A/N: Lusus here. Feels good to be back, at least for the time being until life gets crazy and pulls me away again. But that's by the by. Now, just to clarify, I am very much aware that there are a lot of stories on this site that are similar to this one. However, this idea has been floating around in my head for a while now and I just thought I'd get it out sooner rather than later. Besides, it's high time I try my hand at writing romance. What better way to start than with one of my favorite ships? Enjoy, my friends!
It just didn't make any sense. She couldn't make heads or tails of it. There she laid in her bed, battered and fatigued after the great battle she had fought, and yet, she couldn't sleep. All Weiss could do was stare at the dark ceiling of her quarters, her mind busier than it has ever been. Flashes of Haven Academy flooded her brain: the sharp pain in her stomach, the horror of seeing Cinder's weapon protruding from her middle, the whole room growing dark as she succumbed to the wound. Memories that were all too painful to relive. But, through the darkness, as her friends called out to her, one voice stood out the most.
Jaune.
She would never forget waking up to his face. His deep blue eyes filled with tears of both joy and pain. How they lit up upon her rousing, followed by a slight, relieved smile. Then she saw it. The unmistakable glow of his Aura, the way it intermingled with her own in an elegant dance as the hole through her abdomen slowly closed, fully healed. There was absolutely no doubt about it. This was Jaune's semblance. He finally unlocked it. As his friend and a fellow huntsman-in-training, Weiss couldn't be happier for the boy. He worked and trained harder than anyone else back at Beacon, and his efforts had finally bore some fruit.
So why was she having so much trouble sleeping?
Weiss didn't need to answer that question. She already knew. It was because of him. Every thought she had, every picture, every memory. All she could think about was him. Jaune Arc. That bumbling oaf she went to school with. That one weirdo with both a heart of gold and shaggy, blonde locks to match. That childish boy she didn't know much about, yet was still considered one of her closest friends. She couldn't stop thinking about him and what he did for her. Suddenly, a small twinge of regret made itself known in the back corner of her brain. Her eyes widen with realization. She never thanked him.
She slowly sat up in her bed, wincing slightly at the stitch of pain that still plagued her stomach despite her wound being healed. Weiss examined the dark space around her, barely able to make out the silhouette of a sleeping Yang in the bed across the room, her chest gently rising and falling with each soothing breath. Quietly, she crawled out of bed and tiptoed to the bedroom door. She carefully turned the knob, doing her utter best not to make a sound, and she silently slipped out and into the pitch black hallway beyond. Taking care not to trip or haphazardly bump into anything, Weiss felt her way through the dark corridor until she reached her destination: Jaune's room. Noiselessly, she cracked open the door and poked her head inside.
The room was dimly illuminated, thanks in large part to the light of the shattered moon pouring through the bedroom window. Using this light to her advantage, Weiss peered over to one side of the space and saw an occupied bed. A closer look revealed to her that it was not Jaune in that bed, but Ren, who was sleeping soundly. The spitting image of tranquility, both while awake and unconscious. To the opposite side of the room lay another bed, but, to her surprise, it was empty. The Arc boy was nowhere in sight. The same could be said about his weapons; his sword and shield were also blatantly absent.
Suddenly, she heard it. The faint sound of metal clanging and exertive grunting. She turned in the direction of the faded racket. It seemed to be coming from downstairs. Weiss gently shut the boys' room door and proceeded to follow the noise. She gently tiptoed down the steps, deliberate about where she placed her feet for fear of causing creaks to echo throughout the still, silent house. As she crept down the stairs, the sight of a passed-out Qrow caught her eye. She looked on as the grumpy, old huntsman laid draped over the living room couch, loosely cradling a near-empty bottle of whiskey and snoring obnoxiously. Weiss frowned at the sight, solemnly shaking her head in both disgust and pity. Not just pity for Qrow himself, but also pity for Ruby and Yang, for this man was their kin. Their uncle. Their role model. The greatest huntsman of all time, at least in Ruby's opinion. This image of him that she was seeing now, with drool slowly running out of his agape mouth onto the couch cushion, was not helping his case.
Weiss grimaced at the view, but her gaze was immediately drawn elsewhere, as the sounds of training had grown slightly louder. Behind the couch, a faint light shone from a nearby hallway. She lazily snuck past Qrow, knowing full and well that anything that she did was not going to rouse him from his liquor-induced slumber. The pungent smell of his alcoholic breath briefly burned her nose as she passed. She quickly had to stop herself from retching at the repulsive odor. As she neared, the light grew brighter and the sounds of grunts and metal increased in volume. She soon found the source of the commotion: the downstairs training room. Hiding near the open door, she could hear the cacophonous sounds of training. She peered inside and found her target.
Jaune was clad in his usual getup, save for the armor and his shoes. He stood there facing a wooden dummy opponent in his distressed jeans and his short-sleeved hoodie. She giggled slightly at the design, just like she did when Ruby and Nora first told her about the adorable Pumpkin Pete bunny face that was emblazoned upon the hoodie's chest. With his blade in hand, he stepped toward the dummy, delivering a diagonal slash to the air in front of it. He stepped again, slashing once more. With one final step, he thrust his sword towards the dummy, sending its point directly into its side. Weiss winced, gripping her own upon the sight.
Jaune relaxed his pose and unstuck the tip of his sword from the dummy's midsection. He wiped his brow with his arm, breathing heavily. He gently set Crocea Mors on the ground, propping them up against the dummy's base. Without as much as a warning, he whipped off his hoodie, revealing a simple white t-shirt that snuggly fit his strong build. Weiss quietly gasped at the sight, her face instantly flushed with red. It had been a while since she had seen Jaune, and she certainly didn't remember him having muscles of any kind. This was no longer the scrawny screwball she knew from Beacon, and this was living proof of how hard he had worked to get to where he was now. It was an awe-inspiring and humbling thing to see. And Weiss seemed to be incapable of taking her eyes off of him.
Jaune used the hoodie as a makeshift towel to wipe the sweat from his glistening brow before tossing it aside. He bent down to pick his gear back up. Having re-armed himself he turned around towards Weiss's direction. She let out a small gasp before ducking behind the training room door. She waited several seconds in the dark of the hall, hoping and praying that Jaune didn't see her leering at him. Once she believed she was safe from detection, she very carefully peeked back out again. There, Jaune stood with his back to her. He was shifting his weight back and forth, making the slightest adjustments to his stance. Weiss crept out a tiny bit more to get a better view.
CREEEAAKK!
She stiffened, her eyes widened with both fear and shock at her careless blunder. She tried to once again retreat to her hiding spot, but it was already too late. Jaune perked up at the sudden noise. He swiftly turned around, shield up and sword at the ready, only to find a blushing Ice Queen trying, but failing, to fall back out of sight.
"Weiss," Jaune said in surprise, lowering his guard upon seeing her, "Was I being too loud? I didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's fine," she reassured him, "I couldn't sleep anyway. I just heard some noises and came to investigate."
Jaune chuckled lightly, clearly relieved. "Sorry about that. I'll try to keep it down." Weiss curtly nodded in response, but continued to stand awkwardly in the doorway. She pursed her lips, wanting to say something, but couldn't voice it. Her mind started to go into overdrive. How was this possible? She never had trouble talking to him before. But what was she supposed to say? After a rather pregnant pause, Jaune cleared his throat.
"Um, was there something you needed, or...?" he asked hesitantly.
"Hmm?" Weiss responded, yanked back down to Remnant from her musings, "Sorry, I just can't stop thinking about Haven. And...what happened." Jaune flattened his lip and nodded.
"I get what you mean. It was tough on everybody." He gestured to her dress with his sword hand, the garment's side freshly stitched by Ren mere hours ago, but still sporting a faded stain of blood. "How are you feeling, by the way?"
Weiss instinctively placed her hand on her formerly wounded spot. "I'm okay. Still a little sore, but it's definitely better than having a tunnel through my stomach."
"Good. I'm glad you're doing better, you know, all things considered," Jaune encouraged. He was always good at that.
"Yes...me too," she smiled half-heartedly, her mind drifting once again. Jaune nodded to her response, turned back around, and went back to readying his stance. Weiss slowed her racing thoughts and spoke up.
"Jaune?" she said.
"Mhmm?" he answered, still focused on his form. For a split second, she hesitated, but she managed to power through.
"...Was that the first time you used your semblance?" Weiss inquired. Jaune paused. Without moving the rest of his body, he turned his head to the side, finding her in his periphery.
"Umm, kinda yeah," he confessed.
"So you unlocked your semblance...because of me?" Jaune shrugged.
"I guess so, huh?" he replied. Weiss looked down at her bare feet, letting silence fill the room once more. Jaune took a steadying breath. He eyed the training dummy down with a fire that Weiss had never previously seen. He reeled back his sword hand and prepared his first strike. He stepped forward, about to make another downward slash identical to the one before.
"I never thanked you, by the way. For saving me, I mean," stated Weiss. Jaune froze mid-swing, his eyes widening slightly. He was clearly taken aback by her words. He relaxed his stance, standing straight up, and turned to face her.
"You didn't have to. We're friends. You probably would've done the same for me, right?"
"Not the way you did it," Weiss said matter-of-factly. "I would not be here now if it wasn't for you, so...thank you, Jaune, for saving my life." The corner of Jaune's mouth curled into a slight smile. He nodded knowingly. He unstrapped his shield and placed Crocea Mors on the ground below him. He walked over to her, his height towering a foot over hers. Weiss felt her muscles tense upon his approach. He then gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"You're welcome, Weiss," he returned. The two's eyes met. Weiss saw the same sincerity in those big blues of his that she saw back at Haven, though now they were less tear-filled. Jaune retracted his hand and made his way to the far side of the room, leaving a mildly flustered Weiss frozen in place. He bent down and retrieved a cup of water that was resting on the floor next to a rack of wooden weapons. He raised the cup to his lips and took a long, thirst-quenching swig. Between his sips, he lightly chuckled, catching Weiss's attention and breaking her from her trance.
"What's so funny?" questioned Weiss, clearly confused (as well as a tiny bit offended). Jaune finished his drink, letting out several satisfied breaths.
"Nothing, it's just..." he started, "I'm pretty sure this is the first real conversation we've had with each other." This time, Weiss was the one taken aback. She filed through her memory, desperately trying to find even the slightest bit of evidence to contradict his statement. But she couldn't.
"Huh, I suppose you're right," she concurred. Jaune exhaled through his nose, mildly amused.
"Look at us," he said as he placed his now empty cup back down in its spot on the floor, "Talking like two full-blown huntsmen out in the real world with real threats to fight. Tonight, we fought some serious bad guys, when it feels like just yesterday when we were in class listening to Professor Port ramble about another one of his hunting stories." Weiss giggled, amused herself.
"Truthfully, I wish we could go back to that time," she confessed, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the days when all I had to worry about were midterms and you showing up at my door with a guitar." Jaune's cheeks reddened. He ruffled through his flowing blonde locks and smiled, clearly embarrassed.
"Yeah, sorry about that," he replied. Weiss shrugged.
"I think it's been long enough to where I can laugh about it now," she said.
"Really? Cause, looking back, I'm pretty sure all of my attempts to ask you out were pretty pathetic."
"Most of them, yes, but I wouldn't say all of them," Weiss retorted, "Some of them were actually, surprisingly creative. I mean, how does a man fit streamers, confetti, three cans of paint, two tons of glitter, and ten fully-blown-up balloons into such a small box? That's surely not an easy feat."
"Believe me, it wasn't," Jaune laughed, "I still kinda feel bad for the mess that it caused, though. You guys were still finding glitter in your beds months later."
Weiss continued, "Even that homemade card you made me was admittedly impressive."
"I seem to recall that card's recording glitching, making it play nonstop no matter what you did."
"And I had to wait for the battery to finally run out. Longest seventy-two hours of my life." Weiss quickly shook her head to forget the mention of it. Jaune's horrible reprisal of that song she liked still lingered in her subconscious. She was not to go and get it stuck in her head again. "But I wouldn't necessarily call that pathetic. Don't be so hard on yourself."
"Sorry...force of habit, I guess," Jaune remarked. Weiss felt a twinge of pity for the boy. Though much about him has changed since Beacon, evidently, old habits truly did die hard.
"When did that stop?" she asked.
"When did what stop?"
"When exactly did you stop trying to 'win my heart' and 'sweep me off my feet' as it were?" Jaune turned his head away from her, squinting his eyes. He was searching through his memory. After a brief pause, he piped up.
"You know what?" he said, "It was probably around the time of the dance. You know, the one where I wore that dress?" Weiss had to stop herself from laughing. How could she forget a sight like that? She still had pictures on her scroll from that night (not that she would openly admit that she had them). She quickly regained her composure, clearing her throat slightly as she did so.
"Interesting. Was there any particular reason as to why you stopped? Was there something that happened at the dance that made you change your mind?" Jaune seemed to shrink before her eyes. He appeared to be getting uncomfortable. He began to avoid eye contact with her. Weiss maintained her gaze with him, regardless, her eyes burrowing into his soul. This was a boy who was the easiest nut to crack when it came to getting information, not to mention he was the worst liar she had ever seen. Maybe even the worst liar in all of Remnant. It was only a matter of time before he would cave.
"Well," he started, "You see...I mean, I was..." He let out an exhaustive sigh. "Oh, forget it. It was Neptune, okay?" Weiss scrunched her face in confusion. That was a name she had not heard in a long while.
"Neptune? What about him?"
"Well, I knew you were interested in him, and when I saw you two at the dance, and how much fun you were having together, and how brightly you smiled at him...I don't know, I guess it just clicked that I was never going to be able to do that for you. I realized that you would be better off happy with someone else rather than being miserable with me constantly chasing you. So, that night, I finally decided to just take the hint and move on with my life."
Weiss was stunned. Completely speechless. That was one of the most touching things she had ever heard. And it came from Jaune Arc, of all people. Though she was mildly saddened by her failed relationship with Neptune, Jaune's honesty and humility greatly overshadowed it. But she couldn't help but feel a touch of guilt deep in the pit of her stomach, just adjacent to her scar. The toll she must have caused on Jaune's heart without even realizing it was enough to make her sick. Like him, she too had come a long way since Beacon. Or, at least, she had been trying to in a rather slow process.
"Wow...that was really mature of you, Jaune," she commented.
"Yeah, well, I guess it had to happen at some point, right?" Jaune replied, in a poor attempt to appear jovial after his confession. Weiss stepped toward him, just stopping several feet away. There was something she had to know. She needed to know the truth, and he was going to give it to her.
"I'm going to ask you a question, and I need you to answer honestly," she practically commanded him. Jaune stiffened, surely frightened of what kind of question she might ask.
"Umm, okay?" he affirmed.
"Back at Beacon, did you actually have feelings for me, or was all of it just teenage hormones making you act like a fool?" Weiss' mind froze, her eyes widened, her face flushed. She gritted her teeth in regret. That was not supposed to sound as harsh as she made it out to be. Slow process, indeed.
She was expecting Jaune to start squirming, either physically or mentally, but his expression did not shift in the slightest. He didn't even look the least bit offended at her uncouth choice of words. It was like she had asked a question to a statue. She didn't know if he was pondering or if he was frozen in fear of answering.
"Honestly?" he finally asked.
"Honestly," Weiss answered. Jaune let out a sigh, one that sounded almost apologetic.
"I don't even know, anymore."
Weiss had to admit, she was not expecting that kind of answer. She didn't know what kind of answer to expect, but she surely didn't expect that.
"What do you mean by that? How can you not know?" she pried.
"Look, it's nothing personal, Weiss. But after what happened with Beacon and...with Pyrrha, I've kinda been trying to not think about the past, because if I do, it just brings up a bunch of painful memories that I really don't need in my head right now. Did I have feelings for you back then? Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I don't remember. And, if it's all the same to you, I don't feel like going back and trying to remember."
Weiss nodded. She knew that the Fall of Beacon and Pyrrha's death had been hard on both her and her friends. She could understand wanting to repress those memories and continue to look ahead. Although that didn't stop her from feeling a touch disappointed by his response.
"I see," was all she could muster to say.
"But that doesn't mean I don't care about you. Right here, in this moment, you are one of the most important people I have in my life: you and the rest of Team RWBY. You guys are some of the best friends I have ever had. Actually, you're some of the only friends I've ever had. So, who cares whether my crush on you was real or not? It doesn't make you mean any less to me one way or the other."
"I guess that makes sense," said Weiss, her heart once again moved by his words, "I'm sorry I brought it up, I-"
"No, it's okay," he reassured her. "You didn't know. And I didn't really expect you to, either. It's just something I've got to deal with, but not now. I'll cross that bridge eventually." Jaune turned his eyes to the floor, his expression turned melancholic. Weiss could only wonder what kinds of images flashed through his mind, but she knew for a fact that none of them were happy ones. Jaune took a breath, straightened himself up, and proceeded to walk past Weiss back to his training dummy. Weiss looked on as he marched by her, remaining silent as he began to lean against his training dummy. She wasn't sure, but she could've sworn she heard him emit the slightest of sniffles.
Weiss recalled Jaune's outburst toward Cinder back at Haven. How his voice was filled to the brim with rage, sorrow, and grief. She remembered this boy being one of the biggest balls of sunshine around. To see him going through such pain made Weiss' heart break. The visuals of a happy-go-lucky Jaune fluttered through her head. It made her pause. She broke the silence.
"You know," she started, "you say that you want to forget the past; you don't want to remember because it's too painful. But you and I strolled down memory lane just a second ago." Jaune turned back to her with a confused face.
"Yeah, so?" he asked.
"So, all those times you asked me out? Are those painful for you as well?" Jaune appeared to have been mildly disquieted by this revelation. He squinted his eyes, visibly mulling her question over.
"No...I guess not."
"Would you say that those memories were positive?"
"Well, yeah."
Jaune's words hung in the air, the conversation falling slack for a beat as they sank in for both of them.
"Have you ever thought about, you know...trying again?" Weiss asked him. Jaune cocked his head, perplexity written all over his face.
"Trying what again?"
Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed. Apparently, she had to spell it out for him.
"And I thought Ruby was thick-headed," she muttered under her breath. Softening her features, she stated calmly, "Jaune, I want you to try asking me out on a date again." The blonde-headed boy perked up, but she couldn't tell if it was out of fear or glee.
"What? Really? Now?" he replied cautiously.
"Yes, now," she answered, "I give you my full permission. After the last... couple of years, actually, I think we both need a taste of normality." Jaune stood there dumbfoundedly, his breaths short and shallow, his mouth hanging in an "o" shape. He was clearly frazzled. After a brief moment of silence, he smirked.
"You haven't, by any chance, seen a guitar lying around, have you?" he asked with a laugh. Weiss giggled and rolled her eyes again, not out of frustration, but this time in amusement at his silly comment. He knew what he was doing. Jaune took a deep breath, probably to steel himself, and cleared his throat.
"Weiss," he started, "Would you be open to going out on a date with me sometime?" Weiss stared at him, saying nothing. She took in his words and relished them. Finally, she was asked out the proper way. No antics, no crazy gifts, and absolutely no terribly-sung serenades. She smiled warmly and looked him in his deep, blue eyes. After a moment of silence that must have felt like an eternity to Jaune, Weiss finally answered.
"Yes," she said. Jaune's grin widened into a full, giddy smile. That was a sight she had not seen from Jaune in some time.
"Okay, so how do you feel about breakfast? I found this great place just down the street from here." Weiss, herself beaming as much as Jaune, nodded and shrugged.
"I'd like that," she replied. She felt the pit of her stomach practically doing backflips. Her heart raced with excitement and anticipation for the morning. If she had trouble sleeping already, she was certainly not going to get any kind of sleep now. But she didn't care. This was a feeling she had not felt in ages, and she would be damned if she were to lose it so soon.
"It's a date, then," Jaune said.
"Great."
Weiss then did something that surprised them both. She walked up close to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She raised herself to the tips of her bare toes and planted a short peck on his cheek. Jaune's face almost instantly grew red. Weiss lowered herself back down to her usual height and turned to take her leave.
"Good night, Jaune," she bade him with a wink. She then confidently glided out of the room into the silent embrace of the dark house.
"Good night...Weiss," Jaune called after her.
FLUSH!
Oscar sleepily staggered out of the bathroom, his eyes practically closed as he walked. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. As he slowly lumbered through the main floor hall, he approached the still-lit training room. He knew Jaune was in there practicing. What stopped him in his tracks was the sudden appearance of Weiss, her face featuring a contented smile. Oscar froze as she passed by. She seemed not to have noticed him as she left. Once she was out of his sight, Oscar snuck up to the door of the training room. Inside, he spied Jaune, grinning goofily and tenderly touching his cheek. He stood in place for a brief moment before regaining his composure and beginning to gather his belongings.
"Hmm, well, what do you know?" Ozpin mused within Oscar's head.
"What? What is it?" Oscar whispered in response.
"Oh, it's nothing," the old wizard answered with a mild chuckle. "It appears that I've just lost a bet."
"Umm, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think you're gonna be able to pay it back from where you're sitting," said Oscar. Ozpin scoffed.
"Too true, Mr. Pine. Too true."