Jaune waited for the professor to leave before turning on his partner.

"You changed your tune pretty fast. I thought we were going to talk things over."

Pyrrha shrugged.

"We were... But you were right. I just needed to clear my head and reset my perspective. I was getting myself tied up in knots worrying about it. But after a fight like that, it seemed so simple. I either take this, and I do my best, or I let someone take my place."

"Would that be so bad?" Jaune asked.

"If something bad were to happen to someone else because of that choice, I'd never forgive myself. At least this way, I can do everything in my power to get a happy ending for everyone involved." She answered.

"Then I guess we need to tell Ren and Nora then."

"A-ah." Pyrrha faltered.

"Did you forget that part? We have to tell them, and we don't have long either. We'll likely be heading back to Atlas with the general after the transfer. That means... Tonight, or tomorrow at the latest."

"Tomorrow then. I didn't think that far ahead."

"Will we have time tomorrow? We have our matches to think about."

"I'll work something out, it'll be fine. More importantly-"

Jaune's scroll going off interrupted her, causing her to frown.

Jaune picked it up and saw that it was a call from Lisa Lavender. He went to put it away again, but Pyrrha caught him.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" she asked.

"It can wait, we were-"

"No, it's fine. Go ahead." Pyrrha urged.

Jaune shrugged before accepting the call.

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

Pyrrha mouthed to turn on the speaker, so he did.

"Got time for that second interview?" She asked, cutting straight to the point.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha for confirmation and she nodded her head.

"You sure?" he asked, covering the microphone with his hand.

"Tell her I'll come with you too."

What is she planning?

"Hello? Did you cut out?" Lisa asked.

"Sorry, yeah I can make time for an interview. Do you mind if my partner comes along?" Jaune answered.

"Do I mind? What kind of question is that? Of course, she can come along! How about we meet at the Crow Bar in an hour? I think having the two of you in a casual environment would look better. You're both celebrities, if only barely. Seeing you relaxing after a match like that lets people know you're not that different."

She has certainly put a lot of thought into this.

"That sounds great, we'll be there," Pyrrha answered for him before pressing the hang-up button.

"What was that?" Jaune asked.

"Come on, let's go get ready," Pyrrha replied, completely ignoring him.

Pyrrha hoisted him up by the arm and began to drag him out the door.

"You're acting weird, what are you planning?"

"Come on, you trust me, don't you?"

That's a trap if I've ever heard one.

"Sure..." Jaune relented.

"Good, that means I don't need to keep dragging you. I need both hands free." Said Pyrrha, releasing him and pulling out her scroll.

She began to type with a ferocious pace, so Jaune tried to sneak a glimpse at what she was doing.

"No peeking!" She scolded, using her Semblance to push him away without stopping.

Jaune sighed. He would just have to wait and see.

/-/

"Where's Nora and Ren?" Jaune asked, looking around their room. "They said they'd meet us here."

"Who knows," Pyrrha replied.

Suspicious.

"Come on. Get into your good clothes." Pyrrha ordered, pulling them out of his closet and throwing them at him.

"Aren't you going to get changed? You're still in your combat gear."

"My combat gear is my image. It's not too late for you to pick something different than a hoodie and jeans."

"You like my hoodie and jeans!" Jaune whined.

Pyrrha sighed.

"Yes, I do. I think they're very cute. Now get undressed." Pyrrha demanded.

His armor fell to the floor as Pyrrha loosened the straps with her Semblance. Jaune grumbled but got changed as requested. The whole time, Pyrrha was madly tapping away at her scroll.

In truth, Jaune didn't mind how he looked in his suit. It was a bit tighter than it used to be, especially around the chest. His increase in strength had been accompanied by decent growth in muscle. Something that Pyrrha had been happy to point out in the past. But it wasn't until he wore form-fitting clothes instead of his baggy hoodie that he noticed. He might have to go buy something new soon. It would probably end up being white instead of black though if Atlas had its way.

"Can you at least give me a hint of what you're planning?" Jaune asked as his curiosity escalated.

Pyrrha looked up from her scroll for the first time in several minutes.

"Oh good, you're done changing. Let's go then." She said, ignoring his question.

She corralled him out the door, through the school, and into a bullhead set for Vale. His repeated attempts to draw some information from her went ignored.

Jaune checked his scroll after they landed. Even if they walked slowly they would be there almost half an hour early. Despite this, Pyrrha was pushing him at the same hurried pace as before.

In what felt like no time at all, they arrived at the Crow Bar. It was a cozy little place that couldn't fit more than a dozen patrons at once. They had a few TVs replaying scenes from the tournaments on different channels. There was also a great view of the water on the other side of the building.

"I'll have a vodka cranberry," Pyrrha said to the bartender.

"Wait, what?" Jaune asked, turning around to see her sitting at the bar already.

"Do you want anything?" She asked, ignoring his question.

"Since when do you drink?" Jaune stubbornly pushed on.

Pyrrha gave a cheeky smile. "Since today! What's the harm? With our aura, we'll filter the alcohol out in no time. The only reason I didn't before is... well... let's just say it won't be an issue after today."

Jaune sat down beside her, giving her a weird look for what she just said. She seemed content to continue ignoring him like she had been all morning.

"I've never ordered anything before, what should I get?" Jaune asked the bartender.

"Gin and soda." The man behind the bar explained as he made and passed Jaune a drink.

Jaune tried a sip and it was barely different from straight lemonade. He couldn't help but think that defeated the point of it being alcoholic. After all, as Pyrrha said, they wouldn't be getting drunk off these any time soon.

"Good?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's alright," Jaune replied.

"Let me try some?" asked Pyrrha as she reached over to grab his glass.

Jaune casually slid his drink just out of her reach.

"Want to tell me what's going on yet?"

Pyrrha looked at the bartender who was standing nearby, though politely to the side.

"Don't worry about me. Us bartenders know when to gossip and when to keep a secret." He said in an instant.

Pyrrha put her hand out for Jaune's drink, and he slid it into her hands. She nodded approvingly.

"I wasn't allowed to be seen in places like bars or clubs, let alone go drinking. I had a very family-friendly image. Children's cereal and beating my opponents to a pulp was somehow the combination I wound up with. But for a few reasons, I won't be needing to worry about that anymore." She finally explained.

"You're quitting?"

"Mhm! Well, that or they're going to cancel my contract after they see our match. If I know you, it's going to be messy. With everything going on, I thought 'it's time to focus on the future'."

"Is that why you were on your scroll all day today? You were contacting your managers?"

Pyrrha paused for a moment.

"Sure, that's what it was." She lied.

"You are such a bad liar." Jaune laughed.

He reached over and tried some of Pyrrha's drink. It was better than his.

"So that's why you wanted to come along then? For your first drink?"

"Sure." She lied once more.

So evasive...

/-/

Jaune and Pyrrha tried a few more drinks over the next half hour. They even managed to catch up on the final match of the day. Yang and Blake earned a win over their opponents Yatsuhashi and Velvet. Yang faced off against Yatsu whose strength seemed to outmatch her own. Initially, she was on the back foot, but she managed to use her Semblance to turn the tide in an instant. All of the stored up damage was used in a single counter punch to her opponent's jaw. Even with aura, his brain must have been bouncing around inside his skull for hours. Velvet kept Blake busy by constantly switching styles and weapons every few exchanges. It was a great plan until Blake lucked out and got a good matchup she could exploit before Velvet's next swap.

With their win, half the competitors in the top eight were from Beacon's first-year.

"You two got started without me." Jaune turned to see Lisa and a pair of cameramen behind her stroll into the bar.

"Wasn't my idea. Blame Miss Future-Alcoholic over here." Jaune teased.

"I wasn't that bad, I just wanted to try a few different things and see what I like." Pyrrha countered.

"Yeah, and you liked all of them. A few that I bought too."

Pyrrha hung her head in mock shame. She didn't have much to say in response with the small pile of glasses stacked behind her.

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about catching up. You two burned through all of those and you're not even buzzed. It seems that aura does more for women than just making your skin look good into your sixties." Lisa said, a hint of jealousy evident in her voice. "I'll have a beer."

"So how are we going to do this one? You've got the cameras instead of just the mics and a notepad. It won't be live will it?" Jaune asked.

"Nah. Contrary to popular belief, the best way to get the juicy details from people we interview isn't to trick them live. Instead, it's to let them get comfortable and see what they let slip that way." Lisa explained.

"Is that why we're having it here at a bar?" Jaune asked.

"I meant what I said earlier... but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't also helpful for me too." Lisa took a much larger sip at her drink than he'd expected before continuing. "Shall we get started?"

A small red light blinked into life on the camera. The cameramen adjusted themselves so they were getting a good shot. The bartender sighed and moved to the far end of the bar where he was out of shot.

Lisa gave a small introduction for both herself, the Vale News Network, and Jaune and Pyrrha. It probably wouldn't even make it into the final cut, but it did a good job of setting the atmosphere for a talk. Finally, however, her introduction ended and she dived right into the questioning.

"So, you two have made your way into the top eight for tomorrow's final rounds. Would you care to say anything about your opponents thus far?"

"Oh, me first!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "Team CRDL came prepared with some fascinating skills. Tournaments like these are often so focused on how they can eliminate their opponent. Ring-outs and knockouts are key. But they came into the match looking to simulate real battlefield conditions. There's nothing in the rules about injuring an opponent through their aura, it just doesn't happen often. With a solid armbar, an arm can be broken with or without aura. I was very impressed with that."

Jaune nodded. "I'm still studying how their skills worked. For them it was automatic. From my perspective though, they were using some very high-level aura techniques. I'd wager even someone far more skilled than I would struggle to copy them."

"Jaune, I don't think she wants to hear those kinds of details." Pyrrha gently scolded.

"Sorry, then how about team RWBY? Ruby and Weiss' trump card was amazing to watch, not that you really could watch it. Faster than the eye, faster than the slow-motion cameras too from what I heard. There's not a Grimm on the planet that's a threat for Ruby in that form."

"And yet you were able to beat her. A lot of viewers at home are sure to be wondering how you pulled it off. Care to share your secret?" Lisa prompted.

Pyrrha smiled and looked away, already knowing the answer.

"No secret. I got super lucky. I'd spent the entire night simulating spar after spar with her using the knowledge of how she fights. I didn't know she'd move that fast, but I just had a feeling that's where she'd be. Frankly, if she had have come at us from any other angle, she would have won the fight."

"Give me a little credit Jaune, I still had a few tricks up my sleeve." Said Pyrrha.

"And those tricks would be?" Lisa asked.

"They wouldn't be very good tricks if I told everyone, would they?" Pyrrha answered.

"Surely you'll give us something interesting. You came all the way here with something to say, right?" Lisa prompted.

Pyrrha hummed thoughtfully while Jaune sat and waited.

"I wanted to pass a message to your viewers ahead of time. Tomorrow, my partner and I will face off. He's the kind of guy who just has a way of making things happen. Yes, we'll more than likely be facing strong opponents before our match, but I'm confident we will fight. I wanted to let everyone know that they should be prepared for something a little different. Jaune is... He's kind of an idiot."

Jaune's face dropped. He couldn't believe she was doing this right here, right now.

"When he promised to take away the title of 'invincible girl' from me, I knew he would. Even if it cost him his health in the process. I wanted to ask all your viewers not to look down on him, or me, when our match gets a bit... messy."

"How messy are we talking?" Lisa asked.

"It's like she said earlier. There's nothing in the rules against injuries that ignore aura. She's probably going to have to break a few bones." Jaune honestly answered for her. "If it's a non-lethal attack and I'm low on aura, I won't shield it. I'm not planning on fighting all too cleanly either if I'm honest. This match is kind of important to both of us."

"Pyrrha, you've fought hundreds of opponents up until this point. What makes this match with your partner so special?" Lisa asked.

Jaune was about to answer. Pyrrha stopped him by grabbing his hand.

"It's because this tournament will be the last one. Win or lose, this will be my last professional match as Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible girl."

So that's what this was about. She has made her mind up. She knows that she couldn't fight in a tournament after the transfer because it wouldn't be fair to the others. It wouldn't be fun for her anymore.

"I want to dedicate myself to becoming the best huntress I can be." Pyrrha fidgeted for a moment. "Plus... I don't think it's fair to my boyfriend that I have to wear a disguise when we go out on a date."

Pyrrha was looking right at him as she said that.

"It was never that bad..." Jaune replied.

"So you two...?" Lisa asked for confirmation.

"For a few weeks now yes. He asked me out at the school dance, right before the breach."

"Well, there's the story then. The Invincible Girl and the Vanguard of the Breach. Partners and lovers promising the world a match where they try to break each other's bones and win no matter what. Any other bombshells you want to drop on us?" Lisa asked.

"If only you knew," Jaune stated. Pyrrha caught on instantly to the hidden meaning and laughed.

"Do you have any other questions for us?" Pyrrha asked.

"Just one, for Jaune, if that's okay." Jaune nodded. "Pyrrha says she wants to dedicate herself to becoming a huntress. What is it that you want to do?"

Jaune was silent for a while.

What do I want to do?

For so long it was about proving myself. It was about living up to the legacy of my family. But all of that feels so... small.

"I want..." Jaune said, trying to jumpstart an answer. Though it wasn't the one he thought he would, he found one. "I just want to make some memories with my friends. I want to spend time with Pyrrha and experience something new every day. Sorry for the unexciting answer."

Lisa waved her hands and the camera lights all turned off.

"Did you mean that last bit? If you didn't, you'd make a hell of a politician."

"I meant it," Jaune answered.

Lisa smiled. "It was nice talking to you today Jaune, Pyrrha. Good luck tomorrow."

Jaune and Pyrrha waved goodbye as she left.

"I guess it's time for us to head off too? Maybe Ren and Nora are back at the dorm by now." Said Jaune.

"I've got a better idea." Said Pyrrha. "Come over here for a second."

Pyrrha was standing on the boardwalk, looking over the beach. At her request, Jaune stepped over to join her.

The water was sparkling, inviting everyone to take a swim. Despite the fall weather, there were still people out enjoying the mid-afternoon sun. In particular, a group of six were setting up a volleyball net, several umbrellas, and even a barbeque. The orange-haired girl with the pink bikini ordered all the others around as they rushed to get it all set up.

Wait...

"Is that Nora?" Jaune loudly asked.

"It sure is!" Pyrrha exclaimed without a trace of surprise.

When Jaune looked more closely, he realized that he knew everyone down there.

"Well? They're waiting for us, so stop staring, and let's go!" Pyrrha urged.

"Is this what you've been planning?"

Pyrrha nodded and started to pull him by the wrist.

A short walk later, Jaune was face to face with the remainder of his team, and team RWBY too.

"What are you guys all doing here?" Jaune asked.

"Pyrrha mentioned how we'd spent all year in Vale but hadn't been to the beach once. When she offered to fund a small get-together, we were all for it." Ren explained.

It was weird seeing his friend in nothing but a pair of green board shorts. He usually made it his job to get into his usual long-flowing garbs as quickly as possible when he has to change.

"Plus it doubles as a winners party. Everyone here has teammates who made it into the finals. Or you know, are actually in the finals, like us." Yang exclaimed.

As she gloated, she swung a hip out and flexed her bicep. It wasn't her arms that caught his attention though.

Jaune felt a little bad for looking, but he doubted anyone could blame him. Yang was one of the bustier girls and bouncing around in her yellow bikini like that didn't leave much to the imagination.

"You got easy opponents!" Ruby complained.

She was wearing a red jacket, zipped up to cover her chest. She wasn't quite as confident as the other girls who were happy to put themselves on display and it showed. Despite himself, he couldn't deny that the girl had a cute boyish charm.

"How do you figure that? We had to fight second-years." Blake countered.

Even at the beach, she wore her black ribbon to hide her ears. It was a shame that she felt the need.

"Well, we had to fight Pyrrha." Weiss fired back. "... and Jaune."

The frilly whites of her one-piece was a juxtaposition against her colorful personality. It was the kind of outfit you'd expect to see on a meek and innocent teen. Not the bossy and demanding Schnee wearing it right now.

"Enough of that! The guests of honor are finally here, so that means a few things. First and most importantly, Pyrrha can pay me back for buying all this stuff like she said she would." Nora exclaimed.

Pyrrha sighed and whipped out her scroll, presumably to wire her what she owed.

"And with that sorted, here are the things you asked for!" Nora said, handing over a black bag to Pyrrha.

With both hands, she pushed both Pyrrha and Jaune into a small curtained off structure. Jaune felt like he should have been protesting a little more against the fact that he was being pushed, shoved, and led around. But he'd given up after the first half-hour and was resigned to just go along and see what happened.

So far, it had gone in his favor anyway.

Pyrrha tossed something at him from the bag and pulled out a few other items for herself. A quick look revealed a pair of blue board shorts.

"Jaune, could I get a hand?" she asked, gesturing to her combat gear.

"I've seen you slip out of that 100 times with your Semblance."

She turned her head and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh. Oh!" Jaune suddenly realized, and he moved over to begin unlacing the top.

"You know for a guy so smart, you're pretty dumb sometimes." Pyrrha teased.

"I'm pretty sure you've said that before, so yeah, I know," Jaune replied.

Eventually, the laces were all loosened off. Her corset slipped forwards into her waiting hands.

Pyrrha sat down on the bench and Jaune immediately followed her to get her greaves off.

"I have this actually, thanks though." Said Pyrrha dryly.

"I thought... No, fine, my bad."

"I'm just teasing you Jaune." Pyrrha laughed as she took her hands away.

Jaune slowly got Pyrrha out of all her combat gear, leaving her clad in just her bra and her miniskirt.

"If I recall correctly, you said you like this look the best right?" Pyrrha asked with a smirk.

Jaune nodded and soaked in the view. It wasn't often they got a chance for this kind of thing. He quickly activated his aura sight and looked around. Everybody seemed content to work on setting up everything else and no one was nearby.

"My hands are a bit sore after undoing all those laces Pyrr. Would you mind?" said Jaune with all the subtlety of a brick to the face.

Pyrrha unbuttoned his jacket, one at a time without breaking eye contact. Frankly, it was impressive that she had the coordination to pull that off. When she had finished with that, she set upon his shirt next.

Pyrrha ran her hands underneath his shirt and lifted them over his shoulders. Her eyes were glued to his chest as she did.

"See something you like?" Jaune asked, getting some payback for earlier.

"I do." She honestly replied.

Jaune pulled his partner by the hips into a kiss with a little more fire than their usual quick pecks. After the night they shared, their patience had weakened. It had been months of dancing around each other before the first time. Now, two days were much too long.

Pyrrha deepened the kiss with her tongue, she tasted of the mixed drinks she had indulged in earlier. Meanwhile, Jaune took the time to appreciate the curves of her body with his hands.

After a few seconds, he tried his luck and unclasped her bra behind her back.

"I didn't ask for help with that one." Said Pyrrha.

"You needed to get into the bikini top over there or something, right? Forward-thinking is a good trait." Jaune reasoned.

Pyrrha pushed herself away from him and walked over to the aforementioned clothing. Slowly, she began putting them on. Jaune cursed his stupidity for having mentioned it. Or at least he did until Pyrrha bent over and slipped off her underwear.

With the skirt still on, Jaune couldn't see anything more than the fabric as it fell down her legs. Not that he felt he needed to. There was much to say for leaving something to the imagination.

Jaune got into the board shorts as Pyrrha continued getting properly changed. As fun as that had been, it had been dreadfully short, leaving him somewhat ill-prepared to go join the others.

"Don't worry," Pyrrha said as she packed her gear into the bag that their swimwear came from. "I know that was short. But there's more where that came from later. We were probably lucky we got that much with everyone just a dozen meters away." She continued.

"You're right." Jaune sighed. "Come on then, let's go see what's going on."

Jaune and Pyrrha left the makeshift changing room and rejoined the group.

"Oh thank Oum you guys are finally here. We were starting to worry we'd have to send someone in with a crowbar to pry you two apart." Yang joked.

"Yeah yeah, you were getting jealous, we get it." Jaune fired back.

He looked over everything that the others had set up. They'd done a great job of getting everything together.

"Now how about we get this thing started. Volleyball?" Jaune asked the group.

"Yes! How about boys against girls?" Nora asked.

Jaune looked at Ren who in turn looked back at him. Ren shrugged.

"Sure, why not. Who's up first?"

Yang's hand shot straight up, as did Nora's. Weiss and Blake had already started walking over to the shade of one of the umbrellas. The latter had a book in her hand that he swore she didn't have before.

Jaune smirked.

"You're both going down, you know that right?" Jaune cockily asked.

"Us? Please. We're going to destroy you." Nora stated. She raised a hand and Yang instantly high-fived it.

For a pair of girls who weren't on the same team, they were scarily in sync.

They hadn't been kidding either.

From the get-go, Yang and Nora were going all out. 10-foot leaps and near-supersonic spikes were just the beginning. Ren and Jaune were working hard just making sure they caught every serve.

Their aura step allowed them to maintain a much more stable footing on the loose sand. It was this small boon that kept them in the game.

Right up until Nora took Ren's head off his shoulders with a direct hit to his face with the ball. The sound he made as he fell wasn't one you'd expect from someone with aura getting hit by a leather ball.

"Yes! I told you that would work. You don't spend this many years with a monk and not pick up a few tricks." Nora gloated.

"You've got to teach me how to do that." Yang eagerly requested.

"Just a simple bit of aura manipulation."

"Wait, did you seriously channel your aura into the ball for a game of volleyball?" Jaune asked.

Looking at the red mark on Ren's face that was slowly beginning to develop, the answer was clear.

"I demand a substitute, one of my players is injured!" Jaune declared.

"You think Pyrrha is going to-"

"I choose Weiss!" Jaune shouted loud enough that she would hear from her position at the sidelines.

"I didn't sign up for that!" Weiss shouted back.

"Go on Weiss, you can do it!" Ruby encouraged.

Somehow she thought Weiss was refusing for a reason other than disinterest.

Weiss knew a losing battle when she saw it. She got up and stomped her way over without further protest.

"One win, then you leave me out of this." She stated.

Jaune nodded. He already knew what she was about to do and he almost felt bad.

Since Nora and Yang got the last point, they had the serve. Jaune activated his aura shield, learning from Ren's mistake. He even activated his muscle augmentation for good measure. The additional bulk that it added as his muscles were filled with his aura earned him a whistle from Pyrrha.

Nora served it up and Yang didn't just slap it down. She punched it with the kind of force she'd use against the Grimm. It was like the ball offended her family's honor or something.

Jaune caught the serve on both arms and he strained to reverse the momentum. Barely managing to pull it off, it gently floated through the air where Weiss launched it high up into the air. She summoned several glyphs in the middle of the air. Each pointed from the ball's future position to the center of their opponent's field.

Jaune leaped into the air and slapped the ball into the first glyph. This then accelerated it even faster into the next, and the one after that.

It was fortunate that Weiss took the shenanigans one step further. She launched her opponents off the field with an additional pair of glyphs. When the volleyball struck the ground, it created an explosion of sand. All that was left was a crater that covered the entire field and a deflated ball.

"Hell yeah!" Jaune shouted. "Don't mess with Weiss!"

Jaune offered her a high-five just like Nora had Yang earlier.

She stared at the offending limb like he was a leper. To Jaune's surprise, while she did complain under her breath, she didn't leave him hanging.

Jaune picked up Ren who was enjoying the excuse the injury gave him to just lie down and rest under the sun. He carried him over to where the girls were sitting out of the sun and dropped him on one of the towels.

"Weiss earned herself an excuse since she helped me kick some butt earlier. You two however need to get out here already." He said, gesturing to Yang and Nora who had already moved on from the ruined volleyball field into the waves.

"Alright, alri-" Pyrrha started to say.

Jaune wrapped an arm around her waist and slung her over his shoulder. He looked at Ruby who was sitting beside her and gave her a Cheshire smile.

"Jaune, you wouldn't." Jaune took a step closer. "Come on, we're friends aren't we?"

Jaune scooped her up and she screamed. Of course, she could have avoided it if she wanted, so he knew she was just being dramatic.

He carried both Pyrrha and Ruby into the shallows. With all the aura enhanced strength he could muster, he threw them into the water.

Jaune followed them in not a second later, running and jumping into the water near them.

"Did you have to throw us?" Ruby half complained.

"I suppose I could've kept carrying you both around." Jaune joked.

Ruby pouted and splashed water at him in protest. Pyrrha immediately followed suit

Outnumbered two to one, Jaune relied on his natural advantages to fight back.

Though he normally used his sword as a focus for his aura, it wasn't like he needed it for every technique. Jaune let loose a weak but fast-moving wave of aura just beneath the water's surface. The top layer of water flicked up, spraying the girls with more force than the two of them could put out together.

"Ruby, teach my boyfriend a lesson for me would you?" Pyrrha requested once she saw Jaune's smug expression after his short victory.

"Gladly."

Ruby activated her Semblance and began swimming circles around Jaune at high speeds. It didn't take long for a whirlpool to form, and the more she circled him, the stronger it got.

It took several minutes for Jaune to break out of the cycle. It took several more to shake off the dizziness that resulted.

Pyrrha gave him one good splash for good measure just as he recovered.

"Okay, you win, I give!" Jaune surrendered.

Ruby put both hands on her hips with a self-satisfied smile. She then laughed and swam away to go meet up with her sister.

Pyrrha paddled over to Jaune who was rubbing the water out of his eyes and laced her arms over his shoulders. Jaune wrapped his arms around her waist in return.

"Surprised?" Pyrrha asked.

"About today? I can't say anything you've done would've been amongst my top five guesses, so yeah. Just this morning you were stressed out after a sleepless night. Now you're throwing parties and quitting your job. Not to mention you're being a lot more public with your affection today."

"Well, it's like I said. I don't have to worry about people seeing anymore. It's not like I'm going to lose my job anymore, is it?"

"Is that right?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha tensed for a moment as she felt Jaune's hands slide down and grab either side of her behind.

"Jaune..." She warned.

"No one can see, this water isn't that clear." He said, accentuating his point with a squeeze.

"It would seem I've created a monster."

"Takes one to know one, Pyrr." Jaune laughed.

/-/

Jaune and Pyrrha spent the following hours wrapped together, mingling with their friends. They made sure to congratulate Yang and Blake for making it into the top eight.

Eventually, Ren was pulled from his ball-induced nap to cook the food they had brought. While it wasn't his signature pancakes, his food was still praiseworthy. As the sun dropped below the horizon, so too did the ambient temperature. The steaming hot steaks and sausages were the perfect counter.

With curfew approaching and the food cleaned off, everyone agreed to start packing up. Jaune smoothed over the crater with sand. Everyone else gathered and put away the newly bought equipment. But when the time came to leave, Pyrrha held him back.

"There's one more thing Jaune."

"Do we have time? It would be bad if we got caught out and couldn't find a place to stay." Jaune asked.

"That won't be an issue," Pyrrha reassured.

Jaune nodded and pulled out his jacket and gave it to Pyrrha. Walking around in just her bikini would be cold, colder than him in his shorts at least.

"Thanks." She said, pulling the jacket on and buttoning it up.

Pyrrha led the way as they walked hand in hand through the city. Wherever it was, she must have planned this as well as she knew where she was going.

"So where are we going?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha didn't respond, repeating her behavior from earlier in the morning.

"So another surprise then?" he asked again.

Pyrrha nodded.

Jaune held back on any further questions. Fortunately, their destination wasn't too far away.

"A motel?" Jaune asked.

"I told you we wouldn't have to worry about getting caught out after curfew," Pyrrha confirmed, pulling him inside.

Pyrrha walked up to the counter, trading several Lien cards in exchange for a key.

Jaune had several questions on his mind that he wanted to ask. Why a motel? More importantly, why at night by themselves? He sensed however that this was not the time to be voicing those questions.

Pyrrha seemed to walk with an air of excited nervousness. Like she couldn't decide what she was supposed to be feeling. It was getting to the point where that nervousness was transmitting to Jaune. He once again weighed the option of trying to force information out of her.

Pyrrha led him up a flight of stairs and down a hallway to a door which she unlocked.

Jaune stepped inside and was remarkably underwhelmed. A single queen-sized bed, TV on the wall, and a fridge in the corner. It was clean, and everything looked nice enough. There was just no great surprise waiting within like he had assumed there might be.

"I know you've been wondering. You don't stop thinking when something takes your interest." Said Pyrrha.

Jaune turned around to face her. Unlike him, she wasn't looking around the room and investigating the decor. She was slowly unbuttoning her borrowed jacket.

"Before you ask, I am still worried about the future. There's a lot of good, but there's a lot of risks too. But so much of that was out of my control once I'd made my decision. I wanted to take back some of that control."

"Pyrr?" Jaune asked with concern.

"If we move to Atlas, we'd seldom get to see a beach again. We'd rarely get to see our friends. I wanted to make some memories that I could hold onto." She continued, pulling the jacket off entirely.

She reached up behind her neck to pull the strings to her top, but Jaune crossed the room and stopped her.

"Pyrrha, stop."

"I even thought that if I made enough good memories, that they would hold me together through the transfer." Pyrrha's voice rose to snuff out Jaune's interference. "I don't want to forget my friends. I don't want to forget my team and what we've been through together."

"Pyrrha, you don't know-"

"You're right! I don't know! I don't know whether I'm going to forget everything that makes me, me. So I wanted to do anything I could to fight that. It's like you said, sometimes thinking doesn't get you anywhere. Sometimes you just need to let loose."

Pyrrha pushed his hands away from her and she pulled the strings loose, baring herself to him.

"I want you, Jaune. I want you, and I want this. If not for my own sake, then for yours. Even if I lose myself, I want to give you a part of me that you wouldn't ever forget. Something that, when I'm gone, you can say truly belongs to you and no one else." She grabbed Jaune's hand and placed it upon her breast. He could feel her heart beating like a drum just beneath the surface. "I know you'd follow me even if I lost myself. You're loyal, and you're an idiot, and you deserve so much better than to be left alone like that."

"You don't have to do this for me." Said Jaune.

"Then let me do this for me."

Please visit AO3 for the unedited version of this chapter which has this missing scene included. Link in my profile.