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Two weeks have passed since they had all returned from the Ever After and the survivors have settled into a sort of routine. There was almost a normality in the patrols of the outskirts of the city, investigating possible Grimm activity and responding to Grimm attacks when needed that were all just a part of their daily routines. The survivors were also tasked with being ever present around the expanding city of refugees to keep up morale. They were the faces of the fight against Salem, the ones who had defied death to oppose her.
Today, though, Jaune Arc was afforded a quieter day, with no assignments, commitments or responsibilities he found himself at a loose end. Sitting in the corner of the large commissary, he watched teams come and go. As the morning drew in though, he found himself alone, nursing his long cold coffee. The familiar knot of anger had taken root again these last few days and he was struggling to keep his bubbling emotions from spilling over. Sighing, he figured he could maybe spend some time around the city and see if there's anything to watch at movies.
Scraping his chair as he stood, he was surprised to see the figure of Weiss Schnee enter the room. "Hey, I thought you had plans with your family today", he said.
She smiled, greeting her friend warmly. "We were supposed to but a transport came in late last night that Mom and Whitely have been helping to get settled", she explained as she strolled over. "Ruby and Yang are having a sisterly day and Blake is seeing her parents so I have a day to myself. What about you, I thought you were going to spend some time with Adrian today".
"Saph called this morning, he's having trouble adjusting to the heat and has come down with something", he explained, unable to hide his disappointment at not getting to see his family. "So they will be holed up until he's feeling better".
"I thought Nora and Ren were volunteering today, did you not want to go with them?" she asked.
"Not really," he stated.
Weiss gave him a sympathetic look. "Still finding the crowds hard?"
"It's not the crowds, it's the questions…" he muttered. Everyone in Vacuo wanted to know his story. He just wanted to be left alone.
"Well, that leaves us both with time to kill then if you're looking for company" Weiss said brightly as she made her way to the coffee machine to pour herself a cup. She sniffed at the burnt roast, adding sugar and cream to mask the bitter taste. She sipped the hot liquid and shuddered, cursing her privileged upbringing and the superior coffee her palette was far too used to.
Watching her face, he chuckled slightly at her reaction. "Well, I was going to see if there was something on at the movies unless you want to find somewhere to grab an entirely over priced and only slightly better coffee somewhere in the city", he suggested.
"Gods, yes," she replied without hesitation and dumped the liquid into the sink nearby before he gestured for her to lead the way out of the commissary and out into the sunny Vacuan daylight.
The city ebbed and flowed around them as they made their way through the city. Children's laughter surrounded them suddenly as a group ran around them playing with wooden swords and shields. After a moment of hesitation, Jaune drew in a breath, crouched down and with a mighty roar joined in the childrens game. Weiss couldn't help but laugh at him as he pretended to be a terrifying Grimm for them to slay.
"We'll save you from the monster, miss," one of the older children called out.
"Oh, my heroes!" Weiss replied, feigning the damsel in distress.
With the mighty beast felled, the children disappeared between two buildings leaving delighted screams echoing behind them, and leaving a slightly dusty Jaune on the ground. "Argh, my back," he groaned. "One of them really got me with their sword".
"Need a hand?" Weiss laughed, extending her arm out. Jaune graciously accepted, while pushing himself up and dusting himself off. "You enjoyed that far too much". She meant to sound stern and admonishing, but the grin on her face betrayed her.
"Well, we have been asked to keep spirits high," he replied, unabashedly.
Weiss chuckled, "I think, you just love being a goofball".
Jaune shrugged with half a smile, "Guilty as charged. C'mon, the coffee place I heard about is just around the corner" he explained as they continued walking. As they turned the corner, the road began to slope down, expanding into a courtyard space. Tables and chairs were lazily lined up in rows outside the various bars and restaurants. Colourful fabric canopies hung off wooden poles providing some shade from the sun. Conversations gently flowed on the breeze, intertwined with the soft trickle of the water fountain in the centre of the square.
Weiss was awed by the oasis of calm in the midst of everything they were experiencing. She followed Jaune into a quaint tea shop, with heavily decorated teapots lining the walls amidst colourful paintings. Sofas and comfortable looking chairs were squeezed together to give a homely and welcoming feel. Most of the seats were taken, and a speaker in the corner played soft instrumental music.
"Huntsmen! A treat for my old eyes!" A woman's voice called from behind the counter. Her face split into a wide smile, wrinkling her aged olive skin that sat under a wild mop of fiery red curls. She wore a loose, gliding sleeveless dress and the bangles draped over her wrists jingled as she excitedly waved her arms around. "Come in, come in. Please take a seat, what are you having?" They place their order and make their way through wooden doors outside to a small, enclosed patio area at the side of the shop. Flowers crept up the wall trellises and along the edge of the roof. They sat under a makeshift canopy tied haphazardly onto posts set in large flower pots.
They settled into their seats and the woman came out with their drinks clinking on a tray. "Here we go, here we go" She said cheerily, as she sat the cups in front of them.
"Thank you, so much" Weiss said, "How much do we owe you?" Weiss reached into her belt to pull out her money, but was waved away.
"Nonsense, any Huntsmen that come here have their first drink for free" She insisted, seeing Weiss attempt to protest. "You keep us safe, the least I can do is provide you with a warm beverage." She bustled about placing down sugar and napkins, "Besides, Miss Schnee, it's not every day a fairy tail walks through my door". She motioned her head towards Jaune, who tensed his shoulders. "Don't worry yourself, young man, you'll be sick to death of retelling your story by now so I'll leave you two in peace".
"Thank you, again" Weiss said to the woman as she wandered back into her shop and cheerily greeted another customer.
Jaune let out a long sigh, "That went better than I thought it was going to".
"You can say no, if it bothers you when people ask", Weiss said as she took the first sip of her drink. She couldn't help but hum as the rich chocolatey undertones of the roast washed over her tongue.
"Good?" He asked her as he stirred cream into his own drink, glad to have a swift change in conversation.
"I have not had a coffee this delightful for a rather long time", she smiled. "And you said it was going to be only slightly better than the cafeteria offering".
"Well, Coco was the one talking about this place so I guess I should have raised my expectations a lot more", Jaune chuckled in response. "It's scary how she can find the best kept secrets anywhere she goes".
"I thoroughly appreciate her excellent tastes", Weiss said, raising her cup to her comrade."So, how are you? I feel like I've hardly seen you recently".
"I've been OK," Jaune answered truthfully. "It's been a tough couple of days. Honestly, we've been so busy, it's kind of nice to have a slower day".
Weiss nodded as she sipped her drink, "The expectations on us to perform our duties to the highest standard constantly and then somehow also fulfil the demands of our teams and families is certainly tiring".
"What about you, how are you feeling? You, uh, weren't in a great place the last time we talked." Jaune asked carefully, remembering the night he found her crying on the roof of the dormitories. Her sobbing in his arms. And a lingering question in the back of his mind. What if Ruby didn't show up when she did?
She sighed, "I'm OK, I think." She swirled the spoon in her drink while she chose her words. "I'm conflicted, still, to be perfectly honest. After everything he did, all the pain and misery he inflicted on people, on his family. I should hate him, but…" her voice caught in her throat.
"But, he was still your dad. And, in spite of it all you still cared for him." Jaune finished for her gently, seeing her struggle to finish her sentence. With a sigh, he reached out and took her hand. "Don't let anyone try to lessen your grief. It isn't some kind of straight line, it isn't black and white".
Grief was something they all knew too well. Both of them had scars on their hearts from their losses. Some were just fresher than others. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and inhaled deeply. "Can we talk about something else, please?"
"Sure," he said while taking a drink. "I heard Qrow talking yesterday. He's heard a rumor that there's a group of people living in the mountains out west".
"Why would they not just come to the city?" Weiss wondered.
"I don't know, maybe they came from a village outside of the kingdoms," he thought. "Maybe they want to be close enough if anything happens but far enough away to be left alone."
"But they came all this way, surely they would be better staying on the edges of the encampments if they want to avoid the Kingdoms interference," she said.
"And maybe, they just see a target pointed at Vacuo for the Grimm to attack," he sipped his drink again before continuing. "I think he said that he and Raven would go out tomorrow and check it out, but it may take a day or two to locate them."
Weiss nodded and the pair fell into a comfortable silence. A thought crossed her mind and she couldn't help but chuckle to herself.
"What's up?" He asked.
"I was just thinking that we are both terrible at making casual conversation," she replied with a smile and the two friends laughed together.
"Let's finish these and get a couple of drinks to go," Jaune suggested. "Stretch our legs for a bit".
They had soon finished up, exited the small shop to a cheery farwell and a promise for them to return. They walked together back up the hill towards the academy but as the road forked, Jaune made to take the road away from their destination. Intrigued, Weiss followed his lead and they made their way through the rows of houses.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"Not sure, just didn't want to head back just yet."
"Any reason why?" she enquired.
Because I don't want this day to end yet, he thought.
"It's nice to have a conversation where I can be me, without there being any expectation for me to be him again." He was growing tired of the constant references to the Rusted Knight from those around him. He knew they weren't being done in jest and not to be malicious, but he still bristled. The fake shock that he was the great Rusted Knight, how could Jaune Arc the constant screw up be the hero from the fairy tale?
"You're better than he was." Weiss stated with a shrug. "The Rusted Knight was angry, and rightly so at what he had to endure. But, Jaune has an opportunity to live a life the Knight was never able to. The Knight was so focused on his tasks that he almost lost himself, and Jaune now can, maybe, focus on what matters to him instead of what's expected of him."
Jaune chuckled. "Is there maybe a nugget of truth in there for Weiss, too?"
Weiss smiled ruefully. "I spent so many years feeling guilty whenever I made a decision for my own benefit because of him. But, I've made it this far and I shouldn't be second guessing myself anymore."
Jaune raised his coffee cup to Weiss. "Here's to learning to trust ourselves," he toasted.
She tapped the rim of her cup against his, and slid an arm casually through his. Her hip bumped against Crocea Mors on his side, and they happily kept walking. They walked and talked together for the rest of the afternoon, before heading back to the Academy.
They finally made their way back to the dormitories as the late afternoon sun burned down over them. Once inside they came to a junction, where they needed to head in opposite directions.
"I've had a really lovely day today, Jaune," she said honestly.
"Me too," he replied.
Weiss smiled and as she looked at his face, she realised she was suddenly awash with the same feelings she had that night on the rooftop. She was falling again.
Sensing some hesitation he asked, "Are you ok?"
Weiss drew in a breath, "Yes, will I see you for dinner in the commissary?"
"Sure," he replied simply.
"Great," and with a quick smile and a wave she turned towards her room.
Jaune watched her leave before turning towards his own room. There was a tightness in him as he walked, but this wasn't from any kind of anger or bitterness. It was a hint of disappointment that he hadn't expected. He filled her lungs and opened the door to hear his team talking animatedly. He greeted them warmly and happily joined in their conversation, happy to take the distraction, but also thrilled at what happened today.
Here's to learning to trust ourselves.