The Next Stage

Jaune tiredly undid his sword belt and set it beside his bed. "Pyrrha, thanks again for all of this." He said to the young woman with him.

Pyrrha smiled. "Of course, Jaune. You are definitely improving." She said, tossing her arm guard on her bed and removing her gloves.

Jaune finished shrugging off his upper body armor. "You don't know how much this means to me, that you are helping me so much. And the others helping with my classwork."

He turned to her, only to be a bit surprised she had come up right behind him. "Pyrrha… I just wanted to tell you…" He closed his eyes, looking at hers made things difficult. "That… that you have helped me a lot." He finally stammered out, words that were true, but not what he was trying to say.

Pyrrha laid her hand on his chest and gave him that half smile he found so endearing. "Jaune, you said that already."

He reached up and took her hand, words pouring through his mind, but words that refused to come out. "Pyrrha, my shirt is all sweaty from my breastplate." Was all he could manage.

Her smile did not fade. "Jaune, we are both sweaty. I think my hand will survive."

He stood there holding that hand for a moment in silence, then turned away, not realizing a slight blush colored his cheeks. "Listen… umm… I'll get my shower first. I can make it fast, so you can take your time." Quickly he shed everything but his jeans and grabbed his pajama pants (the others had convinced him that his old PJ 'looked too warm'), and headed for the bathroom. He didn't see Pyrrha sitting on her bed, one of her leg greaves in her hands, looking at him thoughtfully.

Jaune had been surprised the night they became a team that Beacon had all of them share a single room, regardless of gender. On the other hand, Ozpin had flat out stated that they were aspiring Huntsmen, and he expected to behave in a mature manner. As it was, the four of them shared a single bathroom, though it was quite large, the two toilet stalls had doors, and two sinks made things go faster there. But there was but the one shower stall in the back, often leading to a minor traffic jam. But at least it was large, and had a little changing alcove that gave a bit of privacy.

As it was, he right now simply appreciated the hot water pouring over him. The simple truth was, he was less concerned with cleaning himself at the moment, and more about being alone with his thoughts. "Jaune, Jaune, Jaune, what are you thinking?" he said in a low voice. "She's far better than you. She deserves far better than you. You have no right even considering asking her."

He would have continued berating himself had not he felt a hand touch on his waist and slide around to his belly, quickly followed by another from the other side. He did not need to see the familiar shape of the hands and warm color of the skin to tell him precisely who it was. "P-p-Pyrrha?" was all he could get out.

The arms embraced him and he could feel her lay her cheek on his shoulder (and feel other things pressed into his back). "Of course, Jaune." He could actually feel her smile. "Who else would it be?"

He closed his eyes. "Pyrrha, I don't deserve you-uhff!" His words cut off as she squeezed him tight for a second.

"Jaune, you are far better than anyone thinks. Especially you. Jaune… Jaune, I love you." She finally got out.

Jaune was quiet for a few moments, his hands resting on hers, not knowing what to say. Finally she spoke again. "Jaune, I would not have had helped you if I didn't think you were worth it. That first day, it was you know guided us in taking out that Death Stalker. I don't think we would have defeated it so easily, if you hadn't had seen where Ren had injured it and how each of us could work to finish it, we might have not made it off that bridge. And you manged to take the head of that Ursa."

"Pyrrha. I know you were there. I felt you guide my sword and shield. You defeated it."

"No, Jaune, you did. Yes, I guided your shield, but your sword arm was your own. Your strength, your aura, is what did it."

"Pyrrha… I love you too." He finally was able to say aloud. He laughed to himself a moment. "Can you forgive me for that first morning when I was ignoring you for Weiss?"

She laughed, the act making her breasts do interesting things on his back. "I think she is missing out on a lot, now." She said. As she talked, her hands had been exploring his abs, but now one had dipped further. "Oh my, Jaune. That excited already?"

Feeling her hand fondle him made it a tad hard to talk. "I… I was that way as soon as I realized you were in here." He finally managed to get out.

She actually giggled. "Always wondered what that would feel like. Didn't think it would be so warm."

"You always wondered? I thought… well… you are so…"

"I always wanted to be with somebody special, Jaune. Not with somebody who simply wanted me because I was famous." After a moment, she reached up and took his shoulder and gently, but firmly, turned him around.

He had nervously shut his eyes, but now he opened them, staring into those beautiful green eyes, her lovely red hair slicked back by the shower. She met his gaze, and that mischievous smirk he seen so often lately cross her face. "Jaune. You can look at me… All of me."

It took him a moment to gain his nerve, not helped by the continued fondling she was doing to him, before he looked down at her body. He had imagined this moment for a while, but now he saw that his imagination had been insufficient. Her form was lithe, and strong, yet she carried her womanly curves in full bloom. Her breasts were pale, having not been allowed sunlight, but beautiful, moving gently with her breaths. Below them, her belly was taunt, hints of her muscles showing through, and below that, his mind locked slightly upon gazing on her.

Her hand rose up to his cheek, and she leaned forward, their lips meeting. It was awkward at first, neither had kissed so intimately, but the both improvised quickly and effectively.

After several minutes, their lips parted. "Jaune… I want you to…" she said, a blush actually crossing her face. "I want you, right here and now." Her voice barely over a whisper.

She leaned back against the wall, and he joined her, kissing her again. After a few moments of awkward maneuvering, he was within her. The feelings were intense, like nothing he had ever imagined. Her warmth embraced him, the feelings threatened to overwhelm him. Their bodies pulsed together in synchronized rhythm, and her breathing became deep. They kissed again, a bit rougher this time, but with passion. After a moment, he felt the sensations overwhelm him, and his body explode in ecstasy.

They simply embraced for a moment, the post passion exhaustion hitting, but he was troubled. "You didn't… I didn't give you time…"

Pyrrha silenced him with a kiss. "It's alright, Jaune. It will come."

"No, you deserve more." He slumped for a moment, but then he something came to him. He maneuvered himself so that he was the one with his back against the wall, and pulled her up close with her back to him. He began kissing her jawline, as one hand began caressing her breast, the other hand sliding down her firm abs to its own destination.

She gasped slightly, as he found her most sensitive spots, and he began to explore, judging his actions by how much she reacted to each motion. Soon she was beginning to moan as he learned what felt good to her, her breath becoming ragged. Her own hand wrapped around his wrist, holding it tight as he continued to pleasure her. She twisted a bit in his arms, and they kissed again, though it was becoming more difficult for her. Soon the passion overwhelmed her, and her knees almost buckled, not falling only due to his embrace.

"Tha-Thank you… that was wonderful." She finally managed to say.

Once again, they simply stood under the warm water of the shower in silence, simply content to hold each other. Eventually, though, she noticed something at her hip. "Jaune, ready again already?" she said with a playful voice. He had trouble finding his voice, even more so when she slid down his body to the floor, turning to face him, or at least part of him. After a moment of contemplation, she leaned forward and planted a little kiss on it. Then a second, then reaching up with one hand, she took that next step.

Jaune's head rocked back, actually thumping against the tile of the shower, but that small pain was ignored in favor of what she was giving him. With everything that was happening, he was not surprised how fast things were progressing this time. "Pyrrha, I… I…" was all he could get out before the feelings overwhelmed him.

She jumped a bit in surprise, and she pulled him aside, splattering the wall. He looked down sheepishly, once he got his breath. "I'm sorry."

She actually laughed, slightly. "It's alright," she said with a slight grin, looking up at him. "Just surprised me a bit. Always kind of wondered."

He pulled her to her feet, looking lovingly in her eyes. Then, ignoring what she had been doing just a few moments before, kissed her again. For a moment, that's all they did, words being meaningless at this point.

Finally, their lips parted. "Maybe we need to finish cleaning up before we turn to prunes." He said with a small chuckle.

In some ways, the next several minutes felt as good, if not more, as they proceeded to clean each other. He was amazed at how it felt to have her scrub his body, her fingers rubbing shampoo into his hair. And from what he saw of her face, the same counted for her as he returned the favor.

It was not long before they were both clean, dry, and in their bed clothes, him in his PJ bottoms, her in a simple two piece combo that she preferred.

He flopped back on his bed, pulling her down with him. "Jaune, Nora and Ren will be back soon. What if they found us like this?"

"Would that be a totally bad thing?" he replied, holding her tight. "I just want to hold you for a bit. You can go back to your bed in a bit. But for now, let's just talk."

—

Nora skipped along the hall with Ren. "That was a great concert." She said. She looked down the hall and saw a sliver of light from under their dorm door. "Bet they fell asleep half dressed after practice again." She said with a giggle.

She opened the door, slightly, but was truly surprised by what she saw. Jaune was asleep, laid out on his back on top of his sheets, but Pyrrha was cuddled up against him, her head on his shoulder, and a small smile on her lips.

Ren looked her shoulder, his eyebrow raised slightly at the sight, but also at how quiet Nora had become. He watched, mildly amused, as she went over to Pyrrha's bed and pulled off it's blanket, then gently draped it over the two sleeping forms. She then looked back at Ren and gave him a wink. "You know," she said, in a voice that barely carried to his ears, "they may have a good idea here."