Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Pyrrha grunted a little with the effort of helping Jaune off the ground after having floored him for perhaps the twentieth time this evening. The match with Ruby had taken far more out of Pyrrha than she was willing to admit and she was feeling the effects of their extended training session more than usual. Also, Jaune was much heavier than he had been. He was putting on muscle mass quickly and his armor wasn't exactly light to begin with. So, lifting him off the ground over and over was a workout in and of itself, even if he was helping get it all up in the air.

As Jaune thanked her and walked off to get their water bottles from the corner Pyrrha let her mind wander slightly, thinking back on her match against Ruby. She had assumed they were following the same rules regarding semblance use that they had established on the roof, since Ruby did say this fight was a continuation of that one. It had appeared that way for Ruby as well, seeing as she refrained from activating her own semblance until the last few moments of the battle. In the end though, once she had used hers, Pyrrha had seen it as more than appropriate to implement her own.

Deflecting the massive blade was the kind of thing she did to make herself untouchable. Had she been utilizing her usual strategy the entire battle she surely would have held Ruby off with ease, diverting the war scythe just slightly whenever its blade came too near her person. As it was, she and Ruby had fought a fairly even match, the younger girl impressing Pyrrha thoroughly with her ability to wield the oversized weapon so skillfully. Her uncle had trained her exceedingly well. Pyrrha had also learned an incredibly valuable lesson. She relied on her semblance far too much, it had become too second nature to her to divert attacks and not even dodge completely. She had gotten lazy. She vowed at the end of the round to train herself daily in hand to hand combat without the use of her semblance. It was an advantage that should be used sparingly in times of need, not relied on.

Jaune returned with their water and she accepted it graciously, the motion taking her out of her thoughts for a moment. She drank hungrily from the bottle, draining what remained and wishing they had brought more. Pyrrha paused and watched Jaune for a moment as he too emptied his bottle. He was definitely in considerably better physical condition than when he had started at Beacon, Oum he was in better shape than he was a few weeks ago. His newfound commitment to his training was paying off in spades. He was catching up to Pyrrha's actual pace during their morning runs, lifting more and more in the gym, lasting longer during their sword play sessions and still seemed hungry for more.

More importantly, Jaune was still Jaune. He was stronger and more capable now but still light hearted and fun loving. Pyrrha still found him reading comics in the dorm and downloading games on his scroll. He had stepped into a more prominent role as leader with the boost in confidence the training was giving him. But, he still made every decision a team decision, weighed everyone's opinions equally. Most of all though, Jaune still viewed Pyrrha the same way he always had. She was his partner, his teammate, his mentor and trainer and she was just another person. Pyrrha slipped sometimes, she spilled her milk at breakfast and needed to borrow a pencil in class. Jaune never put her up on the pedestal that she knew Weiss and others still did.

Pyrrha was even more infatuated with him now than she had been the day he hadn't known her name. He had stopped chasing after every girl that ran by. His failed relationship with Ruby seemed to have matured him considerably. He was devoted to his career as a Huntsman now more than ever and it didn't hurt that every day of training made him more and more physically attractive. Chiseled chest, firm arms, long, sturdy legs; that absolutely precious mop of dirty blonde hair and those piercing blue eyes. They lived together, she had seen him getting out of the shower, covered only by a towel. There wasn't much left for her imagination to fill in, but, that didn't stop it from doing as it pleased.

"Hey Pyrrha, you okay?" Jaune waved his hand in front of her eyes and Pyrrha jumped, startled out of her staring session by his attentions. "You alright? You seem a little out of it." Pyrrha was most definitely not alright, but it had less to do with having worked out too much and far more to do with the boy she was working out with. But, she couldn't exactly tell him that now could she?

"I'm alright." Pyrrha nodded as calmly as she could, hoping against hope that nothing in her movements or her expression gave away the train of thought she had been following down a very dangerous path. "I do wish we had brought more water with us though," she held up the empty water bottle to emphasize her point.

"Oh, yeah." Jaune trailed off and looked over at their pile of gear by the stairs. There were a half dozen empty water bottles. "Maybe we should get the big refillable kind." Jaune turned back with a silly grin and Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh. They had the big refillable kind in their room. He had suggested before that perhaps it was just too much hassle to refill them every time when they could just get the disposable plastic ones.

"Jaune we have those." she said through her laughter, "You bought them for the whole team because you thought the plastic kind were wasteful." Pyrrha lifted her hand to stifle further laughter. Jaune rubbed the back of his head and chuckled in embarrassment.

"Really?" He looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember. "Oh no, you're totally right. I even got Nora a pink one." He let his eyes drop back to Pyrrha, "Uggh I think I need a breather, I guess I'm a little fried." Juane collapsed right there on the floor, laying out his back in the spot Pyrrha had helped him up from just moments ago. She allowed her laughter to finally settle and sat down at his side, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands.

"Well, you've been going longer and longer every night. Soon we may have to set a time to stop instead of just going until you are too tired." Pyrrha looked over and saw Jaune had propped himself up on his elbows, apparently not exhausted to the point of collapse but just down playing his own abilities as usual.

"You really think so? I thought I was just lasting longer tonight because you're tired." Jaune rolled over and leaned on one arm, letting his other fall idly across his torso.

"Oh no, I have been coming at you with the same energy as always. You are just doing that much better." Pyrrha wanted to turn closer to him, to slide her hand into his while they talked. Not just sitting with each other, but sitting together. She pulled her back erect and folded her hands in her lap to avoid the temptation. "You're really very talented Jaune, just in need of more practice to refine your technique."

"Oh no, you're just an awesome teacher is all Pyrrha." Jaune pushed playfully at her shoulder and fell back on his arm. Pyrrha laughed along with him but she didn't feel the merriment, she didn't like when he put himself down like that. "I wouldn't have gotten this far if you hadn't been so great. I mean, who else has a twenty-four/seven combat tutor?"

"It's the least I could do. We are partners, and you're my team leader Jaune." Pyrrha raised her gaze to lock on with his, "You're my friend."

"Yeah but I mean." Jaune failed to blow a strand of hair off his face and so whipped his head back instead, revealing those crystal blue eyes. "Ren's my friend, Nora's my friend. They aren't training me every single night, pushing me and hounding me and giving me all their time."

"Well yes. But we all have to push each other and…" Pyrrha hesitated as other than their relationship as partners there was no way to explain her devotion to him without revealing how she felt. Hadn't she promised Blake that she would pursue Jaune? She fidgeted in her seat as she tried to come up with an escape route, she moved her hands to her knees and tried to look calm, tried not to tense up. Of course she had promised she would pursue him, but, that didn't mean that she was going to confess to him here in the training room out of nowhere did it?

"I guess, I guess I just wanted to say thanks Pyrrha." Jaune reached over and grasped her hand again, giving it a firm but brief squeeze before pulling back, "It really means alot to me that you help me out like this."

"Of course Jaune," Pyrrha left her fingers extended where he had grabbed her hand. She wanted desperately to have that feeling back, for his hand to remain there. But, he was already back to leaning on his elbow so she took a slow breath and pushed forward. "Really, you've doing much better since you re-devoted to your training."

"You mean since I broke up with Ruby." Jaune's voice dropped considerably and Pyrrha felt her chest tighten. Of course she had taken their nice, quiet partner time and interrupted it by bringing up his ex-girlfriend, the one she had just been sparring. Now, he would grow saddened and ask to return to training because that's what he had been doing since they broke up, like a coping mechanism.

"You have been training harder than ever since then." Pyrrha shifted so that she was facing him more directly. She wanted this conversation to continue, she wanted to talk with him not train him.

"I just…" Jaune's voice caught and he paused, "I wasn't good enough at that. So I need to be good enough at this." He shifted out of his comfortable laying down position to a more proper seated one, though he left his legs out in front of him.

"What do you mean you weren't good enough?" Pyrrha asked with more emotion in her voice than she had intended. "That wasn't the problem at all." Pyrrha clamped her mouth shut over the last word. This wasn't her place, she hadn't even been part of the couple. Who was she to tell Jaune why his relationship with another girl had failed?

"What Pyrrha?" Jaune screwed up his eyes in confusion and she started in before he could continue.

"You didn't lose Ruby because you weren't good enough Jaune. You lost her because you two wanted different things." Pyrrha had come this far, she might as well get it all out. It would be more damaging to stop at this point. It would be like setting a broken bone, more painful in the moment but better in the long run. "You were more than good enough for her, you still are. She just wanted a friend and companion while you wanted a lover. Ruby wanted someone to come hang out with her and you wanted someone to spend time with." Pyrrha caught herself before she might say something damaging towards Ruby. She felt very strongly about this but didn't want her mouth to outrun her mind.

"Pyrrha…" Jaune's shoulders went slack and he stared at her in total disbelief. Pyrrha didn't like to expose her opinions like that but she was holding enough back with Jaune as it was. "Do you really think that?"

"Yes Jaune." Pyrrha had to focus to keep her voice from breaking now, to keep her frustration and sadness and anger and love all in check. "You- You're an amazing person. You're selfless and unassuming and kind and generous." Pyrrha stood and turned away from him, hiding her face and the storm she knew must be raging across it. "Ruby saw all of that but she's just too young still. She doesn't know how to be in a relationship yet. That's not how I would have treated you. You deserve so much more than that." Pyrrha held her arms around her stomach, clutching at her middle to try and control herself. She could not let herself break down in front of Jaune, she had to be a pillar of strength, like she always was.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, gripping softly, but with enough force to turn her around. Pyrrha turned and found herself face to face with her partner, inches apart. She knew she was a mess. She knew her mask of neutrality and composure had broken. There was no way that even Jaune in his blissful ignorance couldn't see how she looked. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight, held him close. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her as well, returning the embrace gently.

"Pyrrha, why didn't you ever say anything?" Jaune asked without pulling away. Pyrrha didn't know what to say. Had he finally figured out how she felt, in the midst of all that had Jaune finally pulled her feelings out of the mire of messages she was trying to send him? "If you knew I wouldn't be happy with Ruby, why didn't you tell me?" Pyrrha's heart dropped a little, he still didn't know.

"Do you remember the night you told us all that you had feelings for Ruby?" Pyrrha gripped him a little tighter, she didn't want him to step away, she didn't want him to move. "When I walked in on you speaking with Nora and Ren."

"Yeah," Jaune's grip loosened but he didn't pull away, "Of course I remember. You were really supportive of it. That's what I don't-"

"I asked you a lot of questions." Pyrrha purposefully interrupted him, "I asked why you felt the way you did, what you thought of her, how long you had felt that way." She could feel Jaune nod as she continued, "I wanted to make sure that you were sincere, not for her sake but for yours. I never said anything because as long as you were happy then that was what was best." Pyrrha turned her head into the crook of his neck to try and muffle her voice, she knew she wouldn't be able to get through this next part without a waver. "Then, when you two had your troubles. When you weren't happy with it anymore. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't trust myself to not let my own feelings get in the way." Jaune pushed her away, grabbing her by the shoulders and trying to make eye contact, but Pyrrha looked at the ground.

"Wait, what?" He moved his head down to try and enter her field of vision but she jerked her head the other way to avoid his eyes. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. "What do you mean your feelings? Pyrrha. Pyrrha look at me." Pyrrha slowly brought her head back up to meet his eyes. "What do you mean you thought your feelings would get in the way?"

"I mean I couldn't tell you to end things with Ruby and trust my own opinion Jaune… because… because I wanted you for myself." Pyrrha felt like her throat snapped as the last words came out. She clamped her mouth shut to contain the small whimper that always preceded her crying. She felt it fly around in her mouth and she clenched her eyes shut hard. She could not break in front of Jaune. She would not accept his pity.

"I don't…" Jaune stood there and stared at her as Pyrrha tried desperately to hold all her emotions back. She wanted to slap him for never seeing it, she wanted to kiss him now that he knew, she wanted to run and run and never look back, she even wanted to go home to Mistral to try and just forget this had happened to her. She couldn't do any of those things, so Pyrrha Nikos stood there with his hands on her shoulders and waited. "I didn't know Pyrrha. I never knew."

Pyrrha dropped her gaze to the floor. She couldn't look at him. She couldn't stand here and be told her absolute devotion to him had gone unnoticed. Pyrrha had known it all along, but finally hearing it from him, it felt unbearable. Jaune slid his hands along her shoulders and slowly up her neck until they came to rest gently at the base of her chin.

"I'm so sorry I'm such an idiot. You should have smacked me and told me sooner." Jaune lifted her chin up just enough that he could put his lips over hers. Pyrrha didn't know how to react. Jaune was kissing her, finally, suddenly. She had been on the verge of tears, at the edge of breaking down and now she felt like she weighed nothing at all. After nearly a year of adoration and unrequited love for him, he was finally kissing her.

Jaune started to pull back to break the kiss but Pyrrha felt like if their lips separated that it might break whatever spell had her trapped in this moment. That was the last thing she wanted. She threw her arms over his shoulders, tangling her fingers in the back of Jaune's hair and pulled him back into the kiss. Jaune hummed in surprise but didn't pull back away. Pyrrha felt his arms slide down around her back and embrace her. She let her hands drop around his neck and, now confident that with their arms around each other there was no chance he might slip away, broke the kiss. The both let out a sigh, expressing their contentment and pulling in air at the same time.

"Jaune. I need to know my feelings aren't one sided." Pyrrha put her head down on his shoulder, "Why did you just do that?" She tensed in anticipation, terrified at how he might answer. Had he only kissed her because she said she liked him. She knew Jaune was eager to win the affections of women, eager for romantic engagement. But, she had to hope that this was more than that to him.

"I kissed you because I realized I should have a long time ago." Jaune lifted a single hand to the back of her head. He cradled her skull carefully, pressing it to his chest earnestly. "When you said you cared about me as… as more than a friend and a partner… it was like a rush of memories came back to me all at once. All the times you helped me up, made me pay attention in class, reassured me or encouraged me. I remembered every time you put your hand here on my arm," Jaune lifted his other hand to rest just above her elbow, "All the times your looks lingered on me." He slid both arms back around her, "I realized just how long you've been holding this in. I realized that I didn't even let myself look at you that way because you were my partner." Jaune kissed the top of her head lightly "But, that shouldn't matter. What should matter is how we feel. And. Pyrrha. You're the closest friend I've ever had. I want it to be more than that. Just like you said. I want you to be my lover Pyrrha."

Pyrrha turned her head up so they were face to face again, their noses brushing. She

pushed up and into his lips. She didn't push this time, didn't force herself earnestly against him, but kissed him tenderly. She kept it much shorter than before, pulling her lips together as she drifted away, then placed another soft kiss on his cheek, just at the edge of his smile.

"Thank you Jaune." Pyrrha said quietly, not pulling her head away from his after the last kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much for finally seeing me." She dropped her head back to his shoulder and held him close. She didn't ever want to let him go again.

A/N - Okay. What did you think?