Oneshot made by good friend Blaiseingfire. Read and Review
The light snow flurries were a wonderful sight on a late early December evening. Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos walked side by side together on their way back to their dorm from the grocery store, each hand holding a full paper bag.
"Are you sure we didn't forget everything?" Jaune asked.
"Yep," Pyrrha answered. "We double and triple checked the list. Don't worry so much."
"Sorry, just a habit from back home," his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment just for a moment.
"I can imagine. I doubt the holidays would be easy for your parents. Trying to manage with 8 kids must be a hassle."
"You don't know the half of it, Mom and dad would work tirelessly during the holidays, you'd think the world was ending. Me and my older sisters would try and get them to rest by trying to do the work ourselves, but that was a constant battle."
"But it all must have been worth it, right?" Pyrrha asked.
"Oh, definitely." Jaune went on to talk about how the holidays with his family were. Pyrrha gave him her full undivided attention as he spoke. Even if she sometimes got confused with the names of his sisters, she loved hearing him talk about things he was passionate about, and trying to picture all of his stories happening like a movie in her head was also fun.
"What about you Pyrrha? Were the holidays anything special?" Jaune asked.
"They were," Pyrrha said, smiling as she relieved some memories. "There wasn't anything grand or chaos-y like your holidays though. It was always just me and my mom together. We'd put up a few decorations and would spend the final nights of the week huddled in blankets on the couch next to the fireplace and watch all the classic holiday movies."
"Those better include those cheesy stop-motion movies."
"I don't even think Cardin doesn't watch those." They shared a laugh at that. "I can't wait for you to meet my mom. I bet you two will get along nicely."
"Same with you and Saphron and Terra. I hope that if they ask for embarrassing stories, you'll not say anything."
"No promises." Pyrrha gave the most devilish grin she could muster, but Jaune thought she looked cute and they both laughed again.
They finally made it back to their dorm. Jaune realized they didn't have any free hands to knock so he just tapped his forehead against the door, earning a chuckle from Pyrrha.
"Hey welcome back guys," Nora greeted as she opened the door. "See Ren, told you they weren't kidnapped by pirates!"
"That was never a concern," Ren clarified.
"Sorry we took so long, it took a little bit to find everything," Jaune explained as they walked in.
"Hope we didn't miss anything," Pyrrha said as they placed their bags down. Ren then quickly looked through the bags.
"Nope, you got everything, thanks guys," Ren said, putting a few things aside while helping the others put the rest away.
"You guys are going to love Ren's loaded lo mein. It's simply to die for," Nora exclaimed.
Nora said that about everything Ren cooked, but they couldn't blame her. His cooking was good, and tonight's meal was no exception.
By some miracle, Jaune thinking he was going to die was just him being a drama queen over motion sickness, just like his girlfriend said it was. After getting off the ship and going through baggage claim, they exited the airport and were greeted with a wonderful sight of the city.
"Argus, it hasn't changed much since I left," Pyrrha said. "Still as beautiful as ever."
"Is that with or without paparazzi following you everywhere?" Jaune teased, earning a light punch to the shoulder.
"Don't jinx us. Now, where… I was going to ask where your sister was but I think I see her," Pyrrha said. Jaune followed her pointing finger, and saw a blonde woman holding up a large cardboard sign that said 'LONG LOST BABY BROTHER WHO I HAVEN'T SEEN IN YEARS.'
"Yeah, that's Saph alright," Jaune sighed. "Let's go." He led the way to her. When they got close, Jaune let out a smile when he saw how excited his sister was to see them.
"Jaune!" Saphron ran up to him and hugged him. "Oh my goodness, it's been so long!"
"It has," Jaune returned the loving hug. "How have you been?"
"I've been good. A sleepless night or two here and there with Adrian but it's all well."
"Adrian?" Pyrrha asked, gaining the older sister's attention.
"And you must be Pyrrha Nikos," Saphron walked up and examined her. "Gotta say, you look a lot more lively in person than on the tv."
"Oh, thank you," Pyrrha smiled at the praise.
"And cute."
"What?"
"Don't tell my wife I said that."
"What?!"
"Saph, can we go 5 minutes without teasing please?" Jaune asked.
"Sorry Jaune, but as your biggest sister it is my job, required by law, to embarrass the hell out of you whenever I can."
"I'm still waiting to see that law in writing."
"You will someday. Now come on, I doubt you guys want to stay at the airport all day."
She helped them load their luggage into their car and they set off for their house. The car ride was filled with casual conversation of the two Arc siblings catching up. Pyrrha didn't speak up, she was more than comfortable listening to her boyfriend chat with his sister. However, she then noticed that they passed by a familiar street.
"Hey um, sorry for asking, but can you make a left at this light?" She asked shyly.
"I can. What's up?" Saphron asked.
"My mother lives right here. If you don' mind I wanted to stop by and say hi to her for a few minutes."
"Say no more." Saphron turned and pulled to the side of the road.
"Thank you! Pyrrha hoped out of the car and practically skipped to the door.
"I didn't know her mom still lived here," Saph commented.
"Yeah. She doesn't know we're here," Jaune said. "She only got a few days off from work and Pyrrha wanted to surprise her with a visit."
"Oh right, I just remembered you guys said something about staying somewhere else the last few days of the week. I hope she's nice and doesn't to the whole 'mean parent interrogation' act on you."
"Yeah… I hope so too." That thought hadn't crossed his mind before now. "And I hope that you and Terra won't do that either."
Saph let out a mock gasp. "Why dear baby brother, do I look like the kind of person who would-"
"Yes, yes you do."
"Spoilsport." They shared loving sibling smiles before turning their attention back to Pyrrha. She was now standing in front of the door with a scroll to her ear. Over a minute passed before she returned to the car.
"She's not here," Pyrrha said with slight disappointment. "Maybe she has a late day at work today."
"Aww, I'm sorry Pyrrha," Jaune grabbed her hand.
"It's ok, I could always call her later." Pyrrha squeezed his hand back and they looked into each other's eyes. The moment was ruined when they heard Saphron snap a picture from her scroll.
"What? You two look cute together. Plus Mom asked me for pics so… sorry not sorry."
"… just keep the embarrassing pictures down to a minimum," Jaune said.
"Deal."
"Hello!" Terra greeted them at the door before they had a chance to walk in. She kissed Saphron on the cheek and turned to Jaune. "Good to see you again," she hugged him before turning her attention to Pyrrha. "And you must be Pyrrha, It's nice to meet you." She held out a hand and Pyrrha took it.
"A pleasure to meet you too… Terra was it?"
"Yep. Now come inside, you guys must be cold. Plus, I'm sure Adrian would like to meet you."
"Adrian?" Pyrrha questioned as she was led inside. A few seconds later, Pyrrha was making eye contact with the cutest toddler she had ever laid her eyes on sitting on the living room floor with a toy airship. "OhMyGoshHi!" Pyrrha was right next to him almost immediately. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing!" Her smile matched Adrian's.
"Told you she'd be on him the moment she walked in," Terra gloated.
"I don't think I'll be spending much time with him while I'm here," Jaune said as she watched Pyrrha play with Adrian's happy little feet.
"You will, he still loves his uncle," Saphron reassured him. "Now come, I could use a hand with making dinner if you don't mind."
"Sure," Jaune went to follow her but Terra stopped him with a raised hand.
"You know, your girlfriend is kinda cute~" she purred.
"I know, Saph already did that joke," Jaune said.
"She- damnit, the three-way joke was supposed to be mine," Terra huffed.
"Actually, hers was the 'don't tell my wife I called someone else cute' joke."
"…son of a bit- bee sting!"
Later that night, Pyrrha retired to the guest room.
"Did you find out what happened to your mom?" Jaune asked.
"Yep, I called her," Pyrrha replied. "You know how I wanted us visiting to be a surprise? Well, turned out she had the same idea with a surprise holiday visit."
"Wow, really?" Jaune let out a quick laugh.
"Yep, she's in Vale right now."
"Will she be ok though? Does she have a place to stay?"
"Yep, she'll be with Ren and Nora in our dorm. She'll be there for a week after we get back so we can still spend time with her.
"That's good, I can't wait to meet her."
Pyrrha's scroll then pinged with a message from Nora. It was a selfie of her looking unamused as her mom and Ren happily chatted by a stove.
'Your mom is hogging my boyfriend over cooking. Make her stop.'
They had a good laugh at that.
Not long after, they were all seated in a semi-formal restaurant, one of Argus's most popular ones.
"I've always wanted to come here," Terra said, "But it's practically impossible to get a reservation here."
"Same, how did you guys do it?" Saph asked.
"Well, being a celebrity in your hometown has its perks," Pyrrha explained. In truth, it was a combination of that and reserving a table 2 weeks in advance.
"Guess that's one advantage of dating a celebrity, right Jaune," Saph said, but received no answer. "Jaune?"
"Oh, sorry," Jaune said as he put the menu down. "I was just, uh… I'm trying to figure out how to pronounce everything on the menu."
"I know right?" Terra agreed.
"That's why you look at the menu online beforehand. Isn't that right Adrian?" Saph looked down at him. Adrian had no idea what was going on but was happy to be getting attention from mommy #1.
"Awwwwww," Pyrrha cooed and poked his nose, earning some giggles. "You are just the cutest."
"I hope you're not getting any ideas," Saph teased.
"We're not planning to kidnap him and raise him as our own," Jaune said. After a few seconds, he realized what she actually meant. "Wait, no! No, we are not having one yet!"
"Are you sure?~"
"Saph please stop tormenting your brother," Pyrrha came to the rescue and held Jaune's hand. "And we'd prefer to take our rime with that." In reality, they were comfortable with giving each other oral, but they didn't need to know that.
"Ok ok, I had my fun," Saph held her hands up in mock surrender. "So, do you guys have anything specific that you wanted to do tomorrow?"
Jaune shared a look with his girlfriend. "Not particularly, we just had this restaurant planned since it was easy to get a reservation for today. After that, we thought to play it by ear."
"That shouldn't be a problem, there's lots to do here," Saph said. Adrian babbled in agreement.
"I won't be able to join you guys for the last 2 days because of work, but I'll still be able to spend the other 5 with you," Terra said. "Well make the most of it."
"Are you ready to order?" The waitress said as she came back.
"Yep, you go first Jaune," Saph smiled.
Jaune looked down at the menu, full of words he still didn't know how to pronounce. "I hate you."
The next day was filled with an activity that was Jaune's totally absolute favorite: a shopping spree at the mall. Jaune never minded shopping trips, but as the guy with a group of girls and a toddler, he was the designated bag carrier. He was used to it coming from a family with 7 sisters, and they thankfully weren't getting too many things, he had only 3 bags right now.
Though a problem came when they came upon a "Veronica's Secret." For obvious reasons, Jaune sat on a bench with Adrian and the bags while the girls went in.
"Maaa, aaa?" Adrian pointed to the store they were in.
"Nah, you wouldn't want to go in there Adrian," Jaune said. "That place is where the girls get all their cooties from."
"Blaaa," Adrian stuck his tongue out in disgust.
"Atta boy," Jaune held his hand up, and Adrian high-fived it. "They are taking a while in there. Wonder what they're doing."
Inside, the trio stood in front of a mannequin modeling some lingerie.
"Guys, I really appreciate it but-" Pyrrha said before she was interrupted.
"Hush you," Saph wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Now tell me what you think."
Pyrrha looked at the lingerie again. "It looks neat."
"Just neat huh… what do you think Jaune would think of it seeing you wear it?"
Pyrrha's cheeks matched her hair. "Oh god!"
"Stop torturing the poor girl," Terra said. "What my wife is trying to say is, while you're not at that stage of the relationship yet, you will be eventually and she wants you to look good for her brother when you do."
"I well…" Pyrrha thought about it for a moment, "what do they have in purple?"
Back outside, "Eh, probably not much," Jaune said. He looked down to see Adrian puff up and poke his cheek. "You bored?"
Adrian responded with something that was probably a yes.
Jaune looked around and spotted something. "I know something that can fix that."
Jaune then carried him over to the ice cream shop in the food court, and his heart couldn't help but melt at how excited and happy Adrian was (maybe in part to him getting a little bit of every topping Adrian pointed to).
"Alrighty," Jaune sat them down at a table and picked up a spoon full of ice cream, "do you like airplane noises or…" Adrian said something in baby talk and grabbed his arm to bring the spoon closer to him. "Guess that answers that." Jaune started feeding Adrian one spoonful t a time, while also sneaking a spoonful for himself every now and then when Adrian wasn't looking.
"There you guys are," Saph said as the trio approached them. "Are you having fun with your uncle?"
Adrian's giggles definitely meant yes.
"Jaune, would it kill you to wipe his face?" Terra asked as she got a napkin and wiped Adrian's messy face up.
"I was going to after we finished. Besides, it's like the law to have at least one memory of getting your face messy after having ice cream. Right Adrian?"
"Yaa yaa!" Adrian said, not in agreement with Jaune, but at Pyrrha taking the spoon and making airplane noises to feed him.
Saph noticed how much Joy Pyrrha had while feeding him. "Are you suuuuuuuure you don't want one of your own?"
"Saph, please," Jaune groaned.
It snowed the previous night, so it was decided they would go to Hill Park for some sleighing after lunch.
"I haven't done this since before I started fighting!" Pyrrha said cheerfully.
"Wait, really? That long?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah, just… never had the time for it when I was… never mind that, come on let's go." She led him to the edge of the slope and put a sleigh down. "Come on, let's race!" Jaune couldn't deny her that and got down next to her. They pushed off on the count of 3 and sped down the hill. They made it to the bottom with Pyrrha the victor.
"God job Pyrrha."
"Let's go again!" Pyrrha helped Jaune up and hurried back up the side of the hill. They went up and down the hill several times, sometimes with Saph, Terra, and Adrian (who looked a little ridiculous with his puffed-up jacket, but his scarf and hat made him look so adorable.) They went on for hours. Jaune enjoyed every moment just for seeing Pyrrha happy.
"The sun is starting to set. You up for one last race?" Pyrrha asked.
"You mean am I up to kick your butt, sure," Jaune gloated back.
"Oh, it's on." Pyrrha got her game face on and they both took off. Halfway down, Jaune noticed the metal parts of his sleigh glow with a familiar as he began to slow down.
"Oh come on, really?!"
Pyrrha smiled semi-innocently and stuck her tongue out at him. She soon got karma when she hit a bump and fell off her sleigh near the bottom.
Jaune then stopped and went to her. "You ok Pyrrha?" She was on her back, eyes closed. "Pyrrha?"
"Blaaaaa," Pyrrha stuck her tongue out, to emphasize that she was really dead.
"Oh no, the love of my life is dead," Jaune's acting would make theater students envious. "If only there was a way to bring her back. Maybe… maybe true loves kiss can save the day?" He knelt down and Pyrrha's lips puckered up ready for a kiss…
"Ack- pfft pfft pfft-" only to instead be met with a hand full of snow and a laughing Jaune. "Meanie."
"I love you too," Jaune leaned down and gave her an actual kiss this time.
"Woohoo!" Terra came racing down holding onto Adrian.
"Wait Terra lookout, there's a-!" Jaune shouted, but too late as she hit the same bump Pyrrha did and fell off on her back, holding Adrian tight.
"Are you ok?" Jaune and Pyrrha rushed to her.
"I'm fine. Are you ok Adrian?" Terra looked down at her baby. His response was to grab some snow and happily eat it.
Saph and Terra were called into work for emergencies for a little bit and Pyrrha wanted to check something, leaving Jaune and Adrian alone for a little while. And when two boys with access to toys are left alone…
"Bwahahahaha!" Jaune laughed behind his battleline of toys. "You are a fool if you think you can challenge me!"
Adrian responded in baby talk, taking command in the rear of his own toy battleline. Jaune didn't know what he said in response, but he was sure it was menacing.
"That may be, but you are still outmatched by my superior intellect!"
Adrian responded with what Jaune assumed was him calling him an idiot in baby speak.
"No one has dared have the courage to say that to me. You may be a worthy opponent yet! Our battle will be legendary!"
Adrian raised his fist and gave a battle cry, signaling the start of the war. Battles of incomprehensible proportions were fought. Heroes rose and fell. Many toys died-… fell over onto the floor. Even the forcefield that was immune to forcefield eating dogs, immune to anti-forcefield missiles, immune to gnomes that dug under forcefields, immune to Adrian's puppy eyes, immune to Jaune's bribes of sweets, and immune to God himself eventually fell.
Despite all of this, neither were close to becoming king of the couch pillow fort. Still, the war dragged on.
Pyrrha came back not too long ago. Her return went unnoticed by the boys, and she decided to just stay and watch on the sidelines. It didn't take long for an evil idea.
"I'll take your surrender now," Jaune said, one knee on the king cushion.
Adrian crossed his arms as he half sat on the king cushion.
"I don't suppose you'll take a trip to the ice cream shop a fair trade?"
It was tempting, but Adrian held firm.
"So it appears we are…" suddenly, the toy attack ships and other toys with metal glowed in a familiar aura and started flying.
"Bwa ha ha ha," Pyrrha walked into the living room, airships flying around her in attack formation. "Now that you foolish boys have weakened each other, I, The Invincible Girl, shall destroy you all and claim the fort for myself, and use it as my throne as I conquer the world!"
Jaune and Adrian looked at each other. "Truce?"
Adrian shook his hand. The alliance was formed and the war against the cootie-ridden Invincible Girl commenced.
It would end in a stalemate as Terra and Saph came back to find the 3 of them cuddling together for a nap.
The next night, Saph and Terra asked their neighbor to watch Adrian while they all went to a nightclub.
"You guys will love this place," Terra said.
"I think they got it the first 3 times you said it," Saph wrapped her arm around Terra's waist and kissed her. "But yeah, this place is great, perfect for unwinding after a hard week."
"You come here often?" Pyrrha asked.
"About once every 2-3 weeks," Terra answered.
"Never took you for the club going type Saph," Jaune commented.
"Yeah well, sometimes you just need an excuse to unwind with a lot of energy, especially when you're almost beaver damned 24/7." That earned her a light slap from Terra.
"Beaver what?" Pyrrha didn't get it.
"We'll tell you when you're older," Jaune replied, only understanding the phrase after hearing his sisters saying it several times.
They reached the club and upon entering, Jaune and Pyrrha liked what they saw. It was a nice-looking club, dimly lit but with lots of neon lights. The music was loud but far from ear hurting.
They ended up splitting up and Jaune and Pyrrha found themselves on the dance floor, dancing to the beat of the music.
"You ok Pyrrha?" Jaune asked. "You look nervous."
"It's… is my dancing good?" Pyrrha asked embarrassingly.
Jaune couldn't help but smile. "Pyrrha, there's no such thing as bad dancing. You're doing great."
"Are you sure? I've never been to a club like this before, I just don't want to look like a fool."
"I've never been to a club like this before either."
"How are you so calm and confident dancing then?"
"That's the neat part, I'm not," Jaune admitted with a cheeky smile. "I just figured that since I'm most likely never going to see these people again, why worry about how I look? Plus, nothing will be embarrassing as being in that dress at the dance."
That made Pyrrha laugh. "I beg to differ, you looked good."
"Don't flatter me."
With some newfound vigor, Pyrrha started dancing more freely and loosely to the beat of the music. Jaune noticed it too, and couldn't help but appreciate how much more fun Pyrrha was having now. He loved it when she was having fun.
After a while, they got tired and went to the bar to rest for a bit with cups of water.
"I didn't think I'd have this much fun here," Pyrrha said.
"Me neither," Jaune gripped her hand. "But I'm glad you had a good time."
"Me too." They leaned together and shared a short kiss. "Pardon me I have to use the bathroom." Pyrrha left… and returned an hour later, eyes wide and cheeks red.
"You ok Pyrrha?"
"… I now know that 'beaver-damned' is the female version of cock-blocked," Pyrrha replied softly.
"What? Why… wait… were Saph and Terra-!"
"They didn't even bother going into a stall… just… out in the open in the bathroom!"
Jaune burst out laughing, not even stopping when she punched his shoulder.
Terra was able to get the rest of the week off and they made the most of it. They spent the rest of their time together visiting Argus' various sights, shops, and restaurants. They all had fun and enjoyed each other's company. It was not the night before their flight home, and Pyrrha was upset that it all went by so quickly.
"We can always visit again during the next break we get," Jaune patted Pyrrha's shoulder.
"But what if Adrian forgets about me?" Pyrrha wined.
"He won't forget about you, he loves you." He kissed her cheek. "Besides, Saph and Terra gave you their numbers so you can still talk to him over calls." That seemed to cheer Pyrrha up a little bit. "You were really great with him."
"Thanks," Pyrrha leaned close to him. They looked into each other's eyes and they leaned their heads together for a kiss. Right as their lips were about to touch, Jaune quickly jerked away.
"Are you filming us?!" Jaune shouted angrily.
Pyrrha's gaze followed Jaune's to the window, where she saw Saph with her scroll out. She was impressed since they were on the second floor.
"What, nooooooooo, what makes you say that?" Saph fanned innocence.
"Terra, your wife is being a peeping tom!"
"You rat bastard!"
"Sweety, stop spying on your brother," Terra called from downstairs in a 'meh' voice.
The trip back to Beacon wasn't as eventful as to Argus, but they didn't mind. They were just happy to be home. They quickly got back to their dorm and opened the door.
"Hey guysssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss…," Pyrrha greeted and stuttered to a pause at what she saw. Jaune walked in behind her and was also stunned into shock at what he was seeing.
Pyrrha's mom was sitting on a bed with her arms wrapped around Ren and Nora, who had their mouths on the older woman's tits. They all were naked, sweaty, breathing heavily, and had similar startled faces as the Arkos couple.
After several awkward moments, Pyrrha closed the door and took a step back.
"Deep breaths Pyrrha, deep breaths," Pyrrha quietly muttered to herself. Jaune quickly started to drag her away. So she could hopefully calm down.
All things considered, it could have been worse. They could have found Mrs. Nikos with one of those loonies from Team SNMB. Thank God that would never happen.
THE END
But wait, there's more… kind of.
Deleted Scenes
aka scenes I wrote and cut for reasons
Jaune and Pyrrha sighed in relief as they sat in their assigned seats.
"My God, I didn't think we'd ever make it," Jaune groaned. "Those lines just take so long, and that incident-"
"These seats are really comfy," Pyrrha interrupted as she sat down and cuddled next to him in an a
"Yeah, I guess there's some silver lining." Early, Jaune made the mistake of putting Corcea Mors in his carry-on bag. When it went through customs… let's just say Jaune wasn't the only one shocked to have several security officers come out of nowhere and tackle him to the ground. After the incident got clarified, the airline apologized profusely and upgraded them to first-class as part of their compensation. In addition to more comfortable seats, they also got a larger screen for in-flight movies and a large complimentary blanket.
"You think Ren and Nora will be ok?" Pyrrha asked
"Ye of little faith," Jaune joked. "I'm sure one of them is mature and responsible for both of them not to burn the dorm down."
Despite both of their insistences, Ren and Nora declined their offer to join them on the trip to Argus. They argued that the trip to visit their family members was both very romantic and a big step in their relationship. They didn't want to come along and ruin that moment by being the third and fourth wheel. Jaune and Pyrrha were upset, but they relented, understanding their reasoning. They could always join next time.
Not long after, the airship took off on its route to Argus. Not long after takeoff, though longer than any of them thought, Jaune experience his first phase of airsickness.
"It didn't come up as quickly as it normally does," Pyrrha said, laying her head on his shoulder as she rubbed his belly (totally not pretending he was a good boy while doing so).
"Guess I'm getting better?" Jaune said before groaning at his upset stomach, though it wasn't as bad as it usually was. After a moment of comforting him, a semi-evil idea came to Pyrrha's mind. "I know that look," Jaune said with a hint of fear. "What are you thinking?"
"Jaune, do you remember that 'tip' Nora gave about helping with airsickness?"
"Tip? I don- wait, you know she was joking about that right?"
Pyrrha grew a cat-like grin. "You don't want to test it?"
"What- But- Pyrrha," Jaune's face grew red as he looked around. "There're people-"
"Then I'll be quiet." Any retort Jaune had died in his throat as Pyrrha moved under the large blanket covering them. Jaune's face burned red, both at what Pyrrha was doing and at the fear of getting caught. Surprisingly, they were never caught. Pyrrha wouldn't come back up until 5 minutes later when the job was done.
"Did that help?" She asked with a surprisingly innocent smile.
"I… yes?" Jaune was stunned that his stomachache was almost none existent now.
"You're welcome. I'd kiss you but… you know…"
"Thanks," Jaune kissed her forehead and they cuddled together, putting headphones on as they chose a movie to watch together.
An hour later, Jaune had to bolt up from his seat and rush to the bathroom. Turns out blowjobs were only a temporarily short solution to airsickness. On the bright side, Pyrrha got to rub his tummy a little bit more as they watched the totally romantic Christmas movie Try Hard 2: Try Harder-er.
The next two days passed relatively quickly. Since Terra had her work with the communications tower, they didn't do too much since they didn't want to exclude her from the family bonding.
Currently, the day wasn't too cold and it was sunny out, so Saphron and Pyrrha sat on the patio watching Jaune and Adrian play while Terra went to work.
"He's really good with him," Pyrrha said.
"Yeah, he's great with kids," Saphron said. "Does it give you any ideas?"
"Yeah, you know…" Saph wiggled her eyebrows.
"Let's not devolve into inappropriate topics, please," Pyrrha half begged.
"Alright alright," Saph laughed at her expense.
"Airstrike coming in!" Jaune flew the toy plane right for Adrian. "I got you now!"
Adrian said the baby speak equivalent of "No U" and held his hands up.
"Blast, anti-airstrike forcefield! I'll get you next time, then I'll conquer the world!"
That got a few chuckles from the girls. "Hey Pyrrha, if you wouldn't mind me asking, could you mind telling me about how you first met Jaune?"
"Oh, I don't mind," Pyrrha beamed, She then told Saph about how she met him. From overhearing his ''quirky girl to talk to" line, to the locker room and initiation, to the two of them training, and the dance. Saphron patiently and happily listened to her stories about her brother, even laughing at a few of them.
After she told them Saphron's demeanor seemed to change. Her smile dropped. "Pyrrha, could I ask you something?"
"Sure, what's on your mind?"
"How has Jaune really been? Has he had depressive episodes?"
"Wha-"
"Has he been having issues with self-confidence? Happiness?"
Pyrrha was stunned at the sudden 180 turn in the conversation. However, when she looked at Saph more closely, she could see only concern. She was just worried about her brother.
"I…" she took a moment to look at Jaune to make sure if he was listening or not.
"An anti-forcefield missile forcefield? You're cheating!"
'unapologetic baby giggles'
Pyrrha spared a short chuckle before addressing Saphron. "Jaune… has been through a lot of downs while at Beacon." It pained her to admit it. She hated talking negatively about him. "He has had a lot of problems with confidence. Not to say he still has them and they're still as bad, but when he first started out, it was hard for him to believe in himself. He had the heart, but, I hate to admit it he just didn't have the physical capacity of a huntsman. He even…" Pyrrha caught herself before she exposed it, but Saphron caught on.
"Forged his transcripts?" She finished. Pyrrha gasped. "I knew about that, so did Terra. She's the one who forged them."
"She? Wha-"
"Never mind for now, you were saying."
"I… because of that, he struggled a lot in the academic and combat department. It got to the point where he was getting blackmailed by bullies and refused help at any turn." She paused when she noticed Saphron's face adopt a dark expression. "That problem has been taken care of, but the point stands where he never sought help for it until after the fact, and even then tried to downplay it like he was able to handle it on his own the whole time. He's strong-willed and determined and much better than he was at the start, but he just had a hard time realizing he needed help from others and that he couldn't tackle everything on his own." She sighed. "I'm sorry-"
"Don't apologize," Saph put a hand on her shoulder. "I… just wanted to see if he was still like that. I'm glad he's not"
"Jaune was always like that before?" Pyrrha asked shocked. Saph nodded. "But… he talked so positively when he talked about his family."
"That's the thing about family, you view them as one extreme or the other. And Jaune appears to view us with rose-tinted goggles only."
"Were… did you guys bully him?" Pyrrha's fist tightened.
"No no no no, nothing like that," Saph reassured her. Pyrrha could tell she wasn't lying and loosened her fist. "It's just… with all siblings, you have your ups with down. And… we did mess with him a lot. JI… how to I put this... Jaune mentioned to me how during the dance, he got in a dress for you to 'honor a bet and cheer you up'."
Pyrrha ley out a brief smile, remembering how she laughed that night. "I'm surprised he told you."
"He did when he was telling us about you when you started dating. But, have you ever wondered why he did that without hesitation, and how he wasn't that uncomfortable doing so?"
"Not really? He mentioned that when he was little he was sometimes in dresses when he played with you guys."
"Yeah… that's a good example of the rose-tinted goggles. Not every time he did that was done with his consent in mind. A lot of those times we forced it into it to play with us, despite his protest. Mom never really defended him because she thought it was cute and dad was never around for that. Eventually, we stopped, realizing Jaune really hated it or we just grew bored of it. But it wasn't just with dress-ups, almost anytime we wanted him to play or be with us, we never gave him a choice in the matter. We barely gave him time for himself." Regret formed on Saphron's face.
"You forced it on him so many times that he accepted his helplessness as a fact of life?" Pyrrha guessed.
"Yep, you summed it up perfectly. We eventually stopped when he was 8 or 9, but by that point, the damage was done. Sometimes you could just tell he was spending time with us because he felt like he had no choice. It wasn't obvious at first, but over time you could tell if you looked close enough."
"But he still loved you guys no doubt."
"Oh he did, still does, and we love him. There's no doubt about that. But, with how we basically bullied him at a young age, it's not hard to think he's faking it. That also definitely affected about how the thought for and of himself."
"Oh…" was all Pyrrha could say as she took it all in. This definitely added a new perspective on things. The reason Jaune was reluctant to stand up for himself and accept help was because of what happened to him when he was younger. She knew his sisters never meant it, but what was done was done. This wasn't what she expected when she came to visit. She did expect that there would be some kind of heart to heart, but she more thought it'd be more like those upbeat and lighthearted moments like in those Hallmark movies.
"I… I know this isn't an easy thing to be telling me, I'm thankful you trust me, but why are you telling me this?"
"Because I want you to know… it…" she had trouble finding the words. "We all were worried when he went to Beacon to be a huntsman. We even said we'd welcome him back if he didn't make it." She winced at the memory. "But then not only did he make it, he started telling us all about his friends and how much he was improving."
"He's come a long way since he started Beacon," Pyrrha said. "I'm proud of him."
"We all are. But you should know that every time we talked about it, he always gave a specific reason for it all."
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, not following what she was implying.
"Almost every time I'd talk to him, the conversations would start like, 'Hey Saph, I'm growing stronger in combat because I have Pyrrha training me.' 'Hey Saph, I've been getting better grades in my academics because Pyrrha is tutoring me.' 'Hey Saph, I had my first win in combat class because Pyrrha taught me to fight better.' 'Hey Saph, I killed a bunch of Grimm today using moves and techniques Pyrrha taught me.' 'Hey Saph, how do I tell Pyrrha that I love her without stuttering over myself?' That last one wasn't a paraphrase, those were his exact words." That got a chuckle out of Pyrrha. She actually could see him doing that. "I'm telling you all this because I want you to know how much you mean to Jaune. I've never seen him happier before you showed up. I'm just… happy someone can give Jaune the happiness we couldn't. Thank you."
Pyrrha could tell this meant more to her than she let on. She held back a tear in her eye and was about to thank Saph for telling her this when she felt Adrian's hands touch her legs. He let out some angry babbles and pointed at Jaune.
"He's just upset I got past his forcefield by digging under it," Jaune explained.
Adrian crossed his arms in the cutest pout Pyrrha has ever seen. "Jaune, no digging under force fields."
"Oh come on!"
An incomplete scene that I didn't save at all (forgot why, maybe just human error) was in the mall. Pyrrha and Jaune had Adrian with just them and… I think you know what jokes were coming.