'One day…'
That was the mantra Pyrrha Nikos kept repeating to herself whenever the topic of her unrequited feelings for Jaune Arc came to her mind.
It was all funny to her. Not in the 'ha-ha' kind of funny, just…strange at how she never once considered the prospect of meeting people she could call friends. Or falling in love, while we're at it.
She didn't have anyone else to blame but herself for that – nobody forced her to rigorously train and become a tournament champion. Fame and money were side things she personally didn't cared about. She knew the importance of them, but her ultimate goal was acknowledgment of oneself. A destiny she set in stone for herself.
She believed that she was ready for any consequences that came by following her destiny, but the truth was that one of the most basic, primal needs – the need for companionship, were denied. People all over her would either fawn over her, showering her in praises and mindlessly adoring her, like a pet would adore its owner, or they would loathe her because of jealousy and the need to pull everyone else around them in their own personal misery.
She thought she was ready for that. She really did.
The victory she would earn in a tournament battle was like a wash of thrill and ecstasy. It was a drug to her, and like with any drugs, once the addiction sets in, each hit becomes less and less of an euphoria until you feel absolutely nothing from it.
The only two times she was genuinely happy was making her mother smile when she won her first tournament and being in JNPR.
Which now we come back to Jaune Arc. Pyrrha guessed…no, she knew deep inside that Jaune would never consider asking her out because he feels like she is out of his league.
And now that she thinks about it, that kind of speaks volumes about Weiss.
Now, don't get her wrong, she doesn't have anything against the Schnee heiress, it's just that first impressions have a habit to stick around a lot longer than they have too.
Still, the only guy she would comfortably say that she genuinely, really liked thinks that he has no chance with her.
It only meant that she has to make the first move.
"One day…" she sighed.
"One day what?"
Pyrrha quickly turned behind her and saw Jaune approaching her. She tried to come up with a convincing response that was:
"Oh, nothing, nothing. Just…talking to myself. Nothing special. Never mind that, how are you Jaune? Found a date yet?"
"Well…no, no luck with that. I'd guess that you would have lot of people offering to be your date."
Pyrrha sighed at that and responded:
"It's not like that, Jaune. It's…"
She paused, thinking about what she'll say next. For many years she has bottled up all the frustration and anxiety that followed throughout her career as a tournament fighter.
And tonight, she made the decision to break the mental dam and let it all out.
"They want a date with my fame, my success, and not me. All they care is what I am, not who I am…and that, that…"
"Bugged you a lot? Didn't you have…?"
Pyrrha turned away from him and looked towards the broken moon.
"Friends? No. Acquaintances at best, but my only true friend until Beacon was my mother. It was just so…so lonely up top, you know? And I had no one to blame but myself."
Pyrrha's gaze turned to Jaune as she felt his hand resting on her shoulder. She never expected the next words to come out of his mouth:
"Pyr…I, uh, I know."
She blinked a couple of times in confusion. Confusion then quickly shifted into panic as her mind raced to the only conclusion to what her team leader meant by those words.
"Wh-What…what do you know?" She stuttered.
"I know that…that you like me. Like, uh, like-like me."
The blonde man couldn't unnoticed how red her cheeks became upon uttering those words. She looked down on the ground, her thumbs fidgeting behind her back. She couldn't help but slightly rock left and right – understandable since she never believed that he would be the first one to make a move.
"You…noticed."
"That's uh, kinda the worst the part."
Her eyebrow was raised, her questioning look starring at Jaune as she expected an explanation.
"When I, uh, tried to ask Weiss for a dance, again, she went on a…well, she went on a tirade about how dumb I am for not seeing that you like me and called me a blind idiot for that. Yeah, it took a grumpy Weiss to finally realize that I already had the thing I was searching for."
Jaune scratched his head and he looked down at the floor in shame. He knew that whatever chances he had with Pyrrha were now completely and utterly rui-
'Huh?'
His train of thought was interrupted by approaching hug. His teammate wrapped her hands around his neck, just like in all those romance movies he had to watch whenever his sisters got their hands on the TV.
"It doesn't matter."
Pyrrha backed away, but still held Jaune. He noticed how her face was standing very, very close to his.
"What it matters is that you know."
Now, if he clearly remembered how these kinds of scenes usually end, Jaune would expect the most important part to happen now – the part where they both kiss.
But he knew that something is going to be different, if the mischievous smirk her lips suddenly formed meant anything – good or bad. He knew it would be good.
'I mean, this is Pyrrha! Right…?'
…
He hoped it would be good.
"Do you remember our bet, Jaune?"
Oh. Oh, well, it could've always been worse. Could it?
"Yeah…yeah! And an Arc always keeps his promise. So, I'll be going to- "
"I'll call off the bet."
Jaune's mind stopped dead in its track, awaiting Pyrrha's next words:
"On one condition." Pyrrha slowly approached him, almost in a sensual way as she grabbed his hand.
"Shut up and dance with me." She smiled as she whispered the words to him.
And since an Arc always keeps his promise, Jaune could only enthusiastically nod as Pyrrha took his arm and dragged him back to the dance floor.
Back at the ballroom, the slow music that the local band played so far was suddenly swapped for a crunchy guitar riff and a steady dance beat. One could say it was perfect for dancing, and almost all the attendees agreed to that.
Both Jaune and Pyrrha took the center of the floor that was somehow conveniently vacant and had enough space for them to dance. They didn't really think (or cared that much, really) about the strange occurrence and started dancing with the music that was getting built up by synth sounds.
Pyrrha was surprised at how good of a dancer Jaune was, even better than her. That was only, however, the icing on the cake that was the moment she was experiencing now.
Neither of them dared to look back and just kept their eyes locked on each other.
So, they danced, and some of the other guests at the party cheered on them because they looked great.
On the other side, both Nora and Ren were drinking punch until they noticed their team members getting back and rocking it on the dance floor. And boy did they rock.
And when the song ended up in a bombastic finish, she saw how Jaune and Pyrrha had their arms around each others' shoulders.
And then the kiss happened. Initiated by both of them no less.
"Oh my…RENNY, RENNY! THEY DID IT!"
Even Lie Ren, in all his wisdom, could never foresee something like that happening any time soon.
"THEY FINNALY DID IT RENNY! IT HAPPENED!"
Nora became a jumping jack of joy. She was so happy that she pecked Ren on the lips.
They only realized what happened a few seconds after – blushes all over their faces. Some would say it was a spur of the moment, some would say that it's the result of bottled up emotion throughout the years they've spent together.
But that's a story for another time.
We notice a well-dressed up person with a glass of punch in his hand. His face is obscured by the shadows of the curtains and his hands were concealed by black leather gloves.
And while his face was unrecognizable in the darkness, one could see, if they tried hard enough, to see a genuine smile on his lips.
'This is far from a happy ending…but it's a start, at least.'
After finishing his drink, the man put the glass on the table and went on his own way, never to be seen again.
Both Jaune and Pyrrha were happy together. And with the end of this night, they've promised each other that they would stick together, for better or worse.
And who knows? Destiny is a fickle thing, constantly changing with every choice we make, every word we speak and every action we take.
'What will lie in the future, I wonder?'