- Jaune-

Since Yang had already gone to bed, Jaune called her first thing Saturday morning from his room. When it rang more than three times he got concerned that it may have been too early, but she picked up right before it would've gone to voicemail. "Hey," she groggily let out. "Miss me that much?"

"Of course," he laughed, "but that's not why I'm calling this early. Our new neighbor introduced herself last night, and Olive said she wants to hang out with her today. I was gonna drive her to Level Up where the neighbor, Neon, said she'd meet up with us. Are you able to join us?"

"Ha, more girls. We decided that we'd celebrate Uncle Qrow's birthday around dinner, so I'll be free until like, four? Yeah, that sounds right. Anybody else gonna join us?"

Jaune thought about that for a second. "I'll call Ren in a second to invite him and Nora. Sound good?"

"Sounds good. I'm gonna freshen up, so text me what time you want me there." She paused for a moment. "Would you be okay with me giving you a small drama bomb when we meet up?"

Jaune sat up in his bed. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just want to explain what's been bothering me for a few days since I hadn't talked about it yet. Is that alright?"

"Of course it is." He'd be a terrible boyfriend to say no, anyways.

"Thanks. Talk to you soon."

"Talk to you soon." Ending the call, he did as he said and dialed up Ren. He'd be lying if he said that he wouldn't prefer having another guy around that day. As used to as he was to being outnumbered by girls, he didn't like it.

Ring-ring. "Jaune? How are you?"

"I'm good, Ren, thanks for asking. I'm calling because I'm headed to Level Up today and wanted to see if you could come with me."

"Ah, I wish I could. I'm driving Nora out to see an aunt of hers and won't be back until tomorrow."

Well, shoot. "Alright, you be safe man."

"Will do." Great, Jaune thought. Now what is he supposed to do for bringing a guy along? He didn't have Sun's number, and in fact the only other male number he had was-

He blinked. Wait, that could work. Scrolling through his contacts, his thumb landed on his co-worker and former bully Cardin, who'd given him his number in case they needed to swap shifts at some point.

Ring-ring. Ring-click! "Hello?"

"Hey, Cardin, it's Jaune. I know this is out of left field, but how interested are you in meeting a new girl?"

"I mean, I wouldn't say no, but what gives?"

"Well, my sister wants to hang out with my new neighbor, and I want at least one other dude to be with me so it's not so uneven." Jaune chuckled a little. "I figured since you owe me forty Lien anyways, why not have you pay for my sister and I at-"

"Woah woah! Since when do I owe you forty bucks?"

Jaune lightly facepalmed, having forgotten that between them only he knew the full story about that date night. "Remember when we bet about my Crystal friend being a girl or boy? I won the bet."

Silence for a moment. "Seriously? Who was it?"

"...Weiss."

"..." That silence felt more painful. "Didn't I hear something about her living with you right now?"

"Yep."

"Dude, there is a lot to unpack there." Cardin sighed. "Alright, fair's fair. Where are we going?"

"Level Up on 12th street. It'll be me, sis, neighbor, and Yang. See you at eleven?"

"You better put in a good word for me, Jauney."

Olive was happy to hear about Yang coming, but Jaune suspected that she was even more excited about meeting the neighbor he and Weiss had mentioned to her last night. Messaging Neon and Yang about the time to show up, the Arc family enjoyed a happy breakfast while Weiss, unusually, overslept. Jaune wondered if she'd stayed up too late, although Plum theorized that she might be experiencing the happiest dreams she's had in a few weeks, what with all the commotion there'd been.

Leaving the house at a good time, he and Olive arrived at Level Up right at eleven o'clock. To his surprise, Cardin was already there and standing by his car, the burly boy giving a wave to them as they parked and walked up to him. "'Sup, you two? What kind of place is this?"

"It's like a video game playground. Pay up-front, play whatever for as long as you've paid for. Have you seen-"

The sound of a motorcycle answered Jaune's question, and as Yang pulled into the lot a green SUV came in behind her which he identified as belonging to Neon. As Neon and Yang disembarked to approach them, Jaune was glad that everyone was on time. "Hey girls. So let me go ahead and do introductions! Everyone, this is the new girl in town, Neon!"

Her orange tail mimicked the salute her hand did on her head. "Neon Katt, straight out of Atlas! Nice to meet you all!"

They all chuckled. "Neon, this is my sister Olive-"

"Hi!"

"-my friend Cardin-"

"Yo."

"-and my girlfriend Yang."

Yang smiled, reaching out and shaking Neon's hand. "Good to meet you. What brings your family to Vale?"

"Meh, just job stuff. So! Jaune, you said they have a pool table here?"

"Yeah, go ahead and head inside guys. I need to talk with Yang for a moment." They listened, Olive striking up a conversation with Neon while they and Cardin walked in.

Once they were inside, Jaune turned to Yang with a concerned look. "So what's up, Yang? Is it anything I can help you with?"

Yang let out a breath as she opened her purse, bringing out a piece of fabric and handing it to him. "This came in the mail the other day."

Jaune studied it in his hands carefully. It was a decorative patch, with most of the space on it being taken up by a black bird with red eyes. "A raven? What does it mean?"

"It's…the patch for a biker gang. My mom's biker gang."

His eyes widened a bit. "You don't mean Summer, do you?"

"Nope." She gently took it back, talking into the patch. "My bio-mom runs with a gang out in Mistral. She and uncle Qrow were born into it, and while he got out she went running back after I was born."

"Why would she send you this?"

Yang shrugged. "To offer me a place in the gang, I guess? It didn't come with a letter, but I won't lie, it's been bothering me since it came."

Jaune pondered over that for a second. "Well, how about I hold onto it?"

She looked up, surprised. "You?"

"Yeah. What's the phrase? 'Out of sight, out of mind?'" He gently pried it from her hands before shoving it into his back pocket. "There. In a week we'll both forget all about it."

"Ha." Yang's eyes twinkled as she brought him into a hug, her head on his chest. "Thanks. Screw her anyways, she's missing out on good family over here."

He pat her on the back. "There you go. Now how about-"

Ring-ring! Jaune's phone went off, and as he checked the caller he was surprised to see it was Weiss. Yang raised an eyebrow at him while he answered it. "Weiss? Is everything okay at home?"

"Glffmmmwhere?"

She sounded absolutely sleepy, and he couldn't help but chuckle. "Couldn't hear you, Weiss."

Her mumbling continued, but she seemed to put more effort into her speech. "Where are… you and sis?"

"Olive and I are at Level Up with Yang, like I said we'd doing last night. We'll see everyone in the afternoon."

"Oh. Fmgookay, good night."

It clicked off before he could even respond. Amused, he said, "Geez, she really didn't get any sleep last night."

Yang tilted her head a little, still attached to his chest. "Were you guys up late doing something?"

"Nah, after talking to Neon we both went to bed. Well, I went to bed at least. She must've stayed up in her room."

"Hm." Jaune couldn't hazard a guess as to what she was thinking. "You sound like you're getting along better."

"It probably helps that I openly accepted her apology. Anyways, let's go inside now and have some fun. It's time to forget all the sad stuff."

"Sounds like a plan."

They entered hand-in-hand, though that broke when they saw what was happening inside and laughed out loud. Yang asked, "What are you goofs doing?"

In the middle of the room was Cardin, Neon hanging off of one arm and Olive on the other, and on top of his shoulders sat a girl with pink and brown hair. Cardin gave a confident smirk. "What do you think, Xiao Long? This Neo girl on my head told me to flex, so I'm flexing."

To emphasize his point he proceeded to do exactly that, causing Neon and Olive to start going up and down. "Dude," said Olive with a giggle. "I think I rode a carnival ride like this once!"

Neon playfully slapped the arm she was dangling on. "This guy's built like an elm tree, I swear."

Jaune snickered. "I guess he doesn't need me to wingman for him."

"Probably not." Yang gave him a peck on the cheek before turning to Roman so she could pay. For his part, Jaune was just happy to help his girlfriend the way she'd helped him: by putting the bad things out of their mind!

- Weiss-

Weiss fiddled with the pair of house keys in her hand as she sat in the passenger seat of Jaune's truck. Behind her, sitting in one of the pull-down seats, was Blake. "Weiss, you need to settle down. The apartment isn't going anywhere."

"I know that, Blake, it's just that this will be the first time I see it as mine when I go in." She glanced back at the Faunus girl. "We're even going furniture shopping as a group once I've decided what I'll need."

"Just remember," Yang chipped in from the other rear seat. Normally she'd be up front with Jaune, but had slid back this time on account of Weiss being the girl of the hour, so to speak. "It's always the sheltered kids who go crazy once they get that first taste of independence. Try not to host too many wild parties, alright?"

"I suspect my neighbors would kill me if I did." They all laughed at that.

It was Thursday, after school. The rental agreement had been signed, stamped, and filed away just the day before, and now Weiss was on her way to truly breathe in what would be her new home. Jaune smiled softly at her but didn't comment on the scene.

She ignored Winter's chill as she stepped out of the truck, making her way to apartment 202 with firm steps. She scarcely processed the footsteps of her friends, so focused was she on the front door. The first-floor accommodation was considerer a luxury suite, and while the word luxury was a bit pretentious in her opinion, it was a fact that the offerings were better than the complexes further down the road.

Weiss held her breath as she inserted one of the keys. It audibly clicked as she turned her wrist, and with a push the door was open. To her left was the living room, bare but full of opportunity. To her right was the kitchen, with fridge thankfully included, and down the middle was the hallway to the unfurnished laundry room, restroom, and bedrooms. She began humming a nameless tune, spinning a little as she displayed her joy for all to see.

"Let's see," she said as she pointed around the room. "The wall with the door will have the tv, mounted, which means-"

A 180 turn. "Couch here. Loveseat most likely, as I doubt I'll need a full-size sofa."

Blake walked to the far wall, past Weiss. "You could put a single seat here. It'll make a nice spot to read or study."

"Coming over to my apartment just to read a book." Weiss shook her head even as she kept smiling. "Please stop being such a stereotypical bookworm, Blake."

The Faunus just shrugged, uncaring about being called out. Weiss went deeper into the apartment, giving the guest room only a glance. It would be sparsely decorated, a single bed with nightstand. The main bedroom, however?

Weiss immediately began sizing it up. "A queen size bed, in the middle of this wall. Nightstand there, dresser opposite of the bed- no, to the left of it. And in the far corner-"

She stopped. What did this area say to her? She pondered it with a tapping foot. It would be her personal area, but what did she see it as? "...A keyboard?"

"Keyboard?" Jaune piped up from the door of the room. "I thought you hated the piano lessons?"

"I hated the lessons, but…" Weiss closed her eyes. "-not the piano itself."

She was starting to see it clearly. She'd come home from school, do her homework in Blake's chair (trademarked), go ahead and have dinner. Then she'd come to her room, and right on the stand would be a blank music sheet. One that she'd begin to fill in. Yes, right there. "A keyboard it is," she proclaimed with her eyes now opened. "That'll be where it starts."

"Where what starts?"

"That, Yang, is a secret." She smiled mischievously. "I have my plans now, so we should probably go to the store."

The evening would be spent at a furniture outlet, sitting on the various pieces until she found a matching set in blue that would suit her needs and be comfortable. Weiss tried not to be too picky about her couches, but with as much money as she had and would have after three more hush money payments, she was not about to settle for cheap little things.

Saturday morning would see her grocery shopping with Olive and Jaune, who helped coach her into better buying habits to avoid being wasteful.

"Go ahead and get some fresh parsley from over there," said Olive with a pointed finger. "It lasts for about a week, but you can make them last longer with things like keeping them in a jar of clean water."

"Makes sense." She pushed her cart to where she was directed, leaning into the display as she compared some of the bundles.

Suddenly, right over her head she heard what sounded like thunder, causing her to look up. "Why is that speaker playing that sound-"

Psssssht!

The sprayers over the fresh vegetables came on, catching her in the face with a gentle mist of water. "Blegh!"

She recoiled back, the spray ending as she wiped the water off of her face. The sound of snickering got her attention, and she glared at the two Arcs as they fought against outright laughter. " Olive."

"Hey, I didn't tell it to do that! But maybe be careful-" A thrown grape hit her in the forehead, making Jaune guffaw.

After the groceries were taken to her apartment, they hung around long enough for the furniture Weiss purchased to arrive via delivery truck. She and Olive shared a drink of water while they watched Jaune and the two movers get everything into place. Naturally she'd never admit to staring at the mover's muscles as they worked, but Olive suggestively raising her eyebrows at her twice told her she was caught. The thrown grape was caught in the Arc's mouth that time.

Soon, it was time for dinner; her last dinner with the Arcs, in fact. Plum and Sapphire worked their tails off getting it ready: a feast of salads, steaks she'd purchased, and of course, pizza. It was hardly balanced, but she couldn't have been happier for it.

"Anybody have the pepper?"

"Mom had it by the stove for the steaks!"

"Well it's not there, so-"

" Plum, please, just give us a minute-"

"Like you can talk, Lav-"

Sitting next to Juniper at the dinner table, she'd been banned from assisting in this final meal. All she was allowed to do was appreciate the chaos from a distance with a warmth in her chest. Goodness, how she'd miss this.

"Weiss." Her head snapped to face the Arc matriarch, who reached a hand out to touch her by the shoulder. Juniper's gaze was full of care, the same type she used to only see from Klein and her sister Winter. "We want you to hold onto the key you have. Our door is always open to you."

"I know, and thank you." Weiss held onto hand that was touching her. "Your family is amazing, and I wouldn't trade what I've gotten here for anything else."

After a time that took too long, yet was far too short, Weiss found herself standing up at one end of the table with a glass of water in her hand. Seven warm sets of eyes were looking at her while she prepared to give a speech. "This food looks amazing, so excuse me for keeping this speech short."

Plum visibly preened at that, which made her chuckle. "This family has given me so much warmth, enough that I can't find a way to thank you all."

And boy had she tried to give Juniper a piece of her paycheck, but the woman had only accepted enough to cover the fees from the lawyer consultation. "This month has been absolutely transformative for me. Lavender, Plum, Sapphire, Jade, Olive, Juniper-"

Weiss met their eyes in turn as her own teared up, stopping as she reached Jaune who was last but certainly not least. He nodded, a message that only she knew the full significance of. From Crescent to Crystal. "-and Jaune. I-I love you all, and I hope I can return what you've given me in some form in the future."

Her glass was raised. "To friends, and to new beginnings."

"""To new beginnings!""'

- January-

- February-

- March-

- April-

- May-

Tap-tap.

Weiss stood still as Cinder Fall quietly called the Chorus class to attention. The woman's amber eyes passed over the group once to ensure they were all listening. "Students, as you all know next week is the last week of classes. There will be no after school practices, as many of the seniors will likely be skipping classes anyways."

Some students chuckled, all but admitting that they would. "So let me say this now while everyone is here. I'm proud of this choir, all of my classes, and would like to give a round of applause to all of the graduating class present."

Weiss and all the younger students politely clapped while seven students there gave appropriate bows and curtsies. "Class," said Miss Fall, "You are dism-"

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The dismissal bell finished her sentence, prompting the class to grab their bookbags and file out to leave the school. Weiss was among them, though before she would go to the school busses, she had one thing to hand over. In her bag was a thin folder simply labeled "Project."

Was it silly of her to keep every detail secret from potential snoopers? Probably, but she didn't care. It was the culmination of months of work, and she would not see someone try to claim this as their own work. In the meantime, she had to find Jaune before he left. What was contained in this folder would be his homework, even if he didn't know it yet. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he'd love it, though.

X

So.

Been awhile.

Mhm.

Alright, I'm sorry for leaving this project alone for so long. I've learned a lot about myself in the years since becoming a dad, but I won't bore you with details.

The only thing you need to know right now is that this timeskip was always the plan for this story, and isn't something that happened just because I haven't written it for so long.

Be well, all you readers. It's so good to see you again.