A/N: I just wanted to thank y'all for reading that last chapter. I finally broke past the 10k views mark for Tuesday! Woo Hoo! All of these reviews and views have pretty much solidified in my mind that I need more heart-wrenching, almost near death Jaune scenes in the story. Perfect. XD On that note, woo hoo, longest chapter I've ever written EVER, and I hope it's a good one, 'cause it sure as hell ran away from me. I think I should've split this into two chapters but... nah. Hope y'all enjoy this one, 'cause Jaune sure as Hell ain't gonna. Oh! Tell me if I'm using too many italics. I tried to tone it down but... Man. Lots of emphasis on things this chapter.
Let me know what y'all think.
Look down below! DO YOU SEE HOW MANY GUEST REVIEWS THERE ARE? YOU CAN CHANGE THAT NOW, BY REGISTERING ONTO FANFICTION FOR FREE! FREE!
bring sexy back: Hey thanks for reading it ^-^
That guy: Hahaha XD Thanks ^-^ I'm sure I can think of a way to explain this!
Guest 1: So what you're saying is that I need to have more cliffhangers in the story. Gotcha.
Guest 2: All very good questions! Good questions that I am not going to answer! XD
Guest 3: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!
Guest 4: How would Neo be able to say his name?
Guest 5: I know! Isn't it great?!
Guest 6: Hm, I'm… not sure. 'specially when you're posting anonymously on the internet :P
Sincerely,
Yes I have no idea who you are. Sorry. XD
Guest 7: Hmm, maybe after I've killed him off for real.
Bri: Yay! I mean aw. (But really I mean yay) Thanks for being invested in the story enough to almost cry XD And I can't have Jaune dying yet! There's still so many ways to tortu- er, progress the story. :)
JAUNEMUSTLIVE: First off, love your name. Made me pause for a second in whether or not I should write a funeral scene in this chapter. But thanks for the review! Glad you're getting attached to the story!
Shadowolf: Hahaha XD Well I'm glad your family enjoys this story. Hope it continues to live up to your expectations ^-^
There was a lot of speculation on Remnant of what happens to the mind when people die. It's one of life's big mysteries, something that no one can really ever solve until the day they… well, die. And it's slightly hard for the dying to talk about what happens after their dead. And so humanity (and faunus-kind) continued on, forever wondering about the afterlife and what it entails until the very final moments of their lives, when the answer to that question will matter the least.
Jaune heard a lot of crying in his dreams from all sorts of familiar voices. He assumed that it was just something that happened when you're dead. You feel like you're floating, there's a white light, and there's a ton of screaming and crying from the people that you cared about. You know, the normal things to experience post-death.
Cracking open an eyelid revealed that for some reason, there was a lot of white. White was everywhere. The walls were white, the sheets were white, Dust, the drawers were white. And the noise. For something that should've been peaceful, death sure was loud. The lights were bright. Like, blindingly bright. Jaune wasn't sure if he was staring at the sun or something, but it was starting to hurt his eyes to look at the glaring light. Finally, as if surfacing out of a pool of water, Jaune's hearing returned to him, albeit slowly.
"—And the fact that you even attempted in coercing a minor, who is not a Hunter or granted Aura in any waay, into drinking is simply… simply idiotic! Honestly, I should just—"
"We didn't know! We already said we're sorry Weiss—"
"Don't you Weiss me! I should honestly take Myrtenaster and shove it up—"
"Alright, let's try and calm down, come on Ruby talk some sense—"
"Shut up Yang! I am trying to figure out whether I should let Weiss do what she wants or stop her—"
"That one please!"
"—and do it myself with Crescent Rose!"
"Not that one please!"
The shouting continued on and on, long enough for Jaune's mind to start picking up its pace and start recognizing where he was at and that he probably wasn't dead. His brain concluded that he was definitely alive when he tried shifting in place, trying to sit up. The pain was unbearable, and Jaune couldn't even stop the groan that escaped his mouth even if he tried, the sound cutting through the shouting that was going on, everyone around Jaune freezing at the indication that Jaune was awake. There was a shuffle, and a crash as something was tipped over as a group of bodies made their way into his vision, crowding around his bed.
"Jaune, you're awake!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Dude, I'm so glad you're didn't bleed out or something." Sun said tactlessly, crying out in pain as Blake dug her elbow into his side.
"What he meant to say," Blake took over, stopping to glare at the cowered Sun, "is that we're glad you're alright." The other murmured in agreement, restless as they waited for Jaune to say something.
The blonde looked around, a faint smile on his face. "Thanks guys." The simple phrase was enough for all of them, shoulders visibly lowering as he said the words, before Weiss decided to step up and ruin the happy mood.
"While I am glad that you are… well, I think there's a few things that you need to explain to us." The tone was firm but not harsh, and there were several heads that nodded in agreement, wondering why Jaune was in this position in the first place. The bartender squirmed uncomfortably at their gazes and gave a nervous chuckle.
"I guess you guys aren't going to take a 'I'll explain later' are you?"
The heads around him moved in sync, every one of them shaking left to right. Jaune sighed, looking down and discovering his bandaged arms. Lifting one of them up, Jaune frowned, unable to remember why he would need medical attention on his arms.
"Multiple lesions on both arms, mostly from Beowulf claws and tree branches." Jaune looked at Ren, who was the one who recited the information. "I'm assuming that's why you were looking at your arms?" The pink-eyed warrior asked politely. Jaune nodded slowly, his attention returning to his arms.
"Yeah. I didn't realize…" Jaune winced as he tried to tighten his hands into fists, feeling lines of pain run up and down his arms. "I didn't realize it was this bad."
"Bad is a nice way of saying that." Yang retorted, crossing her arms. "Do you know how… dinged up you are?" Jaune blinked, trying to reach out and feel what was wrong with his body. It was in pain. Yep. Lots of it too. In fact, he was in so much pain that Jaune wasn't even sure where it was coming from. Like a dull ache that was going through his whole body, except it wasn't a dull ache and more of a sharp pain.
"Three incisions across the belly," Jaune's gaze was forced back up to find Weiss to be the one speaking, her voice completely calm, but her eyes sparking with anger. "Deep enough that we could see—" She cut herself off, turning away and taking a steadying breath before continuing. "Scratches and bruises on almost every part of your body, multiple infections and your back—" Again she stopped, unable to speak another word. What happened to my back? Jaune tried to remember and… oh. He remembered now. His swordsmanship was… lackluster in that fight with the Beowulfs to say the least, and without being able to bring up his shield fast enough…
There were only three incisions on his stomach, but there must've been a dozen more on his back alone.
"Heh. That bad huh?" Jaune asked, laughing helplessly. He quickly shut his mouth when Weiss glared at him.
"That bad? That. Bad?" Weiss made a motion that seemed vaguely threatening. "You almost died! And not to talk about the fact that you were inebriated?" Weiss poked him in the chest, making him wince in pain. "What were you thinking?" Jaune wasn't able to answer as Weiss continued to talk. "Oh that's right. You probably weren't thinking!"
Jaune wanted to protest, to say something, but knew that she was right. Instead he kept his head lowered, letting her yell at him. She was right. It was his mistake. Weiss seemed to catch on from how he didn't speak back and reigned herself. She stopped speaking and closed her eyes, taking a calming breath.
"I'm—I'm glad you're alive though." Weiss said quietly, one of her hands tightening softly around his. Jaune smiled, glad that they weren't too mad at him.
"Thanks. I'm sorry about—"
There was a sudden cracking sound somewhere behind the hospital curtain that interrupted Jaune, who paused, wondering what the noise was. When the curtain was shoved aside, Jaune paled, seeing a furious blonde woman standing in front of him, eyes focused on him.
Suddenly Jaune's lingering sense of impending doom returned.
"Professor Goodwitch." Jaune greeted weakly, mind scrambling to think of something to say. "How've you been…?"
The woman brushed aside a few strands of her hair that had escaped her sagging bun, not letting up on her piercing stare. Jaune decided that now wasn't the best time to joke around and quickly slumped downwards, almost melting back into his bed. The blonde professor still didn't say anything, stalking towards Jaune like a predator towards wounded prey. The rest of the room wisely parted before her, murmuring paper-thin excuses to leave the room. Professor Goodwitch waited patiently for them to leave the room before she spoke, her voice coming out and cutting through the tension.
"I am going to give you one minute to explain to me why, in your tiny mind, you would think that going and fighting Grimm unarmored and without a speck of formal training… was a good idea."
A bead of sweat slid down Jaune's forehead, his stomach beginning to boil under the pressure of her gaze. "Just one minute? I might need a little longer." Jaune laughed, trying to offer a joke in hopes of defusing Glynda's rising anger. The laugh died pretty quickly as the professor didn't make a single move except to glance at a nearby clock, looking back and crossing her arms, sending an effective, unspoken message. Tick. Tock. Jaune was beginning to have a hard time swallowing.
"I—Look. It's." Jaune made a few vague motions with his hands. "It wasn't my smartest idea." Jaune admitted, shrugging. Jaune swore he heard the creaking of the blonde woman's leather handle as she tightened her grip on the crop, a single eyebrow raising up.
"It wasn't your smartest idea?" She echoed, before almost vibrating with anger. "Well I am certainly glad you were able to come to that conclusion." Her tone slid down to a violent hiss, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Jaune started to get a little defensive, not sure what the professor wanted from him.
"What do you want me to say?" Jaune asked, helpless, "It was a mistake, alright?"
"Mistake? Mistake?!" Glynda laughed, almost hysterically, some of her bangs escaping her tight bun and flying all over the place as she gestured wildly. The bedridden boy flinched, never having seen a side of her so close to the edge. "No Jaune, this wasn't a mistake, or an accident. A mistake is when you decide eat too much in one sitting and end up throwing up. An accident is when you drop a knife and nick yourself. A mistake is not becoming an alcoholic at seventeen, relapsing at still an illegal age to drink, and going OUT TO GET YOURSELF KILLED!"
Every one of those points hit Jaune hard, but it only hurt worse when Professor Goodwitch leaned over, her arms propping her up against the bed. It was a movement to help hide her facial expression, even though Jaune had already seen hints of tears welling up in her eyes.
"An accident and a mistake is something that happens when you don't think things through and find yourself at the mercy of chance," Glynda continued, her voice quieting down. "It is not a mistake if you go and leave your bar, fetch a weapon and go into the deeper parts of the jungle to fight things you've never fought before." She shook her head, hands gripping Jaune's sheets. "No. That's stupidity. And if that stupidity had led you to… to your death?" Professor Goodwitch straightened up, her hands rubbing away at her eyes. "That wouldn't be an accident," She said quietly. "That would be a tragedy."
Jaune was at a loss for words, and without thinking, he started to protest. "It's not like that, trust me, it was a mistake! You said it yourself, it happened because I wasn't thinking it through!"
"Oh? So you're saying that the whole time while you went back to your apartment, grabbed a weapon, and headed to the forest… You didn't think it through once?" The blonde woman asked, raising a harsh eyebrow.
"No, because I was—" drunk, Jaune thought, cutting himself off and hoping that the professor wouldn't notice. But that could never be the case. She hadn't been a teacher and a Huntress for so long that she couldn't take advantage of an opening like that.
"Because you were what? Hurt? Angry?" Jaune didn't say anything, a pained look on his face. "Or maybe it was because you were drunk." The boy flinched, his whole body stiffening at the word.
"Did you think I wouldn't know?" She hissed out, taking a step forward. "Did you think, after Ruby carried you into the hospital, they wouldn't do tests on you, to see if there was anything wrong with you? Did you think," Professor Goodwitch had started to talk slower, pronouncing every word carefully, every syllable like a dropping hammer. "that when the doctors refused to operate on you, I wouldn't ask why?" Still Jaune refused to answer, his body shaking, his bandaged hands gripping tightly at the sheets. "And when they told me they couldn't put you on anything, because of how much alcohol was in your blood, without the possibility of killing you anyways, when I had to watch you bleed out slowly because they had to wait until the alcohol left your system," Glynda paused, her teeth ground together so tight that she couldn't even part them to talk, "Did you think, for even a second, that I wouldn't be furious?!"
"Of course not!" Jaune shouted, rising up out of his bed, ignoring the multiple twinges of pain all around his body.
"THEN WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Professor Goodwitch roared, slamming her fist onto the bedside drawer so hard that the top exploded into splinters, flying outwards and impaling themselves against every surface in the room except Jaune and the professor.
"Is everything alrig—" A nurse entered the room frantically, checking to see what had happened before freezing at the doorway, caught under the full glare of the professor.
"I'll, uh, I'll come back later." She said meekly, closing the door behind her again.
When Professor Goodwitch turned her attention back towards Jaune, she found one that was a little angrier, a little more adamant.
The guilt wasn't something new, Dust, he had been feeling it the moment he had woken up. But in the middle of it all was festering, burning anger. He understood. Yes, he knew what his... choice's consequences are, he doesn't need to be reminded of it again. He. Got. It.
"I get it." Jaune whispered hotly. "I won't make that mistake again. Now kindly get out of my face."
Glynda froze, eyes widening at the boy's words, shock written across her face. And suddenly it was gone, the rage replacing it once again.
"You're mad at me? You?"
"Yes I'm mad at you!" Jaune yelled, mirroring the professor just a second ago by slamming his hands onto the bed sheets. It would've been much more effective too if he hadn't winced, bringing a smug reaction out of the professor. Ignoring the look, Jaune shouted at her. "I know I did something wrong! I get it! I'm sorry! Stop telling me this already, I've heard enough of it!"
"You've heard enough of it? You've heard enough of it?" Again came the derisive laughter, quickly cut off when she glared at him again. "Well apparently not if you're still pulling unbelievable stunts like this!" The professor turned and almost seemed to pace, her face still set angrily. "You know what I've had enough of? Looking at you and worrying you might not make it to the next day!"
"It shouldn't worry you in the first place! I'm alive, aren't I?"
"Really? Because you almost dying yesterday reassures me how?"
"I—" Jaune cut himself off, looking away from Professor Goodwitch. "I'm... sorry." Jaune gritted out, still shaking from anger. The room fell into silence as they both looked at each other, not sure what else to say. Without something to fight, Jaune slowly slid into his ever present guilt, and the deeper anger that lie inside.
"Do you honestly think we wouldn't be mad at you?" Glynda asked quietly. "You almost… died on us. Did you think we would just walk it off? Put it in the back of our minds? Pretend it never happened?" Now her tone changed, the anger disappearing, replaced with worry, fear. Her forehead creased, eyes reflecting the hurt that Jaune had seen in everyone else's eyes when he had woken up.
Jaune wasn't sure if it was the anger or the silent pain that hurt him the most.
Glynda sighed, shaking her head. "I may not know you all that well, Jaune Arc, but I definitely know that you're not stupid. Think about the people that care about you. Ruby. Weiss. Nora. Pyrrha." She shook her head, fists shaking. "There are so many that I can't even list them all. Hunters and Huntresses, all of them, trained to save people like you. Think about that for a second." A pale finger jabbed Jaune's forehead. "In their minds, no matter what you say, what you did.. If you had died, only one thing would have gone through their minds. Do you know what those words are?" Jaune could guess, but his throat closed up, shame welling up in him.
"They failed." She said the words carefully, watching Jaune flinch hearing them. "No matter what anyone would say to them, they will think of reasons and things they could have done differently, and in their minds, there will always be a 'what if' when it comes to you." A hand rested on Jaune's, making him look up into the green eyes of the professor. "I'm sure you understand that feeling perfectly well." Eyes widening, Jaune jerked his hand away from hers.
She knew. He didn't know how, but she knew.
She knew he killed his family.
Hyperventilating made breathing a lot harder, Jaune discovered. The bedridden boy's vision turned cloudy, his mind running, sprinting furiously in fear. He could barely feel the hands that touched his face, could barely hear the insistent voice that told him to breathe slower, to calm down. Cloudy vision turned black for a second, and Jaune's eyelids fluttered, almost fainting before he felt arms embracing his whole body, warmth suffusing through his whole body. Desperately Jaune's arms flew up, tightening around the body, pulling the two of them as close to each other as possible.
Minutes flew by, neither of them counting as they sat there together, Glynda rubbing circles along his back, murmuring things that he couldn't hear, but could still feel, while Jaune struggled to keep his breathing and rapid heartbeat in check. He thought that he could hear the door open and close a few times, but everything else was drowned out by the rushing of blood in his ears.
"…How long have you known?"
The bed shifted a little bit as Professor Goodwitch moved enough to look at Jaune in the eyes. "Only since… I found you in your apartment. I needed to know if your family had a past with… alcohol." Jaune's eyes closed, forcing memories away from his mind. "I'm sorry for intruding into something so private, but I had to know." It didn't take much longer for Jaune to think things through logically and push away the screaming, irrational part of his mind.
Did it really matter if people knew his past anyways? Would that really change much?
Yes, his mind whispered, reminding himself of the fact that his friends were Hunters and Huntresses, people sworn to be the protectors of life. And he had taken away seven in one careless moment.
Jaune shivered and unconsciously wrapped himself closer to the woman holding him.
"I'm sorry Jaune." Glynda whispered. "I really am." Jaune didn't say anything, only keeping himself close to her.
"Did Ruby... say anything when she brought me in? Like, if she saw anyone?" Jaune wondered if everything that happened before he blacked out was just a grand hallucination or something... more. Professor Goodwitch shook her head.
"I only heard about what had happened after you were admitted into the hospital. When I came Ruby was still a little... upset at seeing you in that state, so she didn't really say much to me." Jaune nodded, reminding himself to ask Ruby if she had seen anything later on. But for now, they stayed together, holding each other.
"You're not a selfish person Jaune," Professor Goodwitch spoke up, pulling away from Jaune again, looking into his eyes. "and I know that telling you how everyone feels probably tears you up inside. But sometimes," She shook her head, a frown on her face, "sometimes what hurts is what's needed the most." Her grip tightened briefly, and the stern look on her face hardened for a second. "And if you didn't need this, then you definitely deserve it for making us worry so much."
Jaune nodded meekly, understanding her anger. "Sorry," He whispered quietly, not knowing what else to say. The apology didn't change anything he did… but hopefully it was a start to some change.
A loud beep came from the professor's pockets, someone sending a text through to her scroll. She pulled the device out and quickly scanned the contents of the text before sighing, putting the scroll away and looking at Jaune.
"I need to go. It seems that after spending the whole night here there are a few things that I need to straighten out at Beacon." She gave him a worried, lingering glance before standing up. Jaune smiled.
"Thank you." He croaked out, not specifying what he was thanking. He didn't need to, the blonde woman knowing exactly what he meant. Impulsively, Professor Goodwitch leaned over and kissed the bedridden boy on his temple, pulling back up to give him a soft, motherly smile.
"Just remember," She said, "I may not be your mother but that does not mean I will abandon you. Ever." She squeezed his hand once before letting go, striding out of the room, her heels clicking underneath the hospital tiles.
The bartender sat there, not sure what he was feeling. On one hand, he still felt guilty for putting all of his friends through something like this. On the other hand… it felt as if he had broken some kind of barrier. Something about Professor Goodwitch… about Glynda knowing his past made him feel… freer. Calmer. Maybe even a little more hopeful.
He hoped this feeling would last a while.
The sound of glass shattering made him jump, his head turning to look over at his window, assuming that someone had thrown something through the windowpane. When it was revealed that the glass was untouched, Jaune drew in his eyebrows, wondering if he the concussion he had also entailed sound hallucinations or something.
When he turned back and saw Neo was suddenly standing there, Jaune's heart flew out of his chest, gasping in fright.
"OH, by the—Holy Dust packets, Neo! You almost scared the life out of me!" Jaune gasped, clutching at his chest. "I don't even have that much life left to spare." He added, groaning as he struggled to keep his heart rate down, the heart monitor calming down after suddenly spiking up. Looking up, Jaune was surprised to see a curious light in her eyes, her face a lot closer than it was before, her nose only a foot or so away from his. Involuntarily, Jaune jerked back, surprised at the sudden closeness.
Neo clicked her tongue and put both of her hands on Jaune's head, keeping it in place for who-knows-what reason, staring intently into his eyes. A few seconds passed by like this, Jaune not daring to blink as he wondered what Neo was trying to do. One of her hands drifted towards the corners of his eyes, tracing the redness of the ridges, where he had rubbed away his tears a little too harshly. A flicker of emotion passed through her before it disappeared under more emotions that Jaune wasn't able to place.
Just as suddenly as when she got close to him, she hopped off the bed, striding up to the hospital door and looking through the window, before locking the door and looking back at Jaune, her blue eyes flashing as she looked into his. With a cocky smile she fell apart into hundreds of pieces, disappearing from sight.
Jaune blinked rapidly, not sure what had just happened. Before he could even piece together any further information, another sound of exploding glass happened, Neo appearing in front of him again, this time with a friend.
"… Cinder?" Jaune asked, confused as to why the seductive woman was here. Like Neo, she didn't speak at first, standing there and looking at Jaune slowly, as if trying to take in the sight of him sitting in the bed.
"…I should just kill you now." The whisper was quiet, so quiet that Jaune almost couldn't hear it, making the hairs on his arm stand up, the beeping heart monitor on the wall betraying his rising heart rate.
"I'm sorry?"
Cinder's eyes snapped up to his, her movements just as jerky as she approached the bedside and sat down, one of her hands holding his chin. A second or two passed before she parted her lips, deciding to speak.
"While your bravery is admirable, charging head on into your death and almost not coming out of it would be categorized as foolish and reckless." The words, as always, were delivered smoothly, as if Cinder stood in front of a mirror and practiced the lines, making sure her intonation and cadence were perfect, so that her words could deliver as much meaning as she could possibly express.
"Yeah, I kind of realized that." Jaune said, laughing nervously. He was trying to play it off, like he always did, but didn't even bother trying to remove Cinder's hand away from his chin. She always exuded a specific power that made it hard for him to do anything against her wishes, and most of the time, he would at least have the home advantage going against her. Here, he knew that the last thing he wanted was to piss her off. Cinder hadn't said anything for a while, digesting his words before speaking.
"Do you wish to be more powerful?"
"Huh?" The question was sudden, and a little confusing to Jaune.
"Do you wish to gain strength?" Cinder asked again, rephrasing the question. "Is that why you did something so… callous?" Jaune blinked, mouth slightly open, not sure what to say.
"Uh. Not… really?"
"Then why?" Cinder pressed, leaning in closer. "Why would you do something so… disadvantageous to yourself?" She looked genuinely confused, unable to understand the reasoning of why he would do such a thing.
"I- I'm not sure." Jaune stuttered, wishing that he could lean back a little further, cursing the fact that his back was already against the headboard. "It wasn't really something I thought about is all!"
That didn't seem to sit well with Cinder, judging from the harsh glare on her face. Jaune didn't know what to say though, and simply decided that now would be a good time to shut up, staring at the woman in fear, wondering what was going to happen.
"I do not understand you Jaune." Cinder said frankly, eyes unblinking as she let go of his chin, straightening up. "You are a puzzle to me. And I do not like puzzles very much."
Jaune tried not to rub his chin, the tip of it unusually warm, and gave a small shrug and an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry about that?" He said, half asking, half apologizing. Still Cinder didn't let up on her stare, as if she was waiting for him to fall into pieces and tell her his whole life story and the motivations behind his every move.
"Hello? Is someone in there?" A muffled voice spoke out behind the locked door leading to the outside hallways in Jaune's room. "I'm sorry, but this door isn't supposed to be locked during visiting hours. Hello?"
Jaune opened his mouth to answer before a sudden flash of pink and brown flashed before his eyes, a gloved hand covering his mouth. Neo put a finger up to her lips, signaling for silence before turning and looking at Cinder. The woman nodded, an unspoken message passing between the two of them.
The doorknob jiggled, a hand pounding on the doorframe insistently. "Hello? Hello? Tch, someone go and grab the key for me."
"I'm sorry for all of this Jaune," Cinder said, her face morphing into a regretful look. "I simply wanted to wish for you to get better. I'll be taking my leave now." Neo slowly lifted her hand off of Jaune's mouth, hopping off the bed and skipping towards the taller woman.
"Oh, before I go," Cinder snapped her fingers, a slow smile spreading on her face. "If it was ever the case that you actually were attempting to… acquire more strength, I would be happy to find someone to help you on that front. I admit that I know… quite a few people that would be glad to have someone like you on our side."
Like the first time he saw Cinder, he shivered, his mind telling him that there was something wrong about this whole situation.
"Is there something wrong here lady?" An older, grizzled voice echoed through the hallway outside.
"Well, the door is locked, and that's not allowed during visiting hours—"
"Uh huh. This Jaune's room? Tall, scrawny kid, blonde with blue eyes?"
Cinder glanced over at the door, frowning.
"It's getting quite loud out there. Which means that it's time for us to depart. Come, Neo." And without another word, they disappeared, like an illusion of the mind.
"—Yes, but I don't see how that—"
Crack!
The door slammed open, the lock making a noise similar to a gunshot, a female's scream going off at almost the same time. Jaune was able to catch a glimpse of black slacks and pointed dress shoes, which disappeared back through the doorway, replaced with an old face.
"Heya Jaune. You okay in there?" Qrow asked conversationally, ignoring the nurse that stood there slack jawed.
"Uh…" Jaune's mind was spinning, trying to keep track of what had been happening in the past twenty minutes or so. The nurse finally snapped out of her frozen state of shock and glared at the grizzled man.
"I'm calling security." She threatened, chest puffing outwards. Qrow glanced down as she did so, before looking into her eyes, raising an eyebrow.
"Sure thing lady, you go ahead and do your thing." He said dismissively, stepping over the fallen door. The woman made a noise of outrage, storming through the hallway. Qrow glanced back in amusement before turning his attention towards the boy in bed. He lifted up his flask, grinning.
"You know, I was waiting patiently inside the bar for you before I got a text from my little niece that you were in the hospital." He took a swig and burped, laughing a little. "Sorry I started without you, waiting… isn't really my thing. D'you want some or—wait, that's a bad idea," He mumbled to himself, closing the flask. "'Mr. Bad decisions while drunk' probably shouldn't be getting any of this."
A surge of annoyance passed through Jaune, as well a bigger sense of gratefulness that Qrow wasn't going to pussyfoot around the blonde boy.
"Like you're the one to say anything." Jaune retorted, grinning at the older man, whose shoulders shook while he laughed
"You're not wrong there." Qrow said, moving over to Jaune's window, unlocking it and cracking it open. "Do you mind if I open the window? It's kind of stuffy here and I, uh, I'm gonna do it anyways." Before Jaune could answer, Qrow opened the window, inhaling deeply. "Ah, that's way better than hospital air. Still terrible, but I swear the stuff in the hospital just makes you feel worse."
"The air?" Jaune asked incredulously. The grizzled Hunter turned and raised an eyebrow.
"Well I wouldn't be talking about the nurses, would I—oh wait." Qrow scratched his scruff, muttering. "Maybe I would."
Jaune couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, not sure what else to do in front of the drunken man. Qrow staggered over to Jaune's bedside, plopping down on the stiff mattress.
"Look here kiddo. I'm not one to say this, but going and facing impossible odds aren't really something you should do." A pause. "Unless you're me." Qrow nodded, his face turning satisfied. "Top-notch advice from me, myself. Couldn't have said it better… myself." Qrow blinked, not sure what he was saying. Jaune did the same.
The man squinted at the confused boy, getting close and making Jaune wrinkle his nose, not appreciating the washed up alcohol smell coming from Qrow's breath. It was really cheap stuff too, maybe mixed in with a hint of—"
"Did you mix some of my spirits with cheap brandy?" Jaune asked, appalled at the possibility. Qrow made a noise, rolling his eyes.
"What? Me?" He asked, looking offended. "…'Course I did. I'm definitely not going to drink the tiny bottle that you gave me for my birthday in one go. No way, I gotta savor this."
"But cheap brandy? Really?" Jaune was offended. And a little disgusted. Qrow just shrugged, lifting his closed flask.
"Hey, this flask isn't my Atlas flask, it's my Vacuo flask. So yeah. Cheap brandy." Qrow opened the flask with drunken expertise and downed another gulp, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"…Do you really have a Atlas flask?" Jaune asked, amused by the thought. Qrow grinned, shaking his head.
"Not really. I just fill this one up with ol' James' whiskey and down it in one go in front of him. Which is close enough," Qrow said merrily, taking another swig. "Nothing gets the job done like yours though, that's for sure." Jaune chuckled, only stopping when the pain on his ribs was too much to bear. The room fell silent for a brief second before Jaune spoke up again.
"Well I'm glad someone in this room can take a drink without killing themselves." The joke was weak and fell flat under the sound of the hospital machinery beeping, reminding themselves of what had just happened a day—or rather, only a few hours ago.
A hand slapped Jaune's shoulder, making him wince and snapping him out of the downwards spiral that his thoughts were about to go down. Looking at Qrow, he found a comforting presence in the man's smirk.
"Don't let it get to you kid. Sometimes you do things without thinking it through." Qrow pointed at Jaune. "It wasn't your best decision, let's be honest here, but it's something you did." Qrow shrugged. "Nothing you can do about that now. Just make sure you learn from your mistakes, and remember that you aren't the only one that has to suffer the consequences of your own actions." Jaune nodded, knowing when and when not to take Qrow seriously. Of course, serious Qrow was ruined quickly when he nodded, leaning back and looking at his flask. "Now that's some grade A advice. Man, I am good." He said happily, congratulating himself with another drink. Jaune gave up trying to be serious and resumed laughing, happy that Qrow wasn't going to go totally 'adult mode' on him.
"But seriously," Qrow said, slurring the words enough that Jaune wasn't actually going to take him all that seriously. "You've learned your lesson though, haven't you?"
Jaune looked at the man sitting beside him. He was drunk, yes, but not as drunk as most people would've thought, and that made Jaune pause for a second on his answer.
"Yeah," The blonde boy finally answered, nodding thoughtfully. "I've learned a lesson." Jaune smirked at the man. "I've learned that I should leave the drinking to your drunken ass."
Qrow laughed hard, teeth flashing as he tilted his head back as he did so.
"That's always a good idea, kid." He replied, his smile full of teeth. There were footsteps echoing through the hallway outside, bringing both their attentions towards the doorway.
"Looks like that's my cue. I'll see you soon kid." Qrow said, standing up and brushing the dust off his dress pants. "Make sure not to die before I visit, alright?"
"He's in here!" Jaune turned to see the nurse accompanied by two security men. "Make sure he's—where'd he go?" Jaune turned back around to see that Qrow had disappeared, the window snapping shut, a crow's caw and a flap of wings the last thing he heard before all noise from outside faded away with a click of the window locking.
"Where'd he go?" The nurse repeated the question, demanding Jaune give her an answer.
He could only shrug, smiling helplessly as the nurse pulled at her hair in frustration, all the conversations he had today echoing inside of his mind, and bouncing on the inside of his heart.