A/N Hello and welcome to Chapter Three of Destiny. I really enjoyed writing this one and I hope you all enjoy reading it just as much.
All eyes were on the red headed woman as she walked in. She could've been Pyrrha's sister, the only difference being that the older Nikos had deep laugh lines on her cheeks. She wore a soft smile, speeding further into the room. The smile faltered and her hands came up, covering her mouth as she spied her daughter. Crossing the room, the rest of team JNPR separated. A racked sob escaped the older woman as she brought her daughter into a tight hug.
"Pyrrha, oh my little Pyrrha. I'm so glad you're OK." It was easy to hear the tears in her voice but the graciousness and joy were also apparent. Jaune shifted his eyes to his partner, tears forming in her own eyes. The pain on her face appeared to be significant but she squeezed her mother back. The older woman kissed the top of her daughter's head. "What happened? Are you OK?" Pyrrha slowly pulled herself away.
"Beacon was attacked during the Vytal Festival, a woman named Cinder brought the Grimm and White Fang, and they took control of the Atlas fleet and disabled the CCT. It was chaos. I was fighting Cinder in the Tower and she would've killed me had it not been for Jaune." Pyrrha's eyes met the blonde's and he blushed slightly. Her mother nodded, turning and pulling him into a hug just as tight as the one she gave her daughter.
"Thank you thank you thank you. I can't thank you enough for protecting her." The pain in Jaune's ribs flared up and he winced audibly. The older woman pulled away. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you." Jaune shook his head.
"I'll be fine, just need to recover a little." She nodded before aiming her tear-filled gaze at Ren and Nora.
"I thank you two as well for helping take care of my Pyrrha." Nora smiled and pulled the older woman into a deep embrace, Ren sighed and nodded. The older Nikos, to her credit, returned the hug without argument as Jaune and Pyrrha shared a smile. Nora eventually let her go and Ms. Nikos turned back to her daughter. "Did they give you a timetable on your recovery?" Pyrrha's smile faltered.
"Aura exhaustion coupled with broken ribs and a shattered ankle. Even with Aura helping my recovery, it will be about two or three months." Her mother nodded, taking her hand. She squeezed it softly before turning back to her daughter's team.
"What about you three?" Nora answered first.
"Me and Renny should be good as new in a few days. We got lucky with a few cuts and bruises." Ren nodded, confirming her statement. Jaune spoke next.
"A few weeks, six broken ribs and fractures in every other." Pyrrha turned her head in shock.
"Jaune! Why didn't you tell me you were that hurt?" The blonde sighed, a small grin on his lips.
"Haven't exactly had the time Pyr. They've kept me in bed for the last few days after I tried moving around when I woke up." Pyrrha hardened her gaze.
"Why would you do something so foolish? You know your body needs rest." Jaune blushed a bit at her concern.
"I had to know you were OK." He let the words hang in the air, Pyrrha turning as red as her hair, her eyes finding her hands. A clearing of Ms. Nikos's throat brought them both crashing back to reality, remembering that they weren't alone in the room. Nora latched onto Ren's arm, smiling and whispering something in his ear. He sighed and shook his head, mumbling something that sounded distinctly like "stay out of it." Jaune raised an eyebrow at the two before feeling eyes on him. He turned to see the older Nikos staring at him intensely. Pyrrha had yet to look up from her hands and her face had yet to return to its normal color.
"Anyway…" Her mother stated. "I'm glad you're all OK. Do you all know what you're going to do next?" Four sets of eyes turned to the older woman. It was Jaune to break the silence.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, from the way you described it, when you all are all healed up you don't have a school to go back to. None of you are full Hunters yet either so you can't take missions or jobs. Obviously Pyrrha is going to come back with me to Mistral and attend Haven. What about the rest of you?" They hadn't thought about it honestly. What were they going to do? Beacon was out of commission and they were only first years. Jaune lived in Vale, he guessed he could go back home to Ansel and stay with his family. How would he explain it to all of them? Would they accept him home so soon? Would they think him a failure? All that work, all that training and lying he did to get to Beacon, to finally achieve his dream of being a Huntsman. To see it all that effort was now wasted because of Cinder.
Ren and Nora had it even worse; there was no home to go back to. Jaune thought for a second that they could come with him but the thought of adding two more people to the already stuffed household didn't seem like an idea destined for success. Maybe that could work, they were a team after all right? A team… What did that mean for them? Were they still Team JNPR? Did Beacon teams even mean anything with the school gone and the Headmaster dead? Just another thing Cinder ruined. Pyrrha's voice tore through his thoughts.
"I'm sorry but what?" The older Nikos turned her head, an eyebrow raised quizzically. "Why would I go with you?" Her mother scoffed.
"Where else can you go dear?" The realization dawned on her then. Where could she go besides back to Mistral? Back to the "friends" who only liked her for her name. Back to the isolation and loneliness that she tried so hard to get away from. All that effort, wasted. All thanks to Cinder. There was nothing for Pyrrha to say. Nora chimed in, lightening the mood.
"Why don't we all come with you and transfer to Haven?" Four pairs of eyes found their way to the ginger. She smiled. "Yea, Beacon's gone and we need to keep training. Why not? We'd probably have to retake our first year but that won't be too big of a deal. It'll be great!" The gears in everyone's heads began turning. It wasn't a completely ridiculous idea and they did need to complete their schooling. They didn't have many other options and staying together was one of their top priorities. Jaune brought a hand to his chin, mulling the idea over.
"We'd need a place to stay in the time being while we all wait for the next semester to start."
"You could all stay with us." All eyes turned to injured redhead. Pyrrha turned to her mother. "It's just myself and mother at our house so we have plenty of space and they need to stay somewhere. It makes the most sense to have them already be in Mistral." Jaune chimed in immediately.
"We wouldn't want to impose." Silence had enveloped the room again. Jaune couldn't help but hope, despite what his mind was telling him. The older Nikos broke that lull with a sigh, speaking.
"I suppose you all could stay until Haven's classes start." Eyes went wide and mouths dropped open. Even Ren's excitement was visible. "But! You would all follow my rules to the letter." A series of nodding heads was the only reply. The older woman took her daughter's hand again. "I'll be in town until you're well enough to be taken home. Until then, please rest dear. I know how you are when you're forced to be idle." Pyrrha smiled, giving a gentle squeeze of the hand.
"I promise." With that, the older Nikos kissed the Champion on her cheek, nodded to the rest of Team JNPR and left. As the door closed behind Ms. Nikos, Nora threw her arms in the air, shouting.
"We're gonna be roommates!" Ren chuckled and replied.
"Nora, we were all roommates at Beacon." The ginger gripped her chin, pondering her next words.
"We're gonna be roommates again!" She would hear no argument and none were made, all happy to just be together again. Jaune pulled himself to his feet, speaking to the injured Champion.
"We should go and let you rest, the faster you do that the faster we can all get out of here." He turned to make his way out but stopped as Pyrrha grabbed his hand, his head turning and their eyes meeting.
"Can we talk? Just for a second?" Jaune was hesitant, they both needed rest and he wasn't sure he wanted to have this conversation in front of their teammates. Ren read the room and turned to Nora.
"Come on Nora; let's go get something to eat." She let out a whine.
"But I wanna hear them confess to each other!" Blush exploded across Jaune and Pyrrha's faces, their eyes averting from one another. Ren put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll get you pancakes." Nora gave quick hug to Jaune and Pyrrha before sprinting out the door. She waited at the door, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Come on slow poke. Pancakes await!" Ren let out a sigh before shaking his head and following his friend into the hall. He turned back to his teammates, only nodding before closing the door behind him. The silence that fell over them was astounding as Pyrrha noticed she still had the blonde's hand. They both pulled away upon discovering this, their blush deepening. Jaune retook his seat beside her bed.
"Jaune…"
"Pyrrha…" They both stopped upon hearing the other's voice. A small laugh was shared between the two and the blonde gestured to her. "Please, you first." Pyrrha nodded, continuing.
"I wanted to talk about what happened. About what I did that night." Jaune's smile faltered but he inclined his head, waiting for her to keep going. "First of all, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not telling you what was going on from the start. You're my teammate and my best friend, I should've told you." A sigh escaped her lips. "I'm sorry for shoving you in that locker and sending you away, I'm sorry for leaving you behind." She refused to meet his gaze, eyes traveling down to her injured foot; a penance for her crimes. The Champion couldn't stop thinking back to that night, her only goal was to protect the people she cared about, to try and do the right thing. Jaune threw a wrench in those plans, he always did. When he was around, she wanted to be selfish, she wanted to put herself first for once, and she wanted him. Was that really so bad of her? Has she not earned the right to be a little selfish?
She knew she hadn't, nobody ever did. That's why she put him in that locker, knowing what he'd say, knowing how confused and scared he'd be, knowing that she'd be going on a suicide mission. She put duty above herself. That was what was expected of the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos. It seems fate did not agree with her plans however, and had Ruby not shown up, the price she paid would've have been far higher. The silence had set in again, Jaune considering her words and Pyrrha still unable to look at him. She felt so ashamed for not trusting him and then for hurting him. The redhead broke the silence she had created.
"I know you can't forgive me, that you probably hate me, but I wanted to get that off of my chest. I hope, in time, that you can come to forgive me." Pyrrha expected a lot of reactions from the blond at her bedside; from anger to sadness to numbness and more silence. What she was not prepared for was laughter. A soft sound that might have been Pyrrha's favorite. She couldn't get over the way his eyes lit up, the way he'd toss his head back, and the little chortle that escaped his lips when he tried to suppress it. The Champion turned her head, raising an eyebrow at him. His eyes were directed purely at hers as his laugh subsided and he spoke.
"You don't know me very well if you think I hate you Pyr."
"But I-" he cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"I could never hate you, there's not a thing on this planet that you could do to make me hate you. There's not a thing that I won't forgive you for either. Yes I was angry, yes I was hurt, yes I was scared but that doesn't mean I hate you. You know what the only thing going through my head as I flew through the air that night in the locker was?" She shook her head. "I was worried about you; I wanted to get back to you so I could be by your side again and not just because you kissed me." She blushed at that. "You forgive and you move on. That's what you do for the people you love." The words knocked all of the air out of Pyrrha's body. Did he say "love"? Her eyes brightened, her heart sped up to what must've been a million beats per minute. Her hands suddenly went clammy. Another chuckle escaped his lips. "I hope that wasn't a platonic "last moments so I need some good luck" kiss." A massive smile found her face again and she shook her head, laughing.
"N- no. That definitely wasn't one of those." Blush found her cheeks again and he took hold of her hand once more.
"I felt so stupid. I didn't realize how much you meant to me until you put me in that locker. When you kissed me I didn't want it to end, we could've stayed like that forever and I would've been fine with that." He exhaled, thumb rubbing against the top of her hand. "Pyrrha Nikos, let it be heard all throughout Remnant that I love you." Pyrrha could've sworn her heart stopped, this was a dream. It had to be a dream brought on by the medicine. She was still asleep in bed. Her eyes found his hand and she squeezed. It felt real, that was all real! Her smile grew, more than she thought it could as she pulled him in. Their lips met, he tasted of Jell-O and mint. If Pyrrha didn't know any better, she would've said that time stopped in that moment. All her pain melted away and the only thing that mattered to her was the blond she was met with. As soon as it started however, it stopped and he pulled away.
"Would you like to go on a date sometime?" She had to stop herself from nodding immediately, emerald eyes tracing her body. With her injuries as severe as they are, she wouldn't be walking anytime soon without help, let alone going on a date. He seemed to understand the thoughts in her head and kept speaking. "I don't mean now, but when we're both healed. Would you like to get dinner with me then?" The smile found her lips again and she leaned in, resting her forehead against his.
"Of course. Of course I'll get dinner with you." Two sets of eyes closed as they simply reveled in each other's presence. A comfortable silence had set in. A sigh fractured the quiet scene as Jaune moved his face away.
"I don't want to but you need your rest and, if we're being honest, so do I." He kissed her cheek softly and she nodded. He pressed into her bed, slowly bringing himself to his feet. "I'll be back again tomorrow and every day after that, OK?" She smiled again.
"Of course. Sleep well..." She hesitated, should she say it? Would it be weird? He just said it earlier but was this too much? Maybe she just needed to stop overthinking. He'd already said it, the risk was minimal. "I love you Jaune." His name tasted differently on her tongue, better sweeter. A grin found his face.
"I love you, too." With one final smile, he turned, limping to the door. He pulled it towards him, causing Ren and Nora to spill to the floor in front of him. He shook his head, sighing. "I thought you guys went to get food." Nora spoke with feigned confusion.
"Wait. This isn't the cafeteria. Ren! You said to make a left at the corner and we'd be there." The black haired boy shrugged and Jaune shook his head again, limping into the hall. Ren, to his credit, followed the Arc, getting the forgotten wheelchair and settling him into it. Nora sprinted to Pyrrha's bedside again. "Tell me everything!" Pyrrha felt her cheeks redden again but began to recount the tale that they no doubt just heard. Not that she minded, she'd be replaying this over and over again in her head for a long time.
A/N: So things are definitely looking up for Team JNPR. We're closing in on the ending, which will be either the next chapter or the one after that. Either way, I'm glad you could all share this journey with me. Please give me a review and tell me what you think, if you hated it, tell me why. If you loved it, same deal. If you can't do any of that then share it with a friend who might be into this. If you can't do either of those things than thank you for reading this nonetheless. May fortune face you all.
