"How's the apartment search going, really?"

"Like trying to pull nevermore teeth, it's not happening." Jaune sighed and took a sip of his coke. They were sitting in the food court, taking a break from their shopping. "It's slim pickings, all the one bedroom places are either too expensive, in bad repair, or don't take Huntsmen." Jaune scowled. It was a long standing issue within The Kingdoms, many landlords didn't rent to lone Huntsmen and huntresses because tenants were often gone for long stretches of time. The profession was just too high risk. "I looked at the markets in Vacuo and Mistral, they aren't much better, and Atlas is well, Atlas."

"It's a system that works for them."

"If you don't mind sharing dormitories with strangers." Atlas had dealt with the Huntsman Housing Crisis by building mass accommodation for Huntsmen and huntresses who agreed to ally with the kingdom.

Ruby sighed. "They aren't that bad you know, I stayed in them a few times. It's almost like a posh hotel."

"Still, I'm not leaving Vale for a place in a dormitory." Jaune scowled. "I don't want to tether myself to any-one kingdom. I considered getting a roommate and going for a two bedroom, that way I eliminate those who wouldn't rent to a lone huntsman. It ends up a bit cheaper for something nicer."

"Good idea."

"But all the roommate listings are skeevy or don't want a huntsman." Jaune continued. "See the problem?"

"Get a hunter for a roommate." Ruby picked at the second half of her burger, pulling out the pickles she had forgotten were in it. "Less complaints, right? I mean they can't really judge."

"Most huntsman are new blood now, and are either sorted with their team, or don't want to settle just yet. Our year and our friends years were unusual remember? And the old generation is almost gone." Jaune said. "So that's how fucked I am for moving out."

"You could go for a more expensive apartment. You do a lot of high risk high reward missions, they pay well right?"

"Most of it goes to medical costs." Jaune tapped the center of his chest, reminding Ruby of the delicate machinery integrated with his organs that kept him alive. Artificial valves and structures supporting his lungs and heart that had been implanted following the war, allowing him to continue with his work as a huntsman. The internal robotics Jaune contained differed from the artificial limbs other Hunters sported. Artificial limbs was a pre-established business for Huntsmen, making them not only cheaper but also better constructed. Internal prosthesis was still new, with only a handful of Hunters currently using them. Ironwood had been one of the first to have them, but many of his organs had been fully replaced whereas Jaune's were only enhanced with machinery. They were intended to last ten years or more without needing repairs or replacement, but the high impact life of a Huntsman (especially Jaune who had the unfortunate propensity for taking hits to the chest) meant that he needed repairs or replacements almost yearly. "Maintaining this stuff isn't cheap, and I need to keep money aside in case something unexpected happens. I mean it would be cheaper if I took easier missions, but the payoff would be the same. I don't take as many missions as I used to remember? Ren and Nora made me agree to spend as much time in Vale as I do on missions."

Ruby nodded, she had been made a similar agreement with Weiss, admittedly with less protest than Jaune had. Both of them had thrown themselves into their work following the war, trying to move past what had happened. Their teams had slowly dragged them back to the more normal schedules they now followed. "Seems like you're up shit creek then."

"Yeah."

Ruby looked up from her plate. "So why do you want to leave? You seem fine with Ren and Nora."

"They need their space." Jaune smiled. "I think Ren is going to propose, and I want to be out of their hair well before then."

"Well if Ren doesn't propose, Nora sure as hell will." Ruby smiled. "I missed them while I was in Atlas, got any other news about them?"

"Not really." Jaune stared wistfully at Ruby's fries, he had long since finished his own meal and was regretting not ordering more. "Have you made any decisions on what you'll do?"

Ruby scowled into her plate. "I was thinking renting in Vale until you told me how bad the market is, I'm still not going to be doing many big missions so money is going to be an issue."

"Why not to the big missions, you're fine most of the time."

"Yeah but that time with the Deathstalker spooked me, and Weiss never had time to hunt, and tagging along with Blake or Yang, as much as I love them both, doesn't work so well as I wished." Ruby sighed. "I'm better off with the easier missions that I don't need someone to watch my left side, Weiss was right about that at least."

"That must be hard to admit."

"It is." Ruby took a drink from her soda. "And if I wanted to back to Yang and Blake's it would be like you living with Ren and Nora, except ten times worse because they have a kid as well. I don't want to go to back to Atlas, at least not to live. Mistral and Vacuo are out, because I don't have strong enough ties to either kingdom to make it worth it." Ruby mused. "Mostly my plan for now is to get my things all in one place, I have no doubt that Weiss has boxed all of them up by now. Or ordered them boxed up." There was a hint of bitterness in Ruby's voice as she mentioned her girlfriend. "That or she'll be waiting for me to return home like nothing happened."

"You'll figure it out." Jaune reached a hand across the table to pat Ruby's shoulder. "I mean if you want to we could try searching for a 2 bedroom together."

"It would solve some of the renting issues, and the money." Ruby said. "I'd need to see what Vale has on offer for apartments and houses for rent though."

"Most of the houses you can rent are derelict or crazy expensive, apartments are more looked after and better priced." Jaune said. "When you have your scroll back I can send you a list of the two bedrooms I like the look of, or you can flick through them on my scroll tonight."

"Thanks, I'll do that." Ruby said as she stood up and stretched. "We better keep on going. I mean you got your shopping done, but I'm still wearing one of your shirts and Nora's skirt. I know I have my dress that's in the wash, but I need to have more than that, and I really can't live out of your wardrobes until I can get my stuff from Atlas."

"Well then I guess we had better get onto that." Jaune stood up. "I guess You're going to drag me to every store in the mall now."

"Hey, I'm no happier about this than you. I only like weapon and food shopping." Ruby scowled. "Let's just get this over with."

"By the way, what do you think about Shag pile carpet?" Ruby didn't look up from Jaune's scroll as she thumbed her way through the listed apartments.

Jaune stared at Ruby helplessly for a moment. She was sprawled over the arm of the couch, her bangs pulled up in a tiny ponytail to stop them from getting in her eye. "We are not having shag pile."

"Oh come on, it looks fun!"

"Absolutely not." Jaune grabbed his scroll out of Ruby's hand, she had been looking through apartments on it since the night before, occasionally asking for his input. "Have you ever tried cleaning it? It's impossible."

"Spoilsport." Ruby pouted. "Fine, no shag pile. Unfurnished is okay right?"

"We'll have to go shopping for furniture no matter what." Jaune replied. "But if it has some furnishings that would be preferable."

"Got it." Ruby gave him a thumbs up.

"Look, I have to go now or I'll miss my airship."

"Say hi to Pyrrha's Mum and Dad for me if you see them."

"Say hi from me and Ren too!" Nora called from the kitchen where she was frying bacon for her breakfast.

"Nora that's not even-"

Jaune held up a hand. "Don't even bother trying to correct her, she knows it's wrong."

"Really?"

"I will." Jaune ignored Ruby as he yelled to the kitchen. "I always do. You know they would love it if either of you visited."

"Ren and I don't take a lot of missions in Mistral." Nora answered at the same time as Ruby replied "I do, just not as often as I would like."

Jaune shook his head. "Well I understood about half of that, which is more than usual I guess. Ruby, tell me about those apartments you have a viewing for. Nora, don't let Ruby do anything too reckless."

"I'm on Breakup patrol, got it oh Great and Fearless Leader." Nora poked her head around the corner. "You keep yourself safe Jaune, I don't want a call that you're In the hospital again."

"I will, I'm not doing anything too hard this time. Couple of Deathstalkers If I'm unlucky, probably just an tribe of Ursai." Jaune took a deep breath. "REN, WAKE UP!"

There was a thud followed by some shuffling in the hallway as a very tired looking Ren made his way into the lounge. "When do you move out again?"

"Your instructions are to keep an eye on both of these two."

"Jaune we're adults, they'll be fine. You're the one we should be worried about. Half the time you come back here covered in cuts and bruises, and the other half you need to be hospitalised." Ren rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the palm of his hands. "I mean that's the same for most lone Huntsmen, but still, look after yourself. Go on your mission, just remember to dodge and not only catch things with your chest."

The next few days passed in a blur of Ruby being shown empty apartments, some of which she liked, and some she hated. And organising with Weiss through Nora a date to collect her things from the Schnee mansion. Yang visited on the third day, bringing her tiny daughter in tow.

Serafina had been delighted to see Nora, who she saw as an aunt regardless of familial status, and Nora had been equally delighted to see the toddler. That was another reason Jaune was eager to move out, Nora was known to be a little baby crazy and he knew it was only a matter of time before his teammates added a new member to their family in his opinion. Not that Jaune disliked kids, he just wanted to be gone before then.

Ruby had absconded early in the visit to sort through her supplies that Yang had brought back to her, and to check the messages on her scroll. She had received a surprising amount from Weiss, panicked about her apparently going missing.

"So you're hiding in here huh?" Yang leaned against the kitchen counter opposite her sister. "You should at least say hi to Serafina."

"I did." Ruby said, not looking up from her newly returned scroll.

"You know what I mean."

"I will, I'm just checking my messages." Ruby slid her scroll shut and slid it into the pocket of the shorts she had bought while shopping with Jaune. "Did you field many from Weiss for me?"

Yang looked at her sister carefully while tapping her metallic fingers against the Formica countertop. "Did she call me panicking about you? Yeah she did, she was worried. You stormed out in a snowstorm, and then you went missing with no way of being contacted. Are you doing okay?"

"As well as I can be." Ruby sighed. "I had a massive fight with my girlfriend, one that I don't want to recover from because it'll just happen again like it did before, and I'm not sure what I'm doing next. I'm probably going to be renting an apartment with Jaune, seeing as he wants to move out of here and it'll just be easier that way."

"My little sis moves on quickly!" Yang joked before catching Ruby's death glare. "I'm sorry, that was tasteless, even for me. You sure you want to do that? I mean you and weiss could still-"

"We are not."

"Okay then."

"And I've known Jaune for years, if I can't trust him, I can't trust anyone." Ruby smiled, thinking about how during the war she and Jaune had frequently worked together as team leaders. "So yeah, I do. I was just looking at some apartments I like."

"And?"

"And some of them look pretty good, Jaune said it was okay if I went and checked them out without him and we'll make decisions from there." Ruby smiled. "That's something that's going well right? Finding a new place to live."

"You would always be welcome back home." Yang reached across to place her hand over her sisters. "Blake and I would love to have you, and Dad would love having you around more." Taiyang still lived on Patch, he had just moved to a smaller house that he found easier to manage.

"I know sis." Ruby sighed and stretched her arms in front of herself. "But I can't burden you guys again."

"When are you going to collect your stuff from Weiss's?"

"In a few weeks I hope." Ruby said. "After I've moved out of here."

"Do you know where you're going to move into?" Yang asked.

"I have a few places I really like the look of, one is in an area mostly populated by Hunters too so that's good. I'm only looking at the ones that are trying to get vacancies filled ASAP." Ruby explained. "Jaune is going to look at my shortlist when he gets back, then we'll make decisions and sign onto a place."

"I can help with getting your stuff from Weiss's. Blake will be back by them to watch Serafina."

"I already asked Nora." Ruby shot down her sister's request. "She's agreed to stop me doing anything I might regret."

"Like going back to Weiss?"

"Yeah." Ruby stared into space for a minute. "I still love her you know."

"Well you had a long term relationship, it's to be expected." Yang said, watching her sister carefully. It wasn't like her sister to open up too much.

"But it just doesn't work." There was a choking sob in Ruby's voice as she spoke. "I'm so stupid."

"No you're not, we all want to be happy, and sometimes it doesn't work like we want it to. You were chasing the moments of happiness you shared." Yang watched her sister. "It just doesn't work so much now."

"No." Ruby agreed. "It doesn't." She stood up from her counter stool. "I had better go see the niece, gotta hype her up on sugar before sending her home with you like the awesome auntie I am."

"Do that and you'll be worrying about more than just finding a new place to stay."

"Love you too sis."

Truthfully, Ruby was not the sort of Aunt who gave her niece too much candy, that was Nora's job (who had spent the morning making cupcakes for the visitors). Ruby prefered to spoil her niece with small gifts, often tiny versions of weapons. Her niece had made it clear she wanted to be a huntress many times, and Ruby loved to indulge her by buying toy weapons and having mock fights with the child. The latest of these 'weapons' she had bought while shopping with Jaune. Which Yang had attempted confiscate on sight.

"Absolutely not." Yang had swiped the toy from Ruby's hand. She had just walked back into the lounge after a long catch up with Nora. "She is four, too young."

"Oh come off it that's mine, do you really think I would give a four year old a rubber band gun to play with?" Ruby smiled at her sister. "I'm just showing Sera how it works, all the mechanics in it. I actually got her a toy sword because I stepped on her old one when I visited last. It's fine."

Yang regarded the toy weapon Sera had shoved through her belt with suspicion. "It's wood."

"She's old enough. Uncle Qrow gave us blunt edge weapons when we were that age." Ruby reasoned. "If I remember rightly, you tried to stab Dad with mine."

Yang thought for a moment, kneeling down in front of her daughter. "You know what you do with that right?"

"I don't hit people, only pillows." Serafina met her mum's eyes. "Auntie Ruby already told me this. She says she's feeling better now, that she's not sick like when she saw us last."

"I'm just making sure you're safe. And yeah, Auntie Ruby seems to be doing much better now. Now go annoy Nora, I need to have another chat with your aunt." Yang watched as her daughter ran off to find Nora who would undoubtedly give her more candy. "Just because Qrow did something doesn't make it a good idea." She turned on her sister. "I know you had some kind of hero worship with him-"

"It's not about trying to be Qrow, fuck I know it's not good to be like him. I try very hard not to be too much like him."

"And a bang up job you're doing of that!"

"It's about making sure your daughter can handle a weapon." Ruby finished, meeting her sister's violet eyes with her silver one.

"Why to protect herself from Salem? Newsflash, she's gone, you got rid of her. Sera doesn't live in a world where she will have to be like you."

"And what if she does." Ruby hissed. "What if she has to fight too young? I wouldn't have survived if Qrow hadn't taught me so young. Salem would have wrecked me, Cinder would have. I'd have lost more than just an eye against her." Ruby reminded her sister. "I'm paranoid, I know, I try not to be. But I'm paranoid for good reason."

"You think I'm not paranoid too?" Yang sat beside her sister. "I'm scared to leave her alone. I'm scared when Blake is gone. I'm scared that something worse is going to come for us. I'm scared for when the Grimm really come back, not what they are now. I'm scared that my daughter is going to end up like us, hurt and scared because she had to take on something bigger than herself before she was ready. I wake up in cold sweats some nights when all I can see is the waves of Grimm like they were during the war. Or I see people like Adam, or I think Blake is really gone."

"She won't -"

"Exactly, it's irrational. It's not going to happen." Yang stood up. "I know it's hard to let go of it, but please try not to introduce my daughter to fighting too early. I want her to actually be a kid. That's why I freaked out over this." Yang shook the rubber band gun.

"Relax, I got that so I can shoot Jaune with it. Ages 6 and up see?" Ruby pointed at the label. "Not for Sera."

"I know I just I-"

"You worried, and you were right to." Ruby wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders. "But she's determined to be like you, and you can't protect her forever."

"I can damn well try." Yang growled before catching Ruby's look. "The sword is fine, she'll stab a few stuffed Ursa when she gets home and she'll forget it for a week, you know that right?"

"Yeah, but at least she stabbed the Ursa and not you." Ruby smiled and checked the time on her scroll. "It's almost 5, don't you have to get on an airship at 5:30?"

Yang scowled as she looked at the time. "I wish they had a later ship."

"So do I, it was good to see you both again. You know, when I'm not all weirded out." Ruby stood up and stretched her arms over her head. "Thank you."

"Anytime sis." Yang pulled her sister in for a hug then let her go. "Good luck on the apartment search. And getting your stuff from Atlas. And the rebound." Yang wiggled her eyebrows slightly. "If you know what I mean."

"I know." Ruby nodded. "And I have no intention of fucking Jaune. And you really should be going. I don't want you to be late."

"Yeah." Yang walked to the kitchen island and poked her head over it to speak to her daughter "Pack your stuff kiddo, we have to go now."

"But we only just got here! I wanna stay with Auntie Nora!" Serafina protested.

"My word is law kiddo, you only have a few things right? Go grab them and bring them to me."

"Fine."

"You're good at that." Nora commented.

"I have to be, I'm a Mum." Yang smiled. "Look after yourselves, both of you. And Ren." She spotted the man standing by the kitchen entrance. "You're really quiet you know that?"

Ren's response was only to smile.

"I've got my stuff Mum." Serafina pulled at the hem of her mother's coat before slipping her hand into her Mum's.

"All of it?"

"Yup."

"Awesome." Yang looked back to the adults. "Well, this is us. See you all next time we visit."

"See ya." Ruby said at the same time as Nora sung. "Goodbyeee!" Ren just waved.

When Yang had left Nora slumped against the kitchen counter. "Children are exhausting."

"They have more energy than you." Ren commented.

"You need to speak around Sera, she's going to think you're mute." Nora nit-picked at her boyfriend.

"I'm just quiet! And that kid is so hyper, I don't think I could keep up with a conversation with her." He rebutted.

"Ren you literally sat there for half an hour and nodded while she showed you her dolls once. It wouldn't kill you to speak."

Ren sighed and rolled his eyes. "What do you want for dinner? Pancakes is not an answer."

Ruby smiled as she returned to the couch and started thumbing through her scroll. The dinner debate was one she was familiar with, and had learned to never involve herself.

And once again, a massive thank you to my awesome Beta reader, reddit user /u/BryceWilliam. The next chapter or two might be a bit faster than the first three, but no real promises.