Ever Happened

Jaune Arc pulled his hoodie further over his head, hands buried deep in his coat pockets as he walked beside Weiss Schnee through the bustling streets of Vale.

The city was alive with people, huntsmen, students, civilians, workers, all going about their day as if the world outside constantly on the threat of Grimm.

Jaune exhaled, watching the cold breath dissipate into the air.

“We’ve been out in public way too much lately,” he muttered.

Weiss, walking beside him in a double-breasted jacket and a cap, merely huffed, crossing her arms. “And? As if it matters. Besides, do I look like I care about that now??”

Jaune sighed, glancing at her outfit.

It was rare to see Weiss out of her usual white combat dress or uniform as of late, but he had to admit, the doubled-breasted jacket suited her.

Made her look sharp, professional, dangerous.

Which also made Jaune very aware that he was standing next to a walking financial powerhouse.

“…Why am I here again?” he asked, raising a brow.

Weiss flicked her hair over her shoulder, unbothered. “I needed company.”

Jaune stared at her.

Then sighed. “That’s never a good sign as of late.”

Weiss ignored him.

Instead, she marched toward the bank.

Jaune leaned against the marble pillar of the bank lobby, half-listening as Weiss effortlessly went back and forth with the bank staff.

It was weirdly impressive.

The way she commanded the conversation, the way she spoke in numbers so big that Jaune stopped keeping track of the zeroes after a minute.

The bank teller, initially composed, was now visibly sweating.

Then, even the manager had to step in to confirm Weiss’ identity.

Jaune watched as they were led into a private room, where Weiss continued talking about investments, stocks, trusts, and financial insurance.

Jaune, finally breaking his silence, sat across from her.

“…Weiss.”

Weiss, still signing documents, stamping her family crest, hummed in acknowledgment.

Jaune squinted. “What… exactly is this about?”

Weiss finished a signature, then set the pen down, leveling him with a look.

“Insurance.”

Jaune blinked. “For what?”

Weiss scoffed. “In case a certain immortal witch acts up.”

Jaune paused.

Then, deadpan—

“You’re investing in stocks to prepare for Salem?”

Weiss folded her hands neatly. “Yes.”

Jaune leaned back. “Weiss. She’s not gonna care about Lien.”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Of course she won’t. But we will. If we need to disappear, relocate, build resources, we’ll need money.”

Jaune blinked.

Genuinely impressed.

“…Okay, that’s actually smart.”

Weiss smirked. “Obviously.”

Jaune exhaled, shaking his head. “Man. You really plan for this, huh?”

Weiss shrugged. “Someone has to. I think you might have hit your head since coming here.”

Jaune chuckled.

Then, after a beat, grinning slightly.

“So, uh… think you could give me some stock tips?”

Weiss raised an eyebrow. “Jaune. You don’t even know how to budget your weekly expenses. I’m surprised you even have one.”

Jaune sighed dramatically. “That is true.”

Weiss sighed, shaking her head. “Fine. I’ll teach you. But if you make one bad investment, I’m cutting you off.”

Jaune grinned. “Deal.”

And just like that—

Jaune Arc had accidentally found himself getting financial lessons from Weiss Schnee.

What could possibly go wrong?

Everything went wrong.

Yes, Weiss Schnee prided herself on being intelligent, efficient, and capable.

She had mastered Dust mechanics, political maneuvering, and the complexities of managing wealth because of her Atlesian upbringing.

She had negotiated multimillion-Lien contracts by the time she was sixteen, expecting to be the heiress of her family’s business.

And yet—

Teaching Jaune Arc how to invest in stocks was one of the worst experiences of her life.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose.

“…No, Jaune,” she muttered, her patience wearing thin. “You don’t just throw all your Lien into one company.”

Jaune, arms crossed, looking very sure of himself, nodded. “Right, right. Diversify.”

“Correct,” Weiss sighed. “So, given that, how would you approach long-term investments?”

Jaune leaned back in his chair, thoughtful.

Then, slowly, carefully—

“…By putting it all into a single high-risk venture for maximum payoff?”

Weiss stared.

Then stared harder.

Then, after a very long pause—

She closed her eyes, tilted her head to the sky, and whispered,

“…Do the Brothers hate me?”

Jaune snorted. “That’s very rude of you to say that in front of face..”

Weiss glared at him. “So is your ability to make me physically ill?”

Jaune chuckled, shaking his head. “Okay, okay. I’ll try harder.”

Weiss sighed. “You’d better.”

He tried. Really tried.

But eventually, he gave up.

The financial lesson was postponed indefinitely, mostly for Weiss’ sanity.

Instead, they stood on a balcony overlooking Vale.

Weiss exhaled, watching the lights of the city flicker on, one by one.

“It’s strange,” she murmured.

Jaune, leaning against the railing, glanced at her. “What is?”

Weiss gestured vaguely. “All of this. Existing.”

Jaune followed her gaze.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then, finally—Jaune chuckled.

“What?” Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jaune grinned. “You mean the time traveling? Wait, is it even time travel if we’re in a place where Beacon didn’t fall??”

“Who knows?”

“Hmm, so was it Being younger again? Not worrying about some Witch or some lunatic trying to kill everyone?”

Weiss huffed. “Kinda.”

She exhaled. “It’s like a dream that refuses to end. But if there’s one perk to all this nonsense…”

She smirked slightly. “I’m young again.”

Jaune glanced at her.

Then — very, very briefly—

His eyes flickered downward.

At her chest.

Weiss caught it immediately.

She narrowed her eyes.

Somewhat offended.

“What exactly does that mean, Jaune Arc?”

Jaune froze. “What?”

Weiss crossed her arms, frowning. “I saw that.”

Jaune cleared his throat, looking away. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Weiss smirked. “Oh, you absolutely do.”

“To be fair I think your rear is more beauti— ow!”

Weiss hit his shoulder. “Idiot.”

Weiss rolled her eyes and made a beeline to a café.

The sun was too high.

The café was quiet. Cold.

Soft music played in the background, the scent of roasted coffee beans drifting through the air as Jaune and Weiss sat at their table by the window.

They weren’t in a rush to back to Beacon.

For once… they were just existing.

Jaune leaned back in his chair, his hood up, hands lazily wrapped around his coffee cup. Weiss, sitting across from him, had a similar posture—relaxed, comfortable, her usual guarded expression softened.

They weren’t doing anything productive.

No Grimm to fight.

They weren’t training, strategizing, or worrying about survival or the fate of Remnant.

They were just lazing around.

And for once—it didn’t feel wrong.

If anything, they felt like they deserved it.

But at some point, Weiss had grabbed a small bag of chocolate balls from the counter, idly rolling them between her fingers.

Then, with little thought—

She tossed one at Jaune.

Jaune, without even looking, tilted his head slightly and caught it in his mouth.

He chewed. Swallowed. Then raised an eyebrow. “Was that on purpose?”

Weiss smirked. “Maybe.”

Jaune exhaled, shaking his head. “You know, you really do get weirdly competitive over the smallest things.”

Weiss tossed another one.

Jaune caught it effortlessly.

They continued like this—

Weiss lazily throwing, Jaune lazily catching until half the bag was gone.

Jaune chewed thoughtfully. “You know, this is probably the dumbest thing we’ve done together.”

Weiss shrugged, sipping her coffee. “I don’t know. Really? You set the bar pretty low. In this life and the other.”

"Wow," Jaune smirked. “Flirting again, Schnee?”

Weiss smirked back. “Just observing,  Mr. Arc.”

Jaune chuckled.

The two of them then settled deeper into their chairs.

Weiss sighed, watching the steam rise from her cup.

“…Who knew?” she murmured.

Jaune glanced at her. “What?”

Weiss twirled a chocolate ball between her fingers.

“Going from always being in constant danger,” she said, “to wasting our new youth like this… would be so…”

She trailed off.

Jaune finished the thought for her.

“…Nice?”

Weiss hummed. “Yeah. Nice.”

Jaune smirked. “Careful, Weiss. You almost sound relax.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, but there was no real bite to it. "I mean you feel it right?"

“…Believe me,” Jaune said, stretching his arms behind his head. “I tried really hard to distract myself from all of this peace.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow. “By doing stupid things?”

Jaune grinned. “Yes.”

Weiss sighed. “Why am I not surprised?”

Jaune chuckled. “Because you know me too well now.”

Weiss tossed another chocolate ball.

Jaune caught it.

Neither of them were thinking about tomorrow.

Then after the café break they roamed around more.

A bakery.

A fresh loaf of bread.

Jaune, for some godforsaken reason, thought it would be funny to hold a baguette and call it Sir Croissant Mors.

Weiss wanted to leave him behind just for that

Unfortunately, the moment she turned around, he challenged a pigeon to a duel who he initially wanted to feed.

Weiss had to physically drag him away before Vale’s park wildlife declared a holy war against him.

At then some point, they ended up in a clothing store.

Jaune, somehow, found a terrible neon-colored jacket that clashed with everything and asked, “How do I look?”

Weiss nearly had a stroke.

“This is a crime against fashion,” she hissed.

Jaune grinned. “So… you love it?”

Weiss nearly strangled him.

They passed by a street musician playing an upbeat tune.

Jaune, unable to resist an opportunity for stupidity, started dancing.

Weiss tried to walk away.

Tried to pretend she didn’t know him.

But then—

The musician suddenly turned to her.

“Come on, lady! Give us a twirl!”

Weiss froze.

Jaune smirked.

And before she could refuse, Jaune took her hand and spun her around.

To her absolute horror, people started clapping.

Weiss was going to kill him.

…After the dance.

But she was a bit tired to do that.

A simple stop for ice cream would have been fine, but it turned into an all-out battle.

Jaune made the mistake of saying, “Vanilla is better than mint chocolate chip.”

Weiss, offended beyond reason, flicked a spoonful of ice cream at him.

Jaune declared war.

They were nearly banned from the shop.

Then, they found a massive statue of a Valean hero.

Jaune, in all his wisdom, attempted to climb it.

Weiss, in all her wisdom, told him he was an idiot.

Then—

Somehow—

She ended up climbing it too.

…They might have been fined.

The day ended with them standing on a rooftop, watching the city lights flicker to life.

Jaune and Weiss had been wandering Vale and took the spot in the rooftop.

They spotted Ruby.

She was sitting alone, carefully polishing Crescent Rose, her entire focus locked on her weapon as if nothing else in the world mattered.

Jaune paused.

Weiss folded her arms. “You really did a number on her, you know.”

Jaune, raising an eyebrow, glanced at her. “Me?”

Weiss smirked. “After what you pulled? She looks like she’s going to have a stroke if someone touches that thing.”

Jaune snorted. “So… should we touch it?”

Weiss tilted her head, thinking.

She considered it very hard.

For two whole seconds.

Then nodded.

“…Yes. Why not?”

Jaune grinned.

Weiss held out her hand, summoning a time-dilation Glyph, a glowing circle, its power humming faintly in the air.

Jaune cracked his knuckles.

Then he amped himself up.

And Weiss.

Then, like a golden arrow loosed from a bow—

Jaune launched himself forward.

Ruby was still cleaning Crescent Rose.

Completely unaware.

Completely defenseless.

Jaune struck.

Mid-cleaning, he swooped in, grabbed Crescent Rose right out of Ruby’s hands, then twirled it around in an effortless, fluid motion.

Ruby’s brain short-circuited.

Then—

A shriek split the air.

Weiss, half-lidding her eyes, smirked.

Ruby was freaking out.

Jaune was spinning Crescent Rose like a damn pro.

And honestly?

It was hilarious.

Weiss took a slow breath, watching the chaos unfold.

This was a fantastic way to end the day.

The next day.

Ruby, arms crossed, still fuming, sat across from Penny Polendina in the Beacon courtyard.

It started with a joke.

It should have ended there.

But Ruby Rose was not one to let things go.

Not when it came to Crescent Rose.

“I refuse,” she said dramatically, “to let this injustice stand.”

Penny, tilting her head, curious, listened intently. “What sort of injustice do you speak of, dearest friend Ruby?”

Ruby slammed a hand on the table.

“Jaune Arc,” she seethed, “must be stopped.”

Penny gasped. “What has he done?”

Ruby’s eye twitched.

“He touched Crescent Rose. Again.”

Penny blinked.

Then, with a look of utter seriousness—

“…Unforgivable.”

Ruby nodded.

An alliance was formed.

Jaune and Weiss were minding their own business, enjoying their lunch in the Beacon cafeteria.

It was peaceful.

Nice, even.

And then—

Ruby and Penny stormed in.

Ruby slammed her boot onto the nearest chair, pointing dramatically.

“JAUNE ARC!”

Jaune, mid-bite into a sandwich, froze.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. Blinking

Ruby gestured wildly. “You have committed crimes against the sanctity of Crescent Rose!”

Jaune blinked. “What.”

Penny stepped forward, hands on her hips. “We, the alliance of Ruby Rose and Penny Polendina, do hereby declare—”

Ruby smirked, finishing the sentence—

“WAR.”

The entire cafeteria went silent.

Jaune, mouth still full, stared.

Weiss, sipping her tea, smirked. “Oh? A war?”

Ruby nodded. “A war.”

Penny, enthusiastic, nodded too. “A declaration of hostilities.”

Jaune slowly chewed, swallowed, then exhaled.

“…You guys are so dramatic. It was just a touch.  I didn't mean anything by it.”

Ruby squinted.

Weiss leaned back, grabbing Jaune’s sandwich, and taking a bite on it, chewing.

"JUST A TOUCH!?" Ruby slammed her hands on the table. “YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR SINS.”

Jaune sighed. “Um, Weiss, what do we do?”

Weiss grinned.

“We fight, obviously.”

Jaune nodded.

Penny clapped her hands. “PREPARE YOURSELF, JAUNE ARC!”

Ruby pointed aggressively. “TOMORROW. DAWN. THE COURTYARD.”

Jaune groaned, rubbing his temples.

Weiss?

She took a sip of her tea.

Jaune Arc marched onto the battlefield.

Alone.

He had trusted Weiss Schnee to stand by his side.

To fight with him.

To face this ridiculous fight together.

And yet—

She was nowhere to be found.

And thus—

The war ended swiftly.

With the utter defeat of Jaune Arc.

Jaune lay flat on his back, staring up at the sky, his body covered in dirt and grass stains.

Ruby stood over him, victorious, arms crossed, grinning smugly.

Penny, beside her, nodded approvingly. “A most honorable battle.”

The duo left. Victorious.

A shadow loomed over him.

Jaune, groaning, barely lifted his head to know who it was.

“Weiss… you traitor…”

Weiss Schnee, standing there, arms folded, expression amused.

“…Oh, was I late?” she asked innocently.

Jaune glared weakly. “Yes. Very late.”

Weiss sighed dramatically, shaking her head.

“Such a shame. But I knew you could never raise your hand at Penny so I thought that I’d rather not fight a losing battle.”

“I mean you’re not wrong, but—”

Then, before he could complain further—

She knelt down, sitting on her knees, and pulled him onto her lap.

Jaune blinked.

“…What are you doing?”

Weiss ignored him, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping the dirt off his face.

Jaune squinted. “Weiss. Are you feeling sorry for betraying me?”

Weiss smirked. “Oh, stop being a baby.”

Jaune groaned, dramatically resting his head on her lap.

“I trusted you…” he muttered.

Weiss snorted and plucked a blade of grass that got stuck on his nose.