@wintersrapierâ never asked for this and neither did i but brain do what brain do
   in atlas, there was hardly any rest for the newly licensed huntsmen and huntresses. the training sessions had left them famished quite often, leading to the meals that followed being chock full of joyous energies. indeed, jauneâs newly refreshed spirits were able to take stock of everyoneâs morale, even outside of his own team. ruby was naturally fraught with concern about her choice of secrecy, nora and ren were working throughâŚsomething personal. blake, and yang? he couldnât tell what it was - be it their relatively recent reunion, their conflict with adam, or something else entirely - but there was a burden on their collective shoulders. oscar was⌠wellâŚoscar. there were no ends of talks had with the kid jaune considered as bound to him as those by blood.
   there was one person, however, that he was concerned about. of course she joined in the carousing at the dinner table. of course she held her impeccable command of the battlefield. and of course, of course she maintained her composure. everything seemedâŚfine from where he sat, happening to catch that presence of hers. and yetâŚ
   she was home. she was near her family, the people who raised her. but jaune had not heard a peep about it, no stories of reunion. thinking back, jaune could recall quite a few times where she was vehemently against going to atlas. it should have been obvious but, with everything that had been occuring; chaos in argus, chaos within his own self, the frustration with ozpinâs truthâŚhe had failed to take notice. until now, when the pieces started to fall together.
   somehow, this was unlike any homecoming jaune might expect to find upon returning to his own estate. the specifics eluded him, and it was not to be his place to know, in any case. the simple thought, however, of home being something so cold and unmentionable? unapproachable? his imagination failed him - only the void of the unknowing churned his gut at the attempt to empathize. Is there something I can do? Anything?
            ââžâ;; a few hours later, that night
   jaune found himself pensively approaching weissâ dorm, every step taken meant another hesitation. maybe he should have faith in ruby, and in weiss herself. maybe he was just overthinking things⌠he shook his head slowly, eyes closed as he reaffirmed his decision. as weissâ friend, and fellow huntsman, he felt it was his place to do what he could to help in any way. even if there was no need for it, jaune felt it was better to try, simply because he could. And so, his gloved knuckles softly rapped against the fresh white metal door. there was no response, though a light certainly shone from the beneath the sealed entrance. a weary sigh slipped through his chest with slumping shoulders. with a shake of the head, jaune began to second guess himself. until â try. if you can. try. he froze mid-turnabout. try, or itâll just be another regret. one more sigh, and he returned to the doorway, this time placing his finger upon the intercom reciever.
   ➠Hey, Weiss! Itâs me, Jaune. I uh, just came by to talk. Or, really just to say something. You donât have to say anything back. â˝ the blond recalled his own silence through the few talks that ren and nora had tried to deliver to him. stubborn, stuck in a tightly locked headspace. but, not deaf. jaune had no idea if this was the case with weiss, or if perhaps she was listening to music. whatever the case, he had come this far already.
   ➠Just, I hope you can hear me. I just wanted to remind you that ⌠youâve got family in us. Us, as in nora, ren, oscar and myself, you know? I only bring this up because, well, Iâve noticed you havenât really been excited to come back home, to Atlas. Which, for someone like me who dreams of returning to my family â it just struck me as ood. Or, at least, an unsettling sort of thought.
   Anyways, what Iâm trying to say â or, what I think Iâm trying to say â is that even if this place doesnât feel like home, you have us. And, I hope you know youâre family to us. And when weâre with you, and ruby, and everyone else â even when weâre thousands of miles away from family â we feel like weâre at home. Somewhere we belong. Because you are family. I mean â â˝
   jauneâs voice began to rise, unaware of this change for a moment âž âwhen you almost â â˝ but only .. for a moment. âž â I. Just. We love you Weiss. And maybe youâre fine, and maybe Iâm overthinking and maybe you canât even hear me but â I had to make sure it was said. âŚAnyways. I should probably go â FNKI wonât take it any easier on us tomorrow. â˝ jaune paused, finger still on the micâs trigger. nothing else came to mind. âž See ya later. â˝ with an inaudible click, the reciever shut down, and jaune went about his way down the halls, smudging the mist obscuring his vision.
   ➠Gods, Jaune. Itâs okay. â˝
Well, I'm glad you're all excited. But I don't think you appreciate the trouble I went through to leave Atlas.
Words uttered in irritation the day they set off for Argus. She hasnât shared their excitement since the day they left. She almost envies them. Their detachment to Atlas, to what this place means. After, Beacon and Vale are half way across the world. As far from home as she could get. Chosen with that reason in mind. Not that Weiss is one to talk about it, or consider even bringing it up.
Securing the lamp supersedes any of her discomfort, in her eyes. She doesnât have time to be weighed down by personal matters. Sheâs a huntress. A licensed one, for that matter. Itâs childish to be so hung up upon the past, she tells herself. Sheâs no longer alone, either. Itâs become easier to mask her feelings. With endless work and with friends, Weiss hardly had time to think about it. Herself.
Itâs in moments when she thinks no one notices that it catches up with her. The inescapable truth. She doesnât want to be here. Sheâd rather be anywhere but here. If their duties werenât so important, would she have come? She feels sometimes as though she wishes she stayed in Argus, in Mistral, in Vale. Not that leaving after the fall had been her choice. And though she could have chosen to stay behind, she doesnât want to be separated from her friends again.
Thus she carries out her responsibilities with no complaints. They wonât do her anything good anyhow. And even if she did, she wouldnât know where to begin. Weiss goes through the motions of whatever quest she chooses. She brightens a bit at dinner, whenever theyâre all together. Even as they all carry the weight of the world, their friendship never changes. And thatâs what carries her through each day.
Once more, she returns to her dorm. With the election coming up, she feels... restless. Her fatherâs opposing of Ironwood makes it far harder to avoid him. And if he wins? Sheâll never be rid of him. Heâll be around, poking his nose into their plans. Weiss canât quite handle the thought of it. The thought of how childish her father makes her feel, or the others seeing that in person. Sheâs wrapped up in her thoughts, when Jaune knocks.
Itâs half way through his sentence that she realizes someoneâs speaking. Listen, huh? Weissâll accept that, particularly when she doesnât know what he wants to talk about. She listens intently, carefully to his words. It takes a bit of time to process and formulate a response. By the time sheâs on her feet and to her door, heâs long since gone.
It takes a few days before any of them are given free time again. And it only gives her more time to reflect upon his words. Loneliness that usually clings to her has been staved off.
âJaune?â she calls out to him, when she finds time to speak with him without anyone interrupting. âI... wanted to thank you, for the other night. I heard what you said,â Weiss starts. She trails off for a short time. Her gaze breaks from his.
âTo be honest... I was pretty jealous of how much you looked forward to going to home. And how Saphron welcomed you. All of us, really. Even now, Iâm rather envious that you can dream of returning home.â Another long pause. âIf... Winter wasnât in Atlas right now, I wouldnât have had anything or anyone to return to.â Except, perhaps, Klein. But even she isnât so foolish as to think her father would ignore the slight upon his power, by Klein helping her. And even if he kept Klein on, that would mean returning to the manor. Blue eyes drift from the floor to the wall. âTo me, Atlas is... simply the placed I was raised. Nothing more.â
She doesnât like this. Being this honest, admitting to her lack of connection, confronting the environment that made her unbearable in their first and only year at Beacon. âBut even so..,â she continues onward, seeking out his gaze. âI truly appreciated what you said.â Weiss smiles, softer and a bit shyer than usual.
âWhat Iâm trying to say is... thank you, Jaune.â