A/N: Aaaaaand we're back! In good time, while I'm at it. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope that you all can look forward to a pleasant day, and I hope that this chapter will help in that pursuit! I'll be releasing a one-shot today, tied to another writer here on FFN, so check it out if you'd like! I'd also love to take the time to recommend strayphoenix's "Your Fonder Heart", a wonderful story that recently made the migration from AO3 to here.

Thank you for reading, and please enjoy chapter thirty!

Jaune stood stiffly by the door, while she remained curled up in her bed. All dinner, she had worried over the meeting's result and her partner's clear distress. He'd lost his temper, and while he'd apologized immediately for it, it didn't mean the source of the trouble was gone. The last thing she wanted was to force Jaune down this road; after fighting so long for what she wanted, taking choice from someone so dear was not an option.

Jaune started towards the desk, likely to use the chair, but she patted the space in front of her. "Come on, Jaune." She tried to keep her voice calm, friendly. He smiled nervously, but joined her on the mattress. The intimacy of their closeness seemed to diffuse the tension of the moment, thankfully, as stiffness leaked out of Jaune's shoulders. He captured one of her hands in both of his, and focused onto her with a serious, but not grim, expression.

"I shouldn't have lost my cool earlier. The three of you were under just as much pressure as me, and none of you started shouting. It wasn't right and I'm sorry." He squeezed her hand gently, letting guilt show plainly on his face. Apologies were the first step in this, she supposed, and she gripped his hands back.

"I spoke without thinking, Jaune. I know how you feel about the prospect of not being with us, and I shouldn't have implied you would leave us behind. I'm sorry as well." She returned his anxious smile from earlier then, hoping they could dispel this fearful air. It seemed to work, as Jaune unconsciously scooted closer to her, his expression gaining strength.

"I… I still don't like the idea of going to Mistral. I have this horrible feeling in my gut every time I consider it, even though I know we're going to have to do it." She felt herself brighten at hearing him admit the team would go, but he wasn't through. "It hit me, right before your mother came in, that this is just like with my family and I, isn't it? I want us to stay for my own fears when we can do so much more good if we go. And, I don't really have a real choice in the matter."

"Jaune", she placated, "you always have a choi-" he leaned forward then, pulling her close.

"If it's between being with you or not, I'll take you every time. There's nothing I'd choose over you, Pyrrha." She rested her head in the crook of his neck, returning his embrace. For a long while, they simply held each other, showing in action what words would fail.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly into his shoulder. "I didn't mean to set us on this, I was just trying to do the right thing." He ran his hand gently through her hair as she spoke, easing her fears.

"I know, I know. You didn't do anything wrong, Pyr, none of this is your fault." He pulled back then, hands still resting on her shoulders. "Rushing off to go fight people with mythical powers working for an evil overlord isn't exactly what I had in mind when I decided on Beacon." She couldn't help but laugh at his expression. "But, it gave me Ren, and Nora, and team RWBY. Most importantly, it gave me you, so I came out on top in that deal. I'll save the grumbling for when I'm stuck with Goodwitch and her people."

"If it makes you feel better, I'll promise to not accept more mystical powers without telling the team first?" It was Jaune's turn to laugh, snorting loudly before leaning back, resting on his hands.

"I'll take that deal!" He laughed again, looking up to the ceiling briefly before returning to her. "This went a lot better than I expected?" She tilted her head to the side, considering.

"It probably helps we want this to go well, Jaune." He nodded his agreement, then stretched towards her again, his lips brushing against her forehead.

"I'll see you in the morning, then, and you can tell your Mom I apologized. I love you." He scooted to the edge of the bed, but she caught his hand before he stood up. She felt her face warming by the second, but with the weight of her worries gone, she felt bold.

"I seem to recall you agreeing to keep me company once we were in Vale again?" She smirked playfully, patting the space next to her. Her partner smiled dopily, his face flushing lightly as well, but he stood up anyway. She thought he was about to turn down her generous offer when he spoke up.

"I need to let Nora know, and I gotta change!" She nodded in approval, and watched him giddily take off for the door.

Jaune ignored Nora and Ren's stares as he gathered his pajamas and scroll, disappearing into the shared bathroom; they'd been sharing a room most of their lives, one more time wouldn't be weird. He'd spent the better part of the last hour stewing over the team fight earlier, so Pyrrha's declaration that he spend the night in her room was a complete flip how he expected the night to go. He almost toppled over twice while changing, but he felt he had every right to be giddy. "Just this once, it went according to the plan!"

Emerging in the shirt and shorts he'd taken to after JNPR's "onesie" talk, Jaune immediately spotted Pyrrha. She made a little more room on the bed and waved him over. Jaune sat down next to her, trying to not look as eager as he felt. He slid beneath the sheets, feeling Pyrrha's leg press lightly against his own as he settled next to her. They'd fallen asleep talking on the couch before, but that didn't quite have the same feel as this. This was somehow more real.

"Hey." He said, watching her position herself closer to him in the just wide enough bed.

"Hello." She replied, smiling coyly. It took Jaune's brain a few moments to bounce back from that smile, but it eventually recalled that is wasn't really that late.

"Do you… wanna watch a movie?" He asked, not quite daring to ask for anything more romantic. "Slow and steady wins the race, Jaune." Pyrrha apparently agreed, as she stretched beneath the covers before resting her head on his shoulders.

"You pick something." She snuggled closer, and Jaune slid an arm behind her as he dug out his scroll. Finding a movie would probably be easier with both hands, but he would just have to make due with one. Marron must have gotten hold of his scroll back home, because he didn't remember downloading so many sappy romances.

"Well, I guess that works in my favor, now; an action movie is right out, that's for sure." He picked one at random, but paused when another piece fell into place. "Nora and my sisters were trying to matchmake us, weren't they?" He looked down to his partner, who'd been slowly curling herself against his side. The bright humor in Pyr's eyes were answer enough, and he let out a soft groan before starting the movie.

"We're going to go off to fight people with unspeakable powers bent on the world's destruction. We'll probably be out gunned, we'll be outnumbered, and we'll definitely be going in blind." Pyrrha had rested her head on his chest, watching the scroll propped against his knee, and had pulled his arm around her waist and into her grip. He settled his cheek on her head lightly, focusing on the B-list movie and the girl in his arms.

"It's worth it."

…

A soft tapping woke Jaune up in the morning. He blearily opened his eyes to red. Soft, silken red that had also been irritating his nose all night. He was on his side, Pyrrha pressed against him with his arms wrapped around her. She was still sleeping, but the light knock sounded again behind him. It was probably Nora, he decided, trying to be polite before coming in. He gingerly freed one hand from Pyrrha, the other was hopelessly asleep under her, and managed to find the scroll where he had left it once they grew tired of the movie.

"You can come in." He messaged Nora. "Pyrrha's sleeping." Jaune considered if he actually wanted to get up himself, but he felt compelled to remain. A few moments later, the bathroom door opened, and Nora peeked in hesitantly, one hand obscuring her eyes. Jaune rolled his exaggeratedly.

"Well I didn't know if you two would be up to… stuff!" Nora whispered at him as she crept to her dresser. Jaune looked to be sure Pyr's breathing hadn't changed, then back to Nora.

"Besides you two, her mom is in this house!" He replied, just as quietly. Nora shrugged in a way that made him mildly uncomfortable, so he decided to ignore it, and snuggled back into position against Pyrrha. His girlfriend sighed contentedly, which justified his opinion.

"Pfft, you guys." Nora said teasingly behind him. "If you stay in too long, Pyrrha's mom's gonna burst in with Molossus and a pregnancy test." Jaune shuddered at the thought, but decided he would take his chances. The bathroom clicked shut, and he nestled his head into the lavender scented bed of red it had called home, letting the prospect of a lazy day in bed lull him back to sleep.

The second time he woke up, it was a buzzing sound near him. His eyes blearily opened again, and Jaune yet again tired to stealthily fish behind himself for his scroll. Bringing it back into his vision, he saw Blanche was calling. Jaune yet again considered getting up, but it was so warm in bed…

Blanche opened her mouth almost as soon as he answered, but Jaune made a quiet shushing. "My team's asleep, how are you?" Blanche let out a tired sigh, but brought her scroll closer.

"I'm doing fine", she said quietly, "I was more concerned with my little brother who forgot to call me yesterday." He tired to smile innocently. "You guys looked bushed at the depot, I wanted to see if everything was alright." His sister's eyes tried to scan as much of him as possible then, before she looked back to his face. "You are alright, right?"

"Sorry, things got a little hectic last night, I didn't mean to forget. We had a mission, it was a tough one, but we came back fine. Everything's okay now." There, an answer without actually explaining anything. His teachers would be so proud at how good he was at that now.

"Everything is okay now? That implies it wasn't for a while." Damn Blanche and her Arc stubbornness! Jaune thought for a moment, trying to consider what to say.

"Is that Blanche?" Came Pyr's drowsy voice from behind his scroll. Jaune felt the blood drain from his face yet also rush back in a fury, while Blanche came to curious attention.

"Yes?" He said nervously over her shoulder, prompting Pyrrha to roll over onto her other side, facing him through the screen. Her eyes were heavy with sleep and her hair was a mess, but she waved one hand at him expectantly. Jaune hesitated, and his scroll was encapsulated in a shimmering blackness, spinning around in his hand.

"Good morning, Blanche." Pyrrha said warmly. Jaune saw Blanche's mouth open fractionally, then close as his sister leaned back from the scroll. "Jaune and I had a disagreement last night, but we talked things out."

"Pyrrha?" Blanche finally said, but failing to actually form a question. Meanwhile, Pyrrha continued on with whatever she was up to.

"It's wonderful to hear from you and I'd love to know how the girls are, Noire hasn't called me since last week", Pyrrha stopped to cover a small yawn, "but would you mind if I kept Jaune for another hour or so? I'm still rather tired from yesterday." Jaune dumbly watched Blanche dumbly watch Pyrrha, wondering if he ever used that expression.

Without saying anything, Blanche hung up, and Pyrrha settled his scroll beside her own. She smiled winningly at him, then nuzzled into his chest. "Pyrrha," he tried, but she cut him off.

"Oh, hush. Less talking, more snuggling." Pyrrha followed her own advice, snaking arms around Jaune to hold him closer. He couldn't imagine his sternum of all things were a comfortable place to rest your forehead, as he began to run a hand along her back.

"Are you sure you're comfortable there?" He asked, barely holding in a chuckle.

"I'll be comfortable anywhere, if you're there." She said, determinedly trying to fall back asleep. Pyrrha's wonderful resting form once again made a very solid argument for sleep, so Jaune pulled the blanket higher over them and closed his eyes.

Pyrrha was having a wonderful dream featuring Jaune carrying her away on horseback to the world's largest chocolate cake when she was rudely interrupted.

"I know you shared a room at Beacon, but I do hope this was not the normal sleeping arrangement." Her mother's stern voice cut through the sleepy haze, a response ingrained by years of early mornings. She pulled her head back and up from beneath the covers, finding her mother watching them from beside the desk. Jaune, she saw, had seemingly lost all of his blood: probably as a result of her mother having Molossus slung over her shoulder.

"M-Mrs. N-Nikos, i-it isn't what it looks like!" Jaune stammered, sliding up and away from her mother, back pressing against the headboard. Pyrrha, now awake by the shock, realized it probably wasn't a good look: her sleeping in the same bed as her boyfriend, with her head under the covers.

"It certainly isn't!" She cried, sitting up and trying to position herself between her mother and Jaune. "I was just sleeping in, mother, we weren't… we weren't doing anything." Her mother crossed her arms, unconvinced. She could faintly hear Jaune mutter something about Nora "being right", but she could deal with that later.

She had a beau to keep safe from her mother.

"Mother, I promise you that Jaune and I weren't doing anything improper." She said in her most reasonable tone, ready to bend the rifle like a pretzel if it came to that. "Jaune and I simply fell asleep watching a movie." That wasn't entirely truthful, as they switched to more romantic activities about halfway through, but nothing they hadn't done elsewhere! Less, considering the last time Thetis had visited this room.

Her mother continued to scowl at Jaune quite fiercely, but she eventually gave a defeated sigh. "I suppose I did tell you to make things right with Pyrrha. No more of this, though, yes? I'm not afraid to have the boys switch rooms with me." Both he and Pyrrha nodded vigorously. "I swear, we respected things like this in my day." She muttered as she closed the door behind her.

Once Pyrrha was certain her mother was gone, she leaned towards Jaune. "They respected these things so much, I was born seven months after my parent's wedding." Jaune snorted loudly, and bit down on his hand to keep from breaking out in a laugh sure to draw her mother back. She let out her own giggle, which most certainly didn't include a snort, and reluctantly got out of bed. "I do think we need to get ready for the day, Jaune. It's almost," her scroll flew to her hand as she began to rifle through her wardrobe, "Oh dear. Noon." Jaune whistled behind her.

"Didn't think we slept that long. But, it was a long mission. Hmm, what needs to be taken care of." Jaune held the door for her into the bathroom, eyes distant as he ran through a checklist. They both stepped in, and Jaune knocked on the door to his room. Nora sounded from the other side almost immediately. "Love you." He said easily as he opened the door.

"Alright, alright, break it up!" Nora said rambunctiously, pushing into the bathroom and herding Jaune into his own room before closing the door on him. "Pyrrha, you're supposed to be the responsible one." Pyrrha refused to be baited by Nora this early in the… the noon. Instead, she stuck out her tongue and turned on the hot water. Nora returned the gesture before stepping into their room.

Pyrrha stepped back to the door to the boy's room, though, opening it just a crack. "Jaune?" She questioned.

"Yeah, Pyr?" he said somewhere past the wood.

"I love you, too."

…

When Pyrrha finally emerged downstairs, she found Ren and Nora waiting in the sitting room, her mother preparing a light lunch at her own insistence, and Jaune outside calling Bar. According to Nora, Claire had sounded "really interested in something", and Pyrrha felt a pang of guilt at her little stunt this morning; in her sleep-addled state, she'd thought it rather funny. But, Jaune returned with his head still attached to his body, though far more pink than normal, and her mother emerged with a chicken soup to combat the winter's chill. She decided that the suspicious eye the woman kept on both herself and Jaune was excessive, though; really, did she think she was going to sit in his lap and feed him soup?

"Pyr" filed that idea away for a later date, but Jaune managed to save her from herself.

"So, I guess we need to go see the Headmistress today?" He asked his soup nervously. "To let her know we're going to Mistral?" Ren, Nora, and Thetis all looked to him quickly, while Pyrrha felt a strange mixture of pride and guilt.

"You're all coming along then?" Thetis inquired, checking with Pyrrha for assurances. She nodded hesitantly, and Thetis turned back to Jaune. "Well, I'm quite pleased to hear this, Jaune. I'd booked a berth on a ship leaving Vale at the end of the month, but I'm sure it won't be an issue to do the same for all of you." Her mother had visibly brightened at the news, and Jaune looked up from his meal. Where she had feared to see resignation, she saw determination: that same fire that burned in Jaune when they sparred.

"Thank, Thetis," he said lightly, "I appreciate the help." Her mother waved it off. "We'll need to let the staff know, though. I just got off the phone with my Mom, but my dad needs to know too." Her mother, blessedly, did not show any sign of anger at the mention of Nicholas Arc.

"Jaune, I understand perfectly: it takes time to get things like this in order! I have the day off, so if you need any help, I'll be available." She smiled politicly, expecting and receiving Jaune's polite decline. They spent some time discussing the timetable for their departure, plans for packing and provisioning, but JNPR rose to brave the day once they had finished eating. A snowstorm had blown in last night, leaving a fresh new layer on the ground, but their car arrived easily enough, and Pyrrha had her wonderfully warm jacket to keep away the chill.

The ride to the Beacon office wasn't an unpleasant one, but she took a hold of Jaune's hand, trying to soothe his tensions before a meeting he'd likely not enjoy. Nora laid out in no uncertain terms that Pyrrha had to take them on a food tour of Mistral the moment they arrived, and began to wax rhapsodic over the fabled food carts of her home kingdom. The sheer ridiculousness of it all kept them feeling upbeat.

A short wait in the lobby, and JNPR found themselves returned, for what felt like the millionth time, to Miss Goodwitch's line of stools. The older woman watched them expectantly, eager to know if she would have allies in her fight.

"Professor," Jaune began in his most commanding voice, "we'll do it."