DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the world of "RWBY", which is owned by Rooster Teeth. All the characters in this story are created and owned by Rooster Teeth and I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of Remnant. I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story. Please support the official release.

The Gordian knot

Columbus' egg

The Sphinx's riddle

Legendary trials solved by heroes. Stories told to children to teach them the solution is not always what it seems.

Jaune would rather take on any of them over the trial he was facing at this very moment. Beads of sweat ran down the side of his head while locked in a staring contest with his own reflection. His eyes burrned but he was unblinking in the challenge. His aura was already halfway depleted but he had to endure the pain and finally make a choice.

"No good, I can't do this! Where's Ren when you need him?"

He took his scroll and gave it a final try.

"She has to answer."

The device rang against his ear.

"...Hey, Jaune, what's up"

His eyes welled with joy at the sound of her voice.

"Ruby, thank Oum, I-I need you!"

His voice hoarse with desperation.

"What? What's wrong? Where are you?"

"I need you, Ruby, please! I'm in my room, you have to help me I can't choose-"

CRASH!

Team JNPR's door was suddenly thrown off its rails right into the opposite wall.

Through the opening arrived a screaming Ruby swinging the mighty Crescent Rose. The curved blade was thirsty for blood but the only living creature in the room was the frozen blonde knight.

She moved a wet lock of hair out of her eye and spotted the damsel in distress.

"Don't worry, Jaune, I'll save you!"

She scanned the room trying to find the danger but everything seemed in check so she lowered her weapon.

"Wait, what's wrong?"

The knight remained frozen.

"Oh no, I'm too late. I'm sorry Jaune. Know this, you will be aven-"

"Ruby?"

Crescent rose dropped to the floor with a loud clang and a gasp escaped the reaper's mouth.

"JAUNE, you're alive!" she exclaimed overjoyed.

"Ruby?"

"Yes?"

"Where are your clothes?"

The reaper turned to the mirror on the wall. She was wearing nothing but a red towel wrapped around her body. In the corner of the mirror she spotted Jaune staring at her.

Standing on the other side of he room... in a white dress shirt, black boxers and a pair of socks held up by sock garters.

"EEEP, STOP LOOKING!"

"ARRGH! SORRY!"

After putting on a fresh set of clothes, and making sure Jaune had put on some pants, she returned to JNPR's dorm room with a blush on her cheeks and her hair wrapped in a towel.

"How come none of your teammates stopped you?" Jaune asked.

"They're still in town. I really needed a shower so I came back early," she explained.

"Oh right, the super secret mission, how did that go?"

"It was AWESOME, first I wanted to see the CCT tower but then I ran into Penny and we were chased by the military and she threw me into a garbage container - that's why I needed the shower - but then we had an awesome giant robot fight that was like the coolest thing you've ever seen."

"Man, can't believe I missed that," he replied.

"The robot fight? The bad guy escaped so we're bound to see more of those."

"I guess... "

"What did you need my help for?" she asked with a smile.

He picked up something from his bed and showed it to her, "I need your honest opinion." he raised two bow ties to his shoulders, "Do I go with the blue or the yellow bow tie. I think the blue one compliments my eyes but the yellow one just screams Jaune."

Ruby face vaulted onto a bed.

"You okay?" he asked, "Sorry if I got you worked up."

"It's okay," she replied her voice muffled by the bed covers. "so you haven't had your date yet?"

"No, still getting ready," he explained buttoning up his black vest. "Pyrrha went out to get her hair done. Ren was supposed to help me but he had to take Nora to the emergency dentist."

"Cavity?"

"Yeah."

He took a golden cufflink from his desk but had some trouble putting it on. Ruby noticed his distress and walked over to him to help. With both hands at her disposal she put it on in no time, "Hand me the other one."

"Thanks"

"It's no big deal."

He grabbed the saten coat from the rack to complete the ensemble, well, almost.

"So blue or yellow?"

Ruby studied him in the mirror before cheerfully replying, "Neither."

"Are you sure, I still think there's something missing without a bow tie."

"If you really need one you should probably go with red."

"Red?"

"Red"

Red

Red?

RED!

He grabbed his head at the realisation. How had he not thought of it. Pyrrha is probably going to be wearing something red.

It's her color.

"You're a genius, Ruby," he said and ran over to his drawer. The blue or yellow would've clashed with the black and white but the red really complimented the look.

However, it created another problem. He had been deciding between the two colors for a different reason altogether.

"It looks way better than that baby blue," complimented Ruby.

"It does, but I don't have a pocket square for it."

"Oh, wait right there."

The reaper disappeared from the room for a second and returned with a handful of red handkerchiefs. She quickly found one in a similar shade of red and handed it to him.

"Now you're ready."

"And with time to spare," he said looking himself in the mirror, "Totally could've made the mission."

"You didn't miss much... other than the super cool giant robot fight."

"I could've helped."

"Nah, my team and I had it covered."

He shared a smile with the reaper. She really helped him out there. He was glad he had a friend like her to rely on. She freed her hair from the towel revealing the frizzled mess.

"So what are your plans for tonight?"

"I have a dinner reservation," he said proudly.

"Someplace fancy?"

"You bet."

The reaper cooed in response, "How are you getting there? Airship?" she asked with a giggle.

He looked at her sternly, "Ha ha, do you want me to throw up?

Ruby giggled at the thought.

"For your information, I got us a car and a driver."

"Pyrrha's lucky to have you," she said with a shy smile, "What about after dinner?"

"Well the kinda-date ended pretty abruptly."

"The first one?"

"That's right, but the bench we sat on is just a short walk away. I'm gonna take her there and recreate our moment but this time," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a breath freshener, "I'll be ready."

"You'll… kiss her?" Ruby quietly asked.

"That's the plan."

Ruby looked away with a blush, "How…" she softly whimpered, "I mean... do you even know how?"

"Of course I know how to kiss, this isn't my first relationship, you know."

"Oh?"

"I stayed with my prom date for a while. We liked each other but... we both knew going in the relationship wasn't going to last."

"...How come?"

"I already had my acceptance letter from Beacon."

"Oh"

His fellow leader got up from the bed and headed for the door, "Well I guess you've got it figured out, have fun, enjoy your evening and stay safe."

*Crickets*

"What?"

"Eeep!"

And with that she dashed out of the room.

Time seemed to crawl as he waited for Pyrrha to arrive but when the door finally slid open he was stunned by the sight. Her red dress reached just below the knees. It covered her shoulders giving her arms a more feminine appearance. Her ponytail was gone along with her circlet and her long hair was swept over her shoulder on one side. The red lipstick only served to emphasise her natural beauty.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you. You look handsome as well."

"I try," he walked over to her side and offered her his arm, "Shall we?"

The evening had gone perfectly. The only hiccup being the drive. The driver had apologised in advance. For some reason the highways were closed off so they had to take the scenic route. But it didn't bother them. It just meant they got to spend more time in each other's company.

The restaurant also lived up to the hype with its six course meal. The main dish had been accompanied by a glass of Valean red and with their plates empty they were currently waiting for deserts.

"I was 16 and my manager thought it would be a good publicity stunt, but in truth, I did it for the people. The Grimmean Leo had been haunting the mountains for centuries and I felt it my duty to stop it," Pyrrha told.

Jaune listened with intrigue, "So how'd it go?"

"I quickly discovered how the grimm managed to survive all this time."

"Old grimm are always smart."

"It wasn't just that, the beast's hide was impregnable to all manner of weapons."

"What did you do?"

"I had lured the Leo into a cave and I recognised a vein of iron ore running through its ceiling. After getting separated from Miló I managed reach it with my semblance and collapse the entire ceiling on top of us. I thought I'd at least trap it if I couldn't defeat it."

"And trap yourself in the process?"

"No, the thought never even occurred to me. I've always believed it was my destiny to become a huntress and that meant that I couldn't die in that cave."

"That's a lot of faith to put in a higher power."

She giggled at his comment, "Jaune, I never considered destiny as some predetermined fate you can't escape. I view it as a final goal, something you work towards your entire life to achieve. Back when we first met you described my view of destiny perfectly."

"Hard work and dedication, yeah I remember," he replied with a smile.

He took another sip from his glass. "So, what do you think of this place?"

"It is exquisite, although…"

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry, don't get me wrong, it has been a delightful evening but I wouldn't have minded something... smaller."

"I know,", his hand found hers across the table, "You like feeling like a normal person and I get that. We can have all the movie nights you want after this but tonight, I really wanted to bring you here... I wanted to take my girlfriend someplace fancy."

It was a slip of the tongue but the shy smile she offered in response showed him it didn't bother her.

"Are you ready to head back, mr. Arc?"

The driver had brought the car around and was holding the door open for them.

Jaune looked over to Pyrrha and they exchanged a smile, "Actually, I think we'll go for a walk, I'll call you when we're ready."

"As you wish."

The night air was perfect for cooling off and the full moon provided them with plenty of light under the cloudless sky. He noticed Pyrrha rub her arm and he quickly draped his jacket over her shoulders.

A familiar part of town soon came into view and the champion recognised the bench.

The tension was palpable.

The first time around it had been the adrenaline combined with the champion's touch that had pushed him but now the courage to repeat the action eluded him. There had been plenty of opportunities back at the restaurant but he was so sure of his plan he stubbornly stuck with it despite Pyrrha's signals.

They were sitting just inches apart but it could as well have been miles.

He spotted movement from the corner of his eye.

Pyrrha had untwinned her finger and placed a hand on the wooden bench.

His trembling finger reached out to find the champion's.

She gasped at the touch of his warm palm against her cool skin.

Pyrrha's green eyes met the soft gaze of the blue eyed knight.

He moved closer until their sides were pressed together.

Jaune turned his body towards her and his free hand found the champion's cheek.

She leaned into the touch.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he quietly told her.

Her lips quivered as his thumb gently caressed her cheek.

He inched closer but right before he could close the distance

Pyrrha beat him to it.

Her lips hit his with a force but the contact only remained for a moment as Jaune pulled back in surprise.

Pyrrha quickly covered her mouth and started apologising in a wave of panic but he stopped her rambling by cupping her cheek once more.

The touch instantly silenced the champion.

"Let's try that again," said the knight and closed the gap between them.

Pyrrha's eyes widened at the contact but once her brain caught up with the rest of her body she gently pushed back.

It was little more than the contact itself. Two pairs of lips pressed against one another in a sign of affection. The emotional weight it carried, however…

They pulled apart slowly without breaking eye contact. Jaune gazed into Pyrrha's green pools while running a hand down the side of her waist.

Wordlessly, he leaned in again. This time he tilted his head and parted his lips slightly. He was overjoyed when Pyrrha followed his example. Her arms found their way around his neck. Her fingers grabbed hold of his blonde hair and the two stayed there undisturbed under the starry night sky. The contact lasted longer this time and it was the champion who pulled away first with a gasp.

"You're allowed to breathe," he told her with a chuckle

"Sorry"

He reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his embrace and they looked out onto the river for the the rest of the evening.

Pyrrha was already softly snoring when he slipped into his bed. He pulled out his scroll to set his alarm when he noticed a new message.

It was from Ruby

Made the headlines again ;)

There was a link attachment that led to an article about the giant robot fight she had mentioned. He skimmed the article and instead opened up the security cam footage.

He could only stare in awe at the harmony. Ruby's directions were short and clear. The team's responses executed to a T. They had known each other for little more than a semester yet they fought like they had been together a lifetime.

JNPR may have won their little food fight but that was just them messing around. It wasn't a proper demonstration of their abilities.

He thought they were equals.

But somewhere along the way they had been left in the dust.

Team RWBY was leagues ahead and he'd have to give it his all if he wanted any chance in the upcoming tournament.