Denial.

It's not a river in Remnant. Just the first stage of coming to terms. Jaune, Pyrrha, and the aftermath of Season 3.

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Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. Roosterteeth does, and actually did something good with it.

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The Fifth and Final Phase

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Jaune knocks at a certain cottage door far away.

He's alive again. He doesn't smile as much anymore- not yet, and maybe not ever again as wounds of the heart take long to heal and sometimes callous over instead- but he's alive and he smiles sometimes and that's enough for now. For now he waits, hearin the sounds of footsteps on the other side, and deliberately stares hard at the door rather than look at the bounty of nature and-

-see a flash of dark red and crimson smile and a laugh as wind rushes through the leaves of forever falls and-

-and ruin his mood.

The door swings open, and a less painful shade of red appears, one that frames silver eyes. And if Jaune smiles a bit less than he once used to, it's no less sincere.

"Hey, Ruby," he greets. "Good to see you up again."

She pauses for half a heart beat, as if not believing he's really there and on his feet, and then impulsively hugs him. It surprises him at how tight it is, but slowly he returns it and her grip relaxes in a bit of relief. He's not the only one who's been worried.

"Hey Jaune," Ruby returns when she lets go, not ashamed and bypassing any embarassment as she hurries to act as a good host. "Come on in. Take off your armor. How was the trip? Any Grimm? Did you see my dad? He had to go on a trip with Uncle Qrow and asked me to look after Yang today. Can I offer you anything to drink?" she offers in one long rush of words. "We have milk- wait, no, I drank that- and Dad doesn't keep alcohol anymore, and Uncle Qrow wouldn't share if he did, but I think we still have… water?" she almost sounds meekly embarrassed. "Can I offer you water?"

"The trip was fine," Jaune says, laughing at her worry, and really it was. Only three Ursa in an abandoned shack he'd used for shelter, a Grimm den indeed, and it hadn't even been much of a challenge. One had been too small to offer a threat. One had been too big to fit in, and had gotten stuck in the door frame and been easily dispatched. And the last one was just right for fitting in, but compared to an ursa major-

-panting, pained, but proud, Jaune turned and finally saw her. Them, really, but she was first and foremost- the red leaves didn't hide her presence, or her look at the decomposing grimm corpose behind him, and Jaune simultaneously wanted to boast of his accomplished and feared a belittlement. She could have done so much more so much better. But instead she smiled, and applauded, and he relished his partner's approval as Pyrh-

-compared to some things he'd fought before, it was nothing.

"I didn't see your father, and water would be great," he finishes, parched from the road. Alcohol would be better, but only if drunken with friends, and even if he and Ren and Nora had split one pilfered from a ruined store no one had reclaimed, he wouldn't give it to Ruby. Not yet, not when she was- still- a bit more young and a bit more innocent than the rest of them. She hadn't seen the aftermath of Beacon, hadn't had to clean the streets of more than rubble, and he hopes she never will.

Ruby gives him an odd look, but agreed to his request, and encourages him to look around while she got glasses. Judging by a non-cursing curse, and the sound of frantic scrubbing under a running faucet, what she had found wasn't clean enough. Jaune doesn't mind, but wanders around, and looks at the hanging frames and little mementos and evidence of Ruby's childhood, including the little stuffed grimm on her shelves.

It sends a small smile to his face. Who wanted toys of the monsters of Grimm, the boogie-beasts of bedtime tales? Little girls who dream of being Huntresses, apparently- and probably whacked them with sticks in the course of games, if the patches and dings and glued on pieces were any clue.

He wanders, noting this and that, until he notices an incompletely closed door. Curiosity overcomes him, and Jaune opens it and sticks his head in with the intention of pulling back out and shutting it completely if nothing is there.

Yang's head has already from the window and watches him, and instead of pulling his head out the rest of Jaune's body is pulled in. His eyes take her in- laying in bed, no hint of the heat or flame that had once lit her, cradling a useless stump- even as she takes him in in turn.

She speaks first.

"You're back up," she notes, neither approving or disapproving and not even relieved.

"I had help," he admitted, mind flashing back to Ren and Nora.

"Why?" Yang asks, simple and direct.

"Because they cared," Jaune said, thinking of the Bad Period which might never be mentioned again but bound them closer forevermore.

"No, I mean, why did you get back up?" Yang clarifies. "Why not stay down if you're beat?"

That was a harder one to answer, but his lips move even before his mind knows what they're going to say.

"Because I cared," he says, even if he hadn't realized it at the time. "I couldn't stop when so much was still so wrong."

He might have needed help to restart- to be put back together when not just Pyrrha but so much of his world was ripped away- but that didn't make what he said a lie.

Not a lie, but not satisfactory. Yang gives a harumph, and turns away still cradling a missing hand and looking out a window at a forest he still can't look at without trailing off. Something scratches at the edge of his mind- the cat-like eyes of a girl saying something that he hadn't been of the mind to remember, something that had seemed pointless at the time but which might have every point now and makes him wish he could remember the Bad Time and struggling since he can't.

That's how Ruby finds them moments- or maybe minutes- later. Silent, staring, and in their own worlds of thoughts and memories, if not fantasies of power and perfection and total victories.

"Oh, there you are Jaune!" Ruby exclaims, pulling him out gently but insistently. "Sorry about that Yang- didn't mean to bother you! We'll go and let you rest now," Ruby promises before closing the door and sighing once it had and sliding down a bit against it as the burst of false cheer fades.

"Sorry about that," Ruby apologizes. "Yang's not… doing well," she fills.

"It's alright," Jaune reassures. "She just needs time and support, and she'll be alright when she's ready," Jaune promises with the authority of personal experience.

"Are you?" Ruby asks. "Alright, I mean?"

Jaune holds up his gloved hand and smiles as if gladly swearing an oath. "All healed. You can hardly see the scar anymore."

That wasn't what she had meant, and he knew it, but she accepts the dodge for now. She leads him to a chair, and sits across from him, and they hold their glasses of water as they get down to business.

"So, what brings you here, Jaune?" she asks, even if she knows. She'd sent the message of her own awakening herself, after all.

"Can't I come visit a friend who just woke up after a long winter's nap?" he asked, pretending to be hurt.

Ruby wrinkles her nose. "It wasn't that long," she denied. Only half of fall. The leaves haven't even finished falling yet.

"It was long enough," Jaune denies, and he leans over and reaches out and grabs her hand. It's real, she's real, and he's completely honest when he looks her in the eye and says, "I'm glad you're alright, Ruby. I came as soon as I heard you woke up." And Nora would be relieved to heard she truly was alright, and not just lying, but his own reasons were good enough.

Ruby looks down, less embarrassed and more ashamed that people were making such a fuss over her. Silver eyes have a doubt, and a guilt. That she shouldn't be worth such worry. That if she had been, that if she was worthy of that conceern, she should have been good enough to save the day, and that Pyr-

-Do you believe in destiny?-

-that Pyrrha would still be alive.

"Jaune," she begins, looking him in the eyes with sorrowful silver, "I'm s-"

"It's Cinder's fault," Jaune says, interrupting her and what she was about to say. "Not yours. Not mine."

-I do.-

"And not Pyrrha's. Just Cinder's, and anyone else who helped her," he affirms. "We can beat her up for this," he begins, even if he knew they probably couldn't, but they could at least try, "but there's no reason to beat up ourselves when we know who's to blame. It's alright, Ruby," he reassured.

Ruby looked back down at the cup in her hands, but a certain tension in her shoulders was gone and if she gives what might have been a sniffle there are no tears in her eyes. It occurs to him that she's barely been up a week yet- that for her, it hasn't been that long. That she's far behind them, and might not have grieved. If he'd exploded, if he'd blamed her, she might have believed it.

But he doesn't, and she believes that too. That's the trust they had. Have. Will have going forward.

"She's in Haven. Or was," Ruby blurts, still looking down. "Cinder, I mean."

Jaune leans back a little. Ah, yes- the other reason for his trip. The hint, the clue, which Ruby wrote about and offered to share, but hadn't wanted to risk writing down. He'd have come anyway- he meant what he said about his relief- but even if he hadn't cared for Ruby at all he would have come for that clue. The hint of Cinder's trail.

"Uncle Qrow let it slip," Ruby explains to her cup of water. "I'm not sure he meant to, but I think he might have wanted us to know. To go after her, even if he couldn't."

"We will," Jaune resolved. "JNPR-"

-'led by Jaune Arc,' Ozpin was saying, but Jaune was dazed and could hardly believe it, couldn't believe he'd gotten in and survived and gotten such an amazing partner, even as Pyrrha put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a congratulatory smile while-

"-Ren, Nora, and I," he corrects, "will join you, whenever you're ready."

Ruby looks back down at her cup. (When had she been looking back up?) "I'm not sure when that will be," she admitted. "Uncle Qrow wants to test a few things, see if I can tap my power. And I don't want to leave Yang alone right now either," she admitted. She wants Yang to get better again, like Jaune had. Wants her sister there, if at all possible.

"Then don't," Jaune said. "Do what you can while you can. Once we leave for Haven, there's no turning back. If Yang's up for it, that'd be great."

And if she isn't-

"Besides," he adds, putting that decision off a little longer, "I could use a little more time myself. I'm-" his breath catches, but he pushes through. "I'm still trying to get used to fighting alone."

Alone. Without a partner. Same thing.

"You're not alone, Jaune," Ruby reaches out, putting her hand on his this time. "I lost my partner too. We're in this together."

A retort comes to his lips- that her partner isn't dead, that Weiss is just across half of Remnant, that Ruby knows nothing of what he's going through- but he keeps it. It's like Ren said. He isn't the only one to have lost a friend, and no one wants to lose another.

"I guess I'll work on my sprints, then," Jaune says instead, with a little laugh. "Wouldn't want to slow you down and be left behind."

Ruby gives a mixed smile, hearing the word he hadn't added- again- and not appreciating the self-deprecating humor. But it was a laugh, and is a smile, and she squeezes in solidarity.

"I won't," she promises, promising too many things at once. Not to leave him behind, safe in a tree or locker or whatever it may be.. Not to slow down. But perhaps most importantly, not to send him away to die on her own and leave him behind once again.

If she goes back on that word- if he loses another of his precious friends so soon- he doesn't know what he'll be like next time. Maybe he'll handle it better. Possibly he'll break worse. He doesn't want to know.

"Good," he says, and the topic turns to other things. To how Beacon has officially ended as the Teachers and the remaining students rally to contain and try and chip away at the Grimm occupying the dorms they once called home. To how Nora is happy to hear that Ruby has awakened at long last, and will probably give her a bone-bruising hug when she sees her in person.

Even to what Weiss, with her last words and thoughts, had wished Ruby to know. Ruby quiets, and smiles softly to herself, and if she looks longingly in the direction of Atlas Jaune doesn't feel too jealous as a touch of something darker brushes against his bruised but beating heart.

Jaune doesn't stay and chat much longer, doesn't intend to stay the night. If he hurries, he could get back to that ursa den he'd cleared out, and from there be back at Vale in two days if he really focuses. The road will give him time to himself and to gather his thoughts as well. It's with sincere sorrow at parting, but no regret about leaving, that Jaune stands up and puts his cup down and they make their way to the door.

As they part, promising to stay in touch by letter until they were ready, Jaune puts on his armor and attaches his sword and prepares to head out the door, while Ruby gives her parting words.

"-and stick to the roads," Ruby warns, repeating what her Uncle had once warned her. "At least until you get to the woodsmen cottages. Don't stay at the Iron Inn- the beds there are murder, and Dad had to clear out a nasty bandit from there a few years ago. And don't be afraid to send a messenger bird back if you run out of money or need help. I'll keep an eye out and hurry over if you have any trouble. And-"

"Ruby," Jaune interrupts, finishing tightening a greave and looking at her with fond exasperation. "I'll be fine. I got here, didn't I? I can handle myself."

"I know," Ruby replies after a pause, even if she has to remind herself to believe it at times. "I'm just- are you sure you don't want to stay the night?" she offers. "You can use Dad's bed if he's not back tonight, and the couch if he is, and it might help Yang if someone she knew was here, and-"

Jaune doubts his presence would matter if Ruby's hasn't, but he understands the intent. Ruby is on the cusp of leaving her family, and doesn't want to lose a friend just yet. Even if it's only for a short time.

"It's fine, Ruby," Jaune reassures, turning to open the door and head out into autumn sunset. "I-"

-the setting sun shines clean and pure, bouncing off the fall leaves and turning them into a mix of crimson and copper. Wind whispers through the leaves, laughing as she does despite the training, as a sense of dejavu makes him sense Pyrrha's presence to his left even as she maneuvers behind him and tops his shoulder in warning before reaching around him to supplex him but feeling as loving as a hug as she warns him and says his name as she squeezes and-

"Jaune? Jaune?"

He's still standing in the doorway, the door is still open, but the sun is further down in the sky than it was a few minutes ago. An autumn chill has filled the room, with it a few leaves having blown in, but what really brings him back are the arms around him from behind, holding him tightly and gently.

"Ruby?" he asks, pretty sure but caught in the force of the memory. It wouldn't be the first time on this trip that one memory had led to another- how a three day trip had taken nearly a week-

"Yes!" Ruby cries into his back, trying to suppress the relief and worry all rolled into one. "Jaune, are you-" she pauses, and thinks better of it, not wanting to offend his pride or receive a predictable denial.

"Jaune, is it really okay?" she asks instead, arms still around him, head still pushing into his back, and forehead indistinguishable from another's.

The autumn chill alone isn't what brings tears to his eyes.

"No, it's not," he admits, fists curled and shaking from more than just a late autumn chill.

"It's not okay. I'm not okay. The world's not okay. The world's not right, Pyrrha's dead, Cinder's not caught, and I can't accept that!" His voice raises, his fists curl tighter, and the scar beneath his glove stings- but this time there's no metal in his hand and no blood follows and the phantom of a gentle hand over his uncurls his own as if magnetically.

"It's not okay, and I can't accept it yet," Jaune admits, calming down.

There's another silence, as Ruby doesn't know what to say or what she can do without making things worse rather than better, but she wants to make it better, and it's up to Jaune to take the first step in this case.

He steps forward, out of her arms, and Ruby watches him step away in concern, and watches in naked relief when he closes the door instead of passing through it.

The door shuts, and Jaune turns, and though it's hard and he starts looking down Jaune makes himself look up and meet Ruby's eyes.

"Ruby," he begins, "could I- could I take you up on that offer?" he asks with a crack in his voice and an uncertain expression on his face. It's an expression of tentative outreach, not of need as in dependence or want as in lust, but desire for a friend and a shoulder and even a hope for healing.

"I… don't want to be alone right now," he admits. "Would you mind if I stayed the night?"

Ruby sniffles, and rubs her arm against her eyes, and while there might be tears later and her own grieving as well she gives him the best smile she can for now.

"Of course."

Jaune smiles back, putting everything he can into it as well.

"Thank you."

The world doesn't fix itself that night. Pyrrha doesn't come back from the dead, Yang doesn't leap from her bed healed and unharmed and furious at the sound of her sister's tears, an absent father and busy uncle don't return home to comically misunderstand the mutual comfort and shared remembrance of two friend for a lost third and many more missing. The hurts don't disappear, and aren't erased or overwritten by a favoring hand.

The world doesn't fix itself, but the survivors heal themselves, just a little bit more. Pyrrha doesn't come back, but she is with them as they remember her for who she was and not what she was perceived to be or wished to be by others. Yang doesn't return a fiery protector, but when she passes on her way to the bathroom at night she acknowledges their existence, and when she passes back she sits quietly in the room for a time as they remember Pyrrha, and at some point after Jaune and Ruby cry and fall asleep on the couch against each other a yellow blanket covers them both till the morning. No overprotective parent awakens them with demands of propriety, but in the morning there is a warm breakfast that Taiyang provides as he gives Jaune a nod of acknowledge and a look of gratitude and offers to lend Jaune a jacket to replace the still-soggy and slightly slimy hoodie that proves that Jaune hadn't been the only one working through grief. Taiyang offers to wash it, a trick to ensure that Jaune comes again to reclaim it, proving that even if the past can't be re-written there are still future stories waiting to be told. Such as the small tale of how when Jaune ate his breakfast and a bowl of cereal Tiayang didn't even realize whose image was on the box until Ruby came down and stared in horror at the smiling mascot. At least until Jaune saw her and greeted her and offered to pour her a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's himself, the breakfast of Champions and one Pyrrha Nikos in particular.

(The box is kept, well after the cereal is finished, and the bit of cardboard with the champion's form is bagged and placed in a memory box and withdrawn more than once over the years and decades to come.)

By mid-morning Jaune is back at the door, back at the portal, and back to putting on his arms and armor as he prepares to return to Vale and his team and do what he can until it's time to leave. Once more Ruby is behind him, and watches with a hint of concern as he prepares himself to open the door.

"Jaune, is it okay?" she asks once more, offering to share more comfort if he needs to. "If you're tired, you can stay another day…"

"It's not okay," Jaune confesses. "Pyrrha's still gone, and Cinder's still free, and the world's not right. I can't accept that," he admits, and Ruby reaches out in worry, but she doesn't need to. "I can't accept it," he repeats.

"But I can work on it," Jaune resolves, and steps forward.

He reaches out and opens the door and looks out into the world and into the still-red forest. Even without its champion and with every reason to mourn, the sun still shines and the sky is clear and even though the fall leaves are still there- red and orange and copper and with wind whispering like unheard words and the hint of the laugh- for once it brings something other than pain.

Jaune Arc gives his final farewell, returns to Vale in less time than it took him to come here, and is able to appreciate the red and copper while he can before it falls.

All he has to do is keep moving forward.

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Fin

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Author Note:

The last and longest. It grew on me, and grew, but I thought it was for the better. I realized I hadn't written of Jaune sharing grief with friends, not really, nor did Ruby have a real chance to, and yet that's such an important part of grieving. 'Acceptance' doesn't mean being okay with losing someone, but it clearly what they've all tentatively reached by the end of season 3.

All phases were written for drama effect, not just 'realism' for a certain sense of versimilitude, as should have been obvious from chapter one where Jaune is in denial about Pyrrha even though canon leaves off with him quite clearly aware that Pyrrha has no chance. Similar to the manifestation of anger, and the semi-mystic dream sequence. These might not be 'realistic' in how Jaune specifically responded- I'd be surprised if they don't use it as a character point in season 4- but they are realistic of how people in general can respond, and in this case that had the better purpose (considering Jaune is a projection character) even as each phase emphasized extremes. Even acceptance came with exceptional maturity. Handling grief isn't a matter of never feeling these ways- such as shell-shocked from grief and emotional trauma- but in carrying through and doing better going forward.

Overall, a story that encapsulates my feels of the Season 3 ending and reaction rather well. I don't think it was a mistake, and while I do appreciate a good story as much as the next person, the legion of fix-fics that have spawned... more or a reaction than a solution. Some of the better fics I've seen since have run with the ending, rather than run away from it, and I suppose you could say that was my intent here.

Overall, no regrets, I enjoyed writing it, hope you enjoyed reading it, please share your thoughts and leave a review, etc. etc. etc.