IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ FIRST:
PLEASE READ CHAPTER TWENTY AGAIN
Chapter 20 got a complete rewrite since it posted, the rewrite going live last night. It was rewritten for a number of reasons which will be explained at the bottom. When I say rewritten I mean nothing was kept from the original version including Velvet. In fact, the last scene of chapter nineteen was rewritten as well for the changes to make sense.
Think of it as two new chapters instead of one :D
Chapter Twenty One: Longing
Pyrrha stared at the email.
She'd gotten emails like this before, but with school having started back up, she had completely forgotten about them.
An invitation to an event a day before the demonstration she'd be doing in a few weeks. Well, less of an invitation and more of a notification, since it was not exactly optional for her. Which meant a quick day trip was going to turn into an overnight affair at the very least.
What made this particularly unappealing was how boring it was going to be. I'm not going to know anyone there other than the usual Atlas executives, If only there was someone I could… bring... Emerald eyes drifted to her best friend. On second thought…
"Ruby, do you still have your dress from the Vytal festival dance?" Never before had Pyrrha been so happy that she was allowed a plus-one.
"Probably?" Ruby was preoccupied with attempting to balance a pencil on the tip of her nose. "I guess it should still be in the closet, why?"
A smile tugged at the corners of Pyrrha's mouth. "Do you remember me mentioning a weapon demonstration I'll be attending in three weeks?" Ruby nodded as little as she could so as not to drop the pencil. "It turns out I've been invited to a formal gala the day before; would you be interested in accompanying me to it?"
"Buh-wha?" The delicate balance for the pencil was completely thrown off as it went clattering to the floor. Wide silver eyes focused on Pyrrha. "Um, sorry, what was that?"
"I'm allowed to invite a plus one, but I've never had anyone to take with me… and I was thinking that after the gala and the demonstration, we could do a mini-vacation of sorts?"
"O-oh… you mean just the two of us… together?" Surprisingly, Ruby didn't seem too enthused about it. "That sounds... cool? And far... wow, isn't this place really far away?" Instead of a smile or showing any sign of excitement, Ruby seemed more uncertain if anything. Pyrrha's smile drooped slightly.
Perhaps this isn't such a good idea... I thought she'd jump at the chance. "You don't have to come along, but you would get to miss class f-"
Where Ruby had been sitting was now a pile of rose petals.
Before Pyrrha could even question what had just happened, Ruby reappeared, a trail of petals leading across the hall to her dorm room. "When do I start packing?!"
The smile returned anew to Pyrrha's lips as well as a gentle laugh.
"Can we have a serious discussion in how you fight in these?"
"It takes some practice. Just give it some time and you'll have more sure footing." Pyrrha let off a soft giggle as Ruby waddled towards her in heels – a sight that she hadn't seen since the Vytal Festival dance. "Are you enjoying the party at least?"
"Hehe, yeah, it's better than the last one we went to!" Ruby flashed her a goofy grin. "No worrying about Blake or Jaune being mopey about Velvet." The goofy grin wavered. "It's kinda weird not knowing anyone here besides you." A sentiment that Pyrrha could easily understand.
"That's why I was so happy that you could come: so I'd have at least someone I care about here." Pyrrha flashed a huge smile to her friend, one that Ruby returned… only to disappear into a frown, reverting so fast that she could have sworn she only imagined it. Maybe Ruby is more uncomfortable than she is letting on?
Unlike the dance from their freshman year, the two were not at Beacon surrounded by fellow students. In fact, they weren't even in the kingdom of Vale. Rather, they were in Atlas at a rather formal gala being held by the Schnee Dust Corporation for the members of the upper echelons of the northern kingdom. One of the obligations that came from being a well-known name in tournament fighting was to attend events like this that occasionally popped up. Such as being invited to demonstrate against new weapons and all-expense paid trips to get there.
Normally, these events were quite boring. The demonstrations were nothing like real fights, and having only executives and businessmen for company did not appeal to Pyrrha. However, unlike all the times before, Pyrrha was not alone; with Ruby at her side, she found that she could finally enjoy the event..
"How come you have to keep going to these things?" Ruby inquired after a moment. "Isn't there a new Mistral champion by now? Shouldn't they be the one here talking to all these, uh, fancy people?" Ruby gestured to the mass of lavishly dressed men and women idly chattering.
"Yes, well, that's what I had hoped for, but winning the Vytal Tournament did quite the opposite, I'm afraid." Pyrrha's ponytail swayed as she shook her head sadly. "So until the next one, it seems that I'll be going to these events for a little while longer."
"Aww, that sucks." Ruby's eyes darted to the ground before back at Pyrrha. "But at least it's a free vacation… I guess?"
"That's certainly a way to look at it." The corners of Pyrrha's lips inched upwards before turning into an apologetic smile. "Sorry if it's a tad formal. After the demonstration tomorrow, my obligations will be done." Pyrrha looked forward to that particular part of her weekend.
"What about tonight? Do you have any more people to talk to?" Ruby eyed the throng of suited men that Pyrrha had spent the better part of the last half hour talking to.
"I don't believe so, no." Pyrrha had dutifully talked to the sponsor of the event and all the relevant people. "We just need to stay for an hour or two longer and that'll be it."
"Yay!" Ruby's face lit up from the news. "I'll go get us some drin-eep!"
Pyrrha already knew what happened as Ruby started to fall - she'd tripped from her heels. Lunging forwards, Pyrrha caught Ruby before her face met the unforgiving floor. "You okay?"
"Yes, um, thanks." Ruby mumbled off before awkwardly half running towards the drinks table, her eyes refusing to meet Pyrrha's own. In fact, her whole posture was that of someone being closed off. Something is off with Ruby.
That was part of why Pyrrha had invited Ruby to come along with her to Atlas. Pyrrha reflected on this while wandering off to find a free table. Ruby has been acting… odd, as of late.
Finding one near the dance floor, Pyrrha slowly took a seat before looking around for Ruby. Eventually the crowd parted enough for her to see Ruby standing in a long line at the drinks table. Immediately, Ruby's wandering eyes found Pyrrha, who gave a small wave. The moment they locked eyes, Ruby turned immediately back towards the slowly progressing line, eliciting a frown from Pyrrha.
Pyrrha couldn't quite put her finger on exactly what was up, but there was definitely something that was different. She had started to notice it a month ago – quite abruptly – when Ruby had skipped hanging out with her for a few days and then started to act differently around her.
More often than not, Pyrrha could feel Ruby's eyes fixed on her, but the moment she returned the gaze, Ruby would try and hide it. At first, Pyrrha had guessed that Ruby had wanted to tell her something - since it seemed like she was intent on getting my attention - but it didn't seem the case anymore.
Ruby also seemed to be rather… uneasy around her. Like when Pyrrha smiled at her sometimes. Or when Pyrrha had proposed having Ruby attend the gala with her. Ruby really didn't look all that excited at the proposition at first.
What had just happened was a good example of it; the happy mood was cut short the moment that Pyrrha had caught Ruby from face-planting into the ground.
Was it something I did?
Pyrrha thought about this a lot recently. She was convinced that whatever happened with Ruby was her fault.
All I did was catch her; I don't believe I did anything off-putting? Pyrrha went through the previous conversation, and she seemed quite pleased that for the most part my obligations for the night were done… Yet, Pyrrha could have sworn Ruby had shuddered at her touch. Of course, it could be something else, but… no, that wouldn't do. Whatever was troubling Ruby, Pyrrha wanted to help.
There was also the concern that Pyrrha had about it changing their friendship. Spending the better part of a mini-vacation with Ruby seemed like a grand way to do it, after all.
On the other hand… maybe I'm just reading far too into this and I'm making a mountain out of a molehill? Pyrrha could acknowledge that she worried about certain things more than what was probably healthy, such as keeping friends. She probably was just embarrassed because she tripped over her own feet.
Pyrrha shook her head, smiling guiltily at how presumptuous she was being. Of course it is. Slow, pondering footsteps grew louder as Pyrrha turned towards her approaching friend. Speaking of which…
"Sorry! The line was really long and they had all these fancy names for these drinks!" Ruby sputtered as she handed Pyrrha a glass with a brightly coloured liquid within. She carefully sat down at their table before taking a sip from her own glass. "I didn't know what you wanted so I got you some punch."
"That's fine!" Pyrrha lifted the glass up and took a brief sip. Of course she'd get this flavour, she thought as a small grin creased her lips. "Strawberry?"
"Yup!" And like that, the happy mood was back between them. "Do you have to go to these things a lot?" Inquisitives eyes stared up at Pyrrha.
"Not as of late, thankfully. When I first started to win in the tournament circuit, I think I was far more involved with the whole being a kind of celebrity thing, so I went to a lot more public events." Pyrrha faintly remembered how exciting it had been to be on TV for the first time, or the first handful of interviews. "It was pretty fun when I wasn't a nervous wreck."
Ruby gave a loud snort. "I really can't see you being nervous about anything, Pyrrha. You're always so calm and cool and collected all the time." A faint red tinge spread across Ruby's face.
"You'd be wrong." Pyrrha shyly admitted after a moment or two. "The first time I had an interview, it was scarier than any fight I've ever been in. The camera crews, the bright lights, the unending questions… I thought it'd never end!"
"Oh." Ruby shifted in her seat. "I keep forgetting you're on TV sometimes. Like, you're just Pyrrha to me." Silver eyes widened in more than a little horror. "Not-that-there-is-anything-wrong-with-that!"
Pyrrha felt laughter bubble up. "It's fine Ruby, really! I sometimes forget too, though, and I'm quite glad you think of me that way." Pyrrha felt heat rising to her cheeks. "I'd much rather be just 'Pyrrha' then the 'Invincible Girl', especially to you."
"O-okay." Ruby finally sputtered out after her mouth open and closed like a fish out of water. "I guess, I, uh, will just think of you, um, as just Pyrrha then?"
Pyrrha merely smiled and gave a nod in thanks.
"S-so is it ever weird seeing your face on cereal boxes?"
"I suppose?" Truth be told, Pyrrha had never eaten Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes given how utterly unhealthy it was - a sentiment sadly not shared by several of her friends. "It's really off-putting to be recognized by strangers, however."
"I'd bet." Ruby replied quietly. "I'd be weirded out if people I didn't know knew me." Pyrrha didn't doubt that in the least - despite being a leader of her own team, Ruby could be surprisingly shy when it came to meeting new people.
The mental image that Pyrrha conjured up of Ruby being in the limelight made her feel a tad guilty of finding it funny. "You get used to it eventually."
"I guess, it just seems like a lot."
Pyrrha gave a small shrug as an answer before turning towards her drink and taking a sip.
Is it peculiar that being a celebrity is normal for me now? It wasn't that long ago that Pyrrha remembered how foreign the whole concept had been. When did this start being normal?
Pyrrha decided that searching for answers was something to do at another time, especially given that she was with company. She turned back towards Ruby, only to stop before words could leave her mouth.
Ruby's focus had moved from Pyrrha, as the younger teen's mouth slowly curled downwards in a slight frown. For someone who was usually always in motion, Ruby was particularly still as she let out a small sigh.
Pyrrha had seen Ruby happy or sad before. In fact, she'd seen any number of emotions cross her friend's face; however, longing was a new one.
Curious, Pyrrha glanced towards where Ruby's attention was.
The dance floor.
I honestly forgot that there were people dancing. Yet Pyrrha could make out the music over the din of conversation as a number of people slowly danced in front of them.
Wait, does Ruby want to dance?
Thinking back to the last dance the two had attended, Pyrrha couldn't remember Ruby ever taking to the dance floor, far more content to hang out at the punch bowl with her.
Ruby mentioned back then that she goes to dances to see her friends instead of the actual dancing... so why does she keep staring at the dancers? While Pyrrha could see Ruby being shy when she was the center of attention, she was safely secluded off to the side of the crowd. So what else could it be? Then it clicked. Maybe she doesn't know how to dance? That would explain why she said doesn't care for the actual dancing at these sorts of events.
Pyrrha silently observed for a few more seconds before Ruby, upon noticing a pair of eyes fixed on her, jolted and embarrassedly turned back to her. "Oops, ha ha… what were we talking about?"
"Have you ever danced before?"
Ruby's face flushed a deep crimson – presumably from embarrassment. "…n-no…"
A smile graced Pyrrha's lips as she stood up and gently pulled a startled Ruby to her feet. "I don't know much, but I can teach you..." Ruby seemed rooted to the ground, next to the table, "…if you would like?"
"Uh…um… sure?" A tiny grin tugged at Ruby's lips as she nodded.
"Great! Just follow me." Pyrrha lead Ruby over to the dance floor – not that it was more than a dozen feet away – as a slow song started up. Perfect, I know how to slow dance better than any form of free style!
Pyrrha held out her right hand slightly lower than shoulder height. "Hold my hand with your left hand." Ruby tentatively clasped her left hand with Pyrrha's right. "Good! Now put your right hand on my left shoulder." Once again, Ruby shyly followed the instructions, her hand almost hovering over the bare skin. "And now I put my left hand on your hip… and we're done!" Pyrrha finished with a smile.
"Wait, that's it?" Ruby's head tilted. "Isn't it a lot more, um, complicated?" She looked around at the other dancers seemingly for confirmation that they were doing it correctly.
"Well, not quite. We aren't moving yet… just follow my lead." Guiding Ruby's left hand with her right, Pyrrha took a small step, one which Ruby hurriedly followed. "Now we're dancing."
"O-oh okay." Ruby nodded quickly before trying to match Pyrrha's sway. "Am I doing it right?" Ruby asked after a moment.
"You're doing great, Ruby. See? It's easy!"
The encouragement elicited the nervous frown to meld into a small grin. "Do you dance a lot?"
Red hair swayed as Pyrrha shook her head. "Sadly, that's not quite the case. Besides the Vytal Festival dance, the last time must have been…" Pyrrha racked her brain for a good ten seconds before coming up empty-handed. "I don't rightly recall?"
A comfortable silence descended as the two enjoyed the gentle swaying. What had been uncertain movements slowly turned into more flowing, fluid motions as Pyrrha noticed Ruby slowly start to enjoy herself more. By the start of the next song, the jerky, stilted movements were gone as a growing smile stretched across Ruby's face.
"Whoa, and to think I was doing all that on lady-stilts..." Ruby said with wonder. Happy to see her in such good spirits, Pyrrha beamed down at her.
"See? I knew you would get used to it," she said brightly, which earned a deep flush of red from Ruby's face. She avoided Pyrrha's gaze for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
"You know," Ruby started sheepishly after a while, "I-if you want, I can be your dancing partner for the next Vytal Festival?" She then quickly added upon noticing Pyrrha's surprise, "I-I mean, if you don't already have one."
"That sounds grand, I'd love to have another dance with you."
The next moment, Pyrrha felt Ruby's grip tighten as the smaller teen lost her footing. Thankfully, she didn't end up face planting into the ground, Pyrrha letting her friend lean against her until she regained her footing.
While Ruby was muttering about stupid lady-stilts, Pyrrha could have sworn it had happened again, just like when she'd caught her from falling earlier. Perhaps I'm not imagining it, Ruby definitely shuddered when she let go.
…or she was about to fall and jumped at the sudden contact? That made far more sense to Pyrrha, yet she still felt something was amiss.
"Hey Pyrrha?"
"Hm?" Pyrrha was pulled out of her thoughts by her dancing partner.
"Thanks." There was genuine gratitude behind Ruby's voice. "I've never had anyone to dance with before, this is actually really nice."
A goofy, large grin stretched across Pyrrha's face, one that made the redhead feel embarrassed. "Think nothing of it, Ruby! I'm just glad you're enjoying yourself."
The beaming smile Pyrrha received made her feel happier than she had in recent memory, as a quick swell of warmth flared in her chest.
Perhaps it was because of this feeling that Pyrrha pulled her in all the more closer.
Editor/BETA: ASouthernRussian
AU: Oh Pyrrha, are you finally starting to realize the ship of the story too? ;D
It's funny how this chapter synchronized with Dilation's, come to think of it...
First thing to address is the last chapter:
I screwed up pretty badly. Among the things that were over looked in the original version of chapter twenty was the fact that I was how immature I was treating Ruby. I had some inkling of that while writing but because no one questioned it during the editing process, it sort of slipped through into the final version. Which wasn't good.
After some very helpful reviews, one notable one from Gorsouul, I talked to my editor and I decided to rewrite chapter 20 from scratch to solve the numerous issues. This is why I HEAVILY suggest you that you go to chapter 20 and take another look. Literally nothing from the previous version except a small three hundred word block was kept, albeit with a completely different purpose, from the original.
I've kept the original version of chapter 20 at the end of the new version in case anyone was really attached to it and wants to reread it or just for general comparison purposes!
So in a way, it's two new chapters today instead of just one :)
ALRIGHT, with that out of the way, there is other, smaller stuff… SUCH AS THE FACT THAT ACCEPTANCE BROKE ONE THOUSAND FOLLOWERS, HOLY SHIT THAT'S AMAZING! :D :D :D :D
Seriously that makes me happy like you wouldn't believe! We're only a third of the way through the story, I can only wonder at how big it'll get from here! :P
I ALSO FINALLY RESPONDED TO REVIEWS, YAY! :D
Now onto the next update and when it will happen…
Real life is picking up in busyness for me relatively soon so the updates may be a tad… slow. I'll try and have chapter 22 of Acceptance out on June 3rd or 4th, but if all else fails I'm doing a big update for multiple stories on July 1st in case I miss next month's chapter.
I'm going to try to not have that happen since at the present pace, it will take me something like three years to complete this story. I'd rather not take even longer for that.
Finally, to roundout the update, I have three omakes, two short ones and a long one provided by Super Saiyan Cyndaquil as always.
Thank you all for reading and bearing with me, I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful day! :D
Omake I:
Ruby lean up on the wall, flick on a pair of sunglasses and point all-suave like "Hey baby. How's about you and me tear up the dance floor this Sunday? Heels not required."
Omake II:
"Uh…um… sure?" A tiny grin tugged at Ruby's lips as she nodded.
"Great! Just follow me." Pyrrha lead Ruby over to the dance floor – not that it was more than a dozen feet away – as a fast song started up.
To be honest, Pyrrha had no clue how to dance, however, she had seen enough videos to know that proper dancing to this kind of music involved grinding one's butt against their partner. So that's what she did as the music played.
The only problem was when she turned around to see if she was doing it right, Ruby wasn't standing there anymore. Rather, she was lying on the ground with a massive nosebleed and the most dopey, happiest grin stretched across her face.
Pyrrha could barely hear Ruby mutter as she rushed for the first aid kit, but what she did hear made her stop.
"Best. Dance. Ever."
Omake III – Guest author: Super Saiyan Cyndaquil:
"Man… and I thought my family lived out in the sticks." Jaune grumbled under his breath, eliciting a cheerful giggle from his girlfriend.
"I told you the walk would be quite far from the station to my home. We could have had father pick us up." Velvet interlocked her fingers behind her back, legs swinging exaggeratedly with every step she took. He didn't know what it was, but there was something absolutely lovely about her right now, wearing a simple white, one-piece dress, sandals, and a sun hat with holes for her Faunus ears to poke out of.
"What? And miss out on this lovely walk?" Jaune scoffed and turned his head. Stretching endlessly on either side of them was farmland. And in stark contrast to Velvet's leisurely, upbeat pace, Jaune was lagging horribly. That was of course, because he was carrying not just his own luggage, but Velvet's too. He had a suitcase in either hand and a stuffed pack slung over his back.
"I can carry something for a while, you know? You don't have to do all the work." Velvet leaned over, dabbing at the sweat lining his forehead with a cloth.
"No thank you. I want to make a good first impression with your parents and nothing speaks louder than chivalry." He adjusted his grip with either hand, before rolling his shoulders to ensure the backpack was secure. Velvet just shook her head at him, but she couldn't hide the huge smile on her face either.
Whether she would admit it to him or not, she was thrilled that he was willing to work so hard to make a good impression with her family. And why wouldn't he? He cared about Velvet greatly and he knew how important family was, coming from such a large one himself. So there was no way he was going to risk botching this up.
"So what kind of farmers are your parents again?" He didn't know why he bothered adding the last word. The only thing he had known was that they were farmers. He never knew what it was they harvested. Actually, he knew very little about Velvet's family in general.
Perhaps Velvet knew that he didn't know in the first place, but instead of looking upset, she actually looked rather embarrassed; slight blush on her cheeks and rabbit ears deflating all while she gave a nervous chuckle and fiddled with her hair.
"They're… uhh… well, carrot farmers." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye to see his reaction. He was ashamed to admit it, but his expression was probably a dubious one.
"That's-" What exactly was he supposed to say in response to that? Letting his gut take command (which was never a good idea) he burst out the first thing that came to mind. "-a bit more stereotypical than I imagined." The moment the words left his mouth he felt like a jackass.
Velvet didn't appear to think so at all, stifling back another giggle while placing a fist over her mouth - an act Jaune found heartwarmingly adorable, by the way - before she gave an enthusiastic nod.
"It really is, isn't it?" She agreed to what he said with nothing but humour in her voice. He supposed he should just find himself lucky that she thought the same as he did. "My family is perhaps a little old-fashioned in many ways. I would be lying if I said that wasn't sometimes a little frustrating, if only because it feels like we prove some of the racists true." There was a far away look in her eye, and he knew she was thinking about Cardin. Which may have been a reason she never stood up to him, now that he thought about it.
"However, I love them all very much. They were very supportive of my dream. Despite the fact that I was the eldest and they wanted me to inherit the farm when I grew up." Those words ironically made him think about a conversation he once had with Pyrrha. The same night he told her about his transcripts.
"Well, I can't wait to meet them." He meant that in several ways. He really was looking forward to meeting Velvet's family, but he also just really wanted to dump off all this luggage.
"I can't wait for you to meet them too. I'm very glad you could come out here with me on such short notice." Velvet looked ahead, and he saw her eyes light up as a building that must have been her house came into focus.
"Of course I would come. It would be a shame to miss the birth of your newest little brother or sister." Now that he thought about it, there was quite the age-gap between siblings at this point. He knew Velvet had said she was the eldest, but- "How many little brothers and sisters do you have already?"
"About twenty."
Twenty!? He thought having seven other sisters was madness, but twenty? And what was this 'about' word she used? There were so many she wasn't even sure? Before he could put any of this into words, the door to the house in the distance burst open.
"Big sister Velvet's home!" And with the chorus of a mob, more than a dozen kids of varying ages raced out of the house and began to charge them. It was only then Velvet let out a small gasp, as if just now remembering that she forgot something.
"Perhaps I should have given you some heads up?" She smiled sweetly, perhaps too sweetly.
"This is payback for sticking you alone with Violet, isn't it?"
"Of course not~!"
Well, whatever. It was a good thing he liked kids.