It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Despite what some might have believed, Pyrrha was a seventeen-year-old girl. She had had thoughts about love and romance before, they just never seemed all that important. What girl didn't fantasize about finding something special? What girl didn't indulge in occasional dreams of a heart-stopping smile and smooth confidence.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Her 'prince charming' wore a onesie for Oum's sake.

Contrary to what her friends (Yang) seemed to think, it had not been love at first sight. She'd just… created an opportunity. She was a champion, four-time champion in fact, breaking through an enemy's defense was drilled into her very bones. In the ring, you either capitalized on a mistake… or you made one. Her Semblance made that easy enough, a change to the angle of a strike here, a shift in armor there, but she was no one-trick pony; She'd been drilled for years in the art of combat even before she'd fully incorporated her natural gift into her style. Granted, this particular 'opportunity' had been more social than combat based, but she had been desperate. She hadn't even made it through a day at Beacon before the whispers started. Her potential classmates had, in her experience, fallen into one of two categories. Most had simply stared at her from afar, like some kind of exotic animal in a cage. Impressed, intimidated, but most certainly not friendly. Those people had compared themselves to her and found themselves lacking, cutting her off from them as effectively as the steel bars of an enclosure.

Weiss had been different, but not necessarily better.

The heiress hadn't been too afraid to seek her out, but she'd only been interested in The Champion: The four-time tournament sweeper, the prodigy, the goddess of victory. She hadn't been interested in the girl that hid underneath. Pyrrha, however, hadn't had a glut of options so she'd simply given the other girl a practiced smile through a cracked mask of nonchalance.

Then he'd bumbled his way into her life. She had to confess that she hadn't been too impressed. He was… clumsy, disturbingly so for a prospective huntsman, a boy desperately trying to pretend to be a man. She had been able to tell at a glance that he wasn't anything impressive. He wore his armor as if unused to it, and she could tell by the way he was constantly shifting his balance that he'd yet to grow accustomed to the weight of the weapon on his side. She'd nearly written him off as just another incorrigible flirt desperately trying (and failing) to get a notch on his bedpost… except… He was trying so hard. Trying to be confident, trying to be interesting, trying desperately to get them to just look at him. It… resonated with her in a weird way. Pyrrha was always working to be tame, nonthreatening, normal. She didn't raise her voice, was unfailingly courteous, and kept a polite smile on her face at all times. This boy struck her as the opposite. Where she tried to hide her excellence, he struggled to push past his normalcy. There was something inspiring about that; Something she almost missed by not reading any deeper, and she would have had he not brushed her off without even a hint of interest. It was rather intriguing to meet someone who'd lump her fame in with that of a cartoon character… especially since she had the feeling he would have been more interested in her were she actually associated with one.

Then Weiss had opened her mouth and she'd thought the girl had ruined it all. "Do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?"

She was fortunate. No one seemed to notice the way her brows lowered, the momentary hurt that flashed through her eyes, the sadness that crept in as the boy slumped in defeat. "I guess not… sorry." He'd said, his voice defeated, and Pyrrha had somehow known that that had been his expectation from the beginning. That he'd known what was coming, and yet mustered up the courage to try anyway. He was so… so legitimate. At least when the mask fell and the boy beneath came to the surface.

She'd moved without thinking, wanting to say something, anything, she laid a gentle hand on his shoulder to get his attention and said something she wasn't really sure she meant: "Actually Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader." The words carried a slight edge, one she was certain the haughty heiress missed, but the boy's reaction was immediate. Eyes like saucers had blinked at her for a baffled moment before a goofy grin had spread across his face.

"D'oh, stop it!" He'd gasped, clasping his hands in front of him. He'd known. Despite her speaking skills, despite privately thinking he would never notice, he'd known she was just saying things. It was in his voice, in the very words he spoke, but she could tell he'd appreciated someone professing to believe in him anyway. Like he was so unused to it that even simple lip-service was a big deal to him.

Why?

Her words had had a reaction, just not necessarily the one she would have preferred. The mask of confidence was clumsily pulled back on, and she'd ended up nailing him to the wall when his overeager attempts to recruit Weiss had gone on long enough.

"It was nice meeting you." She'd said politely as she'd pulled Miló out of the wall with her semblance.

She'd expected him to be silent, cowed by her actions, or perhaps even angry but unwilling to show it. Instead, he'd surprised her again. "Likewise." He'd said with a sigh. No anger, no disappointment aimed at her or the prickly girl beside her. Once again, it was like he'd expected it from the beginning. The only person he was upset with was himself.

That had given her pause, enough of one to catch the words he spoke to Ruby when she'd helped him up: "I don't understand… My dad said all women look for is confidence. Where did I go wrong?"

The mask had fallen again, revealing the boy beneath who struggled to comprehend, but he'd stood up anyway with help and hobbled off.

Pyrrha had taken longer to leave. She'd thought at the time that she'd been reading too far into things, but something about him had drawn her attention. The way he'd so clearly stepped out of his comfort zone, tried to be something he most distinctly was not, even going so far as to try again immediately as soon as he'd failed. She had respected that… sort of.

They had called Pyrrha a prodigy back at Sanctum and that had been no misnomer. She excelled at the art of combat and while she'd put no end of blood, sweat, and tears into her training, she'd seen results. Results that had driven her to continue moving forward.

Pyrrha believed in destiny, in fate. That's what kept her moving, what kept her training and fighting and growing.

It also held her back.

If she had to admit to any weakness, it would (ironically) be the sin of sloth (She could practically hear Nora protesting the negative use of that word already). She was too passive, too willing to let the chips fall where they may when it came to fixing what she struggled with. She believed in destiny and so believed that fate had something in store for her, flaws and all.

Her social life was a rather glaring example of the phenomenon.

She'd fled Mistral, choosing Beacon over Haven in hopes of growing past the crushing pressure her fame had put on her shoulders, but as soon as the whispers had started she'd clammed up again with that same showman's smile.

At heart, she'd realized in her own unique way she was a quitter. She'd been blessed with talent, and while she'd worked hard to harness it, she'd put little of the same effort into ironing out her flaws. When Pyrrha ran into a brick wall she tended to pack up and head back to safer haunts.

She had the feeling Jaune would bash his head against it until it crumbled, or, more likely, until he was a bloody smear on the bricks. A little unfair of her to think at the time perhaps, but she had pinned him to the wall awfully easily.

She'd look back on having that thought later and blush.

Perhaps someone like Weiss would have called him foolish, but she admired the tenacity to fight fate. Combine that with his utter lack of reaction to her and she felt she couldn't be blamed for her flicker of interest.

Jaune had seen her as a person and treated her like anyone else. Oh, he was suitably impressed with her mascot gig (of all things), but he'd been far from starstruck.

Perhaps that was the reason a tiny, mutinous portion of her mind had whispered the words that would later damn her.

If I had to choose a teammate… I don't think I'd mind it too much if it were him.

/*/

In all fairness, she blamed that part of her mind for what happened next.

Maybe it was all the talk about how important it was to be paired with someone she could work well with, maybe it was the shock of hearing that whoever she locked eyes with would be the one who'd be her partner for the next four years, maybe it was the fact that she'd been placed on the launchpad directly beside Weiss of all people.

To put it delicately: Pyrrha had panicked. She'd panicked hard.

Looking back, she was actually pretty thankful that Jaune had had no landing strategy whatsoever. His desperate flailing as they fell together after being launched off the cliffs of Beacon had made it difficult to perform a rescue, but it had given her the excuse she'd needed to leap into action. She'd turned a few trees into kindling when she'd smashed through them on her way down, Akoúo̱ and her Aura allowing her to take the impacts in stride until she'd bled enough speed to funnel the rest into a roll across one final tree branch. She'd barely taken the time to think, but she had taken the time to properly aim and maintain her form for the second throw in one day that would nail the boy in place by his hoodie.

She'd found him a few minutes later, after ducking out of sight to avoid locking eyes with the heiress (Seriously, was someone out to get her or something?). Fortunately for her, said heiress took one look at Jaune as he desperately tried to pull the spear free and turned tail to claim Ruby instead.

The blonde's dejection at the rejection had been palpable, and she'd been unable to hide the teasing tone that crept into her voice as she'd stepped out to look up at him with crossed arms. "Do you… have any spots left on your team?"

"Very funny." The boy had grouched, crossing his own arms and pouting. She'd not needed to worry, because the soft smile he'd sent her way immediately afterwards showed his gratitude.

It had also made her heart skip a beat (No Yang, not for that reason!).

She couldn't remember the last time someone had spoken to her like that, like she wasn't some untouchable being on a pedestal or a talent waiting to be exploited. Jaune's tone had contained none of the awe or hunger she'd come to expect from those around her, and it was so wonderfully refreshing.

When was the last time someone had acted like a friend would?

When was the last time she'd had a friend?

She'd been utterly unable to hide the way her eyes narrowed in excitement, nor the pleased expression that crept across her features.

Discovering his utter lack of knowledge about anything Aura related had been a rather telling setback, but she'd rolled with it well enough. She'd figured that you could teach to assuage ignorance, but it was nearly impossible to fix a bad personality.

She hadn't had to look much further than the interaction that lead to that discovery to get an example of that. Gunfire had rung out in the distance and she'd moved ahead without a thought of consideration for the partner behind her. Used to working alone, she'd simply pushed a branch out of her way and let it snap back without a moment's thought.

Even if he'd possessed Aura, it would have been a stupid mistake. She'd attempted to justify her surprise at the time; Wondered why he hadn't used his Aura to block the blow or heal his wound. But… even if he'd possessed the power, why would he have concentrated it in her direction?

It hadn't been much of an attack, but she'd still carelessly let a blow land on someone who'd trusted her to take point. Even if he'd had Aura, it would have still been a foolish mistake. Should she have expected him not to be upset? Perfectly fine with wasting some of the precious energy to block or heal an injury caused by a branch she let hit him?

Stupid.

Careless.

So of course the first thing he'd done was try and reassure her. Of course the first thing he'd think to do when he found himself flat on his rear and bleeding from a cut across half his face had been to laugh it off as 'just a scratch'. The thought that she might have been at fault never even crossed his mind.

Maybe that's why she'd been so forgiving of his lack of knowledge. Maybe that's why she was willing to unlock the power of his soul with her own.

She'd… she'd never done that before. Never reached out to tap into the spirit of another. She was grateful for Jaune's ignorance at that moment, he never seemed to realize just how personal her actions had been. Her Aura had served as the spark that would light the blaze that would protect him, and while she hadn't lied when she'd told him that the energy protecting him was his own, her touch remained on his soul.

She didn't think Jaune ever realized what that moment had meant. By the time his Aura had burst into radiance like a shining star, she'd already been retracting her own. If she hadn't, perhaps he would have had the same opportunity to peek into her soul as she had his.

Pyrrha's soul was red. Red like her hair, like the rust that fell from the metals her Semblance held dominion over. Red like the blood she'd spilled in her training, red like the pulse that pounded in her brain during a competition. Red like victory, hard won and well fought.

Jaune's was the purest white. If you'd asked the Pyrrha of just minutes before she unlocked it, she would have hypothesized that it represented his innocence. That Pyrrha would have expected to find all the power of a little lost lamb. Only enough to buy him the time he needed for the shepherd to step in.

That Pyrrha would have been wrong.

If Pyrrha's Aura was like a bonfire, tall and blazing with pride and righteous fury, Jaune's was a star. She hadn't been prepared for the sheer pull of the hungry fire within him, greedily drinking her Aura like a plant starved for water and kick-starting an explosion of energy that dwarfed even her own. Her soul was focused, sharpened to a razor's edge and hammered into crystalline perfection. His was clumsy and all-encompassing, like warm sunlight on your face on a quiet summer day. Gentle and kind; Honest and oh so clumsy, but undeniably him. An outer shell of gentle warmth with an inner core of white-hot determination and a hunger to prove himself.

When she'd stumbled back from him his voice had been concerned, afraid even, as he'd called her name in alarm. She'd reassured him immediately that she was fine, but she'd had the strangest impression that he'd have traded her gift back to her without a second thought if she'd harmed herself giving it.

She hadn't known how to process that, or the look of wonder and gratitude on his face when he'd stared down at his glowing hands in quiet amazement, so she hadn't. They'd moved on and if he'd noticed her distraction, he'd kept it to himself. She'd been grateful for that at the time, letting him take the lead.

Not her best decision. The soul was a nebulous thing, shifting and changing even if some things stayed constant. She'd seen the soul of a warrior in him, a leader, but that certainly didn't mean he had been either of those things at the time.

His girlish scream when they'd encountered the Deathstalker in the cave he'd lead them into proved that rather handily.

Said Deathstalker throwing Jaune across half the Emerald Forest hadn't been ideal. It had, however, given them the chance to link up with the other initiates and actually find the relic they'd been searching for in the first place; So Pyrrha had accepted it as a necessary evil.

Perhaps that's when Pyrrha first saw the signs of the man he would become.

Days, perhaps even months after the events of that day Pyrrha knew Jaune would question why he out of all people was chosen to lead what would become team JNPR. She knew he thought it was just dumb luck or, if he was having a good day, he'd attribute it to the plan he'd come up with the defeat the Deathstalker once it chased them down.

He'd be half right, of course, but Pyrrha had been there. She'd seen it, even then, even if Jaune himself hadn't.

It was always in the little things. The way he took command without even realizing it. The way he was the first to step off after retrieving the relic, beckoning them to follow him even as he ran after Ruby.

She'd once been told by her instructors that a good general should be the first to retreat. She'd attributed that to cowardice at first, but she'd seen the truth in those words that day. A strong man fought to the end, but a wise leader was aware of the impact he had on those around him. To order those that care about you to flee while you stayed behind was unfair. At times necessary, but no less cruel. A wise leader knew that if they wanted their people to get to safety they needed to lead them there themselves. True subordinates followed their commanders lead, but only if they were there to lead them.

Jaune led them. When the Nevermore collapsed the bridge, splitting their group in half and leaving them trapped between a sheer drop and the pincers of the enraged Deathstalker, he brought Nora back to help. Well, Nora brought him, but it was his idea to return.

Slaying the Deathstalker had certainly given him the right to lead, but Pyrrha felt it was the care he showed that solidified it. When the massive scorpion-Grimm had destabilized what remained of their footing, he'd been the only one to warn the others of the risk. Sure, they'd all known, but none of the others had made sure of it. Jaune hadn't moved from the collapsing walkway until he'd been certain they were all moving to safety.

It was odd, paradoxical even, how observant he could be at times.

He'd stood against the massive creature of darkness with little more than a sword, some bits of too-small armor and an Aura not even an hour old, and yet his mind hadn't frozen in fear. He'd adapted, and while his movements had still been clumsy, he'd made up for his inexperience with raw determination.

She wasn't sure how else he could have stopped the swing of a multi-ton monster with just a shield and not even flinched.

She'd been able to tell that he'd had little practice using his weapon, but he still had the courage to fight side-by-side with her, and when he'd gotten knocked on his rear for the trouble he'd used the moment to analyze the situation rather than despair. The idea he'd come up with had been by no means a brilliant scheme. The pieces had been there, Ren had made sure of that. If anything it was his lightning-fast problem solving while getting the stuffing beaten out of him that had impressed her and, she suspected, Ozpin.

Cutting through a damaged limb wasn't a novel idea, nor was hitting a nail with a hammer. Quickly analyzing changing battlefield situations, allied skillsets, weapons, abilities, and mindsets to use your people in the most efficient way possible in just a matter of seconds? That was impressive. It had been a deceptively simple solution, but it was rare to find people capable of critical thinking while quite literally faced with death from both sides.

A diamond in the rough, she'd thought as her partner was declared leader of the newly formed team JNPR much later. The young man she'd expected so little of had more than proven himself to her, and she'd smiled wider than she could remember having done in years. Not even knocking her new leader to the ground with an excited shoulder-punch had been enough to prevent her from beaming for long.

And that's how it had all started. A panicked decision based off a single interaction. A hastily made partnership designed for her convenience. Yet as she stepped off the stage, Nora chattering up a storm with Ren bearing patient witness, Pyrrha couldn't stop her eyes from being drawn to the blonde boy beside her. He laughed at something Nora said, pulling her attention to him as he asked her and the quiet boy she walked with a question that got her voice raising a few octaves in excitement. Pyrrha couldn't help the sad little smile that played out across her features at the way he so quickly ingratiated themselves to their new teammates. She wished she could be just as carelessly open.

That sad smile dissolved into a silent 'o' as he seamlessly pulled her into the conversation, introducing her not as Pyrrha The Champion, but as the 'best darn partner a guy could ask for.'.

She'd blinked and looked away, face inexplicably hot as relieved tears gathered in the corners of her vision. Thankfully, her teammates didn't notice as Nora quickly claimed Ren to be 'The best darn teammate a girl could ask for. Tellingly, Jaune didn't disagree.

It was somehow as simple as that. Neither Nora nor Ren asked her about her victories, her persona. She wasn't even sure that they knew, but they'd surely seen her skill in their fight against the Deathstalker. Still, as Jaune continued to treat her casually, even going so far as to playfully nudge her with his elbow while complaining loudly to the team about her knocking him down in front of so many people, she felt the whispers that had haunted her footsteps diminish. She was just a normal girl to him. One that he respected and admired for sure, but he saw past that to the girl beneath. He treated her like a friend and Ren and Nora, whether they realized it or not, followed his lead.

She'd expected to find herself on a team that walked on eggshells around her, but Jaune never even gave that a chance to happen. As the days went on, he was somehow always there to push her out of her trained formality whenever she slipped back into it. Ready with a joke or awkward quip whenever she fell back into polite stiffness, always prepared to drag her into the conversation when her first instinct was to hang back and observe. He never gave her the opportunity to isolate herself, something she hadn't even realized she'd been doing, and she was all but certain that he wasn't even aware of it.

The awkward dunce (to borrow Weiss' turn of phrase) likely had no idea the good he was doing for her. It was just in his nature to include his friends in the conversation, just as it was evidently in hers to step back from it for fear of making things awkward for someone. To make matters worse, she was convinced that there was nothing she could do to convince him of this. She'd seen it in his soul: He didn't just lack confidence in his abilities, but in himself. She'd never be able to convince him that he was helping her because if talking to his friends came naturally to Jaune Arc, it must be just as easy for Pyrrha Nikos. He'd never believe that he could be better than her at something, and not even because of her titles, because he just looked down on himself that much.

Humble, generous, kind, and hard on himself to a fault.

He looked up at her from the book he'd been groaning over where they'd been studying in the library and begged her for a break, which she refused out of hand. He moaned piteously, called her a ruthless task master, but obediently kept reading even as he shot her a goofy smile to let her know he didn't mean it.

Growing, slow and steady as a seedling pushing its way through the fertile earth. She'd told him once that he had potential and he'd scoffed. 'Everybody's got potential.' He'd said, 'I'd rather trade that in for some skill here and now.'

Stubborn, ignorant, clumsy, awkward.

He'd introduced her to Ruby by having her demonstrate her mecha-shift weaponry. The girl had promptly forgotten how nervous she was to talk to The Champion, and eagerly spent an hour comparing notes on the creation of their respective 'babies'. Weiss noted the interaction, and promptly offered to lend an ear should Pyrrha ever need help dealing with 'that dolt'. She never took the heiress up her up on the offer, but they swapped stories about their chaotic teammates every now and then. Even Yang managed to look past her excitement over pitting herself against The Invincible Girl to tease and rib Pyrrha like anyone else. Mostly over her perceived overreliance on a certain blonde boy.

She'd feared at first that Nora's boundless energy would eventually become grating but having Ren (and on occasion Jaune) present kept the girl's spirit contained. Besides, Pyrrha quickly came to love the bubbly bomber's passionate approach to life. Nora found ways to make every day new and exciting, even if she woke them up far too early on occasion. Ren was quiet, but wise and patient beyond his years. He'd said once that it was an adaptation to survive, but Pyrrha could see the gentle affection dancing in his eyes even as Nora objected loudly.

She'd forgotten what it was like to have friends.

She would die before she lost that again.

Mistral may have been where she came from, Beacon may have been where she lived, but Team JNPR was her home.

Ren was the brains and patience that tempered them. Nora was the raw passion and energy that kept them going. Pyrrha herself was the skill and muscle that pushed them through.

And Jaune? Jaune was the heart of their team. Even if he didn't realize it, even if he didn't see it.

She didn't have to look far to see who she owed her new life to. She didn't have to think hard to figure out who glued them all together, who made her a part of their home.

Every friend she'd made, she had because of him. Because he'd treated her like everyone else, because he'd included her, because he'd made her seem approachable and pushed everyone together.

Because he'd seen Pyrrha where everyone else had been blinded by The Champion.

Jaune's head shot up when Ruby zipped into the library to ask if they were interested in a two-team movie night, and the expression he gave her from over his textbook was nothing short of pleading. She tried for a moment to stand firm but when he desperately pointed out that team activities strengthened their bonds, she found her resolve slipping. She didn't allow him to see it of course, not even when Nora agreed with him explosively and coincidently flung her textbook across the room in her eagerness to escape. It was only when Ren gave her a small, conspiratorial smile and a shrug that seemed to say: 'what can you do?' that she finally let the wide grin slip out.

Jaune and Nora loudly cheered the 'end of tyranny', the blond quickly organizing a plan of action which included the snacks and beverages they'd need and where to get them. Yet another thing he never seemed to notice he did for them.

Pyrrha had watched in amusement, happy to be carried along in her team's enthusiasm, only to freeze when Jaune planted one foot on a chair and boldly (dorkily) commanded them onwards.

It had been pure coincidence; His eyes had simply drifted over them all in turn, naturally coming to rest on her. He shrugged, giving her that same goofy grin, soft and kind and earnest.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Oh no.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.