Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay. Been without internet for the last few days. So, before this chapter, just a few things. First off, I want to thank the reviewers who pointed out room for improvement in this fic, I think it was ZappyZappy and Bri. I took on board those criticisms and appreciate it to be honest. You weren't slating the fic, or being abusive, just pointing out room for improvement, so thank you!
Secondly, The names for the Acts are as follow:
Act One: The Healing
Act Two: The Qrow, the Raven and the Jackdaw
Act Three: The Fracturing
Act Four: The Deacon
I'll leave it up to you to interpret. If you want some extra info on this fic, I post artwork of the story and characters on my DeviantArt page. Concept art and such. DavidEllisArtwork, if you're interested. Check it out if you want. It's there all the same.
And finally, the next week or two might be a struggle to update weekly, as I'm moving house. I'll try to get them out as quick as I can, but I can't promise anything. It's not for long, but still an annoying disruption. Just trying to keep you all in the loop!
So, anyways, on with the Chapter! - Dave
Act One: Chapter Five: A Much Needed Talk
...
Sunrise after Vytal Tournament attack:
She screamed. Screamed in absolute agony as charred flesh hung in ribbons down her cheek, claret oozing black as tar. Two men flanked either side, dragging her across rough cold stone, her knees baring ripped skin. Matted black hair hung over one devoid eye, smashed bone of the eye socket leaving fragments of ivory peppering the torn flaps of muscle and skin. Her already broken vocals cracked further as she wailed even harder.
"Hold her, Tyrian!"
"I answer only to my Goddess, not to you, Hazel." The braided man grinned, golden eyes gleaming with a deranged swirl. "Buuut, she did ask us to bring her home, soooo..."
"Just grab her." Hazel's gruff voice hardened, along with his grip on her forearm, slippery with blood. "Hang on Cinder, just hang on."
The girl of fire wailed as another bout of excruciating, debilitating, mind-numbing pain tore through her face. Blood trickled from her brow, like fingers of hot liquid stroking their way down her features.
Her stomach churned, queasy at the loss of blood. Two huge doors burst open, Cinder barely conscious enough to see through her one eye. Blurry redness masked her vision as matted claret caked her eyelashes, almost sewing them shut. Through the haze, she made out the form of the mustached Arthur Watts, standing from his chair with a look of undeniable shock on his face.
"What happened-"
"Watts, heat up the brand! We'll use it to cauterize this wound!" Hazel yelled, lifting her thickly matted fringe and wincing as he surveyed the state of her face. "Hang in there, Cinder."
The mustached man nodded, turning to the nearest door and disappearing to fire up the forge. Hazel lifted the girl bridal style, her silhouette painted on his shirt with her claret. He lay her down on the long table of the Inner circle's meetings. Emerald and Mercury stood at the doors, the mint haired girl's hands caked in blood and shaking. Mercury was no stranger to blood, so the only minute shock came from the deafening screams of pain echoing around the hall, and the state of Cinder's eye socket.
"Tyrian. Tyrian! Get me the med kit!" Hazel yelled as the grinning maniac simply shrugged and paced away into the darkness, a cackle spilling from his throat. "Tyrian! Oh for...Emerald! Get the kit!"
Cinder gave a cry of agony, arching her back off the table and thrashing her legs, her scream crackling until her voice finally caved, silence leaving her throat as she tried to scream, but found the scratchy innards unable to comply. Emerald had dropped the old medical kit five times from shaking digits by the time she reached the table. She was only ever a thief after all.
"I-I...I dunno what happened..." Emerald slurred as Hazel took the kit, her eyes never leaving Cinder's writhing form. "She was...then it..."
Watts returned, long stick with a circular metal head, glowing amber. He handed it to Hazel, the man moving Cinder's fringe, dangling the super heated metal over her face.
"This...this is going to hurt." Hazel's gruff voice snapped. He went to press down, Cinder feeling the frightening heat already, when a voice stopped him.
"No, Hazel."
The giant man froze, pulling the brand back and stepping away as he eyed the female speaker. Cinder gurgled and tried to cry, but couldn't. Then her vision filled with pale white skin. Black and red eyes narrowed at the wounded girl and lips firmed with annoyance.
"But Salem, she's bleeding out."
"She had one opportunity, and she failed me. You were supposed to steal the Maiden's powers, but you grew power hungry. Tell me Cinder, did you enjoy defying my orders and having your fun, reaping havoc across Beacon? The only plus to be found from this is Ozpin's dead." Salem studied the bleeding girl with an unconvinced frown. "Is he dead, Cinder?"
"My Queen, perhaps now isn't the ti-
Salem held up a hand, instantly silencing her inner circle's concerns, her red eyes never leaving Cinder's as the girl gurgled, blood from her eye trickling into her mouth, copper tainting her taste buds.
"Cinder's injury is not ours to deal with. She would not have received it had she done as I instructed. So, no...you won't seal her wound." Salem walked away, hands held over her stomach, her pace so smooth it was as if she were hovering. The others gaped at her, except Tyrian, grinning from his perch on his chair. Salem paused, looking back over her shoulder, the ornaments dangling from her hair clinking with her movements.
"Besides. She prides herself on her use of fire. She tried to take on much more powerful beings with fire. She can seal her own wound...with her fire."
Salem left the room, not before adding with her sultry and icy tones: "You disappoint me, Cinder."
The girl coughed and wheezed, lifting a red stained hand to her blurry one-sided vision, igniting her digits in blazing flames, tracking down to fill her palm with heat. She panted, a wobbly horizon of scorching heat coating her hand in a blazing aura. Her fears were quickly ignored, as suddenly she slapped her hand down, pressing her palm over her bleeding wounded eye socket.
A loud sizzling hissed when a vocal cord snapping scream managed to leave her throat, as she scorched the nerve endings of her face, scar tissue forming at the flaming heat melting and fusing her bloodied socket.
The scream would go on to wound her vocals to the point where even forming coherent words would become impossible. Cinder was a hollow wreck of her former, flirty self. Alas it wasn't only down to the blazing white light of a Silver eyed warrior's midnight eruption, but the red haired girl kneeling before her.
...
Gravel crunched under heel as the two teens paced side by side under the crumbled lunar glow. Red and yellow, side by side for so long, through thick and thin, both gulped and avoided eye contact. The wedge of emotions between them had widened to a gaping chasm of solicitous hearts. Both wanted the same thing. Both wanted the other, both wanted languid kisses, warm skin on skin, souls unbound to tie together. But the constant overhang of that fateful night, that almost last kiss that now left sour tastes and memories, had poisoned what they had, and made it so very hard to even mention where they stood.
So being their usual unsure and nervous selves, they elected to ignore their hearts. To be friends. But feelings only hurt and ache to near physical levels of pain when they're ignored. Now Pyrrha hurt. Now she ached, with the need to have him be her's. Her thoughts were only mirrored tenfold by the blonde boy.
"So..." Pyrrha cleared her throat, ducking her chin down to hide her chapped lips behind her scarf. "What did you want to talk about?"
Jaune fixed her with a knowing look, Pyrrha frowning beneath the fabric of her scarf. "About us. Where we're at after a week or two of..." Jaune trailed off, unsure of the words.
"Fixing ourselves." Pyrrha nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm umm...nervous of what's on your mind."
"Ditto." Jaune scoffed, rubbing a numb hand over his face as they finally went from moonlight to streetlights, entering the small village square. It was mostly abandoned this late, but a few shops were still open, luckily the coffee shop being one of them. Pyrrha stopped by the fountain in the center of the square, looking down at the water as she placed a hand on her buxom chest, trying to quell her drumming heart.
She quivered a gulp at her red haired reflection, tenderness in her skin prickling at even the ruffling of her coat against her arms. Her reflection wobbled as the ghostly carp in the cool waters slurped at the air, begging to be fed the usual crumbles of bread from the now shut bakery. She smiled lightly, shakily even, at the giant golden scaled fish.
"Hey...you okay?" Jaune asked tentatively. Pyrrha huffed, looking up at him with sparkly green eyes.
"Yes. Just needed a moment, I guess." She blew out an obviously shaky breath. Jaune smiled and nodded over his shoulder to the shop. "Okay." She smiled weakly. The two walked over and he pushed the door open, letting Pyrrha step in first and into the warm shop.
Porcelain clinked in the back of the shop, low murmurs of customers adding an atmospheric hum to the chorus of clinks, melding wonderfully with the sweet and sharp smell of freshly ground coffee and warm soft doughy pastry.
"I'll get us our drinks." Jaune said, Pyrrha frowning, fumbling in her pocket for her wallet. Jaune smirked. "S'okay, I got this one. What d'ya want, Pyr?" He asked, with her nickname, which made her smile. He obviously still cared. She was just scared that it would always be as a friend.
"Umm...A latte would be lovely, thank you." She smiled that brilliant beam that he loved. Gods, she wanted to just lean up and kiss him. He smiled back warmly and stepped up to the counter as Pyrrha walked over to a secluded and warm booth in the corner, looking out through a large window at the night time Town square. She sat down and blew out a shaky breath, fingers fiddling nervously atop the brushed steel table top. She bit her lip and her heart drummed in her chest.
She was scared, that much was certain. Scared it would end before it began, scared he couldn't see her romantically anymore for how that night panned out. Thing is, she'd had a taste of his heart, and she wanted it forever more. She knew the taste of his lips, soft and tantalizingly warm. Now that she knew, she craved it, she didn't want to go without ever feeling or tasting it again, having it light her nerve endings on fire with pure joy and ecstasy. She was addicted to him.
She snapped from her thoughts as Jaune sat opposite her in the quiet booth, sliding her cardboard sleeved cup over to her, a hot cloud of steam warming her cheeks and tempting her nasals with sweet coffee. She cupped the drink and hummed, smiling at him.
"Thank you, Jaune."
"You're welcome." He rubbed his slightly stubbly chin, blowing out a loud sigh. She drummed her fingers into her cup, before lifting it to take a sip of the scolding drink. The warm liquid ran down her throat into her belly, letting a calming heat pool in her stomach, trying to battle the icy cold gooey dread that sat there before. "Oh...I-I dunno know how to talk about any of this." Jaune scoffed at himself.
"Mmm, me neither." Pyrrha unwrapped her scarf from around her neck, tucking it into a coat pocket. "But...you must have some idea, right? F-For wanting to have this talk I mean." Pyrrha mumbled, bashfully eyeing the swirling froth in her drink.
"I guess...It was more Ren being overly worried about us." Jaune grumbled, sipping his coffee, eyes trying to look through the glass at the night time world, but instead watching Pyrrha's gorgeous reflection instead.
"Well can you blame him? We've been trying to steer clear of obvious feelings, and it's..." Pyrrha hugged her stomach with a weak almost ironic smile. "...it's hurting more than it's helping."
"Mmm." Jaune mumbled, stirring a wooden stick around his cup, unsettling the caramel sludge at the bottom. "How err...How are you doing? I'm sick of talking about me." Jaune scoffed, taking a swig. Pyrrha smiled lightly, looping a fallen lock of vermilion behind her ear, her porcelain skin practically glowing with the lunar light pouring in through the pane.
"I'm...I'm better, thank you." Pyrrha shrugged, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "I...I spoke to my Mother and Father the other day. Professor Goodwitch let me use her satellite scroll." Pyrrha brightly beamed, Jaune mirroring her expression.
"How are they? Okay?"
"Mmm..." Pyrrha gulped her hot latte, licking her lips inadvertently slowly to Jaune's pleasure. "Yes, all is good at home. My Mother is well...Father is well...everyone is well." Pyrrha began to mumble towards the end, stirring her wooden stick, eyeing the swirling froth. Jaune huffed. "...All is well."
"Pyrrha. C'mon." Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose. Pyrrha sighed heavily, defeated.
"I had to...I had to tell them...about that night." Pyrrha winced, closing her eyes tight.
"Oh." Jaune froze, skin paling.
"They asked. How could I lie? I...I almost died, Jaune. I was...milliseconds from dying, when Ruby saved me. I told them about the whole night. They threatened to pull me out of Beacon and bring me home. I...I told them I couldn't. I had too much here, too much I cared about to leave." She looked up through her lashes at him, knowingly, poignantly. Jaune bit his lip, closing his eyes, skin crinkling atop his scrunched brow.
"Why, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, opening his glossy eyes. Pyrrha's eyes widened at him, cradling the cardboard sleeve around her cup. "Why'd you push me in that locker?"
"Jaune..."
"It's been eating away at me, for...gods since the minute it happened! I know, I know, b-but...gods, why?" Jaune grit his dentures, hands paling on the table, a single tear hanging on a lash, glass buds on a branch. Pyrrha sniffed and looked over at the shop, zigzagging her teeth up and down the length of her bottom lip, almost slicing the chappy skin.
"Because...I...I..."
"Partners support each other, Pyrrha. I was your partner, and I could have helped you. Why? Why'd you push me away, I am your partner-"
"That's why." She snapped, Jaune freezing in place. "Because Partners protect one another. But we were closer than just partners. I...I've cared about you in a different and confusing light since initiation. I've never had feelings like these, and I'm sorry if I'm not sure how to show or utilize them. While other children were taught to walk, I was taught to run. While other children learnt to ride bikes, I learnt to wield swords and spears. I've always been sure of myself as a warrior. Then you come along. You and your...quirky adorableness...and your beautiful smile and kindred heart to everyone you meet!" She panted, eyes glossy too.
"...You shattered everything I knew. You saw right through my...stupid title and...damned ugly fame, and you saw me!" she pressed her hands to her chest, the heavy emotion in her voice cracking. "I was taught not to care. I was taught to lock away my heart, and replace any feelings with a spear and shield. I had no desire for relationships when I was younger, because I was taught not to. It bled into friendships, and made me seem...cold to everyone else. So, when I craved attention, not the press, real friendship attention, they were scared of me, of my strength, of my title. Nobody got close, and anyone who did, did so for money or to play with the useless plastic toys I'd accumulated in a desire to fill that empty void." She looked down at her cup, sniffing as a salty tear dropped to mingle in her sweet latte.
"Pyrrha-"
"You know, I used to have a rocking Horse that was my one and only friend. He wouldn't run when my emotions boiled over. He wouldn't ask me for money, he wouldn't pretend to be a friend, so he could claim to be friends with the Invincible girl!" She growled, teeth gritted, eyes streaming by now. Jaune blinked and wiped his eyes, fighting the urge to just lean over the table and wipe hers. "...He listened to me."
"...Then I met you." She whimpered. Jaune looked up at her as she sniffed. "You. You and your...fake bravado and...womanizing attitude when in reality you were the exact opposite. You saw right through the Invincible girl. You saw me."
The way Pyrrha spoke about her title struck a deep chord in Jaune. Like it was Jekyll and Hyde. A monster that latched to her, a parasite that weighed her down, almost a totally separate entity. He slid his hand over the table and cupped her shaking digits, squeezing and molding the rigid flesh into warm dough.
"...You. You are...everything to me, Jaune. You gave me so many friends when before, I sought friendship in a wooden toy, because nobody else could see the real me!" she sniffed, eyes brimming and dripping long rivulets of salty sadness down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I am...b-but I had to protect you..."
"Pyrrha." Jaune sighed, massaging her knuckles with his thumb. "You don't think it works both ways?" he blinked. Like emeralds catching the light at the bottom of a lake, her wobbly green eyes lifted to study him. "I care about you a lot...like, a lot. I didn't realize how much until that night." He swallowed thickly. Pyrrha let a weak smile curve her lips, thumb swiping her tears away.
"I care about you too." Pyrrha smiled lightly. Desperate to change the focus from her, wiping her eyes, she chewed her tongue before parting her lips. "H-How have you been?"
Jaune gave a lopsided smile and let go of her hand, much to her chagrin. She pawed at the air for his retreating hand and caught it, her face blotchy red as she sought to feel weak and in need of help, of the smallest of things, even as simple as holding his hand. He smiled and gave a gentle squeeze, his own face blushing red.
"I've been...ahh, you know." He shrugged, eyes studying the incredibly soft and smooth hand in his. "Okay? I guess? I dunno, it's been really rough."
"Mmm. How are you now though? Is being with friends helping?" She asked softly, the tables turned as now she soothed his hand with massaging digits. Jaune closed his eyes, smiling, intent to enjoy the feel of her smooth fingers sliding over his.
"Yeah. Yeah, being back at Beacon's been hard, but...at the same time, it's great! Having my team back...my family." Jaune smiled, Pyrrha beaming at him, tears left behind, albeit leaving drying streaks on her cheeks. "Being with you has helped." He mumbled, blushing as she smiled even wider. He sat back into the plushy leather padding of the booth, fingers absentmindedly drumming into his cup. "It's...It's been nice getting back to being friends with you. I mean, before the Vytal Tournament we were easily best buds!"
"We were." Pyrrha grinned brightly to him, with love and adoration in her gaze. "And yes, it's been lovely getting my wonderful bestest friend in the world back."
Jaune grinned sheepishly, scratching behind his ear. An awkward silence befell over them as they sipped drinks, cleared clogged throats and avoided locking eyes. Until Pyrrha huffed and snapped her fingers together, Jaune blinking back into the room.
"I have something I want to ask you." Pyrrha bit her lip. Jaune leaned forward on his elbows, a perplexed look on his face
"Shoot." He shrugged. Pyrrha smiled and nodded to herself.
"Before...th-that night..." She swirled her hand and shut her eyes, before opening them again on his soft sapphire gaze. "...Did you see me...did...wh-what I'm trying to ask is..." She huffed loudly and thumped her fists softly to her forehead with a groan. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at thi-
"Yes." Jaune smiled lopsidedly, Pyrrha's eyes widening on him, lowering her hand. "Yeah, I did. A lot changed for me, during the dance. I learned that I'd wasted a lot of time chasing the wrong girl." He scratched at the wealth of stubble under his chin, Pyrrha placing a hand over her heart at his words. "It was at the dance, when I saw you on your own, you in that beautiful dress..." He blushed bright red, clearing his throat as his face grew hot. "...b-b-but it was when I spoke to you on the roof...and you said that I was the kinda guy you wanted to go to the dance with."
"I remember..." She blushed. "It...I often wish that had played out differently."
"Hey, you me both. You dropped that bombshell then walked away, leaving me talking with Neptune! I mean sure I helped him with his girl problems, but funnily..." he sighed, sobering. "...I'm still struggling with mine."
"Mmm...Sorry about that." Pyrrha chuckled weakly under her breath. "Buuuut, at the same time...I'm glad it panned out how it did too. Because you made my night when you wore that dress for me." She smiled, finger tracing the rim of her cup.
"Oh yeah." He blushed bright scarlet, sheepishly chuckling. "Well, I mean, an Arc never goes back on his word."
"Mmm...Thank you, all the same." She smiled lovingly. Jaune smiled back.
"Course." he cleared his throat, pointing to his empty cup. "I-I'm done, err...you?"
"Mmm..." She pouted adorably, showing him her empty cup. "All gone."
"Come on...Wrap up again and we'll do the ol' Walk n' Talk." He grinned as Pyrrha snorted.
"Is that an actual branded thing?" she shuffled out of the booth, tugging her coat on.
"Oh yeah, course! Copyrighted and everything!" Jaune grinned, his red haired companion giggling.
"Oh, come on, silly." Pyrrha rolled her eyes with mirth, wrapping her checkered blue scarf around her neck.
...
As the moon loomed over the quiet campus of Beacon, a lone woman shivered at a gust of chilly wind, like icy tendrils plucking every ridge of her spine. Winter looped a lock of frost behind her ear, blowing out a cloud of fog, eyes searching for nothing. She huffed and hugged her upper arms, stroking some warmth into her cardigan wrapped upper body.
"Sup, buddy?" Eryka yawned, stretching her arms above her head. Winter's smile was almost nonexistent, but it was there all the same. "Just giving Dulcis his last flight before bed...tucker him out a bit. What about you? What you doing up?"
"Hmm?"
"C'mon Wints. I know you're no party animal, so it's not a night on the town keeping you up, it's something in here." She tapped a finger to the Schnee's head. "C'mon hon, speak your mind." Eryka perched her generous rear on the stone banister, tilting her head to let her blue tresses pour like a river down her equally generous chest. Winter bit her lip but eventually huffed.
"It's Weiss. It's...well it's a lot of things, I guess." The older Schnee shrugged, pressing clammy hands into cooling concrete. Eryka nodded to herself, sapphire blue eyes peering at Winter as she studied the moon.
"Okay...what's bothering you the most?" Eryka bobbed her shoulders, Winter staring at her. "Narrow it down a bit."
"Well...in all seriousness...It's Goodwitch." Winter said, Eryka's brows knitting in confusion. "You were right, Eryka. Something's not right. Why aren't bullies getting punished?"
"Mmm. Tis a weird one." Eryka chewed her lip. "Kid's walking around like he owns the damn place, and Goodwitch is pussyfooting around him. Doesn't add up."
"Exactly. I don't like it." Winter swiped her thumb along her bottom lip thoughtfully. Eryka kicked her legs back and forth a bit, before grinning at the tiles below. Winter noticed, and her stomach dropped into a cold pit.
"What?" Winter winced, as Eryka's smile grew. "No..."
"I say we do a little digging, huh? Find out what Goodwitch and that kid are hiding. Cos something does not add up!"
"Soooo...what are you saying, Eryka?"
"I'm saying, we become..." She leaped off her perch on the banister, on tip toes to hold her arms up over her head. "Detectives!"
"Hey! That's our thing!" Sun yelled from the doorway of the balcony, Neptune crossing his arms beside him.
"Yeah! Come on Eryka, don't steal our thunder!"
"What are you dummies whining about?" Eryka deadpanned, slumped forward, arms dangling heavily. Neptune scoffed, Sun mirroring the action as they dug around in their pockets.
"What are we on about, I'll show you, where is i-AHA!" Neptune held up his golden badge, Sun finding his too. "We're Junior Detectives!"
"Yeah! So back off!" Sun added with a grin. Eryka looked at Winter and they both snorted.
"That's dumb." Eryka added, crossing her arms under her buxom chest.
"Pfft, no way! You're dumb!" Neptune pointed at his sister.
"Got em." Sun added, backing up his partner, high-fiving him.
"It does sound rather childish." Winter added, Eryka smirking. "That goes for you too."
"Aww, hey! You're supposed to have my back!" Eryka pouted.
"We don't need this, do we Sun? Come on dude, we got lots of stuff to do. Detective stuff!" Neptune stuck out his tongue, before walking away in a stomp. Sun shrugged and followed, his grin never leaving his face. Eryka ran a hand down her face.
"My brother...is a doof sometimes" She rolled her eyes. "Anyway! C'mon Wints, we gotta find out what's going on, or you'll never sleep again!"
"Eryka, if we get caught we could get in trouble."
"Now who sounds childish?" Eryka placed her hands on her wide hips, just as Dulcis dropped from the night sky to perch on her shoulder, nuzzling his beak into her nest of blue hair. Winter huffed.
"I'm serious! I have a reputation to uphol-
"Chickensayswhat?" Eryka cupped her ear.
"What?" Winter growled.
"Cluck-cluck-cluck!" Eryka flapped her arms like wings, Winter's eye twitching. "Chic-chic-chicken!"
"Urgh! Fine! Finefinefine! We'll do the stupid detective thing, we'll get stupidly caught, we'll get stupidly in trouble, all because you were-
"Stupid?" Eryka grinned like a Cheshire cat. Winter sucked in a deep breath, blowing it out shakily.
"J-Just remember your calming techniques...blood pressure...in...and out..." Winter walked away, Eryka giggling to herself. "She must be trying to kill me..."
"C'mon Dulcis! Off to bed with you!" Eryka sang, skipping after Winter. "Messin with you is soooo fun!"
...
The two Arkos teens paced around the rapidly emptying town square, talking about their friends, their friends love interests and lives, basically being their usual selves and avoiding their own issues. Until Pyrrha befell wise to the situation, sighing as she shrunk her head down at a gust of harsh wind. Jaune stopped rambling and looked at her downward gaze.
"We're doing it again."
"Doing what again?" Jaune asked, to which Pyrrha scoffed to the shattered moon above.
"Avoiding talking about us! Talking about everyone else, bar ourselves, Jaune!" She spat with glimmering diamonds clinging to her long lashes. Jaune sucked his lip, eyeing his boots.
"Cos I dunno what to say, okay?" Jaune mumbled.
"Okay, Umm, I'll start. Jaune, do you like me?" Pyrrha crossed her arms.
"Yeah, course-"
"No, do you...like-like me, to quote a certain Valkyrie." Pyrrha asked as they settled to a spot around a row of thin and pruned spruce trees, tucked into sculpted plant pots. Jaune sucked his lip and stepped around the nearest tree, pressing his cheek into the bark as he nodded, eyes flitting down to his shoes. Pyrrha sighed softly and stepped closer with a clack of heels.
"So why do this to ourselves?"
"Because I'm scared." Jaune mumbled. Pyrrha tilted her head, flicking her fringe out of her eyes.
"Of what?" She asked softly.
"Pyrrha-"
"No Jaune, of what?" She asked with a mirthless chuckle. Jaune drummed his fingers into the tree, before locking his alluring blues onto her beautiful greens. He stepped around the tree and closed his eyes, softly leaning his forehead against hers, the Nikos girl closing her own to bump her brow against his. He sighed heavily, enjoying the feeling of her forehead pressed to his, both humming gently.
"...of losing you." He breathed at last. Pyrrha's eyes opened as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a warm hug. "I-I'm just not...I dunno if I can..."
"Shhh...it's okay, Jaune. Deep wounds always hold the biggest scars." She sighed softly, her warm breath a brand of fire to his icy neck.
"I'm just...I know it's stupid, but...I-I can't get that kiss outta my head!" He reeled back out of her hug, but she kept her arms locked around his neck, her eyes and nose scant millimeters from his own. "How...soft you felt...how warm you are...how..." He blinked and stared deeply into her emerald gaze, so tantalizingly close. He huffed shakily and took her arms in his hands to slowly ease them out of their coil around his nape. Reluctantly Pyrrha nodded to her shoes, lowering her arms to her chest, blowing hot air onto the numb digits. Turning on his heels, he eyed the shattered moon above, sniffing.
"W-We should get back, huh?" Jaune scoffed dryly to the sky, swiping his cheeks. Pyrrha stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around his wide frame, hugging herself tightly into his back. He felt her arms thread through the gaps between his arms and sides, her fingers lacing together over his heart. Nuzzling her cheek between his shoulder blades, the Invincible girl spoke.
"I adore you." Pyrrha said above a whisper. Jaune looked down and deflated his bravado, his puffed out chest shrinking. His bigger hands enveloped hers, his thumbs working circles into the back of her hands.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me..." Jaune croaked, gulping with a loud click. "A-And I'm so so scared of losing that..."
"How will us being apart change how long we have in this world?" Pyrrha asked, hugging him a little tighter.
"It's hard to pretend to love someone when you don't..." Jaune said, and Pyrrha's breath hitched. "...but dust is it harder to pretend not to love someone when you do."
Pyrrha squeezed him and smiled softly, nuzzling her cheek into his back.
"We're an odd pair, aren't we?" Pyrrha spoke and Jaune scoffed in agreement. "Both in the same boat...too afraid to take that dive into the deep." She turned him around gently, swiping her fringe out of her eyes as she looked up into his adoringly. "Thing is, Jaune...it's not as scary to dive in, once you know how deep it is."
He sighed heavily, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers, the two being the only thing that existed in that moment. "How deep is it?"
"Deep enough I can't see the bottom." She smiled, sliding her forehead up along his until her lips pressed into his nose. "But I'll still jump in...as long as I'm with you." He smiled lightly at her words and opened his eyes as he lifted his own head, eyes locking in alignment with hers, their lips touching in the briefest, ghosting of kisses.
Pyrrha closed her eyes and leaned forward, firmly pushing and molding her pillowy lips over his. They both hummed, enjoying their mingling tastes, before the languid kiss ended, Pyrrha stepping back and looking into his sparkling blue eyes. He stared at her radiating beauty, the glimmer of her gorgeous big eyes, her red hair fluttering in the breeze, her incredible smile speaking volumes of her affection. It all became so apparent...how close he came to losing it all. It all became too apparent how he'd never be able to protect her, be able to fight to keep her safe. It all became so apparent how dangerously fragile their lives were. How fragile hers was. His gaze soured, watering suddenly as he choked into his hand.
"I-I gotta go, I can't do this..." Jaune quivered, quickly trying to leave the village square.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha called, thumping her fists into her brow, growling in frustration into her hands, raking them down her face. She spun quickly and heavily to face the fountain, angry and upset, eyeing the carp swimming in the lunar lit waters. With a determination in her heart, she turned and briskly walked, almost ran after him.
"Jaune, wait, please!"
"Pyrrha, please stop." He begged, sniffling, wiping profusely at his eyes. She frowned and grabbed his hand, tugging him around to face her, almost throwing him over. He spun on his heels, panting and covering his eyes with his sleeved arm, while the other stayed firmly grasped by the girl of his dreams. She reached up and gripped his arm, pulling it away from his face, revealing watering bloodshot eyes, full of hurt emotion, practically bleeding down his cheeks in salty rivulets. "I c-c-can't do this."
"Shhh...shhh..." Pyrrha hushed softly, stroking his hands, trying to quell his hiccuping gasps. "Don't cry, Jaune."
"I-I-I can't-gasp-help it." He closed his eyes, dropping his head down, chin atop collarbones. "That night ruined everything!"
Pyrrha sighed heavily and leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his, a branding heat erupting at the very instant their skin met. Jaune visibly softened, still gasping and sniffling.
"I adore you too." Jaune cried. "...And it's killing me."
"Oh Jaune..." Pyrrha whispered, hands lifting to cradle his face, thumbs swiping tears away. "We really weren't ready for this conversation, were we?" she scoffed. Jaune shook his head against her forehead, sniffing as her thumbs wiped away another bout of tears.
"N-No...I'm sorry." Jaune whimpered. "You don't deserve this stress on top of everything else."
"Hey, hush...Don't think that anything involving you is stressful to me. I enjoy spending time with you, training you...even this, despite the emotions." She quirked a dry smile.
"I'm sorry I ruined...y-you know, what happened back there." He licked his lips, Pyrrha smiling lightly as she enjoyed the soft press of his brow into hers. "Gods, you deserve so much more!"
"I've got more than enough, Jaune. And you didn't ruin anything. I'm sorry for rushing you. It's obvious you're really struggling with what happened." Pyrrha murmured softly, stroking his cheek.
"But it's so stupid! I mean, you were the one in peril, you were the one who got injured, nearly killed! I should be helping you, not the other way around." Jaune snarled at himself. Pyrrha sighed, brushing the straw out of his eyes, back into his messy thatch atop his head.
"You can't help how you feel, Jaune. You can't help how your wounds show themselves." Pyrrha spoke gently. Jaune looked up into her eyes, so close to him they blurred into a mass of evergreen. "I can't help how I feel...a-about you." Pyrrha admitted. Jaune worried his lip, a silence dangerously close to awkward settling in the very small space between them. Until Jaune sucked up his nerves.
He gingerly leaned over and planted a gentle, nervous kiss onto her cheek. Pyrrha hummed at the gesture, sliding her hands down his face to cup his cheeks. Her thumbs smoothed over his face, before she leaned in and softly brushed her lips over his. Jaune whimpered shakily, hands trembling at his sides, until Pyrrha pulled away, sighing hot puffs of air against his face.
"A step in the right direction, no matter how small, it's still a first step." Pyrrha smiled, Jaune nodding weakly and turning to look at the Town Square. He shakily breathed out, before professionally changing the subject, much to Pyrrha's chagrin.
"Gummy worms and cookies, remember?" Jaune gulped. Pyrrha huffed and looked at her shoes, slapping her hands against her legs lightly.
"Yes." She swallowed thickly. "We mustn't forget that."
...
Jaune opened the front door with a gentle click, seeing the clock on the wall ticking away methodically past the midnight mark. Pyrrha stepped in behind him, shutting the door softly as Jaune's cerulean eyes adjusted to the darkness, and the figure slumped on the couch.
Taiyang was asleep, snoring softly with his head thrown back over the crown of the couch, Zwei curled up asleep in his lap. The little dog breathed steadily in the comfy position on Tai's lap, unawares of the two teens gently padding into the kitchen to set the bag down. The plastic rustled and Jaune winced as Zwei's head shot up, ears darting in all directions.
Pyrrha gingerly patted the dog's head, calming him as he recognized the lack of threat, though Zwei was hardly a guard dog. Pyrrha smiled as Zwei shook his head, collar jingling, before hopping off of Tai to stretch and walk over to his food bowl, in his usual bold and brash prance. Pyrrha looked at Tai as the single Father groggily groaned and rubbed his eyes, blinking at the dark room, gasping at the silhouette beside him, until he noticed the red hair and green eyes.
"Oh...hey Pyrrha." The adult grumbled, sitting up to rub his stubbly face. Pyrrha looped some hair behind her ear and bent down before him.
"It's okay Mr Xiao Long. Go on up to bed, better that than sleeping on a couch."
"Nah, I'll sleep too deeply. Gotta be able to hear if Yang needs me." Tai grumbled with lament. "Thank you for caring though. It's good having you all here. I haven't heard my sunny little dragon laugh in so long."
"Mmm, Yang does seem to be much more chipper with her team here."
"Yeah. Just glad everyone stayed. I know a'lotta kids called it quits. Well, fair play to you kids for staying together and strong." Tai groaned as he stood up, rolling his shoulders back to crack the tension in his back. "I'm gonna make a cuppa coffee. You kids want anything?"
"No thank you, we're just going off to bed." Pyrrha knelt as Zwei padded over in seek of affection, the Nikos girl all too happy to oblige. "Aww, he's affectionate."
"Ah! Tss! Zwei, come here!" Tai snapped his fingers. "Leave her alone."
"Oh no, it's okay! I love dogs. My parents used to have a Mistrali retriever."
"Oh wow. Big dog." Tai chuckled as he flicked the kettle on, yawning into his palm.
"Mmm, he was all bark and no bite though." Pyrrha giggled as a memory filled her mind. "He used to get scared of hot air balloons, if I recall."
"Yeah, Zwei's not fond of em either, are ya pal?" Tai bent down as the little dog rubbed against his leg. "What was he called?" Tai asked Pyrrha, still high on the afterglow of her memories.
"Hmm? Oh! Yes, his name was..." She snorted as Tai scoffed.
"W-What?"
"Well, don't judge but Mother and Father let me name him...and I hasten to add, I was five at the time."
"C'mon!" Tai chuckled, stroking Zwei as Jaune finished unpacking the grocery bag in the kitchen, grinning over Tai. Pyrrha bit her lip and shrugged.
"Polkey."
"P-Polkey?" Tai snorted.
"He had dark spots of fur, like polka-dots!" Pyrrha shrugged, blushing. Jaune smiled adoringly at her, setting the bag of gummy worms and cookies on the counter, scrunching up the plastic bag to throw in the recycling.
"Well, I can't talk. My first dog, when I was a kid, I called grapes." Tai shrugged, scratching under Zwei's chin to get his back leg thumping.
"Grapes?"
"Well yeah, my Dad used to say that "People like grapes." I wanted people to like my dog. Sound logic, really." Tai chuckled as Pyrrha smiled at the warm moment.
"Grapes is a lovely name."
"Kettle's boiled, Mister Xiao Long." Jaune said as he put a spoonful of coffee into his mug and a splash of milk. "Sugar?"
"Oh one please. Thanks...Jaune, right?"
"Yeah. Jaune Arc."
"Ah, sorry. I'm awful at names." Taiyang stood, rubbing the back of his blonde head.
"It's okay. So am I at times." Jaune shrugged, pouring the boiled water into the cup, hot steam rising to almost scold his nostrils on the inhale. With a stir and tap of the spoon, he handed the mug to the older man.
"Thanks Jaune. Oh! While you're both here, there's something I wanted to ask...while you're here over the weekend that is."
"What is it?" Pyrrha crossed her arms, leaning against the wall. Tai bit his lip.
"Well, I've been trying to get Yang outta the house a bit. She's cheered up immensely tonight, I mean...listen." He nodded to the ceiling, as murmured chatter and laughter filled the house. "She needs her friends, but the stubborn goof won't listen. What I'm asking is..." he sighed and pulled up a stool at the breakfast island in the kitchen, nodding to the other two. Pyrrha and Jaune sat down.
"Pyrrha, you're a world renowned fighter. Jaune, you're an Arc. You grew up in the Arcadian mountains, right?"
Jaune nodded. "Yeah."
"Well...Yang's lost a'lotta strength being cooped up here."
"Yes, she did look...thinner." Pyrrha shrugged, itching her cheek. Tai nodded.
"Ironwood dropped off a gift for her earlier this week. She refuses to touch it. That box on her desk upstairs? It's a new arm. State of the art. It'll give her a chance, to keep her dream alive!" Tai begged as only a Father could. "She doesn't want to have to wear it, but sad part is...she has to. I was wondering if...while you're here, you wouldn't mind helping me train her." He asked Pyrrha, her eyes widening.
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. And Jaune, you've got a good noggin on your shoulders." He tapped his head for further incentive. "Help me convince her that wearing it will get her back out there. With all her friends here, she'll listen, I know it!"
"I..." Pyrrha looked at Jaune and he shrugged. "We...would be honored to help our friend."
Tai breathed out heavily and smiled softly to them.
"Thanks. I...I owe you kids." He drummed his fingers into the porcelain of his mug. "I want her to be able to move on from all...this."
"Yeah. Don't we all." Pyrrha smiled sadly.
...
Jaune opened the door to Yang's room, peering in as the group was all sat in a circle, blankets over their legs, swapping stories. Yang wore a beaming smile as her lilac eyes flit from friend to friend, as Nora took to a dramatic and exaggerated retelling of how she took down a Nevermore during the Battle of Beacon.
"There were twelve of them!" Nora exclaimed.
"It was one." Ren corrected, sipping his cocoa.
"And then one of them looked dead at me...it recognized me!" Nora grinned.
"I'm...fairly certain you don't know a Nevermore." Ren smirked.
"So, it lunged for me, and I beat it to the punch!" She smacked her fist into her palm with a loud thump. "Bang! I hit it's head so hard it cracked like an egg! Then the body fell and killed fourteen Ursas!"
"I don't think I even need to correct that, it's so far fetched-"
"It happened Ren! Then, I just stared at the other eleven and they burst into flames." Nora cackled. Ren chuckled into his cup.
"Didn't feel like keeping up the facade?" Ren grinned as she stuck her tongue out at him. Jaune shut the door as Pyrrha filed in, throwing the bag of Gummy worms at Nora, and the cookies at Ruby.
"Special delivery." He grinned. The sugar duo cackled at their new desserts, until Ren took Nora's from her hands, and Weiss took the cookies from Ruby.
"Aww!" they both pouted. "No fair!"
"You hush. You, Jaune Arc, should know better!" Weiss scolded. "Giving them sugar at this hour is not a good idea." The Heiress crossed her arms. "I need my beauty sleep, you know."
"Yeah ya do." Yang smirked as Weiss frowned at her. Jaune sat on his sleeping bag by Yang's desk, looking up at the box on it. He sighed and looked at Pyrrha, who gave him a warm smile of encouragement, her mind however swimming with how their talk practically changed nothing. Frustration was not the word...
"Hey, Yang?" Jaune asked.
"What's up, Vomit boy?" Yang grinned, and Jaune had never been so glad to hear that name.
"That box. It's a gift from Ironwood, right?"
"Uh huh." Yang's smile dropped.
"What is it?" He asked. He knew. They didn't. Time to help her heal...whether she wanted to or not.
"Dad told you, huh?" Yang sighed, standing up and brushing herself off with her hand, stepping over Weiss and Blake, grabbing the box and sitting down next to Jaune, between him and Pyrrha. She huffed and took the lid off, revealing the pristine shiny silver limb. The room all gasped and gaped.
"Oh wow! Ironwood gave you a Spectre-Eleven arm modification?" Weiss asked with a skeptical rise in her voice. Everyone in the room looked at her with a mirroring set of raised brows. "What? I'm knowledgeable with the latest Atlesian technology, thank you very much." The Schnee frowned, crossing her arms.
"Yeah...I don't want it though." Yang mumbled. Both teams snapped their eyes to Yang. Jaune took this as his cue, hugging his knees, shuffling closer to his blonde buddy.
"Why's that?" Jaune asked. Yang shrugged, worrying her lip as she looked at the silver arm in her lap. "Oh, they didn't give you a left one by mistake did they, cos I got two left feet - you've seen me dance, don't deny it."
"Sh-Shut up." Yang chuckled, shoving the blonde boy gently. She sobered softly and lilac eyes met sapphire. "It's not...me." She frowned, pushing the box further down her legs.
"Of course it's not. But...I mean, what is you, Yang?" Jaune asked, Yang raising a brow. "Is this you? Sitting and wasting away in your room, looking outside for the rest of your life? Cos that's not the Yang Xiao Long I know. No, the Yang we know is a fighter. A tough Brawler, whose given me more dead arms and dead legs than my sisters ever did, combined!"
Yang smiled lightly as she looked back at the box, gingerly looping her five digits over the lip and dragging it back up to her thighs. She bit her lip and hesitantly picked it up out the box. The cold steel met her fingers and startled her, but it quickly warmed under her hot blooded skin.
"We miss you. I miss..." Jaune huffed and wrapped an arm around the Brawler's shoulder, guiding her head down onto his shoulder, something he would have been afraid to do not long ago. Yang smiled at the caring gesture. "I miss my sister."
Yang looked up at him with wide eyes. "Si-Sister?"
"You mean more to us than you think." Jaune poked the metal arm she was holding. "Goes both ways too."
Yang set the arm back in the box and sighed heavily. Not sadly though. Almost as if a weight had been lifted. "I'll think about it, okay?"
"That's all we're asking." Jaune gave her a gentle squeeze, before letting go. Yang caught his arm and quickly threw it back over her shoulder, blushing as she gulped.
"D-Don't. Not yet anyway." Yang blinked at the group. Jaune nodded to Blake and she shuffled closer to Yang, looping her arm over Jaune's, holding Yang on her other side. Blake's jet black hair contrasted well with the yellow as both their heads bumped together softly.
Pyrrha laid a gentle hand on Jaune's shoulder. Their eyes met, hers full of warmth and compassion, before she retreated to her sleeping bag and nestled in for the night. Ruby lay in front of her sister, hugging her around the waist and settling her head comfortingly into Yang's stomach, under the swell of her chest. Weiss turned in for the night herself, into her own fur lined bag, closing her eyes.
"Good night everyone." Weiss murmured.
"Good night." Pyrrha hummed from her own bag. Ren zipped Nora's up to her chin and settled into his own in the corner.
"Yes. Sleep well." Ren murmured. Jaune smiled and closed his eyes, holding Yang between he and Blake, Ruby hugging her waist. To say Yang felt loved in this moment was an understatement. Blake breathed gently in her sleep, cat ears flicking every now and then. Yang's lilac eyes opened in the darkened room, looking at the box on the floor off to the side, the uncovered arm on show. Her hand rested on Ruby's hair in her lap, gently stroking as she smiled and closed her eyes, mind made up.
Author's Notes: Aww! Fluff! Yay! Please review, I always read them, and love the kind words you feed me! Take care my friends, and see you next time! - Dave