"Your coffee is getting cold."

"Huh?" Jaune looks up, meeting Neptune's gaze sheepishly. "Oh, right. I'm sorry."

Neptune frowns. "Don't be sorry," he says, reaching out and placing a tender hand on Jaune's wrist. "Tell me what's wrong."

Jaune felt the urge to smile; he felt a sudden welling of tears in his eyes and resisted the urge to cry as he smiled back at Neptune sweetly. How long had it been since someone asked him what was wrong? Since they really took the time to listen? How many years were spent in The Ever After, feeling alone and unloved? Uncertain if he'd ever return or if he'd ever see his friends again. When he returned to Vacuo alongside team RWBY only about a week ago, he was overwhelmed with the sheer joy that they were met with. Ren, Nora, and Oscar had literally tackled him to the ground when they saw he'd returned.

Now, here he was with Neptune, who was here to listen to his tales in the middle of some janky old café just a way out from Shade Academy. He'd told Jaune that they should catch up after all this time, that he was glad to find out he was still alive. Neptune noticed the shift in his face and began rubbing circles on his wrist with a gentle movement of his thumb. Jaune watched his hand cautiously.

"Jaune," he says softly. "You can talk to me, man; I'm here for you."

And he had been; after returning, it was quickly established that there wasn't much space within Shade for everyone. All of Atlas and Mantle had evacuated to Vacuo; things were still very much in a state of chaos. It had been a month since Atlas fell, a month since Jaune and team RWBY had fallen into The Ever After, and a month since they were dead to the world. Mistral had come to aid Vacuo and what remained of Atlas in reestablishing communications and fundamental technology. It was all so much. Jaune had been going through a major case of derealization since his return. He'd felt out of touch with reality as he knew it, fearful that things would never feel the same again. But then there was Neptune.

Neptune Vasilias: The cool guy from Haven. He had opened his home to Jaune and the rest of their friends since the fall of Atlas. Oscar, Ren, and Nora seemed so excited to tell Jaune about staying at Neptune's place, and he could see why. Neptune's house was huge, and Jaune had been taken aback by the sheer scale of the inside, considering how small it looked on the outside. Neptune had told him his mother was a very successful lawyer and that he'd basically been set for life, so he'd gotten his place just outside of Shade.

Following the days that had passed since he and team RWBY returned, Jaune had been spending an awful lot of time with Neptune, according to Weiss. It's not like he hadn't been spending time with everyone else too; he and Oscar have been hanging out almost every day, and Nora and Ren have barely left his side since they found out he'd still been alive. It was just that Neptune felt familiar too; his presence felt comforting in a different way that Jaune couldn't quite put his finger on.

Jaune smiles. "It's nothing," he says. "I was just lost in thought for a second, is all. What were we talking about?"

Neptune purses his lip in thought. "Oh, you were telling me about… what was it? The paper people?"

"The Paper Pleasers," Jaune corrects.

"Right, right, The Paper Pleasers. So, you were there for how many years, did you say?"

"I… I really don't know, it was at least twenty. I sorta lost count, repeating the same cycle over and over every day will do that to you, I guess."

"Wow," Neptune says. "Didn't you ever feel lonely? Without anyone else there? I couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like."

"I managed, it wasn't all bad. I had my village and June to keep me company," Jaune says, looking down at his reflection in his cup of coffee before bringing it to his lips for a sip.

Neptune tilts his head. "June?" He asks in a somewhat sullen tone of voice.

"My steed," Jaune says a bit too quickly. "My fuzzy companion, I guess you could say."

"Oh, okay. So tell me more about your village. I heard from Weiss that you named them after your teammates."

"Hey, that's not true!" Jaune said hastily. "I… named them after everyone." Neptune blinked at him. "Look, I know it's weird, but you try being stuck in-"

Neptune was chuckling now. "No, no! It's not weird, it's not weird," he says.

"It's not?" Jaune raises an eyebrow at him.

"Jaune, you were stuck in an unknown place for a long time by yourself. It's a coping mechanism. You needed something or someone to latch onto to deal with the fact that you were separated from your loved ones, and unsure if you'd ever make it back to the life you once knew."

"Oh," Jaune says, looking down at his cup again and smiling. "You know, I had one named after you too." He could feel the blush creeping onto his cheeks now.

"Really?" Neptune asks, perking up ever-so-slightly in his seat.

Jaune rubs the back of his head, smiling shyly as he looks away, feeling embarrassed under Neptune's gentle gaze. "Yeah, sorry. I know it's a bit weird."

"I think it's really sweet, actually," Neptune says, smiling.

Jaune is surprised by his reaction, suddenly beginning to feel his face heating up. "Really? You mean that?"

"Of course, Jaune. I'm happy I could be someone you thought about throughout all those years."

What was this that Jaune was feeling now? It's like something was reaching right into his chest and grabbing at his heart. Like someone was holding it in their bare hand and forcefully pumping it. The longer he looked at Neptune, the more intense it became. Did he always find Neptune this attractive? When has he ever found men attractive?

Let's not kid ourselves, he thought. You know you had a crush on him when you went to Beacon. Was that true? Did he have a crush on him during the tournament? Well, he guessed he sort of did. He'd always found Sun and Neptune to be handsome, but as a teenager, all those feelings don't quite make sense at the time. He thought about Pyrrha for a moment, it's not like he'd been in love with her, right? She was beautiful and strong, brave, and kind. He'd cared about her deeply, and in the end, he was too late to even think about reciprocating her feelings.

He sips his coffee again and begins to think back. He'd guessed that in The Ever After, it may have dawned on him once or twice that his heart could beat for anyone, that gender wasn't really a factor. Being alone for a steady amount of time without any human interaction whatsoever may have been a factor in coming to this conclusion about himself. He shrugged it off and began looking at Neptune again, who had gotten up to place another order of scones. Neptune was taller than Jaune by about two inches; his messy light-blue hair was swept over to its usual right side, and his yellow-tinted goggles rested just above his forehead. His eyes were deep blue like the ocean, much like Jaune's own, and settled behind hooded eyelids. He was wearing a crimson red short sleeve shirt that just barely touched the top of his dark jeans, Jaune noticed how tightly his jeans hugged his legs and muscular thighs and caught himself staring.

Neptune begins walking back to their table and for the first time Jaune begins to notice the details of his face, ones that you would miss had you neglected to take a closer look. He noticed his light brown freckles scattered across his nose, the dimples in his cheeks, and how the warm morning sunlight danced across his tan skin so graciously.

"Jaune?" Neptune snaps him out of it. "Did you want these to go? We can stay a bit longer if you want."

"Oh, uh, did you want to go? I don't want to keep you here if you have more important stuff to do, I can just-"

"We can stay longer."

Jaune smiles. "Yeah, I'd like that."

And so they sat, and they chatted, all the while Jaune never takes his eyes off of Neptune for more than a few seconds at a time. Neptune doesn't notice this, and if he does, then he doesn't say anything. He'd felt something shift within his heart, he felt safe again for the first time in a long time. He felt at home; at peace.

"Neptune," he says, looking into his cup shyly.

"Hm?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

Neptune blinks at him again. "What do you mean?"

"It's just, I don't know—we've never exactly been close before. I just don't know what I'm supposed to make of all this."

"Are you suggesting I have ulterior motives?" Neptune raises an eyebrow at him.

"What? No, no, I'm just… confused, is all."

Neptune studies his face for a few seconds before answering. "The truth is, I'm not so sure why. I just feel like," he pauses for a moment, it's obvious that he's trying to find the right words to say. "You just seem like you need someone."

Jaune is studying his face now somewhat intensely. Neptune shifts under his gaze, looking away shyly, but only for a moment before he collects himself and meets Jaune's eyes with his own. He doesn't want to seem like he's intimidated by Jaune, but why would Jaune want to intimidate him? What was going on? Jaune was confused and needed to change the subject fast.

"So," he trails, looking away from Neptune. "What have you been up to since we fell?"

Neptune leans back in his chair, stretching and letting out a low groan. Jaune couldn't help but notice the hem of his shirt lifting ever so slightly as he did, exposing just enough of his lower stomach to make Jaune blush. Neptune raises an eyebrow at him. "Are you okay?" He asks.

Jaune scratches the back of his neck and sits up in his chair a bit. "Yeah, sorry. Just still a little all over the place, you know?"

"I get it. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"It's just," he shifted in his chair a bit. "I feel so out of touch. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be back. I really am." He looked down at his hands clasped tightly around his lukewarm coffee mug.

"Maybe you just need more time to adjust? You know? To be young again, to be back on Remnant," Neptune says, leaning up in his chair.

"Yeah, possibly. I just… I just feel–"

"Out of place in your own body?"

Jaune looked at Neptune in surprise. How? How does he know? He thought. Neptune was just so understanding. He seemed completely different from the person he was when he and Jaune were still scraggly little teenagers. He reminded him of Pyrrha in that way, she was understanding too.

He sips the last bit of his coffee in one gulp, setting his empty mug down on a napkin and taking a bite out of his scone. "Thanks, Neptune."

"For what?"

"For being here for me, for understanding."

Neptune smiles at him gently, placing a firm hand on his shoulder and pulling them closer together. "Always," he says.

And dammit, Jaune feels himself blushing again. He fights the urge to smile like some sort of crazy person as Neptune lets him go and leans back in his chair. Okay, so maybe Weiss was right. Perhaps Jaune was interested in something other than friendship with Neptune. Could he actually open his heart up to let someone in, though? He thinks about Pyrrha for a second and frowns. He remembers how she kissed him that day, and then how it was the last time he ever saw her as he knew her.

But with Neptune, maybe it could be different. There was a chance for him, a chance for something greater than a life as a huntsman. Who was he kidding? There's no way in hell that Neptune would reciprocate these feelings, but Jaune could dream. He could hope.

Neptune sits up again, taking the last bite of his scone. "You ready to dip outta here?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'll get the bill."

"Don't worry about it, I asked you here. Remember?"

"What? But-"

"No buts. I've got it," he reaches into his pocket, pulling out two green cards of Lien and tossing them onto the table. "Okay, let's go."

Jaune rolls his eyes at him. "Smug bastard."

"Damn right, I am," he grins.

The walk back to Neptune's place is comfortably silent, Jaune couldn't help but walk close beside Neptune. Every so often, their shoulders would brush against each other. Neptune either doesn't notice or doesn't seem to mind, which makes Jaune smile. They get back to Neptune's place and plunked down on his large living room couch between Blake, who was reading a book, and Ruby, who had been fiddling with a wire connected to her scroll.

Neptune's living room is very big. There's a large TV set atop a dark coffee table, which is pushed up against the wall just across from the couch. The most gorgeous chandelier Jaune had ever seen in his life hung in between the couch and TV, just over the small round table that sat between the TV and couch. The large kitchen and dining room was connected to the right of the room, which also held a hallway leading to each of the guest rooms on the first floor.

"Where are you two coming from?" Blake asks, almost a bit teasingly, looking up from her book.

"Just went for some coffee," Neptune answers. "What are you two up to? And where is everyone?"

"Well, Weiss, Yang, and Oscar are all still sleeping. I think Nora said something about her and Ren going to the library."

Ruby groans, tossing her scroll onto the ottoman of the couch. "I give up," she says. "I've been trying to get this stupid screencast function to work for almost an hour now. I just want to watch some cartoons on a bigger screen."

Jaune chuckles and shakes his head. Classic Ruby, some things never change even after going through a mystical process of rebirth, Jaune thought.

"Did you try unplugging it and plugging it back in?" Neptune asks, raising an eyebrow at Ruby in confusion.

"Of course, I tried that!"

"No, you didn't," Blake flips a page of her book. "You turned the TV off, then back on then unplugged it and plugged it back in, but you haven't tried unplugging your scroll and plugging it back in."

"What difference does it make?" Ruby asked, rolling her eyes.

"You'd be surprised," Neptune says.

"Whatever. I don't care anymore. Anyway, Jaune I need you to come with me in a few hours to go talk to Headmaster Theodore," she says. "It seemed important."

Jaune sat up a bit in his spot. "Is it about Tyrian?" He asked.

Ruby shrugs. "I'm not sure, I think it's safe to say probably, but we won't know until we get there."

Since returning to Vacuo, Emerald had informed the group about Salem's plans involving Mercury and Tyrian's departure to Vacuo. She said she wasn't privy to all the details, but she was certain they were somewhere within the kingdom, and that they had no doubt by now been informed of her betrayal, be it by Cinder or Salem herself. Jaune sat back against the couch, he noticed Blake's cat ears drop as she began to speak. "What do you guys think The Blacksmith meant when they said we'd be sent to when we were needed most?" She asked.

"Hm," Ruby says, running her fingers through her hair. "I don't know, we got sent forward in time, but there has to be more to it. Why wouldn't they just send us back to the immediate timeline?"

"Are we talking about The Blacksmith's time shenanigans again?" Weiss walked in from her guest room, still wiping sleep from her eyes and plopping down onto the couch on the far right next to Ruby.

Ruby sighed. "Yeah, I still have no clue what she could have possibly meant when they said when you are needed most and not where."

"Maybe she was trying to warn you guys about something," Neptune said. "Like that something big is in place with Salem, and she knew that we would need you guys back here to help deal with it when the time comes."

"But warn us about what?" Jaune said. "Tyrian? Mercury? We know they're somewhere in or around Vacuo, but we have no idea where."

"Headmaster Theodore said he has people keeping a close eye on things, that some of his best colleagues and students are doing routine patrols to make sure everything stays in order," Blake said.

"But we all saw how things turned out in Atlas, Ironwood said something along those same lines," Weiss says, shifting uncomfortably in her spot at the sound of the general's name leaving her mouth.

That's right. Jaune had thought back to a few days before, when they'd returned. After everyone greeted them, and they all had a very tearful reunion, Winter explained to Weiss the fate of their father and how it was suspected that Ironwood was the one who killed Jacques Schnee. No one was certain, but it was pretty likely, considering that Jacques never made it off of Atlas before it fell.

Ruby placed a supportive hand on Weiss's shoulder, and they sat in silence for a moment. The front door opened a few seconds later and Ren walked in, followed by Nora. "Hello all!" Nora greeted cheerfully.

"What are you guys getting up to this morning?" Ren asks, taking a seat in the recliner on the left side of the couch, Nora sitting on the armrest next to him.

"Still trying to understand what The Blacksmith meant, trying to figure out if it has anything to do with the fact that Mercury and Tyrian are here," Jaune said.

"They must be pretty well hidden if no one on our end has caught wind of them yet," Neptune spoke up again. "There's no way they'd go unnoticed this long without some sort of place that can remain under the radar for as long as possible."

"But what are they doing? Collecting intel?" Jaune brought a hand to his chin in thought.

"Gotta be," Blake said. "What else would they be doing that requires them to stay so inconspicuous? You can't act without knowing all your options and what could go wrong with each of them."

"I guess we'll get our answer later tonight then, won't we?"

Ruby ran another hand through her hair. "Yeah," she says. "I guess we will."