"She knew she loved him when 'home' went from being a place, to a person"- E. Leventhal

Jaune sat at his kitchen table looking intently at his glass of orange juice. It had been the same every morning since Pyrrha had been recalled to Mistral in order to feature in the new run of ads for the Pumpkin Pete's cereal conglomerate. Since she had left communications between the two had been few and far between, much to their shared dismay. His mind often wandered to her as he wondered just what she was doing and whether or not she was okay.

Yet his summer hadn't been completely devoid of contact with those whom he cared for most. Ruby had very much held to her promise of what she had dubbed 'the best summer ever'. Both the little reaper and her team had dragged him away from his family home on all manner of adventures, some being slightly more dangerous than others. Both Ren and Nora often accompanied them, much to the blonde's delight.

Yet no matter how many mad adventures they shared in, Jaune couldn't shake his longing for the company of his partner. Having spent so long living, studying and fighting beside her, her absence had left a gaping hole in his life. One which he knew would only be filled once he returned to Beacon to begin studying for their second year; a return which he was due to make the following day.

Draining his glass, he made to stand but was knocked back into his seat as his youngest sister Marron came dashing into the room. In all the years he had spent around the tiny girl, it had always escaped his comprehension as to just how she managed to be so energetic so early in the morning. He blamed her youth and excitable nature, but remained sure that it likely had something to do with her aura or semblance.

'Who knows, maybe she's solar powered' He mused, chuckling to himself at the thought.

"Good morning Jauney!" She chirped cheerily, pouring herself a mountain of cereal and settling into one of the chairs set around the table.

"Hey little one, you sleep well?" He asked just as cheerily, giving her the best grin he could muster so early in the morning.

"Yeah! I had this dream where I was a huntress just like Pyrrha! I saved the whole world from flying monkey Grimm and was made queen of the world." She explained, recounting her dream with great enthusiasm and wild hand gestures. Jaune listened intently, and fought to ignore the pang of loneliness at the mention of his girlfriend. Climbing to his feet for the second time, he poured another glass of juice and ruffled her hair.

"Who knows, maybe you were dreaming the future?" He replied playfully "Just make sure that when you're queen of the world that you don't forget your older brother eh?"

"Course not! You're gonna be there right with me! So will all the family and we will live in total luxury, with everything we could ever want!" She explained, waving her spoon around like a sword and inadvertently flinging droplets of milk everywhere.

"Well, count me in." He laughed and drank his juice. Washing his glass out, he left his sister to eat her breakfast and headed outside. The autumn air was brisk; a sign that summer was well and truly on its way out for the year. It was a fact that Jaune both lamented and celebrated. While summer had been great fun and had marked his passing into the second year of his studies at Beacon academy, its resignation to autumn's authority meant that his return to Beacon was that much closer. Taking a deep breath and flinching at autumn's chill, he stepped off and headed into the town to run his errands for the day.

Pyrrha sat with her head in her hands and heaved what must have been the hundredth sigh in the three hours that she had been trapped in that room. Three men stood in front of her pitching what must have been the fiftieth advert in their accursed campaign. To the champion, it seemed as though every single one had blurred into a single nightmare without an end. Every couple of days she was being plied with concept after concept by an army of businessmen and corporate representatives. It was driving her mad.

As the men before her droned on about sales figures and demographics, she allowed her mind wander and take her away to her happy place. In mere moments, she could see Jaune in her mind's eye. Every detail was precise and exact, from his scraggly blonde hair to his piercing blue eyes. He was sat on the soft grasses beneath their willow tree in the Beacon gardens. It was their tree; under which they had shared their first date and ultimately their first kiss.

She lamented that this was the only way she had been able to see her boyfriend for the majority of the summer break. The invites had always come through to her scroll from team RWBY but her contracts with the advertising companies had her bound tighter than chains, and kept her trapped in Mistral. Each day the distances between herself and her teammates had seemed only to grow.

'Jaune had the right idea in not taking any agreements with these companies. He may be a champion, but he never let it change him or go to his head. He is still the same guy I found pinned to a tree in the forest.'

The thought brought a smile to her face, a smile which the advertisers seemed to take as a positive reaction to their pitch. They each celebrated amongst themselves before leaving the room in a whirlwind of briefcases, papers and corporate ambitions. Left alone, Pyrrha sighed and headed through to her room. The house calls from advertisers hadn't been an idea which she had approved of, yet her manager told her it was a necessary evil.

Once in her room she closed the door and locked the world out. Collapsing on her bed she buried her face in a pillow for a long moment, fed up with the day and just wanting it to end. Opening her bedside drawer, she retrieved the jeweller's box from within and opened it. Within was the emerald necklace that Jaune had bought for her. She gently brushed a finger against the gems set within it, allowing herself to be swept off to days past and the romance of her past year at Beacon academy. Her heart soared at the prospect of returning to her studies there, so as to once again be among her team and her friends. Yet at the forefront of her mind was the fact that she would soon be back in Jaune's arms again and feel the familiar warmth which she had been craving so much.

The following day dawned just as every other day had before it. Yet for Jaune this was unlike all of the others, this was the day he finally returned home; the day that he could finally walk the halls of Beacon academy once again. Excitement put a renewed spring in his step, rejuvenating him and reaffirming the smile on his face. So far as he could tell, nothing would be able to dampen his mood.

He sat at breakfast, lost in his own world and immune to the jokes and japes of his sisters. He finished and washed up as quickly as he could before darting upstairs again to double check all of his bags. It wouldn't do to forget anything this time around. It was a new year, and a new chance to reinvent himself after the mistakes of the past. He may have been the blonde goofball once, but this year he was determined to set the record straight and prove his own worth once and for all.

Before long, Marron came in to check up on him. She found her brother on his knees repacking his clothes for what must have been the tenth time. Each one was folded, rolled and packed into whatever tiny crevice remained in his bags. Crocea Mors sat leant against his luggage, pride of place, waiting to go. The tiny girl sighed and snuck up behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a vice-like grip. It had been hard enough to watch him go the last time around, and it was certainly no easier now.

"Hey, Marron! Not so tight." He gasped, fighting to loosen her hold.

"But… I'll miss you. I wanted to get all the hugs I'm going to miss, before you go." She replied, her voice sounded slightly strained. Spinning her round, he sat her next to him and promptly enveloped her in his arms.

"I'm not going anywhere just yet. We still have loads of time before I have to go. Don't be sad." He smiled. Her response was simply to bury her head in his chest, gripping the cloth of his hoodie ever tighter in her tiny fists.

"What's say we go on one last quick adventure before I have to leave?" He asked, pulling away a little. He was surprised to find a tear rolling down her cheek but was relieved when she nodded her agreement. Wiping the tear away with a thumb, the blonde climbed to his feet and offered her his hand. Marron seized it eagerly as the two set off to explore the town one last time.

Pyrrha looked at her luggage; it had been ready to go for a number of weeks now. In truth, she hadn't ever really unpacked. She preferred to keep it ready; hoping against hope that the advertisers would release her and she would be free to visit Jaune, Ren or Nora. With a sigh she realised how foolish such a hope had been. Her contract stipulated that she was not to be bothered while studying at Beacon, so the parasites had stockpiled ideas throughout the year and thrown them all at her over the course of the summer. It had been a nightmare with seemingly no end. But all that had changed. She was due to return to her sanctuary, breaking free of their grasp for another year at least.

Running through her mental checklist, she recounted all of the things she had packed another two times until she was absolutely satisfied. Once contented that nothing essential would be left behind, she settled on her bed and began changing into her armour. Not the flawless imitation they had her wear for the commercials, this was the real thing. Scarred by combat and forged in battle, it made her feel somehow safer. Gathering up her equipment, she set to cleaning and polishing her weapons, anything which would help count down the remaining hours until she could board her flight and leave this place far, far behind.

Magenta eyes watched in amusement at the scene before him. It was chaos of the highest order. Clothes lay strewn around in a wide radius around a blur of motion. Nora stood over her bags, working overtime to stuff every garment she owned and all of what she deemed to be 'essentials' into her cases. It was bedlam, with not a fold to be seen. All the while Nora chatted away animatedly to herself.

It was always the way, nothing planned or ordered and everything left to the last minute. It often hurt Ren to watch his hyperactive partner pack, but he forced himself to endure it. Often he was there on hand to pass her some item that she had forgotten, or to ensure that key things were packed. Once, she had nigh on forgotten Magnhild until he had handed it to her at the door. That had been the first time he had ever witnessed Nora at a loss for words; though he had not mentioned it to a single soul since.

"I think I'm done!" The Valkyrie cried, stepping back to admire her masterpiece. The bag was fully as big as she was and near to bursting at the seams. Ren chuckled and moved to stand beside her, resting a hand supportively upon her shoulder.

"Did you remember to pack Magnhild?" He asked cheerily

"Ren~ that was one time!" She whined, turning to look up at him with her big blue eyes. Her bottom lip quivered ever so slightly in a practiced move which he knew all too well. With a chuckle, he gave in and gently pressed his lips to hers. They had come a long way since the previous year, as had their relationship. It was born of a mutual love, admiration and had only grown stronger since.

"We should get going or we will be late. We don't want to miss seeing the others now, do we?" He asked at last, breaking the contact.

"No we don't! It's time for JNPR to get back together!" She laughed, hefting her bag onto her shoulders as though it were nothing. Ren gathered up his own modest luggage and followed her out of the door.

It was a modest dwelling built of natural stone set into a timber frame. A small chimney rose up at one end, though no smoke swirled from its maw. Ivy climbed its way along the walls and around the windows, carefully trimmed so as not to obstruct the views of the surrounding mountains. They had stumbled upon the ruins many years ago and had worked to make the place livable. It was a humble little house, but it was home. Giving their shared home one last temporary glance, he turned away for another year.

Jaune leapt from the airship just as soon as it touched down and stood by the side of the path doubled over and sucking down deep breaths in the hopes of stilling the raging tempest in his stomach. Every time, without fail, flying managed to reduce him to a quivering wreck of nausea. He could have grown to be the strongest hunter that Remnant had ever seen yet all he had to do was set foot in an airship to end up as weak as a new-born kitten. The notion was so bizarre that he had to laugh.

"New year, same Jaune"

The blonde gave a start at the sudden voice from behind him. Looking between his legs, he was met with an upside visage of two people whom he knew well. Immediately, he stood up and turned to face them with a wide smile on his face; before him stood both Yang and her sister.

"Yep, it's the same old me alright. I still can't fly without ending up an airsick mess. I'll get there though one day, huh?" He laughed, walking over to them.

"Whatever you say, Vomit Boy." His fellow blonde teased with a mischievous grin on her face. Before he could make his retort, he found Ruby latched onto his chest. Her arms were like bands of steel as she hugged him tightly.

"Hey Ruby, take it easy would ya? I need to breathe" he managed to gasp. Immediately, she released him and stepped back with a shy smile on her face.

"Sorry Jaune." She giggled "It's just good to see you again. It's good to be back at Beacon!"

"Yeah, it's great to see you again Ruby. Where are Weiss and Blake? Aren't they with you guys?" He asked at last, having noticed the absence of team RWBY's resident Ice Queen and faunus.

"Oh yeah! They said they would be getting here a little later on. Blake is coming from outside the kingdoms, she said something about having… 'alternative transport', whatever that means. As for Weiss, she is coming with her own private jet. She said something about her dad not wanting her to fly economy class with the rest of us. What about you? Are Pyrrha, Ren and Nora not with you?" Her silver eyes darted around Jaune expectantly as though looking for his teammates.

"They're all making their own way here. Pyrrha sent me a message earlier saying she was excited to get here and see everyone but she didn't give any details. Ren told me that he and Nora managed to hitch a ride on their local village's airship."

"Aww… That sucks. I was kinda hoping we could have a proper reunion and do something fun together but it'll be ages 'til everyone gets here…" Ruby said dejectedly, kicking a small pebble with the tip of her boot.

"Easy there Rubes." Yang laughed and ruffled her sister's hair. "There'll be plenty of time for that later. Besides, don't you think that we should give Goodwitch a chance to get settled in first? You remember what happened last time we went through with one of your 'fun' ideas. The punishment laps nearly killed Weiss!"

Jaune remembered and so did most of the school. It had taken weeks for the students caught in the crossfire to recover. All from one of team RWBY's pillow fights that got severely out of hand. It had taken all of team JNPR as well as numerous threats to pancake privileges in order to stop Nora from heading over to join in. The fallout from the battle still put shivers down Jaune's spine. Goodwitch had arrived with an expression like thunder that soon put a complete end to the fight. JNPR had caught a brief glance of team RWBY as they ran laps of the school from dawn until dusk in recompense for their actions; all under the unflinching gaze of Goodwitch herself.

"I think Yang might be right." He said with some amusement "I'm sure the others will be super tired when they get here anyway, and you know Weiss will have like ten cases to unpack. We can hang out and catch up after everyone has settled back in. Speaking of settling in, we should collect our stuff and get to the dorms."

With that said the three of them headed towards baggage reclaim with smiles on their faces. Conversation flowed easily between them as they each shared anecdotes from their respective summers. As the blonde laughed, once again in the company of his closest friends, the future looked bright.

'It's going to be a great year.'

Pyrrha stepped off of the airship with a tired expression in her eyes. The trip had been a nightmare in every sense of the word. Her PR team had insisted on clinging onto her until the very last second, pestering her with questions about Beacon and the upcoming competitive season. Even after she had boarded her flight and taken off, she found no sanctuary. Three individuals approached for her autograph, ordinarily she wouldn't have minded but after the experiences over the summer, her patience had worn thin. She begrudgingly signed the items they thrust at her before moving into a free compartment and pulling the blinds.

The remainder of her journey passed in relative peace and comfort. The closed blinds had the desired effect in deterring any would-be travel companions from seeking to join her. After so long in the eyes of journalists and advertising teams, the silence of her compartment proved somewhat unsettling. Over the course of her summer, she had all but forgotten the sound of silence and the relative calm which accompanied it. With a warm smile on her face she settled into her seat and sighed. Closing her eyes she allowed the warmth of the airship to lull her into a peaceful sleep for the first time in months.

She was awoken sometime later by a hand gently shaking her awake. Thinking it was only another fan who had stumbled upon her, she blearily opened her eyes fully prepared to scold them. But she wasn't met with the sight she expected. Beside her stood one of the airship's hosting staff. She was a middle aged woman with an easy smile on her lips and a sleepy look to her eyes. Her hair had begun to escape from its pristine bun and now stood out at odd angles in various wisps.

"Excuse me Miss, I'm sorry to wake you but we have just touched down at Beacon. Everyone is disembarking." Her voice was warm and kind but also bespoke of the lengthy shift she had just completed.

It took a few moments for what the hostess had said to sink in. In shock, Pyrrha looked out the window to confirm the story only to find that the sun had set. The shattered moon was up and surrounded by the thousands of its celestial followers, each shining as brilliantly as the last. Set before the backdrop of Vale's night sky stood Beacon tower in all its glory, it bathed the campus in emerald brilliance and filled the champion's heart with calm. The nightmare had ended and the journey was finished. She was home.

Thanking the hostess with a smile, she climbed to her feet and gathered up her things. As she stepped out of the airship and onto the landing platform, she was hit by the chill of Vale's night air. She savoured it with a satisfied sigh even as goose prickles covered her bare arms. She drew in a deep breath and chuckled as the cold sensation burned within her chest. Shouldering her luggage, she set off at a brisk walk towards her team's dorm. The campus was darkened as she walked, so no one saw her practically skip her way through the courtyards and between the numerous colonnades.

Her feet padded softly against the carpeted floors of the residential blocks as step by step she drew closer to her dorm. With each step her anticipation grew more and more. This was, after all, exactly what she had been looking forward and counting down to for the past months. The closer she got however, the more peculiar noises that she could hear. Given the time, she had been expecting the whole campus to have been long asleep. A smile crossed her face as she considered the prospect of her team having waited up to welcome her home.

As she reached the door to her dorm, a number of loud crashes and thuds came from beyond. Quirking an eyebrow, she swiped her key and swung the door inwards. No sooner than she had stepped into the room was she struck in the face and sent flying into the opposite wall with the accompanying cry of;

"Yang, no!"

Pyrrha sat slumped against the wall with a feather pillow in her lap, dazed and confused. Shaking her head clear again and waiting for the room to stop spinning, she climbed to her feet and moved more cautiously towards the dorm room door. What she saw had her stopped dead in shock; the whole place was a mess. The beds had been upturned to make a rudimentary barricade, dividing the room into two relatively even sides. On one, the desks and chairs had been rearranged to form a crude piece of cover behind which the three members of her team were hiding.

Nora had a pillow in each hand and a malicious grin on her face. Ren sat beside her, watching with a bemused expression as the Valkyrie sent her weapons sailing across the room at lightning speed. Next to them, in his boxer shorts and a pumpkin Pete's t-shirt sat Jaune. He had his knees drawn up tightly against his chest and a look of horror upon his face. His eyes were clamped shut as pillows flew past them left and right.

Across the other side of the room, behind the somewhat more sturdy bed barricade were team RWBY. Yang's eyes burned crimson as she cocked back an arm and sent pillows flying back with a level of aggression to rival Nora's. Weiss was crouched with a frightening degree of composure as she casually handed pillow after pillow to the blonde brawler beside her. Ruby was peeking over the barricades with morbid curiosity, watching the pillows sail back and forth. Behind the three of them who were actively fighting sat Blake. The faunus seemed to have no interest in the events and was sat quietly with a book in hand, her amber eyes scanning each page with the kind of practiced ease born only of years spent buried in books.

As more and more eyes became aware of Pyrrha's presence, the fire of their fight seemed to die out. The two teams emerged from their trenches and crossed no man's land to her side. Ruby was the first, flying in at lightning speed for a hug which near enough took Pyrrha off of her feet once again. After Ruby finally released her, she was followed by Nora, Weiss, Ren, Yang and Blake in quick succession; each greeting her in turn. Pyrrha's emerald eyes locked onto Jaune through the crowd as person by person she managed to move ever closer towards him.

Weiss seemed to notice the champion's ultimate goal and moved hastily to usher her team out of the room with a surprising degree of force for one so small in stature. Ren soon followed suit, taking Nora by the hand and leading her out with the promise of midnight pancakes. Pyrrha shot him a grateful smile as the two left, closing the door behind them and leaving the two champions alone together.

An awkward silence settled over the two of them as neither moved nor said so much as a word. An unsettling feeling began to grow in her stomach as she feared that the blonde might hold some resentment for her over her lack of appearances throughout the summer. But he had known of her commitments, surely he couldn't be holding anything against her over it? Yet before the panic had chance to truly settle in, she felt his arms close around her. They enveloped her in his embrace, even as he buried his face in her neck. Instinctively she wrapped him in her own embrace, savouring the touch that she had so long been deprived of. When his words came they were short and awkward;

"I missed you…"

Yet despite the simplicity of his statement, each word held more meaning than any other could have done. Tears filled the corners of her eyes and threatened to flow freely, even as laughter left her lips. It was all so much to handle, more so than she might have ever imagined it being after so long kept away from him. Her heart swelled within her chest and felt fit to burst. Pulling away from his embrace, she locked eyes with him, emerald with cobalt. For a long moment she held his gaze before at last, she cupped his cheeks and brought their lips crashing together in an act of overwhelming desire.

As they kissed she fought to keep from grinning, it felt as though her whole body were alive with electricity. After so long apart, the spark of their relationship was just as strong as ever. Their kiss seemed to last an eternity and yet when at last they broke apart, it still felt as though it was over too soon. Resting her head on his shoulder she took a deep breath, savouring his scent and sighed happily. This was where she truly belonged. Here in his arms, that was her home and nowhere else could compare.

"I missed you too…"

There it is, the long awaited and even longer delayed sequel to "The Sword and Spear". First of all I would like to thank you for your patience in me and this piece, I know that it has been a very long time since I provided you all with something new. Secondly I want to say that the updates for this story will not be scheduled weekly because I simply cant manage that kind of commitment on top of work and university assignments so please do be patient, I will be posting them when I am content that they are ready.

As a final point I want to point out that I may well turn my hand to writing a little for the Fairy Tail fandom too, though that will likely just start off as a series of short one shots or AU concepts that I have floating around in my mind.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. The next one is written up and just in need of proofing so it will likely follow shortly. Thank you all for reading and as always;I will see you all in the next chapter.

TheFlagShipArkos