Hello, everyone!

Here's the next chapter for Friends, Again. Not much to be said, except that it's a lot of setting things up for failure. Oh boy...

Beta: Maxaro, as per usual.

Enjoy!

"Morning Jaune!"

"Morning Pyr."

It was near the end of their weekend, and 9 am Sunday found Jaune, still in pajamas, cooking up breakfast for two as Pyrrha strode out of her room, fully dressed in a business casual manner, along with her horn-rimmed glasses. An already happy Hermes brightened at Pyrrha's appearance, and he trotted over excitedly to the huntress, who knelt down to scratch the husky's ears.

"Coffee?" offered Jaune, sipping from his own mug.

The redhead peered up from pampering Hermes and looked at the mug with a frown. "I thought I told you not to get too hooked on coffee."

"Hey, I'm averaging just one cup a day," countered Jaune. "It's kind of necessary if you wanna be an efficient professor without falling asleep all the damn time."

Pyrrha sighed. "Whatever you say, Jaune."

The blonde motioned at her outfit with his spatula. "So, back to picking up the next mission report so soon?"

The redhead nodded. "Yes, but I don't think I have to leave for a few days. It was a nice little break while it lasted, but I really do have to get back to work."

She pushed up her glasses with a single finger. "In any case, Blake also asked me if I was free, so I was thinking about hanging out with her today. I'm willing to guess she wants wedding advice. You're okay with me going… right?"

Jaune gave her a grin. "Sure thing! Ren's in town and I was gonna go pay him a visit, so you're fine."

Pyrrha smiled and spun on her heel, with Hermes following after her. "Great! I'll see you later, Jaune!"

"W-wait! What's the rush?" Jaune gestured towards the two plates of food that he was busily preparing. "Won't you at least stay for breakfast?"

Pyrrha blinked, checking the time, then smiled. "I suppose I've got some time."

Hermes barked his approval.

The Valean Hunters' HQ seemed somewhat empty today, which was no small feat in and of itself, considering that most Hunters that came through this building were quiet and disgruntled individuals in the first place. Nonetheless, business went on as usual, and the young male secretary on shift smiled at Pyrrha as she entered the building.

"Mrs. Arc! You're here for the job, right?"

Pyrrha winced at the name. Maybe I should go and get the names change forms sooner rather than later, she chided herself.

"Indeed I am! I believe Mr. Ithir is here to see me?" the redhead replied cheerily.

"Yes, I'll get him right away!" With that, the young man rushed into the back.

Pyrrha watched him run off before taking a seat in the small lobby area. The television mounted on the wall was turned to the news, and the huntress glanced briefly at the overly serious-looking reporter as she delivered the latest story.

"Relations between humans and faunus are growing even stronger with the White Fang's disbanding and the rise of a more peaceful and diplomatic group who call themselves 'Ashes Savanna.' However, with the upcoming national meeting between Valean officials and the leaders of Ashes Savanna, analysts wonder: is this organization truly as peaceful as they seem to be or are they hiding an ulterior motive more in line with their predecessors?"

The redhead scowled. She hated most of these so called "news networks." None of them had much integrity upon reporting actual news, and on very important world issues such as this, they usually put a political spin on their reports. To Pyrrha, it was just plain manipulative, and sometimes she wondered if the bigger enemies of the world were, in fact, right under their noses and feeding the masses with political propaganda.

"Ah, Mrs. Arc?"

Pyrrha looked up as a graying, rather scholarly-looking gentleman poked his head out of the doorway leading to the back. "Hello, Mr. Ithir," she smiled.

The old hunter smiled back. "Whenever you're ready, Mrs. Arc."

She stood up to follow him back to his office, which was only a few steps away. Ithir politely held the door open and pulled up a seat for the huntress, to which she graciously thanked him.

Ithir strode to his seat behind the cherry wood desk. "We do have some important information to discuss with your next meeting. However, it has come to my attention that you are… no longer with Mr. Arc?"

"Uh, yes." Pyrrha shifted uneasily in her seat. The roughened leather exterior did not help to ease her discomfort. "We've been separate for six months now, and we'll probably be signing the divorce papers soon."

"That's unfortunate, my dear," uttered the old hunter. "I certainly thought your marriage was quite a solid and beautiful thing, or at least from what I saw of it. So… what would you prefer for me to address you as?"

"Miss Nikos is fine."

"Ah. Shall I document as such in your mission reports as well?"

Pyrrha hesitated, then with a small sigh, she nodded. "I suppose so."

"Very well. Again, my condolences." Ithir pulled up a rather bulky looking file, which made an audible thud as it met the desk's surface. "Now to business, my dear. Your next mission is one of utmost importance, one which we thought you would be uniquely qualified for."

"Really…" murmured Pyrrha. "How so?"

Ithir pulled out the uppermost document from the file and handed it to her. "Well, this mission in particular is a political mission, as opposed to the usual of Grimm hunting and village saving. You will be attending the upcoming conference between Valean officials and Ashes Savanna. Not only will you be helping keep the peace and preventing any attempts to foil the proceedings, but you will be there to represent Vale's Hunters as well."

"Oh." Pyrrha read over the file's details. "Funny, there was a report on this same conference playing on the TV in your lobby. So I will need to be doing some talking, then?"

"Indeed, my dear," confirmed the old hunter. "Your old Team JNPR was quite well known for being a very diplomatic team, and I believe your experience as such will lend to the meeting exceptionally well."

"I see. What about Ren and Nora? Are they participating as well?"

Ithir shrugged. "Mr. Ren had been contacted, but he, in his own words, said that he 'was not the best at JNPR's talking jobs.' As for Ms. Valkyrie… she had her… eccentricities. We chose not to contact her."

Pyrrha sighed. If only Jaune were still in the business. This was definitely more his forte than it was mine.

"Very well. Is there anything else I need to know about the mission?"

The old hunter nodded. "Just a few minor details. You will be assigned a partner who will also serve as a representative Hunter alongside you. His name is Caraway Du Lac, and although he may come off as a little brash and happy-go-lucky at times, he is a very reliable hunter as well as a born leader. Also, you have a few days to yourself, seeing as your departure is early Wednesday morning. All the other details will be found in the mission report, so please familiarize yourself with it before you leave. The file may look a tad bit daunting, but that's never stopped you before."

"I suppose not," Pyrrha smiled.

She decided not to tell Ithir that Jaune was usually the one to go over her bigger reports, whether she wanted him to or not. Even in separation, the poor blonde was perpetually worried about her.

"Will that be all, Mr. Ithir?"

"Indeed. You are dismissed."

Meanwhile, Jaune was currently wondering how Ren had managed to drag him into their current situation.

"Y'know… when I said 'bro date,' I was thinking lunch or working out or maybe even just the library, considering that it's you."

"Backhanded compliment much?" muttered the dark-haired hunter.

"Sorry," apologized Jaune. "But… I have to say that attending a painting class with wine never exactly crossed my mind on 'things I would end up doing today.'"

Ren smirked. "There's a first time for everything."

Jaune frowned. "I just… I don't get it. I'm in a class learning how to paint an apple. What's so fucking special about this apple that you need to have a thirty-person class on how to paint it?"

"It's not about the apple, Jaune," rebuked Ren quietly, attentively stroking his brush across the 24" by 34" canvas. "It's about creating depth around the apple using elements of shading, linear perspective, and chiaroscuro."

"Chia-what?"

Ren turned to him with narrowed eyes. "If you'd been paying attention to the class, you'd know what chiaroscuro is. Aren't you a teacher?"

Jaune groaned. "I get paid to teach, not to listen to other people teaching."

"Well, if that's the attitude you're gonna have about it, it's only fair for your students to do the same."

"I know, I know," sighed Jaune. "It's just… try as I might, I don't think I'll ever get painting. Like, don't get me wrong, the people who do this kinda stuff for a living are fucking geniuses, but it's just not for me."

"Give it at least until the end of the class," offered Ren. "Then you can tell me how much you hate painting. Imagine if you gave up when we were still at Beacon and you were still a novice fighter. Where would you be now?"

"Possibly exactly where I am now, seeing as my hunting career didn't quite pan out."

"Oh. Right. Well, then, how about we get back to painting then?"

Jaune snorted. "Sure. Depth on an apple. How hard can it be?"

They continued to paint (or at least for Jaune, attempt to paint) as the painting instructor continued to drone on about depth and perception and contrast and a few other things that went in Jaune's ear and out his other.

Maybe I need to be drunker for this, he thought to himself, draining the rest of the wine in his glass and filling it back up, right to the very tip.

Ren gave him an amused sideways glance. "Don't get too drunk. It's only 2pm, after all, and you've got work tomorrow."

"It's wine, how bad could it be?," scoffed Jaune. "Besides, unlike Pyrrha, I'm pretty good at handling my wine. You've seen how plastered she can get off of this stuff, right?"

"It is an amusing sight, to say the least," agreed Ren with a chuckle. "How is she, by the way?"

"Pyrrha? Oh, she's fine. Same old Pyrrha, I guess."

"Hermes, too?

Jaune huffed. "Oh, let me tell you, that dog has gotten ten times as energetic since the last time you've seen him. He is a handful. Pyrrha loves him to death, though."

"Of course. You and Pyrrha are still living in the same house together, I take it?"

"Yup!" Jaune suddenly seemed more focused on the task at hand.

Ren sensed the change in his friend's demeanor. He began to test the waters. "Have you… even thought about seeing other people?"

"Oh, no, absolutely not," murmured Jaune. "I don't feel like I need to, anyway. I'm perfectly happy with just hanging out with Pyrrha and you guys and Team RWBY. I'm not really looking for anyone new."

"Jaune," Ren grew serious. "You and Pyrrha are getting divorced. It's not right to keep clinging on to her like that. When you guys are finally apart, you're going to need to start living your life and letting her live her own life."

Jaune frowned. "Well… we don't have to. We like hanging out with each other, after all."

"You sure?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "You sure she's not just hanging out with you because she thinks that's what you want? You know how Pyrrha is, better than any of us."

"Which is why we'll decide together what we want to do," retorted Jaune, his frustration beginning to show between his and Ren's repartee.

Ren took a more calm approach. "Look, all I'm saying is that it's called a 'separation' for a reason. You two need a little space, and even though, yes, there's always that possibility of you two getting back together, maybe think about trying to move on. If that doesn't work and you and Pyrrha end up reconciling, then all's well that ends well. But if she decides to move on, then you should respect that and be prepared to move on."

"Sure," Jaune conceded. "But all I'm saying is, maybe we're just fine with being friends, and maybe we don't need to move forward or backward. Maybe things are perfect the way they are, okay?"

"Fine, fine." Ren sat back to admire his work of art. "I'm not telling you what to do, I'm just giving you a little advice."

"I'm almost thirty, Ren," grumbled the blonde. "I thought I was past the advice phase of my life…"

"You're gonna get advice until you're six feet under," joked Ren. "There's always gonna be someone who thinks they know more than you or me."

Jaune sighed. "I suppose you're right."

"I try my best." Ren peeked at Jaune's own apple painting and shook his head. "And that looks terrible."

"It's a goddamn apple, what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

Ren chuckled at his friend's outburst. "Hey, out of curiosity… have you talked to Ruby recently?"

"No, I haven't. Why? Is she doing okay?" Jaune asked curiously.

"She's doing alright, considering her crippling war injuries. There's only so much you can do missing an arm and most of a lung, but she's managing pretty well. However, I think you should visit her every now and again, though," suggested the dark-haired hunter.

"Why me?" Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Not to be rude, or anything, of course."

"Well…" began Ren. "I'm sure you know she won't be able to go on missions anymore, and for someone who's dedicated their life to protecting the innocent, that is a hard pill to swallow. I'm willing to bet she could use a little company, and most everyone else is being sent on missions all the time, so I thought maybe you could take care of that."

Jaune sighed. "I haven't talked to Rubes in a very long time. I kinda miss that, to be perfectly honest."

"Which is why I think this would be a great idea." Ren set his brush down, finally satisfied with his painting. "And perhaps if you decide moving on is something you want to do… maybe Ruby will need someone to be there for her."

"Wait a minute…" The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Are we seriously talking about me seeing other people again? And Ruby, out of all people? She means a lot to me as friend, and I don't think she'd appreciate me ruining our friendship by trying to get with her."

"How do you know that?"

"Because… because it's Ruby! And because I don't want to get with anyone right now, so please stop trying to make me do that." Jaune remained adamant.

"Jaune, I'm not telling you to get with anyone," assured Ren. "I'm just telling you it wouldn't be a bad idea to try it with Ruby. Think about it, Jaune: neither of you are going on missions anymore, so you'd have the best chances at hashing out a relationship. You're both going through hard times right now, and having shoulder to lean on who knows what kind of pain you've experienced is something you could both use. Most of all, she's always been there for you, through your worst times and your best. I'm not going to bring it up because I know it's bad memories for you, but you know exactly which time I'm talking about. So I'm not telling you to do it immediately. I just want you to consider it, alright buddy?"

"Sure."

Ren frowned. He realized that Jaune had stopped listening to him at this point and was concentrating fully on the 'painting' before him.

"I'm just trying to look out for you. If you don't figure things out, I won't say 'I told you so.'" Ren sighed. "Hey, Nora's flying back in tomorrow and we were thinking about doing some charity work. You in?"

Jaune cocked his head in thought. "Sounds like fun. Can I bring Pyrrha along?"

The dark-haired hunter almost rolled his eyes in exasperation, but refrained from doing so. "Sure."

"Great!" Jaune grinned. "It'll be like the old team back together again!"

"Uh-huh." Ren took a glance at Jaune's painting. "You literally haven't done anything except add a little green leaf in the last twenty minutes."

"C'mon, you expected something better?"

"No… can't say that I did."

"So… this is the place you wanna get married?"

"What do you think?"

"An outdoor wedding…" Pyrrha grinned. "I like it."

Pyrrha and Blake stood in a very green and open clearing, with the smell of freshly cut grass floating through the air. A pristine-looking pond lay adjacent of the clearing, and small stone walkway led out to the secluded parking lot as well as the rest of the public park.

Blake held up a sketchbook with the mock-up of the wedding layout to Pyrrha. "So Yang was thinking we could put all these bouquets all along here, and we can set up the tables here…"

"What about here?" Pyrrha pointed. "The shade of the trees will beneficial at this angle, especially with the sun setting that way."

"I will note that," murmured Blake, jotting it down on the sketchbook. "Yang wanted our wedding colors to be black and yellow… am I just crazy, or is that super obnoxious?"

Pyrrha furrowed her brow. "Under maybe an indoor circumstance, it would work better, even if it's a little wild. But especially since we're outdoors, I think a more natural color scheme would work out here. What about… yellow and purple?"

She watched as the edges of Blake's lips turned upward. "I… I really like that. Thanks a lot!"

"Oh, anytime," beamed the redhead.

"Now I just need to convince Yang…" Blake murmured, before growing slightly more serious. "Can I talk to you about something personal?"

"Oh, sure!" Pyrrha nodded. "I understand weddings can be really stressful, anything you need –"

Blake cut her off. "It's about you and Jaune."

Pyrrha blinked and grew reserved. "O-oh. Well... what do you want to talk about?"

The cat faunus took a deep breath. "I didn't want to say anything Friday night, especially with Jaune there and Yang getting a little rowdy. But… she is right, and I just need to say something about your living situation. I have to."

"Well," Pyrrha murmured. "Shoot, then."

"It's just… I think that still living with Jaune is a mistake."

"That seems a little harsh –"

"Please, Pyrrha. Hear me out on this one." Blake closed her sketchbook. "I mean, you're totally committed to going through with the divorce, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

Blake sighed. "I think you're unintentionally lying to Jaune by continuing to live with him. He probably still thinks that there's a chance he can repair your relationship."

"W-what?" Pyrrha shook the scenario out of her head. "Oh, no, I don't think that's the case. We're just still best friends, and we're perfectly comfortable with living together, even if we decide to move on. I'm sure he knows that."

"Knowing Jaune, I'm pretty sure doesn't." Blake shook her head. "I just don't get it. You two are best friends, and somehow you're not together. Yet you act like you are together. Why don't you two just… kiss and make up?"

"Blake... I know you mean well, but we agreed that this is the way to go for us." Pyrrha gave her a sad smile. "We're not the same people we were six years ago, and we just need… different things now. But we still love having each other around, so we're just housemates now. It works out, Blake, it really does."

"Pyrrha." The cat faunus's expression was pained. "You're going to break that poor man's heart. Be firm with him, Pyrrha. One of you should probably move out before someone makes a mistake."

"He'll be fine. I'll be fine. We'll all be fine." Pyrrha's assurance seemed resolute, but Blake shook her head in slight irritation.

"Alright. That's all I'll say about it, I promise," she conceded reluctantly.

Pyrrha smiled graciously. "Thanks Blake. I know you and Yang are worried about us, but trust me, we can handle ourselves."

Blake nodded slowly, and they made the walk back out of the clearing. "I sure hope so."

Oh Arkos. How naive you are. You have no idea what's coming.

No lie, this chapter almost didn't come out today even though it's been ready because I am hungover as all hell. But a little bit of water and food seemed to do the trick, and thank goodness, too.

I guess I should once again plug Ten Little Hunters, which come back on March 10th. I actually have the next chapter finished already, but I'm gonna take this time to wrap up Infinite Playlist as well as write a few more chapters for TLH so that they're more than ready at the deadlines.

Reviews are always welcome.

Until next time!