Yo. Welcome back to yet another chapter of this, far sooner than the last one came out.
I'm actually currently working on Chapter 7, which is to be the last chapter of this series. Chapter six will come out once seven is done, and then seven probably around a week after that.
Shouldn't be too long. Now, without further ado...
Chapter 5 - Weiss
Solitas was cold all year round, and Jaune knew that firsthand, but in the depths of winter, it was somehow deeper than that. More than just cold. It was frigid. The kind of chill that seeped into one's bones and dogged their every step.
Jaune was not immune to this, despite his aura helping to block some of it. No, he'd lived here himself for long enough to know to take some precautionary measures on that front, bundling up in a thick coat that he'd had stored away at the bottom of his bag, and wrapping the scarf that Weiss had gotten for him a few years back around his nose and mouth.
He was as warm as he reasonably could be, and he was still a veritable Jaune-sicle.
He went through the baggage claim, then through security – even when the officers there tried to let him through the moment they recognized who he was, and he had to give them a small scolding about never assuming anything based off appearance alone, given he'd known Neopolitan once upon a time, and he couldn't help but think that an illusion semblance wasn't the rarest of things – and finally exited the airport to let his teeth chatter in the well-below-freezing temperatures of the Mantle air.
Mantle had certainly changed since its near-destruction at Salem's hand. Of course, it was missing the floating city of Atlas hanging above it, unable to be sustained without the power of the Relic of Creation's infinite energy source. But the two cities had become one in an odd sort of way.
Namely, because Atlas had crashed down onto Mantle from the sky, essentially merging the two cities into one overwhelmingly crushed package. The rebuilding efforts had taken a lot of the material from the ruins of Atlas and recycled it, starting on the center of the city and working out from there.
The new city was called… well, it was called whatever the people living there wanted to call it. For some, that was Atlas. Others called it Mantle. There were a few who just called it Solitas.
Jaune had heard a particularly wise woman call it "fucking cold".
He agreed more with that last one than any of them.
The reconstruction efforts were being led by a variety of groups, although, perhaps unsurprisingly, the one with the most sway was the SDC. The woman in charge of it had been firm in making sure that Atlas/Mantle had ground to stand on when it was fully rebuilt, and that no matter what the future may hold, they would learn to face it, instead of clinging to the past as they once had.
Jaune had always been proud of how far Weiss had come since he'd first met her, since that day in Beacon when she'd arrived spoilt, arrogant, and downright rude.
Now she came close to matching Blake as being a champion for Faunus rights. She ended the dubious profiteering of the SDC mines, and made sure that any who worked within them were well compensated. She'd unilaterally worked to imprison many who'd abused their positions on past crimes, and had gone almost ruthlessly after anyone who had ever used an SDC brand on a Faunus for any reason.
Jaune admitted himself to feeling a sort of righteous fury watching them blubber and beg to not be imprisoned. Perhaps he was a worser person than he'd thought, because whenever they were hauled off to face their sentences – often many, many years behind bars – Jaune nearly always found himself smiling.
Still, those were darker thoughts for darker days. Weiss was also aiding in bringing the populations of Mantle and Atlas together, alongside aid from her Sister, the acting head of Atlas' military – well, Winter called herself the acting head, citing that she would give up the position once her work was done, and put the title to a vote, but everyone besides her already knew that she was just going to be given the position as soon as said position was put up for a vote, and everyone nearly unanimously voted for her – and Whitley was doing his best as a philanthropist, travelling around the world and aiding those he could.
Jaune found himself admiring the man. Especially when he'd gone and settled down with, of all people, Neon Katt.
Jaune had a hard time imagining the roller-coaster that had probably gone into making that particular match-up happen. Yet another story he needed to get out of someone someday. Although in this case, Jaune supposed there was no time like the present.
Willow Schnee had taken a step back from the company, and largely enjoyed leisure time, and trying to rekindle her relationship with her family. Last time Jaune had talked with Weiss, she'd also been trying to convince the woman to join a group for recovering alcoholics, though he'd yet to hear any updates as to whether or not she'd succeeded in convincing the woman.
He hoped she had. Weiss clearly wanted to have her mother in her life for as long as she could, to try and make up for their lost years together, but Willow had been an alcoholic for over a decade, perhaps longer. She likely already had liver damage of some degree.
…But, well, that was, once again, a darker subject than Jaune felt like dwelling on. Instead, he moved down onto the road, hoping to catch a taxi and get a ride as close as he could get to the Schnee manor.
Jaune couldn't just ask to be taken to the Schnee manor, because the taxi driver would promptly laugh in his face – unless he recognized him, in which case, that would likely be even more of an issue – but just as he was considering where he could be dropped off, and just how long he'd have to walk…
"Mr. Arc?"
Jaune's eyes widened, even as he turned his head, and saw the very man whose voice he'd thought that was.
He found himself laughing as he stepped up towards Klein, and shook the man's hand.
"It's been a while."
"Indeed, it has, Mr. Arc." Klein spoke with a warmth that Jaune had rarely felt from anyone else. It was the kind of quiet happiness that crinkled at the edges of his eyes, and drew his dimples out, made him want to grin wide enough to show teeth.
The man was just wholesome, that was perhaps the best way to describe it.
"Now, I do believe neither of us particularly wants to be standing out in the cold," Klein teased, noticing Jaune's shivering, before he turned, and gestured towards a rather fancy white limousine. "I'm here to take you to the manor."
His eyes widened. "Wait, Weiss knew I was coming?"
"She did indeed."
"Well, I… that's fine, I'd simply meant to surprise her."
"Ah," Klein spoke, a twinkle in his eye, "Then you perhaps should've thought better than to visit young Ms. Rose. She's far too excitable to not tattle just a bit."
And Jaune laughed as he realized that Ruby had told Weiss he'd be coming. He shook his head even as he followed behind Klein, and got in the back of the car. Klein got into the driver's seat, and away they went.
It was something he'd missed, no matter how embarrassed he was to admit it – the life of luxury. The limousine had heat pouring out of practically every crease. The seats were heated. Hot air blasted his face. There was a drink holder on his seat, and a mini-fridge in the middle console, filled with sodas and wines and even a half-drank strawberry milk – which was likely explained by Ruby getting Weiss hooked on the stuff during Beacon, the memory of which brought a smile to his face.
He decided on water, which came from the dispenser on the fridge's front, and he took a sip. It was ice-cold, and pure as all get-out. He let out a breath as he leant back into the seat, and tried to remind himself over and over again that he shouldn't in any way get used to this.
After all, if he settled back into luxury, he might not be able to leave it.
Is that such a bad thing? Some part of him, one that'd been silent ever since his conversation with Ruby a week or so ago, chimed in, and he found himself frowning, disguising the expression in another sip of his drink.
"How are things, Mr. Arc?"
"Ah, y'know." He replied awkwardly, sort of caught off guard. "They're alright. I've been visiting everyone recently, making the rounds, so to speak. Weiss is actually last on my journey."
"Your last stop then? Do you know where you'll be going afterwards?"
"Well, I have something else I wanted to do…" His hand squeezed the glass in his hand just a bit harder as he thought that, his lips pursed, although he gave no further indication of his discomfort. "But other than that, I guess I might stay in Atlas a while. I'm not entirely certain, though."
"Mm. Well, I'm sure my lady would be delighted to have you for however long you wished to stay."
…Yes… yes, she very well might be.
…And that was just the problem.
"We'll see." Was all he gave in answer, even as the car rattled on, leaving the airport, and heading further inland.
/
It hadn't changed.
That was perhaps the first thing Jaune thought upon seeing the Schnee Manor coming into view. It was just as it'd been when he'd left it.
There was an odd sort of hole in his chest when the car was stopped, and Jaune stepped out into the cold air of Solitas once more.
And there was Weiss.
For some reason, the head of the SDC had been waiting at the front of the building, with a small smile gracing her lips, and a large, fluffy-looking coat wrapped around her body. She approached him with the air of a queen of old, a legendary figure, and Jaune couldn't help but feel it was an appropriate thing.
"It's wonderful to see you, Jaune." Weiss spoke as she wrapped her arms around him, and brought him into a hug.
It… hadn't changed.
There was something about that, the way that he still had to bend down to allow her to wrap her arms around his shoulders fully. The way that his head rested against the crook of her neck. There was just… something intimately familiar about it all.
Jaune wasn't sure whether or not it was a good thing. And he wasn't sure he wanted to know, either.
"Same to you, Weiss." He let out a little laugh himself. "You know, you didn't have to come out and greet me. It's awful cold."
Weiss harrumphed a bit haughtily, stepping back and shooting him a look. "That seems a poor way to show your thanks."
He smirked without really meaning to.
Weiss spoke again.
"You're still wearing it."
The change in topic was sudden, although Jaune found himself realizing what it was she meant after only a second or so.
"Oh, yeah." He glanced down at his outfit, which, underneath the coat he had unzipped due to the car being quite warm, now showed the very ensemble that Weiss had once helped him to assemble. She had called it handsome, breathable, and stylish. He'd sort of just gone along with it. "I guess I uh… sort of made it into my Huntsman attire."
Weiss smiled, though there was something underneath that upper layer that Jaune had been gone too long to delve into.
"Well, it is rather cold outside, as you said. Let us retreat inside for now."
Weiss stepped past him, first, walking over towards Klein and thanking him quietly, before opening up the trunk of the limousine and taking from out of it Jaune's bag. She handed it to him, and he slung it around his shoulder.
"My lady, you're going to put me out of the job like this." Klein voiced, although he didn't sound displeased.
Weiss ignored the teasing, instead directing for Jaune to follow her as Klein apparently went to park the limousine.
The insides of the Schnee Manor, in stark contrast to the outsides, had changed quite a bit.
Gone was the pure white aesthetic that had once made the place feel so cold. Now, it was replaced by little bits of color everywhere. Some reds, and blues, and blacks, and yellows. Jaune smiled as he examined the space, finding himself entranced by little details, like the painting on the back wall, which was now a far happier affair, including Weiss, Whitley, Winter, and Willow.
And…
And even still, despite all he'd done, Weiss was holding a picture of her father in the photo.
…Despite all he'd done, she'd never wanted him to…
Jaune shook his head, keying back into reality just as Weiss spoke.
"I hope you don't mind a guest room?"
"Of course not." Jaune let out a little laugh. "I mean, Weiss, a guest room in the Schnee Manor is akin to having an entire apartment to yourself."
Weiss let out a hum of mirth at that as the two of them walked. Absently, without really meaning to, Jaune found himself matching her pace, walking alongside her.
He knew these corridors, after all. This place had once been his home. For years he had stayed here. He knew the staff by name. He was close friends with Whitley, and on a first name basis with Winter.
That fact was, in his opinion, one of his greater accomplishments.
But…
There was something… oddly melancholic about walking beside Weiss like this. Seeing it all.
This place had changed.
Despite the outer veneer being the same, the innards had been altered.
This place, too, had moved on.
…
They arrived at the 'guest room' after about a two-minute walk – which in and of itself put into perspective just how grand and, frankly, opulent, the Schnee Manor was – and Jaune whistled as he saw the inside space.
"I apologize again if the space is not quite to your liking."
He snickered. "Weiss, Ruby's entire house was about this size."
This was, of course, a slight exaggeration. The guest room he'd been given to stay in was about as large as a normal living room, complete with a posh couch, a TV built into the wall, and several other basic amenities that had been spruced up to be as fancy as possible.
It also had an adjacent bedroom and bathroom, it seemed, because any guest of the Schnee was not going to have to sleep in the living room like some peasant.
He snorted under his breath, even as Weiss fixed him with a confused look.
"What?"
"Nothing." He responded, ignoring the way she glared at him. "I appreciate it. I'm not really all that tired at the moment. Are you busy?"
"I'm always busy, Jaune." Weiss said, smiling herself. "If you're asking whether or not I'm too busy, then no, I can spare some time. Did you have something particular in mind?"
His stomach practically growled as he leaned forward.
"Does Henrietta still make those little macaroons?"
/
Henrietta, it turned out, did in fact still make those little macaroons.
And by everything, had Jaune missed them.
"Awf," He moaned out around the delicious chunks of cookie in his mouth. "Better than I remember."
"Don't talk with food in your mouth." Weiss snapped at him, before turning and smiling towards the woman standing beside their table. "Thank you very much for indulging our request, Henrietta."
"Oh, it's no bother at all." She said with a little, elegant laugh. "Honestly, It was a touch nostalgic for me. I haven't made those in quite some time."
Left unsaid was just when she'd stopped making them, but judging by the sudden apologetic look on Henrietta's face, and Weiss' brief wince, Jaune could guess it had been around the time they'd split up.
Henrietta excused herself in the next moment, and soon enough, it was completely silent in the café area of the Schnee dining room – yes, there were multiple areas in the Schnee dining room – as he and Weiss struggled with what to say.
Because there was, in fact, a goliath in the room. One that neither of them really wanted to talk about, but one they really, really should.
"It's been a while." Jaune said after what felt like too long. "Since I uh…"
Weiss just nodded, taking another macaroon, and chewing on it. Jaune recognized that that was likely to buy her a few seconds to think, or to not have to say anything, but he more than allowed it.
He'd probably be doing similar things sometime soon.
"Things are progressing smoothly in most areas." Weiss spoke, seemingly changing the subject entirely. "The SDC is working towards the future of Remnant. Working towards righting the wrongs that were committed under my father's reign."
"You should be proud."
Weiss' lips curled upwards.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but it is not at all something I've done alone. It's only through the help of everyone around me that I've been able to get this far."
"True, but don't discredit yourself, either. Frankly, there's no one else out there I think could do it better."
Weiss let out a disbelieving laugh. "Well, thank you, Jaune."
"I mean it."
"I know." Weiss spoke, eyeing him a bit… Jaune couldn't quite decipher the expression. Amused, perhaps? "You're far too soft to lie."
He laughed. "Eh, I have my lesser moments."
"We all do."
Silence stretched out across them again, and the only sound within the area was the sound of Henrietta cleaning some dishes in the nearby kitchen, the occasional clinking of porcelain echoing out.
"I see you went for a livelier color scheme." He said for lack of anything else to say. "It certainly beats the solid white aesthetic."
"Ruby said the same thing." Weiss said, chuckling under her breath. "That it used to be too gloomy in here, despite being so bright. I don't think I really noticed what she meant until I followed her advice, and now it… I guess it feels homey, in a way."
…The conversation was going nowhere. Jaune was fairly certain the both of them could see it. What was more, Jaune was also fairly certain that neither of them were going to jump in and attempt to right the proverbial ship in this case.
No. This, it appeared, was a conversation they would be having another day.
Jaune supposed that worked out, given he intended on staying a full week.
"Alright, I'm pretty full now," He spoke, standing from his spot, and trying to ignore the way Weiss seemed to sag with relief, given he felt similarly. "I think I'm going to get situated in my room. Maybe we can chat again later?"
"That sounds agreeable." Weiss spoke, far more formally than she'd normally address any of her friends, although it seemed as if the moment was simply getting to the both of them. "I'll retire to my own quarters for a while. I've some work to complete for the day anyways."
That was probably true. It wasn't the reason they were parting, but Jaune doubted it was a complete lie.
And so, as they separated, and Jaune made his way back to the guest room, he did his very best to not dwell on the dirty feeling of relief swirling about in his gut. No. He ignored the way he was glad he'd been able to dodge the conversation of what they'd once been for even another few hours, even another day or so.
Despite the way that the question of just what it was Jaune wanted out of these journeys, just what it was that Jaune wanted to obtain by visiting all his friends, seemed irrecoverably tied to the conversation he needed to have with Weiss.
…But not for the first time, Jaune found himself running away, and being glad for it.
/
Jaune hated the way that he and Weiss kept coming up with rather convenient excuses to not have to interact terribly long with one another over the next few days, even if he was a part of the reason that such a cycle continued to be propagated.
They'd pass one another by in the long hallways as Jaune went to have lunch with Whitley, and they'd wave and smile, and then they'd go about their own business. Or perhaps he'd see her in the foyer, discussing something with a business partner, and he'd sit there on the sidelines and watch it all unfold, until she'd finished, and then he'd slink away so that she never saw.
He had a feeling she was doing similar things, behind closed doors, and where he couldn't see.
It was all so exhausting, really.
"It seems like the two of you simply need to sit down and talk."
"Yes, thank you, captain obvious." He sighed, glaring up at Whitley, who rolled his eyes fondly back at him. "I never would have thought of that."
"You know I'm right."
"Whether or not you're right changes nothing."
"I think it changes several things."
He stuck his tongue out at the man.
"Yes, very mature, Jaune."
"Don't you have a wife to go bother?"
"Neon is picking up Lydia at school." Whitley explained, before letting out a worried sigh. "And by the very gods, I can't believe she convinced me to let her attend a public kindergarten. I mean, I know what she's saying, that she'll be able to make actual friends if she's not privately tutored like I was, and that the bonds she'll forge because of that will be worth it, and blah, blah, but… Gah, how am I supposed to cope with this worry, Jaune!? My baby is away from me for four hours every weekday. Four hours!"
The man stretched the latter section as if it were a nightmare, and given that Jaune didn't have kids himself, he felt the man was being slightly dramatic.
"You know, most parents also leave their kids at school for a good many hours."
"Most parents aren't of the Schnee family, Jaune! They don't have a target on their back!"
Jaune tensed somewhat, feeling a bit apologetic. "I… You're right. I'm sorry."
"It…" Whitley let out a breath through his teeth. "No. I am sorry for snapping. I have been doing my best to improve, I simply find myself… worried these days. Quite often. Lydia has a guard unit stationed outside her school at all times, led by Marrow, even. That should be enough, shouldn't it, to stop me from worrying?"
"Well, sometimes you can't help your own feelings."
Whitley groaned. "I suppose you would know the truth of that, wouldn't you?"
He glared at the man, earning an undignified snort from his companion.
"I'm not sure it means anything, but…" Whitley spun the straw in his drink, some fruity beverage that Jaune had never heard of, idly with his finger. "Weiss was excited to see you, when she heard you were coming."
Jaune tried to ignore the way his heart briefly lurched at that. His weak, fragile little heart, oh so eager to renege on everything they'd done.
Trying to hold on, even still.
"…I was excited to see her too."
"Mm. I could tell." Whitley said, and his eyes glimmered with a bit of humor, despite the seriousness of the topic. "If I hadn't been able to tell that you were just as confused as she was, I would've taken you to task by now for hurting my sister's feelings."
He laughed, unused to Whitley being so… loving. But it seemed that marrying Neon Katt of all people – and Jaune really needed to hear the story there, he'd ask at the end of this conversation – had softened his often-prickly outer shell.
Once one got to know Whitley, he was a softy, regardless, but nowadays he was better at letting others in.
"I guess I'm just not sure how to go about broaching the subject." Jaune admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Nor am I sure the subject should be broached… period."
"I think that's a lie." Whitley interjected, cutting through his admittedly flimsy excuse without any hesitation. "You know you should, you're just afraid to do so."
Jaune hated that the man was right, because really, he just wanted to get annoyed at what the man had said. Wasn't it well within his rights to do so?
…No, it didn't seem like it.
"I guess I've just been… afraid. Afraid to face her. Afraid to have to confront the… I don't even know."
"Mm. Ruby told me to look out for you. She said you'd been having problems."
Jaune groaned. "Is everyone telling everyone about my supposed issues nowadays?"
"Are the issues really supposed, or are they in fact very real?"
"Touché." Jaune spat back, a bit annoyed.
Whitley just huffed out a breath. "Jaune, listen, I'll admit I might not be as close with you as you are with the others who you marched across the world with, but I'd like to think the two of us are fairly good friends."
They were, that Jaune would not deny. They'd become quite close during Jaune's extended stay within the Manor.
"So, listen when I tell you that you need to do this. You and my sister both need that conversation. I think it's one you've both needed to have for quite a long time."
Jaune nodded absently, letting out a sigh as he leant back in his chair, and fiddled around with his own drink, a strawberry banana smoothie also courtesy of Henrietta, which was just as good as he remembered it.
But finally, he caved, and said what he'd known he eventually would. What he knew he'd eventually have to say. "I'll… discuss things with Weiss tonight. For real, I promise." He added when Whitley shot him a disbelieving expression. "I really will."
Whitley stared at him a moment, apparently trying to judge the truthfulness of his words, and then, seemingly satisfied, nodded his head. "See to it that you do. For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing."
"Hah, I know I'm doing the right thing," Jaune shot back. "I've just been a lot more comfortable running away from it than having to face it."
Whitley just nodded, and the conversation died for a bit as the two of them drank their respective beverages, and ate their food. It was perhaps five or so minutes later that Jaune remembered he'd been meaning to bring something else up, and so, with a grin, he leaned forward in his chair.
"So." Whitley had the look of a man who already knew something was wrong as Jaune addressed him. "You and Neon."
"Oh, here we go."
Jaune smirked.
"C'mon, you said you'd tell me the story one day, didn't you?"
"I… may've."
"It was just to get me off your back, wasn't it?"
"Obviously."
Jaune snorted.
"Fine, fine…" Whitley relented, sighing as he leant on his elbow, which now rested just beside his drink. "I take it you've likely met Neon's friend Flynt, correct?"
"Flynt Coal? Yeah, we trained in Atlas together before the invasion. If I'm being honest, though, I kind of thought him and Neon were a thing."
"I did as well, up until she asked me out." Whitley said. "She wanted to attend an upcoming Gala as my date. It was very clearly not a serious venture, just something her friend group had managed to dare her into doing in a drinking game, I believe. But… well, at the time, Weiss was lobbying for Menagerie to receive its status as the Fifth Kingdom, and I… felt that bringing a Faunus as my date to the event might assist in some small way."
Jaune actually found himself rather amused, despite the fact that some might find such a union untenable.
"So, wait, your first date was because she got dared to go, and you wanted a faunus to check a proverbial box?"
"Yes." Whitley seemed embarrassed. "Not exactly a… particularly romantic story, which is why I don't often tell it."
Jaune felt just the smallest bit bad about forcing the man to tell the story now, but before Jaune could butt in and tell him that he could stop if he wanted, he was already marching along.
"But, well… I did my very best in trying to avoid questions from very annoying anti-faunus elite, who continued to batter and batter away at me until I wanted nothing more than to have them all thrown out. Unfortunately, that would've simply given them the ammunition they needed to say that the Schnee were being unreasonable in favoring the faunus, and I think you know that the faunus couldn't entirely afford bad press at the time."
"Yeah. Things were tense back then. I think Qrow caught a few bastards trying to stage a damned attack at a known faunus friendly club."
"Mm." Whitley hummed without much meaning, seemingly lost in thought about darker days. "Menagerie being a kingdom was not a particularly popular move here among the elite. Many of them sought to profit off of their downtrodden status, and having to actually pay them living wages, give them affordable housing and actual rights was… well, far too expensive to keep numbers in the black."
That single attack that Qrow had stopped was the most obvious move the elite of Old Atlas had attempted to pull, but it hadn't been the most damaging. There had been several smear campaigns ran at that time about Blake, and Yang. Obviously, they couldn't exactly afford to go after Weiss, who would've run them into the ground with legal fees, but two people multiple continents away…?
Well, they could manage that just fine.
No one really knew who it was that sold out Blake's past as being a White Fang agent, and even partner to Adam Taurus. It was entirely possible that no one had, that that information had simply slipped into the wrong hands entirely innocently, and that was what Ruby had always suggested. Jaune… well, he'd never quite believed that.
After all, there were more than a few old-fashioned Faunus as well. The types who didn't want to be equal to mankind, but wanted to surpass them. To get revenge for what'd been wrought upon them. Those who'd never been able to let go of the past. Those same people often saw the potential crowning of Menagerie as a Kingdom the same way they'd once saw having it handed to them. Nothing but a platitude.
And so, it wouldn't have surprised Jaune if one of them, who'd likely worked alongside Blake in the past, had sold her out. Tried to destabilize relations, give the world an excuse to go to war against itself again, and revel in that violence.
Jaune felt exhausted just thinking about it.
Still, they'd managed to overcome Blake's history, the comments about Yang's mother being a bandit – which had led to a serious of sightings of a Grimm-masked woman in the dead of night by several anti-faunus elites, scaring them all to high heaven, and for that alone, Jaune would give Raven some credit – and even the odd shot at Ruby, of all people, which had been just about the worst idea in the history of mankind, given that picking on Ruby Rose was a lot like picking on a small, adorable puppy.
Everyone hated that.
It had, ultimately, come down to their credibility as those who'd saved the world. Which, to be fair to them, felt like decent credibility. Jaune himself had mostly been at Weiss' side at that time – one of the reasons he'd begun to feel frustrated with his position as, effectively, a househusband, actually, had been his inability to aid his friends in anything serious during that time, only able to offer Weiss council – so he'd not heard what was said behind closed doors, except for what was communicated to him later by Weiss.
But eventually, they succeeded. Menagerie was declared the Fifth Kingdom, and the world…
Well, to say it rejoiced would've been hyperbole in quite a lot of ways. Half of the world was over the shattered moon. The other half was…
Well, they were angry. Furious, perhaps.
But frankly, in Jaune's eyes, said people could suck it.
He was reminded of the fact that he and Whitley had been having a conversation as the man carried on in his story.
"Still, the tide was turning in our favor around that time, and so I knew my job was to act cordial, stay civil, and keep the peace. So, I drowned away my concerns, relied on my training in diplomacy, and made sure to make very clear that while I heard and respected their opinions, I also thought they were completely and utterly garbage."
Jaune found a laugh pouring from him before he knew it.
"Of course, I worded it far more politely."
"I'm sure." Jaune smirked.
"And yet, somehow, what I thought was to be a truly miserable night was… actually passable. Because through it all, there was Neon. She was… I'm not entirely sure. At first she was furious that I was simply humoring with what was said, placating those bastards, but after a while I think she realized what I was doing, why I was doing it, what I had to deal with, and she backed me up. Provided me with support. I found myself relying on her. And when the night ended, the two of us decided to go to a rather classy diner a ways down the street. An actual date. We'd hit it off fairly well."
"Wow." Jaune found himself smiling. "That's… actually fairly adorable, Whitley."
"Please do not call my relationship with my wife adorable."
"I make no promises." Jaune said, before leering at the other man with a wide grin. "But I heard something interesting from one Nora Valkyrie a few months back."
Whitley's eyes widened. "…What did you hear?"
"I heard… that the night may not have ended there for the two of you?"
Whitley went as red as a cherry tomato.
"I have no idea what you mean. We were… well, the both of us were rather inebriated, and I suggested that since the bullheads were down for the evening, it might be best if she stayed in the Schnee Manor."
"You meant this in a very gentlemanly way, I assume?" Jaune teased.
"I assure you that I did!"
He believed the man, actually. Whitley was nothing if not a gentleman – which was a far cry from the way that Weiss had once described him in their youths, almost weaselly and slimy – and so he also assumed, because of that…
"I'm taking it Neon did not read your intent as gentlemanly?"
"…No, she did not."
"…And she went with you anyways?"
"…Yes she did. H-Hey! Don't you laugh at me."
Jaune felt he could be forgiven for doing so.
"It was a miscommunication, truly!" Whitley stressed, before groaning into his hands as he massaged his scalp. "Well, I imagine I do not have to lay out the rest of the evening for you after that. We arrived at one of the guest rooms, I told her she could stay there for the night, and then she, erm… pulled me inside with her." Whitley coughed. "The night sort of devolved from there."
"That's a rather elegant way of phrasing it."
"Do not judge me, Jaune, this was a rather alarming experience at the time."
"…Wait, she didn't–"
"Not in that way!" Whitley rushed to stop him from jumping to conclusions. "Honestly, even if we were likely both far too drunk to legally consent to anything, I can tell you that I had no… er… qualms with what we ended up doing. Come the morning, we both seemed to be rather interested in continuing our relations. And… well, now here we are. A daughter, with another child on the way, and I'm… happier than I've ever been."
Despite the way that Jaune had poked fun, he found himself smiling for his friend's sake. It wasn't exactly the peak of romance in terms of its beginning, but like a lot of real relationships, it had… Jaune wasn't entirely sure, but he felt he might use the word 'heart', even if that sounded semi-dumb.
"Now," Whitley leaned forward, and there was an icy glint in those pale blue eyes that sent a shiver of fear down Jaune's spine. "How about you and Weiss? I've heard a fairly interesting story myself from Neon. Something about a party in Vacuo?"
Jaune paled, even as the man got right up in his face, raising an eyebrow.
"Ring any bells?"
Jaune promptly stood from the table and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, snickering like a mad man and ignoring the way that Whitley audibly shouted out that he was a coward and a traitor.
/
Jaune finally ran into Weiss about four or five hours later, when the sun had fully set in the sky. That owed, in large part, to the winter climate of Solitas. The sun set far earlier than it did in, say, Menagerie, at this time of year.
Weiss went to pass him by, giving him a simple, yet elegant curtsy, but before she could fully walk past, Jaune reached out and gently took her wrist.
"Hey, uhm…"
Weiss turned to him, looking mildly surprised, and not the smallest bit afraid.
Jaune felt the look was probably mirrored on his own face.
"…Can we talk?"
Weiss' expression morphed into one that he'd seen before, albeit in a far more extreme way. It had been the same look that she'd fixed him with just after she'd kissed him before they'd boarded the Dreadnought that would take them to Evernight.
That look that said she was afraid, but would face it. That look that said surely, she knew what she had to do, but there was so much she wanted to do instead.
And yet, regardless…
"Alright." Weiss spoke. "We'll talk in my room. No one will interrupt us there."
He nodded, and they began to walk. A minute or so later, and they were there, that same high-ceilinged, terribly ostentatious room that he'd once shared with her.
The dresser pushed up against the back wall had once been theirs. The closet at the back of the room had once been where his clothing had hung. It hung open even now, surely from when Weiss had gotten something to wear out of it earlier in the day, and had forgotten to close it.
Oh, hey. There was his Pumpkin Pete's hoodie.
He supposed it was about where he imagined it would be.
And…
He turned, and watched as Weiss sat down on the edge of her bed, lightly patting the spot beside her. He followed as she directed, sitting on her left and staring at the opposite wall, just sort of… giving himself a moment.
That moment passed far quicker than he'd have liked.
"So." Weiss began, and Jaune accepted that this was it. "What did you want to talk about?"
They both knew.
What was the best way to actually go about breaching the subject?
Jaune figured he might as well try something. Anything.
It was better than nothing.
"We've been avoiding each other."
Weiss stilled. To say the unspoken was not entirely something one should've done, but Jaune was… well, he was in the mood to simply get to the root of the matter.
"I… yes. We have."
"I'd like to talk about the reason, given I'm fairly certain we both know what it is."
Weiss nodded sedately, but it was just a little bit gloomy.
He took a deep breath, and thought about what it was, exactly, he wanted to tell her. he knew the sentiment itself, of course, but the words? Those just weren't coming.
Perhaps he should simply leave this to a stream of consciousness on its own.
So, he just… spoke.
"I don't regret a single moment that I spent with you."
Weiss took in a breath, then, though Jaune didn't let himself be distracted by that too terribly much as he continued speaking.
"Those days we spent here together, or out in the world on the rare occasions we could actually afford to leave… those were everything to me. Those experiences still stick with me, even now. I want you to understand that I value that more than anything."
Weiss… she nodded a bit weakly; it was clear she was affected by his words. He was simultaneously anxious and glad for that.
"You're probably the person who knows me the most on the entirety of Remnant." Jaune said with a little laugh. "And that… I don't regret that either. Opening up to you wasn't something I did in haste, a mirror of you doing the same."
Again, Weiss nodded.
"So… I guess I want you to understand that I come from a place of…" He couldn't bring himself to say it. "I just… despite all of that. Despite the times we spent together, the relationship that blossomed between us… I still think we made the right decision to part from one another."
Weiss… didn't really react to that. She just… just sort of stared at him. And finally, after perhaps four or five seconds, the tiniest upturn of her lips bloomed. But… it was a nostalgic, melancholic thing. Like him, despite the fact that she saw his point, knew the truth of it…
She didn't have to like it.
"But even so… I wanted to come here and talk to you. I wanted to see you again, and I wanted to know that you were… that you were moving forward. That you were advancing. That you were doing well."
Weiss looked at him, and there was a tiny spark of one of the looks she'd often used to fix him with. That frustrated, yet fond expression that told him that even though she loved him dearly, he was getting on her last nerve.
He wanted it back, despite it all.
"I am." Weiss said, and it was like an invisible weight was lifted from his shoulders, one he'd not known was even there. "I've been… busy. Very busy. But it's… fulfilling, I suppose, to right the wrongs of my father. To make the SDC into what I always dreamed it would be. To… mend relationships with the faunus we've trodden upon, to mend relationships between the people of Old Atlas and Mantle. To… I guess to move forward."
Jaune found himself the one to smile sadly now. Hearing that… it was tough to still maintain eye contact.
Because there Weiss was, doing everything she could, despite it all, and he was just…
"Jaune, I…"
He was snapped from his reverie by Weiss' voice, and he looked over to see her balling her hands into fists in her lap.
"I don't either. Regret it, I want you to know that, too. I cherished that time we spent together, even if it came to an end. I still do."
He smiled, glad for the fact.
"Do you, uhm… have anything else to say on this facet of the topic?"
It was clear that Weiss didn't, so Jaune took back over.
"Not really," He cut in himself, laughing a bit awkwardly. "I… I guess I just wanted to say that I hope you're doing well. And that… I'm glad. For the time we shared together, I mean."
"Mm. I was too."
His heart ached, then, and he bared it to her despite that.
"I… really loved you. I… still kind of do."
"I do as well." Weiss said with a sad little laugh, and Jaune felt relief and sorrow in equal measure. "But it's as you said that time ago. We are different people with different lives. I would not want to chain you here just because of me, even if you might've been willing to do so. Nor can I afford to travel with you, and abandon all my responsibility."
Jaune nodded, even if he hated it. Because it made complete sense. It always had. They'd split amicably. They'd both agreed to it. But it had not been out of a falling out. They had not parted on horrid terms. If anything, it had been purely out of necessity.
So those feelings had never really died. They were still there, broiling beneath, waiting to resurface.
But… despite it all, he knew.
Those feelings weren't everything. They were a large piece of the proverbial puzzle. A large part of the reason that he hadn't quite done anything in his life in… in years.
But there was something else there. Something he didn't know, and it held him back.
And so, he took the conversation further.
"About… uhm… what everyone's been worried about."
Weiss sat up a bit straighter. "Ah. What Nora messaged me about?"
Apparently Nora and Ruby were teaming up to tell everyone about his problems. Perhaps he should've been mad, but he really couldn't be. Instead, he just smiled, knowing that he had such good friends who worried so extensively about him.
"Yeah. That. It's uhm… kind of hard to explain in its entirety, so I'll keep it brief, but uh… Basically, it feels like I've kind of been stuck in one place. For a long time. I've just been… idling. Waiting to go. But never actually going. And now… now I think I want to take a step forward. It's just… hard. And every time I try I just find myself falling back on old habits, being as I always am."
"Mm." Weiss hummed, crossing her legs as she seemingly understood his plight. "Change is difficult. Especially changing oneself. Without a catalyst, self-growth often takes years, and it rarely happens because we want it to, if at all."
He nodded, agreeing himself. "It doesn't really make it any less frustrating to know that it's not entirely your fault."
"No, it doesn't." Weiss said with a little smile. "But… well, you can get angry at yourself, or you can do your very best to take it one step at a time. Even knowing you'll fall flat on your face, taking a step forward is the only way to hit the ground, so that you can begin to crawl."
Jaune… he wasn't quite sure he understood all of that analogy, but he supposed it worked.
And… well… for some reason, he found himself thinking about the thing that he was carrying around in his coat pocket. Suddenly, the small slip of paper had a weight to it, and he found himself smiling a bit as he turned back to Weiss.
"Speaking of taking steps… I wanted to show you something, if you don't mind?"
"Of course. What is it?"
He reached inside his coat, pulled out the paper, and handed it to Weiss. She opened it gingerly, and began to read the first few lines.
"…It's an application."
"An application?" She answered him casually, her eyes not leaving the paper, and apparently not far down enough to answer her own following question. "To where?"
"Hah…" He found himself smirking with just a bit of mirth, knowing he was about to catch Weiss off-guard. "To Beacon Academy. To teach there." The look Weiss fixed him with at that was just what he'd been hoping for. "It was handed to me by Glynda Goodwitch herself."
"An Appli–" Weiss sputtered, seemingly caught completely by surprise. "That's not an application, you dolt! That's a job offer!"
"Hah, yeah, I kinda' put that together already, Snow Angel."
The old nickname had the girl glaring his way, and he laughed as she huffed, straightening out her jacket and shaking her head.
"You should accept." She spoke without any hesitation, and that raw confidence strengthened and weakened him, paradoxically, in equal measure.
"I'm… thinking on it." He admitted, for he was. It was… well, it was a good offer. Even a great offer. But… "I just don't really think I have the skill for it, to be honest."
Weiss found fault in that, although she toned down just how much fault she had with it in her next words. "Ruby said you did more than fine as an assistant instructor in her classes, and from some of the buzz I heard around Beacon, you did similarly when you visited there as well. You don't truly think Glynda Goodwitch of all people would've handed you this if she did not think you more than capable of the task, do you?"
That… admittedly, that was a good point, but still, "I'm just not sure of… me as a teacher. I mean… really? Me? I'm just so…"
"Are you kidding? You'd make a splendid teacher!"
He found his cheeks heating up despite himself, the praise not easily accepted as he tried to deflect. "Not quite as much so as Ruby, I think. I'm… I'd not even really thought about it until now, do you really think –"
"I do think – No, I know!" Weiss sounded positively assured, her voice becoming more and more animated in that way it always did when she got fired up about something. "The best kinds of teachers are ones to whom the material did not come easy. Those who had to struggle, and study, and learn, and fight to get to where they are. Because to them, it was never intuitive, it was never a matter of 'talent'. To them, it was effort, and energy, and commitment. The same things that they'll try to inspire in their students. You," She poked a finger into his lapel, staggering him somewhat. "Had to do all of that. You earned your strength, and more than that, you've earned the right to help others to become as strong as you!"
He found himself sitting just a wee bit taller at Weiss' words, an honest smile peeling his lips apart.
"Thanks, Weiss."
"Hmph," The proud girl breathed out rather haughtily, causing him to snort under his breath as she coughed. "Do not ask me to do so again."
"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha'." He waved away her embarrassment with a lazy smile. "I just… that…"
She fixed him with another glare, which sort of lost its effectiveness when her cheeks were red with embarrassment.
"Right, I'll stop, I'll stop."
Weiss nodded. "Well as long as you realize. Now, was there anything else you wished to discuss?"
There were a few things, though all of them minor. He chatted with her about Winter, asking how she was doing, because unsurprisingly, being the General of Atlas, and the Winter Maiden, painted a bit of a target on one's back. Although, to be fair, being both the General of Atlas, and the Winter Maiden, also provided quite the cover from any would-be assailants.
She was apparently doing quite well, which brought a smile to Jaune's face. He and Winter weren't exactly friends – even when he and Weiss had been all but set to get engaged, she'd kept things with him more formal – but he wished the woman well.
Speaking of, he inquired as to how Willow's sobriety was going. According to Weiss, it was still an everyday process, given that her mother had learned to drown all of her problems with alcohol. Even months after being admitted into a program, Weiss said that the addiction still had hold of her, and she slipped up from time to time.
"We're not giving up, though." Weiss spoke, her words sounding of steel. "And neither is mom. She's going to see this through. I believe in her."
He smiled. "I do too."
Weiss answered his smile with one of her own.
He talked to her about Whitley and Neon, and their daughter, Lydia, who had apparently inherited the Schnee semblance, and also orange hair complete with tabby-cat ears, which, Weiss joked, would likely have made her father collapse in a fit of convulsions.
They both laughed at that, even if it was underscored slightly by the weight of the man's passing. He decided to ask her about that. About how she felt about her father, and Weiss told him rather simply that despite all he'd done, she'd loved him. Even if that love was messy, and complicated, and perhaps undeserved, she had even still.
But time dulled all wounds. It never quite healed them – for they always left a scar, big or small – but it dulled them well enough.
Another while spent talking about upcoming practices with the SDC, And before Jaune had realized it, the two of them had been talking for going on two and a half hours. It was late in the evening, perhaps nine or ten, or even later, and honestly, he was getting tired.
"Alright, I…" He found himself smiling. "I really enjoyed talking with you, Weiss. Like… quite a lot. More even than I expected."
"You don't give me enough credit then."
He smirked. "Yes, I'm sure that's the problem."
He rolled his eyes, before standing from the bed. "I'm going to go ahead back to my room. It really was great–"
And then a hand caught his sleeve.
Jaune found his eyes widening ever so slightly as he turned back around, and looked down at Weiss' face.
It was hunched ever so slightly, tilted more towards the ground than anywhere else, but there was a certain… tenseness to the woman's face.
"You're already here." Weiss said, and when she looked up at him, Jaune found his stomach fluttering at the blush adorning her cheeks, despite the shy smile. "Would you… want to spend the night in my room, perhaps?"
Despite the fact that they'd split up, that they'd both decided to go their separate ways, well… their love hadn't entirely gone away. It was still there, still broiling under the surface. And now, it seemed, it would breach it.
This wouldn't be anything major. Both of them were single, and it wasn't as if this was suddenly going to convince Jaune that he needed to stay in the Schnee manor, and marry into the Schnee family, and become a househusband, or an assistant. Nor was it going to convince Weiss to hand over the reins to the SDC to someone else and travel the world with him.
No. This would not change what they'd decided.
And yet…
His heart, which had never quite moved on, asked ever-so-solemnly for this. Just one thing. One final memory for the both of them.
One last time.
And Jaune… well…
He supposed that wouldn't be so bad, would it?
The last, and both of them knew it.
And so, he allowed Weiss to tug on his sleeve, and pull him back towards the bed. Because maybe the both of them needed this. That closure that they'd missed out on the last time. A way to tell their hearts that this was the end. That after this, they steered away.
Weiss fell back on the bed, giving him this tempting look, with her lips parted and her eyes lidded, that set him ablaze, just as it always had. And for just a moment, Jaune allowed himself to get lost in the past. For one more night, he would live without moving forward.
And then he would take a step, no matter how treacherous.
But that… that was for tomorrow.
As for tonight…
"Well…" He found himself whispering as he climbed onto the bed himself, his knees framing her body beneath him as the mattress sank in around them. "I think… maybe…"
His body lowered. Their chests connected. His lips gravitated towards hers.
"That might be…"
One kiss. Warm and tasting the tiniest bit of vanilla, as Weiss always had. He pulled away before he could be lost in it entirely, and spoke words into her lips.
"I think that might be nice."
And then… Well…
What was that phrase that Whitley had used?
Ah. Yes.
And the night devolved from there.
/
For once, his departure from one of his destinations was not to be permanent.
This was not to say that Jaune had decided to stay at the Schnee Manor, or any such thing. Merely that he was technically a guest there, and it was the most convenient place for him to come back to after he'd gone on this little… detour? Was that what this constituted?
It felt a bit more major than a detour, but Jaune supposed it added up in an odd, inexplicable way.
The bullhead he'd called in was not a civilian liner. No, he'd directly asked Winter Schnee for this one. The pilot was a military veteran, and importantly, someone who knew things, locations, and secrets that most did not.
So, when Jaune gave him the code – Off-Site Maximum Security Holding A-0L-3 – the fact that even he stilled probably said something about Jaune's choice of activity for the day.
And to be fair, Jaune imagined most of his friends would've reacted similarly, if he'd told any of them.
He hadn't, so that was a bit of a moot point.
But he felt he needed to go there. This was to be the last step on his journey to move forward.
Or perhaps the first step upon that journey. Perhaps this would cause him to fall, and then he'd need to pick himself back up, and walk. Maybe he'd stay down, and crawl upon the earth.
But he'd move, regardless.
"You have the clearance to visit that prisoner, sir?"
Jaune laughed, even as he brought out the missive he'd received directly from Winter, and showed it to the man. He read the entire thing, not once giving Jaune the benefit of the doubt – something that Winter had been sure to instill in every one of her soldiers for reasons that were far pettier than they seemed, given that this all likely stemmed back to the time that Neopolitan impersonated her during a spree of thefts during their stay in Vacuo – before he eventually nodded, and told Jaune to sit down.
He did so, sitting in the seat next to the pilot, and putting on his headset. The pilot came on in his ears, and he heard the man announce their destination.
Only, Jaune had an odd feeling he wouldn't be using the technical definition of the place, that being 'Off-Site Maximum Security Holding A-0L-3'. Because this specific prison had garnered a far more popular nickname among the higher-ups of Atlas' military.
"This is Epsilon, carrying Juliet Alpha with me on route to the Maiden's Vault"
Jaune found himself smiling grimly, feeling dread begin to pool within his stomach
And he found himself thinking back to the man's question.
"You have the clearance to visit that prisoner, sir?"
I'd certainly hope so. Jaune thought to himself.
Given I'm the one who put her there.
End Chapter 5
Surprisingly little to say. I suppose who next chapter is will be fairly obvious, although I hope you all look forward to it. It's definitely my favorite chapter I've written so far.
Alright, that's about all from me. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you whenever the next one drops!