Okay, first sorry for the delay but I did told you. Second, please enjoy the chapter

Was he alive, was he dead, why couldn't he breath? All this questions in Jaune´s head where overwhelmed by the crushing force of the hug the ginger haired girl was giving him.

"Ohmygod Jaune! You are okay! I'm never letting you out of my sight ever again"

"Nora...cant breath….Ren...help"

The boy in green responded with a small smile and joined the hug. They stopped there for a few minutes, well Ren and Nora where standing, Jaune was lifted in Nora´s embrace, until a loud pop broke the silence.

"I think that was one of my bones"

"I think you should let go of him now Nora"

"Just a little bit more, he owes me"

For a moment there Jaune thought he would really die from suffocation, until he fell to the ground gasping for air.

"For a moment I thought I was a goner"

"That's what you get for making us worry"

For a moment silence reigned again, but this was the kind of comfortable silence in which no one wanted to talk, because they knew there was no need to, they all just smiled at each other, enjoying each others presence.

"What do you say I repay you with some special pancakes"

"That's a great start Jaune-Jaune!"

"Would you mind if I help you cooking?"

"I'm afraid he already has someone to help him"

Weiss stepped in with a clean amicable smile on top of her face.

"It's good to see you Weiss"

"Likewise Ren"

To anyone else it might have looked like a formal meeting, but they both expressed, in their own way, the happiness and relief at knowing each other was alright.

"Come here Weiss!"

And then there was Nora, who crushed you with love filled bear hugs.

"Come on, we can catch up with breakfast"

Jaune guided them to the tables ,where he left his teammates, and returned to kitchen in order to finish at least two more batches of pancakes, one for the kids, one for Nora, and what was left, if there was any, for the rest of them.

After cooking the last one, he left the dishes for Weiss to clear.

"You are the one who did the most, and those are your teammates, maybe you'd like some privacy with them"

"Are you sure? They are your friends too you know"

"I know, but you are their leader, they want to talk to you first"

At this Jaune couldn't help but feel some kind of guilt, he and his team, or at least what was left of it, were finally together, how did Weiss feel, abandoned ? Like an outcast?

"Hey Weiss, let's get going to Patch tomorrow, I'll talk them into it"

"You don't have to do that. They don't have to come if they don't want too"

"You think they would leave me out of their sight ever again? It's more likely that Nora drinks one of Rens beverages before that"

"Besides, you've helped me a lot, what kind of friend would I be if I don't do the same for you?"

"...Thank you Jaune"

"Dont worry about it"

Leaving Weiss to her own business Jaune left the kitchen and was received by a quite strange but not surprising sight. The kids were all paying extreme attention to Nora, who was retelling one of her latest dreams, and Ren was correcting her like usual,

"...then a 3 headed giant King Taijitu appeared"

"It was a normal size, with a normal number of heads"

"...And I hit him so hard his skull cracked open"

"You...Actually that is true"

´Please never change Nora´

"I'm sorry to say this kids but the fun is over, your parents might kill me if i keep you here too long"

A bunch of loud Awwws, including Nora´s, reverberated through the room. But they all started clearing the place up.

"So I guess you've got a lot of questions..."

"That would be accurate yes"

"Please let me, put it all together…"

And he talked, and talked, and talked. Everything since they separated in Beacon. A lot of things happened in two weeks. He wanted to omit the worst parts, the scar on his back, the alcohol, the yelling, the fighting, he wanted to avoid them because he was their leader, he was supposed to be strong for them, but they would eventually find out. If not by him, then by Weiss.

He earned a lot of gasps from Nora, and a few from Ren, which actually meant too much considering how usually he was almost expressionless. The whole time he was grabbing the Dust crystal near his neck. It was his new amulet, a reminder of what he should strive to be.

Near the end, he found himself the tears back down.

"...then Pyrrha?"

"Ruby said she saw her...die with her own eyes"

"Ohmygod...Pyrrah"

Nora broke down in Ren´s arms, the usually ever cherry ginger girl was crying in front of them. And the usually silent boy trying to contain his own expressions and tears, trying to make himself Nora´s emotional support

"She had so much to live, so much places she wanted to see, she wanted to be a normal girl, with friends and family, she wanted to save people. To be one of them"

"I know Nora"

"It's not fair Ren…"

"I know…"

All of them stopped trying to contain their tears, and embraced each other in a tight hug.

Trying to shoulder each others burdens. Until they could stand by themselves again.

XXXX

After their emotional reunion the three of them were pretty exhausted, they left Nora to sleep in Weiss's room, with her consent of course, and the boys went to Jaune's room to get themselves some rest.

Since her room was occupied and all her tasks were done, she decided to help Jaune with his, a few errands to grab supplies so they could leave as soon as possible.

Tracing her steps through the town, she found the stores she already visited once, and quickly bought everything they needed.

On her way back to the Inn she encountered a lot of now familiar faces, each of them bearing a friendly smile, some of them made small talk with her, and some of them just passed by her with a courteous nod.

But who she didn't expect to meet right now, was certain member of team JNPR

"Ren?"

"Hello Weiss"

"Hello, If I may ask why are you here?, I thought you were with Jaune and Nora"

"I came here looking to replenish our supplies, Jaune told us about your plan to go to Patch and then Haven, we too want to go as soon as possible"

"Ren, I can't ask you to do this, don't you have people you are worried about? Family or friends in Vale?"

´Why didn't you asked Jaune too?´ That would be a question she would seek answer another time.

"Sadly we don´t, my only family for a long time has been Nora, and just recently Jaune and Pyrrha. And right now you too Weiss, thanks for taking care of Jaune, I know how he tries to boulder everything on his own, and how that makes him hurt himself, but he opened to you. Me and Nora, we both want to thank you for that. Jaune is like a brother to me, if it wasn't for you, maybe things could have gone down the worst path"

"...I don't think that's true, he was the one who saved me, he went out of his way for me, I feel like I should be doing more to repay him, even if he doesn't think I owe him anything"

"He won't see it that way because you're his friend Weiss, and a precious one from what I can tell"

"Thanks Ren"

´Friend...why does that word seems like it's not enough now?´

XXXX

As silently as possible Jaune closed the door to his room, leaving Ren to rest inside. It was a cold night and no one but himself was outside. But since it was 2 am no one should be.

He was tired, enough to sleep for a week, but the nightmares were haunting him again. One would think that having his team with him once again would help to diminish the images. But it only brought memories. Memories from happier and simpler times that he once cherished but now hurt him.

He left the Inn and this time he didn't walked aimlessly, he was looking for a place in specific. But not the Bar, he wouldn't drink again, at least not in a long time. This time he was searching for a quiet place where he wouldn't annoy anyone.

And he found it, the little park he discovered the previous day, the place where he renewed his motivations and objectives.

He grabbed the crystal hanging from his neck, he started to play a lot with every time he found himself thinking. It gave him some kind of reassurance.

´I still can't believe a kid is smarter than me´

He then proceeded to put his scroll in a bench, with a video already set to repeat over and over again.

"Alright Jaune just like we practiced, follow this instructions."

Taking out Crocea Mors he silently fortified his resolve.

"Shield up, keep your grip tight"

He took out Crocea Mors and tensed every muscle in his body

"Don't forget to keep your front foot forward"

"I won't…"

"Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be…"

"Go"

"Rahhh!"

Thrust

"Again"

"Gahh!"

Slash

"And Again!"

"Hahhh!"

Slash

"Okey, now assuming you aren't cheating, we can take a break"

"This is harder than I thought"

"I know this can be frustrating..."

"You have no idea…"

And there he stood, repeating the video over and over again, hurting and improving himself with each repetition.

XXXX

"Pleaseeeee one more day"

It was difficult to look at the kid´s puppy eyes and say no, it reminded him of Ruby in some way.

"I'm sorry Jay, but I've got some friends waiting for me"

"Come on, you just got here a few days ago"

It was true, Jaune and Weiss both spent a little bit more than two weeks here, in which most of the time Jaune was unconscious, but they both got attached to this little town, and two or three people here.

"It's rude to keep people waiting"

"...then promise you'll come back"

"I promise that when I'm done with all of what's happening, I'll make time to come back, and an Arc never goes back on his word"

He then left Jay sulking right outside the Inn´s door and turned to the person wearing a white coat.

"Leaving so soon boy? Can't say we won't miss you, you kept the town lively at least a for little bit"

"Thanks for all the suffering Doctor, it was my pleasure to be your object of entertainment"

Jaune offered his hand to the Doctor wich he grabbed quickly and strongly.

"Watch your back, you don't want another scar there"

"And you try not to make anyone else scream their lungs out"

He then changed his attention to the next person

"Thanks for the free patches Elaine"

"I should be thanking you, you did save our town from a little Grimm raid"

"Yeah, but still thanks, this hoodie means a lot to me"

"Be sure to take good care of it then, try not to wear it during life or death situations"

"But this is my lucky charm, what would I do without it, and talking about life or death situations, you all might want to consider investing into defense or moving your settlement, things might get lively without Beacon "

"´I'll be sure to pass the message"

"Thank you"

Looking behind him he set his gaze in his friends, all of them prepared for the path ahead.

"Are we all ready to go?"

"Ready Jaune, and I'll just say this once Nora, if you need to go to the bathroom, do it now"

"Of course we are Jaune-Jaune, and I have already gone Ren!"

"I think we all are ready, please lead the way Jaune"

And with that they all departed towards Patch, not saying goodbye, but giving the people who helped them in more ways than one a see you later.

We have oficcially finished the first arc of this Fic -throws confetti in the air- Yayyyyy! Wich is also my first ever written arc. For the ones who tought the story would end around here, well good news it wont.

And no, Jaune and Weiss havent overcome their iwn demons, we still have to see Weiss´ ones, and Jaune has only won the first battle againts himself,

Well, see you next week, hopefully, please tell me waht you think about this chapter and the arc. Your reviews always help, and please share it so get more clicks.

Btw, I did said I would repay you with something, so keep checking my profile tomorrow night for a surprise. :)

08/09/18