A/N: Enjoy!
As the group continued to travel along, Jaune was stuck in his haze, trying to figure out how to talk to someone who didn't want to talk to him.
Pyrrha was constantly finding ways to avoid him, darting in between other people, finding other things to do, and even going to the extreme lengths of chatting with Cardin for a little while when Jaune approached her. It was amazing how creative she was able to get trying to dodge him when they were on the move like this.
"Something happen between you and Pyr?"
Jaune turned to his girlfriend, who had an eyebrow raised at him. The boy turned to look at Pyrrha, who had been nodding intensely at whatever Nora was saying for the past minute, making sure not to turn and look back at him.
"Just… stuff." Jaune said awkwardly, not sure if he was really supposed to be talking about something like this to Yang. Now that he thought about it, what were the rules to dating? Dust, what were the rules to dating a Huntress? Were there things that Yang expected Jaune to do for her? Were there things he wasn't supposed to do?
Now that he thought about it, the two of them haven't really changed much after they got together. Given, both of them have been really busy trying to save Remnant, but they haven't gone on a single date. Hell, they haven't even held hands yet!
Jaune felt as though he had skipped over some steps while getting together with the blonde beauty on his right.
"O…kay. Anything you want to talk to me about?" Yang's eyes gleamed, and a smirk appeared on her face. "I'll have you know that I'm quite the listener." Jaune turned to her, a frown on his face.
"Are we really… you know, together?" Jaune asked haltingly, not sure how to ask the question the right way. Yang blinked at him, tilting her head.
"I… always knew that you were a bit slow when it came to this kind of stuff, but I didn't realize you hadn't figured something like that out."
"That's not what I meant." Jaune protested, flushing lightly. Yang carried on, ignoring the boy.
"I don't know how many girls make out with you on a daily basis, but that's kind of a sign that they're attracted to you." Yang shrugged, holding up a finger. "And the fact that you happily returned the kiss would mean that you're interested too, right?" Yang gave Jaune a questioning look, to which he flushed a little darker.
"I'm saying that's not what I-" Jaune was cut off by Yang turning her stare into a glower, not accepting anything but the answer to her question. "Yes." Jaune replied back wearily. "That's exactly what it means."
The blonde girl nodded. "Good. So, since we've already talked about this, don't you think asking something like that is… kind of a blond move?" Jaune let out an explosive sigh, waving his hands in front of Yang's face.
"I'm telling you, that's not what I meant." Jaune rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes briefly. "I meant… we don't act much like we're… together. You know?"
"And how do couples act?"
"What?" Jaune raised his head, looking at the brawler.
"How do couples act?" Yang repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't realize that they all acted the same, and that you had to follow through 'steps' to become a couple."
"You don't," Jaune said, hesitating briefly beforehand. That was exactly what he had been thinking a few moments before, even if it didn't sound as rigid as Yang had made it sound. "But—"
"How do you feel about me?" Yang asked bluntly, stopping Jaune in his tracks.
"I- I like you." Jaune said, his face cherry red at this point.
"I like you too." Yang stated flatly. "And I intend to chase this feeling down until we find something more… or find something less." The girl shrugged nonchalantly. "That's the only thing that really matters when it comes to whether or not we're 'together'. We don't have to be going on dates every other week, and you don't have to buy me flowers whenever it's a special day. Although that would be pretty awesome." Yang added as an afterthought.
Jaune stared at his girlfriend, mouth ajar a little, before impulsively he leaned over and pecked her on the lips, making her eyelids flutter for a second.
"What was that for?" Yang asked quietly, finally letting go of him.
"Just… a thank you." Jaune whispered back. Yang chuckled, brushing back her hair a little.
"Well, I hope that's not how you thank everybody."
"Only you." Jaune replied back quickly, before turning around to look at Pyrrha, determination rising. "I… need to talk to Pyrrha about something. I'll see you later." Jaune started to march off before he was grabbed by Yang, who spun him around and pecked him on the cheek.
"Good luck." She said, winking at him before slowing down her pace, turning to talk to her sister, who had the distinct look of disgust on her face, seeing Jaune and Yang's display.
Without anything else holding him up, Jaune strode up to Pyrrha, who was still nodding at Nora, who didn't seem to be losing steam in whatever she was telling the Amazon any time soon.
"-And whammo! That's when we drop the train on the dragon. Not a bad plan, right?" Nora's attention turned as she saw her team leader, her smile widening. "Jauney! How nice of you to spend time with your team!" Pyrrha spun around, panicked expression on her face as she saw the approaching blond.
"Actually, I think I need to go," Pyrrha said quickly, her feet already pacing her to another group. "I think I heard someone say my name."
"That's crazy Pyrrha. I didn't hear anything." Nora said helpfully, lunging to tackle the red-haired girl. Pyrrha slipped past, but slowed down just enough for Jaune to grab onto her wrist, stopping her from leaving.
"Actually Pyrrha, that was probably me." Jaune lied, making Nora clap her hands excitedly. "I have something that I'd like to talk to you about. Alone." Jaune pointed a not-so-subtle look at Nora, who 'oh''d loudly and gave an exaggerated wink, whistling to herself as she skipped towards Ren.
"…Couldn't this wait until later?" Pyrrha didn't look up, her bangs obscuring her face. "I'm sure it would be a good idea for us to conserve our talks for later, to focus on the upcoming battles."
"No." Jaune said firmly, keeping his grip on Pyrrha's wrist tight. Granted, the girl probably could've wrestled free with minimal effort, but she didn't, letting him keep a hold of her. "I want us to clear up some things before we fight. There might-" Jaune inhaled sharply, but forced himself to continue. "There might not be time later." That drew a sharp look from Pyrrha, who stopped struggling.
"That's not how you should be thinking, Jaune." Pyrrha said softly, eyes pained.
"It's the realistic way of thinking." The dragonborn replied, shaking his head. "Too many people have died for us to continue to say that everything's going to be alright. We're going to start fighting stronger and stronger… things. And one mistake could cost us. That's just what being a Huntsman is all about."
"But I don't want us to get into a fight without clearing the air first." Jaune said, looking pleadingly at her. Pyrrha looked back, the pained expression on her face not fading, but she still nodded, squeezing back.
"Okay. But we are getting out of this alive." Pyrrha looked back up, adamant. "I refuse to believe that we aren't."
"Okay." Jaune said simply, nodding. The girl nodded back, and waited to hear what Jaune wanted to say.
"I'm sorry," were the first words to come out of his mouth. "I'm sorry that I never realized you liked me that way." Jaune shook his head, sighing. "I'm not very… good with people. As you know." Jaune smiled weakly, Pyrrha returning it. "I have trouble with social queues sometimes, especially when it comes to stuff like… feelings." Jaune shrugged, not knowing what other gesture to make. "I don't know if it's because I was raised in a big family and they were the only ones that I interacted with, or if it's because I just… don't know how to do it." The blond squeezed Pyrrha's hand, swallowing thickly.
"I'm just sorry that I hurt you because of how… how ignorant I was to your feelings."
The girl looked down at the ground, her expression unreadable. For a second they didn't move, didn't speak as she took in Jaune's apology.
"Would it have made a difference?" Pyrrha's eyes peered out from under her bangs, strangely vulnerable. "If you knew about how I felt before… this. Would it have changed anything?" Jaune stared into her eyes, wondering that himself.
Would it have changed anything? Would he have chosen Pyrrha over Yang? Part of him wanted to say yes. But that part of him also wanted to say yes not because it was true.
But because it would spare Pyrrha a little more hurt.
And even then, Jaune wasn't sure if that would actually hurt her less than a no.
"…No." Jaune chose his answer, watching helplessly as Pyrrha closed her eyes and turned away from him, his grip loosening on her wrist enough that she was able to pry it free. A second passed before she turned back, a watery smile plastered onto her face.
"Thank you Jaune." She said. "For telling me the truth." Jaune nodded, the gratitude a little hallow to him, his mind refusing to accept her thanks when he was the one making her feel like this. "If you'll excuse me, I- I need a little bit of time to myself." The boy wasn't going to be the one to deprive her of some time alone, and he nodded, stepping back and letting her run to catch up to the party, Jaune waiting for a second before following at a much slower pace.
"That was a right mess." Jaune muttered to himself, feeling more tired than he had been for the past week.
I am glad that you were able to make that decision though, Maldovah. Vedrahgol quipped, deciding to break the silence for a little while in order to comfort his host. It takes strength to confront something so unknown head on.
You ever had to do something like that before? Jaune asked almost rhetorically, not sure if he wanted to really know if Dov like Vedrahgol had or even cared about emotions like infatuation. The dragon scoffed, rolling his head.
Of course Maldovah. The females swarmed me, as I was the most magnificent Dov to be found in Nirn.
Jaune made an amused sound, shaking his head slightly. He made to reply before he felt the shake of the ground underneath him, so powerful that the trees around him started to shake as well.
What is that? Jaune wondered, turning around behind him to look.
I do not know. Vedrahgol said gravely. It is a sound I am most unfamiliar with.
Rubbing his throat, Jaune gauged the strength of his vocal chords tentatively, deciding that it had settled enough for him to use at least one shout.
Murmuring the words, Jaune's field of vision lit up, detailing the life that was around him.
And towards the south, he found a field of dark spots, appearing out of nowhere, as if people were coming to life and springing through open air.