Chapter Twenty-Eight
Pyrrha had been expecting many things, but Jaune's question was not one of them, and she was not a girl who was taken off guard easily. She would not have earned her title if she was. Rather than respond quickly, naming the most well-known myths, like the Shallow Sea or the Two Brothers, she considered his question, and the Faunus himself.
Jaune Arc was. . . odd. She'd argue he was delightfully different, and it was his very exceptional nature that had attracted her to him, choosing to seek him out during their initiation rather than retrieve her spear from afar, but she could not argue that there was something. . . else about him.
While, from any other, she'd take the question as idle chatter, he had asked it with such gravity that she paused to consider it. From spending the last month with him, she knew that he'd give her, if not as much time as they had, but at least a full minute before he grew concerned.
Her favorite fairy tale? It wasn't a question she'd asked herself, but the answer was clear. The question was, however, how he would react. Concern was likely, but there was something else here, something that required them to leave Beacon, and something that had set him so on edge he seemed he might bolt if she wasn't careful. Not angrily, like he had before, but she'd almost call it. . . fear.
Were she a younger girl, she might wonder what someone as strong as Jaune would have to fear, but from the way he acted, she knew he was scarred long before the battle in the forest. It was something that added to him, in her opinion, a depth that even some men twice his age lacked. It was odd, but he was an interesting mix of naïve and mature that just seemed to fit her.
"Ajax, and the Broken Wall," she stated, watching his expression. There was a moment of recognition, then confusion, as he looked at her, silently asking for details. "Ajax was a warrior of great renown in what would eventually become Mistral, but one who always wore a frown. Connected to the city's elites, he was undefeated in the arena, but was miserable. He had a wife, and a son, and he cared for them greatly, but within him sat an emptiness that was never filled by the cheers of the crowd. He sought fame, and recognition, but those only lasted until the next fight, where he knew it was only a matter of time before he finally stumbled, and would be forgotten, forever. It wasn't until, one day, a Grimm Tide came, and overwhelmed the city's defenders, that he found his destiny. He single handedly held back the forces of darkness, standing in the gap of the broken wall, and said, 'While I still draw breath, you shall not pass'."
Jaune chuckled at something that wasn't very funny, but when she looked at him, he waved her on, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, something I heard someone else say once. He might've been quoting the story, but I'd never hear of it until now. Sorry, continue."
She nodded, adding it to the pile of oddities that was her lover. "Ajax fought, and he fought, and he held his ground, injured for the first time in years, but he did not falter. Those watching, trying to marshal the city's forces, were astonished to find that, for the first time in anyone's memory, Ajax smiled. He did not know it before that point, but for all his life he had only fought for himself, and not others, each victory hollow. In that battle, he discovered his destiny, protecting his fellow man, and was happy to give his life shielding the people of Mistral, in order that others might live, and so that his son would survive. He held his position, until the city's defenders could push back, but, in those last moments, he suffered a lethal wound. Able to see his family, he said, 'Do not cry for me, for I died so that you may live, and so that others can grow to defend those who cannot defend themselves in time.' As such, all fighters in the Mistral coliseum know of Ajax, and give thanks to him, for his sacrifice is what allowed us all to live and carry on his legacy."
She smiled, lost in the memory of when she had originally heard the story, on her first day training, and when she had chosen to take up spear and shield, just as he had.
"I can see why you'd like it," Jaune commented, tone thoughtful, and she looked up, surprised, expecting- "though, if that happens, I'll be right there in that breach with you, so we can save people and survive."
"I have no doubt, Jaune," she smiled, even as she considered his words. Her parents, when they'd found her love of the story, had told her not to fight as he had. Not to die if there was any other choice. The others in the tournament, when she still talked with them, had either not believed her, or given her patronizing looks, assuming she did not understand the depth of what she was saying. Next to her, however, was a man who had already stood in the Broken Wall once, and she had no doubt would again. Who hadn't told her no, merely 'I'll be there', just as he had to Yang.
"What is yours?" she asked, interested. From his announcement of his 'dragon-ness' she expected it would be the Hidden Flame.
The Faunus frowned, scars pulling slightly as he did so. "The Four Seasonal Maidens. But there's another that's a bit more relevant. Have you heard the story of Faust and the Dæmoness?"
She frowned in turn, familiar with both. The first was an uplifting tale about strangers giving aid to one who desperately needed help, though even he did not know it, and being rewarded in turn, along with a metaphor for the seasons, and what people did during them. The second, however, was much more worrying.
"Jaune, whom do you owe?" she asked, gently. Having a lover in debt to criminal elements was not what she would have expected of the forthright man, but she could-
"What!? No. It's. . . okay," Jaune sighed, running a hand through his hair, fingers sliding over his horns, and she wondered where this was going. "So, base premise: man makes a deal, the power goes to his head, but hidden terms trip him up, so he ends up making another deal, but one to trick the dæmoness who gave him power, and he then uses that to set things right, even though it killed him, leaving her with none of what she wanted. Right?"
"Right," she echoed. "Jaune, if you don't owe someone, then what-"
He interrupted her, "What if she didn't lie? What if, instead of hidden costs and monkey paw wishes, spoiled wishes," he corrected, "she was honest about what she wanted? Laid it all out, take it or leave it?"
Pyrrha's mind spun as she tried to get a handle both on what he was saying, and what he was saying, stating slowly, "Then it would be a very different story. Jaune, are you saying. . . you made a deal with someone?"
He shook his head. "No. Kind of, but not in the way you're thinking. Answer the question, please," he requested seriously. Not angry, just. . . tense.
"Alright," she replied, trying to figure out what he thought she was thinking. "Given that she wanted the destruction of the town, I doubt Faust would've agreed, even for the power she offered."
"Okay, not the best example, but. . . it's the closest I could find," Jaune admitted. "Imagine if she didn't want the people dead, but merely for there not to be a town at that location? She was an immortal, she could've offered, and convinced people to move without the trauma. It was only the fact that she, was, well kind of a bitch that caused things to escalate, and even then she still lost."
Pyrrha paused, reviewed over what Jaune was saying, and what she knew of the man, and read him, just as she would an opponent in a fight, identifying strengths, weaknesses, patterns, and a picture formed. "Then it would not be a fairy tale, not the same kind of one at least. But how could you trust the person offering such a deal? Unless. . . unless the person offering the deal, is you," she put forward, testing the waters with a probing move, and finding herself striking true from his reaction.
"That's kind of the crux of the matter, isn't it?" he nodded, after wincing at her declaration. "Was it the deal for power that was the issue, or the duplicitousness of the person offering something unexpected, something with no frame to judge what would be a fair deal or not?"
Feeling more and more that they were no longer speaking in what ifs, she replied, "That's a good question. I'm sorry, can I have some more tea?" she asked, raising her cup, to buy herself time. He took it, refilling it from the thermos tucked into the basket, and she allowed herself a sip of the steaming beverage, the late-spring air still holding a bit of a chill to it, when in Mistral it would already be warming.
Jaune waited, expectant, and she sighed. "Well, hypothetically, it would then be like any other deal. What were the terms? The benefits and the costs?" She'd gotten a crash course in such things when she'd become famous enough to have marketing deals, her picture on that cereal, unhealthy as it was, being what'd finally pushed her to understand what her coach and father were asking her to sign. It was good she did, or else she would've agreed to go to Haven despite her plans to attend Vale, which was both prestigious and not in Anima, away from, she had hoped, the lion's share of her fame.
She'd been wrong, she was still the Invincible Girl to all the students here. Well, to all the students, save one. "In that case, what would be the terms, Jaune?" she prompted.
The man hesitated, and Pyrrha bit back her smile, her partner painfully transparent at times. "What would you start with? The benefits, or the costs?" he inquired, not with faked naivete as he let her choose, making her commit to the negotiations, but actually unsure.
She couldn't help but laugh, "You always start with the benefits, Jaune. That way you get the person you're negotiating with to buy in before they even hear the costs. Do so, and they're more inclined to overlook the costs to get what they think as already theirs. When we go to Mistral, let me do the haggling."
That got a laugh from him as well. "Okay, fair enough. But, in that case, I should probably start with the costs. It's-"
"Jaune," she chided, cutting him off. "If you do that, you'll scare them away. They'll wonder what could merit them paying such a cost. If you do so, you'll have to offer twice as much before they'll agree."
Rather than laugh, though, he looked at her, dead serious, and said a single word. "Good."
That took her aback. "But, if you're trying to get people to agree, then. . . you're not, are you?" She turned that over. "You're worried I'll, that people will regret it?"
"In a way," he nodded, watching her carefully, if anything tenser.
Pyrrha cocked her head, "Is the price really so great?"
"To some, no," Jaune admitted, confusing her further. "To me, it would be, but there's likely a reason I'm on this end of things. But the, what did you call them, 'benefits' would tempt even me, if I'm being honest. Would you like to hear it?"
She had to hand it to him, he was terrible at this. "After how you've built it up, I'd be disappointed if you didn't tell me. Go ahead, Jaune."
The man nodded, fingers on one hand moving a little oddly, but she focused on his face. "The cost is that you'd be my friend. You'd be loyal to me, and have both a romantic and sexual interest in me. Also you'd be more inclined to have a similar interest in anyone else I made the deal with."
". . . and?" she asked, when he fell silent. "Jaune, in case you haven't noticed, I already am your friend, and if you're unsure about my 'romantic and sexual interest in you', I can give you another demonstration," she teased, though he didn't smile at it. "And have you made this deal with anyone else?" Her lover shook his head. "I'm really not seeing the downsides here, Jaune. From the way you were putting it, I was expecting I'd have to follow your orders without question, or give up my soul."
Even though she'd been joking, he flinched, replying with a, "No! No, nothing like that. Never something like that."
Turning that statement over, Pyrrha had to ask, "But you could have made that the cost?"
"I never would," he reiterated, and she took it as the 'Yes' it was.
"Jaune, I'm not seeing the issue here. But you are. Talk to me," she requested.
He didn't hesitate this time, which was telling in its own right. "People fall in love. People fall out of love. They make friends, and then they drift apart, or worse. With this, you wouldn't. You wouldn't even want to. You'd be with me, forever."
She had to blink, as he was trying to make it sound like a fate worse than death, but only made it one of the most romantic things she'd ever heard. "And?" she asked again. "Are you also compelled to return these feelings?"
He stared at her, before groaning in a way that Pyrrha had come to mean 'I'm an idiot'. Hesitantly, he seemed to clap his hands together awkwardly, then looked at his left palm, before sighing. "No. No, this is for others, not me. Maybe because I wouldn't benefit? Doesn't matter," he muttered to himself, looking up at her. "But no, I can't give orders. Nor would I."
"And what other cost to me is there?" she asked, going with his phrasing, as while she could see why some might be leery of such a thing, she was not.
Jaune stared at her. "That's not enough? Okay, um, the thing that makes all of this work would become aware of you, but it already kind of was, and it's already aware of me, but nothing would happen to you. And, yeah, that's it."
Pyrrha stared at him for a long moment, reminded that, while her partner had moments of insight, and was good in a fight, he was a bit of an idiot at times. "And the benefits? What would I get in return?"
"All of your imperfections fixed, be reset to perfect health, have any innate problems like genetic disorders corrected, immunity to minor illnesses, and eternal youth of the 'never age past twenty-five' variety, but the entire 'lived so long I've started to forget' thing will never happen either," he listed off, almost casually.
"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, caught off-guard, but he kept going, all of that counted off on a single finger.
"Immunity to poison, disease, and parasites. Targeted physical transformations you can shrug off, and even if you let them take, you can reverse them at will," he said, on finger two, obviously pulling from memory. "Medicines count as poisons, and healing abilities might as well, so you have to consciously let them work. That's a bit of a danger, but worth it."
Pyrrha cocked her head, still trying to understand the last part of what he was saying, and how it was even possible. "Jaune."
"Immunity to negative mental effects, and any kind of mind control. Immunity to soul-draining, harming, or damaging effects," were counted off on fingers three and four.
"Jaune," Pyrrha repeated, with a bit more force, trying to get his attention, but he wasn't done.
"Immunity to remote viewing abilities like precognition, postcognition, scrying, and the like, though biological sight still works fine. As you can see. Immunity to Destiny-based attacks like fate or luck manipulation, oh, and also temporal effects, and that one's retroactive, for obvious reasons. And if you have any really obvious weaknesses, for instance if you burned in sunlight like a vampire, you're fine now, but that one's not really an issue," he finished up.
"JAUNE!" she shouted, and he flinched.
"Um, yes?"
"That's. . . that's ridiculous," she argued. "That's. . . you expect me to believe that this is possible? That any of it is? I, you had me thinking it was some kind of Semblance, but. . . how is any of this possible?"
"Magic?" he shrugged, and at her glare, he sighed. "Yeah, in retrospect it's a bit. . . much. Tell you what, I think we need something stronger than tea." He stood, taking out his scroll.
"If you think I'm just going to let this go all the way back to Beacon," she warned. "Jaune, you can't just say something like that and. . . where did you go?" she asked, as she suddenly found herself alone. "Jaune?"
Suddenly he was back. "Huh, it's that robust? Actually, Pyrrha, do you see the portal right there?" he asked, pointing to empty air.
"Jaune, this isn't funn-hey!" she yelped as he smoothly stepped over and picked her up, her shock at the move, and at this whole situation, the only reason he was able to. "Jaune put me dow-" she started to demand, as he took three steps, and suddenly they were underground, in an enormous room.
He did so, her feet meeting hard concrete, and he smiled, that stupid, charming smile of his, turning and walking into a glowing portal at the center of an enormous machine, returning after a moment with the picnic supplies. "So, let me show you around my Home."
DR
Pyrrha sat at the table, overlooking a large pool, behind which sat forests and mountains, the sea visible off to the side, the air far more warm than it should be for this time of year, holding a chilled glass of mead, of a type that she hadn't known existed, never having even heard of a 'huckleberry' before.
Jaune had hesitated at giving her even that, until she'd reassured him that she often had a glass of wine at events, and that it wouldn't affect her ability to make decisions. The man was now preparing dinner, and a thought occurred to her. "This is where you make your breakfast drinks," she said, more to herself than him. "I went to ask you a question, but you'd disappeared. Why didn't I think that was odd?"
"Because what was more likely? You having missed me, or my stepping into an alternate dimension?" he asked with a smile.
She had to nod at that, once again looking to the open forests. She had her weapon, but. . . "How do you keep the Grimm out?" she finally asked. He turned, confused, and she gestured to the wilderness outside. "This building is incredibly open, Jaune, and I don't see any exterior walls."
"Um, why would I need to worry about Grimm?" Jaune asked, and she turned a confused look his way, before what he said connected.
"There's. . ." she trailed off, once more turning to stare into the forest. She never would've considered it, but with what else she'd seen in the last hour. . . "There's no Grimm here, is there?"
"Nope," he said, popping the p, and smiling. "Some minor wildlife, but nothing that dangerous."
That was. . . impossible. Just as much as the terms of the deal he'd outlined. To be somewhere where the threat of Grimm attack wasn't a low probability, but an impossibility? Yes, living in the main cities there was only an attack every year or so, but there was still a sense of possible attack at any given moment that she'd had since she was old enough to know what Grimm were, but to have a place where they didn't exist was unthinkable.
Even the air felt lighter here, cleaner in a way it was hard to describe. If she had a place like this. . . it was a wonder they saw him outside of classes. She tried to think of a Semblance that could've done all of this, but. . . it was impossible. Completely impossible.
She took a sip of mead.
Yes, still impossible.
He left her to her thoughts, having given her the full terms of the 'bargain', only asking she not reveal this place to others if she said no. The more she thought about it, though, the worse it got.
Not the deal. That was amazing. The kind of thing she knew people would kill to get the mere chance at. But that begged the question- "Jaune," she asked. "Have you offered this to others?"
He glanced back at her, "No."
She pinched the bridge of her nose as he turned once more to cooking. Stay positive, she told herself, as she felt her nerves fray a little.He doesn't realize that's odd. Trying again, she asked, "Why?"
The Faunus just shrugged. "Didn't have the capability until recently. And after, I hadn't met anyone I could see myself spending eternity with before you."
That man does not have a romantic bone in his body, she thought, before shaking her head. No, he did, he really did, but that was part of what was worrying her. "Are you going to offer it to others?" she inquired instead.
"If you say yes to me, then not unless you're okay with it," he shrugged, as if that was just natural. "You know the deal will help encourage you to say yes, but if it's really something you don't want to do, it can't make you, and neither will I."
It made sense, given the compliance-encouraging nature of the agreement, and he'd given her as a complete explanation as he could. It was the fact that, with everything he was offering, he thought she might say no that worried her, not worried her about the deal, worried her about him.
What kind of person believes that being bound to them isn't worth everything he's offering? she thought. It was a warning sign, and she was glad he'd taken a month before talking to her about this. Then, she would've rejected it, expecting hidden conditions, or that he was only pretending to be kind. After what she'd seen of him?
Pyrrha sighed, taking another sip, but there was something about this that was bothering her. "And this can't happen unless I agree?" she asked herself, quietly, but Jaune heard her over the sizzling steaks he was preparing.
"Won't, not can't," her lover corrected blandly.
Like a feint hiding the true strike, that caught her attention like a lodestone. "I'm sorry, Jaune, what was that?"
"Hmmm?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder to her. "Oh, I could've just forced it on everyone, mind-control and all, but that's, you know, wrong. The random tattoos the deal forms would've been interesting to see everyone try to explain away, though. No, Pyrrha, I'm the one that needs your permission, not the mechanism of the deal itself."
And with that, like a telling shift of weight that revealed old scars, she understood.
He wanted her to say no.
No, that wasn't right either. He expected her to say no. That, despite everything he was offering, despite trying not to be the 'Dæmoness', he still expected her to say no, and had prepared himself for it. He didn't want it, but he expected it anyways.
She thought back to what he'd told her, both with his words, and with what he hadn't said since they'd met. Of how he'd reacted to Blake's accusations. Of how badly he reacted to Professor Amakuni's actions, running, she was now sure, back here, where he was safe. If she was correct about the depth of his trauma, that he came back the same day itself suggested interesting, and worrying, things.
He needs me, she realized, finally recognizing the depths of what she was getting herself into. In a way Jaune reminded her of the fighters that'd lost everything, and fought in the tournament anyways, without any support. And the odd action from before, was he trying to bind himself like he would bind her to him?
She was slightly broken from her thoughts as a plate was slid in front of her, steak and potatoes, and she thanked him, taking a few bites. It was good, on par with the most expensive of restaurants she'd attended as part of her position a Champion, but she paid it little mind as she looked at the Faunus seated across from her. He seemed calmer, but she could still see the bits of tension in his posture. Whereas before he was nervous, now Jaune seemed. . . resigned, having done his best, and awaiting judgement, though he put on a pleasant face.
The man was like a crystal blade, incredibly sharp, but also incredibly fragile, already cracked in places, but still holding together, if not nearly as well as he appeared to be. Pyrrha consciously avoided the many, many 'sheathe' metaphors she'd heard during her time in the coliseum, but if she was one, she was more like Blake's, a weapon in her own right.
When Pyrrha thought about it, though, her decision was clear.
Pushing her food to the side, she looked up at her lover. "Jaune? My answer is yes."
"Yes?" he echoed, not understanding, confirming her fears. "You mean. . ."
"Yes," she smiled, "I accept." She held out her hand. "What do I need to do?"
Once more he hesitated. "You don't want more time?"
Rolling her eyes, she got up and stalked around the table, pulled his chair back, straddled her lover, and kissed him deeply. "I don't need time. My answer isn't going to change."
"I. . ." Jaune froze up, shocked, so she kissed him again. After a moment he softened, pulling her close. She pulled back and he let her. "It's actually fairly simple," he said, voice shaking a little, but tightly controlled. "Arm, please."
Pyrrha leaned back and offered him her right hand. He took it, gently, almost as if he was afraid she'd break, and pressed his hand to a space just below her wrist.
She blinked, feeling something cold press against her, and a black cylinder appeared in his hand, had been in his hand a moment ago, she realized, her memories seeming to ripple as she recognized it from his desk, and when he pressed it against himself, and half a dozen times he'd put it down without ever once picking it up.
Left behind was a gold and maroon mark, a slit-pupiled eyeball surrounded by the same spiraling designs that covered Jaune's wings.
The Faunus was just as interested as she was, obviously having never seen it before. "I. . . why?" he asked, disbelieving, eyes a little bright.
She laughed, the sound startling him as he looked back to her. "Because, to me, being bound to you isn't a cost. It's just. Another. Benefit."
Jaune looked so hopeful, so nakedly vulnerable, that she couldn't help but kiss him again. "Now, this is a house, right?" Mutely he nodded. "Then why don't you show me the bedroom. I think we're both a bit tense, and I want to try having an actual bed this time."
The Faunus laughed, shaking his head, still not believing what was happening but going along with it as he smoothly stood up, Pyrrha wrapping her legs around him. He smiled, pulled her close to kiss her, then started to walk with her in his arms, replying, "Who am I to argue with that?"