Hello, everyone! We are back with my current favorite AU a little early, due to me suddenly starting to write like a demon this week. I'm glad that this has gotten so much of a following. I suppose it's partially because of a desperate need for happy Arkos in the fandom. Well, let me say something that will make you happier: I have decided that all of my AU fics are reincarnations of the canon characters. That's right. Whenever you start to feel bad about what happens in canon, whatever ends up happening in canon, you can look at one of my AU fics and smile because our babies were able to get happiness in another life, even if they didn't get it in Remnant. You're welcome.

Pyrrha woke up slowly that morning, due to not setting an alarm for once. As she drifted toward wakefulness, she was aware of a very comforting warmth surrounding her. She then was aware of a sense of absolute contentment. Despite going to bed very late, she felt more relaxed than she had felt in a long time. She snuggled closer to the warmth, opening her eyes slightly as she allowed her mind to continue its journey toward consciousness.

Then, the warmth shifted and Pyrrha was suddenly wide awake. Jolt after jolt went through her veins as she realized where she was and who she was next to. I can't believe I did that, she thought, her eyes wide. Why on earth did I suggest sleeping with him? Everyone knows the implications of that, especially in a college dorm!

Jaune was still fast asleep, unaware of his friend's mental turmoil. He mumbled something and nuzzled the top of Pyrrha's head. His arms were wrapped firmly around her, making it nearly impossible to slip out and pretend it hadn't happened.

Her heart was pounding, but the sleepy touch of Jaune's cheek to the top of her head reminded Pyrrha of another vital fact: Jaune had agreed to sleep with her. He had agreed quite readily, in fact. Remembering this calmed her down somewhat, allowing her to access the situation.

Okay, so he was open to sleeping next to me. That doesn't necessarily mean anything. He has seven sisters, after all, and has probably slept with Ruby before. Before she could continue with that train of thought, however, she remembered something he had said that night when she had expressed concern for him.

He had been incredibly tense, but stopped her from leaving. "I'm just not used to this," he had said.

So, if it's not something he's used to, why would he be so willing with me? Even as she thought the question, Pyrrha felt her cheeks warming up as the answer immediately made itself clear. She tilted her head upward to look at his sleeping face. It wouldn't be difficult to kiss him if she wanted to.

Two things stopped her: One, she remembered that morning breath was a thing. Two, she heard Ruby shifting in her bed and quickly decided to fake sleep.

Ruby climbed down from the lofted bed, biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from squealing at the sight in front of her. That's it, she thought. If they aren't together by the end of the day, I'll get Yang to throw them in a closet. Grabbing her toothbrush, she quietly left the room to clean up for the day.

Pyrrha started lightly nudging Jaune. Weiss would be awake soon, and she definitely was the type of person to give lectures on decency, modesty, and other similar things after finding her roommate in bed with someone. Neither Pyrrha nor Jaune needed that on a Saturday morning.

"Hm…?" Jaune groaned, pressing his cheek into the pillow. He didn't want to get up. He had been having an amazing dream about snuggling on the couch with Pyrrha near the family Christmas tree. It had been so relaxing and so real. The feeling of holding her close was still in his mind, almost as if he really was-

His eyes shot open. He was fully awake and holding a familiar form in his arms. He looked down and Pyrrha's stunning emerald eyes looked back.

Crap, he thought. I didn't talk in my sleep tonight, did I? It would be just my luck if I said something! He tried to not look as panicked as he felt. "Uh, morning," he said, grinning shakily. He knew that his face was probably as red as Ruby's cloak at this point.

"Good morning," Pyrrha replied. He seems nervous, but he still isn't letting go of me. That's promising, she thought. "We should probably get up before Weiss does. I'm not in the mood for a lecture."

"Oh, right!" Jaune unwrapped his arms from Pyrrha and sat up. Was I holding her like that all night?! "Ruby too. She'd never let me hear the end of it. Uh, not that she'd have any reason to tease me about this specifically. Um, she's just, well, you know." Stop. Talking. You. Moron.

"Yes, I know how it is," Pyrrha said, deciding to save her friend from any more awkward ramblings. She pretty much had all the confirmation she needed at this point, anyway.

She hadn't been sure previously, because his occasional bouts of nervousness around her could easily be chalked up to his socially-awkward personality. His kindness seemed universal to everyone he was close to. His eagerness to hang out with her could have simply been signs of a very deep friendship, like what he had with Ruby. However, between the way he had acted in response to Pyrrha's offer to sleep next to him, and his slip-up concerning Ruby's teasing, Pyrrha was pretty sure that Jaune was as interested in her as she was in him. All that was left was figuring out a good time and place to talk about it.

This certainly isn't the time or place, she thought as she glanced toward Weiss's bed before finding her toothbrush and a clean washcloth. "Once we're all dressed, I was thinking we could go to the campus Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast."

"Sounds good," Jaune replied, thankfully regaining his composure. "Wouldn't it be cheaper to swipe us in at the dining hall, though?"

Pyrrha grimaced. "It would be, but I wouldn't feed the food from the dining halls to a dog, much less my friends."

"That bad?" Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't the school brag about having gourmet chefs or something?"

"Coco worked there for a few months," Pyrrha explained. "She quit before the semester ended, because it was so filthy. Did you know that they use the dishwasher to clean the filthy floor mats at the end of the day? And that they sometimes mix up the dirty and clean utensils when putting them out?"

"Ugh!" Jaune shuddered. "On second thought, Dunkin' Donuts sounds perfect." Okay, she's talking casually. This is good. So, last night wasn't just a fluke, right? He tried to find that sleepy confidence that had come to him while lying on the futon in the dark. Unfortunately, it seemed to have faded with the coming of morning.

He was still rummaging through his overnight bag when Pyrrha left to brush her teeth and Ruby came back into the room. "Shut up," he said as she started to open her mouth.

Ruby closed her mouth again, mimed zipping it, and winked cheekily. She couldn't keep the wide smirk from her face, though. It only grew wider in response to Jaune's blush and annoyed glare.

"Look, I'm gonna tell her today, so no trying to push me, okay?" Jaune continued, glancing to the side. "If I can get up the guts to do it, anyway."

Ruby was unable to suppress a squeak. "It's about time! As for guts, maybe I could ask Uncle Qrow for some of his 'liquid courage.'" She tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah, no," Jaune said. "The last time I took a drink of that, I almost puked. I'm not sure if that stuff is legal, even if we were twenty-one."

"Tell me you're not talking about drinking," Weiss's annoyed, tired voice came down from her bed. "I'll have you know that I'll have none of that in this room."

Jaune and Ruby rolled their eyes at each other and said nothing else.

…..

During Dagorhir that afternoon, both Jaune and Pyrrha were noticeably distracted. Pyrrha lost very easily to Ren in a one-on-one sparring match and Jaune took both an arrow and a javelin to the face over the course of a few minutes during one of the group battles.

When Barty called a water break, Jaune walked over to Velvet and Coco. "Hey, guys. Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure thing," Coco said with a grin. "What's happening, Arc Angel?"

"Well, this may seem like a weird question, but how did you guys get together?" Jaune asked. "Like, how did you tell each other and what happened after that?"

Velvet's eyes lit up. "Are you finally going to tell Pyrrha how you feel?" she asked in a whisper.

Jaune pouted. "Okay, can we at least pretend that I'm not pathetically-obvious? Humor me, would you?"

Coco snickered and ruffled Jaune's hair. "You're freaking adorable, do you know that?" She took a sip of water before taking on a serious expression. "Well, for us, we had been rooming together for a little over a month. I knew how I felt, but I didn't want to make Velvet uncomfortable, since we were roommates."

"How did you get past that?" Jaune asked.

Velvet smiled. "Simple. We realized that our friendship was too strong for a potentially one-sided crush to ruin it. At least, that's what I realized, since I was the first one to say anything."

This surprised Jaune. "You? Really?"

Coco laughed. "I know. Seems backwards, right? I was so worried about saying the wrong thing to my supposedly-timid roomie, she ended up being the brave one instead!"

"I told her that I liked her a great deal, and that I wanted to go out with her. I also made it clear that I was fine with just being friends as well. The main thing is to not put pressure on the other person," Velvet explained. "After that, we just figured things out as we went. That's really the only thing you can do."

Jaune nodded slowly as he listened. "That makes sense. So, when's a good time to tell someone?"

"Just find a quiet moment when you two are hanging out and bring up the subject if it feels right," Coco said. "I'm sure Pyrrha- Sorry, the 'hypothetical girl in this situation that totally doesn't involve you' will probably be open to talk about it."

Jaune pouted again, giving Coco a dry look that only caused her to burst out laughing.

…..

"I can't believe I'm doing this. You people are a bad influence, I'm telling you!" Weiss huffed as she tried to find a comfortable way to crouch down in the bushes. Though she was still wearing her beige Dag pants, she didn't want to get unnecessary grass stains on them.

"Quiet! You'll give away our position," Ruby whispered, peering through a gap in the bushes toward the Dag field. Jaune had lingered while Pyrrha went to help Barty put the weapons in his car. He was pacing back and forth and mumbling to himself. "This is gonna be it! He's gonna tell her!"

"We shouldn't be eavesdropping like juveniles. Even though you're a high school student, I assumed you were more mature than this."

"Says the college student who's crouching in the bushes with me. I'm not forcing you to do this, you know." Ruby smirked. "So, I know you wanna hear this as much as I do."

"Hmph!" Weiss glared sulkily at Ruby, but didn't protest anymore.

Jaune, meanwhile, was focusing on remembering how to breathe correctly. He decided to tell her right when she came back, before he could lose his nerve. It would have to be on the Dag field. Weiss would probably be at the dorm room doing homework by now, Jaune's whole family was at home, and the coffee shop was full of potential eavesdroppers. The field was empty and would likely remain that way, so this was the best place to do this.

A more poetic person would have stopped to muse at the fact that this was being done in the place where Jaune and Pyrrha first met. Jaune, unfortunately, was too intent on his breathing to waste thoughts on such matters.

Pyrrha didn't return from the parking lot right away, but paused to take a few calming breaths first. This was it. She had no logical reason for delaying this any longer. She knew how she felt, and had a pretty good idea concerning how Jaune felt. They were close enough friends at this point to be honest with each other, regardless of the outcome. Despite this rationale, her heart was still fluttering like an unbelted tunic.

She approached the field, frowning at the way Jaune was pacing. "Are you okay?"

Jaune jumped. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." He rubbed at the back of his neck self-consciously. "Um, Pyr? Can I talk to you before we go downtown?"

"Of course," Pyrrha replied. "I actually wanted to tell you something as well."

"Yeah? What?"

"It can wait. You can go first."

"Nah, it's fine. You go first."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure. I mean, mine's really quick, so…"

"Maybe you should go first, then."

"Oh my god," Weiss groaned, putting her hand over her face.

"Quiet!" Ruby hissed, her silver eyes fixed eagerly on their friends. She secretly agreed with Weiss, though.

Jaune took a steadying breath. Okay, Jaune. Man up. Just say it. "Um, well," he started. Try saying it without stuttering like a moron! he scolded himself. "W-We've been pretty good friends since the beginning of the year, huh?" he said lamely.

"Definitely," Pyrrha agreed. She looked at Jaune's pink cheeks and nervous expression. Could it be that he wanted to talk about the same thing she did? Deciding to take a chance, she added: "It's only been over two months, but I feel like I've known you for years."

Jaune's heart leapt at Pyrrha's words. "Yeah! That's just what I was thinking!" He grinned excitedly before hurriedly looking at the ground again. "Um, so I figured that we can be honest about stuff, since we're such good friends, right?"

"I should think so," Pyrrha replied, her mouth feeling suddenly dry as anticipation started building within her. "You can always be honest with me." She desperately wanted to just say what she was feeling and end this tense moment, but decided to let Jaune finish articulating his own thoughts.

"Okay," Jaune said, taking another deep breath before finally saying it: "I like you, Pyrrha. A lot." He forced himself to meet her gorgeous green gaze. "I always look forward to hanging out with you, more than anyone else. It's like you said: It feels like we've been friends for years. I…I want to keep being friends, of course."

He swallowed nervously before continuing. "B-But, I'd also like to see if maybe we could be… I mean, maybe we could go out sometime, though we kinda already do that. I mean…" Crap! Of course I get tongue-tied NOW of all times!

Thankfully, Pyrrha decided to come to his rescue. "Jaune," She placed a hand on his arm, cutting off his rambling. She smiled softly as his glittering blue eyes fixed on her. "I feel the same way. I felt a connection between us on that first day at orientation, and that feeling only deepened with time. I would like to see what comes of this, if that's okay with you."

Jaune stared at Pyrrha's hand. "So, you feel the same?" His shoulders slumped with relief. "Oh, thank god!" he breathed before quickly straightening up. "Uh, I mean that's awesome! I mean, uh…"

Pyrrha took a step forward and touched her lips to his cheek, effectively silencing him. "Don't hurt yourself," she murmured. Was it really possible for someone to be so attractive and adorable at the same time?

Jaune's cheeks turned bright red. For a split second, all knowledge of the English language and even his own name left him. Thankfully, the moment passed and he was able to savor the fact that Pyrrha had just freaking kissed him! A radiant smile spread across his flushed face. "So, does this mean our post-Dag coffee thing today is our first official date? I'm paying, if that's the case."

Pyrrha took Jaune's hand, smiling as he immediately twined their fingers together. "That sounds grand. Shall we?"

As they started to leave the field, however, they froze as a familiar voice declared: "Unbelievable! They didn't even kiss for real!"

Jaune spun around, blue eyes flashing. "RUBY!"

Ruby stood up, silver eyes wide. "Uh, hi?" She glanced nervously from side to side, already mentally planning an escape route.

Weiss, thoroughly done with crouching behind a bush, also stood up. "What was that about giving away our position, dolt?"

"Shut up!"

"I can't believe-! You were-! The whole-!" Jaune sputtered as he stared at the two. A gentle squeeze to his hand caused him to look at Pyrrha, who was eying the sword and shield under his other arm

"I hit them with your sword while you bash them with your shield?" Pyrrha suggested, her eyes glittering mischievously.

Jaune felt an evil grin rapidly replacing his look of outrage. "I like the way you think." He handed his sword to Pyrrha before walking toward the bushes.

"Wait! I was roped into this!" Weiss protested as she emerged. "I don't even have a weapon on me!"

Ruby leaped forward, brandishing her red sword. "Fear not, Weiss! The Rose Knight shall protect thee! Thou shalt meet thy doom, filthy ship-teasers!" she declared before running toward Jaune and Pyrrha.

During the next few minutes, all else was forgotten as the three took turns beating each other to the ground. Weiss watched, shaking her head slowly. "Dunces," she murmured, turning her gaze toward the sky. "I am utterly surrounded by dunces."

This was a fun one. Like, I literally sat down at the library and typed this over the course of three hours (not counting the editing I did later). It usually takes at least two or three sittings to complete a oneshot or chapter, but this one just had me going from beginning to end. I hope that inspiration starts running like this for the rest of the stuff I'm working on! Until next time. Peace out!