Chapter 8

The rooftop was a place Jaune found himself more often than not. Whether it was to think, spar, or even just get away. He found himself there again, sitting on the edge with a rather mellow expression.

"Jaune?" A voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He hadn't even noticed Pyrrha's approach, he must've zoned out pretty hard. He turned to face her with a slight frown.

"Hey." He paused. "What's up?"

"I was coming up for some air..." She looked around. "What about you?"

"Just... thinking."

"Is this about you and Blake?"

"Yeah." He blushed, glancing away from her. "Things have been odd between us since... well, you know."

"Yeah." She sat beside him.

An odd moment of silence grew between them, Jaune took a breath and spoke up.

"Pyrrha." He started. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She lifted a curious eyebrow.

"Everything." He shook his head. "For ignoring your feelings. Somehow I thought if I left them be that they'd just grow away. I never meant to make things worse, I was just... scared of hurting you."

"Jaune, you didn't do anything wrong..." She tries to comfort him.

"I did though!" He buried his face in his palms. "I still hurt you, and I'm ashamed of myself for it."

"Jaune." She repeated his name with a stern demeanor. "You're not a bad person. You made a mistake, that's all... and that doesn't define you."

"I..." He looked down, letting his hands fall gently to his lap.

"I let myself get far too attached to you back then." She shook her head. "What we have already is more than enough for me, I don't need anything else."

He smiled and shook his head, letting out a solemn chuckle.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He sighed, making to stand.

"Hey." She grabbed his wrist.

He faced her with a lifted eyebrow.

"I don't know what's going on between you and Blake, nor do I want to pry, but..." She leaned in, giving him a genuine glare. "Don't let her pass you by, if she makes you happy, take your chances."

"T-thanks for the advice." He blushed after a moment.

...

Jaune dragged himself through the deep snow in the courtyard, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Pyrrha's words on the rooftop were stuck in his mind, but he wasn't quite ready to talk to Blake about it, not yet. Instead, he'd ended up quite physically running into someone unexpected. A mess of long blonde hair flew up as the girl he bumped into fell back. His arms reached out as he leaned down and caught her. When he realized who he held was Yang, he half expected her to crack a joke about their position, but she didn't.

"Sorry." He looked elsewhere as he stood her up. "I wasn't paying attention."

"Neither was I." She admitted. "But this works... I actually wanted to talk with you."

"About what?" He narrowed his eyes cautiously.

"I understand you don't exactly have the best opinion of me right now." She sighed. "It's understandable, I've been a real piece of work lately."

He lifted an eyebrow, straightening himself out before letting her speak further.

"I want to apologize." She started. "For being childish, for shifting a lot my faults onto you and Blake, it was... wrong of me. I've come to see that recently so... I'm sorry."

"Genuinely?"

"Dammit Jaune, you know that apologies aren't easy for me." She grit her teeth. "I'm trying here."

"I appreciate it." He nodded with a faint smile. "I don't think Blake is in t-"

"I understand." She cut him off. "Please just tell her something for me?"

"I'm listening."

"Tell her to take all the time she needs before she comes back." Yang nodded. "I don't want to make any excuses for my behaviour, so that's all I have."

"I'll tell her." His smile was visible now. "Thanks for coming to me, by the way. I'm sure Blake will come around eventually."

"I hope so."

"She will." He reaffirmed. "Just give her time."

"I will." She smiled lightly. "You heading back to the dorms?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna walk with me, then?"

He nodded with a positive hum and trudged alongside her through the snow.

"I know I've got a lot to make up for." She started.

"You're doing fine." He didn't let her finish. "Why the change of heart, though? If you don't mind me asking."

"I... it's complicated." She looked away.

"Well I'm not going anywhere."

"I got mad yesterday, I stormed off and walked out into the courtyard." She took a breath. "I ran into the last person I thought I would over the break. Professor Goodwitch."

Jaune's eyes widened slightly, more in curiosity rather than surprise.

"Not only that either, she was totally not like herself at all. He hair was loose and she was oddly friendly, for the first bit anyway."

"The first bit?" He asked.

"Well, I got a little upset after she didn't see my side when I confided in her for advice." She admitted. "It was a wake up moment though. So it was for the better."

"Well I'm happy that everyone's taking steps to work this out. Your team will be back together in no time."

"Yeah, I hope."

He nodded in agreement.

Once they'd made it back to the dorms, he'd waved her off and stepped into his own, breathing a sigh of relief as he threw hung his jacket up. He threw himself on the couch and pulled his scroll from his pocket, flipping through it for a bit before deciding to get up.

Don't let her pass you by, if she makes you happy, take your chances.

Jaune blushed to himself softly, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. He was certainly gonna need it. He collected himself and took a deep breath, knocking on the bedroom door before pushing it open slowly. As he stepped inside, his eyes traced over Blake, who was in bed reading with a cup of tea. Her gaze briefly met his as well, but they quickly looked away the moment they'd realized it.

"Can we talk?" He asked lightly.

"Do we have to?" She hid behind her book.

"I'd like to." He admitted.

She nodded hesitantly and set her book down on the nightstand, sitting up straight.

"What's up, then?" She spoke nervously.

He sighed before sitting down on the edge of the bed, clasping his hands together. He turned himself to face her again and swallowed awkwardly.

"Pyrrha and I, we had a conversation on the rooftop." He started. "She told me something that really got me thinking."

"And what's that?" She asked.

Jaune reached out and clutched her hand gently within his own.

"Me, you... us. I don't want this to pass by like it was nothing."

"Was it nothing?"

"I don't want it to be." He shook his head. "Do you?"

"I don't know what I want..." She admitted.

He let his fingers slide between her own and locked eyes with her, feeling a hot burn rise to his cheeks.

She leaned in first.

He followed soon after, repositioning himself closer to her from his awkward position.

"Is this..." He stopped himself a few inches from her lips. "What you want?"

They were close to each other, so close he could feel her breath on his lips. Slowly, carefully, he stroked her cheek with his thumb, watching her eyes flutter shut as he leaned a little closer. No one word could define what he felt when their lips connected. A spark, a rush, a heat, a passion... He tore his hand from hers and circled it around her waist, pulling her closer, deepening their kiss.

"Wow..." He whispered as he pulled away from her, letting his forehead rest against her own.

"I..." Her breath was unsteady. "I still don't know what I want."

Despite her words of uncertainty, she tilted her head up and kissed him again, drawing back after a few moments.

"But I'm willing to try." She whispered.

He pressed his lips to hers again, with more vigour this time. It caused her to tense up for a moment before she relaxed into him all at once. They separated slowly and drew away, still looking into each other's eyes.

His heart was throbbing in his chest and his cheeks still felt as though they were on fire. He imagined it wasn't a feeling that would go away anytime soon. Not that he wanted it to in the first place.

"I'm gonna go shower..." She whispered. "Okay?"

"Alright..." He swallowed heavily, watching her walk towards the bathroom.

He blushed as the door shut behind her, touching a finger to his lips. Needless to say, their kiss had his mind running all sorts of rampant. He laid back in bed and shut his eyes, trying to take his mind off of it until she got out of the shower.

Blake stepped out of the bathroom, her hair still damp from her shower. She felt a little better though, more relaxed. Though, she supposed that her current mood wasn't only because of her shower. She smiled as she looked over to Jaune, he'd fallen asleep on his side, gently breathing in and out. She sat beside him and stroked his cheek softly.

"Hey." She whispered.

He stirred awake and turned to face her, a light grin spreading on his features as his eyes locked with hers.

"I was thinking maybe we could go to Vale tomorrow." She laid down beside him.

"Like a date?" He lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah..." She nodded with a smile. "Like a date."

So I just learned that agreeance isn't a word. Neither is unsurety. They're all like old english dead words that I've used my whole life. Which is interesting.Anyways, the long awaited chapter haha. Hope you enjoyed! Leave thems reviews in da comments. If you have any criticisms or notice any mistakes please point it out! I know I don't respond much but I do read them all! c: