Emerald stirred from her slumber and she felt amazing; there hadn't been a night in the past few years where she hadn't woken suddenly or been kept awake or went the entire night without sleep altogether. This was the first night she had felt relaxed and rejuvenated. And it was bliss. She rolled over and looked at the girl who was still sleeping beside her. She took in all the details of the young girl's face; the way her hair flowed elegantly over her head, avoiding her features and leaving them exposed; her naturally rosy cheeks; her irresistible smile that she had plastered on her little face. Emerald couldn't help but smile, relaxing herself so that she could stare at the girl opposite whilst using as little effort as possible. It was this girl here - the little red bundle of energy that kept her from doing something stupid last night, even though she didn't know it. The girl whose mere scent levelled her mind and made everything right in the world.

The girl she was adamant that she had fallen for.

Ruby shifted, her body waking up slowly. Her eyelids parted slightly to see Emerald staring back at her, grin on the mint haired girl's face. Silver eyes shut once again as she reached out to hug her, the girl shifting in to receive the hug on offer.

"Morning Emerald..." she said drowsily. The taller girl rested her forehead on her friend's own, shutting her eyes contently as she replied,

"Morning Rubes." The two girls remained there for what seemed like the longest time, neither wanting to part. But as Ruby's eyes opened once again, her brain clocked what she was seeing and she recoiled, uncertain of what was happening.

"Ahh, Emerald, what the hell?!"

"We were cuddling."

"I noticed!"

"You seemed happy a second ago."

"I didn't know what was going on a second ago!" The young girl started hyperventilating in the shock.

"Ruby, just calm down. Take a deep breath." The young girl did what she was told, her breathing steadying. "Now, we talk." Ruby nodded, the pair of them sitting up in bed and ready to discuss the issue at hand. "So - where'd you want to start?"

"Why are we sharing the same bed?" Seemed a good place as any to start.

"Right. So, I suffer from very bad nightmares. It's one of the negative side effects of my semblance: I can alter people's perceptions consciously but subconsciously I alter my own. I haven't had a proper night's sleep in years and I have grown accustomed to that. But that doesn't stop the nightmares. Last night I had one so I went to grab the water and your sleep mumbling startled me. I knocked the water on your cloak and I cleaned it up and before I went back to sleep you started talking about... ice cream." Ruby nodded, having been told that she'd said that a lot from people who were unfortunate enough to hear her sleep talking. "Quick question, what's your favourite flavour?"

"Strawberry. Why?" Emerald grinned slightly as she recalled what she had muttered last night.

"'I want the mint Yang'. That's what you said. Why not strawberry?"

"I... don't know... I can't control what I say in my sleep."

"So what I did after hearing that, was I did some dream projecting. It's kind of like my normal semblance, only requiring much more focus and with a longer list of possible repercussions. I projected myself into your dream."

"... That wasn't real?" The girl sounded hurt at that statement, which took Emerald by surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought that what was happening was real... you came along, we laughed and joked and we..." the girl stopped herself, her hands fidgeting nervously at words that had crossed her mind, eyes shutting and looking away.

"What happened Ruby?" The girl scrunched her eyes harder together, hoping to black out the sound of Emerald's voice by not being able to see her - however that was supposed to work. "Rubes..."

"I like you!" Whilst the older girl wasn't surprised by what the girl sat beside her said, she was surprised by how she said it. It exploded from her like it had been wanting to get out for ages but had never found the right moment.

"Okay. For how long?"

"... The Breach." This time, Emerald was surprised at what was said.

"Really? That long?" The young girl nodded, uncertain on how to act in this situation. "Why didn't you...?"

"You were never around for starters, and I'm terrible at social interactions of any sort."

"Okay. Well I'm here now. So what do you want to say to me?" There was a long pause between Emerald finishing and Ruby starting. She was unsure what to say or what to feel - she felt lost.

"Ever since The Breach I'd thought about you. The way you looked, the way you acted so confidently, the way you... just were; I grew to like it. And not like as in 'Weiss-like', which is really more tolerating than anything, this was different. And basically every day that I've had a moment of spare time it would be dedicated to either thinking of baby names - because who doesn't do that at some point - or thinking of you and how I wished that you were there with me..." Ruby reached across and held the dark hand of her friend, who clearly didn't mind if it meant that it'd be easier for her to finish her explanation. "Last night when you came in I felt better than I had the rest of the day. I enjoyed it more than watching my own sister becoming the student Champion of Remnant. And I enjoyed it because it involved you." Ruby paused to stare at Emerald, who was staring at her as well, taking in every word. "When you left, I listened to my heart and followed you out of the room. A lot of the time when I do that, I end up in trouble with someone else having to bail me out. This was one of the few times I did it and it felt like I was doing something right. But what about you? I don't want this to be one sided or anything..."

"It's not Rubes, trust me." The girl sighed, gently rubbing her thumb along the back of Emerald's hand. "You are so lucky; you have this gift where you seem to make friends as easy as you eat cookies." The analogy made the silver eyed girl smile. "When I got here, only three people knew our true intentions and so all interactions we made were basically us putting on personas to get information for the plot. But I found myself failing to keep one with you. You made me trust you without even knowing it. You almost made me confess what I was doing to you after your First Round fight, because you were just so easy to trust. And I hadn't felt that way since I first spoke to Neo after The Breach. The only real difference is that you could talk back and make me smile with words better than Neo ever could. And that was all I needed. When I woke from my little accident late last night, do you know what the first thing I noticed was? The smell of flowers on your cloak."

"Rosa Synstylae. It's a type of Rose that only flowers in reds, pinks and whites. Mom found a way to collect enough of it and grind it down and then weave that into fabric, giving it a distinct smell and as an added bonus it makes petals come shooting out of it when I use my semblance, which is pretty cool. Summer wore a white cape, mine is crimson and I want my daughter's to be pink."

"But do you know that it wasn't just on the cloak? I smelt it on you. The aroma of flowers is literally everywhere you go, if you get close enough." Emerald saw that as a nice segue and shuffled in closer, a gesture the flower-girl didn't seem to object to. "And that calmed me right down. It was probably the combination of having someone there for me and the smell of you and your cloak that helped me drift of last night. Ruby, I like you too. So much so that I want more nights like last night, more nights where I can fall asleep next to the girl I want to and wake up feeling at ease with her still there for me." Ruby started to grin, her mind finishing Emerald's sentence before she had even started it. "Will you be my girlfriend Ruby?"

"Of course I will!" Emerald smiled, then started leaning in to kiss the girl. Much to her surprise though, she was halted before she got too far. "I just... uh... don't think I'm ready for the whole 'kissing' thing just yet. Sorry, but you have to remember I am still younger than everyone else by a good year and a bit." Emerald leaned back, slightly disheartened but understanding. "Hugging's still a go, though."

"Good" Emerald replied "because you weren't leaving this bed without getting another one." The girls leaned into one another and embraced, holding each other so tight it seemed like they would drift apart for all eternity if they let go. "Do you want to get up yet?"

"Nope."

"Do you want to lie down again?"

"Yup." And with that, the pair fell sideways back down onto the pillows still wrapped in each others embrace. They broke only to adjust themselves so that they were more comfortable, but then they were back to holding on to one another. The new couple lay there, happy with what had just transpired. Happy to find a girl that would be there's to cherish. Happy to have loved. Just, happy.

The Pancake Bar was surprisingly big. Looking at it from the outside, it looked like a little café with about a dozen tables and a nice quiet atmosphere. But once you walked through the large doors off to one side, you walked into a full on restaurant sized place. Ren had made sure to book the largest booth a few days prior so that they could all sit in one space together. He had also warned the establishment of their tendency to end most meetings involving all of them and food with a giant food fight - a fact they didn't seem to mind so much with their favourite customers.

Coco and Velvet couldn't make it this morning due to previous obligations they'd forgot about the night before, so they rushed out very early in the morning and still very much drunk. Coco was perpetually wearing sunglasses though, that ought to help. Penny had bid her friends a found farewell and left before they all went to sleep, making her way back to where she was supposed to be and would eventually head back to Atlas soon. So that left Sun, Neptune, Team RWBY (minus Ruby) and Team JNPR. Down one side of the table sat Blake and Yang, along with Sun and then Jaune. Pyrrha sat beside him at the head of the booth, next to Ren, Nora and Weiss. Neptune rounded everything off, sitting on one side of the booth on his own but close enough to Weiss and the rest of the group to not feel left out.

"What are you waiting for?" Nora chimed, her hangover not as great as others. "Dig in!" Everyone had, at the insistence of Nora, at least a plate with pancakes stacked roughly 12 high and covered in syrup. According to Nora, it was "the best way to get rid of a hangover"; while a few people there would have disagreed, they didn't want to seem rude. Jaune finished one of his pancakes then broke the quiet, asking Yang a question.

"So Yang, has the reality of being 'The Champ' sunk in yet?" The blonde raised her sunglasses off her eyes, squinting at the glare she caught off of Mercury's goggles.

"Not really. It's going to take a little while. But this little fluff ball has reminded me not to let it get to my head, haven't you?" She grabbed her girlfriend's shoulder, pulling her closer. The Faunus started to speak, but realising she still had a mouth full of food, swallowed it before she started again.

"You're failing to mention the part where I said 'We wouldn't want your ego to get any bigger else none of us would have room to think.' Is that because you know it's true?" She teased her partner with that remark who just smirked at her, neither denying nor accepting anything. "But the victory can't be the reason Ren." Magenta eyes shifted focus from the plate of food to the girl at the corner of the booth.

"I agree." Weiss said, wiping her mouth before speaking further. "You've had this space booked for a good couple of days, and this was before Yang even made it into the Singles Round. There must be something else you two aren't telling us." Ren and Nora looked at each other and gave a nod, signalling that it was time to spill the beans. Meanwhile, Yang slipped her Scroll out of her pocket and into her hand, hiding it away from everyone else's sight.

"Y'know how Ren and I have always said that we were never really 'Together-together'?" Heads bobbed in acknowledgement. "Well... we kinda lied." Those who were much less hungover clocked on and began welling up with excitement. Yang had too, but waited for the words to leave one of their mouths, her thumb hovering above the screen of her Scroll.

"Nora and I are actually in a relationship with one another." No sooner had he finished speaking, Nora's Scroll began vibrating. She went to go pick it up and answer, only to see Yang's face pop up on the screen.

"Uh, Yang... why did you...?" The brawler acted innocent, playing it up immensely.

"Oh, that! I'm sorry, it's just that..." her fake persona dropped in an instant as she finished "I fucking CALLED IT!" Nora looked at the edge of the table in front of her, slightly embarrassed at herself. "Why didn't you just tell us all?"

"I wanted to." Ren spoke instead of Nora, the sentiment coming off as a bit of a surprise to most of those present. "Nora, on the other hand, thought that if people knew we were a couple when we got here that they'd try their hardest to split us up."

"'When you got here'? You mean, you've been together since before Beacon?" Sun seemed just as surprised as everyone else.

"Oh yeah!" Nora broke her gaze with the table's edge to once again look back at the group, her fears over talking about it clearly gone. "We'd put off doing this for a week or so because it'd clash with the tournament, but last Wednesday was our fifth anniversary!"

Neptune recoiled in surprise. Weiss slammed her hands on the table. Pyrrha unintentionally caused hers and Jaune's cutlery to go flying out of their hands, one of the forks clonking Jaune on the head. Sun nearly choked on the piece of pancake he was eating; fortunately Yang slapped his back and forced it out of his airway. Blake gasped.

Then there was silence from the group.

No words.

No sounds.

Nothing.

"Congratulations!" Weiss, Pyrrha, Jaune, Blake and Yang all got up and hugged the couple, whose faces had each turned a shade of red.

"Why were you so worried about telling us Ren?" The boy shook his head at his team leader and pointed to his turquoise eyed teammate. "Sorry, Nora."

"It took me nearly 2 years to muster up the courage to admit to Ren that I had feelings for him. I don't think I'm very good with this whole thing, do you?"

"That doesn't matter Nora. We'd all support you no matter what." The Faunus said, echoing her thoughts from last night. This time, there was much more chance of her words sticking because emotions weren't on an alcohol seesaw.

"Hey!" Yang called to the staff, her voice hurting the sensitive ears of those with poor heads. "Can we get a couple more huge plates of these things? We've got a lot of celebrating to do!"

I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It's a chapter of two halves and really they couldn't be more different, I love that about this sometimes. But there's something on the horizon that some of y'all might not like as much...

As always, feedback - good or bad - is most appreciated