Andy's Point of View

I leaned forward in my chair, rubbing a hand over my face before letting out a weary sigh.

"Alex's been missing for a week." I said, breaking the heavy silence hanging over the room. "And this time, it's not because he wandered into some ancient ruin or got sidetracked by another student project."

My jaw tightened as I looked at Alexa.

"He's just... gone."

Alexa's form stood quietly for a moment before answering.

"I know." She softly. "I've searched every I could."

She lowered her gaze.

"But I still have no leads."

The words settled like lead in my stomach.

That wasn't like Alex.

He always left a trail. A note. A radio message. Something.

Even when he disappeared into places no sane person would willingly explore, he always found a way to let us know he was alive.

This time...

There was nothing.

And somehow, that silence worried me far more than any distress call ever could.

The dorm door open with a soft click.

"Professor Goodwitch has officially reported Alex's disappearance to the police." Francine said as she stepped into the room. Team RWBY and Team JNPR followed close behind, each wearing the same worried expression.

I looked up from my chair.

"Any news?"

Francine shook her head.

"Nothing yet."

Yang let out a frustrated sigh as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I really hope they have better luck than we have."

Blake leaned against the wall, her amber eyes downcast.

"I doubt it." She said quietly. "Alex always covers his tracks. If he doesn't want to be found... he won't be."

"Except this time." Weiss said, her voice unusually subdued. "I don't think he's hiding."

Silence settled over the room.

No one argued.

Because deep down...

They were all thinking the same thing.

If Alex had vanished without leaving behind even the smallest clue...

Then something had gone terribly wrong.

It had been seven days.

Seven days without a message.

Seven days without a single clue.

That wasn't Alex.

He always found some way to let them know he was alright, even if it was just a hastily scribbled note or a sarcastic text that only raised more questions than it answered.

The silence...

It felt wrong.

Jaune finally broke it.

"So... where do we even go from here?"

No one answered immediately.

Because none of them knew.

I slowly stood from my chair, crossing the room to a large map pinned to the wall.

It showed Vale and the surrounding kingdoms, with dozens of colored pins scattered across it.

Red.

Blue.

Yellow.

Search areas.

I rested a hand against the map.

"We've searched every place he'd normally go."

I pointed at several pins.

"The library. The training grounds. The Forever Fall Forest. The old quarry. The cliffs outside Vale. We even checked the abandoned mines he liked exploring."

I let my hand fall to my side.

"Nothing."

Nora frowned.

"What about his side of the dorm room?"

Francine sighed.

"We searched it twice."

"And?"

"Nothing looked out of place."

Ren spoke for the first time since entering.

"Which is unusual."

Everyone looked at him.

Ren folded his arms.

"Alex was organized."

He paused.

"If he planned on leaving for any length of time..."

His eyes drifted toward me.

"...he would've packed."

I nodded.

"He didn't."

Silence returned.

Yang leaned against the wall with a frustrated groan.

"I hate this."

Weiss looked over.

"Hate what?"

"Not knowing."

Yang clenched her fists.

"If someone grabbed him..."

She looked toward the floor.

"...there's nothing we can do."

I saw Ruby's shoulders slumped.

But Yang was right.

Without even the smallest lead...

They couldn't help him.

Blake suddenly frowned.

"...Wait."

Everyone turned toward her.

"What?" Yang asked.

Blake looked at me.

"You said his side of the room looked untouched."

I nodded.

"It did."

"But Alex always carried a backpack."

"...Yeah?"

"The old black one."

I blinked.

"...You're right."

She pushed herself away from the wall.

"He never went anywhere without it."

She looked around the room.

"Was it there?"

I frowned, thinking back.

Several long seconds passed.

"...No."

"It wasn't?"

I slowly shook my head.

"No..."

I looked toward Francine.

"I don't remember seeing it."

Francine's expression changed.

"Neither do I."

Hope.

Small.

Fragile.

But hope nonetheless.

Blake continued.

"If he took that backpack..."

She looked around the room.

"...then whatever happened, he wasn't caught completely by surprise."

I immediately grabbed my jacket.

"I'm checking his room again."

Ruby was already moving.

"I'm coming."

"So am I." Yang said.

Within seconds, everyone was heading for the door.

It wasn't much.

Just one missing backpack.

But after a week of nothing...

It was the first real clue they'd found.

And every one of them silently prayed...

It wouldn't be the last.

The trip back to Beacon felt longer than it should have.

Nobody spoke.

Hope had returned, but it was a fragile thing. One that could disappear just as quickly as it had come.

Within minutes, we reached the boys' dormitory.

I didn't bother knocking.

I shoved the door open and stepped inside.

The room was exactly as we'd left it.

Alex's bed was neatly made.

His desk was organized with almost unnatural precision. Books were stacked in orderly piles, loose papers sat beneath a paperweight, and several enchanted trinkets he'd been experimenting with rested where he'd left them.

Nothing looked disturbed.

I frowned.

"...We missed something."

"We had to." Blake replied.

"If the backpack isn't here..."

She didn't finish the sentence.

She didn't need to.

We spread out across the room.

Yang checked the closet.

Jaune searched the desk drawers.

Ren looked over the bookshelves while Nora peeked under furniture, humming quietly to herself.

I stood in the middle of the room, slowly turning in a circle.

"Think like Alex..."

I muttered the words more to myself than to anyone else.

"If you wanted to hide something..."

I looked toward the bed.

Then stopped.

"...Hang on."

I walked over and dropped to one knee.

"Andy?" Ruby asked.

I didn't answer.

Instead, I leaned down and looked beneath the bed.

For a moment...

Nothing.

Then my hand reached farther underneath.

My fingers brushed against something.

"...Gotcha."

I pulled.

A familiar black backpack slid across the floor.

The room fell completely silent.

"There it is..." Weiss whispered.

Dust coated the top of it, but otherwise it looked untouched.

Yang frowned.

"It was under the bed?"

I nodded slowly.

"It was shoved all the way against the wall."

I looked around the room.

"Someone would've had to get down on the floor to see it."

Blake crossed her arms.

"Alex doesn't strike me as someone who'd just throw his backpack under the bed."

"He doesn't." I agreed. "He always hangs it on the bedpost."

I looked at the backpack thoughtfully.

"So why hide it?"

Nobody had an answer.

Slowly, I unzipped the main compartment.

Everyone instinctively crowded closer.

Inside...

Everything looked normal.

A notebook.

Several pencils.

A flashlight.

A first-aid kit.

A few protein bars.

A coil of rope.

Nothing unusual.

Yang scratched her head.

"So... that's it?"

I frowned.

"No."

I reached deeper inside.

"Alex always organizes his bag."

One compartment after another was opened.

Each one was exactly as expected.

Until...

My hand stopped.

"...Wait."

"What?" Jaune asked.

I reached into a small inner pocket.

When my hand emerged...

I was holding a folded piece of paper.

Every eye in the room locked onto it.

"I've never seen that before." Francine said quietly.

Neither had I.

The paper was folded with unusual care.

Across the front, written in Alex's handwriting, were only four words.

If you're reading this...

I felt my heartbeat quicken.

"...He left us something."

Nobody spoke.

Nobody even seemed to breathe.

With trembling fingers...

I began unfolding the note.

"If you're reading this... then it means you're going through my belongings without my permission."

I paused, already rubbing at the bridge of my nose.

"Since there isn't much in here, go ahead and take whatever you want. Just know... I will find out."

Silence settled over the room.

I slowly lowered the note and let out a long, exhausted sigh.

"...Damn it, Alex." I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Of course.

We'd spent the last week searching half of Vale for a clue, only to find one of Alex's sarcastic warnings about rummaging through his backpack.

It wasn't a lead.

It wasn't a message.

It was just Alex, somehow managing to be a smartass... even while missing.

Behind me, I heard Yang let out an exasperated groan.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

A few people chuckled despite themselves, but the laughter was short-lived.

The note hadn't answered a single question.

If anything...

It only made Alex's disappearance feel even more unsettling.

The room remained quiet.

I turned the note over.

Nothing on the back.

No hidden writing.

No map.

No coordinates.

Just...

Alex being Alex.

Ruby let out a disappointed sigh.

"I really thought..."

"So did I." I admitted.

I slipped the note back onto the desk and looked down at the backpack again.

"No."

Blake frowned.

"What?"

I looked at the bag.

"This doesn't make sense."

Yang crossed her arms.

"What doesn't?"

"If Alex hid this under the bed..." I said slowly. "...then why leave a note telling us not to go through it?"

Weiss tilted her head.

"You think there's something else?"

"I think Alex doesn't do anything without a reason."

Ren nodded once.

"He's right."

Everyone looked at him.

Ren walked over and picked up the backpack.

"He packed this himself."

His fingers traced along one of the seams.

"Everything inside has a purpose."

He looked at me.

"So does the note."

I frowned.

"You think it's a distraction?"

"I think it's intended to make us stop looking."

That...

Actually sounded like Alex.

Nora suddenly gasped.

"What if it's a puzzle?"

Yang blinked.

"A puzzle?"

"Yeah!" Nora said excitedly. "Alex likes puzzles!"

Jaune scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know if now's really the time for one..."

"But if it is one..." Blake said, taking the note from the desk. "...then the answer is probably hidden in plain sight."

She read it again.

And then read it a second time.

Then a third.

"...'There isn't much in here.'"

Francine looked over.

"What about it?"

Blake looked inside the backpack.

"Alex doesn't use filler words."

Yang raised an eyebrow.

"You're saying 'much' is important?"

"I'm saying..." Blake replied. "...Alex would've written 'there isn't anything important in here' if he meant the contents."

She looked back at the bag.

"But he specifically says there isn't much."

Ruby's silver eyes widened.

"So..."

"...the backpack weighs too much." Ren finished.

Everyone froze.

I blinked.

"...You're right."

I hefted the backpack in one hand.

Now that I actually paid attention...

It was heavier than it should've been.

A lot heavier.

"There aren't enough supplies in here to weigh this much."

Weiss stepped closer.

"Is there a false bottom?"

"I don't know."

I emptied the backpack onto Alex's bed.

Everything came out.

Notebook.

Flashlight.

Rope.

Medical kit.

Protein bars.

Pens.

Nothing unusual.

Then I picked the empty backpack back up.

Still heavy.

"...Definitely a false bottom."

Yang grinned.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

Carefully, I ran my fingers along the inside seams.

Alex had stitched most of the pack himself after repairing it months ago.

His sewing was neat.

Almost too neat.

Then...

My thumb caught on something.

"...Hang on."

There.

Near the base of the pack.

Hidden beneath a strip of black fabric.

A tiny brass snap.

Barely visible unless you knew where to look.

I looked up at everyone.

"I don't think we found the real compartment yet."

The room fell silent once more.

This time...

Hope didn't feel quite so fragile.

I carefully undid the hidden clasp.

The false bottom sprang open.

Three small silver bars, a single gold bar, and a copper ingot immediately slid free, clattering loudly across the wooden floor.

One of the silver bars skidded to a stop just short of my boot.

I stared at them for a moment.

"...Huh."

Yang blinked.

"Are those... gold and silver bars?"

"Looks like it."

Tucked beneath the metal was another folded note.

I picked it up and unfolded it.

"What's this one say?" Ruby asked.

I cleared my throat and read it aloud.

"Emergency money. In case wherever I end up doesn't accept U.S. currency... or I run out."

The room fell silent.

I slowly lowered the note and rubbed a hand over my face.

"...Of course he'd have an emergency stash of precious metals."

Yang let out a laugh despite herself.

"That's actually... kind of genius."

Weiss nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Gold and silver are valuable almost anywhere. If he found himself somewhere without Lien..." She glanced at the bars on the floor. "...he'd still have something to trade."

I shook my head with a tired smile.

"Leave it to Alex to prepare for ending up in a place that doesn't even use the same currency."

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

The little pile of precious metals sat on the floor, gleaming in the afternoon light filtering through the dorm window.

Jaune finally broke the silence.

"...How long has he been carrying these around?"

I picked up one of the silver bars, turning it over in my hand.

"They're worn."

Ren nodded.

"They've been handled. They're not new."

Weiss folded her arms.

"Most people carry spare Lien."

I looked over at her.

"Alex's world's currency isn't worth anything here."

She blinked.

"...Right."

"He probably realized that the first week he arrived."

Ruby tilted her head.

"So he just..."

She gestured toward the bars.

"...started carrying gold?"

I shrugged.

"Looks that way."

Yang laughed.

"That's actually the most Alex solution imaginable. 'What if money doesn't work?'"

She spread her hands dramatically.

"'I'll just carry precious metals.'"

Even Blake smiled.

"It's practical."

"It is." Weiss admitted.

Nora leaned over the bed, poking one of the silver bars with a finger.

"So..."

She looked at me.

"...that's still not a clue."

"No."

I sighed.

"It isn't."

I carefully placed the bars back into the hidden compartment.

"If anything..."

I smiled weakly.

"...it's just another reminder that Alex plans for everything."

"And that's exactly why this doesn't make sense." Blake said.

Everyone looked toward her.

She rested a hand on the backpack.

"If he planned for running out of money..."

She pointed toward the hidden compartment.

"...he would've planned for getting lost."

Silence settled over the room again.

Ren nodded slowly.

"She has a point."

"He always carried emergency supplies. Food. Medical equipment. Navigation tools. He prepared for unlikely situations."

I closed the false compartment.

"And yet..."

I looked around the room.

"...whatever happened, he didn't leave us anything."

Ruby lowered herself onto the edge of Alex's bed.

Her gaze drifted around the room.

Books.

Maps.

A notebook filled with tiny, meticulous handwriting.

Everything looked like he'd simply stepped out for the afternoon.

"I keep expecting him to walk through that door." She admitted quietly. "With some ridiculous story."

Yang gave a small laugh.

"'Sorry I was late. I accidentally fought a dragon on the way back.'"

"Or..." Nora chimed in. "'I found an old ruin and lost track of time!'"

"'Again." Jaune added.

A few tired chuckles spread through the room.

They didn't last long.

Because the laughter only highlighted the empty bed sitting quietly against the wall.

I rested a hand on the backpack.

"We keep looking."

No one argued.

"We search. We ask questions. And until we know otherwise..."

I looked at each of them.

"...we assume he's still alive."

The room slowly settled back into silence.

No one reached for the backpack again.

There didn't seem to be any point.

We'd searched every pocket, every seam, every hidden compartment.

All we'd found was proof that Alex planned for almost everything.

Except...

Whatever had happened to him.

I carefully slid the silver, gold, and copper bars back into their hidden compartment before snapping the false bottom shut.

The backpack looked ordinary again.

Just another black canvas pack.

You'd never know it was hiding enough precious metal to keep someone alive for months.

I zipped it closed and set it gently on Alex's bed.

"...Well."

Yang rubbed the back of her neck.

"That was both useful and completely useless."

"I know exactly what you mean." Weiss admitted.

Blake rested against the wall, her amber eyes never leaving the backpack.

"No..."

Everyone looked at her.

"It told us something."

"What?" Ruby asked.

"It confirmed he expected to survive."

Silence.

Blake continued.

"Those bars weren't emergency money for someone planning to disappear forever."

She looked around the room.

"They were emergency money for someone expecting to come home."

I slowly nodded.

"...Yeah."

She was right.

Alex hadn't packed like someone saying goodbye.

He'd packed like someone preparing for the unexpected.

There was a difference.

A huge one.

Jaune sighed.

"So..."

He looked around the room.

"We're back where we started."

"Not quite." Ren said.

Everyone turned toward him.

Ren's calm eyes swept across Alex's side of the dorm.

"We've learned something important."

"And what's that?" Nora asked.

"He wasn't running."

Ren spoke with complete certainty.

"If Alex had chosen to leave..."

His eyes drifted across the neatly organized room.

"...he would've left instructions."

Ruby frowned.

"How do you know?"

"Because he prepares for people."

Ren walked over to Alex's bookshelf.

Every book stood perfectly aligned.

Not by height.

By subject.

Military history.

Engineering.

Survival.

Fiction.

Everything had its place.

"He organizes his life around reducing uncertainty."

Ren reached over and picked up a folded blanket resting on the end of the bed.

It had been folded with almost military precision.

"If he intended to disappear..."

He placed it back exactly where it'd been.

"...he would've prepared everyone else for that."

Nobody argued.

Because we'd all seen Alex do exactly that before.

Whenever he left for a hunting trip.

Whenever he disappeared into some ruin.

He always left something behind.

A note.

A schedule.

A warning.

This time...

Nothing.

Yang shoved her hands into her pockets.

"I hate that you're making sense."

Ren offered a tiny smile.

"I've been told that before."

Nora nudged him with her elbow.

"You're good at it."

A faint smile crossed his face.

"I know."

The tiny moment of humor faded almost as quickly as it'd appeared.

Francine walked over to Alex's desk.

She ran a finger across the surface.

No dust.

"He cleaned before he left."

I looked over.

"What?"

She pointed toward the desktop.

"Alex hated dust."

Ruby blinked.

"...You know that?"

Francine nodded.

"He cleaned his desk every evening."

She opened one of the drawers.

Inside, pencils were lined up neatly beside stacks of paper.

Everything was exactly where it belonged.

"He sharpened every pencil before putting it away."

Yang stared.

"...Who does that?"

"Alex."

Weiss looked around the room thoughtfully.

"I always assumed he was just tidy."

"No." Francine replied.

"He liked routines."

She smiled faintly.

"They helped him think."

Ruby slowly sat down in Alex's desk chair.

She rested her elbows on the desktop.

"You all know so much about him."

I looked at her.

"You don't?"

She shook her head.

"I know what he likes."

She counted on her fingers.

"Books. Hunting. Writing."

She smiled sadly.

"I know he likes teasing Yang."

"Hey!"

Yang protested.

Ruby ignored her.

"But..."

She looked around the room.

"I don't think I ever asked why he does any of it."

Nobody answered.

Because...

Neither had we.

Jaune broke the silence.

"It's weird."

"What is?" Weiss asked.

"We've spent months around him."

He scratched the back of his head.

"But..."

He frowned.

"...I don't actually know that much about where he came from."

"I know he mentioned another world." Nora said.

"And America." Yang added.

"And a lot of stories that sounded completely unbelievable." Weiss muttered.

I couldn't help smiling.

"Yeah."

Alex always had stories.

Some hilarious.

Some unbelievable.

Some...

Far too serious for someone our age.

Blake looked toward me.

"You've known him the longest."

I nodded.

"Yeah."

"So..."

She hesitated.

"What was he like?"

I couldn't answer immediately.

Because there wasn't one answer.

I leaned against the wall and folded my arms.

"...Different."

Yang snorted.

"We noticed."

I laughed quietly.

"No."

I looked around at everyone.

"I mean before Beacon. He wasn't much different."

That surprised them.

"He always planned ahead. He always carried too much gear. He always read whenever he had free time."

I smiled.

"And he always found some stray animal to feed."

Ruby blinked.

"...Really?"

"Oh yeah."

I chuckled at the memory.

"There was this old one eyed barn cat back home. He claimed he hated people."

I shrugged.

"But every morning he'd leave scraps out for that cat before work."

Yang smiled.

"I can actually picture that."

"He never told anyone. He'd pretend it wasn't his cat. But if somebody else fed it..."

I laughed.

"...he'd suddenly become very invested in whether the cat had enough food."

A few smiles appeared around the room.

"He does that a lot." Ruby said quietly.

"What?"

"He pretends not to care..."

She looked toward Alex's empty bed.

"...right up until someone needs him."

The room fell silent again.

Because...

That was probably the best description of Alex any of us had ever heard.

He never announced he was helping.

He just...

Did it.

And somehow...

The emptiness on his side of the room felt even larger than before.

I stared at Alex's side of the room one last time.

Everything was exactly where it belonged.

His bed was still neatly made.

His books sat perfectly aligned on the shelves.

The backpack rested on top of the mattress, hiding its little secret compartment once again.

It looked less like someone had disappeared...

And more like they had simply stepped out for a few minutes.

I hated how wrong that felt.

No one said anything.

There wasn't anything left to say.

We'd searched every drawer.

Every shelf.

Every pocket.

Every hidden compartment.

And all we'd found was proof that Alex planned ahead better than anyone I'd ever met.

But nothing...

Nothing that told us where he'd gone.

The silence dragged on until Yang finally pushed herself away from the wall.

"Alright."

Everyone looked at her.

"I think we're done for today."

I frowned.

"We still haven't found anything."

"I know."

Her voice was softer than I'd expected.

"But we've been going over the same room for almost two hours."

She gestured around us.

"We're tired. We're frustrated. And if we keep digging tonight, we're just going to start convincing ourselves every little thing is another clue."

I looked around the room.

As much as I hated it...

She was right.

Jaune sighed.

"I don't like stopping."

"Neither do I." Yang admitted. "But Alex wouldn't want us wearing ourselves out."

A small grin crossed her face.

"He'd probably call us idiots."

That earned a few tired chuckles.

"...Yeah." I muttered. "He probably would."

Yang clapped her hands together once.

"So."

She pointed toward the hallway.

"Everyone out."

Ruby blinked.

"Where are we going?"

Yang looked at her like she'd asked the world's most obvious question.

"The kitchenette."

"The kitchenette?" Nora repeated.

Yang's grin widened.

"I figured we'd all need something to eat eventually."

Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"You've been cooking?"

"I have."

"When?"

Yang shrugged.

"While you all were busy searching Alex's room."

Blake smirked.

"So that's where you disappeared to."

"Yep."

Nora immediately perked up.

"What'd you make?"

Yang folded her arms.

"If I tell you now, it won't be a surprise."

Nora gasped dramatically.

"A surprise dinner!"

Jaune laughed.

"I've never heard those two words together before."

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Come on. It's getting cold."

I looked back at Alex's side of the room one last time.

The backpack.

The desk.

The bed.

Everything still waiting for its owner to come back.

"...Tomorrow." I quietly said.

Ruby looked at me.

"We'll keep looking."

I nodded.

"We're not giving up."

One by one, everyone filed out into the hallway.

I was the last one to leave.

Before closing the door, I took one final look inside.

"You better get back here, Alex." I muttered to the empty room. "You've got a whole lot of people worried about you."

I switched off the light.

The room fell into darkness.

Then I quietly closed the door behind me.

As I caught up with everyone else, the smell of food drifted down the hallway.

Fresh bread.

Roasted potatoes.

Something that smelled like grilled chicken.

My stomach chose that exact moment to remind me I hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Yang glanced over her shoulder with a smug grin.

"See? Told you it was worth taking a break."

I shook my head, letting out the first genuine laugh I'd managed all day.

"Yeah..."

I sighed.

"...Thanks, Yang."

She just shrugged.

"Don't mention it."

For a little while...

The search could wait.

Tomorrow we'd start again.

And hopefully...

Tomorrow would finally bring us something more than another dead end.

I stepped into the kitchenette and immediately paused.

The rich aroma of home-cooked food filled the room.

Plates had already been set out across the table, loaded with roasted chicken, buttery mashed potatoes, vegetables, fresh bread, and a bowl of steaming gravy in the center. Off to one side sat a tray of still-warm rolls that looked like they'd only just come out of the oven.

I couldn't help but smile.

"Wow..." I said, looking over the spread. "The food looks great, Yang."

Yang who had entered way before me, looked up from the stove, a wooden spoon resting on her shoulder. A proud grin spread across her face.

"Well, considering out of our three teams, only me, Alex, and Jaune actually know how to cook..." She gave a playful shrug. "...I'd certainly hope it does."

Jaune raised a hand from where he was setting plates on the table.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm pretty good."

Yang smirked.

"You are. That's why I included you."

Jaune grinned sheepishly before returning to arranging the table.

Yang nodded toward the food.

"Go on. Dig in before Nora decides she's entitled to everyone's portions."

Nora, who was already reaching for a dinner roll, froze with an innocent smile.

"...I have no idea what you're talking about."

Everyone in the room looked at her.

She slowly lowered the extra roll back onto the tray.

"...Mostly."

That earned a chorus of laughs.

Even Blake smiled, shaking her head.

"I don't think anyone believed you."

Nora grinned unapologetically.

"I had to try."

Yang pointed the wooden spoon at her.

"I've counted the rolls."

Nora gasped dramatically.

"You counted them?"

"I know who I'm dealing with."

Nora crossed her arms with mock indignation.

"I feel targeted."

"You are."

That finally made everyone laugh.

It wasn't loud.

It wasn't forced.

But after a week of worrying...

It was nice to hear.

I grabbed a plate from the stack and started serving myself.

"So..." Jaune said as he spooned mashed potatoes onto his own plate. "How long have you been cooking?"

Yang shrugged.

"About an hour."

Weiss looked around the kitchenette.

"You made all of this by yourself?"

"Pretty much."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.

"When did you learn to cook like this?"

Yang smiled.

"My dad."

A warm look crossed her face.

"He figured that if I was going to live away from home one day, I should at least know how to feed myself."

She chuckled.

"The first few attempts were... rough."

"How rough?" Nora asked.

Yang scratched the back of her head.

"I may have set off the smoke alarm."

"Twice."

Ruby laughed.

"It was more than twice."

"...Three times."

Ruby just looked at her.

Yang sighed.

"...Fine... Five."

That got another round of laughter.

Jaune smiled.

"I wasn't much better. My sisters taught me. They said if I was going to look after them, I needed to know how to cook first."

Ren nodded in approval.

"A useful lesson. It definitely paid off."

Yang looked around the room.

"What about the rest of you?"

Weiss lifted her fork.

"I can cook."

Everyone looked at her.

"What?"

Yang smirked.

"I honestly wasn't expecting that."

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"My family employed chefs. That doesn't mean I never learned. My mother insisted Winter and I know the basics."

Blake nodded.

"My parents did the same."

"I learned a little."

"Enough to survive."

Yang looked toward Ruby.

"And you, dear sister?"

Ruby froze with her fork halfway to her mouth.

"...Cereal counts, right?"

Yang sighed dramatically.

"No."

"...Toast?"

"No."

"...Instant noodles?"

Yang buried her face in one hand.

"Oh, Ruby... I'll teach you!"

Ruby grinned sheepishly.

"I'd appreciate that."

I listened to the conversation while taking my first bite.

Yang wasn't kidding.

The food was good.

Really good.

I hadn't realized how hungry I actually was until now.

Around the table, conversations slowly became more relaxed.

For a little while...

Nobody talked about missing persons.

Nobody talked about dead ends.

Nobody talked about searching.

Instead...

They talked about favorite meals.

About disastrous attempts at baking.

About the time Nora somehow managed to burn soup.

"I still don't know how that's possible." Jaune admitted.

Nora pointed her fork at him.

"It takes talent."

"It takes something."

"It was only one pot!"

Ren quietly cleared his throat.

"It was three."

Nora looked away.

"...Details."

Another wave of laughter rolled around the table.

I found myself smiling.

It felt...

Normal.

Almost.

Then, without thinking, my eyes drifted toward the empty chair at the end of the table.

Alex's usual spot.

Nobody had sat there.

Nobody had even suggested it.

It had simply...

Remained empty.

As though all of us expected him to walk through the door at any moment, complain that we'd started dinner without him, and steal food from the nearest plate.

My smile faded just a little.

Yang noticed.

She followed my gaze to the empty chair.

For a moment, her own expression softened.

But she didn't say anything.

None of us did.

Because we were all thinking the same thing.

We just hoped...

Wherever Alex was...

He wasn't eating alone.
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A/N: And done. kuwebby2, what do you think?