Hey guys and a happy new year to you all! I hope you all have one of the best years ever. Without any further ado here is the conclusive piece to the Christmas arc. I hope you enjoy it more than I did writing it, to be honest it was a bloody nightmare :P
Jaune cast a wary glance to his partner and adopted his 'ready' stance. The two were stood dressed in their full battle raiments in the backyard of Jaune's home panting hard. The snow was up to their knees chilling the metal plates of Jaune's new armour and greatly restricting movement.
The limits to the speed at which they could travel had provided Pyrrha with the advantage in each and every one of their short bouts. Every time he pressed the offensive Pyrrha would keep him at bay with Miló in its spear form.
Initially their sparring session had begun out of Jaune's desire to try out his new armour but it had fast become another of their gruelling training sessions not too dissimilar from the ones back at Beacon, the only change being the addition of snow.
Jaune looked at his partner who looked at him straight back, their eye contact unwavering. The knight made his move, he half-ran half-jumped his way through the snow towards his partner. His legs burned with sheer exertion. He feigned a move to the right, Pyrrha smirked and sent the haft of Miló flying towards him at alarming speed.
This was just what Jaune had been banking on, in one smooth movement he ducked under the spear and threw himself at his partner, releasing his sword and shield. He collided with her and they fell back into the snow.
"Gotcha!" He leaned down and whispered in her ear before giving her a light kiss on the cheek. She blushed feverishly, their combined body heat beginning to melt the snow around them.
"J-Jaune! Get off! Its c-cold!" She retorted as her teeth began to chatter, the only issue with her armour was that it left a good deal of skin bare allowing for a fair amount of direct contact with the snow.
"M-my lady is cold?! Not on my watch." He laughed and clambered off of her. In a single swift movement he hefted her up and over one shoulder jogging off towards the house.
Pyrrha squeaked as he picked her up and flailed wildly trying to break free laughing the whole time. Jaune's grip was solid however and he didn't let go.
"Marron grab our weapons, we must get the fair champion inside where she may warm up!" Jaune shouted, laughing as his partner wriggled and squirmed desperately to try and break his grip. He carried her through the house, up the stairs and into their shared bedroom where at last he set her down upon their bed.
The moment she was released Pyrrha tackled him to the ground with a snarl and playfully thumped him, giggling the whole while ignoring his cries for mercy.
"That was for carrying me!" she cried out before leaning in and kissing him quite suddenly, Jaune was in shock, completely unsure of what was going on or what would happen next.
"And that... was for being my loveable goof." She smiled warmly, her cheeks steadily turning red once again. She lay her head on his chest in an attempt to hide her now utterly red face.
The two lay on the ground of their bedroom for a good while neither wanting to move and disturb the other. Jaune ran his fingers through her voluminous red hair with a slow and regular rhythm. It always amazed him that despite her monumentally busy schedule with her classes, mascot commitments and extra training with him; she always seemed to find the time to take care of her hair. It was conditioned, extremely fine and always smelt of fresh juniper.
They were interrupted by a light knocking at the door, looking up they saw Marron piled high with their weapons and surrounding by the giggling older Arc sisters. Sable whipped out her scroll and snapped a few quick photographs before they all bolted off down the hallway leaving only a blushing Marron holding Jaune and Pyrrha's equipment
Jaune weakly held his arm out after them in a futile gesture for them to stop but they were long gone. He knew from past experience that those photographs would be uploaded to every social media site they had access to within the hour.
The two slowly climbed to their feet and relieved Marron of her burden, Jaune stowed his weapons away with his semi-packed luggage and ruffled the little brunette's hair. He whispered something in her ear which Pyrrha couldn't hear before they both looked at her with innocent grins.
"Hey Pyrrha...?" Jaune started.
"Do you wanna build a snowman? C'mon let's go outside~" The two sang in unison in between fits of giggles. Pyrrha stared in disbelief, she felt embarrassed for them. Nevertheless she waited for them to finish their rendition.
"Remind me to keep you out of Nora and RWBY's Walt Dustney movie nights..." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Aww, c'mon Pyrrha it'll be fun!" Jaune said as Marron pouted adorably in support, the two were working together, Jaune using his words and Marron melting the Champion's heart with pure unadulterated cuteness. Pyrrha's heart melted at the sight of the two siblings until she eventually relented.
"Ok, Jaune we will go build a snowman. But this time let me grab my some warmer clothes and my cloak." She sighed, struggling to contain a giggle.
Ten minutes later the tree were back outside thoroughly wrapped up warm, Jaune in his Parka, gloves and hat, Pyrrha in her cloak and several jumpers and little Marron in several jumpers a little Parka, gloves and hat.
Mabel had insisted that the youngest Arc wrapped up as warm as possible if she were going out into the snow, and despite initial resistance they had finally persuaded Marron to go along with it for the sake of their unbuilt snowman.
The little brunette resembled a disgruntled ball, the several layers she had been forced to wear had puffed her little form up considerably to a point that she couldn't move her arms properly, they were permanently out at ninety degrees to her body. Something that neither the Knight nor his Champion could help laughing at, much to the frowning Marron's distaste.
After half an hour their snowman was finished. It stood a full ten feet tall, to place the head on top all three had to stack up on each others' shoulders. Jaune was the base with Pyrrha on his shoulders (leaving him a little more than red in the face) and Marron perched on hers. Jaune's legs buckled the moment the head was placed on top leaving the two girls to fall on top of him in a tangle of limbs alive with laughter, arms and feet up in the air.
Nevertheless, they were each proud of their ten foot tall snow statue. It was crudely shaped like a knight with two entire branches poking out of the sides for arms. The head was carved out and shaped to resemble a helmet. And on its torso chipped away out of the fresh powder was two crescent arcs with a crude spear running through them, Marron's touch.
They stood and admired the statue, their hands red and raw from prolonged contact with the snow but that didn't bother them, their aura's would soon take care of that. The three looked up at the giant with reverent awe.
Quite suddenly and without warning something hit the back of Jaune's head with a soft crunch. He slowly moved a hand around to feel the area and found it to be covered in snow. He dropped to his knees, Pyrrha was soon at his side holding him in her arms.
"P-Pyrrha?" Jaune asked sounding as though he were on his last legs.
"Yes Jaune, I'm here."
"I-I feel... cold..." he continued melodramatically.
"That's just the snow Jaune..." She rolled her eyes and dropped his head back into the snow giggling even as another snowy projectile whistled past them. The champion's eyes darted up to find a grinning Sable, Amber and Coral all with armfuls of snowballs, each of them with one cocked back in preparation for throwing it. Pyrrha gulped and dived over her boyfriend just in time to avoid the barrage dragging Jaune with her.
Marron wasn't so lucky, failing to predict the incoming snowballs and had been pegged. The first one struck her left leg, the second hit her square in the chest and the third pegged her square in her face. The youngest Arc opened her mouth to say something only to have it filled with snow.
"Y-you monsters! You'll never get away with this!" Jaune called out, shaking his fist in mock anger even as Marron staggered to her feet dazed, confused and coughing up globules of spit and snow.
And so it was that the great Arc snowball fight came about. Trenches were dug and the snow piled high in defensive ramparts. As the fight wore on more and more of the Arcs joined in, until it became as close to an all out war as one can get without actual bloodshed. The two sides were roughly evenly matched, in one of the snow trenches were Mabel (she had come to investigate after the shouting broke out. She had caught a snowball to the side of the face and was out with a vengeance), Louis (he had sided with his wife) Jaune, Pyrrha and Marron. In the other were the remaining Arc siblings.
"They've got us pinned...we move even slightly and they'll get us." Jaune spoke to his teammates. "Any Ideas for escape would be greatly appreciated."
They looked at him blankly, even the older hunter and huntress seemed to be completely out of ideas. Jaune peaked up over the top of their trench, their enemies were advancing slowly across no-mans-land. It was then that his eyes landed on the ten foot snow giant and a plan began to form in his head. It was risky but it might well turn the tables.
"Marron... I have a job for you" He whispered. They all looked to him with curiosity.
"What is it Jauney?" She asked.
"You see the snowman? Do you think you could sneak up to it without them seeing you?"
"I-I'll try." she nodded determinedly.
"OK good, sneak up to it and on my signal I want you to push it over ok?" the other three teammates began to grin as they saw where his plan was going.
"Mom, Dad and Pyrrha. We're gonna make as many snowballs as possible and the moment that snowman topples we'll leap out and hit them with everything we've got. What do you say?"
They each nodded him an affirmation and busied themselves frantically gathering up the fresh fallen snow into clumps before rolling them into fully fledged snowballs. Up topside the six Arc sisters were edging their way ever closer keeping up their barrage of snow projectiles.
"Now Marron!" Jaune's voice rang out the moment he felt they had enough snowballs. With an almighty heave the tiny brunette shoved the snow giant's foundations. With a crunching sound born of compressing snow the statue toppled onto the advancing sisters. All Jaune heard of their foes were a series of gasps muffled screams as they were buried under the collapsing ten foot tall snow sculpture. Arms and legs poked randomly out of the newly formed snow drift, twitching occasionally.
Pyrrha, Jaune and his parents popped up out of their trench and launched carefully aimed snowballs at the still dazed arc sisters hitting them all over in a frighteningly accurate barrage of icy projectiles until they were little more than piles of snow with slightly blued faces. One by one the sisters raised their arms in defeat. The defenders cheered as one, sounding out their victory for all within earshot to hear. They were joined by the cheers of nosier neighbors.
Pyrrha and the Arc family made their way back inside to sit by the fire in their living-room. Jaune's sisters shooting him, little Marron and even the Pyrrhic Champion daggers as they sat shivering, wrapped in blankets and drinking from steaming mugs of hot cocoa.
After what seemed to be altogether too short a time with Jaune's family, the Dustmas holidays drew to a close and the time for them to return to Beacon and their training arrived. Neither the Champion nor her Knight wanted to leave, the cabin had become like home to Pyrrha in the short time they had stayed there.
Both teenagers stood in the hallway of Jaune's family home with saddened expressions playing about their faces. Pyrrha in particular. She had come to see the Arcs as her extended family, as they had with her. She understood their 'in jokes' and quirky mannerisms just as they saw her as one of their own, including her in their teasing.
Jaune slung his rucksack onto his back with a heavy sigh, beside him Pyrrha busied herself fastening the clasp of her cloak around her neck, taking her own sweet time as though procrastinating might somehow delay the inevitable. Once she had finished she found both herself and Jaune trapped within the bounds of a crushing group hug.
"You be careful Jauney!" Amber said in perhaps her most patronizing voice.
"Yeah, we'd hate for you to be gobbled up by a big bad Ursa!" Sable chimed in
"Even if our Jauney was eaten, you can bet Pyrrha would cut it open to get him back" Pyrrha blushed, despite their obvious teasing she was a little flattered. It was a compliment she felt, although a little unorthodox.
"Take care of yourself and Pyrrha now Jaune. Say hello to your teammates from us and don't forget to write OK?" Mabel, the voice of reason interrupting her daughters.
Louis firmly shook his sons hand with a smile, no words being needed between the two men. Then came little Marron, she darted out of the sea of legs and tackle-hugged her brother taking him to the ground with surprising strength. She stood over him red in the face with her tiny hands on her hips in a pose which reminded the blonde Knight of a certain Ice queen.
"You write to us Jauney or...or I'll do something really bad to you like...um y'know!" The little brunette stammered adorably making Jaune laugh.
"You got it little one, I'll write to you as often as I can." He said and ruffled her hair.
"I'll make sure he does Marron, I promise." Pyrrha smiled to the youngest Arc earning herself a tight hug from her.
Mabel was the last to bid them a goodbye hugging them both individually.
"It was nice having you home again, and it was lovely for us all to get to know you a little better Pyrrha. Take care the both of you and we'll see you soon. You'd best get going or you'll miss your flight."
Pyrrha looked to the older huntress and saw that her green eyes had a film of tears in them, and as she looked back at the two teenagers the Champion could've sworn that she saw a glimmer of pride.
With one last wave goodbye the two stepped out into the cold with their bags and made their way up the street and towards the Airport. They could feel the nine pairs of eyes watching them the whole way up the street.
"A-are you alright Jaune?" Pyrrha asked her partner after they had walked a short way, he was walking a lot slower than usual. Slowly his blonde head turned to face her and she found that his eyes had teared up. Halfway down his cheek was a single frozen tear, a perfect sphere preserved by the biting cold.
"Yeah, I'm fine...I'm just gonna miss them y'know?" He said drying his eyes with a gloved hand and sending the tear flying to the snow covered ground below. The redhead took a step towards him and wrapped him in her arms rocking them slightly.
"It's OK Jaune, you'll be back before you know it." She said pulling away slightly to give him a smile. The Champion lightly pecked him on the lips before they set off down the street again.
The two made it onto their flight with mere moments to spare. They stood leant against one another and panting heavily after their mad dash through the airport's terminals. Dashing through the gate at the last possible instant earning a 'tsk' from the attendant.
Once recovered they took their seats, Pyrrha on the window side and Jaune next to the aisle for ease of access to vomit facilities, and settled in for the three hour flight back to Beacon. Neither of the teenagers felt much like conversation, both of them missing their home away from home.
"Jaune, I just wanted to thank you for bringing me home for Dustmas... It meant a lot."
"You're welcome, it was nice to be able to spend the holidays together and between you and me, I think my family really likes you." He tapped the side of his nose and winked knowingly, chuckling to himself. Pyrrha kissed him lightly on the nose.
The two teenagers fastened their seat belts as the aircraft whirred to life and began its take-off, the brief feeling of weightlessness flooding the cabin as they began their vertical assent. Jaune's face already taking on a slightly green tinge. His unruly stomach grumbling and growling unhappily at being on an aircraft.
Jaune's hands closed up around the ends of his arm rests in a death grip, the tendons in his hands standing up in high relief. He utterly regretted eating so heartily that morning but his mom had insisted that he would need the energy for the journey. He clenched his eyes shut and focused on taking deep and slow breaths, his usual technique for controlling his stomach. A soft hand wrapped itself around his, relaxing him a little. He cracked open his eyes and saw Pyrrha smiling warmly at him. He managed a grimace in return before he closed his eyes, his stomach tensing and relaxing seemingly of its own will.
'It's going to be a loong flight' He thought with a sigh.
There it is guys, I hope you enjoyed it. just to let you guys know the first chapter of my other fic is now up! everyone who voted for it you can now read what you had an influence in creating. To be honest I feel a lot more confident about where it is going that this one. As always favourite, follow and review. Head on over to my secondary fic 'A Rose for the Champion' for more of your Arkos dose (please review the hell out of that one and let me know what you think. Many thanks.
I'll see you all, in the next chapter.