33Weiss had coaxed herself back to the chessboard. She wasn't playing Yang, of course, she wouldn't stick her hand back in that toaster before she knew she could win, but she knew the only way she could beat her was if she was willing to do what she had to do for any other challenge in her life. Namely, hard work and practice. And playing chess against Pyrrha was a good way to challenge herself.
"Check."
Or, at least, she ought to have been a challenge. Pyrrha was distracted, making her strategies anemic and short sighted, and Weiss caught her eyes constantly wandering away from the board, missing her turn, and just staring out the window. It was possible she had a hangover, indeed, extremely probable that she had a hangover, considering that all the rest of them did (except for Ruby, who didn't understand that "high, squeaky voices" aren't conducive to a splitting headache!). But, really, she just seemed… distracted.
"Check," she said, a little louder the second time, catching Pyrrha's attention.
"Oh!" she realized what was going on, "I'm so sorry, I'm just..."
"A little distracted?" she asked, airily. Pyrrha blushed and mumbled something noncommittal, blaming her distraction on the wine from last night. And while Weiss had originally suspected that to be the cause, hearing it in Pyrrha's uncertain voice made it pretty clear that it was not the case. Pyrrha's hand shot out, moving her king to a new position… that was still in check. "Pyrrha… my bishop's right there," she pointed. Pyrrha reeled a little, and Weiss sighed. "Listen, I don't think chess is what's important right now, not for either of us."
Pyrrha sighed. It troubled Weiss to see Pyrrha like this—she knew what it was like to have to keep your emotions bottled up under your hat, but Pyrrha was the best at it of all of them.
Which, considering all the screwed-up lives and trauma that JNPR and RWBY had between them, was fairly impressive. And concerning. And, well, if there was one thing Team RWBY had taught Weiss, it was that, when someone was bottling up like that, that was when they needed their friends to be there for them. Like Ruby was there for her.
And in this situation, Ruby would… Hmmm, Weiss realized she wasn't sure what Ruby would do to help her feel better about opening up. But, even if she didn't know what to do, she had to say something. Pyrrha was certainly not in a state to take the initiative. "Alright, I have to assume this is about you and Jaune."
"What tipped you off?" she snorted.
"Sarcasm, okay… yeah, you're taking this pretty rough." Pyrrha cringed, apologetically, but Weiss raised her hand to stop the apology. "But I don't get why you're so worried about Jaune?"
"He's..." and Weiss could see the tears forming in her eyes, enough to move even her heart to sympathy, "he's leaving, Weiss. He's going to leave us."
"So tell him not to."
Pyrrha stared at her in incomprehension. "I… can't."
"Even I know he means a lot to you," not that she was thrilled about it, but clearly, he made her happy, "so just tell him he can't leave." Seemed simple enough to her; Beryl certainly seemed like a willful woman, but they were Huntresses, even in training, and Weiss knew that Pyrrha was a force to be reckoned with.
"B-but he… you saw him last night, he's I mean, it's his family..."
Now it was Weiss's turn to stare at Pyrrha. "Are you kidding?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
Weiss looked at Pyrrha in total incomprehension. "My family's name is on the chess set we're using right now. Do you think I don't know a thing or two about this?" Pyrrha glanced down. "On the bottom," she corrected, "so you can't see it now, but yeah, there's an SDC snowflake on more things here than you might think. And I see all of them, and they're always a reminder that, as much as I'm Weiss, I don't stop being a Schnee."
Pyrrha scowled. "Well, that's good for you, but he's not-"
"Pyrrha," she tried not to roll her eyes, "I know what it's like to have family obligations hanging over you. Do you think I'm never unsure if I'd be better off in Atlas, learning how to run the company?" Pyrrha seemed chastened by her response, so Weiss got to her point. "I'm here because I want to be. Same with Jaune. It's… weird to admit this, but I'm not that different from him. And," she shot Pyrrha a stern look, "you will not be telling him I said that. But I've learned things here, from Ruby and my team and all of you, things I couldn't have learned if I stayed in Atlas. And even if I go back to uphold my family name, to reform the SDC, I'll still be better for being here. Even I have to admit that Jaune's grown here. He's not who he was when he came, and so I don't think he should leave. And neither do you."
"W-what should I do?" she asked, daring to hope.
Weiss smiled. It was hard to imagine that, months ago, the thought of being Pyrrha's trusted confidant would have been a prized trophy, but now, she knew how much more dear she was as a friend. "Just tell him. Tell him how much he's achieved here and how much he's grown. Tell him what he means to the team and... how much he means to you. And tell him..." she blushed a little, "well, you know..."
And Pyrrha nodded and, judging from the blush, seemed to get her meaning.
"Well?" she asked, to Pyrrha's confusion, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go tell him!"
With Weiss's words echoing in her ears, Pyrrha had torn off to find her partner. She couldn't let him leave, couldn't stand idly by and let him squander- no, that wasn't it. She was here for herself as much as she was here for him. They both had a reason to want Jaune to stay and she couldn't lose her opportunity. Something had to be done.
She saw Jaune and Beryl on campus, on the very same bench where she'd confronted her two days ago. Well. She'd been told then that she would see where Jaune's passions really lied, and whatever she'd seen last night, it was only because she hadn't made her move yet.
Jaune turned to greet her, but Pyrrha didn't have time for that. "Jaune, please," she begged, "listen to me. You can't drop out of Beacon, because- because-"
She knew what had to be said, she knew the words that had to be said to get him to stay, and yet, just like every night they spent training, like on the night of the dance, she found herself facing the man she loved, feeling that love burning in her heart, and yet- she couldn't say it. She merely stared helplessly at Jaune, realizing how empty her words felt. Just say it! She cried, inwardly, Just say it! Say "Because I- Because I lo- I lov-"
But Jaune didn't notice her distress, just looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Pyrrha… I'm not dropping out of Beacon?"
Staring at him in abject amazement, she almost couldn't process what that meant. It was… it was good, right? It was, wasn't it? It was exactly what she wanted, everything she'd hoped for! She felt a brimming joy swell in her heart as she realized he wasn't leaving her!
"Jaune and I had a talk," Beryl added, "and he made me understand that… while I don't necessarily agree with him, I cannot change his mind," she gave her a faint smile, "I guess you got through to him, after all."
What?
She… she hadn't said anything, though! She'd only barely seen Jaune this morning, unable to meet his eye, unable to handle that she'd lost him. And yet, looking to Jaune right now, who blushed and glanced away… had she done something? Was there something that had happened last night that she wasn't remembering or some small... something that had happened this morning, beneath her notice? She didn't dare hope, but it was hard to keep the swelling optimism that, well, maybe there was something between them. Maybe there was reason to hope.
"I, um," Jaune said with a bashful smile, "I just had to tell Beryl that, I mean, you've all invested so much time into making me a halfway-decent fighter that I, um, I can't just leave, you know?" He gave her a "I still gotta prove to you all that I wasn't a waste of time."
It wasn't the explanation she was hoping for, but it was so undeniably Jaune-ish that Pyrrha gladly took it. He would prove himself to them, she knew it for a fact. The potential she had seen in the Emerald Forest was already taking root, and, more than anything, his heart was where his real strength was. And she had seen that firsthand.
Beryl got up from the bench. "Well, if everything's been settled, I really do need to get going so I have time to catch my flight back home." She, graciously, extended her hand to Pyrrha, who took it warmly. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Invincible Girl, and believe me," she turned back to Jaune, "Saphron is going to flip when she learns she's your partner."
"What? Why?" Jaune asked, cluelessly, but Pyrrha could already hazard a guess.
"Saphron's in Argus, Jaune, she's like an idol there," Pyrrha, no fan of her fame, blushed a little to hear that, but was secretly happy to know that at least one of Jaune's sisters would be thrilled to know they were partners, "and you'd know that if you kept in touch with us better. Come on, now, mom's been dying for you to call."
Pyrrha gave Jaune a stern look, which got Jaune to rub his neck nervously and... won some approval with Beryl. "Keep an eye on him," she asked, "don't let him forget where he came from, but… and I'm asking as his sister, help my brother become the best damn Huntsman our family's ever had."
She nodded gravely. "I promise."
And Beryl gave her a hug. "Walk with us to the docks?" she asked, and Pyrrha was happy to comply. They walked together, Beryl teasing Jaune, Pyrrha defending her partner, and Jaune bemoaning that this was what his sisters were always like back home. It was… nice. It felt like she had a special place in his life, that she was the one who could see him like this, with his family. As Beryl got onto the Bullhead back to Vale, she gave Pyrrha a mysterious look—at once hard to read, and yet, at the same time, it felt like Pyrrha grasped exactly what she meant.
After seeing Beryl off to the Bullhead docks, Jaune returned to the JNPR dorm with his partner. It was a small room, a little too cramped for four, especially when one of those four was Nora Valkyrie, but they'd made a space that worked for all of them. He could see Nora's headphones lying on her desk, Ren's tea set in the corner, the little plant Pyrrha was so desperately trying to keep alive before they let her know it was plastic...
All places are good, but home is best.
And, well, he had a hard time thinking of any place better than wherever he was with JNPR.
He dropped down on his bed. It'd been a loooong weekend, and he knew that, tired or not, he had classes tomorrow. But at the same time, glancing over towards Pyrrha, the four-time champion of the Mistralian Regional tournaments who had raced across campus to insist that he not leave… well, it really made him feel like he could do this. Just knowing that she felt something as small as "not wanting him to leave," from someone like her? It meant a lot. Seeing her this morning made him realize that he couldn't leave, not just for what he felt for her, but because how much he seemed to matter to her. Even if it wasn't mutual, she still cared for him. And he could never give that up.
But then his scroll buzzed on his bedside table, and he snatched it up to see what the message was.
"Who's it from, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, "Because if it's Yang, now that she knows you're in line to inherit a winery, she's probably going to try and worm her way into the family."
He had a laugh at that as he glanced down at his scroll. But it wasn't Yang, or anyone he was particularly excited to hear from. "...Beryl," he answered, uncertain on what to do.
"Open it," she suggested, "no use letting it loom over your day."
He sighed. She was certainly right about that. Though Beryl had conceded graciously, she was not someone who was used to losing, not without getting in the last word. But whatever final note she had for him, he might as well face it now. He opened the text: a few short lines telling him to make the most of his time at Beacon and to become the best Huntsman he could be, and then… and then he reached the final line, the line that seemed to pulse on his screen.
"And ask Pyrrha out: you're obviously in love with her."
His jaw dropped. Had she- how had she- he'd only just realized it himself, and Beryl was- did... how did she know?
"What's it say, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. "It wasn't- what did she say?"
But Jaune just stammered, still reeling from Beryl's words. What- what could he say? She knew it was something and he couldn't just pretend it wasn't important, considering the fact that he was silently staring at his phone screen! If he was a better liar, he could have faked something, and if he was more disciplined, he could have played it cool when he saw the message, but he was neither, and so he was practically radiating, "THERE IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT ON MY PHONE."
Struggling for words, he was caught completely off guard as her hand shot forward and snatched the scroll from his hands. He was briefly too impressed by the speed of her strike than to realize the violation of personal- SHE WOULD SEE THE MESSAGE!
His own hand shot out to grab the scroll, but it was too late. Pyrrha was looking at him, an almost disbelieving look on her face, her mouth slightly opened as if to speak, but with no words to be found.
"I- it's just, um, my sister has a-"
"Jaune," she cut his babbling off, "Is this… true?"
He blushed, wishing to whatever gods might be listening that he could just phase through the floor and not have to admit to his partner, his eminently perfect and giving partner, who was personally training him to be a competent Huntsman, who was his closest confidant and friend at Beacon, that he… that he had a crush on her. He bowed his head, hoping that there was some order of words or ways of saying things that could save their friendship. But nothing came other than a "...yeah."
Wordlessly, she rose from her seat. Jaune didn't know what to say, how to apologize. Her face was totally blank as she walked over placed both hands on his shoulders, and looked him square in the eyes. Her beautiful, emerald eyes, he could remember the first time he glanced over to ask if he could borrow a pencil and realized that she had beautiful eyes and how that made him realize she had a beautiful everything, her smile, her laugh, her kindness, her everything. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, and before he could say a word, he'd fallen head over heels for her.
But there were no smiles or laughter here. "All this time…" she said, looming over him, "and you mean to tell me… it was mutual?"
He struggled to come up with a- wait, mutual? Mutual? What did- was it-
And then she kissed him.
Her lips crashed into his, at once a forceful collision and a graceful dive, as skillful as any other move from Pyrrha Nikos. But he wasn't thinking about that. He wasn't thinking about how beautiful she was as she swooped down, how soft her lips were against his, or how passionate the kiss was. He wasn't thinking anything for a while, until, suddenly, a new idea came into his mind.
I want to kiss her back.
And he did. And he could feel the delight radiate off of his partner as she pushed him to his bed. Entwining his arms around her slender waist, he pulled her close and kissed her like he'd been dreaming of since he realized there was nothing in this world he wanted more than her. The girl he thought he could never have, would never be worthy of. Seeing her this morning… that sorrowful, dolorous look that he knew was because she had come to realize that Beryl was right, had been a shard of ice in his heart. But it had made him realize how badly she didn't want him to leave, and that made him realize that he didn't want to leave either—that he didn't want to leave her.
And now he had her, and she had him, the two of them discovering that their hopeless, one-sided crush was actually the root of a deep and dear love between the both of them.
Pyrrha broke away from the kiss for air. "Say my name," she gasped.
"Pyrrha?" he cocked an eye.
"No, no," she shook her head, "Say my name… with your accent."
He glanced at her, a little embarrassed. "Pyrrha Nikos," he said, letting some of his Valean accent slip through.
"Brothers," her eyelashes fluttered, "you have a sexy accent..."
Shocked, he was barely able to stammer out, "Wait, what?"
"It is," she said with a teasing smile.
"It's like… really provincial, Pyr, not at all like-"
"I'm Mistralian," she replied, "I have no idea what it's supposed to sound like, I just know..." she grinned, "it makes me want to kiss you more."
He… was happy to comply with that. More than happy. They kissed again. Less desperately passionate, but more close, more content. Now they were kissing each other because that's what they did, that's what they had. It was a laughing kiss, a relieved kiss, a kiss that could go on for all time.
But when it broke, he heard her lovely, lovely voice that made it all worthwhile. "It's wonderful," she murmured, "so wonderful. And I'd waited so long."
"Sorry about that," he said with a bashful chuckle, "but… you're right. It's wonderful to finally kiss you."
She looked at him with lidded eyes. "Describe it to me, Jaune," she asked in a husky voice.
"You want my... tasting notes on your kisses?"
"If you describe me as 'full-bodied,'" she teased, "you're going to regret it."
"Ha, I- I wouldn't!" he promised, smiling, "But, you know… there are hints of vanilla," he kissed her, "and the attack is sharp, but," and he kissed her again, "there's a richness across the whole palate, and," he kissed her again, "the sort of finish that makes me want to sample your kisses again."
And that's exactly what he did.
Special thanks to Renarde for helping me come up with and develop the idea, and thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.