Pyrrha Reacts to Yuletide Dances, Part 4!

A/N: Welcome, one and all, to the next terrible and awfully-written instalment of Weiss Reacts! Yes, I WAS cheeky enough (by that, I meant that it would make no sense for it to end in three parts or it would feel rushed) to make it a four parter! Hahahahaha!

I take absolutely no responsibility for any disappointment caused by this chapter, either. I also look forward to drinking your tears, whether they be of joy or frustration. Or sadness. I like tears either way, they taste ALL the more sweeter after a long chapter. Let's get on with this chapter!

DISCLAIMER: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, otherwise Jaune and Pyrrha would've hooked up by now so we could all move on with our lives. (Credit to He who is AWESOME for this disclaimer joke.)

All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.

Jaune was stunned to see his dates for the Dance, at any rate.

'…..whoa.' The knight exclaimed mentally, but his face said it all; his mouth was slightly agape, and his eyes were wide in surprise.

He never realised how beautiful Pyrrha looked in a dress before.

Her crimson hair was loose around her shoulders, falling as a curtain behind her head, shimmering in the light of the moon. Her normally calm face was flushed red, her cool green eyes regarding him with confidence, despite her internal fear at this state of affairs. The boy had never realised before, too, how perfect her body was; its perfection was laid bare to him through the contours of her clothes.

Her black dress, glittering with silver specks, clung tightly to her figure, emphasising everything that might be loved. It was clear that her figure was a mixture of lean muscle and curves from just appearance, and though the school idolised the likes of Winter and Yang, Jaune could see Pyrrha was no slouch herself in that arena.

Speaking of Winter, of course, she was not to be held underneath Pyrrha in that regard. Her own normally loose ivory hair was now tied in a long, elegant ponytail, forming a shimmering line of pearl down the back of her head. Her dress was as white as the driven snow, with the only decoration a simple edelweiss flower.

Her figure was fuller than Pyrrha's, as could be seen from the contours of her dress, but there was no doubting that Winter was every bit as fit as her comrade, and her figure was every bit a mix of curves and muscle as her's was. She had a light smile on her face as she stared at Jaune with her cool grey eyes.

"Hello, Jaune." The lady greeted him. "….oh my. You seem….surprised."

"Jaune?" Pyrrha waved her hand in front of him. "…..hello?"

The knight blinked, shaking his head as he looked away from both girls, trying not to look back at them.

"I-I wasn't staring!" Jaune protested, shaking his head vigorously. "I-I mean…um….do you….wanna….get…dance?"

He offered them his hands, one to each. Both girls took one gracefully, and he guided them to the dancing area, visibly nervous.

From afar, Cinder, Yang and Weiss watched them. Cinder herself was in a small, red flame-patterned dress, as she liked to wear, while Yang was in a very skimpy dress that left little to the imagination, with Weiss in a conservative ivory gown.

The pyromancer grinned knowingly. "See? He's going to pull a Taiyang."

"…..you realise that my mom was in love with Ruby's mom AND my dad, right?" The brawler pointed out. "I don't exactly think Miss Spartan and Lady Snow over here are going to be happy to share the guy they want with each other."
"It'll work out." Cinder shrugged. "It always does."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Have you considered you might be wrong? We heard it best, Professor. Winter and Pyrrha both want Jaune for themselves. They're not going to share."

"…what a pity." Cinder sighed, shaking her head. "…I was hoping they would."

"And why would you hope that?" The heiress inquired.

"…..because if you've got a love triangle like this, you always have a loser." The pyromancer explained, taking a sip from a glass of wine she was holding. "….and when you have a loser, that loser either goes crazy with jealousy…..or breaks down in tears and gets all heartbroken.

I obviously want the best for you guys, so I kinda want you guys to be happy. Of course….I know it might not be possible, but a woman can dream, right?"
Cinder's tone as she said that sounded with the vaguest hint of bitterness. Weiss ignored it, shrugging, but filing it away as future information.

"…we can only hope. Say, Yang, where did Pyrrha even get the dress?"

"I made it." Yang stated simply.

The heiress narrowed her eyes. "You're lying."
"You're saying I couldn't make a dress that pretty if I wanted?"
"With what?"
"I had a spare dress I never used in my drawer, and I always used to repair Ruby's cape for her. A girl builds up sewing skills when they have to take care of a younger sibling." The brawler pointed out. "I didn't make it from scratch….but I say I'm a little proud of my handiwork."

Weiss smiled. "Heh. So it is. I still hope this all turns out better than it looks like it will."

"…yeah." Yang nodded, her own pride dissipating. "Me too.

Let's just try to enjoy the dance, no?"
"I suppose." The heiress sighed. Before she could move, however, her hand was grabbed by Ruby, who was in a sharp black suit of her own.

"Hey! What-"
"Let's dance let's dance let's daaaance!" The reaper called and grabbed both of her girlfriend's arms excitedly.

"D-don't drag me around so quickly, Ruby! Y-you dunce!" The heiress snapped. "Ruby!"

Yang chuckled to herself as the heiress was dragged away, shaking her head.

'…..hah. If only Blake would show….' The brawler mused, somewhat sadly. '…..ah. Well. You don't get everything you wish for.'

Meanwhile, with Jaune, Pyrrha and Winter….

"…I suppose….um…would you…into….dancing?" Jaune inquired nervously, barely managing to avoid staring at either Pyrrha or Winter.

They really were beautiful.

'…and Weiss and Yang are watching.' Jaune sighed, shaking his head. 'If I don't treat Pyrrha nicely, then Yang will kill me, and if I snub Winter….Weiss will never let me hear the end of it.

….Dust help me.'

Pyrrha frowned. "Jaune? Is everything alright?"

"You look…..concerned." Winter noted. The knight shook his head, his eyes peering to wherever he'd spotted Weiss and Yang prior, before realising the pair had vanished from sight.

'…..huh. Where'd they go?'

The spearmaiden frowned. "….so, who will have the first dance with Jaune?"
"I insist you have it, Miss Pyrrha." Winter offered kindly. "Please."
"I….I can't just take such kindness so easily, Winter." Pyrrha responded. "Please, have the first dance. I insist."
"No, please. I offer it to you."
"I see your offer, and I respond by asking that you take it up for yourself."

Jaune sighed. "Or we can settle this with a coin flip." He whipped out a small circular one-Lien chit. "Since you're the first to-"

"Oh, this is silly." Cinder suddenly interjected, pushing Jaune towards Winter first. "There. Problem solved."
"Professor Fall!" The knight cried, trying not to crash into the lady. "That's not-"
"It's fine, Jaune." Pyrrha reassured him. "Please. Have your dance with her first. I can wait."

"…..are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Please. I would not like Winter to be disappointed."

Cinder sighed. "If you guys aren't going to solve the problem yourselves, I'm going to."

"What's that supposed to mean-" The knight inquired, but the pyromancer had already strolled halfway through the crowd, with an irritated-looking Roman being dragged by his collar behind her. He sighed exasperatedly. 'You're kidding me.'

Winter smiled at him softly. "…..well, I suppose we are to dance, Jaune."

"Just, uh…..be warned. I'm not that good at dancing." Jaune admitted, offering her his hand. Pyrrha shook her head, recalling the many times she had had the pleasure of dancing with him.

"That is fine. I am…..not as good at dancing as I would like to be either, despite the classes I have taken." The lady reassured him, before looking to Pyrrha. "You are….okay, with this?"
"…I am." The spearmaiden nodded slowly, after a few moments' hesitation. "…Jaune, I hope you enjoy yourself."
"….Pyrrha-"
"Please." She nodded, giving him a small- if somewhat forced- smile.

Winter gave her a brief, apologetic glance, before taking Jaune's hand and strolling off to the dance floor.

'…..even if this is the last time I will dance with Jaune, I must take this chance.' The lady resolved. 'No, I mustn't think like that! This won't be the last time. I will be closer to Jaune, I know it.'

The knight wrapped his other arm around her waist, looking a little embarrassed. "…..I'm a little rusty."
"As am I. This will be a learning experience for us both." Winter responded with a slightly mischievous smile.

…..

With a step in sync to start, Jaune and Winter began to dance.

They were, by all accounts, not bad, despite their claimed ineptitude. At least, they made less fools of themselves than certain others whose names need not be mentioned.

Winter looked around, managing to steer them away from bumping into another couple. "Careful, Jaune."
"…..thanks." Jaune responded somewhat distractedly. "…..you're not bad, you know."
"Neither are you. I should ask you to dance with me more often." The lady requested a little hopefully. "Maybe you could teach me."
"I'm not a good teacher." The knight responded jovially. "It's been a while since I danced, anyway."

"I would like to get closer to you." Winter shrugged. "It is no great cost to me if you are no great teacher."

Jaune blushed slightly. "Uh…..yeah. Yeah."

All around them, the floor was alive with dancing couples. Ruby and Weiss were happily slowly dancing to the music, while Nora and Ren- mainly Nora- were attempting to tapdance to the music, with Ren being dragged along for the former's tapdancing.

Even Blake had shown up, and judging by Yang's elated expression as they danced, the brawler was more than pleased with her presence. Of course, then they were busy laughing as Ruby suddenly dipped Weiss close to the floor and took the opportunity to kiss her on the lips as she did.

All these couples were happy, and Jaune and Winter were enjoying themselves.

And yet, the knight found himself constantly drawn back to Pyrrha, leaning by one of the tables. Every time he looked up, she seemed to give him a small smile and wave, but he swore that every time he glanced away, she looked down and her smile faded once more.

'I can't. No.' Jaune sighed. 'Pyrrha….I can't disappoint her. Not again. This isn't the first time.'

Winter tilted her head. "Is…..something wrong?"
"…..no." The knight shook his head. '…..Pyrrha, I'm…'

"…..I understand." The lady nodded slowly to him. "….it is Miss Pyrrha's turn to dance with you, after all."
"You do?"
"Of course." Winter gave him a curt nod. "I cannot be, as they say, 'pigging' you all night."
"Hogging, Winter."
"That. I cannot simply take you all for myself. Please, dance with her. I insist." Winter relinquished him and turned him towards Pyrrha. "…..I need a rest, anyway."

"Thanks for the dance." Jaune nodded to her with a smile and began slowly walking towards the spearmaiden.

Winter nodded back, smiling as he walked and turned away.

He didn't notice her smile fade the moment he turned his back wholly on her.

Pyrrha toyed with a strand of her hair, looking down.

Thus far, the night had been somewhat sub-par. She had hoped to have Jaune to herself, and Professor Fall had insisted they go together. She had hoped to have the first dance, and Winter had been given it; she'd allowed it, but out of politeness. The spearmaiden was now forced to watch every other couple, whether existing or new or soon-to-be, enjoy themselves dancing.

As clichéd and immature as it seemed, she was a little jealous. She'd wanted this night to be with the person she loved the most, and she was spending it sitting on the sidelines, watching the boy she loved dance with her romantic rival.

In any case, it was not a nice night for her thus far.

'Not everything is perfect.' Pyrrha mused with a hint of bitterness. '….I shouldn't have had such high expectations-'

"Hey, Pyrrha."

The spearmaiden snapped out of her brooding. "…Jaune?"
"Yeah. Winter needed a break." The knight explained, offering her his hand. "…..I'm really sorry."
"What…..why?"
"You looked all….disappointed, and I wanted to make sure you're fine. You're sure you were okay with me dancing with Winter?" He inquired.

"Perfectly."

"…..Pyrrha." Jaune softly called her name. "It's fine if you're not.

If it helps, I….I couldn't stop looking at you to make sure you were okay, alright?"

Pyrrha stared at him in surprise. "You were concerned about me?"
"…..what kind of a….friend….would I be if I wasn't?" Jaune responded. "Now…..would you like to dance?"

'…I'm not even sure if I can call Pyrrha a 'friend'. She's….I know I feel differently for her than I do to Winter, but….

I'll leave it after the dance.'

The spearmaiden gave him a soft, tender smile. "I would like that more than anything. Thank you."
She took his hand.

….

If Winter and Jaune were good dancers together, then Pyrrha and Jaune were excellent dancers.

Indeed, it was surprising how good they were together, judging from the stares. Or, perhaps, Winter was right and everyone was simply waiting for Jaune and Pyrrha to finally resolve the seemingly unresolvable tension and kiss on the dance floor.

At least, Nora seemed to be the latter.

"It's happening, Ren! It's happening!" The berserker declared happily as she shook her boyfriend vigorously.

"Good guess, Yang." Ren mused, smiling.

"….my, you've learned….quite a bit." Pyrrha responded, breathing heavily. "You're…..better than last year."
"I did shake off a little of that rust." The knight admitted.

He briefly glanced towards where he'd left Winter. The lady had disappeared, presumably into the crowd to have some food, or into the toilets to do whatever.

'…..I can't shake the feeling that I've hurt her, but…..I just….' Jaune sighed, causing Pyrrha to look towards him in concern.

"Jaune, are you alright?"

"…..look. I….I think I owe you an explanation." The knight responded. "…we're going to need some fresh air."

"….explain? What about?"
"….my behaviour. I think I've….I think I've hurt you a fair bit." Jaune admitted. "Trust me. It'll need an explanation."

'What does he mean?' The spearmaiden wondered, tilting her head.

Jaune led her out of the hall at a brisk walk, allowing her to ponder the question as they did so.

Meanwhile….

"Did you see that?" Yang asked Blake. The catgirl shook her head.

"No. What?"
"Jaune and Pyrrha just left the dance, together, alone, before the dance ended." The brawler noted, a gleeful look on her face. "You know what that means?"
"….oh. Oh." The catgirl nodded, a small smile forming on her face. "I know. We have a Code Thurston on our hands."

A Code Thurston was the Antic Order codeword for an imminent love confession; usually, blackmail-gatherer bait, but Yang and the rest of the Order had called a ceasefire on Pyrrha, Jaune and Winter in that arena unless it was entirely to do with ending the uncertain situation between the three.

"Get Ren." Blake nodded. "He'll want to know this.

Yang clapped, taking out her phone. "Already on it."

Outside the hall…

Pyrrha and Jaune sat on one of the benches outside, facing the large Hunter's Fountain.

The night sky was clear, with only the moon's light shining down upon them. No stars were to be found, although this was hardly a surprise, as they were overlooking a city after all. Nobody but the lone Professor Amadeus, patrolling the grounds outside, was to be found, for the rest of the school was attending the dance.

This was convenient to allow Pyrrha and Jaune a measure of privacy.

"…what behaviour do you need to explain?" The spearmaiden inquired. "I did not notice anything out of the ordinary."
"I meant…..you know." Jaune sighed. "…..I know that you're into me, Pyrrha."
The spearmaiden's eyes widened. "I'm….sorry?"
"I know. You've been trying to get me to notice for the last three years." The knight continued. "I only noticed last year, and…..look, I'm sorry."
"…you knew?"

"T-trust me, I have reasons for not responding." Jaune responded hastily. "I'm not saying they were right, but…..just hear me out."

"I was not mad." Pyrrha clarified, shaking her head. "You…..I know you would never do something like that without a clear reason.

I trust whatever reasons you have are understandable."

The knight breathed in deeply. 'This'll be hard. This'll be very hard, but….but Pyrrha deserves to know.'

"…..firstly, I...I thought that you'd be…..I thought you'd be better off with some better, richer, stronger guy."

"Why?"

"….look at me, Pyrrha." Jaune looked down. "I'm the least strongest in a family of heroes and badasses. I'm the least strongest in our circle of friends. I didn't even have a proper Semblance until a couple of months ago. Compared to you, I look like nothing.

You're the big reason I'm even still in Beacon. You trained me, you've been by my side, you've basically done everything for me, and…..I didn't want to just owe you. I didn't want to make it look like I was just dating you because I felt sorry for you, or that I owed you….and that even when I did, you'd just get people wondering what kind of crazy person would go out with a person like-"

A sharp slap pierced the night, as Pyrrha struck Jaune across the cheek. The knight stared at her in shock.

"P-Pyrrha-"
"Don't you ever call yourself weak." The spearmaiden responded firmly. "If you and I were to date, it wouldn't be to pay a debt off or out of pity. And I would never, and have never cared that people would ask me why I chose you.

Jaune, I have admirers in this academy as much as you, or Yang, or Winter or even Weiss. I have, as it's called, the 'run of the place' when it comes to lovers to choose from. You could say they're all stronger, all richer, all more popular, and I would still choose you. You are who I want, and no other.

It's not your strength I fell in love with, nor your popularity, nor your wealth. I want you because you treated me like a person, not like an idol.

I am in love with you, Jaune Arc, and nobody else."

Jaune stared at her in surprise. "I'm-"
"Do you want me to say it again?" Pyrrha responded sharply. "I will say it clearly.

I love you.

I've been trying to say that for three years, and it's never been easy. I just want you to tell me if you love me back or not. I promise that I won't be mad, whatever the response is."

"…look….that's the second reason I haven't said anything." Jaune explained. "I feel like I'm already your inferior, and that I'm never going to be your equal…..but also, I've been struggling with all my feelings, alright? All the way up to tonight, I struggled.

There's you, and then there's Winter…..I like you both, and I don't want to see either of you suffer. Pyrrha, it nearly killed me inside when I saw you looking sad at me and Winter dancing, and…..I couldn't handle it. I had to tell you.

I just don't want to see either of you suffer because I look unworthy of you."

"Then why didn't you ever say anything?" Pyrrha responded, her voice slightly raised. "Then, at least I wouldn't had to have waited so long!"
"Because I wasn't sure!" Jaune cried in response. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you things that I wasn't even sure about until tonight!

I've given it thought. I've considered everything. I know.

I know that I…I know that I love you, but that's not the only thing, and that's not where it ends, alright?

I need to sort myself out first. Pyrrha…." Jaune mustered his courage. "…I'm….I'm not going to be your boyfriend."
"What?"

The knight breathed in deeply.

"I don't want to be your boyfriend yet. I know how I feel towards you now, but I don't want to just be your lover, Pyrrha. I want to be your equal.

I want to be a man you'll be proud of and a man who deserved that 'I love you'. I don't want to just have your love, I want to be able to fight by your side and stand by you. I don't want anyone to ever doubt why you chose me.

I promise, Pyrrha, when that day comes, I'll be yours, but….I want to be worthy of you. Until that day, I just want to be your close friend and teammate, even if just in name."

"But you are worthy of me!" Pyrrha protested. "You saved us all from the Grimmfather!"
"That might have just been a fluke! I don't want all my worth in your eyes to be based off just that, Pyrrha. I don't want a fluke to be the only thing I've ever done for you in return for everything!

Even if you don't think it, I do.

If I'm going to spend the rest of my life, after Beacon, with you, I….I need to do something that makes me your equal. Maybe it's just because I want to be sure that I'm worthy of you, but….I promise, Pyrrha.

I promise that when that day comes, and I do something that makes me worth everything you've gone to in order to make me notice you….."

The knight, to seal his promise, gave her a brief, intimate hug before pulling away.

"….then we'll be together, I promise."

Pyrrha stared at him, stunned. For what seemed to be an eternity, silence passed between them. "…..then I will wait for that day." The spearmaiden promised in return, with a smile, before hugging him tightly. "I'll wait for you, Jaune.

Even if you don't see it yet, you've always been worthy in my eyes. You don't need to prove anything to me, even if you need to prove it to yourself. Just remember that."

"I'm glad you understand." Jaune sighed, pressing himself into the hug. "I just….it doesn't feel right to me if I'm always relying on you. Even if you think it, I want to know that I am someone you can rely on, even if only sometimes.

I'm doing this to prove myself to me as much as to you."

"I know." Pyrrha nodded. "….I wish you all the best of luck."

They remained in each other's embrace for a few more minutes.

"…so." Jaune spoke up finally, after what seemed another eternity. "…another dance?"
"I would like that." Pyrrha nodded, smiling brightly for the first time in forever. "…I would like that very much."

Hand in hand, the spearmaiden and knight walked into the hall once more.

Meanwhile, in a nearby bush….

"You're kidding me." Yang pulled down her binoculars. "They…what? After all that, they're still not boyfriend and girlfriend? What the hell?!"

Ren sighed, shrugging. "You can't rush things like this, Yang."
"Come on! I thought the dance would work!"
"Jaune's been struggling with this issue for three years, and Pyrrha just as long. It'll take more than a week to just solve their respective issues." The gunslinger noted. "Although we could have used a Cordelia Protocol here."

The Cordelia Protocol, of course, being a recently developed protocol for dealing with couples with long-unresolved romantic tension, which involved locking the couple in a room and then calling them out on their refusal to resolve said tension. It, as with all Antic Order codenames, was named for its originator, a certain Cordelia of a certain kingdom in a certain far-off land.

"…..dammit." Yang sighed. "Well, you can't have everything. At least Vomit Boy finally got the balls to admit he loves Pyrrha back, and Pyrrha actually confessed to him, and even if they're not together now, they'll be soon. All's well that ends well, right?"
"…you forgot Winter."

"Yeah, but she didn't see it." The brawler brushed him off dismissively. "Well, at least the Arkos fans will be thrilled.

And I have a bet to be collecting off Nora. Girl thought they'd never get together."
"She's clearly insane." Ren rolled his eyes, chuckling. "I'll need to collect my bets too."

"You bet with me?"
"Of course I did."

END

A/N: There, Arkos scum. Don't worry, they'll get together properly before the end of the volume. I'm not that sadistic. Yet.

Next time, Yang Reacts to the Yang vs. Tifa Death Battle!

So, I hope you….wait a second.

Meanwhile….

"So." Winter sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned on a nearby pillar.

She had heard everything. She had heard Pyrrha confessing to him, Jaune returning her affections.

All along, her suspicions had been confirmed. The knight had been lost to her from the start.

"…..it's funny, is it not?" The lady noted bitterly, leaning on the pillar as she watched Pyrrha and Jaune walk back into the hall. "….it's just…..funny.

I wanted to defy the expectations of others and….I couldn't. I suppose I….I suppose I never tried…..but I suppose he was never mine to begin with. Never mine to lose, and never given to me, even in the eyes of others.

It seems that…..everyone else has received their wish…..but me."

Winter closed her eyes, sighing deeply and sinking to the ground, sinking her head into her arms.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence on the grounds of Beacon. It seemed as if one could hear the early drops of evening rain fall onto the grass, or the faint breeze from the north blow through the grounds.

The quiet, anguished sobs of Winter Schnee pierced the dead silence.

END