut the door behind him and locked it, looking at himself in the mirror with a grumpy expression. He pursed his lips and blew a strand of hair away from his eyes. His golden locks could much easier be called a lion's mane now, he hadn't had it cut once since he'd been to Beacon, leaving the ends of his 'mane' dipping past his shoulders. He ran his fingers through it to check it for knots and tangles before doing the same with a comb. When he was finished he ran some conditioner that Yang had let him steal through his hair. Slowly, he slid his white t-shirt off, revealing first his toned and bulky physique, large pecs and biceps that even thicker sweaters would end up hugging the edges of. Secondly however, was a deep and nasty claw scar that ran diagonally from the muscles on his neck all the way to his pelvis. It wasn't a wound he was proud of or willing to show off, in fact, none outside of his team even knew of it's existence. Not like he had much a reason to take his own shirt off outside his dorm.
Pyrrha, get out of the way!
The words rang clear in his mind, making him clench both his jaw and his fists in frustration. He remembered the burning of sharp claws breaking through his armor and tearing into his flesh like a hot knife to butter. He remembered his vision going black, but the cries of his friends and his team more clear than ever.
It was his team and Ruby's, stationed in a small town called Oakenwood for two weeks. Their mission was simple, or it should've been. Protect the people from an organized group of bandits and mercenaries. However, when they came, the fear they sparked brought the creatures of grimm with them. When the town was overrun, they had no choice but to fight. Fight until the numbers of grimm were thinned, until the bandits and mercenaries were no longer a problem, until the people of Oakenwood were safe.
Breathe, Jaune. He took a deep breath, clearing his thoughts as another voice rang in his head. It'd been six months since that disaster, yet he'd been haunted by the memory ever since.
Think about where you are, you're safe. It was his mother's voice, a tactic of hers to calm him down when he was younger. Seems that it worked its magic even now.
Jaune opened his eyes and faced himself once more in the mirror, a blank expression replacing his previously frustrated one. He tucked loose strands of hair behind his ears and made sure none was cascading over the front of his shoulders.
"Breathe." He whispered to himself, forcing on a smile as he put on some deodorant and slid his shirt back on.
He stepped out of the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen.
"There you are!" Nora waved at him. "Your food's gonna get cold."
Jaune rolled his eyes with a cheap smile, pulling up a chair at the table.
"Thank you, Ren." Jaune looked over to the stoic man who'd cooked the food in the first place, receiving a nod in return.
For a while, they ate in relative silence, as no one had much to say that hadn't already been said before. Jaune didn't grab much, he tossed two pancakes on his plate beside some eggs and sausages. While not the most orthodox dinner, they made due with what they had.
"Jaune." Pyrrha spoke up after they'd both finished eating, though Nora was still gorging herself. "Can we talk for a moment?"
"Yeah." He smiled, standing up as he washed his plate and put it in the sink. "What's up?"
She motioned him into the other room, away from the other two, he followed with a lifted eyebrow.
"What's this about?" Jaune asked cautiously.
The redhead knew that he already knew what she wanted to talk about, but neither had talked much about the incident since it happened, nor did they blame each other... They just wanted the memory gone.
"You don't need to keep that smile up in front of your team, Jaune. You can be honest with us." Pyrrha slid her fingers down his arm, clasping his hand gently. "How's your scar?"
"It's fine." He slipped his hands away from hers, causing her to flinch slightly.
"Does it still hurt?"
Jaune shifted his gaze away from hers, swallowing heavily.
"Only when it's touched." He admitted. "Sometimes the fabric of my shirt will pull on the wound."
"I'm sorry." She sighed. "If it wasn't for m-"
"Shut it." Jaune pulled her into a tight hug.
Pyrrha was tall, but Jaune had gained two inches during his time at Beacon, putting him at six three. In unison with his physique, the redheaded warrior looked quite small.
"Jaune..." She slowly wrapped her arms around him, sobbing.
"None of us could've expected that attack on Oakenwood, Pyrrha." He scowled to himself. "But as your leader and your friend, if the blame is on anyone, it's on me."
"I don't blame you for anything." Pyrrha tightened his grip around him before pulling away. "I'm sure Nora and Ren feel the same too."
"Yeah..." He shut his eyes and turned away.
Despite all that, Jaune still felt responsible, for not being prepared like a good leader would've. At the end of the day, he supposed it was better for him to wear that scar rather than anyone else. If he hadn't taken that blow, who knows what could've happened to Pyrrha.
"I need some time out of this damn dorm, I'm gonna go on a walk." Jaune grabbed his beige fur collared jacket from the coat rack and tossed it on.
"Be careful Jaune, you may be from up north but it's still below zero outside."
"I know." He offered her a smile, a real one this time. "I'll be alright."
She nodded with a hint of concern, Jaune waved her off and stepped out of the dorm and into the hallway, immediately feeling the temperature drop due to the lack of heating outside of their rooms. Not to mention it'd only get worse when he stepped outside. However, the cold wouldn't bother him too much, northerner blood and all that. What bothered him more was his thoughts, a lot of the ones that usually laid deep in the back of his head were brimming on the surface... and he hated it.
Jaune wasn't sure how long he'd been gone, though it was quite dark out now. He'd have to head back soon if he didn't want to risk worrying his teammates. He entered the courtyard, looking up to the shattered moon as fell back onto a bench. He leaned his head back and shut his eyes, ready to lose himself to his thoughts once more. He would've, had it nod been for the sudden sound of... sobbing? Or just sniffling. Maybe both... Whatever the case, there was definitely some out here besides him, but who?
Jaune stood up slowly and traced the sound to the other side of the courtyard, where he saw the silhouette of a woman sitting against a snow-covered tree, her head buried in her palms. Only when the blonde got closer did he realize who it was.
"Holy shit, Blake." He knelt beside her, causing her to flinch intensely. "What the hell are you doing out here?"
She was definitely sobbing, as there were tears in her eyes when she looked up at him. Her eyes widened and she shot up, making to flee the scene. However, before she could clear any distance, Jaune caught her wrist.
"Blake, what's wrong?" He asked gently.
"P-please let go." She choked on her words.
Jaune nodded gently and released his grip on her arm.
"Why are you out here without a jacket, what's going on?"
"I don't own one." She shivered, averting her gaze shamefully. "Why do you even care? I'm not your teammate."
"That better be a rhetorical question." He chided her as he slipped out of his jacket, handing it to her. "Put this on."
Blake's eyes darted quickly between him and the jacket before she averted her gaze, hesitantly grabbing it from his hands. She slipped into it, quickly realizing that it was far too big for her, but she made do, rolling the sleeves up until her hands were somewhat visible.
"Thank you..." She spoke softly. "You aren't cold, are you?"
"I'm fine..." He lied.
"Jaune..."
"It's below zero, of course I'm cold." He swallowed lightly. "It's better me than you though, wouldn't want you getting sick."
There was a long pause of silence before Jaune spoke up once more.
"I care about your well-being, teammate or not." He answered her previous question. "Come on, it's getting late and last I checked it doesn't get warmer in the night."
"I..." She looked to the floor. "I'm not going back to my dorm, they wouldn't want to see me anyway."
"Did you have a falling out?"
"I..." Blake swallowed heavily, lost on what words to say. "I'm just paying a price I should've paid a long time ago." She sighed.
"Come on, you aren't staying out here. You can stay with me and my team for the time being."
"I wouldn't want to bother y-"
"It wasn't a question, Blake." He looked around and motioned to all the ice and snow. "Would you rather stay out here and freeze to death?"
"N-no." She admitted.
"Then come on."
They started walking back at a brisk pace, wanting to get out of the cold faster. It only took them a good five minutes to get from the courtyard to the dorms. After a few flights of stairs and a strangely comfortable silence between the two, they were at Jaune's door. He pressed the back of his scroll to a sensor on the wall and unlocked the door, pushing it open.
"Come on in." Jaune waited for her to enter before he locked the door behind him. "I'm pretty sure the others are asleep."
"Alright." She nodded, looking around nervously.
"You're alright, you aren't intruding on anything." Jaune thumbed over her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, pulling his hand away when she flinched slightly.
He clenched his jaw and muttered a sorry under his breath.
"I-It's alright..." She responded gently.
"You can take my bed, I'll sleep on the floor."
"Are you sure?" Blake watched him pull some blankets from the closet and spread them out on the floor by the wall.
"Yup, positive." He nodded, his attention being pulled away by a sudden knock at the door. "Ah, give me a moment."
He walked over to the front and opened the door, his eyebrows furrowing at the sight of an annoyed female blonde standing before him.
"Anything you need, Yang?" He kept his composure, looking down at the much shorter woman.
"Is Blake here?" She thinned her eyes, trying to peak around the corner.
"Yes, and she's trying to sleep, so I suggest you come back tomorrow." Jaune stepped out in front of her and shut the door to keep the girl from prying inside.
"Last I checked she's my teammate, not yours." Yang clenched her jaw. "Let me see her."
"No." He shook his head sternly.
"What?" She gave him a threatening glare.
"I said no." Jaune leaned in. "Blake's in a bad mood. Leave her alone."
"She's in a bad mood!?" She shouted incredulously. "Do you even know what she did!?"
"No, and I don't care what she did. Nobody deserves to be left crying in the damn cold."
"She was crying?" Yang's eyes widened and she suddenly looked ashamed.
"She was." He gave her a cold glare. "Care to explain?"
"I'm not the one that kicked her out, bring that up with Weiss." She looked away.
Kicked her out?
"She what?" Jaune furrowed his brows, gritting his teeth in anger. "What did Ruby have to say about all this?"
"She's sick. She's been... asleep for the past two days." Yang admitted.
"So she's out for two days and your team has already fallen apart." He pinched the bridge of his nose in disappointment. "I can see why she's leader now."
"That's..." She swallowed heavily. "That's not fair."
"Isn't it?" He sighed, taking a breath. "Blake is your teammate, not your pet."
"You think I don't know that!?" Her anger picked back up and she lashed out, her eyes turning red.
"If you did, we wouldn't be having this problem." He shot back.
"I..." She stammered, her eyes dimming back to their normal lilac.
"Just go." He tried to keep his cool. "If Blake wants to talk, she will. But she has every reason and more to want to distance herself."
"Fine." She sighed in defeat, retreating back to her own dorm.
Jaune let out an annoyed breath into his palms and turned to enter his room, fully ready to retire for the night.
Blake was a good eavesdropper, not always intentionally however, as her extra set of ears allowed her to hear a lot better than the average human. Often times she found herself overhearing conversations that she'd wished she hadn't. A perfect example being now, with Jaune and her own blonde teammate in the hallway. She pulled out a book from her bag as he opened the door and shut it lightly behind him, hearing him take a deep breath before stepping into the bedroom.
"Hey Jaune." She spoke up, causing the blonde to flinch slightly in surprise.
"Ah, hey." He waved, taking a seat next to the bed she laid on. "Whatcha reading?"
Jaune reached up and flipped on his bedside lamp.
"Ah!" She quickly closed the book and put it up. "Nothing..."
"You know, that's not a bad book." He stifled a chuckle, picking it up himself. "I'm sure Yang gets at you for the shameless smut but it's got a good plot."
Thank you! She wanted to scream the words but not only would it have been an uncharacteristic outburst, everyone else was also asleep.
"I wish more people would understand that." She settled with those words instead before giving him an amused glance. "You've read it?"
"Admittedly." He snickered.
"I never really pegged you for the reading type." She spoke honestly.
"Most people don't." He shrugged.
She chuckled lightly and laid all the way down. Jaune moved to lay down on his makeshift bed of spare blankets and pillows two or three feet away from her.
"Thank you, Jaune." Her voice was softer than usual.
"Of course." He pulled a blanket over himself, reaching up to flip off the lamp.
"I..." She hesitated for a moment. "I overheard your conversation with Yang."
"Ah..." He swallowed heavily.
"Thanks for sticking up for me."
"I was just frustrated." He admitted.
"Still, it means a lot."
"I'm glad." He paused for a moment. "I'm gonna try and get some rest, you should too."
"Yeah." She nodded. "Night, Jaune."
"Goodnight."
It went dead silent, Blake shut her eyes and tried to sleep. To her surprise, she could already feel herself drifting off. She let the feeling claim her and fell asleep easier than she had in a long while.
First and foremost, I just want to apologize for how long it took to get this out. I had everything ready to release a week and a half ago and I read it through and said "nope."
Thank you so much for your support on this choice, it means the world to me and more. If you see any mistakes please point them out and if you have any critiques, light me up with em.
A few details in case you like skimmed over them. Classes are cancelled, it's really cold, Jaune has long hair and is 6'3 now, he's also pretty buff n' that jazz, Oakenwood is a thing.
I hope you have a good day and I'll try not to take too long with the next chapter.Allister Crow signing out for now. :1