Those of you who are still here, thanks for sticking with it, and apologies for the delays. Hopefully the wait was worthwhile


After what felt like several more hours, they were both beginning to tire. Jaune's brow was glistening with sweat, and Pyrrha figured she probably looked similar, her aura certainly felt like it was getting low. As they continued to spar, Pyrrha was finding it harder and harder to break through his guard.

It was like he had a near limitless supply of energy, and unlike previous training sessions he carried himself with a new edge of confidence that she hadn't seen before. She had to admit, she was enjoying this new side of him. As much as she loved Jaune's normal, goofy yet disarming boyish charm, something about his new found spark was both alluring and distracting.

There had also been a lot more joking and teasing in this sparring session than usual. It was as if there had been a weight on top of their relationship before, and now that it was lifted, all of the tension between them had vanished. It felt truly freeing, and she had to admit she was excited to see where their next chapter would now take them.

They came together again, sword parrying against spear, shield clashing against shield, their faces only narrowly separated. An idea suddenly came to Pyrrha that it would be fun to try and distract him with a bit of light hearted flirting. She stuck out her tongue at him, then slowly moved it around her lips in what she hoped was at least humorously seductive, finishing with an exaggerated wink. Jaune took the bait, his concentration flickered for a mere second and his arms softened, it was all she needed. She used this brief moment to batter his own shield back into his chest. He let out a low groan from the blow but then began chuckling, "Wow, low blow, you're not supposed to use your feminine powers for evil."

"Me? I would never do such a thing..." She flashed him a dangerous smirk and fluttered her eyelids innocently.

"How about a wager" he raised the tip his sword and pointed it at her, "If I can break through your guard, I get to kiss you again."

She couldn't tell if his face was now red from the sparring or from blushing but his grin went from ear to ear, clearly proud of himself for coming up with that line.

"That just sounds like you're trying to bribe me to let you win" she shot back, her smile equally matched to his, "but you've got yourself a deal."

His face was now serious, a stone wall of concentration. There would be no more joking around, he wanted to win his prize. As he edged around her, probing for any weakness in her guard, she found herself increasingly admiring his form and not paying attention to her own footwork. She feigned lowering Akouo slightly hoping to draw him out. As if on cue, he shifted his feet. She knew he was about to dash forwards at her, she had discovered he had a tell the last few times he had used this same move, the way he pointed his feet just before he dove forwards giving his plan away. She lowered her centre of gravity, ready to pivot to one side out of his path. She could see the determined look on his face, the excited look in his eye as he thought he'd found an opening. Those big, pretty blue eyes, Pyrrha thought to herself with a smirk, her big pretty blue eyes now. He darted forwards excitedly, silver blade of Crocea Mors whistling slightly as it sliced through the air. 'Sorry Jaune, not this time' she thought as she sprang sideways, twisting slightly and ready to counterattack with Milo as he passed her.

Or at least that's what she had planned. What she had missed, what Jaune had likely noticed and was so excited about, was that the same knot of grass that had felled him previously, was just behind her right foot. As she tried to dodge, her foot became entangled. Her pivoting motion combined with the force of their shields colliding twisted her ankle. She felt ligaments strain and an explosion of pain dart up her leg as she began to topple towards the ground. In a last-ditch attempt to steady herself she tried to reach out and grab Jaune's armour with her semblance, instead she managed to pull him off balance, Jaune falling over on top of her. The last of her aura kicking into over drive as it fought to minimise the tissue damage. Between her throbbing ankle, hitting the ground and Jaune's accidental body slam, Pyrrha lay on the grass shocked and winded.

Jaune quickly rolled off and began apologising profusely. "Oh god Pyr I'm so sorry, are you ok? I didn't mean to..." She lifted her hand to calm his ramblings, still unable to speak. The pain in her ankle was immense but the last of her aura had subdued it slightly. She lay there for a few moments, trying to steady her breathing and assess the damage. She felt slightly torn, wanting to praise him for his unorthodox but effective strategy, while also unsure how to deal with the unexpected wound to her pride. Sure, she had been tired, she had been distracted, but she didn't really know what to make of Jaune knocking her down in combat for the first time ever, no matter how much his plan had hinged purely on luck. She shook her head, she had let herself get distracted, and he had seized his advantage, as much as she wanted to lessen the blow to her ego, she could only blame herself here.

Not liking where this train of thought was taking her, she decided to try and brush it off. "It's fine, I'm ok" she tried to put on a brave face.

"Are you sure? I'm sorry I landed on you. I guess I got a little carried away."

She could see the concern written all over his face, mingled with what looked like guilt. Despite the pain she was in, it was nice to see how much he cared. Jaune Arc, his faults aside, of which she noticed less and less each day, had an enormous, caring heart for those around him. Not wanting to play the victim, she tried to stand and laugh it off. The second she tried put weight on her foot though, a fresh spasm of pain shot up her body. She tried to cover her wince with an unconvincing smile, he saw right through it.

Jaune stood up quickly bedside her, grabbing her arm instinctively to try and take her weight. "Pyr, ever since you pinned me to that tree with Milo, you've always been my hero. But sometimes even the hero needs to let those around her help out."

He delivered the line with such a stoic passion, god he was a dork sometimes. She looked at his face, intending to give him a hard time for such a cheesy speech but god he was so dreamy right now. She couldn't tell if it was it the tendon damage or the thought of him caring for her but she felt weak at the knees.

As if on cue, sensing her about to fall over again, he carefully swept her legs out from underneath her, picking her up in his arms. Instinctively she put her arms around his neck, pulling herself close to his chest, her head nuzzled comfortably in the crook of his neck. "We should probably get you back to the tower" he said without looking down, "I'm sure a nice cup of Ren's famous tea will help."

Scooping up their weapons and shields in his free hand, he slung them across his back and began the slow trudge back up to Beacon. Pyrrha could see the bulge in his torso and arm muscles as he carried her with seemingly little effort. As their skin touched, she felt a familiar wave of energy run through her, it was the same sensation she had experience when they had kissed earlier. It felt like her aura was being super charged. She couldn't help but let out another slight hum of delight as the energy surged through her body.

As they began their slow march back up through the forest, the sun was beginning to set, the sky had taken on a pinkish orange hue. Under different circumstances Pyrrha would have been fawning over the stunning vista, but right now her eyes were transfixed elsewhere. As if on cue, Jaune looked down at her, a dopey grin splitting how face. "God you look so beautiful right now Pyr".

"Shut up, I must look like a mess" she replied a blush rivaling her previous efforts rising in her cheeks.

"Yeah but you're a cute mess" he teased back with his dorky grin "and you're my mess."

That last line gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest, they were together now, she was his and he was hers. "This isn't exactly how I saw this day going when I suggested we go outside and train" she said, "but adding it all up, I wouldn't change a thing." Bending forward slightly, he gently kissed her forehead. She nuzzled her head back into his neck and let out a sigh of contentment, she was so happy to have him in her life.

The further they walked, the more Pyrrha felt her aura replenish, she'd never felt it recharge this quickly before. The throbbing in her ankle had begun to subside as her body healed itself. They passed through the front gates into Beacon's grounds just as night was beginning to fall. Pyrrha could see the strain and exhaustion in Jaune's face through the Twilight. It seemed to be more than just the normal exhaustion from their training sessions though, his face looked weary and drained.

Suddenly all the pieces lined up for Pyrrha, it all made sense now. She raised her head to look him in the eyes, "Jaune, have you been using your aura to somehow charge mine?" It came out as more of an accusation than she'd intended. She could tell he felt uncomfortable about her revelation.

"Well, yeah, ahhhhh... I don't really know how it works yet... But well... When I'm close to someone I feel like I can sense their aura interacting with mine, and I guess I can push some of my energy into theirs?"

He had been draining himself to try to help her heal, all the while carrying her and both of their gear. She was both appreciative that he would drain his own aura to heal her and mortified knowing that he had weakened himself so much for her. "It's feeling a little better now, I can probably try walking again?" she suggested tentatively, not really sure she was ready for Jaune to let go of her yet.

"Yeah, you probably could, but I'm enjoying carrying you too much" he replied, though his face was tired, his smile was genuine.

"Alright, but please conserve what's left of your energy for yourself, I'll be fine." She felt a little guilty for not arguing the point more, but there was something just so comforting about her current position in his arms.

"Jaune?"

"Yes?" he was looking down at her again.

"Thanks." "For what?" he looked perplexed.

"Thanks for everything, thanks for being you, and thanks for being there for me and taking care of me" she whispered. He positively beamed at her, tightening his grip as he carried her.

"I'll always be there for you Pyr." Then adding with a wink, "Dont forget, you still owe me a kiss". She pulled herself slightly closer and kissed his neck, then sighed contently and lent back against his chest. Despite wounding both her pride and her ankle, this had to have been one of the best days of her life.


I went for maximum fluff. Is it too much? Maybe, thats for you to decide, but I thoroughly enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it too.