Dead Like Roses

by Jokulhaup

They thought their future was bright, until one day he left and everything was ruined. Months later a chance encounter brings back hope for happiness. Modern!AU. Past Arkos. Future Milk & Cereal. Rose Gold?

Dead Like Roses

They thought their future was bright, until one day he left and everything was ruined. Months later a chance encounter brings back hope for happiness. Modern!AU. Past Arkos. Future Milk & Cereal. Rose Gold?

By Jokulhaup

Disclaimer: I do own RWBY… merchandise. Not the series though.

Opening Note: Inspired by a manga I read. I wanted more so I'm writing this I guess. Manga title is a spoiler though so there's more on it in the notes at the bottom. Written first person to see if I can.

Perspective: Pyrrha (The Meeting)

"Hey pretty lady, if you stay out here all by yourself you're gonna get cold and sick."

A smile grew on my face as I kept my eyes on the view while leaning on our balcony.

"Well luckily for me, I've got someone nice and warm to keep me company while I'm up here, don't I?"

I didn't turn my head as I heard footsteps approach from behind. A pair of arms wrapped around my waist and a blond head rested on my shoulder as I was hugged from behind.

"Lucky you? More like lucky me, I get to hold you in my arms, don't I?"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I stood upright and turned before returning the hug and planting a kiss on my partner's lips. After pulling back from the kiss, I looked up as his face was consumed by a giant grin, so large it seemed to force his gorgeous blue eyes closed.

"Welcome home Jaune, how was work today?"

The smile dropped as Jaune groaned out loud before pressing his face into my shoulder.

"Don't even get me started," he mumbled into the cloth of my sweater, "today was awful."

"Aww, poor baby. Well I've got dinner warmed up and waiting for you so let's get some of that negativity taken care of, hmm?"

I pulled away slightly and we walked back into the apartment towards the kitchen, one arm wrapped around each other's waist.

"Pyr, you didn't have to do that. Tonight was my turn; I was gonna make my world-famous fried rice!

"Jaune… World-famous? The only one who eats it are you and me. Besides, you always season it a little too strongly, you know? And you were running late so I wanted to do something nice for you as payment for working so hard."

"Oh Pyr, don't you know? You are my world."

My heart beat furiously at the corny but sincere words.

"And you love it anyway. 'Cause you always say the peppery flavor makes you feel warm."

Despite my idle complaint, he was kind of right. Before we got together, my meals had always been cold and impartial, prepared by great chefs but taken all by myself without any family or love in sight. By contrast, everything Jaune and I ate together seemed to taste better just because of the bond between us. It wasn't the pepper. It was the feeling of love I could feel from Jaune when he made it for me.

"As for payment," he continued, "well that's unnecessary. You're the most precious person in my world; everything I have is yours and I give it to you for free so don't even think you have to pay me back or anything."

It wasn't just the cooking that did it. Everything about Jaune was just so warm and comforting. He brought life and joy with him wherever he went. If I was his most precious person, then he was equally my own. Before him, my life had been cold and empty, but when we were together I always felt…

Warm.

.

Sunlight streamed through the window into my eyes. I clenched them shut and turned away from the edge of the bed towards the other half of the bed. My hand groped blindly for Jaune before coming to rest on the empty sheets.

They were cold.

I gasped and my eyes shot open before recognition struck and I shut them tightly.

That's right… Jaune's gone now.

Sadly, everyday it got easier to remember that Jaune wasn't here anymore... and this morning was the worst. I wasn't even surprised that his side of the bed was chilly because I'd finally gotten used to it.

Tears started to build in my eyes at that realization.

Jaune, I wish you were here. Why did you leave me?

Slowly, laboriously, I picked myself off the bed and shambled towards the bathroom. Despite the powerful temperature controls in the apartment, I felt as if a frost had crept into my soul and frozen me down to my core. The dream had been a memory of better times, but all I felt now was the anguish of being cold and alone again. How I longed for those better times. Maybe a blisteringly hot shower would make me feel better.

As my tears mixed with the hot water pouring down my body, I was overcome with sorrow. It didn't.

.

I slumped down onto the couch in the living room as I flipped the TV on using the remote.

Today was a Saturday so I didn't have any classes, and I didn't need to show up at my part-time job as a bartender until late tonight, which left me with most of the day free to my thoughts.

Nowadays I hated being left alone with my thoughts.

Instead I changed the channel to one with some Saturday morning cartoons and raised the volume, hoping to drown myself out. The show that I'd flipped to was about a world plagued by shadowy beasts that hunted via sensing negative emotions. It followed the adventurers of eight teenagers who were attending a school dedicated to training warriors that fought back against the shadow monsters. This was one of Jaune's favorite shows and he'd followed it religiously when he had been here.

"Hey Pyr, I'm just catching the latest episode. They're in the middle of a tournament and it's great! You haven't seen this before, you should come join me!"

It was like I could hear him right beside me, trying to extend my boundaries yet again. Tears sprung to my eyes again as I realized I'd never hear him enthusiastically pushing me towards something I'd never tried before anymore.

Despite having turned on the TV to avoid it, all I'd done was hammer in his absence even more. I pulled my knees up to my chest and curled up on the couch. The screen became a messy blur of colors as my crying obscured my vision. I decided that it wasn't helping and turned the device off.

Pulling out my scroll, I went into my voicemails and pulled open the last one I'd received from Jaune.

"Hey Pyr, great news! I managed to get out of work early today so I'm gonna take you out tonight and we're gonna have some fun! We haven't been able to do that in a few weeks so it should be great, right?"

There was a pause in the message.

"Actually Pyr, there's something really serious I wanna talk to you about. Life-changing even. I love you so much and well… let's see how tonight goes, eh? I'll see you soon Pyr, love you!"

There was an exaggerated kissing noise, then the message ended. This recording was all I had left of him.

My heart ached for the man I once confidently called my soulmate, and against my will, my wet eyes drifted towards the crumpled and torn newspaper article dated two months ago which was sitting on the coffee table. I'd read it countless times hoping that the words would change, but alas my hopes were for nothing. The words of the headline taunted me, legible through memory more so than through my teary vision.

Local Hero Gives Life Saving Others

The picture under the headline was Jaune.

.

I hummed to myself happily as I dressed up and got ready for a night out with Jaune. He sent me a voicemail earlier telling me that he had gotten out of work early today and was planning on taking me out. Apparently tonight was an extra special occasion and there was something big he wanted to talk about.

Personally, I had some growing hopes for what I guessed the topic would be.

Giddy with excitement, I got my purse and eagerly waited for Jaune to arrive. He was due to be home in less than ten minutes and was going to quickly freshen himself up before he left.

Ten minutes passed.

Ten minutes became twenty.

Then thirty.

Jaune was an hour late. Where was he? I'd tried calling his scroll but it had immediately gone to voicemail so he'd left it off for some reason. I wasn't mad, but I was growing increasingly concerned at his silence. It was unlike him to just leave someone hanging and he tried his best to let everyone involved know if he was going to be late.

Suddenly my scroll started to ring. It was an unknown number.

"Hello there, who is this?" I asked after answering the call.

"Umm… Yes, is this a Miss Nikos?"

"Yes, this is she, how can I help you?"

"Miss Nikos, this is Fillan Thropi calling from Beacon Medical Center-"

Panic shot through me and a chill went down my spine.

"Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

"Well, not exactly. I'm sorry to say I'm calling you because you were listed as an emergency contact. Less than an hour ago we admitted one Jaune Arc after he got into an accident saving a young woman and her sister from a runaway truck with broken brakes. He managed to push them out of the way but wound up getting hit in her place. I won't mince words; he's in terrible condition."

"Oh… Oh my gods, no. Please tell me this is some sort of terrible prank."

"I'm afraid not Miss Nikos. This is the central Vale facility and have our finest doctors working on him but… The truth is that the situation looks grim. I think it'd be best if you-"

"I'm already on my way!"

I cut the call short and slammed the front door open, barely managing to unlock it with how terribly my hands were shaking. Tears started to cloud my vision and I tore down the hallway towards my car.

I'm coming Jaune. You'll be just fine. I'm coming. You'll get better and a few years from now we'll look back on this and laugh.

I prayed to the Brothers that Jaune would be alright. That he'd pull through and recover.

He didn't even last until I'd made it to the hospital.

.

It was a sunny day. The heat of the sun bore down us, alleviated only somewhat by the shade of the giant tree that loomed over us.

It didn't feel right. The sun shouldn't be out on a day like this, on the day of Jaune's funeral. It should be overcast. It should be raining. It should be plunged into an eternal darkness like my entire world had been since I'd gotten the news that Jaune had died.

I sat in my seat in a daze, barely aware of the words passing me by as the service went on.

The funeral was crowded, and almost half of it was a sea of golden hair. Jaune's entire family had come out in force to see him off, and in a less dazed portion of my mind I was idly curious what it would have been like to have grown up in such a household, with family members so plentiful they were practically popping out of the woodwork.

The other half of the crowd were friends of Jaune who had been touched by his life. Velvet and Coco, whom he'd befriended in high school after fighting off Velvet's bullies, were here. Their respective boyfriends Yatsuhashi and Fox were here to support their significant others. Despite not having a close bond with Jaune, they'd hung out a few times and would probably have called each other friends. There were Sun and Neptune, childhood friends whose stories of playing Junior Detectives with Jaune when they were children had caused much laughter in our group of friends. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie were seated beside me, Ren lived in the same city as us but Nora had flown in from across the country, canceling her gap year plans short in order to say goodbye to one of her closest friends.

They both gripped my hands tightly as I squeezed back, trying to draw strength from their presence.

The four of us had become friends in our sophomore year of high school, although I was the latecomer after transferring in during that year; the three of them had been friends since middle school when Jaune had helped Nora fight off someone who had been trying to bully Ren. He did that a lot… fighting for those without support because he could. Now the three of us were together trying to prevent ourselves from collapsing without Jaune to support us.

On and on it went, and it seemed like everyone who came up had something beautiful to say about Jaune, whether it was some dorky antics that raised spirits or something genuine and generous he'd done to help someone in trouble.

Soon, everyone had spoken except the three of us. Ren went up first.

"As far as I'm concerned," Ren began, "Jaune was my brother. Anyone who disagrees with me is wrong and I will not tolerate it. He was a rock that I could lean on and he provided stability for me when I needed help trying to rein in Nora's antics."

Here, there were some chuckles from the audience from those who were aware of Nora's… peculiarities.

"The world is a darker place without him, and I'm always going to remember how much brighter he made it," Ren turned towards the casket containing the love of my life, "I'm going to miss you brother, I hope you're at peace, wherever you are."

There was polite applause as Ren came back down to us. Nora made to go up but paused. She seemed to shudder before taking a deep breath. Her face took on an unusually serious appearance; it looked strange on the normally bubbly girl.

"I'm gonna keep this short. Jaune was great. Maybe the greatest of us. But he's not here anymore. That doesn't mean that WE aren't here. We can't give up. It's gonna be hard but keep moving forward. Jaune cared for us so we have to care for each other too. That's all, thanks."

Despite speaking to the crowd, her eyes dug deep into me as she spoke. I felt as if she was telling me to be strong. I didn't know if I could.

I stood up and walked towards the front. All eyes seemed to follow me. I felt like they were judging me. Asking why I hadn't saved Jaune. I knew I couldn't have, but my thoughts betrayed me regardless.

"Jaune was… IS the love of my life. He did nothing but bring me joy and warmth to all of us and I can only hope that I did the same for him. I… I'll miss him. I miss him already. I don't know if it'll ever stop.

I paused. My mind ran at a thousand words per minute but nothing came out. I didn't know what I could say. My mouth opened and closed helplessly before I clenched my teeth. I turned to the casket and pressed my index and middle fingers against my lips before pressing them onto the wood. I turned back to the audience.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what more to say that hasn't already been said. We all loved him and we'll all miss him. Please take care of yourselves in his memory."

I came back to my seat. Tears poured from my eyes and my composure broke as the casket lowered into the ground. I wept bitterly, seeing my hopes for the future turning to ash before me. Maybe one day I'd be able to find a new normal, but for now I would mourn.

.

I peered into the fridge. It was nearing lunchtime and I had to prepare for myself without Jaune here anymore.

"Hmm… there's some day-old rice, and some leftovers… eggs, some pork… green onions… I guess today is fried rice for lunch."

I took the ingredients out and set them on the counter before looking for the pepper.

"Where is the black pepper? I know it's in here somewhere because… Jaune used it a lot."

I mumbled to myself out loud, killing the silence in the kitchen before I wound up thinking myself into a depression again. I tended to brood when I was left to silence, and the problem had only gotten worse without Jaune's loud presence. Since his death, I'd mostly eaten takeout because the kitchen was filled with memories of happier times. However, my realization this morning had made me miss him fiercely and I wanted to try to recreate his fried rice recipe in memory of him. If only I could find the black pepper.

I'll never get to eat his cooking again. Not even his overly seasoned fried rice with its strong flavor…

Ding-dong.

The sound of the doorbell going off shook me out of my thoughts before they got darker. I looked over at the door curiously.

Who could it be? No one said they were coming today and it's noon on a Saturday…

Walking over to the door, I looked through the peephole but could only see a slight patch of dark hair bobbing at the bottom of it. Whoever had come to visit was apparently fairly short… or leaning over out of sight. I pulled open the door.

On the other side was a girl several years younger than me, probably still in high school. She was a fair-skinned young woman with silver eyes and black, neck-length, choppy hair that gradually shifted to dark red at the tips. She wore a black long-sleeved dress with a high collar and red trim on the sleeves and around her skirt. She also wore a pair of black stockings and black boots with red laces, with red trim around the top and red soles. She had a black and red satchel hanging off her shoulder.

Cute girl… I guess she really likes black and red, huh?

"Yes? Can I help you?"

The girl was panting, as if she'd run a marathon, but despite that her silver eyes stared into mine with an intensity that I found almost unnerving.

"Ah… I needed to meet up with you. It's me, Pyr. I'm your boyfriend, Jaune!"

...What?

"...What?"

My first reaction was confusion, followed immediately by outrage. My eyes narrowed as I glared at the terrible little girl. She gulped nervously at my expression.

"Is this some sort of sick prank? Did you know Jaune somehow? Although I don't see how he could have been acquaintances with such a cruel girl…"

I made to slam the door shut but her eyes widened and she threw herself against it, using her weight to keep me from closing the door on her.

"Wait, wait, wait! Hear me out! I know how it looks but this is real!"

"Don't mock me like this, I can't believe you'd-"

"On the day of the accident, I overslept. You woke up on time as always because you're perfect but you thought I was too cute when I rolled over into your side of the bed so you just left me there. You made yourself toast with butter and were eating it when I finally came out yelling that I was gonna be late. Because I slept in, I couldn't get any breakfast and I complained dramatically to you about it on my way out. You slipped me your other slice and I said 'Pyr, you're the absolute best girlfriend ever!' as I took it and went off to work."

I paused. That was exactly how that morning had gone, and although it was a regular occurrence, this was a level of detail that some random girl I'd never seen before shouldn't have had.

"How… how do you know that?"

"Let me inside, and I'll tell you everything I know."

I looked down at the girl as her big silver eyes stared into mine imploringly. Against my better judgement, I pulled the door back and let this girl in.

.

I took her into the kitchen and we sat at the dining table as she told me her story.

"So, what you're saying is… that on the day of the accident, right when you died your spirit somehow transferred into the body of this high school girl instead?"

I gave a deadpan expression towards the girl claiming to be my lover Jaune.

"Yes, exactly!"

She smacked her fist into her open palm enthusiastically.

"Now you're getting it!"

I continued to stare at her silently, which began to unnerve her and she scratched the back of her head nervously.

"Well if you don't believe me, I can always talk about the time we tried to reenact Chapter 8 of Ninjas of-"

Panic.

I waved my hands in front of me frantically.

"Nonono! I believe you! You promised you'd never talk about that again!"

She laughed brightly.

"Haha, well I was the one that got hurt from trying to take that position so I think I have the right to talk about it, y'know?"

I grimaced.

"Even so, I still feel bad that it happened at all. I don't like to think about it."

"That's fair," she replied. Her eyes glanced about before landing on the food arrayed on the counter.

"Oh yeah it's lunch time, were you planning on making something?"

I idly ran my hand through my unbound hair.

"Mm, yeah. It was just gonna be fried rice made with some leftovers."

"Fried rice, eh? It's been a while so I'll make my world-famous fried rice for you!"

The girl flexed her arm, rolling up her sleeve as she did, which made her look like the old "We can do it!" posters from the Great War.

"Eh? Hey, I didn't say you could-"

"Don't you worry, Pyr. You can just sit down and think things through, okay? I know I dropped a huge bomb on you here."

The girl claiming to be Jaune got up and dashed over to the kitchen counter. She pulled a drawer out and withdrew a black pepper dispenser.

Ah… so that's where it was. Oh yeah… he moved it there because he used it so often…

As she got to work, my eyes drifted to her face.

.

The soothing rhythmic sound of chopping filled the air as I sat at the dining table. I was flipping through a bridal magazine filled with wedding dress designs when an absolutely beautiful one caught my eye.

Excitedly, I grabbed the magazine and ran over to Jaune before showing it to him.

"Hey Jaune, what do you think I'd look like in this?"

He looked up from his preparation to the picture. His blue eyes widened as he looked at it then looked over at me, no doubt imagining me in the dress.

"You'd be the most beautiful woman in the world. And I'd be the luckiest man in the world, if I was the one waiting for you at the altar."

I lightly punched him on the arm.

"You dork, who else could it possibly be waiting for me? You're the only one for me."

He leaned down and kissed me. The feeling of his lips against mine brought me bliss and I shivered happily, the warmth of his love suffusing through me. He pulled back and looked at me solemnly, as if he was about to drop a fundamental truth of the universe.

"I may be a dork, but I'm your dork."

I couldn't help it, his serious expression combined with his dorky words were too much. I started laughing out loud.

"Hahaha, with words like that there's no denying you're a dork, Jaune. But you absolutely are mine. Don't you ever forget it."

Jaune's face seemed to shine as his face was overtaken by a giant smile large enough to force his eyes closed.

.

"It's good to see you smiling."

I snapped out of my thoughts and realized that the girl was looking over at me, her delicate features pulled into a large smile with her eyes closed. Jaune's smile.

...That's Jaune's…

I hadn't realized, but I had been smiling from my memories while she cooked. Now that I was aware of it… the smile slipped, but the feeling of warmth I'd suddenly gotten remained. I continued to stare as she prepared the food.

Eventually the two of us were seated across from each other, a plate of fried rice in front of each of us. I took a spoonful and raised it to my mouth. I took a bite and the flavor of the dish burst into my mouth. My eyes widened.

This flavor…

Unbidden, tears began to flow down my face and I wept as I continued to eat. The feeling of nostalgia and love overcame me and it was like Jaune had never left my life. I relished in the warm feeling.

"This is…"

Jaune looked up from her food and realized I was crying. Her eyes widened.

"Pyr…"

"This is Jaune's fried rice… it has the strong peppery flavor and everything…"

"I'm sorry, did I make it too strong?"

I hiccupped. The tears continued to flow uncontrollably.

"Hic. Is this really happening? Are you really Jaune, come to meet me again?"

"...Yep."

She got up from her seat and came around to me. Her hand rested against my cheek.

"When I thought about you crying like this alone, well I couldn't bear it. I wanted to meet you no matter what. I came because I wanted to talk to you, and to touch you."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against mine. Despite the unfamiliar body, the sensation was the same, and I could feel my love for Jaune blooming in my chest again. The cold I'd been suffering from receded. I slipped from the chair and fell back on the floor. Jaune crawled over me, her silver eyes taking in my features and her black and red hair hanging down.

"...But most of all, I wanted to just see you, Pyr…"

She unbuttoned my blouse, exposing my body to her unfamiliar yet familiar eyes. I didn't resist, and my heart beat furiously.

Are we really going to do this?

Jaune's face came closer to mine, and I felt myself blushing at the intensity in her eyes. Suddenly, she looked away.

"Sorry," Jaune apologized as she turned back to my eyes, "Right now… I have this kind of body. I'm sure it's weird to you…"

"...It's okay."

It is a little weird but… it's Jaune on the inside so it's okay with me. I missed him and I want him.

I reached up to stroke Jaune's cheek when she suddenly pulled back.

"Sorry, I'm about to sneeze."

"Ah, okay."

She turned her head away from me.

"Ah-ah-Achoo!"

"Bless you."

Suddenly Jaune sat up.

"Ah... huh…?" she muttered to herself.

Jaune's expression became distressed, and she pressed her hands against her cheeks, which were now glowing red.

"Oh no. We switched back… Jaune… Um…"

I sat back up as I looked worriedly at Jaune, who seemed to be having a meltdown.

"...Jaune?"

Blushing furiously, the girl got off of me and pulled back entirely. Her hand came up to her chin.

"Err… um, I'm sorry… right now I'm not Jaune. I'm the original owner of this body."

...Hah?

"...Hah?"

.

Silently, the two of us moved into the living room while I contemplated the situation. It should have been obvious, had I thought about it a little. If Jaune died and his spirit entered another body, then that body ought to have someone else inside it too, right?

"Um… I, I am Ruby Rose, and I'm currently a senior at Signal High School in Patch. It's nice to meet you Pyrrha."

Right now, both Jaune and this girl, Ruby, are inside the same body.

"Our two consciousnesses can take turns, and the one not in control feels… well it feels like it's really sleepy, so it takes effort to tell what's going on outside. But… well we can't predict when a switch will happen, so it's a shock whenever we trade places. Kind of like waking up from autopilot and realizing you don't remember the last fifteen minutes. It happened during the sneeze."

I felt like I, too was in a state of shock. Now that I realized that Ruby was also inside the same body as Jaune…

"Ruby…"

"Umm, yes?"

I grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"I'm so sorry! I was just about to sleep with a girl I just met! And you're underaged too!"

Ruby sat rigidly as I apologized.

"You must have been disgusted by that kiss too, right!?"

"Ah, Pyrrha, um… you're mistaken. Don't worry about that."

Ruby raised her hands and waved them in a placating manner. While she did, I self-consciously buttoned my blouse back up.

"You see… Jaune has done a lot to help me out. And this is my way of returning the favor..."

Her hands raised to her chest and she held them as fists over her heart.

"I told him that today he could use this body however he wanted, and he decided to come here. To come see you."

I blinked.

"Jaune helped you out? How do you mean?"

"...Before Jaune, my home life wasn't great. My mom died when I was young and my dad took a while to recover from that. When he did, he decided that the best way to make up for neglecting me was to work hard enough to provide for me. Unfortunately, this just caused another problem and meant I don't get to see him very often. My older sister took care of me when we were younger and was my best friend growing up but she eventually outgrew me and made her own friends and then went off to university, so I'm basically alone at home now. Even at school, I never made friends because I was too socially awkward, so I was alone all by myself all the time. I never accomplished anything and was just drifting through day by day. My life felt lonely and painful and pointless."

I grimaced. Her story had some beats similar to my own childhood, and I didn't appreciate the reminder.

"But that all changed two months ago when Jaune came into me and changed things around. He confronted my dad and made him realize he was missing out on my life, and he helped coach me into being a bit more outgoing. He even got in contact with my sister and made her realize how far she left me behind. She's been reaching back to me more often as well. I've even made some friends at school! I still haven't accomplished anything I'd call worthwhile but I'm working on it! I owe him a lot."

She grinned happily at me. Just like Jaune's, she closed her eyes while smiling so widely but it felt more… relaxed.

"That's why I'm glad I was able to meet Jaune's most precious person. I'm glad I was able to meet you, Pyrrha."

Subconsciously, I smiled back.

"That's very kind of you. I'm glad to meet you too, Ruby."

Since that's how it was… I guess I can't ask "Why didn't you come see me earlier?" to Jaune. I've been alone and mourning for two months since I lost him… but that whole time he's been helping this girl like he helped me.

I thought of the previously interrupted moment of intimacy with Jaune. I looked at her face as she gazed back at me curiously.

It can't be helped, since this girl is technically a victim who was dragged into this against her will. But I guess… I have slightly mixed feelings. This really young but cute girl is one in body and soul with him-

Her hand touched my cheek. She was leaning in towards me.

-Wait, her face is getting too close.

"What are you doing?"

Her other hand came up to her own cheek, which was now a furious red. Our lips were only an inch apart.

"Eh? Ah, I was just continuing from where we left off."

My slightly mixed feelings have now become strongly mixed feelings.

I lightly chopped her head and she pulled back.

"No, we can't. Ruby, don't do it just because Jaune wants it."

Ruby rubbed her head where I'd hit her.

"...You shouldn't do that, Pyr. This isn't my body after all, so hitting it is off limits."

"...Then does that mean you're back in control Jaune?"

She pointed both hands at me like finger guns.

"Bingo."

Jaune paused and looked me up and down.

"Wait a second, why did you put your clothes back on!? Even though I'd finally undressed you. And you shouldn't let anyone who isn't me push you down!"

I sighed.

"This has suddenly turned into a difficult situation."

.

I looked up at the clock on the living room wall. It read 6:12.

"Oh dear. It's already so late."

Jaune flinched.

"I guess we should start thinking about dinner. What do you want to eat? Do you wanna get some takeout, or go out to a restaurant?"

Jaune looked down at the floor contemplatively before replying.

"...No. I have to get going. Now that Ruby's dad is trying again, he's trying to make up for lost time and is probably waiting for her. To be honest, I already lied about where I was going before I left so he's probably going to grill us when we get home."

"Oh, I see…"

Now that I think about it, Ruby's still underaged right? The high school she's attending is quite far away so it must have been hard to get here. It makes sense that she can't stay with me too late, no matter how much I want it.

Jaune pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. Her gaze stayed fixated on the same patch of floor.

"I wasn't able to talk to you as much as I wanted this time, but as you can see… it'll be incredibly hard to make more time in the future as Ruby's life progresses… I'm sorry."

I took out my scroll and smiled at Jaune.

Well that's fine. Even if your appearance has changed, as long as you're alive we'll be able to meet again.

"In that case, give me your contact-"

"Pyr."

She turned and looked at me seriously. Looking up from my scroll, I could see how somber Jaune was, and it cut me short.

"I don't think we should… ever meet again."

My heart stopped.

Why are you saying this?

"Eh?"

I searched her face, but couldn't see any signs that she was playing a cruel joke.

"I died, and was given a burial. I'm a person who is not supposed to exist."

She opened her satchel and withdrew her scroll. Even as she spoke it lit up with another missed call from a contact named Dad, the latest in over a dozen calls. Below that were several text messages asking Ruby where she was and to call back as soon as possible. There were more missed calls and texts from someone else named Yang.

"Pyr and I could only be together today because of my selfishness. I had to borrow Ruby's body and time to come here. I can't continue to be selfish and usurp her life in order to satisfy my own desires."

Jaune quickly texted back to both people, although I didn't see what she'd replied.

Please Jaune… please don't leave me again.

"I came here today… to say 'goodbye' to you, Pyr. To give you closure which I couldn't do before."

She put her scroll away and turned to face me fully. She smiled at me, but all I felt was an overwhelming sadness coming from her.

"Your boyfriend is dead, Pyr. That's why you should forget about me, forget about your boyfriend named Jaune, and move on with your life."

I can't do it, Jaune. How can I move on without you?

"...You must be joking," I whispered.

Jaune suddenly raised her fists up and pumped them.

"...Is something I definitely would never say! Don't listen to me, Pyrrha!"

...What?

She turned away from me and pulled on her black and red hair out of frustration.

"I keep telling you, Jaune. You can't just say whatever you want. You're just running away, for Brothers' sakes… Get out here you coward!"

Ah, so that's what happened.

"Oh… Ruby. You switched? Does he really swap when you pull like that?"

Ruby turned to me and raised her bangs with one hand. The other grasped mine and lifted it up.

"If you chop my head again, then the shock might make us switch back…"

"No wait, I can't just-"

"It's just that…"

Ruby sighed and looked up at me with her soulful silver eyes.

"It's just… are you okay with things ending like this, Pyrrha? Can you really do what Jaune just asked?"

I pulled my hand back and crossed my arms before looking away towards the wall.

"...Well, I definitely don't like it."

"See, Jaune!? I told you-"

"But the more I think about what he said, I can't help but agree that the two of us would just complicate your life… Maybe it really is for the best if you-"

Ruby pressed a hand over my mouth, cutting my words off.

"Nope!"

I pulled her hand away from my mouth.

"Nope?"

"Nope! Haven't I already told you? I felt like I haven't accomplished anything worthwhile in my life up to now. But that changed when I went with Jaune to meet you. I don't want to be the reason you're separated again. This is something I can do, for someone I care about who's helped me so much. It's worthwhile to me."

"...But-"

"But nothing! I'll say it like this, then."

She raised a hand over her heart and her face was completely serious. She almost looked like a knight swearing a solemn oath.

"I. am. Your. boyfriend."

I looked at her, stunned.

"Jaune is inside of me, therefore Jaune IS me. The part of me that is your boyfriend will come here to meet you from now on. And there's nothing weird about that, okay? So, don't worry about me, I'll take care of it."

This girl…

I smiled at Ruby.

"Haha… thank you, Ruby. You really are kind."

...is really something special.

We sat in a content silence for a moment, before Ruby started to tremble. Suddenly, she leapt at me.

"Hey, accept my vow!"

"Ah! Ruby!"

Despite everything… I think things might wind up alright.

.

It was dark now, and Ruby had finally decided to go back home. I was in the foyer to see her off as she put on her shoes.

"I guess it's time to say goodbye, huh? And I didn't even get to…"

"I'm sorry, Pyrrha. In the end I couldn't get Jaune to switch back out after all…"

I looked down.

"...No problem."

Ruby perked up.

"But even if I have to sneak away, we'll definitely meet again, so-"

"I'm sorry too."

"Eh?"

My hand came down and chopped her directly on the forehead. She flinched back as her hand came to rub where I'd hit her.

In the end, I do have something I need to say to Jaune.

"Ouch... I told you that hitting me is off limits now, Pyr."

He mumbled to himself, "That was a solid chop though."

"...You didn't want to cause Ruby any trouble or hurt her feelings, right? That's why you fought to mend her relationship with her family and to help her make friends, right?"

Jaune flinched.

"I know you, Jaune. You were always a wonderful person like that. You lifted me up from my own sadness when we met and now you're doing it for Ruby as well."

I smiled despite feeling like flaming shards of obsidian were dragging through my insides, burning my entire being into ashes. My fists clenched at my side.

"Even so, you always decide on things by yourself. You didn't think about how I felt."

My brittle smile shattered like glass as tears began to roll down my cheeks.

"I really hate a one-sided 'goodbye' way more than that you died. Because for two months… I wanted nothing more than to meet you again. And now that I know you're here in front of me… I will always keep on wanting to meet you from now on."

Jaune raised her hand to my cheek and brushed away the tears there gently.

"You absolute idiot…"

"...I'm sorry, Pyr."

She raised herself up on her toes and I leaned down. Our lips met again and I poured all the love I felt for Jaune into the kiss. My eyes closed at the familiar sensation and I could feel myself truly fill with warmth for the first time in months. Eventually, Jaune pulled away.

"Then it's not time to say goodbye. Instead I'll only say 'See you later.'"

I opened my eyes.

"...Yeah."

Jaune pulled back and opened the door before stepping outside and pausing. I followed after her as she adjusted her bag before looking back up at me.

"Before I go… can I get one last kiss?"

I tucked some hair behind my ear.

"Geez, even though I just gave you one… You're so greedy sometimes."

Despite my words, there was no hesitation as I came over and leaned down to kiss her again. I'd have to get used to being the tall one in the relationship, I guess. Our lips touched and I felt that familiar warmth again as my eyes closed.

I pulled back from the kiss.

"...It's sweet."

I smiled.

"Take care on your way back, okay?"

She smiled back, her silver eyes closing from the expression.

"Y'know... you're pretty cute, Pyrrha."

I blinked as she opened her eyes and hopped back. She winked at me. Then she waved goodbye and smiled before starting to turn towards the stairs.

"See you later," she said in farewell.

She skipped away, a happy bounce in her step. One of my fingers lifted up to my lips.

...Was that…?

.

Fin. (For now?)

.

Ending Note: You thought it was Milk & Cereal but it was me, Rose Gold! Hahaha! Sorry if you felt baited by the summary.

Phew. It's done. I'm actually running on like two and a half hours of sleep because I was so inspired that I stayed up all night writing most of it before finishing it in the morning. This is probably the longest thing I've ever written, and definitely the fastest too.

The manga that inspired the story was a one-shot named My Dead Boyfriend Came Back as a High School Girl by Tokiwa Rokukou.As you can see, the title is a huge spoiler so I left that detail for the end notes. The characters even kind of look like Ruby, Pyrrha, and Jaune! Kind of.

Like I said, I wanted more of it so I'll probably be adding extra chapters when inspiration strikes. Maybe the perspectives of all of RWBYJNPR as the relationship progresses. Obviously in that case, this would be the Pyrrha chapter. We'll see how it goes.

I hope you enjoyed the story!