Awkward.

That's the most fitting word that I can use to describe the atmosphere between Yang and I. There's an undercurrent of tension there, the type that lingers long after the battle is concluded, when both Grimm ichor and human blood stains the earth, the type that almost seems to ask, "Did you really survive that?" You're never sure; some part of you is still fighting that fight.

Heh. It's kind of pathetic isn't it? That the closest thing I can equate this - this mortifying feeling to is after-battle jitters. I guess it kind of makes sense, in a roundabout sort of way; that whole ordeal certainly felt like a battle. Damn the books and movies! They never showed the aftermath of these stereotypical intense emotional confrontations!

We walk the hallway of Ruby's apartment building - and my mind still boggles at the scope of what she has, all for herself, by herself -. The floor is polished, free of any litter, and the walls are pristine. All in all, much cleaner than any other apartment building I've ever been to, that's for sure. I guess that's only natural, considering...

I shake those dark thoughts away. I'll confront her - Ruby, I mean. But letting myself become too emotional here won't solve anything. What I now dub as The Elevator Confrontation has proven that.

I glance at Yang from the corner of my eye, only to catch her doing the same. Lilac meets cobalt and the moment seem to drag on for an eternity. I gulp, the sound audible to my own ears, tearing my eyes away; looking resolutely forward. I feel her eyes lingering on me, before she looks away scantly a second later. A heat surges from my spine and gets caught up in my throat. I want to say something, maybe at least crack a joke; but I can't muster up the courage to do so.

Gods, what is wrong with me. I'm a grown ass man, not some sort of teenager. More than that, I'm Jaune Arc. I've given speeches to armies; spat in the face of Salem herself. I'm a badass Huntsman. This shit shouldn't faze me!

Yet it does.

Because for a second there - after all of the years of pent-up emotion had released themselves in a frankly sudden speech to surpass all frankly sudden speeches, after Yang had confided one of her greatest fears to me - I had lost control of myself. Jaune Arc, badass Huntsman didn't exist in that moment. Hell, Jaune Arc: son, brother, leader, and hero didn't exist in that moment. Only Jaune Arc did.

I couldn't help it though: hearing Yang disparage herself like that by comparing herself to Raven of all people had lit a fire inside of me, an inner will and passion that I only let loose for things that I feel strongly about. Raven is a thief, she's a killer, and she's an all around despicable human being; but what I hate most about her...

Is the fact that she had the gall to attempt to graciously accept Yang into her little tribe when she had abandoned the girl at birth? Maybe it's the fact that I've always had a great relationship with my family, but I hate people who turn their backs on family. Thankfully Yang had the sense to decline (not that there was any doubt).

And then there's Yang herself: a person who would go through hell and back for her family and friends, no matter the cost to herself. She's so far from being anything like Raven that it's funny. There are some behavioral similarities, sure; but fundamentally-!

Damn it. I'm getting caught up in this again. I've gotta calm down. My nerves are shot; my slightly shaking hands are proof enough of that. That awkward, spineless fool back in my Beacon days still lives on, much to my eternal horror. It was supposed to be my angst-fest too, my way of finally releasing all of my baggage, but noo, Yang just had to pull the mommy issues card; and I just had to go full on overdramatic anime character!

But even with all of my bitching...

I really can't bring myself to regret my words, as mortifying as they were. Perhaps that's the part that vexes me the most. Goddamit, Yang. The headaches you cause me...

Yang stops in front of a door, labeled '264' - Ruby's place, I assume. She fishes out a key from the pouch at her side. I wait for her to unlock the door, but she just stands there for a few seconds. I shift my weight to my other foot, about to say something.

Yang looks back at me, lilac eyes meeting mine hesitantly. My words get caught up in my throat, threatening to choke me; my thoughts grind to a halt. I've got tunnel vision. I can't see anything past the shine of her hair; the twinkle in her eyes. There's a shy smile on her face; not cheerful, or cheesing, just...shy. It's a beautiful smile. She nods to me. I nod back, still incapable of saying a word.

She then turns around, unlocks the door, twists the knob, and quickly goes inside.

I place a hand to my chest, and breathe. Shaking my head, I follow after her. That smile is dangerous.

Her living room is Spartan: coffee table, a couch, TV. The walls are painted in a light shade of red - almost bordering pink. A door is present in the east, one to the west, and one is also present in the north. Yang heads to the latter, which I assume is Ruby's bedroom.

Yang's hand rests on the doorknob once more, and she seems to hesitate before twisting it and stepping inside the room. I follow her, a second later.

A blast of cold hair hits me immediately; Ruby had apparently had her air conditioner on full blast. It's a refreshing breeze that I welcome, but the sudden change of temperature still catches me off guard.

"Ruby!" Is the first thing out of Yang's mouth. Surprisingly, she does not sound happy.

I turn my eyes around to examine the room. It looks like a regular apartment; well, other than the giant sniper scythe currently lying on an errant table in the corner of the room. Heh, classic Ruby. The second thing that really stands out to me is the dozens of empty boxes with illustrations of strawberries scattered throughout the room.

The third thing is Ruby herself.

She's grown; no longer has that awkward little girl that exploded on her first day at Beacon, the numerous challenges and tragedies that she has faced turned her into a fine woman.

And with her mental and emotional maturity, came a physical maturity as well. She's taller, more curvaceous (Note to self: Never let that observation slip in front of Yang), and her face is less rounded, sharper.

Yes, indeed. Ruby has grown up in many ways. Warmth rests in my chest, bumping away shame and residual embarrassment.

"I told you," Yang throws her hands up in the air, voice tinged with annoyance; lilac freckled with crimson. "Stop eating so many strawberries!"

But clearly some things will never be outgrown. The thought brings a smile to my face.

"But Yanggggggg," Ruby whines, initiating the vaunted puppy eyes. Yang remains stern, however, lilac eyes staring Ruby down. Ruby wilts, pouts and looks away.

A look of triumph flashes through Yang's eyes. She shakes her head exasperatedly, a fond smile playing on her lips.

I chuckle at the scene, catching their attention. At their quizzical expressions, I just laugh harder. It's so nostalgic! We'll confront Ruby later, we'll face our problems later; but for now? It's good to see her again.

"This reminds me of old times," I explain for their benefit. "Lots of things have changed, but you guys will always be sisters, huh?"

At that, they both puff up in pride, sharing a smile and a glance between them. Sisters, once more reunited after who knows how long. I remind myself to visit my own family sometime soon.

"Of course!" Yang exclaims. "Me and Ruby-"

"Ruby and I," Ruby prompts in between, earning a glare and a mutter about Weiss being a bad influence, much to her glee. Yang pauses for a moment, seeing if Ruby has more things to say.

"Yeah, Ruby and I," she says in an exaggerated manner and sending Ruby a faux-glare, "are as thick as thieves, always have been, always will be!"

"Aw yisss," Ruby evidently agrees, and holds out a hand for a high five, which Yang takes. With a 'thwack'. As Ruby shakes her hand with an adorable little 'ow', Yang quickly snatches up all of the leftover boxes of strawberries and moves to throw them in the bin.

"This stuff?" Yang looks at at one of the boxes in her hand, noting the barely eligible cursive at the front (I mean, come on. I never got the fact that the fanciest products oft had the most difficult-to-read labels).

"Weiss." Yang palms her face, while throwing the empty boxes in the bin. "That girl spoils you way too much!" Ruby squawks in protest at that, waving her arms around in a gesture that's extremely likely to knock something over. Over at the side and watching the interaction, I just shake my head at how rowdy they're being. Is this how Ren feels every day, with Nora and his daughter around? No. That poor guy no doubt has it harder; Sif has inherited all of Nora's seemingly inexhaustible energy and more.

"No!" Ruby denies, crossing her arms - I take everything back about her mentally maturing -, the motion has an, uh, interesting effect on her assets. Not as big as Yang, sure, but not as flat as Weiss. "She spoils me just as much as she should!"

Yang rolls her eyes. "Geez, sure you aren't dating the ice queen?" Ruby sputters at that, quickly turning an interesting shade of red. I watch on in interest, this show is proving to be quite entertaining.

"She's dating Neptune!"

"That just makes it even better!" Yang swoons, an absolutely merciless expression on her face. "A forbidden love, made even more taboo by regretful circumstances. Passions reaching an absolute boiling point, until eventually, controls escapes them, the two young maidens tearing away any semblance of self control in their all consuming lust-!"

Yang is prevented from continuing by a pillow making contact with her face.

AN

Eh. Not very happy with this to be honest, I wanted to add some more teasing on the Yang-Ruby interaction, but had trouble fitting it in the way I wanted to. All in all, however, I feel like it fulfilled its purpose, I really just wanted to get into Jaune's head space.

Next chapter will (hopefully) have more content.

As always, leave a review!