Chapter 14

Tag(s): N/A

Girl(s): N/A

Words: 7,261

"Try and think of your mind as a tangible entity. Thoughts, emotion, your mind, imagine them as a solid mass at the center of your brain and inflate that shape beyond the confines of your physical form." Glynda's voice echoed over Jaune's shoulder, calm and soothing. Unfortunately, it didn't matter how clearly she tried to explain her semblance. The results were the same.

Sitting in his and Pyrrha's clearing, it was hard not to feel silly as he sat on his ass, staring at a bright red stress ball that had been placed before him. He felt like an idiot. And like an asshole, the small ball refused to budge an inch. Just like it hadn't moved for the last few weeks since he'd been trying to repeat the manifestation of Glynda's semblance.

Keeping his frustration to himself, Glynda continued in the same calm tone. "It's real, it's energy. It's yours to control if your will is strong enough. Now, command that same energy to wrap around the ball in front of you and lift it off the ground."

And you know what? Jaune tried. He really, really did. Despite the insanity of Glynda's words, he followed each step, visualizing the energy in his brain and bending it with his imagination until the ethereal blob of colorless energy smothered the ball in a thick barrier of impenetrable mental energy. And yet, while the picture in his head easily conjured the image of the ball hovering before him, reality refused to capitulate. Instead, the ball only twitched when a morning breeze blew through the dewy clearing. It was the most Jaune had seen it move in the hour the blond had wasted staring at it, thinking as hard as the tiny hamster in his skull could run.

"Perhaps we should try my Semblance once more?" Pyrrha took the long pause as an excuse to step forward, hesitant to interrupt. Jaune was grateful for the excuse to fall onto his back and rub the slowly mounting migraine from his temples.

When he'd told Glynda about the newly discovered aspects of his semblance, he hadn't expected her to react quite so enthusiastically. After their romp in her office, he'd been forced to spend the rest of his hour with Pyrrha in class. But by the time the final bell rang and students were free to enjoy the rest of their day, the blonde teacher had already drawn up a host of experiments she deemed necessary to test this new facet of his power and the connection between the three of them.

Their shared aura had been easy enough to measure with the three of them hooked up to their aura readers, which had earned its own exclamation from the older woman. And to Jaune's surprise, Pyrrha had shown herself to be just as enthusiastic about the news, showing none of the confusion or inability to understand that he had come to expect.

Jaune had been satisfied to be pleasantly surprised and let the redhead's clarity go with a shrug. Glynda had been more persistent, insisting they needed to test this too until they understood exactly what limits were normally placed on the women underneath his semblance. And to the young man's surprise, it wasn't nearly as debilitating as he'd initially assumed.

Pyrrha still couldn't understand that her mind and emotions were being manipulated. However, she was able to recognize and accept that the three of them shared a bond through Jaune's semblance and that his power could draw from their strength and them his. And that, apparently, his connection included access to their semblances.

Using that power was proving to be an entirely different challenge that none of them understood. Nearly every morning for the past few weeks, Glynda had been joining their morning routine, both to uphold the backstory they had crafted for their marriage and to help tutor Jaune on how to use her semblance. But after so much time, he was starting to wonder if it hadn't been a flook and if he wasn't wasting everyone's time.

"No," Glynda shook her head at her fellow wife, "we already tried that, and Jaune wasn't showing any more aptitude with your semblance than with mine. Besides, what if there are special criteria we don't understand yet for him to use or power? What if he doesn't have access to yours yet? He's already proven himself able to replicate my semblance with recorded evidence, and I think we may need to keep testing further until Jaune succeeds or we understand why he cannot."

Jaune chose to remain quiet, silently agreeing with the older woman. Not that he wouldn't have loved to use Pyrrha's semblance as much as Glynda's, but the one day they had spent trying to access her polarity power had proven that his red-haired wife didn't quite have the same way with words when it came to instructions as Glynda. The best she had been able to explain her semblance was that she could feel the subtle push and pull of the metal around her and was able to influence them in either direction.

Suffice to say, Jaune hadn't been able to feel anything from any metal, no matter how much they brought in front of him to experiment. Hell, he hadn't known that they'd handed him an actual magnet until he'd accidentally stuck it to a metal pipe they'd left lying around. He'd been half a minute into celebrating his progress before they'd explained the truth, and that had been the end of a terrible and fruitless day.

"Jaune," Glynda regarded him, snapping him out of his musings. Her expression wasn't harsh, but he could hear a slight tension in her voice as she asked him, "Are you sure there is nothing you can remember about the day in the locker room? A sensation or pressure that you can remember?"

He wished he had a positive answer. Just like he'd wished for that the last ten times she'd asked this same question. But wishes were not fishes, and his hands were empty. "Like I already said," he dragged a hand across his face, "one moment I was reaching for my sword, and the next, it was in my hand. After that, I was a little too focused on keeping Carden from crushing my head like a pumpkin to think about it for more than a second."

Ugh, as if his day wasn't starting off bad enough; now he was thinking about that asshole. Detention hadn't been the deterrent Glynda had thought it would be, and now it was like the ginger giant spent all of his time looking for new ways to make Jaune's life terrible. If he wasn't trying to trip him in the hall or calling him a turtle when they passed, he was launching spitballs and slapping Jaune's books onto the floor. The prick had gone as far as to try and force Jaune to write one of his essays before the blonde told the other boy to fuck off. And the next morning, Carden had answered with an entire glass of orange juice "accidentally" pouring over Jaune's head during breakfast.

And of course, the guy made sure to do all of this where they could be seen by students but never any teachers, asserting whatever authority he thought would make him seem like the big man on campus. In reality, everyone just saw him for the bully that he was. But the few flinches and glares he now earned walking down the halls was apparently enough to feed his gluttonous ego and he obviously felt like he was winning whatever rivalry he thought existed between him and Jaune.

It was annoying…but that was it. Jaune really did consider the other boy as an annoyance and nothing else. And while it might have felt good to lash back, Glynda had already made it clear he wasn't to escalate the situation. And if the problems persisted, he should find the nearest faculty member and report him.

This was proving to be yet another situation where dating your teacher wasn't as sexy as the CCNet videos made it out to be. For all of Glynda's wisdom and intelligence, she didn't seem to remember that telling on your bully didn't amount to shit unless they did something worth getting expelled over. And even then, you needed hard evidence. At best, telling on the other boy would piss him off and incite escalating retaliation for his trouble.

Right now, his only option was to keep ignoring the brut and hope his pea-sized brain eventually got bored enough to pick on someone who wouldn't get put in the doghouse for putting him in his place. But it better happen soon because Jaune was already close to losing his patience, and Pyrrha wasn't much better. Heck, even Nora had offered to break his legs the last time Jaune ended up kissing the floor thanks to an ill-placed foot, and the blond was half inclined to unleash his sudo daughter on the unsuspecting jerk.

After all, what good were emotionally unstable orphans if you couldn't unleash them on the evils of the world? Comic books had taught him that much.

"Shit," Glynda swore, earning a surprised stare from her husband. He wasn't sure he'd ever heard her swear before. But as she stared down at her wristwatch, he saw the distress lurking behind her features. "I'm afraid that we'll need to break for the morning. Pyrrha can finish your physical conditioning, but I need to take care of a few things in my office for the field trip."

"That's fine," Jaune shrugged, trying not to show his relief. Pyrrha would work him until he was a gasping, wheezing mess, but that still beat staring at that damn ball any longer. The young man's face became cautiously optimistic as he asked, "Do you want me to bring your lunch, or are you still too busy?"

Just like he'd been asked, Jaune had started to take a few days a week to eat with his wife. Sometimes Pyrrha joined them, other times she stayed with their friends. But Jaune made it a point to eat with his other wife at least two of the five school days that kept them apart. The quiet moments were a nice chance to reconnect, and the privacy was certainly appreciated for dessert. It had become a mandatory bright spot during his week that never failed to lift his spirit no matter what Carden had gotten up to that day.

"No," Glynda quickly answered, failing to hide the edge in her tone. But she must have seen the flinch on his face. The wrinkles around her pursed lips slowly relaxed after she took a slow, calming breath. She repeated herself after a pause, much calmer. "I mean, no, thank you. I'll likely need to enjoy my lunch between double-checking the bullheads that will deliver us to Forever Fall and won't likely have time to sit down."

Another glance at her watch earned a deeper frown. Suddenly, the tight line across her face was back. "I'll see you both this afternoon. Try and enjoy the rest of your day." But when Jaune stood up to send her off with a brief kiss, the older woman had already started walking back toward the looming towers of Beacon standing off in the distance. Both teenagers were left behind to watch her go, only speaking after she disappeared into the lush green foliage.

"Is it just me, or did Glynda feel a little…off this morning?" Jaune scratched his chin, silently hoping that it was all in his imagination. But Pyrrha nodded, still staring in the direction Glynda had left.

"She was very quiet today," Pyrrha confirmed, "and looked distracted." Jaune quirked an eyebrow since he hadn't noticed. But then, Pyrrha wasn't the one who'd spent the morning staring at a red stress ball. Which ironically made him very, very stressed. Instead, his wife had had nothing but time to watch them. And if she said Glynda seemed distracted, he was inclined to believe her.

Jaune frowned to himself, suddenly remembering that Glynda hadn't been able to see him the day before either. It was easy to think she was just busy at the time, but now Jaune was starting to wonder if something might be upsetting her.

"It's…probably the stress of the field trip," the blond rationalized, failing to convince himself. "Transporting and protecting twenty-four first-year students can't be easy. Especially if we're really going into Grimm territory."

"Maybe," Pyrrha agreed. But her face remained pensive. Rather than elaborate on whatever was going through her head, she turned toward Jaune with a newfound boldness. "But we've spent enough time sitting around today. I want one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run around the clearing. And we need to move quickly. We spent too much time training your semblance, which means we only have an hour to finish, shower, and get to class on time."

Jaune looked at her like she was crazy before slowly glancing toward the ball, silently wondering if this was close enough of a life-or-death situation to trigger Glynda's semblance. And, if so, would that get him out of this newfound torture?

The ball remained still, its foam unyielding to his desperation.

Bastard.

XxX

"Pyrrha…, we just ate?"

Hours later, Jaune was fresh and recovered after his grueling morning, savoring the still ease of three seated classrooms and two hearty meals to regain his strength. Even the bullhead into Forever Fall Forest hadn't been as bad as he had expected, resulting in only slight nausea. As soon as they all landed, Glynda quickly explained what they were meant to be doing, leaving the students to scatter with their jars in tow.

His team was no exception, tapping the nearest black and red tree to slowly bleed and collect its precious sap. After that, there wasn't much to do but stand around and wait until the sticky flow tapered off. Or so Jaune had thought. But as soon as their team was settled, Pyrrha had surprised him when she laid a thin blue blanket across soft red grass. Finally, the mystery of the basket she had kept tucked against her side the entire ride over was answered as she settled down to enjoy her impromptu picnic.

"Glynda might have mentioned we have some time to ourselves on the trip," Pyrrha defended herself. "Besides, I only brought some small snacks and treats for us to enjoy. It's not like I had that much time to prepare anything substantial. I just thought it would be a nice surprise for you and the ki-," she caught herself, her cheeks warming. Coughing, she sheepishly corrected, "the rest of our team."

Jaune felt his eye twitch at the slip, hating that he already knew what she had meant to say. And sure enough, Ren and Nora had already taken their place on the plaid-patterned blanket, eagerly waiting for Pyrrha to open her basket of goodies. Never one to disappoint, the redhead gracefully lowered herself next to the rambunctious pair and opened the wicker container.

Cupcakes, brownies, and jam-filled tarts were slowly laid out in the center. Pyrrha's smile invited the two to eat their fill. "Enjoy," she told them. Nora didn't hesitate to dig in, and Ren was only a step behind her.

"Thanks, Mom!" the bubbly redhead sang, eagerly sinking her teeth into a square of processed sugar. She didn't try to pretend their team was normal anymore, fully embracing her leader's wife as her mother figure.

Ren retained some sense as he took his first bite, humming appreciatively. "Thank you, Pyrrha." But what he didn't say with his words could clearly be seen in his eyes and expression, both of which softened while he spared Pyrrha a soft smile.

"Jaune?" his wife looked up at him, patting the spot next to hers. And when she held up a wrapped slice of apple pie reeking of cinnamon, the blond couldn't stop himself from shrugging his shoulders and joining her.

As soon as he settled, Pyrrha didn't hesitate to mold herself against his side and plant a kiss against his cheek, offering a fork full of pie rather than handing it to him. Oh no. Instead, she handed him a different treat after he took his first bite. What looked like pudding and smelled like coconut.

Having long since learned his lesson, Jaune didn't fight it. Instead, he merely sighed before producing a helping into her waiting lips, shivering slightly when he caught her tongue lashing out to catch a streak of white cream he'd accidentally left behind. He soon found himself distracted by another mouthful of pie, sweet and tangy.

Despite his earlier incredulity, Jaune eventually decided that Pyrrha's forethought had turned their ordinary field trip into a wonderful afternoon. Between bites and feeding Pyrrha, he looked around and enjoyed the cool breeze of a late fall and the beauty of the deep red trees whose leaves were too close to his wife's scarlet locks not to compare.

And when he wasn't appreciating nature, he had his friend's smiling faces to enjoy. Munching and relaxing, Nora had stolen Ren's lap as her pillow. And her partner wasn't even fighting her, enjoying a dangerous game of dodging her many attempts at stealing his treats whenever they wandered too close to her voracious teeth.

With a few successes and many more failures, the entire team laughed whenever the smaller girl captured a corner of a brownie or a lick of whipped cream. Of course, it was also obvious that Ren was allowing a couple of bites being the good big brother that he was.

With his arm around Pyrrha's waist, every now and then Jaune felt her lips press against his cheek or nuzzle against his jaw. And he made sure to answer Pyrrha's affection with his own, kissing the top of her head or squeezing her tighter against his side.

Oh, how must the four of them look to the rest of the students? Jaune was sure he could feel more than one pair of eyes watching them enjoy the afternoon. But rather than itch at the attention or second guess his joy, Jaune chose to ignore them, refusing to let the opinions of others get in the way of these joyful moments. He still wasn't perfect, but he'd been working on that more since Glynda had brought it up in her office. And sure enough, he found much of his previous anxiety bleeding away when he wasn't being hunted by Carden and his minions.

"This is nice," he gave his wife the credit she deserved, letting his fingers enjoy the brass and leather hugging his wife's hip. She responded to his touch with a smile, sighing happily at the acknowledgment. Not that he'd ever doubted her. This was just one of the many surprises she'd planned for them since they'd met. It was almost like she had some kind of mental checklist of what couples should do together and inevitably drew him into each activity, usually to his benefit.

The only thing that could have made the afternoon better was if Glynda could join them. But when they had tried approaching her at school, she'd been too busy directing teams to their assigned bullheads. And after they'd landed, they had the same problem watching her instruct the group of teenagers on their mission and the sap collection. The last Jaune had seen of the blonde woman, she'd been chasing after a group of all boys who had already managed to break one of their jars when they'd been dumb enough to toss it back and forth like a ball.

That stung. Especially when it looked like she was almost trying to avoid looking in his direction. But it was important to remember she was technically working right now and wasn't upset or ignoring him. Glynda was busy. People got busy. And no one took their job as seriously as his wife.

Still, he might have to remember Pyrrha's wonderful idea for a time when Glynda wasn't so distracted. It would be even better if they could repeat this, just the three of them.

Jaune smiled at the thought, only to glance back toward his teammates. And to his amusement, Ren had taken a bite from one of the tarts before accidentally expressing a large helping of jam out its backside and directly into his partner's face. Nora's wail of complaint was immediately answered when Pyrrha tore herself from his side, revealing that she'd brought some wet wipes on top of everything else.

The redhead's maternal instincts were on full alert as she went to work cleaning the strawberry filling from the other girl's face, cooing empathetically. And of course, Nora took full advantage of the chance to act like a helpless baby, curling into her teammate's chest like she was ten years younger. But Pyrrha didn't rebuff her, patting her gently as she exchanged the batch of soiled napkins for a second bundle.

It was ridiculous, and Jaune felt like he should have been laughing at the scene. But as he watched the pair, something strange happened. Instead of Nora acting like a child, he imagined her being replaced with an actual child. Maybe even Glynda's baby. And he could already see how likely it was that Pyrrha would be just as tender and gentle when it finally arrived.

Without missing a beat, the young man amended his earlier plans. The next time they went on a picnic like this would be with the four of them. Him, Pyrrha, Glynda, and the son or daughter that may very well still be nothing more than a twinkle in his eye.

"Snacks!"

The tender moment was interrupted by the sound of a sudden exclamation. And sure enough, Jaune looked over his shoulder to see Team RWBY advancing toward them. Ruby and Yang stared down at the assortment of food with blatant jealousy while their partners were left to shake their heads at their behavior.

"I brought more than enough if you'd like to join us," Pyrrha offered, going so far as to reach into her basket and retrieving a previously hidden bag of chocolate chip cookies.

After an explosion of red rose petals descended upon them, Ruby was suddenly sitting on his other side, reaching out to grab them. And after a bout of greedy crunching, Jaune's lips twitched at the muffled, "thank you, Pyrrha," spoken around a mouthful of cookies. The poor manors had the detriment of spewing a few crumbs from her mouth that Ruby rushed to brush off the nice blanket and into the grass.

She'd packed those specifically for the younger girl, but Jaune didn't say anything. He was pleased to see that the two girls were getting along. In the end, Pyrrha hadn't come along on their videogame extravaganza. But she had started sitting next to Ruby during their meals and he'd found the two girls talking more often lately. From what he'd overheard, it turned out Ruby had a lot of questions about the professional circuit, which Pyrrha had been more than happy to answer. And in turn, Pyrrha had asked about the younger girl's life, going out of her way to listen to Ruby gush about weapon craft, videogames, and her home back in Patch,

If Jaune didn't know any better, he'd swear that Pyrrha intended to adopt a third child. Not that Ruby seemed to mind, clearly looking up to his wife.

The rest of team RWBY eventually joined the group, albeit in a less spectacular manner. "You all look comfortable," Weiss droned, clearly judging their lax demeanor when they were technically supposed to be in the field. Naturally, that didn't stop her from elegantly slinking down with both feet tucked beside her or from plucking a sour apple candy from the shrinking pile of treats.

Jaune shrugged, "Nothing says we can't enjoy the field trip in style. Don't tell me it took you guys this long to find a tree?"

"I wish," Yang snorted, reaching for one of her sister's treats, only to yank her fingers back when said girl snapped with her teeth. Judging by the blonde's wry amusement, this was not a new interaction between the sisters. "Nah, we're hiding, man. Any chance you know what crawled up your wife's butt? Or what didn't? Either way, it looks like you're not doing your job."

That got the teenager's attention as he turned to regard the girl. "What's wrong with Glynda?"

"Last we saw, she was dressing down a couple of students for napping," Blake rolled her eyes. "Which, yeah, kind of dumb where there could be Grimm around. But she was kind of laying into them. We used the chance to sneak away before she could turn on us next."

"Yeah!" Yang frowned, "what's the deal, man? Class has been awesome lately. But now Goodwitch is starting to revert back to Badbit-." Blake stopped her before she could finish that thought, seeing the warning flash across Jaune's face as his eyes narrowed.

"What she means," Blake gracefully recovered, "is that we wanted to make sure you guys aren't fighting. Because you're our friend, and we care about you." Unfortunately, the brunette's hand was only so big, so she couldn't hope to hide the dramatic roll of her partner's eyes.

"We're…fine?" Jaune repeated. But each time, he sounded less confident. "She might have been a little stressed this morning, but it didn't seem that bad."

Yang harrumphed before grabbing Blake's wrist and yanking it away. "Well, if you were my husband," she stressed, "I know I'd want you to check on me." And the worst-case scenario, Glynda could focus her issues on her husband. That's what Jaune had signed up for, and Yang refused to feel bad about sacrificing him.

"Me and Pyrrha already decided it's probably a good idea to wait until after we get back to school to try to talk to her." Jaune shook his head. "You guys gotta remember, she's still technically my teacher during school hours. We need to be careful not to get things mixed up."

And for all her stubbornness, Yang couldn't argue against that. Instead she crossed her arms, stuffing a brownie in her mouth before continuing. "Guess that means there's no choice but to hide in the forest. Oh well."

Ruby's eyebrows drew together at her sister. "Ah, Yang? The forest is full of Grimm, remember? That's not exactly much safer." But the blonde didn't look concerned.

"Meh," Yang waved her little sister's concern away, "Between literal creatures of darkness programmed to kill and a pissed off Mrs. Arc, I know which one can be handled with a punch to the face." And despite the slight at his wife, Jaune couldn't find it in him to argue.

A nudge on his shoulder drew his gaze toward Pyrrha. "Our trees should start running dry soon. We'll need to start a new tap if we want to fill our jars to the top. Go on a walk with me?" And Jaune immediately perked up at the idea.

"Excuse us," Jaune grunted as he stood, helping Pyrrha to her feet.

Ruby's eyes flashed at her friend's departure as she scrambled to join them. "Can I come?" Because of course she was the only one who didn't see a problem inviting herself with the couple.

Everyone else knew better, and Yang eventually had to speak up, "Rubes, um, ours are still probably filling up. Let's let Jaune and Pyrrha spend some time alone, okay?" It was as gentle as the brash young woman could word it. Too gently for Ruby to pick up on.

"Aww!" the smaller girl pouted, "then can you move it for me? That way I can keep hanging out with Jaune and Pyrrha!" Her frown turned into a brilliant smile as if she'd found a way to make everyone happy. But Yang didn't look happy, subtly shooting the married couple an apologetic wince.

"Ruby," Pyrrha smiled down at the younger girl, looking anything but bothered by her insistence, "me and Jaune shouldn't be gone very long at all. We'll tap our trees and turn right back. In the meantime, there still might be a slice of strawberry shortcake if no one else has gotten to it yet."

Pyrrha's mothering skills proved themselves once again. Ruby immediately became distracted by the promise of her favorite treat, falling back onto the blanket to look. Those few seconds were all the two needed to slip away. She was so convincing that even Jaune believed her. It wasn't until they were about ten trees farther from the rest of the students and he felt his wife trap his arm against her chest that he understood what she had planned.

Finding her fingers, he gave the dainty shapes a soft squeeze before slowing their pace, happy to take a little longer going nowhere. The sea of deep red and black had seemed ominous and creepy when they had first landed, but there was beauty to be found. A cool air cut through the enterally autumnal foliage, casting a thin shower of red leaves to mix with the red grass.

The two continued like that in peaceful silence. Eventually, Pyrrha stepped close enough to lean her head against her husband's shoulder. "Thank you for this," Jaune voiced, "and for the picnic." Pyrrha could hear the smile in his tone without lifting her head to look.

Her expression was just as pleasant when her eyes crinkled. "I always dreamed about enjoying a date like this with a boy. It's so wonderful getting the chance to experience all of this." Hearing her content sigh, Jaune nodded against her. But she couldn't see the frown on his face as he considered how easy it was to make Pyrrha happy. He would have to make an effort not to take advantage of that and get by with the bare minimum.

"Is there anything else you want to try?" Jaune ventured, hoping to take the initiative for once. He couldn't let her plan all the dates. Pyrrha's face immediately turned up at him. Jaune had to stop himself from tripping at the joy she showered upon him.

"A movie…" she breathed like it was some sacred thing she had been denied all her life. Jaune wasn't as impressed and had to keep his confusion from showing.

"A movie?" he repeated, clarifying. "That's it? You just want to go see a movie together?" It sounded too simple, but his wife practically had stars in her eyes.

"Yes!" Pyrrha giggled, and the grip on his arm tightened with her excitement. "A sappy, romantic one. Just the two of us. With a big tub of popcorn with extra butter and two boxes of candy!" Her gaze took on a dreamy quality as her list continued, making it clear she'd pictured this date many, many times. "And I want to spend the entire time sitting next to each other like this." Pyrrha's face turned into Jaune's shoulder, nuzzling him with her nose.

"I think I can suffer through a few hours of sappy romance," Jaune grinned. Especially for his wife's sake. "How about this weekend? I'm sure Vale has something playing that fits the bill."

He saw his wife's kiss before he felt it, admiring the joy that openly played across Pyrrha's face. His wife's smile was blinding and tasted like sugar when it pressed against his own amused grin. The warmth in his chest turned molten as the affectionate gesture lingered, and he felt a few strands of hair escape Pyrrha's braid to tickle his cheek. And when they broke apart, the redhead's eyelashes fluttered against the bright flush that had stolen her pale complexion.

She didn't look away, continuing to smile at him. And Jaune never failed to stand tall when his bride chose to look at him like this. Like he'd done something incredible. It was almost enough to make him believe her.

It took another minute before the couple could continue their walk, fingers interlaced. "I'm surprised, though," Jaune hummed. "A pretty girl like you, I'd have thought you could have convinced at least one boy to see a movie with you." Before Beacon, he would have carried her to the theater himself if someone like her showed even a scrap of interest.

Jaune's smile slipped when he peeked over. And while Pyrrha's expression hadn't changed, the light in her eyes was noticeably dimmer than it had been a second ago.

"No," she shook her head, "I didn't really have the chance. Until I came to Beacon, all my time was either taken by tournaments, training for tournaments, or fulfilling obligations toward my sponsors and fans." The words came easily enough, but her fingers twitched against his.

"Ah," Jaune winced, "um, kept you busy, huh?" which he knew was an understatement, but he didn't know how to respond except for attempting to lighten the mood. He hated seeing her so desponded. But he realized with a start that this was the first time she'd spoken about her life before they'd met. Had he really never thought to ask before? "But…you must have had some breaks."

'Please let her have had some breaks,' he silently prayed.

"I did," she nodded, much to his relief. The comfort didn't last long before she continued, "but it wasn't a good idea for me to go out too much, especially where I could have been seen with a boy."

Jaune winced. "Strict parents?" It wasn't the first time he'd wondered about the inlaws who were out in the world with no idea that he'd stolen their daughter. And if they were that hung up about boys, that didn't bode well for their eventual first encounter.

"Worse than that, I'm afraid," Pyrhha sighed before correcting, "Morality clauses in my contracts." Jaune's eyebrows immediately inched together. "Of course, they didn't outright say I couldn't date or be seen with men. But most of the brands that sponsored me were family-focused, and if I was seen in conflict with that image as their representative, I or my family would have been sued. I had to be constantly aware of situations that could be bent or misconstrued as a sexual scandal. It could be something as simple as touching an arm or smiling too widely in the direction of a man, and the headlines would have been flooded with my sudden pregnancy."

She actually giggled at the memory, like it was a silly anecdote anyone could relate to. Unfortunately, Jaune could only feel horror at how stifling her life sounded. In the end, all he could do was admit, "That sounds…rough."

Pyrrha's smile turned melancholic as she nodded. "It wasn't just boys either. I couldn't be around alcohol or cigarettes. Casual drugs. I couldn't even wear clothing or visit stores I wasn't affiliated with. Any of that could have reasonably put me in breach. And when you have to watch your every move so closely in public, it becomes less stressful to simply stay at home on the days you aren't expected to make an appearance."

Jaune's blank expression didn't change as leaves crunched underfoot and Pyrrha's body jostled with every other step against his. Internally, he was beginning to understand his wife a little better and all her lovable quirks. Why she always got so sappy, how she was able to enjoy the smallest things so much. Because what he took for granted, what most people took for granted, had been a wonderful privilege to someone as sheltered as his partner. When you're locked in your apartment or hotel room for days on end, things like having a picnic with your boyfriend or going to the movies can seem like a dream.

Unconsciously, he shrugged out of her grip so he could wrap the arm around her waist and pull her against him. Pyrrha sighed happily when he squeezed. "How about we spend some time shopping after the movie?" he asked, eager to help Pyrrha make up for some lost time.

Green eyes blinked up at him. "Shopping for what?"

Jaune met her question with a shrug. "To look around. I thought we might have fun exploring Vale for a bit. You know, holding hands and enjoying the sights?" Things Pyrrha should have been able to do. And seeing the previous light return to her gaze, Jaune knew he had done something right.

"That sounds wonderful," she breathed, pressing a hand against the small of his back. "Thank you."

"It's not that big a deal," he ducked his head, grinning shyly. "You and Glynda do so much for me. I'm just glad I can be somewhat helpful." Pyrrha blinked at him like he'd replied in another language.

"But Jaune, you've done nothing but help me since we became partners," she argued. "Back in Mistral, once all my contracts expired, the companies all wanted to renew them. They offered me money and benefits most people could only dream of. Even my parents wanted me to agree. To forget about becoming a huntress and focus on training for the adult circuit." Her eyes turned to spy on the blue, cloudless sky peeking through blood-red foliage.

"But I refused," Pyrrha smiled to herself. "Coming to Vale, coming to Beacon, it was my chance for a fresh start, and I refused to sacrifice that just so I could retain my fame in something as shallow as entertainment when I could make a difference helping people. At least…that was the reason I gave them. Really, I wanted to get away from Mistral so I could have the chance to be myself."

Her satisfied expression turned from the sky to her husband, and the glittering green orbs narrowed with her grin. "And then I met you. And we got married. And you've done nothing but encourage and support me ever since. You've given me the bravery to try things, to see what I enjoy. You make me feel desirable and beautiful. But most importantly, you make me feel safe. I feel safe when I'm around you. And I can't imagine that coming to Beacon would have been half as wonderful if you hadn't been by my side through it."

Jaune found himself struggling to swallow around the knot in his throat. His Adam's apple bobbed with every attempt. "I…," he flushed as he ducked his head. "I didn't do all that much." But Pyrrha refused to let her husband diminish his actions, going so far as to untangle their bodies so that he was forced to look her in the eye as she grinned.

"But you have," she swayed sweetly in her bronze and leather armor. "I was so young when I got swept up in Mistral's tournament scene. And by the time I was old enough to be interested in romance or partners, my life had already become swallowed by sponsors and, to a greater degree, my fans. I had no choice but to become what they wanted. Pure, incorruptible, and a saint whose life only involved fighting and whatever hoppies my manager deemed acceptable. And after years and years of the same narrative, the image stuck. And I had no choice but to go along with it.

"Suddenly, I had little girls looking up to me all over Remnant. And what would they think of me if I was caught behaving inappropriately? I stopped being Pyrrha the person and became Pyrrha the champion, loved by all but herself."

The redhead's smile warmed as she advanced on her husband. Her arms found his waist as she drew close, maintaining eye contact as the rigid leather of her corset pressed into his chest. The lack of softness did nothing to detract from the excitement her touch always inspired. And her grin was downright sinful as she continued.

"But you changed all of that. It all started with our wedding night. I must have spent at least five minutes building up the courage to come out of the bathroom and show you…everything. And you, being the bad, bad man, took the same girl who used to worry about keeping her legs closed getting out of cars and bullheads and had her spread everything for you to see. Everything. And it felt wonderful. That was when I began to understand what kind of woman I am—what kind of woman your touch makes me.

"I was finally able to acknowledge all of these emotions I've had to keep locked away. And even better, you encouraged me to enjoy what I had spent so much time learning to be ashamed and afraid of. And it felt so liberating.

"I'm a human being. I feel desire as much as anyone. But I was never allowed to enjoy it." Jaune couldn't look away as she leaned up, pressing a soft kiss against his lips.

"It still takes some time to remember that sometimes," she whispered against his lips. "That I don't have to be embarrassed, and no one is going to be disappointed in me for admitting that I'm aroused. And I would be lying if doubts didn't linger. You can only hear, 'A lady wouldn't do that,' or, 'What would the children think if they could see you now,' so many times before it feels like your own fears. But every night with you feels like a step away from that life. A step away from Pyrrha, the people's champion, and a step toward Pyrrha Arc."

Pyrrha's face found the crook of Jaune's neck as her voice vibrated against his collar. "With your help, I've come to accept that I like how you look at me in my uniform and even more when I'm out of it. I enjoy the face you make as you gaze at me from between my legs and see every secret that I was supposed to keep hidden. I've even come to accept that I like kissing girls at least as much as I like kissing you, thanks to your acceptance and encouragement no matter what I want to try."

Jaune felt her smile against his neck as a giggle shook her shoulders. "Pumpkin Pete would be horrified if they knew how dirty the girl on their cereal box was. But that's okay to, because I don't answer to them anymore. I don't answer to anyone anymore. And I've decided I need to try something else that Pumpkin Pete wouldn't be happy about. That is if my husband doesn't mind helping me?"

Jaune didn't know what that meant, too busy absorbing everything he'd learned about his wife. All this time, he'd thought he was being selfish by indulging in all the sex he was allowed to appreciate since Pyrrha put on his ring. But it was nice to know he wasn't the only one benefiting from their nights together, as much as he worked to ensure his wives enjoyed themselves.

Pyrrha didn't wait for him to catch up, gently advancing forward until Jaune felt the firm bark of a tree at his back. He looked over his shoulder in surprise when his wife's armor disappeared from his chest. And when he searched for her, he found the redhead on her knees, her face level with his crotch.

"Well, Sweetheart?" Pyrrha asked, blushing but grinning proudly all the same.

Jaune never liked that stupid cereal anyway.

A/N: Not much to say about this chapter. I know the show didn't have as much time as we would have liked to explore Pyrrha's past, but I thought she would be a little less hesitant to open up about her life as a celebrity with her husband compared to just a boy she liked and couldn't confess too. We're given some clues to just how famous she was, but the biggest clue in my book was her instant attraction to someone who didn't recognize her fame. If you're that desperate for genuine human connection, that meant most people back in mistral would have been able to recognize her name if not her face. We don't get to see that much in Vale but the show makes it clear that in Mistral, Pyrrha was a pretty big deal.

Up until now, Jaune's been too busy putting out fires to think about how little he knows about his wives. But as soon as he acknowledges that oversight, he makes an effort to correct it and is surprised that his constantly happy and saccharine wife has a reason for being so sweet. And the more time they spend together, the more he's going to acknowledge how her life before Beacon has affected her mentality in their relationship. And what it means to be married to a celebrity.

Next chapter is in two weeks. You'll get to enjoy some action and some action, if you know what I am saying. But keep in mind that I intent to take the ursa fight in a different direction from cannon. Namely, I really hated how Jaune was able to essentially one-shot an elite Grimm that was able to scare off an entire team of trained huntsmen who were actually trained to fight. Even with Pyrrha's help. See you all then.