Okay, after literal years and at one point deciding that this story was gonna rot in the hell of unfinished fics I decided to just sit down and rewrite parts of the chapter this is replacing, and that ultimately led to me finishing the story. A lot of it is mostly unchanged, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. (Note: I have come back to update the ending. A couple things here and there needed to change, they felt too clean.)

Jaune wasn't sure when he passed out in Rens van, or where he was when he woke up, but he figured it was Yangs considering the warm weight next to him. He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, savoring the content sigh that escaped her lips as his hands ran along her belly, followed by a giggle as her hands slid over top of his.

He buried his face in her hair, inhaling the smell of fresh roses that clung to her tresses—

Wait a minute, since when did Yang smell like roses?

His eyes snapped open, and just as he feared he was staring at red tipped, jet black hair.

"Ruby!" Jaune shouted, rolling out of bed and landing nose first, though thankfully it didn't break. Ruby shouted in fright and leaped from the bed, and when Jaune managed to pull himself up he was grateful to see her wearing pajama pants and a tank top.

"Why the hell were you in my bed?" he asked heatedly. He glared at Ruby, waiting for her to explain.

She stood there awkwardly, trying her best not to bolt out of the room. "After Ren dropped you off I went back to work in the basement. When I came up to get a drink and some food I heard you groaning, you sounded like you were in pain. When I looked in here I saw you thrashing around like you were fighting." She said, unable to look him in the eye.

Jaune felt his anger dissipate. He could almost remember what she was talking about. He'd been having a dream, a flashback really, of his time in the first year of the Mistrali Incursion. The soldiers he'd been in command of had been overwhelmed by a knuckleave and he had been forced to call a retreat.

"When I saw you like that I came over to try and wake you, but when I touched you, you pulled me into bed and just held onto me. It seemed to calm you down, and I was pretty tired myself, so I figured there wasn't any harm in just going to sleep." She finished.

Jaune ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Fine, just... don't do it again please, and don't tell Yang. The last thing I need is her freaking out over this." He said as he grabbed some clothes from his closet and headed into the bathroom to shower and change.

When he exited he found Ruby was also dressed with Crescent Rose strapped to her back and his duffle bag of gear at her feet. "I actually needed your help today." She said, laying Crocea Mors next to the duffle bag containing his armor. "Uncle Qrow had a bit too much last night and is sleeping it off, so the headmaster at Signal asked me to fill in for the combat class." She said.

Jaune quirked an eyebrow at her as he pulled his hair into a ponytail. "How does that involve me and how did you get Crocea Mors?" he asked.

Ruby smiled and picked up his bag and tossed it to him. "Since I'm gonna be filling in as the combat instructor, I need you to be part of my demonstration of how a real Huntsman and Huntress fight. Also your sister dropped it off, and she said that your dad said you should be the one wielding it." She said, once again picking up Jaunes' sword and slinging it over her shoulder. "Now come on, our flight leaves in an hour. And before you try to tell me 'no', you've spent the day with everyone other than me. It's my turn." She called over her shoulder as she walked out of his room.

Jaune found it hard to argue with the young woman, so he did the only thing he could; grabbed his bag and walked after her.

The cab ride to the airship dock went relatively smoothly, and though once on the airship Jaunes' stomach fought valiantly, it couldn't keep the eggs and toast he'd eaten before they left inside, opting instead to splatter them into the nearest trashcan.

"Why is this back? This wasn't a problem until I came home." He said, accepting the small bottle of mouthwash Ruby offered him and giving his mouth a thorough rinse.

After double checking that his breath didn't reek he rejoined Ruby. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited. He'd never been to another Huntsman academy besides Beacon. And this was the one Ruby had attended, the one that had brought out the potential that got her admitted to Beacon two years early and made the leader of her team.

"So what exactly will my role be while you're teaching? Should I make sure students aren't passing notes or watching porn on their scrolls?" he asked with a chuckle.

Ruby shook her head. "Like I said before you'll be helping me teach combat classes, which means you'll be squaring off against me and also be working with individual students to help them find flaws in their fighting styles." She said, doing her best to conceal her yawn and failing utterly.

Jaune did his best not to yawn as well but much like Ruby, failed. So he got a little more comfortable and patted his shoulder. "We have a little time before we get to Signal so go ahead and get some more shuteye." He said.

Ruby wasted no time snuggling up and laying her head on his shoulder. Jaune sat there for a few awkward minutes, waiting for his sleepiness to come back so he could join Ruby in dreamland. Unfortunately, it didn't, which left Jaune alone with his thoughts.

He looked out the window; hoping that watching the landscape roll by would distract him. Instead he found himself staring at his and Ruby's reflections. The reflection of the glass softened his face, making his scars less visible. His eyes drifted to Ruby's reflection and found it had done the same thing to her.

If he didn't know any better he'd think they were in Beacon again, being deployed on a leader's only mission as part of their battlefield strategy classes.

How time had changed her. Gone was the gangly, socially awkward, scythe wielding, cookie scarfing girl. In her place was a fully realized Huntress in the prime of her life and career.

He'd always thought Ruby was graceful, especially on the battlefield, using momentum and physics to transform what should have been a bulky and unwieldy weapon into a precision instrument that killed Grimm by the score.

That grace had now followed her off the battlefield and was part of Ruby's' everyday life, evident in the way she moved. With her now flowing black and red hair and the curves she'd grown into in their last year at Beacon and the time he'd been gone, he couldn't help but wonder how many heads she turned just by taking a stroll outside.

A small part of his brain remarked that he could have used her skill during the Incursion. Yang had been a powerhouse, single handedly making openings for the rest of them to push back the horde. But Ruby was a prodigy, skilled enough to be admitted to Beacon two years early and be named a team leader. How many casualties would have been avoided, how many more lives would have been saved, had Ruby been there instead of her sister?

If it had been Ruby he'd fallen in love with, would he have come home to find out she'd had another man's child?

He shook his head at that. He loved Yang, and Amy was a sweet child the he already considered a member of his family.

Besides, he'd chosen to stay away for almost five more years; he had no right to be vindictive.

He was snapped from his thoughts when Ruby shifted against him, leaning into him more and wrapping an arm around his waist. "Jaune." He heard her mutter, and he couldn't help but wonder what she was dreaming about, though considering she'd muttered his name he assumed it had to do with him.

He yawned again and figured he should try to get some sleep as well. Settling into a more comfortable position, he laid his head on top of Ruby's and shut his eyes.

What seemed like only a few minutes later he felt the younger woman shifting underneath him. He groaned and stretched; a soft "Ouch" indicating that he had apparently smacked Ruby.

He mumbled an apology and looked out the window, his eyes going a bit wide at the sight before him.

Signal Academy seemed far different from Beacon. Instead of soaring, domed towers it had squat square buildings, the walls connecting the square towers seeming sturdy enough to hold back a Goliath, at least for a few minutes.

"Hey Ruby, is Signal a fortress?" he asked as they got up and retrieved their things and moved towards the exit. The reaper nodded.

"Yup, during the War Signal housed about a third of Vales army. Afterwards the government decided to convert it into a Huntsman training school since everyone was reducing the size of their standing military." She explained as she pulled out her scroll and dialed a number.

"Hey, I'm here. I also brought Jaune with me as kind of a teacher's aide. Its fine, he's been out in the wilds for a decade, remember? I think he can handle a bunch of teenagers." She said into the device, pausing as the person on the other end of the line responded. "He'll be on his best behavior, I promise. Love you too." She finished before hanging up.

"What was that about?" Jaune asked as they headed toward the massive gates of the school, Ruby actually beginning to skip like Nora used to. She stopped and turned to face him. "Just letting the Headmaster know that I brought you along so the other teachers don't freak out about the strange Huntsman wandering around the school." She said, resuming her skipping.

"Why didn't you clear that before?" he asked as he jogged to catch up with her. She just smiled at him.

"Sometimes it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission." She said. "Oh and before you ask, the headmaster is... apparently coming out to greet us." She said as she pointed at a tall, muscular man with graying blonde hair making his way towards them.

Jaune's mouth fell open when he saw him. It was the Huntsman that had talked to him in the park when he'd run away from Weiss. He was the headmaster of Signal?

The knights' confusion grew when he swept Ruby up in a bear hug and spun her around, the red haired Huntress laughing like a little girl.

"How are you Rosebud?" the older man said as he put her down. "You look thin, have you been eating enough?"

"I'm fine dad; I've just been putting some extra time into working on a new project." Ruby said, waving the older man off.

"Dad? Wait a minute, then that means you're..." Jaune let the sentence trail off, the full gravity of that word settling in.

"Relax kid I don't bite. I should probably take this chance to properly introduce myself." The man said as he strode forward and extended his hand. "Taiyang Xiao Long, Ruby and Yangs' father and Amy's grandfather. Nice to formally meet you Jaune." He said cheerily.

Jaune reached out and grasped the man's hand, thankful that it was his prosthetic hand caught in the man's grip. He was pretty sure if it was a normal hand several of his fingers would have been popped out of their joints.

"Are you seriously trying to play the intimidating dad card? Come on, we're all adults here let's act like it." Ruby said, giving her father a very disapproving look."Why don't you go back to your office and do whatever it is headmasters do. Jaune and I are going to go let the students know we're here, it was a long flight that Jaune threw up on." she said, pushing past her dad and heading into the school.

Taiyang gave Jaune a dubious look. "You know they make meds for that right? It's over the counter stuff." He said, his tone making it clear he was trying not to laugh. Jaune just sighed and moved to follow Ruby, only to for his arm to be captured by Taiyang.

"We need to have another talk before you leave. About Yang and Amy." He said, his tone indicating that Jaune would do well not to ignore this.

"Okay, we'll talk when classes are over for the day. Until then I need my arm so I can show these kids how bad they really are." He said with an uneasy smile.

That earned a smile from the headmaster. "There's a kid in there that needs her ass kicked. You'll know her when you see her." He said before heading into the school, Jaune following a few steps behind him.

Jaune found Ruby waiting in the entrance hall, an apologetic smile on her face. She gave her father one last hug and led him to the dining hall, dashing into the place in a whirl of rose petals before coming to a stop and shouting "Hellooooo Signal Academy students! Didja miss me?"

Her display was met with cheers from a few dozen students who all rushed to greet her.

"Welcome back Miss Rose!"

"Good to have you back ma'am."

"Who's the guy she brought with her?"

That was the signal for Ruby to grab Jaune and drag him to the arena they'd be teaching the combat class in.

"Wow, look at this. It's almost as nice as the one in Beacon." Jaune said as he admired the combat arena. Much like Beacons it had a raised dais where the combatants fought, with two massive screens that displayed the aura levels. But that wasn't all.

Jaune noticed gaps in the floor of varying shapes, mostly circular. Most likely they rose up out of the floor to allow other students to spar while the main dais was occupied.

"Well duh, it's a combat academy. Did you expect anything else?" she said. Jaunes response was an arched eyebrow, and after a long moment memory finally caught up with her. "Oh right, you went straight to Beacon, couldn't be held back by silly things like a preparatory academy." She said with a smile.

"Yup." He said, still looking around, "But why is this so advanced? I'd expect to see this at Beacon."

"Semblances. All the kids here have their aura's unlocked in their first year, there's a whole ceremony and everything, and within that first year their Semblance usually manifests, so a lot of time is devoted to mastering it. You'd be surprised how many kids get it in their heads that they're invincible once their Semblance manifests and burn their auras out by overtaxing it." She continued.

"Wow, when you put it that way what I did seems really..." Jaune said, letting the sentence hang as he searched for the correct word.

"Insane?" Ruby supplied.

"Disrespectful." He decided, "You and everyone else worked really hard to get where you were. All I did was pay a guy to alter my transcripts."

Ruby walked over to him and laid a hand on his cheek, making him look at her. "No moping. Look at it this way; you had to learn how to swim after jumping in the deep end. You were made a team leader to boot, and Ozpin thought you were good enough to float you that job offer when we were third years." She said with a reassuring smile. "That's almost as impressive as getting accepted into Beacon two years early, not to toot my own horn." She continued.

"Yeah, you're definitely not fellating your own ego there." Jaune said with a laugh as he pulled Ruby's hand away. She always knew what to say to get him motivated again. "You said we were gonna have a demonstration right?" he asked, smirking when Ruby nodded. "Well, we can see if you still have what it takes to be certified."

"Oh I definitely do." She said, and in a fluid motion that reminded him that Ruby's awkward phase was over, she spun around and pressed up against him. "And then some." She finished with a sultry wink before she was gently pushed away by Jaune.

"Okay, so what all goes into preparing a combat class?" he asked, trying to diffuse some of the tension that had begun to gather. He didn't fail to notice the look of disappointment that shadowed Ruby's' face before it was replaced by her normal happy smile. "First we need to get the arena set up, and the aura readers calibrated, it won't take long." She said, gesturing for him to follow her.

Ruby was correct in that it wouldn't take long, and within a few minutes they were ready and wiled away the time with mindless chatter until the bell rang, and within ten minutes a group of maybe twenty students ambled into the arena, taking seats in the stands surrounding the main battleground. "What's the age range of these kids anyway?" He said nervously as he felt the almost predatory gaze of the female half of the class on him.

"They're all fourth years; ready to move on to whatever academy they choose when they graduate. So around sixteen and seventeen." She said, giving him a knowing smile. "I knew, and yet I asked. Should I be afraid of the looks I'm getting?" he asked, again glancing nervously at the assembled teens.

"Oh relax Jaune. They're teenagers." Ruby responded as she moved toward the class, clearing her throat and pointedly ignoring Jaunes remark of; "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Good afternoon! As you can see I am not Professor Branwen, he's sleeping off a bad hangover. Some of you already know me as his niece Ruby Rose, and as before I will be covering for him with the help my handsome assistant, fellow Huntsman and longtime friend, Jaune Arc." Ruby said, gesturing to Jaune as if she were a magician presenting their assistant.

Jaune rolled his eyes but waved nonetheless. "Okay, let's discuss pairings for matches." Ruby said as she extended her scroll to its tablet form and began looking at the roster. "Can I be paired with Professor Arc?" a bold girl, the sides of her head shaved down while a patch of green rested on top, shouted, much to the delight of the rest of the class, who erupted into a fit of laughter and cat calls.

"Sadly no Verte, you're going to be paired with Coral for your fight." Ruby said, tapping away at her scroll.

"Is he paired with you Miss Rose?" a young man with spiked white hair asked. Jaune glanced at Ruby in time to see her blush beginning to form. "N-no not at all, we're just really good friends." She said hurriedly.

"I'm paired with her sister actually." He said, sending a scandalous gasp through the assembled crowd and set quite a few tongues wagging.

"You're dating Miss Xiao Long? Nice!" a blonde boy exclaimed, and Jaune couldn't help but smile. "I am, now shape up kids, there's fights to watch and participate in, with a special demonstration by myself and Miss Rose, whenever she decides to finish setting up the matches!" he called over to Ruby, who flinched slightly as she continued to tap away on her scroll before putting it away. "Just finished actually mister impatient." She said, their auras flashing on the screen as she drew Crescent Rose.

Jaune made a show of drawing his blade, showing the class that it did not in point of fact, have any sort of projectile weapon attached to it, nor did it seem to be able to change into another melee weapon.

There were a series of conversations that all immediately died down as they watched Crescent Rose unfold into its scythe form.

Before they could begin however, a voice from the crowd drew their attention. "He doesn't have a mechashift weapon? Can't be much of a Huntsman then."

Everyone in the room turned to the owner of the voice. She emerged from the crowd, her long brown hair broken only by a single red streak. Her armor would have looked more at home on a video game character, a set of greaves on her shins, vambraces to cover her forearms and a single spaulder on her left shoulder emblazoned with a spear piercing a shield with a sun painted on it. On her back was a round buckler shield, at her hip a sword that looks shockingly familiar to Jaune.

"Marron you really need to understand when to sit back and observe." Ruby said, her demeanor changing completely as she glared at the girl.

Marron merely scoffed and threw her hair over her shoulder. "Miss Rose I don't doubt he's strong, but look at those scars. He even has a prosthetic arm! What kind of Huntsman loses an arm to those mindless animals?" the girl asked, striding past Ruby to stand in front of him.

"A proper Huntsman doesn't have them; a proper Huntsman doesn't lose a limb." She said, her smile reeking of arrogance that only a talented teenager could have. Jaune fixed her with a stern gaze as she continued to smile at him. "If you really want to see what it's like to face a proper Huntsman, I'll have no problem imparting some much needed wisdom." Jaune said as nodded at Ruby.

The red haired girl adopted a worried expression but ultimately nodded back, changing the match so Marrons aura was displayed on the big screen next to Jaunes.

"You both know the rules, the fight lasts until one of you either gives up or your aura drops into the red zone." Ruby said as she ushered the students further back.

"Trust me Rubes, this won't take long." He said as he expanded the sheath of Crocea Mors into its shield form.

Marron smirked and drew her sword, the xiphos gleaming in the bright light of the room. The buckler at her back seemed to move of its own accord to attach to her left arm, expanding into an aspis shield.

Jaune blinked and suddenly Marrons hair was bright red, her eyes emerald green. She smiled at him, her sword at the ready. He didn't realize Ruby had given the signal to begin until she charged at him with an overhead strike that he barely turned aside as he stepped back.

It was fourteen years of trained instinct that kept him moving as the familiar attacks and blocks played out; drawing back the sword to bash with the shield, an ancient and often effective move that broke an enemy's guard. He wasn't able to dodge the shield bash, but managed to bring his own shield up to block the strike that followed. That strike flowed into a chain of attacks, her weapon changing from spear to sword then back to spear culminating in a sweeping strike at his legs, which he managed to jump over, bringing Crocea Mors down, setting her on the defensive with his own flurry of blows until she was able to put some distance between them.

He shook his head and Marron stood before him again, her smile cocky. "Reaction times a bit slow. Starting to feel old?" she asked, twirling her spear in her hand. Again Jaune saw Marron replaced with Pyrrha, who charged at him again, assaulting him with a series of thrusts and slashes that he managed to block, muscle memory doing most of the work.

"You fight like Pyrrha." He said when they disengaged again. Marrons' smirk grew as she twirled her spear again. "Finally noticed huh? The Invincible Girls invincible fighting style; I've studied it since I was old enough to hold a weapon. Don't feel too bad that you're having such a hard time." She said with a chuckle, her spear retaking its xiphos form.

"Actually, I was Pyrrhas' partner during her time at Beacon, so if anyone knows how to whip your ass, it's me." Jaune responded as he tightened his grip on his sword, a smile spreading across his lips as the blood drained from his opponents face.

It was like remembering the steps of a dance long unperformed, or like riding a bicycle after not touching one for years. His body began to relax into the motions, the arena around him becoming the rooftops of Beacon from so long ago, when he'd barely been able to hold his weapon properly. And now he found it easier to turn aside strikes, to dodge what were actually clumsy attempts to break his guard.

He watched as her frustration mounted, the fire stoked by her inability to land a proper strike anymore, and by the knowledge that each of his counterattacks brought her aura closer and closer to the red.

He almost felt bad for how easy it had become.

He moved in, feinting a horizontal slash that turned into a diagonal one, knocking her sword away. She brought her shield up to block what she assumed was his next strike, but Jaune had simply let his momentum carry him into a spin that brought his shield down hard and sent her reeling, then stumbling forward when Jaunes foot collided with her back.

Marron rolled with the fall but when she regained her senses she found herself staring at the tip of Crocea Mors.

"It's over, you lost." He said, a wry smile upon his face.

Marron scowled at him, taking a sharp breath as if to speak.

What followed was a scream so loud it threatened to burst his eardrums, the force of it throwing him from his feet, sending him ass over elbows until he hit the ground a few yards away.

As Marron retrieved her weapon to resume the fight a buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the match.

"Marron, your aura is now in the red. This match is over." Ruby declared with a finality that would see no argument. Jaune groaned as he stood up, gathering up his sword and shield and stowing them on his back.

"Now, can anyone tell me what Marron did wrong?" Ruby asked, addressing the class, who whispered and talked about the match they just saw.

It was the green haired girl, Verte, that answered. "She let herself get angry, it made her sloppy. She also waited to use her Semblance until her aura was in the orange range, which drained it to red. Her biggest mistake was maintaining her position of most arrogant bitch and challenging a Huntsman with years of training and actual field experience." She said calmly, though near the end she smiled smugly at Marron, no doubt pleased to see her taken down a peg.

"Okay, no need for name calling." Ruby said, though a smile tugged at her lips. "You've seen what a proper Huntsman can do now, and hopefully you'll all take away the lesson that will be drilled into you no matter what Huntsman academy you attend after this; that arrogance on the battlefield will lead to an untimely death, or grievous injury." She concluded, tapping a few things on her scroll and raising the different arenas around the main one.

"Now that that's settled, we're going to have to skip the demonstration from Jaune and I, so I'll just have everyone pair off and practice in the smaller arenas, we'll be making the rounds and correcting your forms." She said, the large screen overhead changing to reflect the new arenas, pairs of names moving to each one.

The students all groaned and muttered in disappointment but moved to the task they were assigned, entering the arenas. Jaune moved back over to Ruby and watched as they began to spar.

"So we really just wander around correcting forms?" Jaune asked. Ruby nodded. "Yup, as boring as it sounds that's what being a combat instructor means. Not all teachers can be like Professor Port." she said with a giggle as she remembered the grimm the rotund teacher would bring in for 'practical training' as he liked to call it. "Or Professor Goodwitch." Jaune said, making both of them shudder.

"Okay, let's see what needs work." Jaune said as he walked away from Ruby and began observing the students.

Unsurprisingly he found several flaws in the fighting of the pair of students in the first arena, pointing them out while doing his best not to be overly critical. They seemed to take his advice to heart though, as a few of those flaws seemed to disappear immediately.

'This is easier than I thought.' he mused to himself as he continued to wander through the room correcting a stance here, or a move there. Some students weren't being mobile enough, some were too mobile. Others were putting everything they had into each strike and tiring themselves out quickly.

All in all, these kids actually had a lot of talent, way more than he did when he was that age.

He passed by another arena and saw Verte sparring with Marron, the brown haired girl seeming to be on the defensive more than she had been, hiding behind her shield while Verte assaulted her with a pair of hand axes. Verte glanced at him as she fell back, giving him a wink before bring her axes up defensively as Marron took advantage of her opponents distraction.

Eventually he rejoined Ruby, who seemed impressed with him. "You make a surprisingly good teacher Jaune. Maybe your useful for more than your good looks and muscles." the reaper said playfully as she gave him a shove, which Jaune took in stride. "Finally, I can abandon my night job as a stripper and pursue an honest life." he said dramatically, the back of his hand resting on his forehead.

"Joke all you want but I think it suits you Professor Arc." Ruby said, putting emphasis on the word. Jaune chuckled and waved off the comment as a chime began to sound. "Okay kids, that's all for today's class, go get changed and go back to learning boring stuff." Ruby declared as she watched the Huntsmen and Huntresses in training exit their arenas and head to the locker rooms.

"So when is the weapon forging class? And will we be dealing with more surprisingly predatory teenagers?" Jaune asked as they left the room. Ruby let out a laugh and shook her head. "We're gonna be dealing with a class of second years." she said as they turned down a corridor full of young people.

In time the pair made it to the Forge, Ruby made it clear that the 'F' was capitalized.

The class passed quickly, and Jaune got to see Ruby work for the first time since he left.

He was surprised at how the academy let kids barely into their teens handle such dangerous implements. Then again he'd basically stolen his sword and hadn't had to think about designing anything, so who was he to judge?

As he watched her work, Jaune was reminded of Yangs' words; about how her sister was known around the world for her work and constantly trying to be scouted by one of the kingdoms.

She looked over each students design carefully, looking for flaws with a practiced eye and correcting them before sending them to get proper blueprints for their weapons, making sure they used the equipment safely to create each piece of their weapon.

At one point Ruby came to him, unceremoniously took Crocea Mors from him, and used it as an example for a student who wanted their weapon to include a shield.

This class went on for what appeared to be the remainder of the school day. When the bell rang the students stored their weapon parts in specially assigned lockers and exited the room, Ruby and Jaune following them.

"That was actually really interesting, even the parts that flew over my head." Jaune said as they walked toward the main entrance.

"Yeah, it's really fun helping them design their weapons, it reminds me a lot of when Uncle Qrow helped me design mine." Ruby responded, tucking a loose bit of hair behind her ear.

"You think that one kid will be able to make the shield work with his weapon?" Jaune asked as he glanced out the window and saw that it had begun to rain.

"Totally, I actually had an idea similar to that when I came up with the new design for your weapon that you had forged without me." she said, giving Jaune a very pointed look.

Jaune looked away in embarrassment. "Ozpin said I couldn't take Crocea Mors with me in case someone recognized it." he defended weakly.

"Why did Ozpin want you to fake your death anyway? It seems so ridiculous and unnecessary." she asked, the question having been burning in the back of her mind since he'd come back.

Before Jaune could reply he was grabbed by his collar and pulled in the opposite direction. "Did you forget I had some very important things to talk with you about?" Taiyang said as he spun Jaune around and gave him a push to get him walking.

"No I didn't I just didn't know where your office was." Jaune responded as he fell into step beside Tai.

It shouldn't have surprised Jaune that Taiyangs office was in the tower in the center of the fortress. He was surprised however at how different it was from Ozpins office. There were several worn out and faded rugs on the stone floor, bookshelves lined the walls and while some had books, others had pictures of Ruby and Yang from different points in their lives.

"Yeah, I decorate a little sparsely." Taiyang admitted as he took a seat behind his desk and leaned on it, Jaune sitting in the plush chair on the other side.

"Okay I'm going to get right to the point; I want to know that you're completely committed to being with Yang and being a father to Amy." Tai said sternly, resting his hands on his desk.

Jaune tilted his head in confusion before leaning forward. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't committed." he said seriously.

Taiyang let out a laugh. "It's easy to say that when things are going well. My first wife was committed until she had Yang, then she was gone." Tai said.

"Why are you telling me this?" Jaune asked as he leaned back in his chair. Tai narrowed his eyes and, without breaking eye contact with Jaune, pulled open a drawer in his desk, withdrew something, and placed it in front of him. It was a photo, of Yang and who Jaune guessed was Amy when she had just been born. She looked tired, but the smile on her face was so full of love he wished he could have been there.

"Because when Yang first revealed she was pregnant she wouldn't tell us who the father was, and didn't until after Amy was born and she was hopped up on painkillers. Everyone promised that they would let her be the one to tell you when she was ready." Tai said as he leaned back in his chair.

Jaune felt a pit growing in his stomach, the pieces were starting to fit together. He flipped the picture over and saw Amarillo 'Amy' Xiao Long-Arc followed by the time of birth and the babies weight.

"I hate to take the choice out of her hands Jaune, but I know what it's like to be a single parent, and Ruby and Yang know what it's like to grow up without a parent in the picture. And I don't want that for Amy." Tai continued as he leaned forward from his previous reclined position, his hands resting on the desk between them.

"Jaune, you're Amy's father, and as ridiculous as I find it that you weren't able to figure it out, you owe it to her, Yang, and yourself, to be the father she needs." Tai finished.

Jaune didn't respond. He was still recovering from the revelation. It had been obvious, so obvious that Amy was his, now that he was looking back on his first meeting with the girl. Every trait present in the Arc children he had written off as simply being something from her mother. Her blue eye however, should have tipped him off.

"Jaune? Come on man snap out of it." Tai said, drawing him from his thoughts. The younger blonde man shook his head. "Sorry, that was just the last possible thing I was expecting out of this." He said as he stood up, setting the picture back on Tais desk.

Tai gave him an apologetic smile. "I know, and again, I'm sorry for being the one to let the cat out of that bag." he said as he put the photo away and got up to walk Jaune out of his office. Jaune nodded at the older man as he left the office, making it to the airship dock only to find Ruby wasn't there, a message from her on his scroll informing him that Taiyang had told her to go on ahead and asking if he was okay.

He ignored the messages and shoved the device back in his pocket, his shock now finally dissolving completely and slowly turning into anger as he boarded the next airship.

In a cruel twist of fate it seemed another woman he loved had kept another important secret him, and he couldn't believe he had that kind of shitty luck.

When the airship landed he stepped out, doing his best to school his features into a mask of neutrality as he wandered through the streets, hoping time walking around would be enough to calm him down.

It wasn't helping though, it wasn't helping at all. Whenever he thought he was getting himself under control the fury would come back worse than before. Knowing he would start to attract attention he didn't want if he walked around with an angry expression on his face, he pulled the sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them on.

He wasn't sure how long he wandered the streets, or how long he ignored the chirping in his pocket of gods knew how many messages he'd received, but eventually he ducked into an alley and pulled out the device, seeing a myriad of messages from Ruby, Weiss, and surprisingly Blake, all asking if he was okay and if he was coming back soon, devolving slowly into panicked messages to call them. He noted that Yang had only messaged him once, the contents being a picture of her and Amy.

'Our daughter.' The thought crossed his mind before he could stop it and the anger came back once more, along with an ache in his chest. He'd been absent from Amys' life for almost five years, he'd missed so much, because no one had bothered to tell him.

He felt his breathing speed up, the same kind of panic from his non-date with Weiss resurfacing. But he pushed it down, as deep as he could, and tapped on Yangs contact info to call her.

She picked up on the third ring, her voice when she greeted him full of cheer.

"Hey Jaune, where are you? Ruby, Weiss, and Blake have all called asking if you'd been by. They uh, sounded worried." she said, her voice carrying a bit of concern as well. In the background he heard Amy say something and it made his heart lurch, to want to just hang up and go be with his daughter. But that moment passed, leaving anger in its place.

"I've been walking around the city, thinking about some things." he said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Well that sounds ominous, but okay, I'll bite; what things are you thinking about?" Yang asked with a chuckle.

"How my girlfriends love to keep important secrets from me, and make sure everyone else keeps that secret." he said.

What followed was a long stretch of silence, Jaune even checking the device to make sure he hadn't been disconnected. He was just bringing the device back to his ear when he heard Yang begin to speak again.

"How did you find out?" she asked, her voice filled with tension.

"I spent the day helping Ruby teach over at Signal. Met your dad by the way, great guy, he was the one that decided keeping the secret wasn't as important as Amy having her father in her life." Jaune said. He heard Yang sigh into the phone and something along the lines of 'Dammit dad' before she started speaking again.

"Look Jaune-" she said before he cut her off.

"You. Had. No. Right." he said as heat began to creep into his voice. "That little girl is my daughter as much as yours and I should have been told as soon as I walked in Ruby's door when I got back." he said, realizing he was breathing harder. "Were you going to tell me, did you even want to?!" he said, barely able to keep his voice below a roar.

"Of course I wanted to tell you, why wouldn't I!?" Yang asked, followed by more silence. When she spoke again, her voice was soft, like she was trying not to cry. "I was just afraid."

"Afraid of what Yang? What could you have possibly been afraid of?" Jaune asked, sliding down the wall of the alley until he hit the ground. Most of the anger had left him, and in its place was fatigue and lingering confusion.

"Of how you'd react, what you'd do. We've had this talk Jaune, you don't exactly have a good track record for big revelations." she said.

"It's not the revelations that are the issue Yang, its the fact that they're kept from me, that everyone is actively keeping me in the dark." he responded as he tilted his head back, glancing up at the few stars that he could see from his current position.

"Jaune, please don't do anything rash. Just, just come and talk to me please. We can figure this out, we can talk." Yang pleaded.

Jaune sighed as he mulled things over. He knew it would be the easiest thing in the world to just go talk to her, to hash things out. But with how he was feeling right now, he knew he might say something he regretted. Eventually he came to the only real decision there was.

"Okay, okay, we'll talk. Just give me some time to calm down. Okay?" he offered.

He heard Yang sigh in relief. "Yeah, take your time. I'll put Amy to bed and we'll talk when you get here. I love you." she said. "I love you too." Jaune responded before hanging up.

He rested his head against the wall and let out another sigh before standing up and flagging a cab to take him to Rubys' place. When he walked in he was bowled over immediately by a red blur. When Jaune recovered he looked down to see Ruby straddling him.

"Where the hell have you been?!" she exclaimed, her face way too close for Jaunes liking. As gently as he could given his mental state he moved Ruby off of him and stood up.

"Your dad told me Amy was my daughter, I've been trying to get my head straight since I left Signal." he said bluntly, watching Rubys' face pale at his statement.

"Oh, I see. Did you call Yang?" she asked nervously. Jaune let out a tired sigh and nodded. "Yeah, we're gonna talk once I'm showered and changed." he said before brushing past her to go to his room.

After his shower he put on some fresh clothes, and as he was heading toward the door to leave he paused when he saw Ruby in the living room. Deciding it was easier to have this conversation with her now before he had this conversation with Yang, he walked over to the couch where Ruby was sitting and took a seat next to her.

"So, this is the part where you explain the part you played in this." he said, looking at her expectantly. Ruby refused to meet his eyes, staring instead at her hands, folded neatly in her lap.

"I kept quiet because I trusted her to tell you. Maybe I should have learned my lesson from what happened with Pyrrha but she's my sister Jaune, how could I not trust her, think the best of her?" she said, still refusing to look at him.

Jaune looked at her for a few moments before letting his own eyes fall to the floor. "That's understandable. I just... when I talked to Yang about it she said she was afraid I'd run off like I did before. Did you guys really expect me to do that? Do you think I'm so incapable of dealing with this that I'd immediately just up and vanish again?" he asked, pushing himself to his feet.

Ruby finally looked up at him, her eyebrow quirked. "Do you really want me to answer that?" she asked, and Jaune let out a humorless laugh. "No, I guess I don't." he responded as he dragged a hand over his face.

"I'm not sure what to say now to be honest, I thought I'd be more angry actually confronting you about it. But I'm just numb right now." Jaune said as he moved toward the door.

"Maybe talking to Blake and Weiss will help too?" Ruby offered as he was about to step out.

"Maybe." He responded before he shut the door behind him.

After informing Yang of what he was doing and placing a call to Weiss, Jaune found himself knocking on her door much sooner than expected, with Weiss having sent a car to collect him.

He did his best to smile when he found Neptune to be the one answering the door, exchanging a few quick pleasantries with him before being directed to Weiss' office, where the woman in question sat behind her desk, holding a finger up to silence him as she talked on her scroll.

"I don't care about the cost, make sure the shipment is protected. We can't afford to lose any more Dust to these White Fang wannabes." she said before disconnecting the call and letting out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

When she looked up Jaune gave her a sympathetic smile. "The glamorous life of a CEO." he quipped as he took a seat in one of the chairs in front her desk.

Weiss rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face gave away its joking nature. "You want to lead a strike team? I'm sure Blake wouldn't mind an extra set of hands." Weiss offered as she reached to the other side of her desk and poured them both a drink from the crystal decanter, though Jaune declined his.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Maybe once I've gotten everything in my own life under control." he responded as he leaned forward. "Do you know why I asked to see you?" he questioned, his demeanor becoming more serious.

Weiss nodded. "Ruby called after you did, told me the cats out of the bag, and because I like to think I'm smart I assume you want to know why I didn't tell you?" she asked as she sipped at her whiskey.

Jaune chuckled and leaned back. "You are, in fact, as smart as you think you are."

Weiss leaned back as well, not meeting his eyes. "It wasn't my place to tell you, as terrible a reason as that is. I can't fathom how it felt to find out what Pyrrhas' little secret was. I can't imagine how much it hurt, not only that she kept it from you, but that we had as well." she paused to drain her glass, setting it on her desk. Jaune sat there, contemplating what she had already said and waiting for her to continue.

"When I found out, about Pyrrha I mean, I wanted to tell you immediately. Not just because you deserved to know what was going on, but also because even with how much you had changed as a person, I was still petty and felt you didn't deserve her. And when that all came crashing down, I let that pettiness get the better of me, and I said a lot of things I shouldn't have. I'm sorry Jaune, I really am." she continued, pouring herself another glass of whiskey and taking a sip.

"And when we found out Amy was yours and Yangs, we didn't want a repeat of what happened after the Pyrrha incident, so we made another mistake. You deserved to know, there's nothing else to say really." she finished lamely.

Jaune sat there in silence trying to process it all. He let out a sigh as he stood up. "I don't really know what to say Weiss. Part of me understands why you didn't say anything, and another part of me is furious anyway." He said, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck.

Weiss looked up at him with a steely gaze. "Amy is still your daughter Jaune. She needs her father in her life." she said in a tone that sent a chill down his spine.

"I know Weiss." he said as he moved toward her office door. "I'm gonna be there for her, that won't change." he said as he walked out.

After saying a quick goodbye to Neptune he left the apartment, only to be met by Blake who was leaning on a car rather than her motorcycle.

Jaune couldn't help but smile as he approached her. "Ruby called you too huh?" he asked as she straightened.

"Yeah. Come on, I'm hungry and there's a nice little cafe around the corner." she declared as she dragged him by the arm to the cafe in question.

Jaune idly sipped at his coffee while Blake ate, and did his best to ignore the looks they were getting, somehow having forgotten Blake was a celebrity. Though with how many things had just landed in his lap, could he be blamed?

"So, to answer your question before you ask; I didn't tell you because Yang asked me not to. She's my partner, and a dear friend, and I had faith she would tell you when she was ready." she declared, taking a sip of her tea.

Jaune stared at her for a time before rubbing his face with his hands, feeling the dull pain of a headache forming. "You know what? Fair enough. At this point I've gone mostly numb, so at least I won't blow up at Yang." he said before downing his coffee.

Blake looked at him with a sympathetic smile and gave his hand a squeeze. "You can do this Jaune, we're here for you okay?" she said. Jaune nodded and threw some lien on the table before getting up. "I know Blake, now I'm gonna go confront my girlfriend about the child she kept secret."

Yang kept glancing at the clock, watching the minutes tick by as she sat in the living room. She'd have been pacing but she knew the noise would probably wake Amy, and she didn't want her to be awake for this.

A gentle knock at the door diverted her attention. "It's open." she said, just loud enough to be heard.

She felt her heat rate picking up at the sound of the door opening and the gentle thumps of Jaunes' footsteps as he entered the living room.

"You look exhausted." she said without thinking, and she felt herself relax a little bit when he chuckled. "Yeah," he said, moving to sit next to her, "it's been an exhausting day, emotionally speaking."

Yang nodded, her hand reaching out to take his, and she felt herself smiling when he laced their fingers.

"What did everyone else have to say about this?" Yang asked, giving his hand a squeeze.

Jaune smiled as he looked at their laced fingers. "A lot of it was apologizing and explaining why they kept it from me, which I can't really blame them. Like you said; I don't react well to big news." he said, letting go of Yangs hand so he could run both his hands over his face.

Yang took the opportunity to lean into him, her head resting on his chest. "Yeah, but you also said that it's not about the information, it's about the fact that it was kept from you." she responded. Jaune slid an arm around Yang and held her tightly.

"So what do we do now?" Jaune asked. "I mean, this is a pretty big deal. We have a child, and every instinct in me now that I know, is telling me to be a good dad. Or at least try to be half the dad mine was."

Yang looked up at him. "What happens next is up to you Jaune. I love you, and I know Amy does too." she said. "So, what do you want to do?"

Jaune fell silent for a few moments, considering everything that had happened over the past week. Had it really only been a week since he'd returned to civilization, to his friends and loved ones? Gods did it feel like longer.

"I love you Yang, you and Amy both. I'm not going anywhere." he said leaning down and kissing her forehead before briefly kissing her lips. Yang sighed in relief when they separated and hugged him.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that." she said, her voice muffled by his shirt. Jaune rubbed her back as she seemed to squeeze him tighter. "So," he said, gaining her attention, "where do you want to go?"

Yang quirked an eyebrow at his question. "What do you mean? Why would we be going anywhere?" she asked as she pulled back a bit, her hands finding his and holding them tight.

Jaune smiled and rolled his eyes, as if the answer was obvious. "On our honeymoon of course. Or maybe it should just be a vacation. We could go to a Mistrali resort, or maybe that giant theme park in Atlas? Or maybe we should get a bunch of pamphlets and let Amy decide." he said, growing more excited as he went on.

Yang took this opportunity to grab him by his face and get him to focus on her. "Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" she asked, a smile starting to spread across her face. Jaune merely nodded.

"Of course I am Yang, why wouldn't I want to marry the woman I love and the mother of our child? You're both already part of the family, so now we just need to make it official. We can go ring shopping whenever you want and start planning the-" He was cut off by Yang crashing her mouth into his in a long and passionate kiss.

They stayed like that for a while before pulling away from each other again. "No more secrets I should know about?" Jaune asked, the mood shifting. Yang shook her head, "Nope, and I don't intend to keep anything from you that affects both of us." she declared. Jaune smiled and kissed her again.

"Okay, no more secrets. So in the interest of transparency, I think I should tell you that Ruby has been pretty… forward with me. Not like throwing herself at me, but it's pretty obvious she wants sex from me at the very least." Jaune explained. Yangs expressions ran through a gamut of shock and understanding.

"She always did have a huge crush on you. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow." she said, rising from the couch and stretching. "Come on, your future wife is also exhausted and needs some beauty sleep, and she'd like her future husband to join her in bed."

Jaune was all too happy to join her, but as they approached the hallway the sound of tiny footsteps drew their attention. Amy stood at her door, rubbing her eye with one hand while the other held her stuffed ursa by the foot.

"Hey Amy." Jaune said, leaning down to pick the girl up smiling when she hugged him tight. "Did we wake you up?" he asked, feeling his daughter nod as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Okay firecracker, let's get you back to bed." Jaune said softly as he carried the girl back into her room, Yang staying by the door watching as Jaune proved what a good dad he was going to be.

"Can you read me a story?" Amy asked tentatively, as if afraid her question would make him want to leave. Jaune smiled and read 'The Four Maidens' to her. "You did the voices wrong." she said, in the brutally honest way only children could be, giggling when Jaune ruffled her hair. "I'll do better next time, how does that sound." he offered.

Amy gave him a look. "I don't know," she said dubiously, "I guess you could try." Then, in a very tiny voice she asked; "Do you want to be my dad?"

Years later, when Amy was older and going through all the things being a teenager entailed, much to Jaunes frustration, he would remember this question, and how she'd rendered him temporarily blind, at least until he blinked the haze of tears away.

He leaned down and kissed his daughters forehead, committing the sleepy smile she gave him to memory when he answered; "I'd like that."

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

"Okay Amy, go play with the other kids, but be nice. We both know how wild you can get." Jaune said as he let go of his daughters hand and gave her a nudge toward the playground where the other children were playing. Amy looked at him and beamed before running off, shouting "Okay daddy!"

Jaune watched with a smile as Amy climbed on the jungle gym, letting his head fall back to soak up the suns warmth when he saw her playing tag with the other kids. When he brought his head back up he saw she had moved on to the slide, waiting semi-patiently as the other kids went first, eventually starting to talk to a red haired boy. 'Please don't let this be a first boyfriend deal' Jaune thought as he watched them climb the ladder for the slide, then went down it.

Amy however wasn't able to get out of the way fast enough, and was sent sprawling when the boy she'd been talking to collided with her. A painful wail that devolved into sobbing signaled what Jaune feared would happen; his firecracker had a booboo. "Come here Amy, let daddy see it." he called to her, pulling out the small first aid kit he kept for occasions such as this. She approached, wiping her eyes, and climbed up next to him on the bench. The little boy that had hit her had tagged along, looking worried both about Amy and the fact that he might be in trouble.

"Okay Amy, remember what mommy says about stuff like this? If you have a booboo…" Jaune prompted as he dabbed a gauze pad in peroxide. "You c-clean it. Ouch." Amy said as Jaune applied the disinfectant. When the bubbling was done he wiped away the excess. "Then what sweetie?" he asked, smiling at his daughter. "Then you kiss it." she said, waiting patiently for Jaune to kiss the wound before continuing. "Then you wrap it up tight." she declared, earning a chuckle from Jaune as he applied a bandage to the scrape, patting it twice for good measure.

"Now you're ready to get back in the fight." Jaune said, helping Amy down and giving her a nudge towards the playground. "And you," he said more sternly, turning to the red haired boy. "Be more careful okay?" he said

The boy managed to meet his gaze and mutter 'Okay." Jaune barely heard him, because this boy had very familiar eyes. Eyes he hadn't seen in over a decade. Like a pair of emeralds. As the children went to play more Jaune frantically looked around the park, trying to find her, until his eyes landed on a head of candy apple red hair. Their eyes locked, and she smiled at him. It made him want to grab Amy and run, to avoid even a chance that this would reopen that old wound.

But he pushed that aside, he'd run from this for far too long. He took a deep breath, exhaling through his mouth as he stood, and went to talk to the woman that broke his heart. He crossed to the other side of the playground and sat next to her, but didn't really look at her.

"Well well, the Grand Duchess of Mistral, four time winner of the Mistrali regional tournament, former mascot of Pumpkin Petes Marshmallow Flakes, and former huntress who graduated top of her class at Beacon Academy; Pyrrha Nikos. Seems the last decade has treated you well." Jaune said, actually turning to look at her and wishing he hadn't had to list off her titles and accomplishments as a buffer to prepare himself to actually talk to her.

He was right, the years had been generous to his former love. She, much like the other women in his life, had filled out more, matured in ways he could not truly describe. The beauty he had seen a decade ago that had been about to bloom had done so, with the added glow of matronly radiance that all mothers seemed to acquire. It was the same radiance he had seen in Yang when he had first seen her in Rubys' house, though he hadn't been able to identify it at the time.

He met her eyes and her smile grew softer, and it reminded him of why he fell for her in the first place. "It would seem father time was kind to you as well, considering you died. Fatherhood suits you." she said, and her voice wiped away the years and heartache all the way back to a time when they were together.

And in that same instance the heartache and anger and the sense of betrayal returned, but it was dulled now, and so much easier for him to ignore. He managed a smile, and was surprised at how genuine it felt. "Motherhood looks good on you too, though I must admit I miss the muscles." he said. Pyrrha laughed and patted her belly. "Well, as much as I try to keep in shape, time as a national leader and childbirth change a womans body. I'm sure Yang looked much the same after your daughter was born." she responded.

"Guessing it's easy to tell she was Amy's mother huh?" Jaune asked with a chuckle. Pyrrha looked at their children as they continued to run around. "It is. She seems so much like her." Pyrrha said, earning an actual laugh from Jaune. "Yeah, too much like her. Those eyes turn red when she's upset, you should see her tantrums." he responded. He gestured to Pyrrhas' son and asked; "What's his name?"

"Kokkinos, but we just call him Kinos for short. He takes after me surprisingly, a prodigy in his own right. He has a little wooden sword he loves to swing around while he shouts about being just like mama.", she said, miming waving a sword around.

Jaune couldn't help but laugh at the display before letting out a sigh, leaning back and relaxing considerably. They lapsed into silence, enjoying the weather as their children played. Finally though, Jaune decided to ask the question that was burning in him since he realized she was here.

"Why are you here Pyrrha, and who told you I was alive?"

Pyrrha flinched as if he'd smacked her, and Jaune had to fight against the guilt that threatened to wash through him. Pyrrha took a steadying breath and drew herself up, her posture reminding him that he was talking to a nations leader. "No one told me, I happened to see you during the first year of the Grimm Incursion, before we requested foreign aid. My husband and I were visiting the wounded soldiers and Huntsmen that had been here when things began. We were seeing about securing more medical supplies for the injured when I wandered away, looking to provide what comfort I could to the people who were fighting and dying to protect my country. The only thing that made you stand out was that mop of hair of yours. The medic I talked to said you weren't severely injured, just exhausted." she explained.

"I actually asked who you were, just to make sure. I admit I was hoping it wasn't you, that I had been mistaken. But that wasn't the case. After finding out I arranged for you to be taken care of and left." she finished.

Jaune ran a hand through his hair and stared at the ground. "Did you come here to apologize?" he asked. She nodded, her gaze also locked on the ground. "I hurt you so badly Jaune, and if I could go back and make it so that never happened I would. But I can't, all I can do is ask for your forgiveness, even if it's more than I deserve. I'll understand if you say no, if you can't forgive me. But I wouldn't be able to forgive myself If I didn't at least come and ask." she said, blinking away tears.

Jaune then did something that surprised even himself; he pulled Pyrrha to him and held her as she cried, and when she regained control of herself she pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"On the day Yang and I conceived Amy I was given a dispatch to report to a town called Gershek. What I didn't tell Yang was that I was given the option to go home if I wanted to. I could have seen my family again, apologized to our friends so much sooner. But I didn't, because somewhere, deep down in the darkest parts of my soul that I didn't even know were there, I still hated them. I was still angry with them, even six years after everything happened. So I decided to go to Gershek, and do you know what it cost me?" he asked, his eyes on Pyrrha as she processed his explanation.

When she shook her head he rolled up his sleeve and showed her his prosthetic. "In addition to costing me most of my left arm, it cost me time. I missed so much Pyrrha. Yang finding out she was pregnant, getting parenting advice and practice from my own parents. I missed my daughter being born, and so many of her firsts; first steps, first words, first birthday. I never got to change her diapers or hold her when she cried at night. I didn't get to experience those things with Yang, didn't get to marry her until recently. And all of that, is because I held onto a stupid grudge." he continued.

"If the last few years have taught me anything Pyrrha, it's that life is too short to hold onto grudges, no matter how much they hurt. I wish I could tell you I forgive you Pyrrha, but I can't. What you did, not just to me but to our team? Not something I can just shrug and say 'Life is like that sometimes'. But, I can at least be civil to you while you're here." he said, rising from the bench and stretching, a groan escaping him as he felt his joints pop. "What do you say we grab the kids and get some lunch? I can call Yang and have her meet us somewhere." Jaune offered.

Pyrrha rose from the bench as well and while her smile was sad, she at least understood where she and her first love stood. "I'd like that, but are you sure my reception will be a warm one. I get the distinct impression things won't go as smoothly as they did just now. Kinos! It's time to go!" she said. Jaune merely shrugged. "Just give me time to talk to her, I think I can bring her around." he responded, perhaps with more confidence then he actually felt. He turned to their kids and caught a glimpse of them racing towards Pyrrha and himself.

Kinos was fast, but Amy was taller and took longer strides. It also helped that she leapt the last few feet, landing in Jaunes arms with a victorious shout of "I win!" as her opponent collided with his mother.

"No fair!" he shouted, "You only won because you jumped at the end." Pyrrha glanced down at her son with a stern look. "Kinos, what have I taught you?" she asked. Kinos grimaced at his mothers words but didn't look away. "A good warrior is gracious in victory and defeat." he said glumly. Pyrrha smiled and hugged her son. "Very good." she said. "Now, Jaune has invited us to lunch with him, Amy, and her mother Yang. Would you like that?" she asked, earning a nod from Kinos.

"Okay, I'll call Yang and break the news, with any luck she won't be on the warpath when she meets us." Jaune said, pulling out his scroll and dialing his wife. "Hey there Fireball, you're not gonna believe who I ran into at the park. Meet us at the diner by From Dust Til Dawn, and uh, try not to be too angry when you see who it is. Love you!" he said, putting his scroll away.

"Right this way your Majesty, I'll drive." Jaune said as he headed toward his car, Pyrrha and Kinos following along. He'd meant what he said; Life was too short to hold onto old grudges. Grudges kept you from keeping promises.

And an Arc always kept his promises.

So yeah, that's it. After like, 7 or so years I finally finished this story. I know this wasn't the best story out there, but I'm thankful to everyone who actually still dropped by to read it over the years. I definitely appreciate it. Thank you again for reading this story, have a wonderful day.