A/N: What if Jaune spoke to Pyrrha again before her tournament fight in V3, causing a lot of hidden regrets and feelings to come out, resulting in a different fate.

Confessions Before the Finale

Pyrrha was ready for the final fight in the Vytal Tournament. She took a deep breath, grabbed her weapons, and tried to psych herself up. Already she could hear the applause and cheers of the filled stadium echoing from outside and it made her freeze up, forcing her to sit back down on the bench for a minute. Everything that had happened earlier that day had finally caught up to her and for the first time in a longest time, Pyrrha was scared.

"Pyrrha." A voice called out to her and Pyrrha saw Jaune had entered the locker room. She recoiled as he drew close, still remembering how she accidentally hurt him with her Polarity earlier. "If you're worried about earlier, I'm not mad or anything. In fact, I did some thinking and…" He let out a sigh. "…Can we talk?"

"Maybe later, the fight is about to start," she told him and tried to move past him, but Jaune stepped in her path instead. "Jaune, I have to go. We can talk later."

"No, I think we need to talk now." He glared her down while she looked back at him with the same sullen face she's worn all afternoon. They both knew she could easily move him aside with her Polarity, but Pyrrha knew that Jaune would not stop despite that, nor did she dare hurt him again like earlier. She let out a long sigh and set her weapon and shield onto the bench and she fell against a nearby locker and slid down to the ground. Jaune took a spot next to her and placed his hand atop hers, just like earlier.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked.

"I know something is bothering you, and while I don't know if I can help, I want to at least be here to listen to you. So whatever is on your mind, let me hear."

Pyrrha glanced towards Jaune, who watched her attentively. The man she secretly loved who was both her best friend and partner was here to listen to her, and in that moment, everything spilled out.

"I'm just so…so tired of everyone expecting so much out of me, but at the same time, I can't bring myself to disappoint them either," Pyrrha started. "It's been like this ever since I was little, and it's never going to end, I just know it. And why me? Why me and not someone else, someone older or more experienced? Because I'm a four-time champion that got totted up as being an 'invincible girl'? I don't…I didn't want any of this!" She put her face into her faces and shook her head. "Ever since I was little, mom made my life revolve around training and fighting. I never got to be a normal kid…"

"Your mom sounds like a terrible mother," Jaune added.

Pyrrha wiped at her eyes, which became watery. "No, she's not terrible. She never abused me or neglected me or anything like that, she just thought that I should follow in her footsteps and become a Huntress, but I never had a choice in the matter." Pyrrha took in a deep breath. "But because of her choice, I never had any friends growing up. I never got to experience the many fun activities that I'm sure you and your sisters got to experience."

"Well, how about we change that once the tournament is over? Whatever you want to do that isn't training or Huntsman work, we'll do it," Jaune suggested with a smile.

Pyrrha returned his smile. "Well, once the snow starts falling, how about we go sledding? I never got to do that and it always looked so fun. I remember we have this super steep hill back home in Argus and all the kids would brave the long climb up to the top and everyone would see how fast and far they could slide down."

"That's a promise."

Pyrrha was already feeling better, but there was something else she wanted to vent out. "I mentioned how so much is expected of me, and I'm kinda scared to disappoint everyone. I don't want to feel useless or a burden, but it's so hard, and it frightens me. It makes me feel like…like my life is worth nothing if I fail, if I'm not fighting as the hero people look up to…"

Jaune thought over what she said, and he wrapped his arm around her. "You're strong, Pyrrha." She looked to him again. "You're strong, but you're not invincible, and there's no shame in admitting when you need help."

The tears came to her eyes again and this time, she did not hold them back. She made a wet sniffle and tightened her grip around Jaune's hand. "You would know best, wouldn't' you?" Jaune gave her a warm smile. "It's funny, I can fight Grimm on my own, I have such a powerful Semblance, people adore me so much that they'd probably find no fault within me…but you're so strong, Jaune." She leaned up against him and let herself relax at his touch. "You're so much stronger than me. You fail constantly, but you never give up. I wish I knew what that was like."

"I…um…gee…" Jaune mumbled, not sure how to respond. "…Look, you can idolize my outlook all you want, but it wasn't a fun life to live either. I've had plenty of times where I really did give up, like when I tried out for the school Grifball team when I was younger. I was the worst player on the team, and it honestly made me feel like I only got in because my parents bribed the coach or something. I gave up and quit after just the first game when I got booed by my whole team for missing the game-winning goal when I tried to show them all that I could be as good as them. Looking back at it now, I would rather be an undefeated champion like you."

"You would…until you start feeling burdened by the pressure of not needing to lose, where you feel like even the slightest misstep, trip, or moment you failed to strike at your opponent makes you feel so weak and inferior, all while you feel the judging eyes of thousands of people watching you in a stadium, on televisions, not to mention scouting coaches and mentors."

Jaune wrapped his arm around Pyrrha's shoulder. "Guess we have a lot in common then. A nobody that wants to be somebody and a somebody that wants to be nobody."

Pyrrha leaned into Jaune's chest. "You'll always be somebody to me, Jaune, because you helped me when no one else did, even though you weren't trying to." She gazed up at him with a warm smile. "You're a hero in my eyes, never forget that."

Jaune's hand wrapped around her reached up and cradled the top of her shoulder. "That means a lot to me, thank you, Pyrrha."

Silence hung in the empty locker room until the two soon heard Professor Port's voice echoing from outside. "Miss Pyrrha Nikos, you are late to your own tournament match. Please hurry to the center arena or you will be forced to forfe––MISS VALKYRIE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"DON'T YOU GO DISQUALIFYING PYRRHA JUST YET! SHE WON'T RUN FROM A FIGHT!" echoed Nora's voice over the intercom as sounds of scuffle began.

"Calm yourself, Miss Valkyrie!" went the voice of Professor Oobleck.

"I better get going, I guess," said Pyrrha. She got up and retrieved her weapons. "Hey, thanks for the pep talk, Jaune, it really helped." She turned away, but before she could take another step, she felt Jaune's hand on her shoulder again and she spun around.

"Hey, Pyrrha? I can tell your heart isn't in this. You don't want to go out there."

Pyrrha's lips opened to retort back, but her voice was lost for a brief moment. "Look, I have to go out there or I'll be disqualified."

"You 'have' to, or you 'want' to?"

He got her in her place. "I…I have to…but I don't want to…and I don't want to disappoint everyone rooting for me…"

"Who cares what they think. Why should their happiness take priority over your own?"

Because it's what's expected of me, was the answer ringing in Pyrrha's mind, but Jaune was right; how long ago was it when she did something in her life that SHE wanted? About the only thing she could recall was when the decision where she sought Jaune out to make him her partner. She wanted him as her partner, and in an ironic twist, he was whom she needed as well.

"Maybe you should consider what you want in life rather than what everyone else wants for you," Jaune finished, moving past her for the door to rejoin Nora and Ren, but was stopped in his place by Pyrrha grabbing at his hoodie.

"Right now, there's only one thing I want…" she mumbled out, her weapons falling to the floor. She spun him around and looked him dead in the eye and, with no more hesitation, she leaned in and kissed his lips. She held him close and tight, not wanting him to escape her grasp. Jaune instead wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, her armor clanking against his own. He broke away after a moment, both of them staring into each other's eyes. "Did I do something wrong?" Pyrrha whispered.

Jaune only smiled. "No, I'm just a bit surprised…" He glanced down at her, then away for a moment. "…How long have you felt like this about me?"

Pyrrha took in a deep breath. "I think ever since we started training together. I enjoyed our time together, but it was the dance where I felt so much more for you, when we danced and had the most fun I've ever had in my life. I remember not wanting that night to end." Her hands interlocked behind Jaune's neck. "I didn't say anything because I was afraid that you didn't feel the same, or that you might think I was pitying you, and I loved our friendship and I didn't want to risk ruining it."

Jaune brushed his fingers against her cheek. "I admit, I felt something for you too that night. I remember how happy I was that you were happy, how it made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, but I too was afraid of ruining what we have, that maybe you were so far out of my league and that I didn't deserve you as anything more than a friend."

Pyrrha suddenly let out a chuckle. "Mom was right, after all. I remember once asking her when I first showed interest in boys after my first tournament how would I know if a guy is right for me, and you know what she said? She said 'you will know when he thinks he doesn't deserve you,' and here you are."

There was a moment of silence between the two as they drunk in each other's presence and their own words. "So what now?" Jaune finally asked.

Pyrrha, though she was now more confident, swallowed hard. "Can you kiss me again?" Jaune wasted no time in granting her request, slowly pushing his lips against hers and both of them humming at their touch. Her arms snaked around him she pulled herself up against him again. "Hug me more," she whispered in between their kisses, and Jaune not only obeyed, but did more than that, scooping her up into the air and pushing her up against the lockers with a loud BANG, but Pyrrha did not care. "I love you, Jaune. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Pyrrha."

Nothing else mattered in this moment to them except for their newly confessed love for each other. As they came together in another kiss, their bodies glowed brightly with their respective Auras; Jaune a bright white while Pyrrha a faint black. Their Auras soon merged together in a mixture of black and white shared between them that went unnoticed during their passionate embrace before slowly fading away again.

Professor Port's voice rang out one last time. "Pyrrha Nikos automatically forfeits the match. The winner is Penny Poledina!" Outside, the stadium erupted in a mixture of cheers and confusion at the sudden results, but for Jaune and Pyrrha, it did not matter as they instead hugged each other close while sitting in the locker room.

Unknown to the two of them, Pyrrha's decision to engage in the tournament resulted in Ruby outrunning Mercury, who quickly fled after realizing that Penny was still alive. Ruby contacted her Uncle Qrow and informed him of what happened, who promptly raced to track down the culprits. Emerald reunited with Mercury and they abandoned Cinder to save themselves, mingling in with the crowds boarding the airships.

Cinder, however, was tracked down by Qrow, and the two began a furious battle within an empty tunnel of the coliseum. Cinder almost had the upper hand, but like a sudden strike of bad luck, she tripped over a broken piece of asphalt, breaking her glass shoe and she fell, allowing Qrow to swoop in and take her head off with his scythe. With her death, the Fall magic half she had left her and returned to the Fall Maiden that rested deep below Beacon, and there, she awakened from her coma.

The Fall of Vale was adverted all because Pyrrha chose to prioritize what she wanted for once in her life, and that was worth the small hit to her public reputation, though once news of why she forfeit the tournament, it was quickly forgotten as tabloids and paparazzi went nuts over the news that the Pyrrha Nikos was dating her Huntsman leader and partner.