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Chapter Text

It could have been so much worse.

It was bad enough as it was.

Through some impossible chain of miracles, the combined Grimm, White Fang, and Hacked Atlas Robot attack had been repelled with a minimum loss of life.

It still didn't feel like a victory, how could it?

Ozpin stood among the ruins of his office, holding the circlet that had once belonged to Pyrrha Nikos.

Those that knew his secrets would assume that he had closed off his emotions and was cursing the loss of the candidate to be the next Fall Maiden.

They would've missed the single tear that fell.

He took out his scroll, and called Glynda Goodwitch.

"Hello, Glynda... Yes, I'm alive... No... no she didn't... Cinder killed her..."

Both professors stood in silence at the respective ends of the call. Ozpin spoke next.

"At least Beacon survived... give the students two weeks off of classes. They'll need it when they find out what happened to Ms. Nikos."

The call ended. Ozpin stood in silence once more, contemplating what to do next.

(One week later)

When there is crisis, leaders will arise, this is a fact that can be proven time and time again through Remnant's history.

The leaders this time were the functional members of team RWBY, (as Ruby was still unconscious) the surviving members of team JNPR, team CFVY, and in a twist of fate that was surprising to just about everyone, team CRDL.

Sitting around a table in the library, Weiss, Coco, Ren, and Cardin were discussing what to do about the Ursa in the room.

Most of the students were "fine". There was one student however, who was definitely not fine.

Jaune Arc.

Coco broke the silence, "Ren, do you have an update on Jaune's... ah... emotional health?" No one wanted to say it, they all knew why he was in so much more pain than everyone else.

"More of the same, unfortunately. He doesn't sleep much. Maybe 4 hours a night at most. He goes to meals, doesn't talk to anyone, then trains until he drops."

Cardin gave them a sad smile, "I don't suppose that this is something I can knock out of him?"

They all laughed at that. Cardin and Jaune's history was well known to them, but seemed so trivial now, to the point where it was a punchline.

Cardin continued, "Someone needs to talk to him. Someone he trusts."

Ren hung his head, "Me and Nora have tried. We haven't been able to get through to him. I'd say maybe, Ruby, but she's still..."

Then, yet another miracle happened.

"I'll do it," Weiss declared, "After Ruby, I'm probably the person he trusts the most outside of his team."

Without waiting for any protests, she left to go find Jaune.

She had a broken heart to mend.

She found him sitting with his back to a tree in the courtyard, eyes closed, and head comically leaning to one side.

As much as she wanted to let him sleep, Weiss knew that he needed to be comforted. She reached out to shake his shoulder.

"Jaune?"

He woke easily enough, "Who... oh, hi."

Weiss sat down next to him. "Jaune, everyone is worried about you."

He sighed. "I know. Cardin asked me how I was holding up a couple days ago."

"Jaune-"

"I'm scared, Weiss."

Well that didn't take long. Maybe he just needed... me? Of course he would.

The heiress regarded him. "Why?"

"Because I'm not strong enough. If I had been strong enough to go with Pyrrha to fight that bitch, Cinder, then Pyrrha would still be alive. What if the next time it's you? Or Ruby? Or Ren and Nora? What if I'm still not strong enough then?"

Weiss noticed the tears in his eyes. She also noticed that Jaune was doing everything in his power to not cry. She cupped the sides of his face with her hands.

"Jaune, you need to let it out. Cry. It's okay, I've got you."

The tears started slowly at first, then came faster and faster. He started sobbing into Weiss's shoulder, all semblance of dignity forgotten. Weiss gently rocked him back and forth, emulating as best she could how Yang comforted Ruby after a nightmare. Eventually, he stopped crying, but made no effort to move from Weiss's embrace. She didn't make any effort to pull away. If this is what he needed, then so be it.

Jaune broke the silence first. "Weiss, will you start training me?"

Weiss frowned. It was public knowledge that Pyrrha had been training Jaune from basically day one. "If that's what you want, I'll do it, but I must warn you. I know only one way to train, and that way is extremely taxing-"

Jaune's interjection chilled Weiss to her core. "Good, that means I'll get stronger."

"Don't interrupt."

Jaune winced, "Sorry, Weiss."

"Now, as I was saying," Weiss explained, "If you want me to train you, I have a few requirements. First, you must start talking to us again. Everyone misses you Jaune."

Jaune pulled away from her, "I can't face them, it's my fault that Pyrrha is dead."

"Jaune, look at me," As he turned to look at Weiss, she stared into his eyes, knowing from previous experience that her gaze had a mild paralytic effect on him, "It is not your fault. It was Cinder's. No one else. Do you understand?" He nodded.

Just a nod wasn't going to be good enough for her, though. not for this.

"Say it, Jaune."

Jaune was confused, or pretending to be at least, "Say what?"

Weiss's eyes narrowed, "Say that you understand that Pyrrha's death is not your fault."

He took a deep breath and spoke, "I understand, Weiss. Really, I do." That would have to be good enough it seemed.

"Very well, Second, you will start getting at least eight hours of sleep a night or-"

He cut her off, forcefully, "NO!" Weiss could only stare at him dumbfounded, waiting for an explanation,

"I can't. If I sleep for more than four hours, I start having nightmares... well, other people would call them pleasant dreams, but in my case..."

Other people would call them pleasant dreams. That phrase stuck in Weiss's head and refused to leave. If that was true then that meant that he was having dreams about Pyrrha, dreams that under any other circumstance would be good dreams.

She had to ask. "Jaune what have-"

The pain in his eyes intensified and her words died in her throat. "Last night... it was what would've been our wedding."

Jaune continued, "The only way I could possibly make it through the whole night is if I didn't dream of Pyrrha, and I don't know how likely that is any time soon."

Weiss had an idea. An insane idea. An idea that she never would've considered a week ago.

She was going to sleep with Jaune Arc.

She stood up, and took his hand. "Well, in that case, I'll just have to make it so that you dream about me again."

"Weiss, what-"

"Shh, don't talk. Just listen," Weiss explained. "Here is what's going to happen. We are going to go back to my dorm room, we are going to cuddle until you fall asleep, and I promise you that I will be there when you wake up."

Weiss watched in wonder as multiple emotions passed over Jaune's face in the space of a few seconds, after a few seconds more, the knight spoke.

"I'd have to be more of an idiot than I am to say no."

For the first time since Pyrrha's death, a genuine smile graced Jaune's face.

Ever since they had met, Weiss had never thought that she would be here, not with him. She fondly gazed at the sleeping form of the blond knight. She was content to let him think that this change of heart had come about naturally. Having her here would help him heal. Her change of heart was more of a result of a video message delivered to her scroll after Pyrrha had died. The message had been from Pyrrha, set to deliver in case she died. Weiss had committed it to memory.

"Weiss, if you are watching this message. I have died. I... need to ask you for a favor. I understand that we never got along as well as we could've, that's partially my fault. I'm sorry. I was just so jealous of how you had Jaune wrapped around your finger, not that you were trying to. Now, the favor. I understand if you need to pass the responsibility for it off to someone else, maybe Ruby, but someone needs to do it."

"Please watch out for Jaune. He's going to be a wreck. He will blame himself, He'll isolate himself from all of us like he did during the Cardin debacle. Please, I beg you, do not let him. He's all the family that Ren and Nora have left. This may require you getting... close to him. If you cannot do this, I understand. But someone must. Someone who can give him direction. Without that, he'll wander aimlessly until it is too late. Regardless of whether you do this or someone else does, I must ask you to do something else for me."

"Please pick up his training where I left off. Your combat style is the closest to his after mine. Honestly I've been thinking that having him add Atlesian Fencing to his fighting style would vastly improve his chances against other people. I would've asked you earlier, but I was being petty and jealous."

"I hope that someday, you'll see the potential in him that I see, the potential for him to become a hero."

Weiss roused herself from her memories, and gazed at Jaune once more. There was a smile on his face as he slept. She leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"Jaune, I know that things seem terrible right now, that your entire world seems overcast, and that you'll never see the sun again. But I promise you that things will be better one day, and I will be by your side. I'm not ready to tell you this face to face yet, for several reasons. Chief among them our... history. Despite that, I will be here for you, however you need me to be. Sleep well, Jaune. Dream of me." She punctuated her declaration by giving him a brief kiss on his forehead.

Chapter Text

(Team RWBY's Dorm)

Jaune woke to find a head of white hair resting on his chest. He smiled, suppressing the urge to stroke Weiss's hair. He didn't want to scare her off, after all. Jaune turned his thoughts inward, to puzzle out the situation so that he wouldn't make a fool of himself when Weiss woke up.

Okay, so she obviously had a change of heart about me. Maybe she heard how I helped her with Neptune at the dance? That still doesn't... wait, no. Yang said that they broke up because he hit on team NDGO. Okay, so... maybe it's just that she sees me in pain and she wants to fix it? Soothe it? No, that sounds more like Ruby or Yang. If I were a betting man, I'd guess that Pyrrha rigged a scroll message to go to Weiss in the event of her death. Goodness knows she did the same for me.

His attention was drawn away from his inner monologue by movement on his chest. Weiss was waking up.

Jaune grinned, "Good morning, sleepyhead."

"Good morning," Weiss mumbled, "How long have you been up?"

Of course she'd go right back to worrying about him. Not that Jaune minded, especially right now. "Not long, just a few minutes."

Weiss narrowed her eyes and fixed him with an icy stare. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

Jaune shook his head, "Nah, I slept like a baby."

Weiss smiled, "Good, did you have any dreams?"

"Yeah, but they weren't of Pyrrha. Thank you, Weiss."

She reached up to cup his cheek. "You're welcome, Jaune."

By unspoken agreement they both got up, Jaune left to go get dressed and carry on with the day. As Weiss got ready for the day, she looked at her scroll for the first time that morning, and went pale.

She had one message. From her father.

"Call me at your earliest convenience."

Oh no.

(Team JNPR's Dorm)

"Why didn't you come back here last night?" Nora interrogated.

Yang shook her head. Nora knew exactly where Jaune had been last night and who he'd been with, considering Yang and Blake had crashed in team JNPR's room.

"Nora." Ren simply stated.

"But, Ren, I wanna hear him say it!"

Jaune sighed, "Me and Weiss slept together last night. Nothing... physical happened."

Yang cackled with laughter, "Oh, I am going to give her so much crap..."

Blake's hand because intimately familiar with her forehead. "At least wait until after we check on Ruby..."

Yang sobered immediately. Right, she had agreed to not tease Weiss until after their daily Ruby check. "Right... sorry, Blake."

They left to do just that. Meanwhile, Nora, being Nora wanted details.

Jaune sighed. She was going to be on this for at least the next four hours. Fortunately he knew a way to distract her for a while.

"Ren," Jaune said a little too cheerily, "Pancakes!"

Ren shot him a look that suggested Jaune had just stranded him in the Emerald Forest with one hundred Deathstalkers on his tail. To be fair, a pancake-lusted Nora was equivalent to that.

(Team RWBY's Dorm)

Yang and Blake walked in to see Weiss staring at her scroll like it was a bomb.

"You okay, Weiss? You.. uh... look pretty spooked." Yang asked.

Weiss swallowed, "My father would like me to call him at my earliest convenience."

Yang and Blake's expressions darkened. After Jacques Schnee had visited to make a show of giving aid to help repair Vale's city square after the Breach incident, Weiss had told them about exactly what kind of man Jacques Schnee is. Needless to say, team RWBY now only bought SDC products out of necessity.

Blake spoke next, "Well, in that case, let's go check on Ruby, then you can take care of that."

Weiss emphatically shook her head, "When father says 'at your earliest convenience' he really means now."

"Okay, then. New plan," Yang said, "Me and Blake will go check on Ruby, and you chat with the asshole of assholes." Weiss gave her a small smile as a Yang Humor based shot of courage coursed through her. Yang and Blake wordlessly changed their clothes and left for the infirmary.

Weiss hit the call button.

"Hello, Weiss." Jacques said.

"Hello, father. I didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?" Weiss asked, hoping that she kept the hopefulness out of her voice.

"No, you didn't. Now, Weiss, I have a question for you."

She swallowed, "What is it, father?"

"Why didn't you call me sooner?"

Oh, good. An easy one. "Well, father, that's because my teammates and I, due to necessity and the role we played in the battle, along with three other teams, stepped into a leadership role to help take pressure off of the staff. That's taken up most of our time."

Jacques nodded, he had expected as much. However, he was still annoyed. "Is there any other reason?"

Weiss clenched the fist that she held behind her back. I might as well come clean about Jaune, at least the part about training him. "Ah, yes there is. Do you recall that Pyrrha Nikos died in the attack?" Her father nodded but remained silent.

"Well, her partner, Jaune Arc was being trained by her because of his... deficiencies in combat. He was admitted to Beacon on the merits of his strategic ability, you see. He has requested that I begin training him, since Pyrrha... can't anymore."

"Why you?" Jacques asked.

"Because, after Pyrrha, my combat style is closest to his."

"I see," Jacques mused, "Well, if he is going to be trained by a Schnee, he will have the weapon of a Schnee."

"Father?" Weiss cocked her head in confusion. Is he saying what I think he's saying?

"I will be visiting you in three days. I wish to meet this young man, see why he has caught your eye."

Weiss's eyes went wide. "Father, it's not like that-"

Jacques raised an eyebrow, "Yes, it is. Do not lie to me, Weiss."

Internally, Weiss was panicking. How? How did he... I suppose it doesn't matter in the end. "Very well, father. If I might ask, is that the only reason you'll be coming?"

"No, I am going to donate a sizable sum to the students of Beacon, to help the less fortunate students replace their lost possessions and such, I will also want to observe Mr. Arc's fighting style so I can have the proper weapon made for him."

Weiss was dumbfounded, "You're... serious about that?"

Jacques nodded, "Yes, I am."

There's going to be a catch to this, I know there is. There always is.

"Very well, father. Is there anything else?" Please let that be everything. I don't have the energy for dealing with you for much longer.

"No, Weiss. That will be all." He hung up.

She flung herself onto her bed, giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts.

Her scroll buzzed, even though there was no one around to witness it, she made a show of grabbing it over-dramatically, then broke into a giant grin.

It was a message from Yang. Its content breathed life into the emotionally weary heiress.

"Guess who's up?"

(Beacon Academy Mess Hall)

Almost everything was right with the world. The table that was eternally claimed by teams RWBY and JNPR burst with the endless optimism of Ruby Rose once more. There would eternally be an empty seat where Pyrrha Nikos once sat. Even if which seat was empty got shuffled around, due to an inexplicable change in the dynamic between the two teams. Onlookers were completely baffled by it. Even Professor Goodwitch did a double take. There was a new... closeness between Jaune Arc and Weiss Schnee. Eventually the topic of conversation shifted from Weiss-Teasing to things of a more serious nature.

"Ruby, we've got to ask, what did you do to Cinder to make her run off?" Blake asked.

Weiss could feel Jaune tense up beside her. She took his hand underneath the table and the tension disappeared as quickly as it came.

Ruby's brow furrowed as she cast her mind back to that night. "I'm not sure. All I remember is that I saw Cinder kill Pyrrha, then... everything just went... silver. Next thing I knew, I woke up in the infirmary."

From seemingly out of nowhere, Ozpin spoke, startling all of them except Ren, "Ms. Rose, I appreciate your need to tell your friends about what happened in my office, but please do not tell anyone else, at least until I've had a chance to talk to... well, all seven of you now."

Ozpin left as suddenly as he had appeared, leaving a tornado of confusion in his wake. Ozpin was clear though, a change of topic was in order. Weiss frowned, she might as well tell everyone about her father's impending visit now.

"So," Weiss started, "my father is coming to visit in three days." The facial expressions of the rest of team RWBY darkened.

Jaune frowned, "Judging by their reactions, I guess he isn't winning Father of the Year anytime soon?"

Weiss chuckled, "That's one way of putting it, I suppose. He treats everything in his life like it's a business that he has to run."

Ren and Nora shuddered. Since they had grown up with only each other to count on, that kind of lovelessness was anathema to them.

"Anything else we need to know about his time here, Weiss-cream?" Yang asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. It... ah... concerns Jaune."

Jaune blinked. Twice. "I'm sorry, what?"

Weiss started to explain, "You see, his 'official' reason for coming here is to make a show of the SDC giving financial support to the students here who lost possessions in the attack. In reality, his reason for coming... well, I told him that I would be starting to train Jaune... and apparently something in my tone of voice or body language betrayed the fact that there is... ah... something more going on here."

Blake narrowed her eyes, "That could end... poorly."

Yang rolled her eyes, "You can say that again, Blake. Jaune, you better get on your A-game."

"It's not... all bad," Weiss said, "He said, and I quote, 'If he is going to be trained by a Schnee, he will have the weapon of a Schnee."

Silence reigned.

Jaune spoke first, "There's a catch, there has to be."

Weiss smiled, "Correct, but he didn't mention one to me. Yet."

Jaune stood up, "Well, if he's coming in three days, that gives me three days to cram in as much training as I can."

Chapter Text

(Beacon Academy Training Room, Day 1)

"Weiss, before we get started, I have a question." Jaune asked.

Weiss frowned, "What is it. Jaune?"

"What exactly did your father mean by 'the weapon of a Schnee'? Your weapon isn't a heirloom like Crocea Mors, is it?"

Ah, of course that would be bothering him. I don't blame him, it sounds like something out of a cheesy romance movie. Weiss thought to herself.

"Well, first of all, Myrtenaster isn't an heirloom, I designed it myself," Weiss began, "What father meant by that was that... as far back as we have records, the members of the Schnee family that have been trained in combat have always used swords, typically one-handed swords so we have a hand free for glyphs."

Jaune cocked his head in confusion, "Something's not adding up. If your weapon, and others like it that have been wielded by members of your family, are for... well, family, then why would your father..."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, "Because saying that is his way of... ugh, I hate it when he does this, offering you my hand in marriage."

Jaune's eyebrows disappeared into the stratosphere, "I'm sorry, WHAT?"

Weiss blushed, "Believe me, I'm not happy about it either. My heart is my own, and I will give it to who I choose."

"Wait, back up," Jaune said hurriedly, "You said that you hate it when he does this. He's done this before?

Weiss simply nodded, her gaze glacial despite the crimson shade of red her face was.

Jaune was quickly becoming angry. Very angry. "That's a load of crap! Are arranged marriages typical in Atlas?"

"For the upper class, yes. Unfortunately, they are often arranged to form business and political alliances, and as such, are quite loveless," Weiss explained, "Frankly, I'm surprised he's even giving you a chance."

Jaune rolled his eyes, "Thanks, I think... better me than some suit, I suppose. Er, that came out wrong."

Weiss gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I knew what you meant, Jaune. Frankly, I'd prefer you over any of the men back in Atlas."

Jaune blinked. Twice. "Uh, Weiss-"

"When, you're ready that is!" Weiss blurted out, "Gods, I'm not trying to rush you, I swear-"

It's a good thing that brains weren't explosive, or else Jaune's brain would've gone nuclear. She just... she just... later. Now's not the time. We're here for training, not talking about our feelings about each other. Which are apparently mutual now. That's a thing. Okay. Stay calm, Jaune. Do NOT call her Snow Angel! DO NOT.

If brains were snowfall, Weiss's was a whiteout blizzard. I just... I just... later. Now's not the time. I'm here to train him, not confess my new feelings for him. He doesn't need that right now. Okay, stay calm, Weiss. Do NOT think about how cute he is. DO NOT.

"Uh, Weiss, can we get to training now? We can talk about this later." Jaune

Weiss came back to herself, and immediately launched into training mode. " Yes, training. There are three pillars, if you will, to Atlesian Fencing. Efficiency, Adaptability, and Demoralization. We will be focusing on the first two, because you are simply too kind for the third."

Jaune remained silent. He knew better than to interrupt Weiss when she was in her "teaching mode". He remembered the time that Yang had interrupted Weiss when she was tutoring Ruby in Dust Studies. Legend had it that the resulting argument would be known to future Beacon students as The Great Cataclysm.

Weiss continued, "Today, we will be working on efficiency. I will have you fight groups of three training bots, your goal is to get your time to kill them down to eight seconds. They will be turned to the maximum difficulty, and their actions will be randomized. Any questions?" Jaune's eyes grew wider and wider as she continued. She couldn't be serious. This was so far beyond what Pyrrha had put him through...

Noting the look on his face, she explained further. "From what little I can gather, the way Pyrrha trained you was designed to draw out your potential. My way will be different, I will be pushing you to your preconceived limits, so you can break through them."

Jaune grinned barely keeping his laughter in, "You wouldn't happen to have been trained by Mr. Miyagi, would you?"

Weiss glared at him fondly, but it was still a glare. "Is that someone from one of your comic books?"

He shrugged. "Something like that."

She shook her head and activated the first group of training bots, "Get ready."

Jaune drew his sword and sunk into the stance that he had spent countless hours perfecting. "Ready."

"Begin."

Jaune lunged at the center bot, dispatching it with a single stab through the chest. The other two tried to catch him in a pincer attack, but hit nothing but air as he rolled to the left. Good, this way I can take them one at a time...

Then they stepped apart again and rushed him. Oh, well, deep end it is. The left-hand bot reached him first, and attempted to deliver a strike with its wrist blade. Jaune shoved with his shield, blocking the attack, and leaving the bot open to his attack, two horizontal swipes punctuated by an overhand strike. He turned to the final bot, only to get blown off his feet by what felt like a boulder hitting his chest.

What? Earth Dust?

He rolled to his right, preventing himself from getting splattered by another boulder, and got to his feet. Jaune charged, concentrating his aura in his shield. The instant he felt an impact he shoved, and was pleasantly surprised to see that he had sent the boulder back at the bot, knocking it prone. He strode over to it, and finished it with a stab in the eye.

"Fifteen seconds." Weiss said.

Jaune turned to face the heiress, "Wait, I have to cut that down by seven seconds?"

She responded by activating the next group of training bots. Jaune took a breath, and took his stance.

"How many times are you going to have me do this, Weiss?" Jaune wondered.

Her response made Jaune realize what fresh hell he had willingly entered.

"Until you succeed, or until your Aura goes into the red. Whichever comes first."

He gulped. He was going to be here for a long time. "Ready."

"Begin."

(Several hours later)

"8.1 seconds."

Jaune blinked. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Jaune..." Weiss said apologetically, "I may have set the bar a little too high, I was using the standard that was used for me, I didn't account for the fact that you don't have glyphs-"

He turned to her, his cobalt blue eyes full of steel. "Again."

Her heart fluttered, "Jaune? Are you sure?" I've never felt this kind of... pressure from him before. It's... is this what Pyrrha meant? His potential to become a hero?

He nodded, then repeated his declaration, with more conviction than before. "Again."

She activated the next three bots. "Ready, Jaune?"

His voice was like iron, "Begin."

It was a good thing that she was supposed to be watching him, because she couldn't take her eyes off of him. At the beginning of their now four hour long training session, there had been an undercurrent of hesitancy, but now, for some reason he... That's it! It's the progress he's made towards the goal I set for him. Because the progress he's made so far today is so much more noticeable than the progress he's made in the past, that's making him much more confident in his own ability. Which is making it so he can push himself even further... She brought herself out of her thoughts to see Jaune kill the final bot with three rapid stabs.

She looked at the timer.

7.8 seconds.

"Jaune? Come look at the timer." Weiss said, a smile creeping onto her face.

Jaune came over and looked at the training room's console. He grinned. "If you had told me this morning that I was going to beat three max difficulty training bots in 7.8 seconds, I would've called you a liar."

Weiss smirked at him, "You did well today, Jaune. Go get some rest, You've earned it. Make sure to do something to soothe your muscles, you don't want to be sore tomorrow."

Jaune sheathed his sword, gave Weiss a mock salute, and left, leaving Weiss alone with her thoughts.

I see it, Pyrrha. I see him. I finally understand why you cared so deeply for him.

Like I'm starting to.

(Team RWBY Dorm, Day 2)

"Weiss?, Remnant to Weiss!" Ruby called out.

"What is it, Ruby?"

"Well," Ruby said, "You've been staring into space for a good hour now..."

Blake looked up from her book,"Plus you were supposed to meet Jaune for training half a hour ago."

Weiss's eyes went wide with panic, and she quickly gathered her things and bolted out of the room, blowing past Yang.

Yang turned to Ruby with a bemused look on her face, "What was that about, Rubes?"

"She... She's running late, by half a hour." Ruby said, her confusion evident, "That's not like her."

Yang and Blake shared a look, making Ruby even more confused. "Oh, man. The Ice Queen has it bad." Yang said, a mischievous smile spreading across her face.

Ruby tilted her head in thought, her hands moving as she puzzled it out, then her silver eyes brightened when she figured it out. "Wait... she... likes Jaune? What did I miss while I was out?"

Blake took up the narrative, mostly because Yang had suddenly became very interested in their shared desk. "Well, it seems that Weiss has taken it upon herself to help Jaune through the... aftermath of Pyrrha's death."

Ruby frowned, "That doesn't explain everything though. The last time Weiss was ever late for anything was when her and Neptu-"

Yang cut her off, "Guys, she left her scroll here."

"Oh, I'll take it to her," Ruby offered, "I'd be fastest... Yang, what are you doing?" Ruby was once again confused. That seemed to be the theme for the day.

Yang was thumbing through Weiss's scroll. "I've got a hunch. Don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything to her stuff... oh. OH."

Blake's curiosity got the better of her. "What did you find, Yang?"

"A video message, from Pyrrha. Originally recorded... seems like a couple hours before the finals of the Vytal tournament started... sent... " Yang blinked. This couldn't be right, this would mean...

Pyrrha had rigged this message to be sent in the event of her death.

Ruby knew that look in Yang's eyes. She was about to do something stupid.

"Yang, no. That...we shouldn't." Ruby pleaded.

Yang turned to her partner, "What do you think, Blakey?"

Blake put her book down and spoke, "While I admit to being curious, it would be a breach of trust."

"Alright, then." Yang said as she closed Weiss's scroll,"Let's speculate. We now know that Weiss received a message from Pyrrha, after her death."

Blake nodded, "I think it's also reasonable to assume that Pyrrha asked Weiss to begin training Jaune. Their combat styles are similar enough, at least when it comes to swordplay."

Ruby was growing impatient with the topic, "So... that's it then? Can I bring Weiss her scroll now?"

"Well, that's not everything, but go ahead." Yang said, handing over Weiss's scroll to Ruby. Ruby semblanced away, leaving rose petals in her wake.

After Ruby had left, Yang continued, "So, obviously we know that they slept together a couple nights ago." Blake nodded, but said nothing, so Yang kept going. "Also, when you asked Ruby what had happened at the tower yesterday, Jaune got really tense, then that tension left basically immediately..."

Both of their eyes went wide at the same time, but Blake was the one to say it. "Weiss has had a change of heart about Jaune, most likely because of that video message, but she's letting Jaune think it's natural."

Yang folded her arms, "Well, I guess there's nothing for us to do, then. Weiss doesn't seem to be pushing him into anything before he's ready, although her father coming soon, because of Jaune is..."

"Concerning." Blake finished.

"Yeah," Yang said, injecting sarcasm into her voice, "That's putting it mildly."

Yang's scroll buzzed, she looked at the newly arrived text message. "Huh. Apparently Weiss asked Ruby to stay and help with Jaune's training. Something about adaptability."

(Beacon Academy Training Room, Day 2)

Weiss couldn't help but be amused by the sight that played out before her.

Given that Jaune had only fought against the assorted members of team CRDL in combat class, and Pyrrha in training matches, Weiss had intended to ask Ruby to assist with today's training, when the reaper had burst into the training room with Weiss's scroll, which had been left in team RWBY's dorm. Weiss had managed to get Ruby to sit still for long enough to hear Weiss's idea.

Jaune was currently sparring with Ruby, trying to use an Atlesian fencing technique known as General's Guard to analyze Ruby's fighting style mid-fight and find openings.

Jaune had been excited when Weiss had explained how the General's Guard worked, since it would allow him to utilize his innate gift for strategy mid-fight.

"THERE!" Jaune yelled out, as he slipped past the razor tipped whirlwind of Crescent Rose to tag Ruby with the flat of his sword.

"Good!" Weiss called out, "Reset, then go again. Oh, and Ruby? Stop holding back, would you?"

Jaune paled. Wait, what?

Ruby giggled as she started to shed rose petals, darting behind Jaune. Jaune whirled around, just in time to block an overhead slash. Jaune immediately sidestepped to the right, typically after an attack like that, Ruby would go for a shot with the sniper rifle portion of her weapon...

Jaune gasped as she materialized right in front of him and hit him in the gut with the butt of her weapon.

Jaune was starting to understand. I get it now. She uses her semblance to cover the vulnerabilities in her fighting style. If I can just predict where she'll pop up...

His train of thought was interrupted by a semblance powered spin attack from Ruby, which promptly made his rear end familiar with the floor. Then his vision turned red, and as Ruby started to shift from petals back to normal...

He threw his shield.

Ruby twisted in midair to dodge it, but her dodge carried her right into Jaune's pommel strike.

"Sorry, Ruby, I didn't mean to hit you that hard!" Jaune blabbered, scrambling to his feet so he could help his fellow leader up.

She took his offered hand, and started blabbering right along with him, "No worries, Jaune! Wow, that awesome, you've never done anything like that before! What gave you the idea?"

"I had to do something to throw you off, I had initially planned on predicting where you were going to pop up, and strike preemptively, but you knocked that on its butt." Jaune continued.

Weiss cleared her throat for attention, and the doltish blabbering ceased. "Good job, Jaune. I think we're done for today."

Jaune tilted his head in confusion. "Already? It's barely been a hour."

"Be that as it may, Jaune," Weiss explained, "You have successfully used the General's Guard to triumph against a superior opponent that you have never fought before, well done."

Jaune gave her the same mock salute that he had the day before, collected his shield, and left.

Ruby giggled, she hadn't seen Weiss look at anyone the way she was looking at Jaune as he left since Neptune.

(Beacon Academy Training Room, Day 3)

Jaune Arc walked into the training room to see a scene from the nightmares he had during his first semester at Beacon.

Team CRDL was waiting for him.

As Jaune was about to question whether or not he had finally lost it, his Scroll buzzed. It was a text from Weiss.

"Apologies for the late notice, Jaune. But I'm finishing some detective work. I think I'm onto something that will prevent Father from marrying me off to some unpleasant Atlesian bureaucrat. I just need to make sure that he can't weasel his way around it. As such, I have asked Cardin and his team to take over your training for today. It will be less strenuous than the last couple of days, but with Father coming tomorrow, I think that it would be best to go easy today. Please come find me after you are finished."

"Well, alright then." Jaune muttered to himself.

Cardin waved at him, "Hey, Arc!"

Jaune walked over to him. "Hey, Cardin. What's Weiss got on the menu for me today?"

Cardin's smirk almost gave Jaune a panic attack. "Do you remember the time that Pyrrha took my entire team out?"

Jaune shot him a look of utter hopelessness, "You're joking..."

"Dude... do you have to torture the poor guy?" Russell said.

Cardin shrugged, "Old habits?"

Jaune just glared at Cardin.

Cardin put his hands up in mock surrender, "Alright, alright. Sorry, that joke was in bad taste. But for real. You're gonna be sparring against all of us, just... you know, one at at time. According to Weiss, Papa Schnee has got both ranged and dust attacks that he could use if you two throw down. Which you don't have a lot of experience in dealing with."

Jaune cocked his head in confusion. "So, why you guys?"

Sky spoke up next, "Cause me and Dove have ranged attacks, and-"

"Me and Cardin use Dust." Russell finished.

Jaune nodded. "Alright then. Who's first?"

"That's your choice." Cardin said.

Jaune grinned. "Surprise me." He then took his place on the training room's arena and drew his sword.

What the hell? When did Arc get so... goddammit it, it has something to do with Pyrrha doesn't it? Cardin thought.

Dove shrugged, "I'll go first. I haven't gotten a crack at him yet, anyways."

"Works for me," Jaune said, "Oh. One more thing. Don't hold back. Any of you."

Cardin blinked. It was official. He was in the flipping Twilight Zone. "Begin!"

(15 minutes later)

Cardin shook his head. Definitely still in the Twilight Zone.

Russell sat up from his new position of lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "Well damn, Arc! When did you get so badass?"

Jaune shrugged. "I had to."

"I get that, so did we, right boss?" Russell said, turning to Cardin with a smirk on his face.

"Hell yeah we did!" Sky yelled. "We took down a Paladin!"

Dove bristled, "I wasn't much help though."

Cardin turned to the swordsman, "That's crap, and you know it. You evacuated the civilians, and got us the intel to we needed to take it down."

"Okay, I've got to hear this story, guys." Jaune said.

"That's fair, so, after we got knocked out of the tournament, we decided to go blow off some steam down in Vale..." Cardin started.

"Then one of those Atlas barges started to drop a bunch of murderbots-" Russell continued.

"AK-200s." Dove cut in.

"Whatever, man! Not important!" Russell complained, "Anyways, we take those out pretty quick, then BAM!"

Sky shook his head. "Damn thing air mailed a freaking Paladin in the middle of downtown Vale."

"Then what happened?" Jaune asked.

(Battle of Beacon, Downtown Vale)

Cardin barked out his orders. "Dove, get the civilians out of here! Sky, Russell, flank it, see if you can find a weak spot. I'll take it head on. We're the only thing close to Huntsmen around right now cause of the tournament. So, let's get this done!"

Cardin charged, Russell and Sky darted to the side, and began their attacks, Russell harrying it with Lightning Dust attacks, while Sky took potshots with the rifle portion of his halberd. Cardin did what he did best, which was run in headfirst and trigger a fire dust explosion.

"Come on, you hunk of junk!" Cardin yelled. "Focus on us!"

"Come on, people!" Dove yelled, "Get out of here!"

Most complied, but one man ran up to him. "Son, are those your friends fighting the Paladin?"

Dove already hadn't been in a good mood. "Yeah, what's it to-"

"I'm from Atlas," The man said, "I worked on the Paladin project."

Dove's eyes lit up, and a predatory smirk spread across his face. "Weak spots?"

"The joints, plus if you can hit it, there's the power generator on it's back."

"Thanks. Now, get out of here." The man ran off as Dove launched into the fray, catching Cardin, who had just been knocked back.

"Dammit." Cardin swore. "This thing is a tough nut to crack."

Dove chuckled, "Luckily I've got an instruction manual. GUYS! GO FOR THE JOINTS!"

Cardin shook off the impact of the hammer blow that had knocked back, and charged into the fray once more.

Armed with the knowledge of the Paladin's weak points, they took it apart in short, if methodical order. Sky and Dove took out its arms with well placed shots to its shoulder joints.

"Alright!" Cardin called out, "Let's finish it! Russell, Inquisition!"

Russell grinned as he initiated the team attack, jumping off a nearby car, he launched twin fire dust attacks from on high, as Cardin ran in and pounded the Paladin with a brutal combo from his mace, punctuated with a fire dust powered baseball bat swing.

The Paladin finally succumbed to the combined might of team CRDL, and fell to the ground.

"HELL YEAH!" Sky yelled.

(Beacon Academy Training Room, Day 3)

"Wow. Nice work, guys." Jaune said.

"Heh, thanks, Arc." Cardin said. "Anyways, that's enough standing around. We've got a score to settle."

Jaune grinned. "Let's go, Cardin."

They took their places and drew their weapons.

"Fight!" Sky yelled.

They must have done this dance a thousand times, at least that's what it felt like to them. Their weapons tangled, then split apart again, neither wanting to leave an opening for the other to exploit. This continued for a while, until Jaune slipped past Cardin's guard and delivered a rapid stab attack.

Cardin retaliated with a wide swing, Jaune noted that as he swung his hand twitched. Jaune knew from experience that meant he had hit the fire dust button, so he ducked and sidestepped under the swing.

"Damn," Sky remarked, "Weiss is teaching him how to be tricky."

"It's not just that, Sky. Look at how he moves. Remember how he was back when we started?" Dove said. "All those flourishes, all of those wasted movements... they're all gone... wait a second..."

"What is it, Dove?" Russell asked.

Dove took a breath and launched into his explanation. "So, uh, long story short, cause Pyrrha did most of his training, Arc's combat style has always been Mistralian Dueling. It's good, but it's got weaknesses that can only be covered by lifelong training. Anyways, it looks like he's blended in some Atlesian Fencing, which is helping to plug the holes so to speak..."

Sky cut him off, "So, what you're saying is..."

"Arc got good."

They returned their attention to the rather friendly grudge match in front of them to see Jaune catch a blow on his shield, and retaliate with a swift, but brutal two hit combo, which concluded with an aura charged spin attack that knocked Cardin to the ground.

Cardin laughed, "Well, I can't say that I've ever been happier to lose to you... Jaune."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. They had just passed a watershed. Maybe even started to become friends.

"Thanks, Cardin." Jaune offered a hand up to Cardin, which he took.

Cardin raised an eyebrow, "What are you still doing here? Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Jaune stared blankly at the former bully for a good ten seconds before realizing what he meant. "Oh, right! Weiss! See ya later!"

Cardin couldn't help but chuckle as Jaune hurried stowed his sword, ran out of the training room, and sent off a text to Weiss.

"Just got done with team CRDL, Where are you?"

The reply was quick in coming, "Meet me in the library. I have something of importance that we need to discuss."

"Righty-o. On my way."

Chapter Text

(Beacon Academy Library)

As Jaune walked through the doors of the library, it occurred to him just how upside down his life had been turned by the Battle of Beacon.

Pyrrha... Pyrrha was dead. His friend, his partner. The person who had unlocked his aura. He still remembered the speech she made when she unlocked it.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

He cast his mind back through the memories, dealing with Cardin, the dance, the actual matches they had in the Vytal Festival Tournament, and... and...

The kiss.

Had he been in love with her?

Yeah, he had. If he had to point to a specific moment that he fell, it would've been the dance. But because he didn't want to have another... failure at trying to date someone that he considered 'out of his league'...

He did nothing.

True to form, he hadn't realized Pyrrha's feelings for him, just as he had initially bungled things with Weiss.

At least he was consistent.

When Pyrrha had forced him to stay back, to not go with her to fight Cinder, it had nearly unraveled all of the progress he had made in regards to his self-confidence. In addition, the What-Ifs of what he and Pyrrha could've had tortured him every time he went to sleep.

For a week.

Then Weiss... saved him from himself. Saved him from the torturous What-Ifs that invaded his mind. If Jaune had denied that his old feelings for her had begun to bubble up again, he would be a liar. Things were apparently different this time, though. Because, unlike the now utterly embarrassing time before the dance...

The feelings were mutual, or so it seemed.

He smiled as he saw her, sitting at a desk, scribbling frantically in a notebook. It seemed that she had found what she was looking for. She stopped, turned to him and smiled.

He couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"Hey, Weiss." He said.

Jaune grabbed a nearby chair and moved it to sit next to her.

"Hello, Jaune." Weiss replied, "How did training with team CRDL go?"

Jaune's grin widened. "Good. I beat all four of them, plus I think that me and Cardin... are starting to become friends."

Weiss nodded, "Good, I'm glad. So, the reason why I had Cardin take over for me today, was because... I found it. I just had to make sure..."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Found what, Weiss?"

Weiss smirked in a way that could only be described as predatory. "How to make it so that Father cannot meddle in our lives," She reached up and brushed a lock of blond hair from his eyes, "So that we can... do things at our pace, on our terms."

Jaune's self-doubt picked an absolutely terrible time to rear its ugly head. She doesn't really want you, she's just using you to get out from under her father's thumb.

Jaune swallowed. "Weiss... do you really... want me?"

Weiss frowned. "Yes, Jaune. I do. We can talk about our feelings for each other at length after we have discussed how we will make it through tomorrow."

"Alright, let's hear it, Weiss."

She launched into her explanation. "Okay, so, first of all, when arranged marriages started becoming popular in Atlas, there were certain... rules, for lack of a better term, put in place. Rules to protect people who actually fell in love."

"Okay, so... wait, do I need to know the details on this?" Jaune asked.

"That's... a fair question, Jaune." Weiss mused, "I suppose that as long as I know, everything will be fine. Besides, the explanation would be long, boring, and you'd probably lose interest halfway through."

Jaune had to grit his teeth to keep from breaking out in a loud belly laugh in the middle of the library.

"Well, I'm glad that you're amused, Jaune." Weiss said, a smile playing across her face.

"Sorry. Anyways, what else? Do we know when he'll be here?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, his airship will arrive at ten tomorrow morning, he expects me to greet him when he arrives." Weiss replied, "His message did not indicate if he wants you there as well..."

Jaune waited for Weiss to continue. He knew her well enough to know that this pause was for effect.

"But, I think it wouldn't hurt." Weiss continued, "After that, he has a brief meeting with Professor Ozpin. After that, he will want to... test you."

Jaune was almost afraid to ask, but he did anyways. "How is he going to... test me?"

"Trial by Combat." Weiss replied tersely. "Remember, Jaune, it doesn't matter if you win or lose against him. Just treat it as the day's training."

"Right." Jaune said. "What'll I be dealing with?"

"For his weapon, Father uses a bladed cane that can transform into a bladed whip. He also has various Dust attacks." Weiss provided.

Jaune frowned, "Does he... not have a Semblance?"

"He... he does." Weiss stammered.

Jaune was perplexed. Why was Weiss so... it almost seemed... afraid?

Weiss took a breath and continued. "His Semblance is called Winter's Reign. It allows him to...exert his will on others. I've seen him use it on other... suitors. He quite literally forced them to surrender."

"There's gotta be more to it than that..." Jaune muttered. Weiss looked at him in wonder as the strategic side of Jaune's mind took over. To any onlooker, it would look like he was staring off into space, but given how close they had become, Weiss could pick up on the little mannerisms that would normally go unnoticed. The rapid eye movements, how he moved his hands like he was operating a Scroll...

After a while, Jaune smiled. "I think I cracked it," he revealed, "If I'm right, which I sincerely hope that I am, then I think that how suggestible someone might be when he uses his Semblance might have to do with how likely the target would be to agree to his demands without it."

Weiss's jaw was practically on the floor. How had she never thought of that? That's why he always had a hard time when he tried to use it on me. "I think you might be right, Jaune."

Jaune's eyes narrowed. "How would you... oh my gods. Has he... tried to use it on you?"

Weiss's facial expression was all the answer he needed.

"That bastard." Jaune swore.

Weiss smiled and cupped the side of Jaune's face. "While I am flattered that you are angry on my behalf, and rightfully so, I might add. I don't need you to be, okay, Jaune?"

"Yeah, okay. I just..." Jaune started then trailed off.

"What is it, Jaune?" Weiss asked.

Jaune stumbled over his words for a few seconds before he was able to talk. "What changed, Weiss? About... me?"

Oh, he wants to talk about that now. I guess we've already discussed everything for tomorrow.

"Believe it or not, Jaune," Weiss began to explain, "It was the dance."

Jaune looked at her like she had just suggested that they try to domesticate a Beowulf.

Weiss giggled as she continued. "When you saw that I wasn't there with Neptune, I fully expected you to make a horribly awkward and embarrassing move, but you didn't. You went and talked to Neptune, convinced him to come talk to me."

"Is it really that big of a deal, Weiss?" Jaune asked.

"Jaune, it was that moment when I realized that I had horribly misjudged you. Back in Atlas, no one would ever dream of helping someone that they considered a rival, especially a rival for the affections of Weiss Schnee."

She kept going, "Since then, and especially over the last few days, I've started seeing you for who you really are. You're kind, honest, you care deeply for your friends, despite being behind everyone here when we first started the school year, you have made remarkable progress for someone starting all the way from square one."

Weiss took Jaune's hands in hers, "And most importantly, you have left me no room to doubt how you feel about me. While I'm not quite ready to tell you why that is so important to me, it is important."

"Thank you for telling me all of that, Weiss." Jaune said, "I... I know that in the past, I've made no secret of my feelings for you, so I don't need to say much. However, I need to thank you. The past few days... especially that first day... you saved me. I had been torturing myself with all of the what-ifs, all the what-could-have-beens." Jaune chuckled before continuing.

"Usually it's the knight who saves the princess, but for us it's the other way around, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Weiss found herself under siege by a desire to kiss him, but she hesitated, considering what had happened before Pyrrha had left him to go fight Cinder...

"Jaune?" Weiss asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, Weiss?"

"Is it... okay if I kiss you?" The heiress asked hesitantly.

For a moment, she saw it. A brief flash of panic in his eyes, but as soon as it was there, it was gone again. "As long as it's not a goodbye kiss." Jaune said quietly.

Kisses were an important thing to Weiss. She saw them in movies, read about them in books and poetry, but never saw her parents kiss, even though they were supposedly in love.

And after her tenth birthday? Forget it.

One day, when Weiss was about fourteen years old, at the party following one of her concerts, Weiss had the opportunity to ask a young couple that was very much in love what kissing your partner meant.

They told her that, for them at least, when they kissed the other, it was a symbol and a promise.

A symbol of their mutual trust, respect, and admiration for each other.

A promise that no matter what, they would always come back to each other, even if the world was torn asunder, and the skies rained blood.

As a result, Weiss treated her kisses as something precious, to be given only to one who she trusted to hold her heart in their hands, and be ever so careful with it.

She had found that person.

"Jaune, before we do this, I need to tell you what... kisses mean to me."

He nodded, and waited expectantly for her to continue.

"It's a symbol and a promise. A symbol of mutual trust, respect, and admiration. A promise that-" Weiss started.

Jaune's eyes went wide as he finished it for her. When did she meet Saphron and Terra? Did it matter? "A promise that we'll always come back to each other, even if the world is torn asunder, and the skies rain blood."

Weiss looked at him in stunned silence. How did he know?

"Weiss... when did you meet Saphron and Terra?" Jaune asked, amazement plain on his face.

"It was at the after party for one of my concerts. I had some questions about... well, I'm sure you know now. Wait, how do you know their names?"

Jaune couldn't help but smile. "Saph's my older sister."

Weiss couldn't believe it. Somehow, her love life as it stood, was entirely shaped by the Arc family.

"Come here, Jaune."

They met in the middle of the space between them, and their lips met. There was no lust in the kiss, there didn't need to be, that could come much later. What was evident, was that they both had the same mutual respect, trust, and admiration for one another.

After the kiss, they stayed close, their foreheads pressed together. They stayed like that for a while, until they realized that the library was about to close. They collected their things, and left for their dorms, hand in hand.

As they stood in the hallway between their respective dorm rooms, a question hung unspoken in the air.

Do you want to sleep together again?

Weiss asked it, "Jaune, do you want to sleep together again?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, I do. Let's use my dorm room this time, this way Ren can make us breakfast in the morning."

Weiss giggled, "I'd like that. Okay, let me put my things away, and get changed. Then I'll be right over."

And so it was, within the span of a few minutes, once again, they held each other close, guarding each other from whatever nightmares that may decide to befall them.

Tomorrow would be hell, but they would get through it together.

Chapter Text

(Team JNPR Dorm, 2:39 AM)

Weiss was eternally grateful that she didn't scream or thrash about when she woke from a nightmare. Jaune needed his sleep, especially with what he would have to deal with in the morning. Weiss sincerely hoped that her nightmare had not been an omen, if it was...

"Bad nightmare?" A soft voice asked.

Weiss moved to vlew the source of the voice. It was Ren, the soft-spoken ninja of team JNPR. "How could you tell?" Weiss asked quietly, as to not disturb Jaune.

"Experience, unfortunately. Me and Nora have had nightmares on and off again for years because of... events in our past, and recently..." He looked at Jaune, who was currently competing against Nora in a snore volume competition. "You're good for him. That first week... it was bad."

That was the understatement of the century.

Weiss frowned, "Ren, why are you even up right now?"

He smiled sadly, "Same reason as you."

Weiss mentally kicked herself. Of course that was why. "Do you want to talk about-"

His response was abrupt. "No."

Weiss inclined her head, "I understand."

"Weiss, I need you to understand something." Ren explained, "Me and Nora had no one else growing up, then we came here to Beacon, and we met Jaune and Pyrrha. Pyrrha was like a sister to us. Especially to Nora, she was so happy to have someone to have girl talk with..."

"Ren, can you keep a secret?" Weiss asked.

Ren raised an eyebrow but nodded. "My father is an obsessive workaholic with abusive tendencies, my mother is an alcoholic to the point of excess, my sister left to join the military, and my brother... my brother is basically becoming a carbon copy of father as a defense mechanism. I would give anything to have a normal, loving family."

"Well, in that case, Weiss, I would reccomend that you meet Jaune's family as soon as you are comfortable with it. His relationship with his father is... difficult, but they still love each other."

Weiss nodded, "I'll keep that in mind, Ren."

She was about to go back to sleep when Ren spoke again. "One more thing, Weiss."

"Yes?"

"Jaune's like a brother to me and Nora. Since you two are involved that makes you part of our family."

It was nowhere near how she had envisioned it, but Weiss finally had what she had been dreaming of for years.

A loving family.

"Thank you, Ren. That means the world to me."

Ren nodded and returned to his bed.

Weiss nuzzled into Jaune's neck, and let sleep take her once more.

(Team JNPR Dorm, 6:30 AM)

One thing Jaune was grateful for was that alarm clocks were never needed in the team JNPR dorm room, because Nora always woke up for breakfast.

Always.

"Up and at 'em, Ren! I need pancakes!"

Weiss woke with a yelp, she hadn't been expecting Nora to be her wake-up call. Meanwhile, Jaune just laid there and pretended all this madness was normal. On top of that, Jaune had the audacity to laugh at her.

"Sorry, Weiss. I should've warned you about-" Jaune started.

"The absolute insanity?" Weiss provided.

"The technical term is Controlled Chaos." Ren said before Nora shoved him out the door towards the student kitchen.

Weiss moved to get up, but Jaune stopped her. "Nope, give Nora a half hour. She gets first dibs for a reason."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What reason, pray tell, is that?"

Jaune shuddered, "Because we do not want a repeat of The Great Pancake Famine of week two."

"Jaune... are you ready for today?" Weiss asked.

Jaune frowned. "I certainly didn't expect to meet any part of your family this quickly, but I suppose it makes sense considering that you met part of mine years ago."

Weiss couldn't help but giggle at the memory. It was too perfect.

"Oh, gods no. Saph will never let me live this down!" Jaune exclaimed. Weiss's giggling upgraded to a belly laugh.

After her laughter subsided, Weiss asked the million dollar question. "Jaune, have you called your family yet? To let them know that you're safe?"

Jaune became very interested with the ceiling. "I'm sure that the school told them."

"Jaune, look at me."

He did, and was met with her merciless, loving gaze. "Call them, Jaune. I need to go get dressed anyways."

He nodded, and Weiss left, but not before giving him a kiss on the forehead. Not a goodbye kiss, just a Until We Meet Again kiss. Jaune couldn't help but revel in it for a brief while, as he knew exactly how precious each one of her kisses were. He sat up, and thumbed through his Scroll's contact list until he found what he was looking for.

Reign-Beau Arc. His father.

He made the call.

One ring.

Jaune swallowed, wishing he had some water to help with the lump in his throat.

Two rings.

"Jaune?" A gruff voice said.

Jaune's brain short circuited for a split second before he responded. "Hey, dad."

"About time you call, son. Your mother has been worried sick ever since the attack."

Jaune grimaced internally. Business as usual then. "Sorry, I wasn't exactly in a good place that first week."

Reign-Beau nodded. "I know. Your partner died. I was a Huntsman before I took over your grandfather's smithy, remember? I know the score."

Jaune swallowed. That was the closest he was going to get to a I'm sorry. "Thanks, dad."

"Jaune, I... we saw the footage. Whoever perpetrated the attack on Beacon broadcasted it. You... I need to apologize."

What?

His father continued, "Jaune, there was a portion of the footage that focused on you and Pyrrha taking down a group of Atlesian Knights. You acquitted yourself well. I see now that I shouldn't have tried to keep you from this."

"Dad... I... thanks."

Reign-Beau averted his eyes from his Scroll's screen. "I was wrong to tell you that I didn't believe in you. I was wrong to keep you from going to a combat school."

"It's fine, dad. my friends more than made up for that."

The Huntsman turned blacksmith nodded. "Well, I'll be excited to meet them. Me, your mother, Saphron, and Terra will be coming to visit you in two days time."

Oh, damn it all. At least Dad is nowhere near as bad as Mr. Schnee. "Wait, when were you going to tell me that?"

The older man chuckled. "Surprise?"

Jaune sighed. Oh, better tell him about Weiss. "So, I have some good news."

Reign-Beau raised an eyebrow. "Oh, don't tell me... you're dating Weiss Schnee?" The older man broke into an uproarious belly laugh.

"My love life is not a joke, dad."

Reign-Beau froze mid-laugh. "Wait... are you serious?"

"YES!" Jaune yelled in exasperation.

His father blinked. "Well, I'll be damned, and here I thought I married up!"

Jaune couldn't help but chuckle. "Do me a favor and don't tell Saph and Terra. I want to see the looks on their faces when I tell them."

"Got it, son. Anything else?"

"Nah, I gotta go. I need to mentally prepare to battle Jacques Schnee for his daughter's hand in marriage later today."

His father regarded him. "I can't tell if you're joking or not, and that is very concerning."

"Bye, dad..."

Reign-Beau gave him a wry half-smile. "Good luck." Then terminated the call.

Heh, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Thanks, Weiss.

(Beacon Academy Student Kitchen, 7:15 AM)

Jaune walked into the student kitchen to find four times more controlled chaos than he was expecting.

He had expected the rest of team RWBY to join them for breakfast. What he hadn't expected was teams CFVY and CRDL. All of whom were bringing whatever culinary expertise they had to bear. A quick glance and listen let Jaune notice Coco Adel making French Toast, hear Cardin going on about the "Winchester family recipe" for Hash Browns, and see Yang cooking up both bacon and sausage.

Weiss materialized at his side, linking arms with him. "You were certainly right about giving Nora a head start. It was a massacre. No pancake survived."

"I told you. You would've started a new Great Pancake Famine with your haphazardly tyrannical rule."

Weiss smiled fondly at the dunce. Her dunce. "Come on, you. The food is almost ready, or so I'm told."

And so it was. No one sat according to team, but according to whatever whim struck them. Cardin requested that Blake and Velvet sit on either side of him, "exposure therapy to get rid of the last of my racism" he called it. Coco was getting more and more exasperated trying to get Ruby to be more fashionable, only to run into a wall every time she mentioned the dreaded lady stilts.

Jaune smiled. This was good for the soul, they all needed it. After he was done eating, he leaned back and let the discordant chorus of voices wash over him.

Until...

"Jaune, it's time."

(Beacon Airspace, SDC Airship, 9:58 AM)

Jacques Schnee reviewed what information he had on Jaune Arc one last time.

An average student at best, except when it came to strategy, which he was top of his class in, even better than Weiss.

Ozpin had astonishingly furnished Jacques with footage of Jaune's bouts in his Combat class at his request. Jacques was unimpressed, but did not overlook the notes that Ozpin had appended.

"These are not indicative of his current level of skill, or his abnormally large Aura pool."

Ozpin also indicated that Jaune had participated in a mission that was known as "The Grimm Eclipse" incident. While the details of this mission were classified, Ozpin's notes indicated that this mission had contributed vastly to Jaune's improvement.

"Mr. Schnee, we're on our final approach."

"Thank you, Fenix, is Weiss..." Jacques started.

"Yeah, she's there. Along with who I'd assume is the guy you've been muttering about for the last six hours." Fenix replied.

Jacques stroked his non-existent beard. Interesting. He hadn't requested that Jaune be there when he arrived.

There were... two probable reasons.

Reason one, Jaune was trying to curry favor with him. Possible, but would inevitably fail, as it would be transparent.

Reason two: Jaune truly cared for Weiss.

"Well, look at that," Fenix quipped, "They're holding hands."

Jacques activiated the external cameras.

Weiss and Jaune were holding hands.

Reason two it is, then. Interesting.

(Beacon Academy Airfield, 10:00 AM)

Jaune was surprisingly calm. He was almost freaked out by how calm he was. Weiss, on the other hand was a practically vibrating ball of nervous energy. He squeezed her hand a little tighter, and she stopped trying to jump out of her own skin.

Good, she's calmer now.

The airship touched down, the doors opened, and Jaune took in the sight of the man who quite possibly would be his greatest challenge yet.

He wore a white overcoat and pants, arctic blue dress shirt, and what Jaune had strong suspicions was a clip-on tie. Two things drew his attention.

His pocket square, which was an angry red, which against the stark white of his suit, made it look like an angry wound...

Then, there was the cane, which to any onlooker would look Ike it was for show, for style.

Jaune knew better, thanks to Weiss. It was his weapon.

"Weiss, go secure a training room for us, I wish to get to know Mr. Arc before my meeting with Ozpin." Jacques said.

Gods, he really does run everything in his life like a business. Jaune thought.

"Already taken care of, father. Our friends have already secured training room one for us, as they all have investment of varying degrees in Jaune's development."

"Weiss-" Jacques started.

"I'll go double check." Weiss said hurriedly. She shot Jaune a look, then left. Leaving the two men in silence.

"Say it." Jacques growled.

"You were about to use your Semblance on her, or were threatening to." Jaune stated.

Jacques was mildly surprised, not that he showed it. There was no anger in Jaune's voice. "Aren't you angry with me for attempting to control her in such a way?"

Jaune shrugged, "Weiss made it clear that she doesn't need me to be angry on her behalf, and she doesn't need me to save her from you. So why get angry? All it would do is let you play me like a fiddle."

"Most men in your position would do so anyways to try to impress Weiss..." Jacques said.

"Most men don't have seven sisters." Jaune deadpanned.

It had been years since Jacques Schnee had been truly surprised by anything.

Jaune just reset the clock.

They began to walk to Ozpin's office, As they walked, they talked. Through the verbal and mental jousting, they learned things about each other.

Jacques learned how, with Weiss's help, Jaune had picked himself up in the wake of a devastating loss, and had begun to push himself farther and harder than ever before.

"It's all thanks to the training you put Weiss, through, really." Jaune admitted.

Impressive, to be able to say that so nonchalantly... you have a will to rival mine, Mr. Arc. Today truly will be a battle of wills.

Jaune learned of seemingly trivial things. Like Jacques's hobbies. The man liked chess.

"I keep a chessboard in both my home office and office at SDC headquarters. Even if work is piling up, I'll never turn down a challenge." Jacques said proudly.

Jaune cocked his head in curiousity, "Who's come closest to beating you?"

"Most would believe that it would be General Ironwood, or someone of that sort, but no," Jacques explained, "It was a Faunus janitor by the name of Braun."

I'm starting to understand you more, Jacques. You're more at home at the office than you are... well, at home. Is that why you try to run everything in your life like a business?

They about to enter the newly repaired elevator, when the doors opened to reveal Ozpin himself.

"Ah, Jacques. I'm afraid a matter has come up, and I will not be able to meet with you until after your... tussle with Mr. Arc."

"What matter is more important than-" Jacques started.

"To be blunt? I wanted to watch your battle with Mr. Arc."

For the first and only time, Jaune Arc and Jacques Schnee were in complete agreement. "What?" Both men said in unison.

Ozpin looked at the two of them with amusement, "Mr. Arc, as you may recall, you were admitted to this academy because I hate wasted potential. I wish to see for myself how you have improved, especially under Ms. Schnee's care."

Jaune grinned.

(Beacon Academy Training Room, 10:13 AM)

Everyone had been expecting Jaune and Jacques to be the next through the training room doors, they were not disappointed.

No one expected Professior Ozpin.

"Professor Ozpin?" Ruby asked, "Why are you here?"

The ever cryptic headmaster smiled. "The same reason as you Ms. Rose."

It quickly became obvious that Jaune and Mr. Schnee had already exchanged what pleasantries they would, because they wasted no time in taking their places in the arena.

"Kick his ass, Arc!" Sky yelled out.

"Show that asshole how we do things in Vale, Ladykiller!" Yang cheered.

"You can do this, Fearless Leader!" Nora shouted, "Show him how we do things in team JNPR!"

Emboldened by her friends, Weiss was next to shout encouragement. "You can do this, Jaune! I believe in you!"

Jacques, for his part, was relatively unfazed. "You know what's at stake here, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune solemnly nodded. "I do."

Jacques took his stance, cane in his right hand, his left behind his back.

Jaune took a breath, drew his sword and took his stance. Here goes everything.

"Fight!" Ozpin called out.

From what Jaune knew of Jacques, he knew that letting the older man dictate the flow of the fight would most likely be a very bad idea.

So he charged.

Once he got within range, Jaune attacked with a sweep that would negate any attempts at sidestepping, only to have it be expertly parried.

Jaune then went into an experimental series of attacks, meant to test Jacques's guard. Flowing from slashes to stabs and back again.

Not a single attack hit.

"Well then, Mr. Arc. Despite your inability to hit me, you are not as unskilled as I was led to believe. Weiss has taught you well."

"Pyrrha and Weiss." Jaune bristled.

Jacques responded with a lightning fast stab that hit Jaune in the gut, his aura glowed as if warded off the blow, but it still hurt.

Jacques had begun his attack, Jaune quickly assumed the General's Guard and began to acquire data. He prefers side to side slashes into thrusts. If I can anticipate when he'll thrust, I should be able to counterattack.

Jaune held his defense through several barrages, just to make sure that his strategy would work. Then, the opening came.

Seemingly emboldened by Jaune's lack of response to his offense, Jacques put a little too much power behind one of his thrusts, and was off-balance as a result.

Jaune sidestepped, and retaliated with a shield bash into an overhead strike. Jacques was caught completely unprepared, and could only guard against the attacks with his aura, which flared ice blue as it absorbed Jaune's attacks.

"I take it back, Mr. Arc. You are much more skilled than I was led to believe, but in the end, this isn't a battle of blades. It's a battle of will."

Jacques's left arm swung out from behind him, throwing a small object at Jaune. Unable to react in time, it hit Jaune squarely in the chest.

Jaune screamed in pain and fell to his knees as lightning dust discharged from the object.

"Jaune, no!" Weiss yelled.

Even after it ended, it still felt like every nerve in his body was on fire. It hurt to move. It hurt to do anything except remain still. It hurt to do anything except...

Submit.

"You know," Jacques taunted, "This is the first time that I've actually seen Weiss be concerned for a prospective suitor."

Something in Jaune snapped. Maybe it was the pain, maybe he was just sick and tired of Jacques treating Weiss like a commodity, maybe he just wanted this over with so he and Weiss could move on with their lives. Or maybe the anger from losing Pyrrha finally took hold.

Either way...

"Oh, just shut up and fight." Jaune growled. He grabbed his sword, and with some difficulty got to his feet.

Jacques narrowed his eyes. This was the juncture that every other suitor that had lined up had surrendered. Jaune glared at him with the intensity of a thousand suns.

"What? Did you think I'd give up at a little pain?" Jaune demanded.

Jacques responded by resuming his attack...

And activating his Semblance.

"Receive."

Jaune gasped as Jacques's voice echoed in his mind, and his arms went slack against his will.

Jacques's lightning fast onslaught tore through Jaune's compromised defenses like a hot knife through butter. Every time a strike impacted, the pain from the lightning dust gadget flared up, causing Jaune to yell out in pain each time. Finally, with a pommel strike, Jaune was knocked to the ground.

"In what possible way," Jacques demanded coldly," Did you ever think that you could possibly be worthy of my daughter?"

Jaune grinned, "That's the thing, Jacques. I don't think I am. The only opinion that holds any weight on the matter is Weiss's. She thinks that I'm worthy of her, of her time, of her effort."

Jaune got to his feet once more, taking the stance that he had spent countless hours practicing under the watchful eye of Pyrrha Nikos. "And I'll be damned before I-"

Jacques cut him off with a slash, which Jaune parried in the nick of time. "Do not lie to me, Mr. Arc." Jacques said, his voice low and threatening,"You're just like all the rest. You only want the money, the power, the prestige of being with a Schnee, don't you?"

Jaune flinched as the power of Jacques Schnee's Semblance laid siege to his mind, pressuring him to answer as the wielder of Winter's Reign desired him to.

In the end, Jaune's resolve won.

"Nope. You just don't... get it! I never fell in love with the heiress to the SDC!" Jaune roared, his conviction echoing through the training room. "I fell in love with Weiss Schnee!"

Jacques's stare was glacial, almost daring him to continue, which Jaune, of course, did.

"You can inflict the worst pain imaginable on me, you can beat me bloody, you can knock me down again and again. But as long as I draw breath, I will stand back up, as long as Weiss wants me in her life, you cannot make me fall!"

They clashed again, their swords and Jaune's declaration the only noise in the silent training room. "I made her a promise!" Jaune growled, "That I would always come back to her, even if the world is torn asunder, and the skies rain blood! And an Arc always keeps his word!"

Weiss brought her hand to her mouth as she gasped. Saphron and Terra Cotta-Arc's words echoed through her mind. For us, at least, a kiss is a symbol and a promise...

And we Arcs always keep our word.

A series of metallic clicks echoed from Jacques's weapon. He flicked the handle, and the bladed whip scraped against Jaune's upraised shield.

Enough of this. I'm ending this. Now. Jaune thought.

He charged, enduring the razor sharp whipcracks that Jacques rained on him, he urged his aura to focus in his sword, and swung.

By luck more than anything, Jaune sliced through the cable holding Jacques's weapon together.

Jacques looked at Jaune, then to his mangled weapon, then back again. "Impossible..."

Jaune pointed his sword at Jacques like an accusing finger. "To be fair, that was out of luck more than anything else." Jaune took a moment to catch his breath then continued. "If this was a battle of skill, you would've beaten me every time. But it's like you said..."

"A battle of will..." Jacques muttered.

"Weiss, you're up!" Jaune called out.

Weiss smirked, if she said that she hadn't been looking forward to this, she would've been a liar.

Using a glyph, she hopped out of the stands that overlooked the training room and landed right beside Jaune. "We will not allow you to meddle in our lives any longer, father." Weiss challenged.

"If you think you have any say in the matter-" Jacques seethed.

Weiss cut him off, "Starcrossed Lovers."

Jacques's protests died in his throat. "Damn, and here I thought you were counting on him to win your hand."

"It's like I told you before. Mr. Schnee. Weiss doesn't need me to save her. She can do that all on her own." Jaune stated.

Ozpin stood and spoke, mirth evident in his voice, "I think I'm ready for our meeting now, Jacques."

"Of course you are." Jacques said to himself, as he turned to leave, he spoke again. "Jaune, I will never accept you, but I will not stand in your way if you wish to continue your relationship with Weiss."

With coldness worthy of a Schnee, Jaune replied, "I wasn't asking for your permission."

Without another word, Jacques left the training room.

Then all hell broke loose, as all of their friends dog piled Jaune and Weiss.

"I knew you could do it, Vomit Boy!" Ruby cried.

"Well done, Jaune." Ren said, pride evident in his voice.

"You know, you could have broken his legs..." Nora lamented.

"I underestimated you, Jaune. Good job." Said Yatsutashi, the hulking giant of team CFVY.

"Not too shabby, Arc. Even though the hoodie and jeans really clash with your armor..." Coco criticized.

"Oh, crap." Cardin said, horror evident on his face.

"What's up, boss?" Asked Russell.

Cardin turned to the dagger wielder, fear evident on his face. "We forgot to clean up the kitchen! If Goodwitch-"

A stampede ensued as the combined teams rushed to correct their mistake before they attracted the ire of the ever strict professor, leaving Jaune and Weiss behind.

"How are you feeling, Jaune?" Weiss asked.

"Tired mostly. I'd imagine relief will come later. So was that whole 'weapon of a Schnee' crap just code for the arranged marriage crap?"

Weiss sighed, "Basically."

Jaune pouted, "Damn. I had some great ideas for upgrades to Crocea Mors, too..."

"Like what? Allowing it to turn into a greatsword while the sword is sheathed?" Weiss teased, an indulgent smile on her face.

Jaune shook his head. "That's just ridiculous, Weiss. A Sword-sword? Really? No, I was thinking about adding Wind Dust capability to my sword."

Weiss wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. "Why not both?" She asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

"That's so not fair." Jaune mock-grumbled. Then he broke into a smile as he leaned down and kissed his girlfriend.

After they separated, Jaune was the first to speak.

"Oh, my family's coming to visit in two days."

Chapter Text

(Beacon Academy Common Room)

Weiss Schnee did not panic. If her father coming and trying to meddle in her life, and Jaune's for that matter, didn't make her panic, then why...

Because you know exactly what kind of man your father is, and you were prepared to deal with multiple scenarios. You are not prepared for this.

Why wasn't she prepared for it? There were no machinations to uncover, no plots to frustrate... the only foreseeable trouble was the friction between Jaune and his father. What was there to not be prepared for?

Then it hit her. She wasn't prepared because she didn't know how an actual family... worked. Ren telling her that she was like family because of her relationship with Jaune was different somehow.

She wasn't sure how, but it was enough to put her on edge.

"Alright, they're boarding the airship now, they should be here in about half a hour or so." Jaune said.

Weiss glanced at Jaune. He had shared all of his insecurities with her. His pain over Pyrrha's death, his self-doubt, among other things.

She should do the same.

Her greatest fear, that she would just become a carbon copy of her father, had been smashed to bits thanks to her friends. There were other fears though. That she wouldn't be able to restore the Schnee name to what it used to stand for. The constant feelings of inadequacy she had to battle against when she wasn't absolutely perfect...

Now wasn't the time for that, though.

"Jaune, do you think they'll like me?" Weiss asked hesitantly.

Jaune paused, then looked at her and smiled. "Well, I know for a fact that Saph and Terra already do, they wouldn't have given you that advice if they didn't."

Weiss blushed at the memory, "What about your father though? Ren mentioned that... ah..."

Jaune shrugged. "We just didn't see eye-to-eye about my career path. Although... technically..."

Weiss frowned. "What is it?

"Oh, gods this is kinda embarrassing. So, technically speaking, Crocea Mors is still owned by my father, not me." Jaune explained.

Seeing Weiss's flabbergasted expression, he continued. "So, first of all, Crocea Mors is passed down from father to son. It's been that way for as long as we Arcs started keeping a family history."

Weiss nodded. She remained quiet and waited for Jaune to continue.

"So, the passing down of Crocea Mors doesn't happen when the heir goes off to war, or comes of age, or starts attending Beacon Academy. The father in question must choose to pass it down, until then, it still belongs to the father. Basically this whole time he's been letting me borrow it."

"Could he... ask for it back?" Weiss asked tentatively.

Jaune shrugged. "He could, but I doubt it. That talk we had a couple days ago was really good for us. Thanks for suggesting that I call home, by the way."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You're welcome, Jaune." She hummed with contentment as she snuggled into her boyfriend's arms.

Nothing to do now but wait, I suppose.

(Beacon Academy Airfield)

Couleur Arc couldn't help but laugh as Saphron tried for what seemed to be the millionth time, to get her father to divulge the identity of Jaune's new girlfriend.

"Come on, dad! Why's he being so secretive? It's not like he's dating anyone famous!" Saphron whined.

"Babe," Terra started, "If Jaune wants it to be a surprise, then let it be a surprise."

Reign-Beau smiled. Oh, it would be a surprise alright.

Adrian Cotta-Arc voiced his opinion on the matter as only a baby can. Adorably.

"See? Adrian agrees with me." Terra teased.

"Traitor." Saphron said, a defeated look on her face.

The back and forth teasing continued as they made their way into Beacon Academy, picked up their visitor badges, and made their way towards the common room where Jaune asked them to meet him.

Him and his mystery girlfriend.

(Beacon Academy Common Room)

"They're here." Jaune said.

Weiss immediately composed herself, sitting up straight, almost in a ramrod fashion.

Jaune couldn't help but laugh. "Weiss, you don't need to be so formal."

Weiss winced, "Sorry, I suppose I'm just used to how my family is."

Jaune winced, "Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of that..."

Weiss took his hand, "I know you didn't, Jaune. If I'm being honest, I really am looking forward to this..." So I can finally know what it's like to have a family that isn't broken. She added mentally.

Weiss's internal monologue was broken by the elevator opening, and a slim, blonde woman in her late forties barreling into the room, and wrapping up Jaune in a bear hug.

"Jaune, I was so worried about you! What took you so long to call?" She said.

"Hi, mom..." Jaune said with difficulty. "I need to breathe..." at his urging the woman released him.

The woman turned to Weiss. "Oh, you must be the girlfriend. You can call me Couleur, Mrs. Arc, mom, whichever you're comfortable with. I can't wait to get to know you, dear." She turned back to Jaune about to lovingly berate him some more for worrying her when the lightbulb went off.

Mrs. Arc realized that Jaune's girlfriend was indeed, Weiss Schnee.

There was a beat of silence, then Couleur found her voice again. "And here I thought you invented aiming out of your league, Reign-Beau!"

"It's the Arc Curse, darling. We Arc men are forever cursed to aim out of our league and refer to our beloved as an angel." Reign-Beau said matter-of-factly.

Weiss giggled. "He calls me Snow Angel." Jaune shot her a look that suggested the most intimate and profound betrayal.

"Who are you calling Snow Angel, baby... brother..." Saphron halted mid-sentence as she realized who her baby brother called Snow Angel.

For her part, Terra was completely speechless, apparently only anchored to reality by the fact that she was holding Adrian. Who, with the comedic timing that only a baby can achieve, picked that exact moment to demand the attention of his mothers.

Weiss turned to Couleur and extended her hand. "It's good to meet you, Mrs. Arc. I'm Weiss Schnee."

Couleur ignored fhe proffered hand, and instead opted to hug the heiress. Weiss gasped in surprise, she had assumed that the Arcs would be more open with their affection for one another, but she hadn't expected this.

She hadn't expected to be welcomed into the family so readily. So this is what it's like to be part of a family that isn't broken.

As Couleur released her, as if on cue, Adrian started crying. Saphron sniffed the air and discovered that Adrian had left them a present.

A very stinky one.

"Oh, Jaune..." Saphron said sweetly, an evil smile gracing her face.

"Yeah, yeah, three semesters of diaper changes to make up for, uh huh." Jaune said resignedly. "Give me the diaper bag."

Terra passed him the diaper bag, a gleeful smile on her face.

"I'll come with you, Jaune." Reign-Beau said, taking Adrian from Terra. "I think the girls want to gossip."

Jaune went pale. "Oh, gods no."

Couleur smiled sweetly, "Oh, don't worry, Jaune. I made them leave the most embarrassing photos at home."

"What I consider to be embarrassing, and what you all consider to be embarrassing are two completely different things..." Jaune protested before leaving on his stinky errand.

"Alright, Weiss." Saphron said. "Spill, how did it happen?"

Weiss took a breath, "Well, if you're hoping for a love at first sight story, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. To be honest, I disliked him at first. He was irritating, annoying, dense... but that doesn't excuse my actions, I was cold to him, cruel at times..."

"Why?" Couleur asked with all the subtlety of a warhammer.

At least she's reserving judgment. "Because I thought he was just like every other boy who came around, or every would-be suitor father would dangle in front of me. Not interested in me, but in the money that could be theirs, the power, the status of being with a Schnee."

A thoughtful smile spread across Terra's face."What changed?"

"We had a dance a little while ago. That's where everything changed, in the end at least. In the beginning... that dance brought out the worst in both of us. Him in his advances towards me, and me in how cruelly I responded."

Saphron winced. "He used the guitar, didn't he?"

Weiss nodded. "He did, and I slammed the door in his face. As fate would have it, there was another boy that I had wanted to go to the dance with. His name is Neptune, I went so far as to ask Neptune to the dance in front of Jaune."

Saphron narrowed her eyes. "So, what changed?"

Weiss let a smile creep on to her face as she continued to tell the tale. "Neptune turned me down. Jaune didn't know that part until later. At the dance, I fully expected Jaune to make some horribly embarrassing advance at me once he learned that I wasn't there with Neptune. Instead... he went and talked to Neptune, Jaune flat-out demanded to know why he wasn't here with me, then told him to come talk to me."

"I think I get it," Couleur said, causing all to look at her, "That's what made you see that Jaune truly cares for you, not the... perks."

Weiss nodded empathetically. "Exactly, Mrs. Arc, and then... he... went and changed into a dress because he lost a bet!"

Saphron's eyes widened and broke out in a grin. "He wore it? What was the bet?"

Weiss was about to tell them excitedly, then she remembered. In a quiet voice, she said, "That he would wear a dress to the dance if his partner didn't have a date... his partner, Pyrrha Nikos."

All were silent. Weiss decided to continue. "After the attack, Jaune was not in a good place. After a week of it, I acted. To use his own words, I saved him from himself, and things.. escalated from there. I realized that I have feelings... no, that doesn't do it justice. I have held the belief for a long time that my heart is my own, and I will give it to who I choose. I have chosen."

"I have chosen Jaune Arc to be the one who holds my heart, just as he has chosen me. I have told you the full story, because to pretend that the early times didn't happen, would be dishonest. If you think less of me for how I treated Jaune, then so be it."

Couleur was the next to speak. "Weiss... why would we ever think less of you?"

Weiss dropped her gaze. "I was so cruel to him in the beginning..."

Terra shrugged. "You guys are teenagers. This kind of thing is par for the course."

Saphron smirked, "Now, do you have pictures of when he wore that dress?"

Weiss smiled. "Better. I have video."

(Beacon Academy Courtyard)

After Jaune and his father had disposed of the toxic substances that Adrian had produced, they decided to go for a walk around the courtyard, "Give the girls more time to gossip." Reign-Beau said.

After a while, Reign-Beau Arc spoke. "Jaune, Crocea Mors is yours now."

Jaune spun his head around to look at his father so fast, he almost got whiplash."Just like that?" He asked.

His father nodded. "Just like that, Jaune."

Jaune frowned, "I always thought that there would be more... ceremony."

Reign-Beau chuckled. "The Passing of Arms is as formal or as informal as I want to make it, and I don't think you really have the patience for some pompous ceremony right now."

Jaune couldn't help but agree. That kind of thing seemed stupid now, especially after the attack, which people had started calling "The Miracle at Beacon".

Reign-Beau continued, "No one has ever dared to attack Beacon Academy before. It doesn't matter that they failed, they'll be back. You need to be ready, upgrade and reforge Crocea Mors as you see fit."

He was interrupted by Adrian's insistence of being given back to one of his mothers. Right now.

"Well, we better head back." Jaune said.

Reign-Beau nodded. "Agreed, we don't have enough Aura to withstand Adrian's crying for long, isn't that right, Adrian?"

Adrian made it known that he agreed wholeheartedly.

(Beacon Academy Common Room)

As the Arc men approached the common room, Jaune heard some all too familiar song lyrics.

Baby, it's time to make up your mind

I think that tonight is when the stars align

Honey, it's time to leave the doubt behind

Take my hand cause you and I are gonna shine

"Oh, gods no." Jaune whispered. "I forgot about the video..."

Reign-Beau raised an eyebrow. "Video of what?"

Jaune just looked at him.

The older man started laughing, "You didn't! You actually wore the dress they forced you to take?"

Jaune pouted. "I lost a bet, alright? An Arc always keeps his word and all that."

Bewildered, Reign-Beau asked the obvious question. "What was the bet?"

Jaune smiled sadly, "That I'd wear a dress to the dance if Pyrrha didn't have a date."

Reign-Beau breathed out through his nose. These kids were having to learn lessons that most Hunters didn't have to learn until much later.

Jaune shrugged, "Guess I'd better go in and face the music, huh?"

He opened the door and all hell broke loose.

"Jaune!" Saphron exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him, "You have a lot to answer for!"

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Like, what, Saph?"

Weiss winced. It was probably her experience with Whitley talking but she didn't expect anything pleasant.

"Not only have you kept us completely in the dark on your love life-"

"Says the useless lesbian." Jaune interjected.

Saphron continued as if he hadn't called her out. "-but you completely forgot to mention that you actually wore the dress we sent you with!"

"Do you know how awkward it was explaining that to my teammates?" Jaune complained.

"Details!" Saphron said. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Weiss cleared her throat, and everyone turned to look at her. "Well, Jaune, now that I've had cause to go back and review that night's events. I must say that you looked absolutely enchanting in a dress."

Jaune couldn't help but grin. "At least someone appreciates my beauty."

That got a laugh out of everyone.

(Beacon Academy Airfield, 2 hours later)

"You guys are leaving already?" Jaune asked.

Reign-Beau nodded. "Still a lot of Grimm around, don't want to risk it."

"Mrs. Ar- Couleur, I need to thank you." Weiss started. "Thank you for-"

Couleur reacted by hugging Weiss again. "I know, dear. I know."

"Alright, baby bro, you better treat her right, because she's an honorary Arc now. I mean knowing us Arcs, she will be an Arc someday..." Saphron teased.

"Saph! We've only been dating for a week and you're planning the wedding?" Jaune protested.

Weiss smirked, "What makes you think I'm not already planning it, my darling knight?"

"I wouldn't expect anything else, Snow Angel." Jaune said.

"Wait, hold the phone!" Saphron complained, "Why does she get a pass?"

"Because I'm not a... what did you call her earlier, Jaune?"

Saphron's eyes went wide as she rounded on Jaune. "Don't you dare!"

Jaune grinned as he began to speak, "Useless lesbian."

Terra leaned over, "He isn't exactly wrong, I mean, I had to make the first move, and the second move..."

Adrian baby-talked his agreement, as adorable as ever.

"Traitors! All of you!" Saphron pouted. She quickly boarded the airship in protest of this obviously unfair treatment.

"Jaune, Weiss, a moment." Reign-Beau said. "I need to talk to you both, not as a father to a son and his girlfriend, but as a Hunter to other Hunters."

They both stood at attention in their own ways. Jaune simply stood up straight, a rarity for him, especially these days. While Weiss... before today, if you had asked Reign-Beau Arc if it was possible to stand at attention elegantly he would have laughed in your face.

Not anymore.

"Listen, you two. There's a storm coming, I can feel it in my bones. And you and all your friends are right in the middle of it. You need to be ready."

He turned to Weiss. "Weiss, we don't exactly know each other that well yet, but I can tell that perfection is a sticking point for you, yes?"

The heiress nodded.

"My partner was the same way," Reign-Beau continued, "If he made no mistakes, you'd swear he was perfect, but when he did make a mistake, even a little one..."

Jaune inhaled sharply. He remembered this story. He had caught his father in a talkative mood one night, and had asked him why he was so against Jaune becoming a Huntsman.

Dad, she doesn't need to know the details, the nightmares I had were bad enough...

Reign-Beau continued, "Long story short, his... insistence on perfection is what killed him. Please, for yourself and those around you, do not let yourself become unfocused if you cannot be perfect."

Weiss nodded. "I promise, Mr. Arc."

Reign-Beau turned to regard his only son. "Jaune."

"Yes, Dad?"

"You hate the woman that killed Pyrrha, don't you?" Reign-Beau asked bluntly.

Jaune groaned, there would be no point to dishonesty here. "Yes."

"Let go of it. Hatred will only cause your heart to fester and rot, which in turn will cause you to push those closest to you away. It's okay to be angry with her, anger is a powerful motivator. But never hatred. It's what kept me from helping you along this path..."

Jaune stepped forward and hugged his father. "I promise, dad."

There was no need to say the obvious, but Weiss mentally added it anyways.

Because an Arc always keeps their word.

Chapter Text

(Ozpin's Office)

Professor Ozpin stood at the newly repaired window in his office, nursing a mug of hot chocolate. He was also grappling with a decision.

How many of his students would he bring into the shadow war against Salem long before they were ready?

He returned to his desk to review the files of teams RWBY, JNPR, CVFY, and CRDL. He shook his head, based on the events of the first term of the year, he had never thought that he would be in the position of considering any members of team CRDL for this task.

First, combat proficiency. He directed his computer to rank the members of the team according to their combat class and Vytal Tournament records.

The results were as expected, at the top... Ozpin swore, he hadn't deleted Pyrrha's file yet. I can't bring myself to do that yet. What would Salem say about that? Banishing those thoughts from his mind he returned to the task at hand.

Ironic, he thought, Weiss Schnee is at the top, and Jaune Arc is at the bottom. The margins between most of the rest were small, the gap between Yang and Coco was much smaller than the gulf that separated Cardin and Velvet.

One thing that was made clear, was that on combat skill alone, team CRDL was the least skilled, They'd just get themselves killed, and doom the world in the process. Maybe in time, once they become more experienced.

Next, he ordered his computer to order the remaining candidates by what knowledge they had of the situation. As expected, Jaune and Ruby were at the top, and everyone else was tied for dead last.

Ozpin continued to run their files through multiple filters. Semblance Combat Power, Tactical Ability, Willpower...

Ozpin frowned at that last one. As the battle between Jaune and Jacques Schnee hadn't been in combat class, it wasn't being counted. Which left Jaune near the bottom of the Willpower filter.

Switching to another monitor, Ozpin added the video from the surveillance data for that fight to Jaune's file.

Jaune was now squarely in the top five for Willpower. Ozpin decided to switch back to Combat Proficiency, just to see what would happen.

Jaune had moved from the bottom of the barrel to middle of the pack, putting him behind Coco Adel by a decent margin.

In the end, Ozpin decided that teams CRDL and CVFY would remain in the dark. Team CRDL because they simply weren't ready, with time, maybe. Team CVFY because Ozpin needed a strong team guarding the home front when he and the others were away on missions.

Ozpin made the decision, finally. He would tell teams RWBY and JNPR about the maidens, about what Pyrrha Nikos had actually died for, and about Salem...

And the shadow war that they would be waging against her.

Then there was the other matter.

Since Cinder had burned Pyrrha to ash, the only things that were... left behind were her circlet, the broken pieces of her weapon, and by some miracle, her sash. Ozpin had tried to return the items to her parents, but they had refused, saying that they already had enough to remember her by. Then, in a very rare moment, they surprised even Ozpin by saying that they wanted the items to go to Pyrrha's partner.

I might as well pull the ripcord, there will be no point in delaying this. Ozpin pulled out his scroll, and sent off multiple messages. The first, to Glynda, informing her that he had made his choice as to which of the students would be joining the war. The next, went to General Ironwood, asking him to pull RWBY and JNPR's combat footage from the Vytal Tournament and have his people prepare possible upgrades.

Then, finally, he sent messages to Ruby and Jaune, asking them to bring their teams to his office as soon as possible. He received a message from Ruby first.

"Yeah, sure, Professor. What do you need us for?"

"The truth, Miss Rose. The truth." He said to an empty room.

(Outside Ozpin's Office, 20 minutes later)

"So, why do you think Ozpin wants to talk to all of us?" Nora asked.

"I'm not sure," Blake said. "Maybe just a debriefing? We never really gave him one."

"I think it's more than that, Blake." Ren added, "Remember lunch earlier this week? Ruby had begun to tell us what happened... well, here, but Ozpin told her not to talk about it. At least until he talked to us."

"There's... more to it than that, I think." Jaune said.

"Why's that, Jaune?" Yang asked.

Jaune was about to tell them what he had seen in the vault, but then he thought better of it. "I'm... not sure I can say."

Weiss frowned. "Jaune... does it have something to do with why Pyrrha-"

Before Weiss could finish her question, she was interrupted by Ozpin.

"Hello, all of you. Thank you for coming. Please come in." Ozpin said.

The room was the same as ever, newly restored after the battle that had ripped through it. Jaune inhaled sharply. This was where... this was where...

Weiss and Ren, ever vigilant, were by his side in a heartbeat, the former simply holding Jaune's hand, and the latter ready to apply his semblance if needed.

"Hey, good to see you up, Shortstack." Said a man leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. "Didn't think you'd be up this soon."

Ruby broke out into a huge smile and semblanced over to the man. "Uncle Qrow? What are you-"

"Listen to Ozpin, kid. He'll... explain everything. I'll jump in if he starts talking circles around you." Qrow said.

Ruby nodded her understanding, and returned to the impromptu formation. Qrow couldn't help but notice the formation of team JNPR.

Those three... they're in a Missing Man formation. Damn it, Oz. They're still grieving and you want to drag them into this? Ruby's team I can understand, but why them?

Ozpin went behind his desk and took his seat. "As I said before, thank you for coming today. The circumstances of what happened during the attack on Beacon require me to share sensitive information with you seven. The only other individuals you may discuss these matters with are Professor Goodwitch, General Ironwood, and Qrow Branwen." He finished by gesturing to the veteran Huntsman.

Yang was the first to work up the courage to speak, "So, why all the cloak and dagger, and why are you involved, Uncle Qrow?"

"You know all those missions I'm always going on, Firecracker? That take me all over the place? I'm doing them for Ozpin."

That seemed to satisfy that bit of curiosity. Yang nodded her understanding and waited for Ozpin to continue.

"Before we get started, there is one other matter to attend to," Ozpin started, "Mr. Arc, Miss Nikos's parents have asked that her circlet, sash, and broken pieces of her weapon be left with you. You can pick them up from Glynda after we are done here."

Jaune simply nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak.

Ozpin cleared his throat, then began in earnest. "Now then, I have a question for all of you."

The combined members of RWBY and JNPR waited on the figurative edge of their seats for what he would ask them.

"What's your favorite fairy tale?" The enigmatic headmaster asked.

They all blinked. Twice.

"Excuse me?" An incredibly confused Weiss asked.

"Fairy tales." Ozpin said. "Stories, legends, what are your favorites?" He said that last part directly to Weiss.

Weiss fidgeted for a few seconds before responding in a quiet voice. "The Girl in the Tower..."

Ozpin's eye twitched.

Blake was next, "The Shallow Sea, predictably."

Then Jaune, "I was never really one for fairy tales, but mom loves them. Her favorite was The Four Seasons."

Finally.

"What if I told you that those stories... or some of them, at least, were real." Ozpin said. "Specifically... The Four Seasons and the legends of the Silver Eyed Warriors."

If you had looked at Jaune, you could have sworn you could see the gears in his mind working as they clicked into place. The Maidens are real... Pyrrha... the vault... Cinder...

It hit him like a charging Boarbatusk.

"You wanted Pyrrha to become one of the Maidens, somehow. Didn't you?" Jaune said, his tone bordering on accusatory.

"Yes, I did, Mr. Arc." Ozpin admitted.

"She agreed willingly? You didn't have to convince her?" Jaune continued. He was on the warpath now, "You didn't fill her head with how it was her duty? Her destiny?"

"Mr... Jaune. I will be absolutely blunt with you. I have made more mistakes than any other man, woman, and child that has ever lived. However, I did not do what you are accusing me of. You were in the vault with us when we attempted the aura transfer. If I was manipulating her into it, would I have asked her that last time?"

Jaune frowned, obviously thinking it over. He was about to speak when Weiss beat him to the punch. "No, you wouldn't have." She paused briefly before continuing, "My father wouldn't have."

Ozpin cleared his throat, "As much as I would like to not be compared to Jacques Schnee, Miss Schnee is completely correct. Now, are there any other questions about the maidens?"

Everyone was silent. It was clear that everyone wanted to hear about the other thing, the Silver-Eyed Warriors.

"I'm sorry." Jaune interjected. "I'm sorry for getting angry with you, Profess-"

Qrow cut in, "No one blames you, kid. I'd be spitting fire if I was in your position. Actually was once."

"Now, Miss Rose," Ozpin began, "What do you know of the legends of the Silver-Eyed Warriors?"

"I don't..." Ruby started.

"I'll take this one, Oz." Qrow said. "Ruby, what was the first thing that Ozpin said to you?"

Ruby's face screwed up in concentration. "I think... it was something about-"

"Silver eyes." Qrow provided. "That's an extremely rare trait."

"Out with it, Qrow," Yang said, her impatience evident.

After a quick glare of annoyance, Qrow continued. "You're special, Ruby. And not in a Daddy-loves-his-special-Angel kind of way. You're special the same way Summer was."

"My mother?" Ruby asked lamely.

Qrow nodded, then continued. "The legends say that a Silver-Eyed Warrior could kill a creature of Grimm with a look. And that the creatures of Grimm ran from them."

Blake inhaled sharply. "That's exactly what happened that night. There was that bright flash from the tower, then all of the Grimm started running."

"There's one more thing..." Ozpin said.

"Oz, NO." Qrow almost yelled. "They are not ready for that!"

"Qrow, we need them." Ozpin stated simply.

"Fine, just don't judge me if I start drinking." Qrow muttered as he reached for his flask.

"There is no faster way to get me to start judging you." Weiss muttered under her breath.

Ozpin took a deep breath, then shattered the foundations of everything that teams RWBY and JNPR knew. "The creatures of Grimm have a master. Her name is Salem."

"What?" Weiss asked incredulously. "You can't be serious."

Ozpin's facial expression told the heiress that Ozpin was indeed, serious.

"How do we... beat her?" Jaune asked, ever the strategist.

"By keeping the relics from her," Ozpin explained, "There are four of them, one hidden in vaults in each Huntsman Academy."

"Problem is," Qrow continued, "She and her goon squad have never been so bold as to attack an academy directly. Until recently."

"So, why us?" Ruby asked.

"Well, Ruby, because of your eyes, Salem will come after you one way or the other. She has always been afraid of those with Silver-Eyes, and for good reason." Ozpin explained, "And to exclude your team would be... the wrong move, for many a reason."

"What about us?" Jaune asked.

Ozpin hung his head. "Because I made a mistake, Jaune. When I involved Pyrrha in this, I should have involved all four of you, but I didn't. Maybe if I had..."

"Oz." Qrow said.

Jaune looked at Ren and Nora, they nodded. Then Jaune looked at Weiss, understandably, she could see pain in his eyes, but she saw something else.

Determination.

Jaune turned back to Ozpin and gave the answer to a question that hadn't been asked yet, but still needed an answer.

"We're in."

(Glynda Goodwitch's Office, 30 minutes later)

Glynda sighed as she checked her scroll. Ozpin had done it. He had told team RWBY and the remnant of team JNPR about the maidens, about Salem...

And they had all agreed to join the fight. All seven of them, all for their own reasons.

Ruby was the most straightforward. She simply wanted to help people, and what better way to help people than to end the Queen of the Grimm?

Blake's reasoning was fairly obvious as well. The White Fang had been involved, on Salem's side, and Blake wanted to bring the terrorists that had subverted the original purpose of the White Fang to justice.

Yang just wanted to be there for her friends, it quite literally was as simple as that.

Weiss apparently saw it as a step in her quest to redeem the Schnee name from the travesty that Jacques Schnee had made of it.

Team JNPR is where things got sticky, and when it came to this war, Glynda Goodwitch did not like sticky.

Due to Jaune's relationship with Weiss... Glynda had to stop and shake her head. Never in a million years would she have seen that coming.

Due to Jaune's relationship with Weiss, Ren and Nora now saw her as family. Their reasoning for joining the fight was simple, yet heartbreaking. They didn't want to lose any more family.

Then... there was Jaune.

His reasons for joining the war were even more heartbreaking than Ren and Nora's.

He simply wanted to finish what Pyrrha started.

Glynda's gaze drifted to the case on her desk, that held the only things that Pyrrha had left behind. That would now go to Jaune.

A knock at the door.

"Come in!"

It was Jaune.

"Hey, Professor. Ozpin said that you have...what's left of Pyrrha's equipment for me?"

"Yes, I do, Mr. Arc." She said, gesturing to the case on her desk.

He moved over to her desk and took the case, "Thanks, Professor."

As he turned to leave, she decided to ask the question. "What will you do with them?"

Jaune paused and turned back to her, "It's been a while since Crocea Mors was reforged. Really only happens before the wielder goes to war."

When the wielder goes to war.

"Jaune," Glynda said, "You know that I'm going to be harder on all of you now, to prepare you. Especially you."

"I know." Jaune said, before taking his leave.

I remember the days when he would always have that dumb grin plastered on his face. Jaune, I hope that you can have days like that again when this is over.

(Beacon Academy Student Dorm Roof)

After Jaune had returned Pyrrha's things to his dorm, he found himself in need of somewhere to be alone and just think. So he went to the only place he could think of.

The roof, the roof where there were so many memories...

Not the best idea in hindsight. Jaune thought.

Eventually, as the sun began to set, he heard the click click of heels. There was only one person that could be.

"Hey, Weiss." He said.

She smiled. Of course he knew it was her. "How are you doing? Any more world shaking revelations you'd like to learn about?"

He laughed, "Nah, I think I've had enough of those for today."

She sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "Are you okay, Jaune? You... kind of blew up at Ozpin about Pyrrha."

"I... think I had to get that out. I needed to be sure that... he still sees us as people and not... chess pieces." Jaune explained.

They sat there in silence for a time, simply enjoying each other's company. After awhile, once the sun was almost set, Jaune spoke.

"I'm having Crocea Mors reforged using Pyrrha's weapon and circlet. Getting a bit of an armor upgrade too." Jaune said.

Weiss couldn't help but smile. "She'd like that, I think." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Did you want me to come with you?"

Jaune shook his head. "No, this is something I need to do alone."

"Good, that means you're making progress." Weiss counseled.

After a while longer, with a yawn, Weiss decided it was time for bed, "Well, I think I'm off to bed. Don't forget classes start up again tomorrow, Jaune."

"Don't worry, Snow Angel. I'll only stay here a little longer. Good night."

She leaned over and caught his lips in a kiss. "Sweet dreams, my darling knight."

After she left, Jaune looked up at the sky, and fixed his gaze on a star that hadn't been there two weeks ago. Unbidden, words from a song long forgotten came to mind.

I never thought that a hero would ever come my way.

But more than that, I never thought you'd be taken away.

Now it's cold without you here, it's like winter lasts all year.

But your star's still in the sky, so I won't say goodbye.

I don't have to say goodbye.

To no one but himself and the night sky, Jaune made a promise.

"I promise that I'll make you proud, Pyrrha, and an Arc always keeps his word."