"I can help you with your hair!" The words tumbled out of his mouth, he shot his head up without a second thought, the Scroll on his hands emitted a dull vibration as the character of his game died the moment he ripped his eyes off it.

"You can…?" Pyrrha shifted around on the stool, turning her back to the mirror placed over their dorm's desk, facing his bed so she could look directly at him. Her tone of voice and expression more full of surprise - maybe even hope - than disbelief.

Jaune blinked, only now fully registering what he had blurted out. "Y-yeah! I mean… I do have seven sisters, so I know some stuff." He shrugged his shoulders as a small smile appeared on his face, as if telling it's not that big of a deal while reinforcing his offer.

He was taken aback for a second but not even a little bit surprised that, the moment Pyrrha had murmured she wished she could do something different with her hair for that afternoon, his first action was to immediately volunteer his assistance. Especially for something he knew he could do.

It had turned into a habit - offering his help whenever she needed and whenever he could. Ok, fine. They were more like… small favors. Not even close to the real, life-changing, support Pyrrha gave him during all the time they had known each other. Even so, it was something right? It was his own way of saying thank you beyond just speaking those words aloud.

It's not like the opportunities for him to do that were super frequent anyway, so he took every chance; from offering his company to walk with her to the library, to going back to the lunch line to get her a cup of juice when she forgot it, so now he would gladly help her with her hair. Also, he wouldn't be doing that if he didn't know that his partner appreciated it.

"Thank you, Jaune. That would be grand!" Pyrrha smiled at him, and that was how he always got his confirmation that she did.

She had her polite smile, her interview smile, the picture smile, and many others, but not even a single one of them could even compare to her real smile. Regardless of it being a full grin or just a faint curl of her lips, it always made her eyes crinkle up on the corners.

So seeing one of those on her face always made him happy.

"Let me just put these away first." Pyrrha turned back to the desk, - unfortunately, taking the view of her smile with her - her hand motioning to the variety of makeup products over its surface.

Jaune just nodded, then quickly hummed an agreement when realizing that she couldn't see his gesture. He put his Scroll away, the game he was playing before now completely forgotten, and let his eyes wander through their room as he waited.

Soon, the only trace that the study desk had its fifteen minutes of being a vanity was the mirror that continued on the same place, even after the books and papers were pushed back to their rightful locations.

Pyrrha headed to the closet to put her things away, his eyes followed her to the opposite side of the room. Looking at her like that, it seemed more as if she was getting ready for bed than to leave, since she was still wearing the pants of her pajamas and a light sleeveless shirt, with her hair pulled up, wrapped around itself in a rushed bun.

Then she turned around, her face coated delicately with perfect makeup. His gaze dropped hurriedly before their eyes could meet and rested on her bed, the light colored dress and the elegant sandals, perfect for the warm Valean spring, only waiting to be put on.

It was so easy to forget that his partner was actually famous. They had been living together for a whole year, sharing a room, having classes together, eating the same questionable cafeteria food and training on the rooftop. She was his best friend, he felt like he could talk to her about anything, and that he could count on her whenever he needed, and he did his absolute best to convey that he would do the same for her.

So, yeah. It was incredibly easy to forget that some people considered his partner a celebrity.

The reminders appeared occasionally thought - going from autographs to cereal boxes. And now, by Pyrrha having to leave Beacon for some kind of gathering with her sponsors.

"Ok." She stopped in front of him, a small handbag with a comb sticking out of it and her hair cream on hand; his thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind. "How are we going to do this?"

"Oh- hm… you can just sit here." Jaune patted the mattress by his side. "And tell me what you would like me to do."

She sat above the sheets, her back facing him. "I am not exactly sure of what I want." Pyrrha let out a small chuckle as she handed him the comb and placed the bag by his side. "I don't usually style my hair. I was just going to tie it back into my ponytail."

"Well, we'll think of something." Jaune adjusted his position over the bed, eyeing the contents of the handbag - hair ties and a collection of other diverse accessories. "And just so you know, I had years of experience and lot of satisfied customers." He grinned, straightening his back as he bragged dramatically.

"Your sisters?" The laugh hung on the edge of her words.

"A-and my mom!"

The giggles flowed free from his partner's mouth. "Very well. If that's the case… I trust them."

He let out a satisfied hum, with just a hint of smugness before he continued, doing his impression of what could be classified as a professional voice. "Can you let it loose for me, please?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Pyrrha chuckled lightly, answering on a similar tone. Her hands were raised to the back of her head, carefully undoing the knot that kept the strands restrained.

Finally, the locks were freed, they uncurled around themselves, completely covering the view of her back in red - and no, he absolutely had been not staring at how the lines of her muscles pressed against her shirt, and at how she had to tilt her head forward for a moment to do all of that, giving him a nice view of her nape, and his lips were suddenly very dry for some reason. Haha, weird, right?

The strands cascaded down towards the mattress, so long, that they pooled around her waist. A faint "Wow…" escaped together with his last exhale.

"What is it?" She glanced to the side, trying to get a glimpse of his expression.

"N-nothing!" His reply came a bit too fast. "I just-" He let go of a breath, together with a small chuckle. "I almost never see you with your hair down. I always forget how long it is."

"Oh!" Her fingers slipped behind her ear, taking strands that had fallen in front of her face with it. "If it's too much-"

"Nope! That's not what I meant." He was quick to interrupt her, already raising a hand to separate the mass of hair in smaller locks so it would be easier for him to brush it. "I mean… why you don't use it loose more often?"

The end of the question almost got caught up in his throat as he felt the stands on his palm. They were soft and wavy, passing through his fingers smoothly, and he had to stretch his arm to reach the tips, they were also still humid from when she had washed it earlier - and had the red always been this lively?

"I… it gets in the way in a battle. And I guess I got used to wearing it tied out of it too." Pyrrha shrugged lightly; his fingertips accidentally brushed her shoulders with the movement. "And I never felt like cutting it."

Jaune hummed in response. An unexpected wave of relief washed through him with her last sentence. He made the first stroke with the comb, careful not to run over her ear as it descended. His finger mimicked the movement, following the same path right after, assuring that no tangles were left behind.

"… It's pretty…" His subconscious felt necessary to add, words slipping out as a barely acknowledged whisper.

He felt her lower her head slightly as the comb passed for the second time through her scalp, followed by "Thank you." just as quiet as his previous remark.

Jaune continued his task in silence, doing his best to maintain his focus on it, softly brushing her hair with the combination of comb and fingers. Every time he found a few stray knots, he would get rid of them as gently as possible, undoing them in a way that prevented any sharp painful tugs.

It was one third through when he noticed that, glancing to the side, he was able to catch part of her reflection on the corner of the mirror that had stayed over the desk.

Her eyes were half-lidded, lips slightly curled in the softest way. The moment his fingertips ran down her scalp, she blinked long and slowly - an expression of pure satisfaction.

He was able to see his own cheeks turn pink on the same mirror. Jaune diverted his eyes away, failing to stop a sudden smile of his own from breaking through his lips.

He had also failed to glance back to Pyrrha every five seconds, just to keep track of her expressions - and he felt the heat on his face not subsiding for not even one second as he noticed that she seemed to be enjoying the treatment.

So he may have taken more time than actually necessary to finish the brushing, his strokes maybe lingering longer than usual, and perhaps he ran his fingers through her head a few extra times just to be sure.

Jaune returned the comb to the bag when he was done with it. Then, remembering that Pyrrha had also brought her hair cream, he asked if she wanted him to apply it. Her reply was a few nods accompanied by a lazy murmur of agreement.

Flicking the lid open, the sweet scent invaded his nostrils "So that's where her cinnamon smell comes from…", after getting a moderated amount of the cream on his palm he went back to work.

He traced the shape of the waves of her strands and reinforced the form of the curly locks. Fingers making their way through the waterfall of red with the most fluid of motions. His nails unintentionally scrapped against the lower part of the back of her head, Pyrrha let out a heavy pleased sigh and he felt his heart do a weird out of rhythm beat at the sound.

Jaune quietly cleared his throat before speaking up. "So, do you already have an idea of what you would like?"

"Hm… Something simple, not too fancy..." She stopped to think for a second. "Can I just say surprise me?"

He let out a chuckle, a sensation of lightness washing over him when realizing Pyrrha trusted him to choose. Tapping on his chin, he considered the hair accessories on his disposition. "I think… I have an idea."

He spread a few of the contents of the bag over the sheets. "Can I use any of these?"

"Sure!" She adjusted her legs over his bed, crossing them over each other. "I just think some of the stuff there is broken thought, I don't use them much."

"Like these?" Jaune stretched his arms to show her what he had found - two delicate identical golden chains, with no apparent purpose. "Were they from your circlet?"

"Oh! Yes." Pyrrha turned her head to look at the metal pieces. "They were damaged during a battle and I had to replace them." Pointing to the broken links at the end of each chain, he understood the reason. "But I never had the courage to throw them away…"

He made a sound to indicate that he had acknowledged her reply as he placed the chains by his side, saving them for later. "I know you said you're used to wearing it tied, but do you mind if most of it stays loose?" Jaune asked while picking a few other accessories that were going to be necessary for what he had in mind.

"Not at all." His partner tried to take a peek at what he was doing. "What are you planning?"

"Surprise me, remember?" The smirk was clear on his voice. "You're going to have to wait and see."

Pyrrha let out a small laugh, he saw her eye roll before she turned to face forward again.

Soon his fingers went to the side of her head, moving to gather a large lock of hair starting right above her ear. He separated the chosen strands from the remaining mass of red, not forgetting to leave a little streak free to frame the side of her face, as she usually did with her characteristic ponytail.

Splitting the hair on his hands into three equal parts, he was ready to start the braid.

Or he would be if finding those loose chains didn't give him an idea. Focusing on only one of the thirds on his disposition, with the help of a small hairpin - now hidden by the streak he had left loose in front of her ear -, he attached the golden piece to the strand, becoming one with that particular lock of hair.

Now he could start braiding. Careful to not tangle, he began the process of interlacing the three parts together - two pure locks of fiery hair, and the one with the chain contrasting against the red - always making sure that the gold would be visible as it rose and fell within the twists of the braid.

Jaune cheered mentally when everything seemed to be working as he had intended.

"Is there any other hidden talents that you're keeping from us?" His partner suddenly spoke up.

He shrugged after a sheepish chuckle. "You already know I can dance."

She laughed with him. "Did your sisters taught you all of this?"

"Well… Yes and No…" His shoulders shrunk. "Not exactly…"

"And that means…?" Pyrrha coaxed him to continue.

He hesitated for a second as he finished the first braid. Then carefully put it to the side, and started. "When I was little I was a curious kid, you know. And my sisters closer to my age were too."

Jaune switched to the other side of her head, repeating the process to begin a second braid. "And we sometimes liked to play pretend as if we had jobs. Playing around the house like we were doctors, or teachers, or police officers, or merchants… or dinosaurs."

"Dinosaurs?"

"We saw a documentary about archeology once. We got a little confused."

That got a laugh out of her, and he continued his tale right after he finished attaching the second chain to her hair. "Hairstylist and dancers were one of our careers. And sometimes that would go on for weeks!" He laughed at the memory. "My mom was pretty happy when we decided we wanted to be cooks because she had a bunch of kids to help her on the kitchen." His eyes dropped in embarrassment. "Until we managed to set the sink on fire."

Pyrrha giggled freely, a contagious sound that brought a huge smile to his own face. "H-how?"

"Don't ask me!" He shook his head and raised a free hand in surrender. "But we actually learned a lot." Jaune took hold of the half-finished braid again. "I helped my mom in the kitchen frequently after that, I had liked pretending that we were musicians so much that I started taking serious guitar classes right after. And turned out that I'm really good at dealing with hair for some reason? So my sisters were always asking me to give them a hand."

"Then I got to know better the history of our ancestors, and I found out what I really wanted to be - a Huntsman." He added with a smile on his face while giving the finishing touches on the second braid.

"My parents didn't like that very much though..." Jaune let out a forced chuckle, his smile faltering right after. "Especially my mom…" He fished a simple elastic band from her bag to join the two braids on the back of her head, careful not to disturb the chains.

"She… I think she saw that as some kind of wasted potential..." He looked around for the accessory that would be the final addition of his work. "I had had so many other interests… safer interests - why couldn't I chose one of those as a career?" It had slipped under the sheets; an elegant golden hair clip, shaped like laurel leaves, with a few green gems scattered around it - the color matched perfectly with her eyes.

"When I got here... they told me to not be upset if ended up having to move back home..." Jaune let out a heavy sigh at the memory. "I'm pretty sure they believed I would be better off with a normal job..." He placed the clip over the junction of the two braids; it hid the final tips of the chains flawlessly.

His next words came out whispered under his breath as he admired the final result. "Sometimes I couldn't help but think that they were right…"

Jaune blinked, then shook his head, only now realizing the direction the conversation had taken and that he was the only one talking for a while now. "Sorry, I was rambling." He chuckled nervously and changed the subject as fast as he could. "It's done by the way. Go look and tell me what you think."

One long second passed. She moved, but for his not so much surprise, it wasn't to get up to look in the mirror.

He held back a breath as Pyrrha turned sharply to his direction, her hair flowing behind her. The view of pure red he had for a while now was abruptly replaced by piercing green.

"You… don't think like that anymore, don't you?" She stared at him and he could only stare back. Pyrrha was close, really close, with the smallest of movements forward the tip of their noses would touch. The glare completely unable his gaze to wander to anywhere else, so he kept his eyes on hers - still, he found out that the view was nothing less than stunning, so it wasn't very hard.

Despite that, the look his partner was giving him only made him think that if he answered her question with any kind of affirmative reply, she would get her javelin, pin him to the top of the nearest tree, and leave him there until nightfall.

Thank the gods he had no reason to lie to her.

"No… I don't." The reply came as a low whisper, just loud enough for her to hear it. He watched her expression soften and after a shy smile from his part, he continued. "… Thanks to you."

Surprisingly, it was Pyrrha who broke their eye contact. Her gaze dropping quickly a few seconds after his last sentence, which prompted him to lower his. The makeup on her cheeks was rosier than he remembered. He trailed lower, just on time to catch her lips morphing into a smile.

Jaune immediately shot his eyes back up. Pyrrha's real smiles always made her eyes crinkle up on the corners.

"Good." The word was barely a whisper, satisfaction with his answer clear on her voice. She still wasn't looking directly to his eyes though, Pyrrha's lowered stare made him want to lick his own lips to get rid of a sudden dryness.

Instead, he only leaned his head to the side curiously by a small fraction. That almost unperceptive change in his position was the reason their eyes met again.

Jaune swallowed hard. Pyrrha was staring at him, almost as if she was... searching for something? She had got the answer to her question though, what more could she want?

He felt as if his heart would climb up his throat. This was new. The only coherent thought on his mind was how she was now absurdly close, but for some reason, a little voice in the back of his head kept insisting that it wasn't close enough.

Gods, he wished he could kiss her.

A mismatched heartbeat sent a wave of sparks to the very extremes of his body. His flustered mind was unable to process fully his last thought. And it went completely blank when high pitched beeps and a sharp vibration of an alarm put an end to the moment.

They immediately jumped apart, his back going stiff and his face turning even redder on the spot. He didn't have the guts to look her in the eye. What was he doing?! What were they doing?!

"I… I need to finish changing." Jaune heard the sheets shuffling and the alarm was turned off.

He forced his head up to take a glimpse at her direction - she wasn't looking at him either, expression shadowed by her bangs. And he was finally able to take in the complete final result of his work.

He blinked as a realization struck. Then before Pyrrha could rise fully from the bed, he rushed forward to take her hand to prevent her from leaving. "Wait!"

His partner stopped, staring at him with startled curiosity for a second before falling back on the mattress.

He had been so hasty to change the subject after he had babbled about his life, and so distracted by… whatever happened after, that he had forgotten to check if everything was in order as soon as he had finished with her hair. "L-let me just…"

Jaune raised his free hand to inspect the beginning of the braids, and oh gods he had to lean forward again for him to do that and he could swear he heard a tiny sound coming out of Pyrrha's mouth that could have been a squeak. He avoided her eyes as he did so, but he could feel her stare on the movement of his hand as it approached, then directly at his face as he adjusted the hairpin above her ear that had been poking out of its place, making sure it was keeping the chain strongly secured.

He covered it back with the streak of hair that bordered the front of her face. His touch instinctively followed the length of the red curl, accentuating its shape, until it reached the tip. The back of his fingers accidentally brushed against her cheek on its way down.

Against his will, his gaze flickered to look at her directly after the contact. Her eyes were wide and he couldn't interpret the look focused on him - surprise and something more - and… wait… makeup didn't brighten up like this, nor it spread around the face on it's on!

He immediately felt stupid. Her makeup wasn't rosier than he remembered, she was blushing! He was making Pyrrha Nikos blush! And that was probably because she was embarrassed by the way he was staring at her like a complete creep, being all touchy and caressing her cheek like she was his girlfriend or something and, Dust!, he was still holding her hand, wasn't he?!

Jaune retrieved both of his hands as if he just realized he had placed them over a scorching fire. "Ah! Hm... N-now it's d-done."

"Oh." A split of a second passed, then she shook her head lightly. "Y-yes. Thank you." Pyrrha blurted out, almost mechanically. "I- I'll go-" He nodded as she pointed at her clothes at her bed instead of finishing the sentence.

She rose from his bed, the mattress shifted with the loss of additional pressure over it and that suddenly made his current sitting position turn uncomfortable. Gathering what she needed, Jaune watched by the corner of his eyes his partner rush to the dorm's closet so she could change.

He spent what felt like an eternity with his gaze frozen at a wall, his face still tingled with heat. His hand twitched at the direction of his pillow, suddenly wanting to grab it, bury his face on in it, and scream until he ran out of air.

Changing his mind at the last second, Jaune just snatched it and squeezed it between his arms. His mind now clear enough to question what the dust had just happened?!

He had offered his help and Pyrrha accepted. Ok! He styled her hair and they talked and suddenly she was just there and really close and then he was thinking of how much he wanted to kiss her and-

Gods! What was he thinking?! And they had been in kissing range twice! And she didn't pull away and neither did he and he probably freaked her out into a paralyzing shock or something like that and how could he look her in the face again after-

"Jaune!" He literally jumped on his bed with the sound of Pyrrha's voice coming from the closet. Only now realizing that if he kept crushing his pillow as he was doing now, he might tear its case apart.

He tried to answer, still staring at the wall, nothing passed through his dry throat. He cleared it with a small cough and tried again. "Y-yeah?" Jaune had to wince at the way the word cracked.

A light, breathy laugh reached his ears. "It looks wonderful…" It actually took him one millisecond to realize she was talking about her hair. "The chains! I didn't even notice you were using them! And I didn't even remember that I had this hair clip!" By her tone of voice, he could only imagine that Pyrrha was beaming, her smile leaking to every word.

A dreamy sigh. "… I love it."

Jaune released a breath, a good part of his tension leaving with together with it and he was able to smile. "I'm glad you liked, Pyr."

Whoa, wow, wha- nickname since when?!

He froze again, arms tightening around the pillow one more time. However, he soon relaxed when he heard her giggle. "Now I can see why all of your numerous clients were so satisfied."

Jaune let out a chuckle, resting his chin comfortably over the pillow. "Don't make fun of my clientele!"

Pyrrha mocked a gasp. "I'm really not!"

"Right." The grin wouldn't leave his face, the unnerving feeling from before now cast aside.

He heard her leaving the closet. "Ok." A few hurried steps, the sound of her throwing her pajamas over her bed. "I think I won't be late to the next airship…"

For some reason, his head hesitated to turn to her direction as soon as he first heard her. But he wasn't able to not stare when Pyrrha inevitably stepped into his line of vision.

"So..." His partner stopped in front of him, he looked up to her and immediately felt his heart skip multiple beats. "How do I look?"

Jaune opened his mouth to speak but it just stayed like that, hanging open, not a single word escaping. Pyrrha was indeed beaming. The light pink, almost white, dress contrasted nicely with her slightly tanned skin. Straps of the thin fabric hung on her upper arms as sleeves, leaving her strong shoulders and collarbone exposed. With a flowy skirt ending above her knees, the outfit reminded him of those models from fancy perfume ads, as if she was ready to run through a field of scented flowers.

The sandals had leather straps that spiraled up her calves. Everything accentuated by her delicate golden jewelry - her trusted bracelet, a simple necklace and, of course, the chains on her braids and the elegant hair clip.

Her vibrant red hair framed her figure, the waves through its length and the defined curls on the tips gave her a softer, and yet regal, look.

And, yes, he still had a question to answer and he was not doing a good job at that.

Finally, he managed to start slowly. "You look…" Jaune tilted his head to the side, burying one cheek in the pillow, he was sure it was burning by now, and considered his options of replies, and they weren't scarce. Amazing, beautiful, gorgeous, like a goddess from ancient Mistrali myths. He gesticulated vaguely with his hand and, after all his internal struggle, the sentence was complete with a "… Wow."

His cheeks tingled with embarrassment at his own reply. He had had so many other options and what managed to come out of his mouth was just wow?! - Of course.

Despite his total lack of ability to express himself without sounding like a dumbass, Pyrrha let out a laugh, avoided his eyes for a second - a second which he was able to notice that she was blushing again - and adjusted inexistent imperfections on her skirt before looking back to him, eyes crinkling up, shining together with her smile. "Thank you."

His remaining capacity to rationalize was used to return to her a sheepish smile of his own. How could he not? Hers was so contagious.

Out of nowhere, another set of alarm vibrations startled him, and he jumped - again. Her Scroll was still on his bed and he hadn't even noticed.

"Running late?" He managed a coherent sentence, yay! Pyrrha rushed to his side to retrieve the device, bending over his bed and stretching her arm to reach it; the scent of cinnamon from her hair basically smacked him in the face.

"Not yet!" She turned the alarm off, eyeing the time. "I will be if I don't hurry up."

He let out a chuckle. "Better do that then."

His partner hummed an agreement. Jaune saw her check a few extra notifications on her Scroll before closing it, then obviously hesitate while biting the inside of her cheek.

With a sharp movement, she turned her head to his direction and sent him a look of pure resolve that contrasted against her previous expression greatly. He felt his lungs forget how to breathe for that second, and hadn't the time to be confused about it because right after, Pyrrha placed a hand on his face, pulled him towards her, and kissed him.

On the cheek. But it was still a kiss! And for someone who was in such a hurry, maybe it lasted a second too long.

"Thank you again, Jaune." He felt the breath of the words on his skin, and after that, there was distance between them one more time.

Jaune was pretty sure he tried to say something, probably a "you're welcome" but what came out was closer to an incomprehensible babble.

He barely registered Pyrrha giving him one last smile - he could swear it was leaning more towards a smirk actually - right before she left the room.

A few minutes passed, he was alone. The only sound Jaune was able to perceive was the annoyingly loud pound of his own heartbeat inside his ears, getting his whole body to vibrate together with it, and the chaotic buzz of thoughts inside his mind.

He could scream on his pillow now, right? That would be nice.

He raised his head after with such fast motion that almost made him dizzy. When his eyes finally adjusted their focus, Jaune realized that he was staring at himself. His reflection framed on the mirror that still was standing quietly over the desk.

Even after all this time, his face was bearing the most obvious of blushes. Somehow, it intensified when he noticed a pinkish mark on his cheek. Lipstick. Her lipstick. Just there to prove that all of that hadn't been some kind of hallucination.

Jaune groaned loudly before letting himself collapse on the bed, shutting his eye tightly. How he was supposed to go on like this when she acted like that?!

He rarely admitted, but it hadn't been the first time that kind of thought plagued his mind - thoughts wondering how kissing her would feel. It wasn't the first time he felt himself burn when she got close - wanting to pull her even closer. It wasn't the first time he lost his words in front of her - feeling like he had a lot to say, but unable to get anything out.

Since the dance… he had done his best to suppress and ignore it. After all, it only began because his hopes with his previous crush had been completely annihilated, right? Just because he was alone and sad.

But she was too. And then suddenly Pyrrha had said that someone like him would have been a perfect pair for her during the dance, and then he was feeling stupid, then he did something stupid in front of a crowded ballroom. Then there were no regrets and they were dancing and - gods - her laugh was the most adorable thing he had ever heard, her eyes shined more than the lights of the Beacon Tower, and having her on his arms made him feel like that was the happiest he had been in ages.

So it made complete sense that after a heartbreak his heart would try to mend itself by jumping right into a new interest. Exactly after he looked at his partner and was able to see beyond the label of a kind friend.

She was absolutely beautiful. Inside and out. And that was too much. Too soon. Too sudden. Too out of his league. Too good for him.

Jaune swallowed hard; there was an extremely uncomfortable lump on his throat now. Thinking like that always brought a sour taste on his mouth, that's why he did his best to avoid it. He was used to it though.

Still, it was his own fault. The moment it first tried to surface, he shoved it down with weights of denial. After that, every time it was close to getting out, it would only be pushed back with newly added layers of doubts and piles of self-deprecation. Until every attempt to reach under all of that was only good to stir that mountain of bad thoughts.

He didn't like feeling that way. Yet, sometimes a few good things managed to escape - usually when they were together -, and Jaune found out that he wasn't able to repress them, so he let it happen, basically involuntarily.

He couldn't help himself from flushing or avoid the bright grin rising to his face when noticing the curl of her lips when she smiled, or of the twinkle of her eyes, or the sound of her laugh, the way she talked, the way she walked, the way she fought. Couldn't help from feeling butterflies on his stomach with the way conversation with her was so easy, how they would simultaneously burst into giggles with their inside jokes, the way she punched him in the shoulder and rolled her eyes after he pretended being hurt. The stubbornness while teaching him on the rooftop, the pure and unconditional support she gave him, the way she managed to explain her instructions on the clearest way, how she made sure he understood and corrected the mistakes, the way her expression filled with pride when he made progress, were the best motivation be could ever ask for.

How she would beam when he offered his help, the serene expression on her face while he brushed her hair, her tone of voice when she said she had loved it... The kiss.

Jaune raised a hand almost without acknowledging it. It came to rest over his cheek, right where her lips had been for a wonderful second. If he concentrated hard enough, he could recall perfectly their pressure over his skin.

Moments like those would make him feel as if all his collective doubts suddenly disappeared. So close to getting him to believe that he had a chance, that there could be something more! With each passing day, the thoughts would get more frequent, leaking out at every opportunity. It would be long after that he would realize that he hadn't pushed any of those thoughts away. And he had to admit that he liked that feeling a lot.

Jaune licked his excruciating dry lips. He made his mind, everything had been piling up for too long. And holding that back was exhausting. He breathed, long and slowly, in and out.

He opened his eyes after all this time and finally, finally, allowed himself to feel.

It started to crawl out, shy and meek - as if it expected to be crushed again - and for the first time, he didn't shove it away.

His breathing accelerated, he caressed his fingertips over the lipstick mark, feeling sparks flowing from the vestige and the memory of her touch. He felt a smile coming as other memories soon joined. When Pyrrha had caught him after he had been pinned to the tree at Initiation and they became partners, when she accepted to train him and they spent almost the whole night at the rooftop reviewing stances, when they finally sat to rest on one of the tables of the ballroom because their feet were aching from dancing. When she left with a knowing smirk on her face - now he was sure it had been one - after making a mess of him with a simple cheek kiss.

And during all of that, he ignored his doubts and completely abandoned his denials. The feeling was freed and it flourished, making him want to gasp aloud, spreading from his chest to the tips of his fingers through his nerves as if it had been eager to finally be able to run wild.

He didn't feel like he was burning. It was warm and comforting, like being bathed by a gentle sunbeam, and he could feel it bringing color to his face. His heartbeat was still as loud as it had been before, but now it wasn't annoying, it had an inviting rhythm, as if his body was creating its own music.

His smile grew into a full grin and Jaune let out a few breathy laughs as he covered his face with his hands, feeling the heat on his skin. He felt giddy and silly and happy. He felt so light. The sensation circulating around his body actually reminded him of when Pyrrha had unlocked his Aura - the flow of the purest of energies, filing him with resolve and awe.

So this is how it really feels like…

He hadn't expected it to be so intense. Yet, it made absolute sense, that's why it was getting so hard to suppress it lately. When he had started ignoring it, it was just an infatuation, a crush. Guess keeping it hidden caused him to miss its growth, because now it was too strong to be just simple admiration.

Jaune ran his fingers through his head, messing with his own hair, before letting his arms drop back again over the mattress.

Putting it simply - he was Jaune Arc, and he was in love with Pyrrha Nikos. And he didn't know how he was going to deal with that situation.

It still felt nice though - more than nice. And he took the moment to bask into his new, old, feeling. He breathed, long and slowly, in and out. He closed his eyes, the warmth, the smile and the memories of her didn't leave him even after he fell asleep.

Jaune woke up with not even the slightest clue of what time it was supposed to be. His eyes cracked open unevenly before adjusting to the darkness; his mouth was so dry that it looked like he had swallowed desert sand, head completely dizzy from the unplanned nap.

What made him realize that it wasn't three in the morning or something like that was the fact that he was alone in the room. It was almost the same as it was before he fell asleep. The only difference was some clothes that were now laying messily over Nora's bed, and Ren's towel hanging to dry on the open window. Apparently, they had been in the room, and he hadn't even noticed.

Jaune stretched his arms to the nightstand by the side of his bed, blindly reaching for the water bottle he always kept there. Rising from the sheets after finding it, his head complained about the shift of balance. He gulped almost all of its content in one go, not even caring that the liquid was warm.

Why taking one of those power naps always made the person so disoriented?

He dried a few drops that had slid down his chin with the back of his hand, then almost dropped the bottle on the floor when he was startled out of his drowsiness by the high pitched beeps of the door being unlocked from the outside.

The light of the corridor filled the room, in a way that he was only able to discern the silhouette of the person standing by the doorframe.

Pyrrha. His heart suddenly flipped inside his chest in some kind of crazy acrobatics. Pleasing warmth spreading through his skin. He inhaled, and together with the air came the memory of everything that had happened before he slept.

"You're back!" Jaune stated the obvious, smile a bit too bright.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "… Why are you in the dark?"

There was a flip of a switch, light poured into the room and he had to cover his eyes and groan from the sudden assault of brightness.

"Jaune, I'm sorry!" He heard her shout. "It was out of habit!"

"No, no. It's ok!" He waved a hand at her before she could turn the lights back off. After rubbing his eyes, Jaune opened them, blinking quickly to adjust himself. "I just woke up from a nap that I shouldn't have taken." He let out a chuckle, tilting his head to her direction. "I was about to turn them on anyway."

"Well, it really does look like you just woke up from a three-hour nap." She giggled as she sat on her bed, hands quickly working on the straps of her sandals to get rid of them. "Nice bed head." Pyrrha pointed at his hair with her chin.

"Three hours?!" His voice cracked and he looked around for his Scroll, proving that, yes, it had been almost three hours since she had left. "Guess I'm not sleeping tonight..." He whispered to himself.

Her laugh together with the sound of one of her shoes being thrown to the side reached his ears. Putting his phone away, he asked. "So how did it go there?"

She let out a heavy sigh. "Tolerable." The other sandal was also discarded. Pyrrha straightened her back, rolling her shoulders, hands soon going behind her neck, head tilting to the side to take off her necklace. "It was a charity event. Usually, those are less stressful ones." Her lips curled into a smile, eyes wandering towards a memory. "And the gardens were beautiful."

He had to turn around when Pyrrha asked so she could change into her pajamas, causing him to realize that he had been staring all this time.

At least facing the wall was a way to hide his red face.

"A lot of people asked me about my hair, you know." She continued, and he wasn't able to avoid the prideful smile at her words. "Compliments… asking which hair salon I went to get it done…"

Jaune laughed, nodding solemnly after. "Glad my work is getting the recognition it deserves."

Pyrrha clicked her tongue, but her smile was still present when she started talking again. "I should have known that it would get over your head." She punched him playfully on the shoulder, and he fell dramatically on his side.

"Oof- You wound me, Pyrrha." He could only imagine the eye roll that had definitely happened.

There were a few more shuffles of fabric before she spoke. "You can turn around now."

He did after sitting up. Then Jaune tilted his head curiously at the sight of his partner, who was just standing by the side of her bed, distracted gaze fixed somewhere. Following her line of sight, he found his own reflection looking back to him.

He watched the image of her leaning her head to the side, obtaining a better angle in the mirror. A cautious hand raising to one of the braids, a finger tracing the line of gold.

A flash of green and he was caught staring.

And that on her face was, with no shadow of doubt, the beginning of a smirk. And that on his face was definitely a very bright shade of red.

Pyrrha lowered her stare with a giggle. He avoided his snitch reflection by pushing his body back on the mattress, cornering himself between the wall and the headboard, pretending that all he wanted to do was to rest his back against something.

"I really don't want to undo them." She started as if nothing unusual had happened. "They are so pretty..."

"I- I can do it again anytime, you know." He glimpsed at her direction, a timid smile found its way out despite his previous embarrassment.

"Thank you, Jaune." Her eyes lit up with his offer and he felt like his stomach was now a field full of butterflies.

"So…" Pyrrha continued, looking away from her reflection on the mirror. Her tone peppered with a hesitation that intrigued him. "Can you… help me take them off?"

"Of course!" He tried to now sound too eager - he didn't know if he had succeeded or not.

In a blink of an eye, his partner had joined him over the mattress, getting him to swallow back the question of "do you want to sit here?" before it could be said aloud.

The tips of her locks fell over his crossed legs, their wavy shape still intact even after all this time. They were sitting closer than the previous time, and he didn't know what to do with this information.

But he did know what to do with her hair. Starting by the hair clip, Jaune unclasped the golden piece carefully, then gently pulled the hair tie that had joined the two braids together.

Slowly and steadily, he began to undo the braids. Untangling the pieces of hair and the chain from each other, always cautious not to accidentally pull any strands.

When it was done, he instinctively ran his fingers through her scalp, merging the locks that had been the braids back to the sea of red. A quiet hum reached his ears, and he barely registered the slight tilt of her head, angling it better for his movements.

Even after everything seemed to be in order, his hands kept running through her hair, partially checking for any tangles. Jaune wasn't surprised when he found none.

"Do you want to tie it back into a ponytail?" The question came out quieter than he had intended. Thought he was too focused on how the thin strands softly slid over his palm for him to care.

"Hm…" It took a second for her to continue, a second that made him realize that all he was doing now was just playing with her hair. "Not really…"

Well, that meant he had nothing else to do. Also, Pyrrha sounded kinda tired, maybe she wanted to go sleep earlier after spending the afternoon out today.

He gave one last, farewell stroke down her crimson strands and reluctantly removed his hands. "It's all done then."

"Oh." Pyrrha sharply straightened her posture, causing him to realize how much she had shifted from her original position. Her head had been leaning to the side, where his hand was a second ago, her shoulders had been completely free from tension, and her back had drifted almost imperceptibly towards his chest. Oh, how much he would give to have the permission to wrap his arms around her waist in a hug, and pull her closer to him fully.

Shushing his last thought away, he gathered the hair accessories he had just removed from her hair on his palm. "Here."

Pyrrha turned around to take them on her own hands. Ignoring the brushes between their fingers was harder than he had expected.

"Thank you again, Jaune." She looked back up to him with a smile, the crinkle on her eyes were there and he froze.

Last time he heard that sentence he had just gotten a kiss! He felt like a little kid just waiting for the time to open their Christmas presents - Would he get another one? Could he?

Instead, that only made her send him a questioning look. And with reason! Pyrrha wouldn't just kiss him every time she thanked him for doing a favor that any friend would do. That was the paroxysm of wishful thinking!

Embarrassment colored his cheeks in red. Jaune turned his face away in a futile attempt of hiding it and blurted out "It- It was nothing!" before the moment could morph into an awkward silence.

"Jaune, wh-" The intrigued look was abruptly replaced by a knowing one. "Oh." There was a chuckle, and he had to turn back to her because now the confused one was he.

She definitely caught that on his expression. "I'm sorry! But… hm, there is a little something…" Pyrrha pointed at her own cheek. "… On you." Then pointed to him.

"What." His bland confusion got another small laugh out of her.

"On your cheek." She pointed at his face again and he instinctively slapped his hand over it, with a little bit more of strength than necessary, just like an idiot. "No. The oth- Wait." She was giggling and the only thing he could do was try to guess what she had in mind.

Pyrrha kneeled on the bed to reach his nightstand, putting away the accessories on her handbag that he hadn't noticed that it was there. While she fished a small handkerchief from it, something sparked into his mind.

He had forgotten on which cheek it had been. And he certainly didn't expect for it to still be there!

She sat back in front of him. "It's… ahn, lipstick…" Just Pyrrha could make a chuckle sound apologetic. She raised the handkerchief to his cheek, and Jaune felt his face heating up when he understood was she was about to do.

"Oh." Was the only thing that came out from him as she gently wiped the mark away with the cloth.

There was a second stroke, he blinked and the words came out as a squeak. "It was there all this time!" It was supposed to be a question, but it sounded a bit more like a statement. It had seriously slipped from his mind the tiny detail that lipstick marks do not disappear on their own.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha sounded genuinely embarrassed and Jaune wished he had the capacity to tell her that there was no need to apologize. Unfortunately, that was something he certainly didn't have at the moment, because at some point, the handkerchief had been discarded and replaced by her thumb. Her free hand rising to cup his other cheek to stead his face as she cleaned.

He hadn't the time to react, because her next words were pretty effective in completely short-circuiting him. "Next time I'll be more careful."

Jaune swallowed back a gasp; it was replaced by a choked sound he wouldn't be able to describe. Her gaze diverted from his cheek to stare at him directly at his eyes and - oh no - it was happening again! For the third time today!

Her first look was tinged with worry, but apparently, something about his expression chased that feeling away from her. Then there was a look of acknowledgment followed by a blush, his eyes widened at the color appearing on her cheeks. Pyrrha let out a silent giggle, he was only able to catch the discreet playful glint on her gaze because of their proximity and he felt like his chest was going to explode. The stroke on his cheek passed from a steady wiping to a soft caress and he forgot how to breathe properly.

She kept looking at him that way and there was too much going on and he just wanted her to stop being so- so indescribable Pyrrha! Because he felt like this kept happening, he wasn't going to make out alive. Especially with that expression on her face, like… like she knew something he didn't, like she was expecting something, waiting for something, like she was doing this on purpose-

A true gasp made out of his lips, faint, but still one. Somehow, his chest filled with hope.

Her eyes lit up. Glimmering with the same feeling - hope. His stomach filled with butterflies. Yet, Jaune couldn't help but question - Was he interpreting this right? How? Why? But most importantly - She knew?!

Her palm shifted a bit under his cheek, causing him to notice that he had leaned over it lightly while tilting his head in puzzlement. Maybe that's why Pyrrha looked like she had detected the questions on his mind.

Her expression softened with a soft sigh, and he immediately recognized it. He knew that sheepishly smirk and that tilt of her head pretty well. That was Pyrrha's I'm sorry face when she was not actually truly sorry - a classic from their training sessions. His first thought about it was that it was really cute up close, then his cheeks puffed in embarrassment and he had to look away. She knew! He didn't know how, neither for how long, still, Jaune felt deeply betrayed.

She only hummed chuckle at his reaction. Their conversation had been going on for some time, but only now the first word was spoken.

"Jaune…" His name was said just loud enough for him to hear. Sounding so light, playful, gentle, teasing, caring, right. It was as if he was listening to her truly say it for the first time.

That and a soft pressure of her hand over his cheek lured his eyes back to hers. Jaune lost his breath completely. Her soft smile was only the beginning, her flushed cheeks were starting to become a familiar sight, her eyes had a different sparkle, so many emotions dancing in the field of green. She looked at him so sincerely - so lightly, playfully, gently, teasingly, caringly… lovely.

It was just like the feeling he had while admitting to himself. Spreading from his core to the tips of his body in the most pleasant way. At that moment, everything made sense. Her reactions - full of knowing smirks and searching looks - to his offers of help, to his flustered babbling, to his obvious blushes, to the unusual proximity, and to the caught stares; to all the things he believed he had managed to suppress, but apparently had failed to do so. He felt like a dense idiot, and he understood. He felt giddy and silly and happy. He felt so light.

The smile didn't find any resistance as it burst into his face. The warmth under her hands intensified and a laugh wasn't contained. His head pended forward with his giggles and Jaune had to support his forehead on hers - the way they shared their quiet chuckles told him that she didn't mind that at all.

"Pyrrha…" He breathed out; it felt as if he was taking a weight off his shoulders. The feelings he had been repressing for so long now found freedom for a second time, but now in a different way, leaking to her name, being laid out in the clearest way. It was as if he was truly saying it for the first time.

Jaune felt her breath hitch against his and the hands over his cheek shake slightly, eyes shining with happiness and an expectation that made his mouth feel dry. He wasn't done yet though. Gathering all the courage he had in store, he continued. "I… I know this is kinda sudden… B-but I…" He didn't where to focus his gaze; her eyes, her cheek, her nose, her lips… "I think I really want to kiss you right now."

He surprised himself at how the sentence flowed out so smoothly, without any cracks or hesitation.

Pyrrha laughed quietly. "What a coincidence…" Her hand caressed his skin lightly and he nuzzled his cheek against it almost involuntarily, the movement caused their noses to touch. "... I was thinking about a similar thing…"

Hearing those words from her felt surreal, his heart did the craziest flip on his chest and nerves through his whole body sparked with energy when he felt their smiles crashing together.

Clumsy, but Jaune was too happy to even think about that. The curl of their lips melted into each other soon after - soft, sweet, like freshly picked berries - there was the most pleased of sighs against his mouth, and he felt like he was soaring. He inhaled sharply - the earthly sweet smell of cinnamon still there. He felt her thumb tracing the curve of his raised cheek, hand descending to his neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps on the way, just to rise again towards his hair. Maybe he let out a tiny squeak when Pyrrha managed to pull him even closer and tugged on the strands in his nape, maybe that's why he felt her lips curling up in a smirk against his own.

He parted by less than an inch and immediately went back to her, kissing the smirk away. He wanted to pull her closer too, wrap his arms around her waist, and hug her against his chest. A shy hand found her arm. Almost hesitantly, Jaune followed the path to her shoulders. Pyrrha must have felt his carefulness because she let escape a reassuring hum. A gentle stroke on his cheek motivated him to keep going, sliding his hand down through her side until it arrived at its objective.

His first instinct was to tug her closer. Apparently, Pyrrha had a similar idea because she had just moved forward. It would have been the perfect opportunity to embrace her fully if they weren't sitting over a bed with their legs on the way.

Their unintentionally combined eagerness knocked them both out of balance. Their kiss abruptly cut short and Jaune yelped. He felt one of her knees crashing against one of his legs. The hand that had been over his cheek immediately fell so she could try to steady herself, but where she had planned to place it was lower than she had anticipated. Pyrrha slipped; there was a gasp. He was harshly pushed back with her unexpected weight after she fell face first in his shoulder. His head collided against the edge of the wooden headboard with a loud dull bonk.

The burst of pain made his ears ring. His eyes were shut tight, and he was afraid to open them. He didn't know exactly how it happened, but of course, he had managed to mess up!

Jaune felt Pyrrha stir on his shoulder, then she hurriedly rose up, the sudden movement made his eyes snap open.

"Jaune! I'm so sorry!" She analyzed him with concern. Her hair had spread everywhere. Pyrrha shook her head lightly to get a few strands out of her face. She looked messily adorable. "Are you ok?"

"Ah." Jaune blinked, the pain passed with a quick flow of Aura. "Y-yes. I'm- I'm fine." His pride was a little bruised but he was used to it. "You?"

"I'm fine too." She replied, but her focus was somewhere else. The hand that had been on his hair moved, examining his head where it had been knocked against the wood. It was something she had always done on their first training sessions, checking if minor injuries had healed properly when he still didn't have the full hang of his Aura - apparently the habit hadn't died for her.

Pyrrha seemed satisfied after the small checkup. Their eyes met, and she probably noticed how hard he was blushing.

Neither of them spoke a few seconds. The flushes on their faces matched in intensity as the situation dawned on them. Their limbs were in too much of a mess for him to classify her position as sitting on his lap, but it was close enough. So close, that their rushed breathing mingled on the air between them. His hands were still around her waist and her hand was still buried on his hair.

"I'm sorry, I was just-" Her hand sharply slipped out from his head, resting on his shoulder. Pyrrha turned her head to the side, putting some distance between them; he was only able to see the corner of a smile that was trying to resurge.

"N-no! It's ok-" Jaune straightened his back since it had started to hurt from his uncomfortable position, not knowing where to look exactly. The end of his sentence quivered with a curl of lips he wasn't able to avoid after taking a glimpse of hers.

They both stopped when they realized they were talking at the same time. He tapped his fingers against the surface it rested upon as a nervous gesture. That surface happened to be the curve of her waist. Pyrrha squeaked with his touch, turning back to him with a poorly restrained laugh.

He jumped after her reaction. He wanted to say something, do something, maybe apologize. Instead, a breath giggle escaped, and the only thing he was able to do was to laugh with her.

Soon they were both laughing like idiots. His head leaned forward in a futile attempt of restraint; he felt the tickles of her messy bangs over his own. His arms tightened around her waist as he sought something, anything, stable in this ridiculous situation.

"I'm sorry-" A muttered apology escaped between his laughs.

Pyrrha shook her head; he almost didn't catch the words among her giggles. "For what?"

"Aah- I don't know! I just feel like a should say it." Jaune shrunk his shoulders, his smile turned sheepish. "That was…" He tried to recover his breath, it still intercalated with a chuckle. "… Kinda awkward."

Pyrrha took a long look at him; his heart skipped a beat. "Hey..." Her laugh subsided; the gentle smile was still there though. A hand was placed on his cheek, and he lifted his gaze up to meet hers. "I wouldn't change a thing." She said with a small shrug of her shoulder.

His chest instantly filled with warmth. Jaune opened his mouth, but soon closed when he realized that no words were ready to come out. So he just lowered his eyes, letting out a quiet laugh. Of course, she wouldn't have complained about the situation.

His nose brushed against hers with the shift of position. A shock wave went through his nerves when he realized they were close enough for him to feel her breath hitch over his lips. He dared to look at her eyes again, and he swallowed dry.

"So…" Jaune began, just below a whisper. "What now?"

"Well..." Her thumb stroked his skin and Pyrrha gave him the most beautiful of smiles. He instinctively leaned into her palm, hearing his heart pounding on his ears. "Now-"

A low rumbling sound interrupted her reply. Pyrrha jumped slightly and Jaune felt like he could die. Guess who had taken a three-hour nap and hadn't eaten anything since almost five hours ago?

She definitely saw the mortification on his expression. "… We can get something to eat." Pyrrha continued with a laugh.

"I…" He was just about to apologize, but another complaint from his stomach made him reconsider, even if he was dying of embarrassment. "T-that sounds really great, actually."

"And then-" She cut her own sentence. Moving her head forward by a fraction just to kiss him, a gentle peck that stole all the remaining air he had on store. "I'm certain we'll figure the rest out."

"Hm- Y-yeah. R-right!" Her surprise kiss left him a stuttering mess.

A second passed. He cleared his throat. "Hey, Pyr?"

"Yes?"

"You know… I think Ren and Nora should be at the kitchen right now."

"Oh! Yes! I actually saw them there when I arrived at the dorms."

"Are we going there?"

"We could…"

"Hmhm. It's just…" After a furtive glance to the mess of tangled limbs and sheets, Jaune couldn't prevent the chuckle from escaping. "… You need to move so I can get up?"

There was some stuttering, a few I'm sorry's and some reddening faces before they finally managed to stand up fully. Soon Pyrrha was looking for her slippers, and he was trying to make his bed look less like a mess before they could head down.

When he was done, Jaune turned around to ask her if she was ready. Pyrrha did the same thing. The result was both of them standing face to face on the space between their beds, the same question caught up on their throats.

It was the same story all over again, flustered faces and stares filled with expectation. He felt like this didn't need to happen for the fourth - fifth? - time today. So, receiving a jolt of courage, Jaune rushed forward, quickly captured her lips on his. There was a soft sigh, then a giggle, he started to laugh too and that caused the kiss to break.

The hand that she had placed over his arm after he approached automatically slid down to his hand. Pyrrha's eyes crinkled up as he felt the immediate need to interlace their fingers together, and he promptly did so.

"Let's go. That fancy party food wasn't exactly filling either." She tugged him to the direction of the door, her hair flowing behind in a flurry of bright red.

Who could have guessed that his day would end like this? If someone stopped him right now and asked about it, he would probably make a mess of himself just to gather his thoughts! Dust, he couldn't imagine how he would start even for Ren and Nora!

There was a squeeze on his hand as Jaune walked by Pyrrha's side through the corridors. He could tell by the way she was walking, almost skipping, the way her smile brightened and her eyes twinkled, that she was just as happy as he was. And that there was nothing to worry about.

Putting it simply - he was Jaune Arc, and he was in love with Pyrrha Nikos. And he felt like he was going to deal with that situation just fine.