A/N: And here it is. The last chapter. It's been an interesting half a year or so, and I've learned a lot from writing this story, as well as my other two. I originally wrote the first three because I wanted to prove to myself that I could actually finish a story and not abandon it halfway, which well, this one proved to do. Feels great, lemme tell ya. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll stop writing. Now I can truly focus and perfecting my writing, making it better and better. Hopefully with every new story I release, more people will read it, and I'll improve off of it. For now though, I'm going to dial myself back down to three stories, and restrain myself from publishing yet another story. This'll give me time to improve the other stories, and work on actually structuring the next story a little more solidly, so I don't have to stare at a computer screen for an hour to write four hundred words. Again, thanks to everyone who gave this story a chance, and as always, Enjoy!
Mu: Hahaha, very good, at least I managed to creep out one person. This is something I experimented with and I'm glad to see someone pick up on it. The dust didn't just change their genders, and the hormonal imbalance is something that might make them act much more irrational. And with Nora and Ren, well… They're both eighteen-nineteen, and still young and honest enough not to think too much about consequences. Humans will be humans.
An0nymoose: More of this story? No. This is the last chapter. Savor it while you can. XD Write more stories? Already working on that. 11/5/16
Dragon: Well, it's a little late so this is the last chapter. :\ sorry. It was certainly fun while it lasted though. Side note: yes
flowslikepixelz: He has a sword/gun/scythe. Does all three.
You're not wrong. And this has always been a crack fic.
"You look beautiful in that dress."
Pyrrha lifted up her head, smiling softly at Jaune, who was standing in front of her, clad in white.
"You look grand in that suit." Pyrrha teased back. She looked calm and happy on the outside, but on the inside, she was well and truly freaking out, anxiety clawing at her stomach, nervousness clogging up her throat. But on the outside, the picture of peace and serenity. The only thing that Jaune could have used to tell that Pyrrha was nervous would have been her hands clenched tightly together, but those were hidden under the bouquet that she was holding.
Disguised or not though, Jaune had been with Pyrrha for almost half a decade now, and was finally, finally able to pick up on the woman's moods.
"Nervous?" Jaune asked in a quiet whisper. Pyrrha shot him a look that said no, of course she wasn't nervous, but in the end only helped him solidify the fact that she was very nervous.
"Don't worry Pyr. I'm with you."
The Amazon smiled at Jaune—her long-time boyfriend—on nodded gracefully, wanting to say more but was interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat, snapping them out of their little reverie. Jaune pushed Pyrrha forwards a little, which made her stumble, but with quick feet, she found her balance and walked up the steps, standing in front of the large group of her friends and their family. Taking a deep breath, Pyrrha started to speak.
"I've known Rey and Noran for a long time now. Some would even say too long…"
## #
Pyrrha collapsed onto the nearest seat available to her, breathing a sigh of relief. Worn out by her own speech, she didn't even notice it when Jaune crept behind her, placing both hands on her shoulders.
"See? That wasn't so bad." Jaune said easily, rubbing his girlfriend's shoulders. Another sigh left Pyrrha, this time one an exhale that released all her tension outwards, and allowed herself to sink into bliss.
"I did terrible." She replied back, still not opening her eyes. Jaune laughed, leaning over to kiss the top of her head.
"You did wonderfully." Jaune paused for a second, adding, "Well, except for the part where you forgot your lines and made up that story about Rey and I—"
"I know." Pyrrha hunched over, covering her face, which grew bright red in embarrassment. "I can't believe I did that." Jaune laughed again, shaking his head.
"I'm sure Rey will forgive you for that." Jaune leaned in, whispering, "I know I do."
Pyrrha turned and swatted Jaune in the shoulder, pouting. "You are my boyfriend Jaune. You'll forgive me if I decide to murder everyone in this room." Jaune made a doubtful noise, pretending to think about it for a second.
"I don't know Pyr, that sounds like something that would make my angry at you for a long time. Unless you decided to talk to me about it. Or look at me. I guess even if you didn't, I would—"
"Exactly my point." Pyrrha smiled, knowing that Jaune was doing everything in his power to cheer her up. Jaune grinned back at her, knowing that it was working.
"There's the Maid of Honor." Jaune and Pyrrha turned to face a beaming Yang, hand in hand with Blake, who was sporting a similar smile. The two of them wore similar dresses, one black, one yellow.
"Hey there guys. What'd you guys think of the speech?" Jaune asked, hands tightening just a little to prevent Pyrrha from standing up and running away. The two girls looked at each other, contemplative before Yang turned and nodded, smiling.
"We liked it."
Pyrrha sank deeper into her seat, glad that her role during the wedding hadn't been a complete disaster.
"Although I think you forgot your lines, 'cause I don't think anyone really plans to tell a story of—"
"Yes! I messed up on one part! Can we please move on to a different subject now? Please?" Pyrrha was only half a second away from getting on her knees and begging, wanting to forget her mistake as soon as possible. The other three started to laugh, unable to help with how stricken Pyrrha looked from their conversation. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, watching Ruby fumble around on a dance, Wynn scolding her lightly. Each had a plain band of gold adorning their ring finger, glinting in the low light of the dance hall.
In the weeks following the Beacon dance, everyone that had been genderbent had time to really contemplate on their choices, on whether or not they really wanted to stay the gender that they were for the rest of their lives. The choice was only given more gravity when Professor Goodwitch approached all of them, saying that the Dust's effects would be permanent by the end of the school year, and that she had made a batch for everyone and a little extra, handing it to Jaune, who padlocked it and made sure it was Nora-proof.
And with the deadline looming over the ones who were bent's heads, they did what teenagers and young adults did best.
They lived.
They partied, they studied, they worked towards their goals. Some decided very early on to take the antidote, turning back to their original genders. Others decided early on to stay their transformed genders. Some explored their bodies a little further, thought hard on the possibilities and what they would lose as well as gain, and made sound decisions based on that. Others changed back for a while, before changing their minds again and settling to love their new bodies.
Jaune and Pyrrha were one of the last to choose, literally deciding on the last week of school. It was apparent by that time that they knew each other intimately, loving every aspect of each other, as both genders. They had long talks by themselves and with their friends, thinking hard on the future, and what they wanted out of each other.
And on the last days of the school year, they were prompted to answer the question that was at the forefront of their minds.
Would they change back, or would they stay the way they were?
With one last, long talk between the two of them, they nodded at each other and simultaneously grabbed a serum, turning themselves back to normal. And thus, here they all are today, attending the second wedding amongst the two teams.
Speaking of the wedding, the BY and JP of the two teams watched with amusement as Noren lifted Rey above his head, laughing boisterously as he did so. Rey was red in the face, trying to squirm out of his grip. Everyone there knew the pair, so no one really paid any mind to it, only cooing here and there on how cute the two were.
Professor Goodwitch had gladly allowed them to have the reception at Beacon, where this had all started. And so, the adults, or should it be said, the older adults also partied, as best as teachers could. Some were still as reserved as ever, Professor Goodwitch politely refusing any offers to dance, while others were loud enough to make up for the others, as Port scrambled to find another person to talk to death. Some were even being… a little intimate, as Jaune tried to block from his mind as he found Qrow and Winter in a secluded corner, doing things that weren't appropriate for an Administrator of Beacon and the Lieutenant General of the Atlas Army.
But everyone was well and truly happy. Happy to be here, happy to be alive, happy with the way everyone ended up.
"You know, if I ever had to go back in time, I don't think I would change one thing." Jaune said easily, leaning down to wrap his arms around Pyrrha. The other three nodded, looking at the dance floor.
"Not a thing." They all agreed.
"Well, maybe I would go back and review this speech once more—"
Jaune shook his head, laughing as he kissed Pyrrha, quieting her down.
Not a thing, they agreed.