Summary: It's interesting what thoughts come to mind in the wee hours of the morning.

As It Falls

RWBY

"Can't sleep?"

Broken from his thoughts, Jaune Arc looked up from the campfire. "Yeah." He scooted over on the log. "I've got a lot on my mind."

Footsteps lightly scuffed the ground as a pair of white boots came to a rest beside him. Weiss Schnee plopped beside him with a sigh, wrapping her jacket around herself. "It's pretty out tonight," she said softly.

Jaune nodded. The pale moonlight shone across the campsite, painting everything with an ethereal glow. The black water of the lake seemed silver in nature, swaying in and out to the time of the breeze. It was nice to find solace in the heart of Forever Fall, which had slowly succumbed to the decay of Grimm infestation.

"Why are you out here?" asked Jaune.

The nineteen-year-old heiress grimaced. "Snoring."

"Yang?"

Another grimace. "Ruby."

"Ouch."

Weiss rubbed her forehead tiredly. "Yep."

Shaking his head in amusement, Jaune turned his attention back to the sky. One can never truly appreciate the beauty of nature until they remove themselves from the bright lights and blaring noise that was city life. Here, where Vale was all but a speck in the horizon, only then could the night reveal her true beauty. The stars that she would hide in her flowing dress would ruffle out, making their appearance known and letting all who gaze upon her know that there was no fairer maiden than she.

"It's nice," Weiss murmured, breaking Jaune from his thoughts. "All of us being here."

"Mmhmm." Jaune said. "It's definitely been a while."

Entering their third year into Beacon Academy, students would find themselves overloaded with both schoolwork and hunting duties. Because of the hectic nature of it all, Teams RWBY and JNPR had found very little time to hang out together, only being able to occasionally see each other during meal times. That was why when an extermination mission that required two teams popped up, everyone was all too glad to take it despite the extreme infestations they would face.

"It really is pretty," Weiss said, repeating her earlier statement.

Jaune looked towards Weiss. The sheen of moonlight caused a glow to surround the heiress, and for a moment it was as if Jaune was in the presence of someone not of this world. The loose locks of her hair streamed down her neck, glimmering as it shimmered whenever she made the slightest movement, and her eyes seemed to be so much more blue than usual. Warmer, gentler. It was… hypnotic. In this moment, she was less like the "Ice Queen" everyone dubbed her as, but more like the "Snow Angel" she'd only let one person call her.

Right… only one person.

Suddenly, diamond eyes pierced cobalt. "What?" Weiss asked.

"Nothing," Jaune said quickly. "Like I said, just thinking."

"And thinking requires you to drill a hole through me with your eyes?"

"Hey, I can't help it when I start thinking. It just happens."

"Mm, well, considering how rare it is for you to actually do so, maybe I should be more lenient…"

"Yeah that's right… wait a minu- hey!"

Laughter rippled through the campsite, being wrapped by the tendrils of fire before dispersing with the smoke up and away. Calm. Tranquillity. Peace. If only times like this could continue forever. In an idyllic world where there was no need to raise a weapon in the name of justice, perhaps that could be the case. But it wasn't an idyllic world. Not at all.

Seconds passed. Then minutes. It was just the two of them with reality behind them and fiction in front. No more words were exchanged. The quiet was more than enough. It relaxed them. It soothed them. It was definitely more than enough.

Thump.

Jaune opened his eyes to find Weiss' head slumped on her shoulder. "Hey." He nudged her. "Did you fall asleep?" She squirmed a little and moaned but remained still. "Honestly," he sighed with a smile before looking back into the flames. Then, his smile disappeared.

It flashed through his mind. The mission. The night before. A rooftop. A smile. Her smile. A declaration. His silence. Patience. Her patience. Her walking away. Him left alone. Him left to think.

Weiss curled more onto his shoulder, her even breathing bringing him back to reality. He looked at her and his heart panged. He looked at the fire again and was reminded of someone else. He closed his eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Speak.

"You're definitely asleep, right?"

Weiss' soft breaths were his answer. In. Out. In. Out.

"Right, then I guess I can do this." Jaune opened his eyes. "I love you, Weiss."

Weiss continued to sleep on his shoulder, oblivious to the world around her.

Jaune took another deep breath. "I've loved you since all those years ago," he said. "I mean, everyone else joked about it, but I really meant it. I wanted to get to know you. Hell I wanted to know all about you. But all I did was piss you off. So, you know, I backed off and tried to be your friend instead." He chuckled to himself. "And, seeing that we're here now, I guess that worked.

"So I got to know you. I mean, I finally figured out that you were a Schnee. A Schnee Schnee. That was a thing." He shook his head. "I guess that's why everyone calls me dense. Anyway, eventually I became someone you could confide in. Your team's all girls, so I could give you a guy's perspective on things." He paused. "W-well, a very effeminate guy's perspective on things, but that's beside the point. Point is, eventually we became good friends, and I really came to enjoy all the times we'd hang out together." Another pause. "You really do suck at video games, though. Sorry. It's the truth.

"Somewhere, in the middle of all that, I fell deeper and deeper in love with you, and I… I really wish I could say it to your face, but I can't do that. I just can't do that." Blue flashed through his mind. "He's a good friend; I couldn't do that to him. And I couldn't do that to you, either. He makes you happy. You're both happy. It'd be wrong to… that's just… it wouldn't feel right." He closed his eyes. "Sorry. It's like you've always said, I'm a really weird guy."

Jaune exhaled loudly. "Nora says that I'm a dreamer, because I like to think of the future a lot. And she's right, I do. A lot. And this is going to sound really cheesy." He paused. "Or creepy, if you want to think of it that way. You'll probably think of it that way if you were listening, but sometimes I'd think of a future where you and I were actually a thing." He looked off into the sky again. "Your sister would keep a shadow on us whenever we went on a date, and your father would scare the crap out of me. Oh, yeah, I've heard the stories," he laughed. "I'd rather not experience that first-hand if I didn't need to.

"And you know, you'd get to see my family. My sisters are a bit much, but I think they'd like you. You're naturally pretty anyway, so they'd love to doll you up even more. My parents would adore you, too. Mum would spoil the hell out of you, and my dad would probably think I paid you to act as my girlfriend." He laughed again. "Can't blame the guy. I'd probably wonder every day how I was so lucky.

"We'd live somewhere in Atlas, since you have to inherit the company and whatnot, and we'd be happy. Our friends would visit from time to time, and we'd catch up. We'd make it a habit to get together each year and just… have fun. And, you know, eventually I'd save up enough money to buy a ring. You'd probably make a big deal out of how much I spent and demand to pay me back." He smiled at her. "You're surprisingly frugal, you know? I'd never have expected that from you.

"So we'd get married and eventually… we'd have a kid. Two, maybe. I'd like them to be boys. I've lived around too much oestrogen. But if they're girls, I'd love them all the same. And we'd live… happily," he sighed. "But that won't happen, will it?"

Jaune looked towards the flames again. "I missed my chance," he said quietly. "I'm not what you want. I accept that. But I had to say it, because while you're happy, I need to find mine too. And you know?" Green and red blurred through his mind.

I love you, Jaune.

"I honestly think I can find it," he said, smiling again. "It's not fair to you or me, to him or her if I continue to hold onto my feelings for you. I need to move on. And to do that, I have to let you go." He looked at Weiss. "I love you Weiss, and I'm looking forward to being one of the best friends to you from now on. No matter what."

Silence enveloped the campsite once more. Jaune closed his eyes. He had nothing more to say. Everything was at peace. He had said what he needed to say. That was all that needed to be done.

"Jaune."

"Whoa!" Jaune eyes shot open. He looked towards the darkness. "Jeez, you almost gave me a heart attack. How long have you been standing there?"

"Just now," Blake Belladonna said quietly, emerging from the shadows. "I need to wake Ruby up for her to take over."

"Uh… I think she's pretty dead to the world." He looked to the person resting on his shoulder. "Actually, I think your whole team is."

Blake nodded before looking at Weiss. "Is she out here because-?"

"Yep."

"Can I ask who-?"

"Ruby."

"Ah."

"Is it really that bad?" he asked.

"Weiss and I have a midnight drinking tradition for a reason."

"Huh." Jaune blinked before laughing. "Well alright then. Uh…" He gestured towards the girl in question. "I can take over if you want, I just need a little help here."

Blake laughed quietly. "Sure thing."

After some quick adjustments and stretches, Weiss' head now rested on Blake's shoulder. Jaune was on his feet, stretching. The bones in his back cracked, groaning in protest as they began to function again after hours of being still. Blood began to flow to his legs again as he stamped them on the ground.

"Well then," he said as he began to walk off. "I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Jaune?"

"Yeah?" He stopped moving and turned around.

A foreign emotion danced behind Blake's eyes. But once she blinked it had faded away. "Be safe," she called out.

"Will do!"

And so Jaune began his rounds, leaving Blake alone with the sleeping heiress. The moon was still out, shining its pale moonlight over the two of them. Blake stared into the flames, as if entranced by them. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Us Faunus are known for having heightened senses," she said quietly to the campfire. "And it's because of these senses that I'd know if someone was actually sleeping or not. Actually, let me rephrase." She opened her eyes. "It's because of these senses that I'd know if someone was actually sleeping in the first place."

Silence.

Then.

Drip.

As It Falls Fin

Author's Notes: So, this be a pseudo-sequel to "When Everything is Still". Still drowning, btw. Glub.

- Narutochaos22