Chapter Text

The weekend had everything to be the most peaceful of days. The warmth of the sun combined perfectly with the fresh breeze, resulting in the most pleasant of weathers. The slow crawl of the clouds through the pure blue sky could induce drowsiness even on the most agitated person. Even the bird chirps had a lazy tune to their rhythm.

It was as if the whole world collectively decided that the Beacon Academy students needed some time to rest. Miraculously, they had no homework that needed completion, no pressure of studying for an upcoming test, no missions to take part in the near future.

Pyrrha blinked, opening her eyes only after a heavy sigh to get back at staring at the three books piled up over the desk. Books that she was sure it would help her pass the time. Books that she had told herself she would pick one to read. That had been almost ten minutes ago though, and the only thing she had been doing was glaring intensely at the cursive titles.

The most peaceful of weekends - pleasant, calm, quiet, dull… boring…

That is until the dorm's door was almost kicked out of its hinges. She almost fell out of the chair, hand instinctively reaching to the nearest object to use as a weapon - a deadly pink plastic stapler. Her partner stumbled inside then, looking as if he had just been running from a pack of mad Beowolves.

Jaune's panicked stare met with her startled one, his expression immediately melted into pure relief as he closed the door behind him. "Pyrrha! Pyr! You're here! Hey!"

"Ahn- Hello again, Jaune." Her greeting almost came out as a question out of pure confusion. She lowered the stapler back on the desk then, since there were no threats in the facility.

Though by the way her partner was standing, back pressed flat against the door, body hiding both hands gripping the doorknob as if he was trying to prevent something from bursting in, almost made Pyrrha reconsider her last decision. "Are you… okay? You seem a bit… antsy."

"Me? Okay?" He pointed at himself, then brushed her question off with waving hand gesture. "Yeah, of course! I'm more than okay, actually! I'm terrific! Fantastic even!"

The nervously forced chuckles after his statement caused her to raise an eyebrow. "Hm… Sure then. Can I… help you with something? Were you looking for me?"

"I… Y-yes, actually." He avoided her eyes for a second, glancing back to her after releasing a breath, and the panicked hold on the doorknob. "Okay, listen to this… it's a funny story, really!" Another awkward laugh and Jaune started pacing around the room.

"I was just talking to my older sister, Saphron. Y'know! Just catching up and all! It had been a while since we last talked. Anyway, at some point, I asked how her life was going, and she started telling me about it. About her city, her job, her house, her son, her wife-" His hands jumped from gesture to gesture with each word. "Then, she commented how happy she is with her wife, Terra. How much she loves her and having a life with her. How she's - and I quote - the most amazing girl in the whole world."

Pyrrha was trying her best to guess where Jaune was going with his narrative. When not having much success, she just tilted her head in confusion.

"I know right?! That was the cheesiest thing I ever heard coming out of her mouth." He opened his arms as if saying can you believe that? "But that's not it! I caught on pretty quickly on what she was doing!"

Jaune slapped a fist over his open hand to present his conclusion. "My sister was trying to make me jealous!"

"… Jealous… of her wife?" Her brow furrowed and she gave up on trying figuring out the final point of the tale.

"Of her love life!" He raised his arms exasperatedly. "Then she asked about my love life and I panicked since she went on and on about how much she's happy and in love and I didn't want to look like a loser in comparison since I'm single and lonely and I swear I tried to change the subject but she insisted and since you're my best friend and the coolest girl I ever met I kinda started talking back to her about you and-"

The last words she was able to discern in the middle of his rushed rambling caused her heart to skip a beat, so Pyrrha interrupted before he went faster and she missed any details. "Jaune, w-what are you saying?"

Her partner hadn't looked directly at her not even once during the length of his speech. And she only noticed that after he abruptly stopped in front of her, an apologetic expression on his face, posture stiff with closed firsts held in front of his chest, bracing himself for her reaction while he hurriedly blurted out "My sister thinks we're dating and she was really excited about it and I panicked and didn't deny it!"

"What?!" Heat immediately rushed to her cheeks. Her grip on the armrest tightened involuntarily, edges of the wood pressuring almost painfully against her palm.

"See? Isn't that funny?" Jaune clapped his hands together, looking away, totally missing her shocked reaction.

"That's not all though." After clearing his throat awkwardly, he continued. "She then dropped on me: You know why I called you? We are actually on Vale because Terra has a conference meeting here, we're just arriving at Beacon and I can't wait to meet your girlfriend!" He made a lousy impression of his sister's voice; it cracked a bit on the last word.

Despite the shock, something sparked inside her mind. Pyrrha finally had a wild guess about where all of this was going.

"So now my sister, her wife and my baby nephew are on their way to this dorm as we speak." Jaune continued babbling, his hands clapped together close to his chest in a pleading gesture. "And they really want to meet you, because they believe we're dating!" Oh gods, her guess was right, wasn't it? "So can you pretend to be my girlfriend until-"

"Yes!" She hastily got up from the chair.

"W-what? B-but I didn't even finish my sentence-"

"I know! It's just I'm very eager to help a friend in his time of need!" She stepped forward and gently placed her hands over his clasped ones to demonstrate her support, failing to stop her smile from becoming a bit too bright.

The second the guess about what Jaune was about to ask crossed her mind, she knew she couldn't let the opportunity to get away.

After months, more than a whole year, after realizing she wished he could be more than just her friend. After many times she had to see him trying and failing to achieve a chance with Weiss. After coming to terms that her feelings were too deep and too sincere to be just a crush. After his infatuation for the heiress obviously died down the days following the dance. After all of her numerous attempts to get him to take a hint - attempts that resulted in the whole school noticing, reaching the point that everyone knew, everyone but Jaune himself...

Admittedly, fake dating wasn't exactly how she imagined it happening… Still, this could finally be the chance she was waiting for!

"O-oh. Okay then." Jaune glanced to the hands placed over his. She was close enough to watch color spreading through his cheeks.

His blushes were always so obvious, maybe because the red made the dark blue of his eyes shine. Or maybe because she was almost always close when they happened. That was the reason she didn't give up, that the hope he would figure it out one day never faded. There were too much flustering, too many lingering glances, too many affectionate comments, that happened too often for her to believe that maybe…

Jaune looked back to her, a laugh escaping as his shoulders dropped with relief. "Thank you, Pyr! You're the best friend I could have asked for. I didn't know what I would do without you!"

She just smiled, sighing mentally. Jaune had a heart of gold and the purest of souls, unfortunately though, he was dense as a brick. Maybe… he just needed a little push…

"Anyway, my sister and Terra should be arriving any minute now! So we can just- I don't know, hold ha-"

"So this is their room?" An unfamiliar voice reached her ears from outside, they both whipped their heads to the direction of the sound.

"Yep!" The P on the word popped - classic Ruby. "Ren said they should be in there."

"Thank you so much… Ruby? Right?"

"Don't mention it." A tiny laugh, some noises that could just have been produced by a baby. "And it was nice meeting you all!" The sound of the team RWBY's door closing.

The doorknob of their own door jingled. Her heart almost leaped up to her throat. Jaune looked back to her with wide eyes and whispered-shouted. "It's them!"

Okay. In her defense, she wasn't with the clearest of minds. She had been expecting to have more time to let this situation sink in, his startle was so clear that she could only mirror it, this was actually happening they had to act fast and she panicked and maybe that's why she took her last thought about Jaune needing a little push a bit too literally.

There was the first crack of the door. Next thing she knew, she had slammed her partner against the nearest wall. He chocked as the impact knocked the air out of his lungs, and before he could make a sound, she covered his lips with her own, muffling a fleeting gasp. The last thing she saw before closing her eyes were his own wide with shock.

She felt how every inch of his body froze at the same second. That was bad. This was a bad idea. Then the door opened fully, someone said something that sounded like "let's meet this girlfriend" and that apparently was what made Jaune's initial shock fade.

He quickly raised his hands to cup her cheeks, a bit too roughly at first because of the velocity - but considering she had shoved him against a concrete wall, it was fair. He inhaled sharply through his nose in an attempt to recover his breath, and when he exhaled, she felt his muscles relaxing, and he kissed her back.

He kissed her back and she felt like her knees would give in any second now. His lips softened against hers after the release of tension and her hands curled into first as she gripped the soft fabric of his hoodie to prevent them from shaking. She barely registered a stunned "Oh?" coming from the same person who had spoken before.

Another voice. "What's wrong, swee-" A pause, followed by another "Oh." This one sounding much more understanding.

It seemed the plan was working, and she had to hold back from smirking against his lips. So she just contented herself by pulling him closer, lightly moving her head to lean into his palm.

There was a background conversation during the next few seconds, the details were hazy thought, after all, how could she focus on people talking while Jaune tenderly caressed her cheek and let out tiny cute noises when she nibbled on his lip?

It was something like that though.

"Maybe we should give your brother some privacy, honey. He seems…" An awkward heavy pause, the confused babble of a baby. "… Occupied."

"You're right. So uh…" The door creaked while being slowly closed. "… Meet you two downstairs? Okay, good. Uh, bye. It was nice meeting you, Pyrrha."

The door was finally shut. He didn't pull away immediately so she lingered over his lips for one extra second, engraving the sensation on her memory. Then she arrived at the conclusion that he hadn't even noticed that their visitors had already left.

She let him go and moved away from him, a bit too quickly not to let her reluctance show itself too much. He stumbled in place, gasping for air with a noisy wheeze, forcefully blinked a few times, hands still raised in perplexity.

"So…" She started between short breaths. "Do you think that they bought it?"

"Yes! Most definitely!" His voice cracked after it raised in pitch. He coughed, raising a hand to his completely red face, to cover that up. "I mean, uh, y-yeah! I believe our little act tricked them. T-thanks."

She just joined her hands behind her back innocently; unable to stop the smirk to break through her voice, feeling a bit too much satisfied with the state she left him. "You're welcome!"

Jaune opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a shout.

"That. Was. AMAZING!" Nora's overly excited voice came from the other side of the room. Pyrrha jumped in place and then froze completely; her face now probably matched the color of her hair.

"N-Nora?!" Jaune pressed his body against the wall as if he wanted to pass through it and disappear. "H-how long have you been in there?!"

Their tiny teammate giggled mischievously, retreating back to her sheets and under the giant pile of stuffed animals that populated her bed, a teasing grin barely hidden by one of her extra pillows.

"The whole time!"

They immediately kicked Nora out of the room, but not before making the girl pinky promise that she wouldn't tell a single soul about what had just transpired - okay, maybe only to Ren, since it was obvious she wouldn't be able to keep that secret from her partner.

So now, it was only the two of them on the room. There was a solid second of nearly palpable awkwardness after Jaune closed the door. That, and the blank look on her partner's still red face were enough for the giddy butterflies on her stomach now share the space with moths of pure dread.

She had just slammed her best friend against a wall! And kissed him without warning! And he kissed her back and he was so warm and his lips were so soft and- Dust! She did say that she was going to take this chance, but she wasn't supposed to be this blunt! She could have messed everything up before it even started! She was supposed to have better control over herself!

Before she could even open her mouth to blurt a series of apologies, Jaune hurriedly stepped forward and placed his hands over her shoulders, eyes wide with urgency. "We need a plan for this! And quick!"

He let her go to pace around the room, Pyrrha just stood on the same place, stunned with his quick recovery. "If I know my sister well, which I do! She's going to ask a bunch of questions about us. So now we need to come up with a convincing story about how we started dating, when we started dating, why I didn't tell her sooner, why I didn't tell my mom about any of this, what we do for our dates, wh-"

He stopped on his tracks. "Pyrrha? Are you… really okay with this?" He embarrassedly glanced at her direction, just to divert his eyes almost in the same second, hand raising to the back of his neck. "I… I'm sorry. I know it's a lot a-and I shouldn't have dragged you into this. Y-you don't need-"

"N-no!" She snapped out of her moment of daze and stopped him before he could blame himself - after all, he wasn't the only one who had a panicked reaction that resulted in an impulsive decision. "I mean, yes!" Out of habit, she placed a hand over her partner's shoulder to reassure him. "I already agreed to it, Jaune. And your sister seemed to believe it. I'm okay with it, really."

Apparently, her words were enough to ease some of his worries, since she felt Jaune relaxing under her palm and his lips curled up in a small smile. She continued "And I'm sorry about-" The quickest of glimpse down; they were still pink from the kiss.

"No!" He waved his hands in front of his chest, interrupting her apology. "I-it's okay!" He looked to the side; she almost missed his almost unperceptive lick of lips.

"So, hm, tell me more about that plan!" Pyrrha blurted out while she still had the capacity to prevent herself from staring, harshly removing her hand from his shoulder.

"Ah! Yes! Plan!" He went back to walking around to gather his thoughts. She decided to sit on the nearest bed, realizing her legs were still a little wobbly. "I don't think we need to change anything about how we met. We just need to come up with something about how we started dating."

"How about last year's dance?" Was the first thing that popped on her mind. After all, after that day she had genuinely believed that things would change.

Jaune placed a hand on his chin, considering her suggestion. "That was almost a year ago though. I don't think my sister would believe I managed to keep a secret girlfriend from my whole family for that long..."

The pacing came to a halt. "But if she asks… I- I can say that I started liking you then. A-after the dance."

The way his cheeks flushed with color and his eyes avoided her own caused her heart to skip a beat, a spark of hope running through her chest. "That can work."

"Great!" Then he started moving around the room again at the same second. Rhythmic steps, a determined look on his face, with brows pushed together and wandering gaze, and wide hand gestures while talking. That's how he always looked when coming up with battle strategies. A lump raised to her throat. Jaune always had been exceptional with planning. He is just making this up as he goes. "Then when…"

"We could tell then that we started dating at the beginning of this year?" Well, if it was going to be like this, she could make things up too. "You know how they say distance makes your heart grow fonder... So after spending a month apart between semesters…"

"Pyr! That's genius!" She didn't even have to finish her train of thought for him to catch on. "I know for sure that Saph will believe that."

"Oh!" She was a little taken aback by his eager acceptance. "Why is that?"

"Ah, w-well… You know- You already know that I missed you guys during the break." He shrugged his shoulders. "And when my sisters and I met at our parents' house I talked a lot about you to them."

"Oh. All right then." Pyrrha felt her cheeks heating up, lips quivering to stop an intruding smile from forming. Indeed, she knew about the first part - Jaune had said that to each one of his teammates himself. The second part was fresh news though.

After agreeing on the reason that they didn't tell anyone about their relationship was to avoid media attention, considering Pyrrha's well-known career, they went back to their first dilemma "So… how did, uh, we became a thing?"

"We… can just say to them we went out one day… you know, to eat and walk around Vale like we already do sometimes… And at the end of the day…" The sheets were twisted forcefully between her fingers without her even noticing. Though the thing she did notice, was the fact she was basically narrating one of her romantic daydreams to the target of her affections. Pyrrha shrugged as nonchalantly as she was able, disguising her unnatural grip on the cloth. "... It just happened."

He only hummed an agreement, and finally settled down with his restless pacing. "Then… after they leave… I can just call my sister one day, and when she asks, I'll just say it didn't work out." Jaune concluded the thought with a clap of his hands. "Okay?"

She only nodded. Imagining a fake break up right after imagining their fake hook up wasn't exactly the most pleasing of experiences.

That didn't seem to bother her partner in any way. A low groan escaped from him then. "I really wish we had more time to come up with stuff but I think we should go find them now, actually." A sheepishly chuckle. "Or there will be even more questions about why we took so long."

"Ah! Yes, you're right." She quickly got up from the bed, finally freeing the innocent sheet from her deadly grasp completely.

Jaune was to about to turn to the door before he hesitated "Ah! One more thing!" He spun back to her direction. She had already taken a step forward, anticipating that he would walk ahead, his eyes widened for a second with the renewed proximity.

She stood her ground. "What is it?"

"Hm- I..." The blush spread around his face as obviously as always. "W-what's going to be allowed?" He diverted his gaze, hand now resting on the back of his head as he shifted his weight between his feet. "I mean… can we… hold hands? …Hug?"

She had to bite her lip to stop a giggle. Clasping her hands in front of her body to stop herself from throwing her arms around her partner right there and then - he just looked so adorable when flustered. "We can."

"O-okay. Good." She could swear his expression lightened up a little - or maybe it was just his blush getting brighter. "A-and what about…" His eyes dropped, her breathing tuned unevenly at the same second she realized at what he was referring.

"Ah. I..." Her mouth never felt dryer. "I mean... If… If necessary…"

"Necessary… Y-yeah." She did her absolute best not to run her tongue over her lips while he was still staring at them.

She failed. His eyes widened almost comically, and he immediately stepped back to restore the space between them. "L-let's head down t-then?"

She had to smile at his stammering. "Right."

Promptly walking ahead to the door, her partner followed close behind. Thought when her hand was already gripping the doorknob, Jaune's quiet voice reached her ears once again. "Hey, Pyr…?"

She stopped, his low tone making her uneasy for some reason. Still, she made herself turn around without letting her expression give that away.

The unsettling feeling faded immediately.

"Thank you." He smiled at her. That bright grin so characteristic of him, the one that raised his pinkish cheeks and made his eyes glimmer, with a tilt of head full of adorable boyish charm.

Pyrrha could only muster a nod and smile back. Before it could turn into a staring contest, she raised a hand to his direction. He looked taken aback for a second and, with a tentative motion, finally held it with his own. She dared to intertwine their finger together, almost getting a gasp out of her because of how right it felt.

She didn't see if he reacted to the more intimate grasp. Because she swiftly yanked the door open, her fake boyfriend trailing behind her through the corridor, to head down the stairs to meet her fake future sister-in-law, and probably answer questions about feelings that were not as fake as they were supposed to be.

They found Saphron and Terra at the dorm's recreation area, sharing one of the worn out couches.

"Look who decided to show up!" The woman that Pyrrha could immediately identify as Jaune's sister called to them, bouncing her son on her arms with each word as she got up from the couch, her wife following soon after.

"Hey, Saph." Jaune's greeting was full of mock annoyance. They hugged as best as they could, since his sister was carrying one of the cutest babies she had ever seen and Jaune's other hand was still holding her own. The way the grip tightened was the only indication that he was just as nervous as she was.

After quickly greeting the other woman and the baby together with a comment of "look how big he is!" from the proud uncle, he promptly turned to her direction. "Pyr, this is my sister, Saphron, her wife, Terra, and the little guy there is Adrian."

The couple greeted back, Adrian babbled cutely after hearing his name, hands moving in what could be considered an attempt of a wave.

Her smile brightened at the scene and Jaune continued to their visitors. "And guys, this is my girlfriend, Pyrrha."

"Hello!" She managed to speak together with a friendly wave, despite the way her heart almost jumped out of her chest after hearing her partner call her my girlfriend so naturally.

"So… the famous Pyrrha Nikos." Terra started, a knowing glance was exchanged between her and her wife. Pyrrha felt the familiar cold shiver that ran through her spine every time someone mentioned anything related to her status in a greeting.

Then, Terra let out a light chuckle as Saphron rushed forward, offered her hand and shook Pyrrha's with enthusiasm - Adrian giggled on his mother's arms with the movement - a warm smile on her face that now Pyrrha could only classify as an Arc thing, and added without a single hint of malice on her voice. "Really, we heard so much about you. Jaune wouldn't shut up for a seco-"

"Saph!" Jaune frenetically interrupted his sister. His hand twitched on their hold.

"Oh! Really?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, a few giggles escaped and butterflies danced inside her stomach as she understood what they meant by famous.

"Really. How he didn't call us to fill our ears about how he started dating is quite a mystery…" Saphron straightened her eyes at her brother, and Pyrrha understood why Jaune had wanted time to plot what they were going to say to his sister. Apparently, she hadn't believed her brother straight away about a sudden girlfriend.

"Actually, I can assure you that there's no mystery." A knowing smirk tinted his tone of voice. He opened his mouth to continue but was interrupted by Saphron.

"Ah! An explanation!" She raised her eyebrows, exchanging a look with Terra, who seemed to be containing a laugh. "You know what? I'm sure Pyrrha can tell us about it. Because I'm pretty sure Adrian needs changing. And you, little brother, are going to do it."

"Wait! Wha-" In a blink of an eye, the baby and a bag with Adrian's stuff was shoved on his uncle's arms. Obviously, he had to let go of her hand to get a firm grip; their fingers parted and she felt cold on the bottom of her stomach without his comforting hold.

Adrian just wined a little, tiny hands raising to inspect Jaune's face with pokes.

"Come sit with us, Pyrrha." Saphron motioned to a nearby armchair, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder, then went back to sit on the couch by her wife's side.

Pyrrha understood immediately where this was going. She fell on the armchair almost too stiffly, feeling as if she had just been set up for an interrogatory. Her gaze quickly crossed with Jaune's. His eyebrows raised in an impotent expression, an unspoken "I'm sorry". She just nodded with a tilt towards the door, a small smile to ease his concern. "Go, I'll be fine."

"Ok, fine." Jaune groaned to his sister after their silent conversation, Adrien almost successfully stuck a finger inside his mouth. He turned to her then, a worried glint on his eyes, as he rushed out the door. "I'll be quick."

"Don't run with him! He just ate and he will puke on you!" Terra shouted at the last second. Jaune's reply was just a distant distressed "Awn, man."

Pyrrha had to let out a chuckle at the exchange. Then turning forward to face the occupants of the couch, she almost stiffened to enter automatically her interview mode.

"So, Pyrrha…" Saphron started, sounding half like a teenager wanting to hear some gossip, half like an investigator expecting to get answers from a criminal. "… Are you always that touchy with my brother?"

Jaune rushed through the halls as fast as he could without actually breaking into a sprint. His promise of getting back to Pyrrha as quick as he was able had been totally frustrated the second he had run into team RWBY, and the four girls immediately flocked around Adrian.

He had finally found a chance to slip away from them after a lot of gushing - and a few pictures. His nephew just kept looking over his shoulder, making tiny noises as if he was wondering where the nice girls had disappeared.

"Sorry, little guy, but we have other girls to get back to." He replied to Adrian's questioning babble.

Jaune felt extremely guilty, and nervous, and anxious, about leaving Pyrrha alone with his sister. Even after telling himself that there's absolutely nothing to worry about. It was just a conversation, right? Probably just girl talk and stuff. Pyrrha was a levelheaded person, who had probably faced worse interviews on her career. His partner could very well take care of herself.

Still, he couldn't shake off the discomfort on his chest. He should be there by her side! After all, he was the one who dragged Pyrrha into this mess and they should be dealing with this together.

He groaned loudly. "What I got us into…"

Adrian sent him a quizzical look. "Yeah, yeah. This is all your mom's fault." The baby crossed his arms, an expression that could only be described as pure skepticism on his face. Jaune just scoffed, rolling his eyes at the nephew who had a lot of attitude for his age.

At least, before he left, the plan seemed to be working. Saphron could send him as many suspicious looks as she wanted, but that would not change the fact that they had explanations for most of the questions he knew his sister would make.

Nor it would change the fact that she did catch them kissing earlier.

Just the memory sent a shock wave of sparks through his nerves. That really happened. His partner had kissed him. Not a quick smooch, not a chaste peck, but a full breathtaking kiss.

Yes, Pyrrha had only done that in favor of their scheme - and she did apologize after - and he was sure it did a good job at extinguishing some of his sister's doubts right away. Still, his mind went blank as it crossed his mind. He was doing his absolute best not to think, or consider, or admit how, for a few lasting seconds, he had forgotten it was supposed to be only a short act… how right it had felt to just… kiss her back…

And then they had walked all the way to the recreation area holding hands! He really hoped that his wasn't all sweaty during the short trip, he had been too nervous at the time to notice, just thinking how he was going to have to call his partner girlfriend without stuttering like an idiot and giving everything away. Still, he was sure that if it wasn't for her firm hold, his hands would have been shaking like crazy.

Pyrrha had dragged him along, marching through the corridor as if she was ready to enter a battlefield to face a challenger, ready to take a fight head-on. Then she immediately softened when arriving at their destination, with the same speed he had seen her slip on a polite mask when strangers approached her asking for pictures or autographs. He could surely say that if his partner decides to give up on the life of a Huntress one day, she might as well be an actress.

Everything had been an act... Yet, it had felt so real…

Jaune mentally scoffed at himself. Of course it had felt real. His knowledge when it comes to dating was embarrassingly scarce; there were almost zero previous experiences to serve as a comparison. That could have been the most staged kiss, the fakest hand-holding in the whole world and he would be incapable to tell.

Finally, he caught sight of the door that led to the recreation area. He immediately kicked his last thoughts out of his mind, swallowing the lump on his throat down until the heavy sensation faded.

He didn't know what he expected to find, but to see Pyrrha sitting on the worn couch, squeezed between Saphron and Terra, as the two women giggled like crazy at something on the Scroll on his partner hands, talking to them with an easy-going tone, with a laugh leaking to her words, was… not that surprising actually.

It was Pyrrha, after all. Who could possibly not like her? His smile grew with the scene, realizing that all of that worry had been for naught.

He probably would have just stood there for longer if it wasn't for Adrian's small cry, chubby hands reaching for his moms. The three looked up to the sound, noticing he had arrived.

He stepped forward. "What's going on here?" Raising an eyebrow, his eyes locked with Pyrrha's, the bright smile didn't leave her face as she gave him a light shrug.

"Pyrrha was just showing us a little thing!" His sister's teasing tone of voice could only mean bad news. "I see that you can still put out a dress just as nicely as befo-"

"Wow, wow- what!?" He rushed to their side, stopping behind the couch to look over Pyrrha's shoulder at the Scroll. The paused video of the choreography they performed at the dance clearly on the screen. "Pyyyr! How could you?" He whined, Adrien giggled on his arms.

"I'm sorry, Jaune! They insisted." She was actually not, he could tell! People don't smirk when they are sorry! "And why do you mean by before?" She turned to back to his sister, eyes glinting a bit too mischievously curious for his taste.

"Oh! When we were little we used to- Wait! I think I have pictures, let me show you instead!"

"Hey! Hey, let's- let's not do that!" Jaune interrupted with a forced laugh before Saphron could reach her Scroll on her pocket, passing Adrian to her arms. "Here is your baby, happy and clean! You're very welcome!"

The baby was a perfect distraction. "Look at this handsome boy! He's so cute!" Pyrrha cooed at Adrian, offering him a hand. He stretched a little arm forward, bouncing on his mother's knees, letting out a content noise as he successfully gripped one of her fingers. "Oh. Hello!"

"Do you want to hold him?" Saphron offered.

"Can I?" Pyrrha instantly lighted up.

Before his sister could notice that now she had free hands to reach the compromising material. Jaune started. "So, Saph, do you have any plans for the day?" He circled the couch to sit on the free armchair.

"We were just expecting to spend the day with you guys." She replied with sincerity, watching her son playing with Pyrrha. "We just need to leave by the time for Terra's meeting." Her wife hummed in agreement.

"Ah! And is there a cafeteria around here for us to eat?" She laughed, exchanging a glance with Terra. "Adrian already ate," She poked her son's belly, eliciting a giggle. "But we are getting hungry!"

He was just about to open his mouth to reply a "sure!" when Pyrrha's suddenly wide eyes caught his attention and a realization struck.

They couldn't eat at Beacon! They couldn't even spend the day at Beacon! There was a huge chance of a student seeing him walking around with Pyrrha as if they were dating. "A-ah! Of course! But really, Saph, you don't really want to eat here! You know… school food…" He winced dramatically. "… Not the best."

"We could spend the day in Vale." Pyrrha offered quickly, before turning to his direction. "We actually know a pretty good restaurant, very affordable too."

He perked up. "You mean…?" Her smile turned into a knowing grin, confirming his unspoken guess.

"Yes!" He cheered, getting up from the chair. "We definitely have to go there!"

"Wow! What's so special about this place?" Saphron looked between the two of them for an answer.

"The food there is simply divine..." Pyrrha started, almost dreamily.

He continued. "But their best thing is-"

"-Their desserts!" They both completed the sentence at the same time, giggling a bit after the words met.

"Yeah! Their cakes are like…" Jaune made wide gestures with his hands, looking for words. "I can't even describe it you guys have to go there to prove it!" Pyrrha nodded feverishly at his statement.

"I guess it's settled then." Saphron said with a laugh, just as Pyrrha returned Adrian to her lap after he made motions to his mom's direction.

"Yes!" Jaune knew that he was probably acting like a little kid about to go to a carnival, but he seriously didn't care. "It's been a while since we have been there too. We usually go there to our-" He suddenly stopped, exchanging a quick glance with Pyrrha. "To our dates!" He finished, hoping that his smile didn't falter with his lie - that was a nice way to rename the team JNPR's end of the month hangouts.

A flash of acknowledgment went through Pyrrha's expression, he barely caught the tiny nod of approval she gave him in response.

"Oh. I see!" His sister and her wife got up from the couch. "We better get going then."

Pyrrha quickly rushed to his side after sitting up too. Getting him to notice that they had been far from each other during the whole conversation. Oh no. Did Saph notice that? Should he have thought of a way for him to stay closer? Was that suspicious?

"Yes. And it's a lovely place! I'm sure you're going to love it!" His attention went to his partner when clapped her hands together as she talked, then after checking the time on her Scroll, Pyrrha added. "If we hurry, I'm sure we can catch the next airship to Vale in around fifteen minutes."

He groaned as the name of one of his biggest enemies reached his ears. Though it soon morphed into a chuckle when noticing Pyrrha's adorably confused expression to the sound being echoed by the other blonde in the room.

He wasn't the only one not excited to get into an airship today.

"So, you guys have to deal with this too?" Pyrrha started as soon as they were in the air.

"Yes." Terra laughed. "We usually have some pills that help. But guess who forgot to bring it?"

"I told you I swear I put inside Adrian's bag but-" A light shake of the airship was all it took for Saphron stop talking.

Terra just let out another soft chuckle. "I know, sweetie." She ran a hand across her wife's back, fingers going through her golden locks gently to soothe the queasiness away. Saphron was sitting on the bench with her elbows placed over her knees, head between her hands to keep it as steady as possible, she let out a sigh at her wife's touch.

Pyrrha had to admit that watching the scene between the couple was a bit… perplexing. Just because it was extremely familiar, since Jaune and her were in the exact same situation many times before - including now.

His sitting position was an exact mimic of his sister's - posture stiff with gaze fixed on the floor. She rhythmically traced circles on his back, right by the middle of his spine, where she knew it made him feel a bit better.

Pyrrha found herself offering this support during their trips since the very first times they had to catch an air ride together. And after Jaune thanked her profusely after, saying how much it helped, she never stopped.

So seeing that his sister and her wife had developed the same habit actually made her feel the light dance of butterflies on her stomach.

"Well, at least he seems to be enjoying the trip." With a giggle, Pyrrha tilted her head at Adrian on Terra's arm. The little boy was staring intensely at the window over his mother's shoulder, letting out tiny gasps and excited noises as a bird or big cloud drifted through his field of vision.

"Ah, yes! He loves it!" The woman glowed with motherly pride, and Pyrrha felt her smile growing. "I actually never seen a baby like traveling so much! Airships, cars, oh! You need to see how he gets on a boat!"

"So lucky…" Jaune growled his first words since they took off. Saphron groaned, and she was sure it was part an agreement to Jaune's comment and part a complaint about the movement.

Pyrrha had to chuckle at the exchange. To comfort her partner - totally inspired by how Terra was doing - she found her hand straying from its usual pattern, going up his back until it arrived on his head, where she lightly ruffled his hair. It was way softer than she expected, making her realize that she had never truly run her fingers through his hair before, just some quick playful pats of encouragement - usually given when he insisted in banging his forehead on a table while struggling with some school work. Her cheeks tingled with heat with the content sigh that escaped from him and the drop of his shoulders as they loosened with the touch.

Terra had laughed too, and Pyrrha looked at her when she spoke up again. A playful glint present behind her glasses. "Good thing they have us."

She felt herself blush, still not used to this oh so natural comments that referred to their relationship. Turning her head to face the window, she replied with a laugh. "I guess we did sign up for it."

The airship jolted while it approached the docks. Twin low grumbles escaped from the Arcs.

"Hey, Jaune?" Saphron called, her voice coming out as a pained murmur. Pyrrha still heard it anyways, even with the ships turbines making their extra noise as they landed.

Jaune just grunted in acknowledgment.

"That's how you know she's too good for you." Her chuckle was interrupted by another shake. Terra only rolled her eyes at her wife, her smile and light blush hinted that that wasn't the first time she heard a comment of that nature

Jaune groaned embarrassedly at his sister's teasing. Pyrrha saw by the corner of her eyes her partner change the position of his hands, shifting from the sides of his head to bury the front of his face on them. The tips of his ears were bright red.

She mentally wished she had a way to cover her face too because there was no doubt that it was burning. Still, Pyrrha couldn't stop a giddy smile from forming after Saphron's words.

The ship came to a halt, motors turning off with a satisfying sound. Breaths of relief resonating together with it.

She ruffled his hair one last time before getting up, waiting for the path to clear as the passengers descended. Jaune wobbly followed right after, standing up by her side. The back of her hand tentatively brushed against his, there was a slight twitch from his part, yet he tilted it to the side and she moved hers to lace their fingers together.

A shiver ran from her fingertips to her spine and they finally stepped into the safety of the docks, Saphron and Terra hurrying ahead. They were doing this! In public! It was such a simple gesture but at the same time, it felt so unreal.

She dared a glance to Jaune's expression. Though he only had his lips firmly pressed together and squinted eyes, taking long patterned breaths to dissipate the discomfort caused by the ride.

"Are you feeling okay?" She stopped and turned to face him, offering a light squeeze on his hand, instinctively looking around for any nearby trashcan, though it had been long while since her partner actually needed one after landing.

"I'm-" His eyes were closed as he took a deep breath. Then he nodded lightly and blinked them open, his gaze flickered from her face, to the floor, to their joined hands, to her face again then finally to the side, a blush crept its way on his cheeks as he noticed their proximity. "… Y-yeah. I'm better."

His eyes met hers again and her heart skipped a beat when Jaune returned the hand squeeze. "Thank you."

It was the same boyish grin he gave her before they left their dorm. Yet, this one made her feel twice the quantity of butterflies on her stomach. Maybe because of their intertwined fingers and the alluring closeness. The smile she gave back to him was smaller than she really wanted it to be. Still, she contained it with a bit of lip. Pyrrha also had to contain her free hand, which had been only one move away from being placed on the back of his head, pulling him closer to say your welcome together with a peck on his adorable pink and very kissable, cheeks.

However, kisses were only allowed if extremely necessary, she reminded herself. Saphron and Terra had dived into one of the bathrooms, and that meant they had no reason for a little act now.

"It was nothing, Jaune." Pyrrha insisted while turning around to walk the rest of the platform that led away from the docks, pulling her partner with her. Then, before she could regret it, she added with a playful glance over her shoulder. "That's what girlfriends are for."

"Yeah." He agreed, still with that cute smile on his face. Then realization flashed through his expression as she turned her head forward to hide a smirk. "Wait. Wh-"

"Let's not keep your sister waiting!" She interrupted him a bit too enthusiastically, dragging Jaune forward with a tug on his arm.

Maybe this was going to be easier than she thought.