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Chapter Text

The first impression Jaune had of Sun and Neptune all those months ago was that, if he would ever interact with them at all, it would be something like exchanging nods while dodging them in a crowded hallway. Because they would probably be busy with a fan club following them while autographing pictures of abs or whatever - it didn't help he saw that actually happen, and more than once.

He didn't think of them like that anymore, of course. It seemed that at some point the boys of team SSSN had gone from "those guys", to "acquaintances who were friends of their friends" to simply "their friends" without him noticing. Still, receiving an honest invitation from the boys in question to attend a game night at their very own dorm room, while not something he would think was that out of ordinary for them to do, felt quite surreal.

Ren would be going as well, so that brought him a certain amount of ease. Even if it took a bit of convincing for his teammate to accompany him. He wasn't able to say no when Nora got details though, she was willing to even give up on nightly pancakes to see her partner socialize with the other guys.

He would also have to skip an activity with his own partner. So he made sure to promise Pyrrha he would work extra hard in their next training session before leaving. In which she replied by telling him to not worry about it, to have fun, since he was doing amazingly on his training and a break was well deserved, while giving him one of her light punches on the shoulder.

He responded with somewhat of a bashful grin, renewed confidence, and a quick goodbye while pulling Ren out of the room to face the short trip to the neighboring dorm, clad in his pajamas - not the onesie, sadly - with a pillow in one hand and a bag filled with candy bars from the vending machine in the other.

Arriving there, SSSN received them in their room with enthusiastic cheers, high-fives, a mountain of snacks of their own, and the game just waiting for someone to press start on the title screen. Their friendly energy got him to loosen up almost instantly.

They scattered themselves over the room's floor, with crumbles from their assorted snacks virtually everywhere over the rug. Sun kept trying to convince them to try the sour gummy worms wrapped around extra spicy chips. Scarlet kept telling Sun he wasn't going to listen to him complain about stomach aches next morning. Neptune only encouraged his partner by telling him to dip them into grape soda - which he promptly did. And, to Jaune's surprise, Ren and Sage actually bonded as they were the ones genuinely focused on figuring out the controls of the new game.

He could say he was having a good time! Except when he gave in and tried Sun's freak snack. He made a face as his taste buds burned. "How did you eat, like, twenty of these?!"

Sun just let out a loud laugh. "I know! It's really terrible isn't it?!"

By the time they finally settled and decided to make a little tournament out of the game, Ren and Sage had already figured out combos that obliterated the competition. Soon enough, the only thing the other boys could do was to spectate the final matches between the two.

"Yeah, I think they're going to take a while…" Jaune leaned back against the wall after having reached for a handful of chips, squinting at the somehow untouched health bars on the screen.

"Okay!" Sun huffed, clapping his hands together. "We need to think of something to do then!" He motioned to Jaune's direction. "Our poor guest here will think we are boring!"

"Nah, you're cool man." He managed a laugh between his chewing at Sun's overly dramatic tone. Sun put a hand over his chest, acting as if he had been genuinely touched by his words.

"We… could play cards...?" Scarlet offered with a shrug.

"No, no. I'm thinking of something even better…" Sun tapped his fingertips together, causing everyone in the group to raise an eyebrow. "C'mon dudes! We have the perfect mood for some classic sleepover games-"

"I do not like where this is going…" Scarlet narrowed his eyes at their leader. "Don't suggest-"

"Truth or Dare! I'm talking about truth or dare!"

"And I'm out." Scarlet got up from the floor, Sun and Neptune booed their teammate as he left. "I'm not playing after what happened last time!"

"What happened last time?" Jaune felt obligated to ask.

"Nothing! He's just being a drama queen."

"Dram- It was my favorite jacket!" Scarlet stomped his foot, then recomposed as he let out a breath. "I'll just go to watch those two finish their game."

"Whatever, we don't need you anyway!" Sun shouted, tone filled with mock betrayal. With a chuckle, Jaune mentally questioned who was actually the most dramatic of the group.

"So, you in?" Sun turned his attention to Jaune. And with his expression showing very clearly that after Scarlet's reaction he believed the game wouldn't be a good idea, Neptune intervened.

"Don't worry! We learned our lesson after Scarlet made us spend five hours in the mall to get him another jacket." The victim of the unnamed clothing-based dare just shouted back 'you all deserved!' at his teammate's accusatory tone.

"So we are all going to be super chill - but still fun!" Sun promised.

In the end, Jaune caved in. He didn't want his hosts to think he was the boring one after all.

They kept their promise, even if Sun and Neptune always picked dares. To roll with it, he ended up picking it too when it was his turn. Soon any pressure about trying to look cool in front of the two guys that had an actual fan club after them simply dissolved away.

Especially after seeing the Neptune I'mma-Get-That-Girl's-Number Vasilias being an anxious mess about typing a phone number to make a prank call, and Sun's smug expression morph into instant regret as the spiciness of the hot sauce forgotten in the back of the fridge kicked in and he rushed to the sink's faucet to try to relieve the burning, and the two running with him while giggling like little kids as they turned the corner of the corridor to hide from a row of people checking on their recently knocked doors.

They grew more confident with the dares thought. To the point of Sun daring his partner to throw one of the still unopened, two-liter bottles of grape soda off the rooftop. And so they went. And halfway through the staircase, they all stopped.

"This is going to be a huge waste of soda…" Neptune lamented. And Jaune and Sun couldn't help but hum in agreement.

After a minor change of plans, they finally climbed up to the roof. Now with the same bottle full to the brim with water and the three of them high on sugar and dangerously purple artificial coloring.

"Chuck it as far as you can!"

"I dare you to hit that rock over there!"

"Don't put another dare on top of my dare!"

Neptune aimed for the rock nonetheless and they leaned over the edge to watch. He barely missed the target, still, the bottle plunged downwards and shattered on the ground with a wet explosion sound and a satisfyingly large radius of water and plastic debris being flung around the area.

Their cheers got stuck on their throats as some poor unfortunate soul cursed inside one of the dorm rooms loudly enough for them to catch all the way up. When people started sticking their heads out of their windows, they immediately retreated to crouch on the rooftop floor, hands clamped over their mouths to stifle their laughter.

"That was awesome!" Sun whisper-shouted as he finally controlled his need to laugh long enough to allow him to speak.

"Yeah! Good throw dude!" Jaune patted Neptune on the shoulder, he puffed his chest with pride.

"Thank you, thank you." He bowed as if referring to an applauding crowd. "Now, listen, you guys need to top that for the next dare!"

"Hm- I think we might need to hang here just for a bit, guys." Sun started, taking a peek of the edge just to withdraw in the same second. "There are people still checking the noise and if we climb down from the roof now…" He finished the sentence by noisily blowing air past his lips.

"Yeah… I guess people will probably start thinking someone just dropped a Dust vial or something." Jaune shrugged, sitting more comfortably on the dusty floor.

There was a second of quietness, only tinged by the sound of talking coming from the lower floor windows, still questioning the explosion.

"So what now?" Neptune blurted, already bored of sitting around after a couple of seconds.

"Okay… I have an idea!" Jaune perked up. "It's my turn now isn't it?" After synced nods, he continued. "Since we can't do much up here, I pick truth!"

"Oh, good call!" Sun straightened his back, tail curling with renewed excitement. "What's it gonna be, Nep?"

"Aah, okay, give me a moment to come up with a question." He closed his eyes, concentrating.

"He's really bad at coming up with them…" Sun whispered to Jaune's direction, still loud enough for his partner to hear.

"I'm not!" Neptune opened his eyes to send Sun a sideways glance. "Just so you know, I am a great interrogator!"

"Last time he had to pick a truth, he asked Scarlet his favorite color." Sun talked as if he was spilling juicy gossip, and Jaune couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Okay, if I'm that bad with coming up with stuff." Neptune crossed his arms. "Then I'll just ask one of those cliche, overused sleepover questions."

"Aww, you asking us about our crushes?" Sun cooed, teasingly poking his partner's shoulder with his tail.

"Okay, not that cliche." Neptune waved Sun's tail off, tapping his chin, and after an extra second, he brightened up. "Okay, I think I have one!"

"Shoot!" Jaune instigated.

"Alright, so…" His eyes shined mischievously. "If you had to pick a person from this school to kiss, who would it be?"

Sun let out a loud laugh. "That's just another way to make the crush question!"

"Ahn, it's not?!" Neptune argued. "You can want to kiss someone, I don't know, because they're hot or because you heard they're a good kisser. You don't need to like them." He stated as if it was more than an obvious fact.

Sun raised his hands in surrender, rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say, man." He turned his attention to Jaune. "So, who's going to be?"

"Ah…" He had been too distracted by the bickering duo in front of him to actually stop to process the question. And when he did, it didn't make things easier.

"Kiss someone…?"

"Yup!"

"And they have to study here?"

"Exactly!"

"Ah… Okay, let me think…"

His brow furrowed. He was low-key regretting picking truth now that he was under the boys expecting stares. The restriction being someone they knew didn't help him organize his thoughts, he couldn't even contour around an answer by picking a celebrity crush. Maybe he could dodge it with a joke reply? He couldn't think of one though.

"I thought you were going to have an answer on the tip of his tongue, honestly." Neptune commented with a chuckle.

"Why?" Jaune shook his head, eyebrows raising.

"Hey, it's your turn to reply, not mine." Neptune dodged his question.

"Hm, right…" His eyes darted everywhere besides his two interrogator's faces, as if a clue for the answer Neptune seemingly already had would suddenly pop up on the horizon."I- I guess I would pick…"

In a way, that was what happened. From high up where they were, he could see the roofs belonging to the other dorm buildings bordering the courtyard. His searching gaze was immediately attracted to his own building and their rooftop.

He wasn't able to avoid the thought any longer. He could almost too perfectly picture the two of them up there - as they were supposed to be right this moment if it hadn't been for him receiving SSSN's invitation. She would end the session by telling him how good he had performed, in that way that would make him feel the heat on his body wasn't just a product of exercise, talking about what he did right and what needed to improve, and he would thank her for all her help, and while doing that he could just approach and-

"... Pyrrha." Almost too easily, the answer smoothly slipped out from his mouth without him even stopping to process what exactly he was admitting, raising a hand to his face to cover a sudden surging smile with a scratch on the nose.

The two boys both exclaimed in surprise. Apparently, that wasn't the name Neptune had expected to hear, and that caused a cold wave of self-consciousness to crash inside his guts, exterminating any warmth he had with himself.

"Woo, going big there!" Sun whistled, clapping his hands together.

"Yeah! I thought you were going to choose Weiss!" Neptune laughed.

"Uh- why would I?" Jaune avoided their eyes, feeling just like when he gave teachers a wrong answer on oral quizzes. They sounded a bit too excited about his pick and he didn't know if that was a good thing.

"Because you had a crush on her for like, months?!" Neptune threw his hands in the air, stating the obvious.

"Ah. Right." He let out an awkward chuckle, the cracks on the floor certainly were interesting to look at now. Honestly, after getting over it, he had avoided recalling his stupid embarrassing acts while he chased after Weiss as best as he could. He raised his hands with a shrug. "I just think it would be a thing to do with someone who doesn't despise me?"

"That's fair." Sun let out a laugh. He wiggled his eyebrows at him then. "So, Pyrrha, huh? She certainly doesn't despise you for sure. You two are pretty close-"

"Hm- what! N-no!" He blurted. "I didn't- I'm not- look, I just picked her, because if I had to pick one person to, hm, kiss, I feel like she would be the least likely to beat me up about it after. And be more forgiving too."

"Seriously?" Neptune looked flabbergasted. "You're thinking about damage control instead of, y'know, the act of kissing a pretty girl?!"

"Pretty much, yeah." He replied flatly, shoulders deflating - it's not like his self-esteem when it came to that subject allowed him much.

Neptune looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. Jaune averted his gaze away, finding out he could feel extremely cold inside yet feel as if he was sweating under a hot sun at the same time.

"B-besides-" He continued as a new thought came to him. "You didn't say which type of kiss, so I could just give her a cheek or forehead one, so it would be less-" Less weird? Less of a nuisance to her? Less difficult for him to actually have the courage to do it? "Less invasive…"

"C'mon dude… Give yourself some credit! The question is who would you kiss, not who would react the best when kissed!" Sun started, in that tone of his when he was trying to cheer people up. "Don't you think kissing her for real would be, I don't know, nice?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. Yet an answer popped up on his mind in the same second - he couldn't imagine Pyrrha doing something that wasn't nice, or better. She was just that good. And even if they somehow messed up, he wouldn't mind, they would probably just giggle about it and move on-

He didn't say that aloud though. And realizing he wasn't going to crack, Neptune started.

"Alright, let me reformulate the question." He joined his palms together under his chin, pointing the fingers at him. "I want you to just imagine, a very hypothetical scene, where Pyrrha likes you-"

"Very hypothetical…" Sun let out a snort but soon recomposed.

"Yes. She has been liking you for a long time and you know how she feels. So kissing her - actually kissing her - wouldn't have any bad consequences. Just indulge that thought, will you?" He learned forward, drilling him with his stare. "Would you do it then?"

"Ahn…" Neptune's hypothetical scenario flashed through his mind. The familiar rooftop was still in his view, he could still picture the scene he had imagined happening there just minutes ago, ending with them parting, he would open his eyes to find her face without any signs of disapproval or disappointment, just her bright eyes locked on his, maybe a cute blush too, and one of those smiles that would take his breath away. And if she really liked it, maybe she would kiss him again, and he would tell her how much he liked her as well by kissing her back. Maybe they would be both smiling, her hands in his face, or his hair, just being held as he pulled her close, feeling her scent, her taste, her warmth, her heartbeat against his-

"I think we broke him…" Sun whispered to his partner, somehow equally sounding genuinely concerned and highly amused.

"Hello? Jaune?" Neptune waved a hand in front of his eyes, holding back a chuckle. Jaune blinked then, face burning. "So, would you do it?"

"Ah! I just- I- I don't know…? I- I guess I would- Wait. Why am I answering this?! You already asked me a question before!" The tone of his voice raised, and he could feel his face heating up with embarrassment.

"We are just that good with interrogations." Neptune gave him a smug grin.

"That's cheating." He huffed. "Now I know why you guys never pick truth."

"Yeah, Nep here just doesn't know how to make good questions-" The boy in question let out a disgruntled 'hey!' "So don't take this too seriously either." Sun gave Jaune pats on the arm. "Hey! You guys wanna go check if any pieces of the bottle survived the fall?"

He held back a sigh of pure relief as Sun abruptly changed the subject. Neptune looked like he wasn't ready to move on from their talk just yet. Though, after exchanging a glance with his partner, he quickly shrugged. "Yeah, sure!"

As they quietly snuck out to downstairs he felt how his heartbeat was pounding inside his ears. Maybe he had gotten too worked up about a simple truth or dare question.

Even if he had brought it to himself by picking truth - or maybe it was Neptune's fault for being bad at coming up with questions - this was the wrong time to be thinking about that. It wasn't often he allowed himself to indulge those thoughts, as his interrogator had put; and by 'not often' he meant 'almost never'. Because as much as it made his stomach flutter, it also left a sour taste on his tongue.

What he would like to happen, and if it would feel nice or not didn't matter. It's not like she would feel the same anyway.

Reaching the courtyard was the perfect distraction. They looked around as inconspicuous as they could to check for any witnesses before rushing to the tattered remains of the bottle.

They all quickly agreed it wouldn't be too wise to just leave the grass full of plastic splinters. "Alright! The one who finds the piece who flew farther wins!" Sun suddenly announced, just giving the other boys a split second to process his words before he bolted.

Jaune just exchanged a confused look with Neptune before they both ran to opposite directions. Eyes focused on the ground of the dimly lit courtyard, he soon found the bottle cap still attached to a piece of the neck all the way into the next dorm building front yard.

When he rounded back with his retrieves, he had to raise an eyebrow at the sight of the two partners. For someone who supposedly had broken into a mad dash, it didn't look like Sun had gone too far. How the two were seemingly whispering to each other, Sun's tail curling and uncurling in a way he could only describe as mischievous, Neptune nodding a bit too enthusiastically, and their expressions matching as if they were plotting a prank made him slightly uneasy.

Yet as Jaune approached, all of that disappeared from their demeanor as if it hadn't even happened. Sun didn't even give him time for him to open his mouth to ask what they were talking about, just being excited to know a piece of the bottle had ended up in the other building, declaring his bottle cap as the winner.

And with the field now free of plastic, they moved on from all of that with a new round of their game. They also picked truth for this turn, it made him feel a bit better.

"I'm telling you, the most 'illegal thing'-" Sun made air quotes with his fingers, rolling his eyes as they entered the building with their gathered debris. "I've ever done was getting a ride on that boat to come here for the festival."

"Why didn't you just fly in with your team?" He chuckled, not knowing if he should be impressed or concerned with how easily Sun brushed off the illegality of his deeds.

"He likes airships just as much as I like boats." Neptune filled in as they headed for the dorm's kitchen for a trash can.

"Okay, I'm not that bad." Sun argued, pointing an accusatory finger to his partner. "I don't mind getting an air ride here and there. But long trips?" He shuddered. "I can't stand just having to sit in place for hours with a seatbelt suffocating me! And that weird pressure on your ears and everyone just has to be quiet… really boring, really terrible."

"And spending an entire trip sneaking around a boat is better…?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"It's fun!" It was his turn to have a finger pointed at him. "Don't judge until you try it."

"I'll have to pass…" His brow knitted together, as if letting go of the offer was just a shame. "Both types of rides are equally bad."

"Ah, right." Sun nodded knowingly. "Can't sneak around if you're throwing up."

"Can't be offended if it's true." He shrugged.

They lounged in the kitchen for a while, snacking on some plain crackers they found in the pantry to get rid of the soda's purple-y and extremely sugary flavor off their mouths. After Neptune's turn where he had to narrate the most embarrassing experience he ever had - involving some dancing in public - Sun announced.

"Okay, okay, so one last round before going back to the room." He slammed his hand on the kitchen table. His smile was a bit too wide. "Jaune?"

He didn't even hesitate. "Dare."

"Great choice!" He said it as if he was the host for a cheesy game show. "And as you know, we have to somehow top off the last dare…"

"Right…" He narrowed his eyes, not liking how his tail was twitching almost menacingly. "What do you have in mind?"

"Tell him, Nep." He repeatedly patted his friend's arm as if they were about to announce he had won the prize for the said cheesy game show.

"Alright, alright." The boy contained his laugh before starting. "We dare-"

"We?" Their joint excitement got him to recoil slightly on his seat. "Are you guys ganging up on me or something?"

"No, no. Trust me, you're gonna like it!" Before Jaune could object further Neptune continued. "We dare you to just do it!"

"What."

"You're so bad at this…" Sun rolled his eyes. "What he meant was-"

"We dare you to get out there-" Neptune intervened.

"Find your partner-" Sun continued.

"Then just do it!"

"And by that, he meant-"

"Kiss her!"

"But no loopholes for you-"

"No, no. It has to be a real kiss."

"On the lips!"

"But not just a lame peck."

"Yeah, make it last a bit."

"For at least what? Five seconds?"

"Yeah. Sounds good, huh?"

If he had been confused before, now he was probably hallucinating. His first thought was that all of this was delivered to him too seamlessly by two people. Was this the thing they were discussing in whispers back in the courtyard? And second- what?!

"What?!" He managed to blurt his last thought aloud. "I-Is this a joke? You want me to- I- I can't just go and do something like that!"

"It's not a joke. It's a dare. And a very valid one." Sun was unfazed by the raise of his voice.

"Yeah. And you said earlier you would do it, man…" Neptune shrugged. "So why not really?"

"Why not?! She's- she's Pyrrha! And she's my best friend. I can't just- can't just appear out of nowhere a-and kiss her!" He let out a breath, rubbing his eyes with his fingers, completely flustered.

"Oh, but it won't be out of nowhere!" Sun grinned brightly. "Look, we will back you up. Go, do the thing, and if it ends up not so nicely-"

"Which would be hard to happen as you said back there on the roof!" Neptune quickly pointed out.

"Yes! Even so, you could just blame the two of us completely." Sun nodded solemnly. "Say we peer pressured you until you couldn't take it, say we were a bad influence, dude, even send her after us to teach us a lesson! We'll take it!"

"A-actually-" Neptune intervened. "If you could refrain from sending an angry Pyrrha Nikos after us that would be great!"

"See! You just said she's going to be angry!" He pointed a finger at the two.

"But, again, you said that's unlikely to happen!" They pointed a finger back.

He let out a lengthy growl. This discussion was just moving in circles. "This won't end well one way or another! I can't do something like that!"

"Wait, one second-" Sun raised a hand. "You keep saying you can't but the real question is: would you want to?"

His breath caught up on his throat before he managed to sputter. "T-that doesn't even matter! What even made you guys think I would want to do this in the first place?!"

The boys smiled, and he felt like he had just stepped inside a Griffon's den.

"Because you like her." They replied in sync - a move equally impressive and unnerving.

"I what?!"

"Ah, my dear friend… Just so you know, we are the best detectives around…" Neptune placed his hands behind his straightened back, tone turning serious. "We never commit to a case without evidence."

"And that means…?" He suddenly felt he was on the wrong side of a desk in an interrogation room.

"That means… do you really want to sit there and listen to us as we list all of the proof we have?" He sighed, rolling his eyes as if that infamous list was going to be such a burden to go through. "Because, you know, the night is still young, so we could just sit here, between pals-" He pulled a chair, sitting heavily over it, his partner copied him. "And have a nice, long talk…"

It was all Sun and Neptune's fault. It was all Sun and Neptune's fault. It was all Sun and Neptune's fault-

His mind chanted as he crossed the path back to his dorm building, clutching his arms to protect himself against the evening breeze, still in his pajamas, steps firm and brow furrowed.

He was going, but Sun and Neptune hadn't actually convinced him to go forward with the dare. Even if the way they cheered him on as he left would put professional cheerleaders to shame. He was only doing this so he wouldn't have to sit through the two listing more of their "proofs".

When and how did they even notice that kind of stuff anyway?! Staring during a boring lecture, blushing after compliments, lasting smiles during conversations, and apparently, the tone of his voice when he said her name as a reply for his truth round - those were the ones they had time to present before he cracked. He could see in their expressions that his inability to properly deny without turning completely red in the face was only fuelling their smugness.

Not even he had noticed himself acting like that… Had he always been that obvious?

So he had gotten up and shouted a 'Fine!' with his face so hot it could fry an egg, he would go, but wouldn't visit them in the infirmary when everything went wrong. The two mock detectives were not fazed, smiling triumphantly like two proud dads sending their kid off to college.

A heavy exhale escaped as he entered the familiar lobby, warmer ambiance offering him a fleeting second of comfort. He had a plan - simply stall. Maybe he would even actually go after Pyrrha, just to tell her if Sun and Neptune went after her asking about some "dare" nonsense she could maybe do him a favor and reply she had been busy with homework or an important call.

Because really, imagine him kissing her… pfft, right. Well… Okay. He had done that at least twice already in the past hour - but regardless! That was only some wild dream! Like how people would imagine winning the lottery or stumbling into someone famous in the supermarket; nice to think about but it probably ain't happening in your lifetime.

Jaune hadn't taken a single step yet without having his thoughts one hundred percent focused on reasoning with himself. His mind only lived a second of quietness as he found himself face to face with his room's door.

He hesitated. Feeling as if his brain and heart were playing hot potato with what was left of his resolve so they could make a final decision. Hand hovering over the doorknob, then pulling back, then a few minutes of repeating that process, then finally touching it - by accident, he just put too much force on the last motion - and with that, his fate was sealed.

He turned the doorknob and poked his head in to face the occupants of the room.

"Hey!" Nora greeted him from her bed, raising her head from the notebook on her lap and tilting it with confusion. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be partying with your pals?"

"Hm- yeah! I am! I mean, I was but-" His voice cracked, eyes darting to every corner of the room - she wasn't there. "Is Pyrrha around? I just needed her. For a thing. Real quick."

Nora made a face to his vague babbling. "She just left to go to the kitchen, you just missed her. What do y-"

"'Kay! Bye!" He slammed the door shut, the sound making his ears ring for a second.

His pace was inconsistent as he climbed back down to the first floor, unsure how to proceed. Maybe not finding her in the room was a sign from the universe telling him to just forget about all of this…

On one side he had the exit, and the other the hallway leading to the kitchen. He could leave, simply tell the boys he wasn't able to find her… but- He clicked his tongue in frustration. It would be better to still warn her about the probability of Sun and Nep making some weird questions, right? Just to avoid any possible awkward situations…

Moving forward, he halted just arm's length away from the doorframe. Yet now not because of second thoughts or need to turn back.

As Nora had told him, there she was, wearing the pajamas he always imagined being very soft to the touch, hair half tied up, messy after a long day, in that way it would make his hand tremble with the urge to tuck strands behind her ear when they were close. All unsuspecting and pretty with her focus on a steaming mug over the table, tugging on the string of a teabag.

It took him a second more to realize he was just frozen and staring like a creep. Jaune shook his head, recalling he was just here for a quick talk and nothing more. She raised her head when he finally crossed the threshold, her polite, standard to-greet-a-newcomer smile brightened up in that way it only did for people close to her; this time her expression was also a bit confused, he wasn't supposed to be there after all, yet it still got her cheeks to raise to her eyes, making them curve.

And oh no, don't make this harder than it should be… Because she smiled like that, and of course, he would first smile back since it was just so contagious, and then he would feel that weird pang on his chest, together with that lightness in his stomach, sensations that somehow stung yet felt amazing and he would look at her and just…

Maybe using Sun and Neptune's crazy idea as an excuse wouldn't be so bad after all… a once in a lifetime chance just to know how it feels like...

"Hey, Pyr!" His voice cracked as he used the greeting to cut that train of thought, as fast he would cut an about to attack Beowolf's head before any damage could be dealt.

Whatever. Let's just get this over with.

Chapter Text

"Hey, Pyr!"

"Hello!" Admittedly, Pyrrha had to say there was something endearing about her partner's clumsiness. Yet she raised an eyebrow at how Jaune managed to fumble a greeting composed of two one-syllable words. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but shouldn't you be… not here right now?" She watched him curiously, holding back a chuckle as he approached by barely avoiding bumping into one of the kitchen counters.

"Ah, yes! I am. I mean, I should! But I-" He stopped himself, letting out a breath before continuing. "The thing is, I just need… to talk to you about… a thing… real quick."

"Oh." She blinked, smile fading. That was sudden. Jaune ditching a hangout with friends just to talk didn't sound quite right, especially with how his eyes were darting everywhere but her face, as if he was on the lookout for something about to attack them. She approached, lowering her voice. "Are you alright? Is there something wrong?"

"Ah! No! Nothing's wrong! Why would you think that?" He chuckled, leaning against the kitchen counter as if the casual pose would erase all the strangeness of the conversation. "Everything is fine!"

"Well, maybe because you do look as nervous as that final exam day." She narrowed her eyes, and he only replied with an indistinguishable grumble.

Pyrrha let out a sigh, something was clearly troubling him - or he would have no reason to be here in the first place. Holding her mug close, she leaned against the counter by his side, offering an easy smile after bumping his shoulder with her own. "C'mon, are you really not going to tell me? I thought you were here to talk."

Jaune met her eyes for only a second before directing them to the floor. "I- yeah. Fine…" He let out a weak laugh, his fingers tapped the wood as he searched for words, yet his posture relaxed, in a way she almost believed he was leaning against her.

She hummed to tell him she was listening. Taking a sip from her mug to distract herself from how their arms were now pressed together.

"You see…" He talked and his hands accompanied the words with gestures. "The guys and I- we, we are alright! They're all pretty chill. We were just having fun, playing some games and then, they dared me to do this thing…"

"Wait." She stopped mid-sip as the word dared caught her attention. "I'm sorry, but that explosion sound a while ago… was that you?"

"Ah! No, not me exactly. That's unrelated to this… kind of…" He raised a hand to the back of his neck.

"Alright then." She chuckled, lifting an eyebrow. "Do I want to know what caused that?"

"Ah, well… let's just say that was one of their dares. No one got hurt if that's what you were wondering. And we did clean it up!" He made sure to point that out, raising a finger. "But after that when it was my turn they were like oh we have to top that off dude!"

It clicked then. "Ahh… I see where this is going."

"You do?" He perked up. She couldn't tell if he was more happy or nervous about her discovery.

"Yes. They dared you to do something you don't want to do, then you didn't say no, and now you need someone to cover you up. Is that close?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"Ah, yes! Exactly!" Jaune let out a sigh of relief at being spared from fumbling through words to explain further. "Would you do that for me, Pyr? Please?" He turned to her, hands clasped under his chin in a pleading gesture.

"Hm… Sure." How could she even say no when he asked like that? His entire demeanor brightened up with her agreement. Yet Pyrrha felt obligated to add. "But you know, if it was something you didn't want to do this badly, you could just say no instead of lying."

"I… yeah. I know…" He averted his gaze, shoulders slumping. "It's just… complicated…"

She didn't have the time to ask about that, after a shake of the head, he continued. "But, huh, anyway, thank you! I owe you one! So if Sun or Neptune ask about it can you just say I couldn't find you? Maybe because you were taking a call or something?"

"Wait…" She paused as she took in new information. "I thought you just needed someone to cover for you… the dare actually involved me? "

"Uh, y-yes?" He stuttered, suddenly tensing. "But don't worry about it, really."

That didn't ease her concerns. Sun and Neptune were good people, she couldn't imagine them sending Jaune off to do something mean to a friend. "Was it something bad? Dangerous?"

"Uh, no, it's not dangerous!" He let out a light laugh. "And not bad at all… I guess only if you do it wrong… but hm, yeah, nothing like that."

It was official, she was beyond curious. After all, it was something that involved her, it wasn't bad, yet he still avoided it like a Grimm infested forest. "Is there a reason you don't want to do it?"

She felt bad about filling him with questions then. Jaune looked torn between decisions and slightly pink on the face… maybe it was just embarrassing? "I'm sorry! You don't have to tell me if it's something uncomfortable."

"Ah, no. It's just…" He let his posture relax, releasing a heavy puff of air. "You see, it's… not bad. I just don't know how you would react? I mean, maybe... you'll like it… but there's a chance you won't. So that makes it kinda risky, I guess."

Her brain was doing its best to try to decipher what was this all about with the vague hints he dropped. "Why… why wouldn't I like it?" She held back another ' I'm sorry' for all the questions.

Fortunately, he didn't seem annoyed, just a tad flustered. "It's just… I, I just don't know your taste… I-I mean, I can't know your opinion about it so, yeah. I'm just not sure how you would take it."

"... Alright…" She took a long sip from her mug, pondering over his rambled explanations. "...Guess you won't know until you try it."

"Wait what." He blurted, looking back up to her. "Are you serious?!"

"I can take a practical joke or some prank like anyone else, Jaune." Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "I don't see why not if it's not hurting anybody. It would be better than lying, no?"

He took a moment to process that she was actually permitting him to go ahead with his dare , staring as if she had just offered him a trip to outer space. She reinforced. "I promise that if I don't like it, I'll tell you, and I won't be mad."

"You… you really want to know?" His voice was quiet. She could swear there was a hint of hope in his tone.

"Hmhm." She hummed against the rim of her mug. "And who knows… maybe I will like it." She felt his stare, though when she looked back, he avoided her eyes.

Oh. He was blushing, hard, the corner of his mouth trembled with a repressed smile. "O-okay, yeah… that- that could happen." He said that as if he was trying to convince himself. "But before I do anything, I… just don't forget that you insisted!"

"I accepted the terms, didn't I?" She let out a laugh. She honestly didn't have a reason to not trust her partner and doubted he had any ill intentions - and she was too curious to back down now. "So… how is this going to go?"

"R-right." Jaune turned to her, movements clunky as he hesitated. "I- hm… Actually… can you, like, close your eyes?"

"You won't draw on my face or something like that, will you?" She joked, yet did as he had requested, pushing some strands of hair behind her ear.

"No, no. It's just… just to make it a surprise, I guess. Ah, let me take this from you-" She felt a hand support the bottom of her mug, so she let him take it. "And no peeking!"

"I won't!" She had to shut her eyes tight as she felt her eyelids tremble, wanting to do exactly that. There was the sound of her mug being placed over the table, shuffling of steps, a decisive exhale, and then the room became silent.

Still leaning against the counter, she could tell he had taken a step closer and stopped directly in front of her. Though it didn't seem like he was moving, or doing anything at all actually, by the lack of noises. That only instigated her curiosity.

"Are you still there?" Pyrrha palpated the air in front of her, carefully reaching for him. Stopping when her hand hit somewhere around his torso. Oh. That was way closer than she had first expected.

"Hm- yeah…" His voice was barely audible even with his proximity. He gave her wrist a brief touch before recoiling his hand, clearing his throat. "I'm here…"

The low whisper gave her goosebumps. Jaune didn't make any effort to push her hand away so she kept it there to at least have some notion of her bearings.

Having no visual made her fully notice how her heartbeat raced with anticipation, the dull beating echoing inside her ears. All of her other senses worked to compensate; his breathing sounded slightly uneven, he smelled very sweet, like grape soda, his pajama shirt was soft, her grip close enough to his heart to feel it's erratic thumping, and her mouth was now dry, lacking any taste.

And he was so close. She was used to a similar situation during their Aura training sessions, the shut eyes, the proximity and the light touches; connecting their Auras was such an instinctive process for her, without even trying she could clearly feel the faint pulls of his energy, inviting her in. She only realized she had now a light grip on his shirt when her hand trembled, containing herself from the sudden urge of pulling him closer.

She stood as still as she could yet she never felt so restless. She had a feeling that he was staring intensely, or she was imagining really hard where she thought his gaze would be. The dryness of her lips became unbearable, she fixed that with a flick of her tongue without even thinking. The hitch of his breath was clearly audible - he had to be staring! And right then, she had to hold herself back from just taking a fistful of his shirt and tell him to just kiss her already because she was this close to doing that herself!

Because that was where this was going, right? She wasn't being insane or a wishful thinker for believing that possibility, right? Sending people off to go kiss someone was somehow of a common dare, she thought. She wanted to be right so bad…

Though she would never know if he was just frozen there. Just a few seconds had passed, yet it felt like ages, and she was almost believing she was misinterpreting everything and he was already doing something else completely different without her noticing.

"... Jaune?" Not taking the silence anymore, she broke it. Her voice quiet, slightly concerned, trying not to sound too anxious.

The reply was a broken breath, a shuddering inhale, the cold of space being put between them with his shirt slipping from her fingers, and a dry whispered "I can't…"

The breath of those words was the only thing that got close to touching her lips. She swallowed back a disappointed sound and the stupid expectations she had created in just mere seconds, How had she allowed her thoughts to spiral out of control like that?

He was there when she opened her eyes, his own hidden behind strands of his bangs as he focused on his shoes. Her throat felt raspy yet she brought herself to say something before the silence crushed them with it's growing heaviness.

"I'm sorry…" Gaze dropping, she also ended up giving the floor tiles some attention. "It really was something you didn't want to do…"

"I- No, what." Jaune shot his head up, looking at her as if he had just seen her kick a dog. "I'm sorry! It's… it's not that I didn't want. I did- I-" He let out an exasperated sigh, messing with his hair with both hands. "Sun and Nep and then you were all like what I want and it doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if I want it if I don't know if you want it too!"

"Jaune… What are you saying?" Concern towered over any awkwardness. Taking a step forward, she placed a hand on his shoulder, seeking to calm him. She had never seen his face so red before.

"I just- I couldn't… it doesn't feel right because I don't know if you would-" He swallowed back the rest of the sentence. The hands over his hair slipped down so he could rub his eyes. "But they dared me to do it and I guess I just stopped working because they made me agree- no, I agreed and then I was after you and then you said you wanted to know and then-"

"I mean just because of a stupid dare-" He let out a groan, palms covering his face muffling the sound. "This wasn't how our first kiss was supposed to happen!"

Oh…

What?!

It was as if those words had pierced her chest and her heart had tripped over them. Skipping various beats before running to catch up. Her mind was spinning. She had been right! He had been so close, they had been one inch away from doing that . She didn't know if she should smile or scream or speak- Speak. That she could do.

"I- how…" Pyrrha cleared her throat as her voice was barely coming out. "H-how it was supposed to happen then…?"

"I don't know!" He took his hands off his face, eyes focused on the ceiling. He was too deep into his ramblings to stop now, gesticulating wildly. "Maybe after we get back from a big mission… maybe when we are just taking a break from training… maybe the next dance if you say yes-"

Since when had he been imagining those scenarios? For a split second she stood there stuck in place, she snapped out when she realized - what was holding her back now?

"What about to shut you up because you're rambling a bit too much?" The corner of her lips quirked upwards.

"Hm? I don't- I wait what?!"

She didn't give him time to process. In a spike of boldness, she fulfilled her previous wish of gripping his shirt, pulling him in, and ending the distance between them.

She kissed him. She did that. One minute she was grabbing tea and the next she was making a dream of hers come true. One minute she was listening to her partner babble about a dare and the next she was hearing him confess - kinda. One minute she was sipping on a warm drink and the next she was being engulfed by the heat radiating from his face.

Granted, this wasn't how she had imagined their first kiss happening. Yet what were those fantasies compared to the real thing? The only detail that could make this more perfect would be him not being this shocked so he could kiss her back-

She pulled away then, giving them both a moment. She felt dizzy as if she had been just startled out of a dream and forced to jump out of bed in the same second. The situation really had escalated quickly, she had just kissed him and the brief touch had left her completely out of breath.

He gasped as if she had just saved him from drowning, eyes shut, face and ears painted red. Taking in a breath, instead of opening them, he pressed his eyelids tight. "Pyr…" His voice was quiet, he licked his lips before continuing. "Did you… did you just kiss me…?"

Pyrrha had to let out a chuckle. Perceptive as always. His tone was full of confusion and awe, a small smile trying to peek through. "Yes." She felt her stomach flutter by giving him the confirmation, remaining close, only loosening the hold on his shirt. "Was that what you needed for your dare ?"

He snapped his eyes open, awestruck blue darting around her face, mouth moving and words coming out after a couple of tries.

"Five seconds."

"Huh?" Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"T-they said it had to last… five seconds…" Jaune stuttered, shifting weight between his feet and gaze falling to the floor.

"Oh!" It had been more of a lasting peck than a full kiss. He looked back up to her, catching her flustered smile growing. "Okay… You should fix that then…"

"I- Are you-? Can I…?" He still looked like he wasn't fully believing this was actually happening, and honestly, she felt the same.

"You were saying you didn't do it before… because you didn't know if I would want it, right?" He nodded lightly, still close so their noses were a hair strand away from touching. She could feel her skin prickling with heat, taking what she was about to admit. "I'm… I'm telling you, I do want it." She touched their noses together, whispering over his lips. "So yes, you can."

She was so glad when he didn't ask any more questions. Just letting out a baffled chuckle instead, eyes curving with his smile, she admired how they shined in a way she had never seen before. Then they were shut, and she did the same so to give herself fully to the sensation of his lips catching hers.

His touch was gentle, both from his lips and from his hands now holding her close by the waist, yet it made adrenaline course through her body as if she had been in the middle of combat, made every hair on her arms stand up, powered her pulse and flushed her skin. Still a bit shy, that wasn't a downside though, his careful pace allowed her to bask in his sweet taste, his comforting warmth, and the rhythm of his lively heartbeat under her touch.

She didn't even realize that the five-second mark was about to be reached, she hadn't been counting after all.

A tremble of his lips brought the memory back, she instinctively deepened their kiss, pushing herself closer, fingers tightening their grip on the fabric of his shirt - not yet, she didn't want it to end now… stay .

Or he wasn't counting either or he picked up on her signs. Jaune didn't let go, just shifting to avoid bumping her nose as he breathed her in, responding to her renewed eagerness by actually pulling her closer.

Nothing else could have made her happier. Feeling as if she had enough butterflies in her stomach to allow her to soar, her hands traveled up to his shoulders to hug his neck, he let out a muffled hum at the pull yet shortly followed her example, arms wrapping around her waist, palms supporting her back, the embrace perfectly pushing their bodies together, doing his best to keep up while not letting their kiss slip or their teeth to crash between their growing smiles.

They were partially successful with that, there was a slight bump as their growing rhythm got them to stumble into the counter they had been leaning against. She felt him let out an alarmed hum between her lips, trying to pull away to check on her. She hadn't loosened her hold around him though, so he didn't get the chance to move away, her repressed giggle letting him know she was more than okay.

She had no clue of how long it lasted - way longer than five seconds, that's it. They could take their time after all. Until the kisses once again became slow and careful, interrupted only by short pauses for air between soft bumps of lips, his fingers tracing shapes along her spine and hers slipping through strands of golden hair. Their touches reached a mutual halt when he sighed softly, a sound she automatically copied, while resting his forehead on hers.

Pyrrha opened her eyes just in time to see his flutter open.

"Hey…" Jaune breathed, a giddy smile evident on the sound. And he looked at her, really looked at her, and just a look made the same rush from their kiss to flood her nerves all over again. Shades of blue carrying that softness, those feelings, that attention she had longed for ages to be directed towards her. It was there in front of her very own eyes, and this time it wasn't a dream.

"Hi…" Was all she could say at the moment. Still out of breath, she let out a light chuckle, ignoring the urge of skipping in place with joy. "So… we are really bad at counting…"

"Uh-? Ah! Yeah… five seconds…" The flush came back to his cheeks with full force. He loosened their embrace, hands returning their light touch to her waist. "Sorry, I-it's kinda hard to count when… hm-"

"No, no. It was… it was a good thing." She reassured. Leave it to him to apologize for kissing her like that - hm , maybe he was getting that habit from her… "I liked it."

"You liked…" He repeated, still astonished by her admission as if she had just told him the secrets of the universe, yet he soon recovered. Finding her eyes after a quick glance to the floor, he was doing a very bad job at containing his silly grin. "I liked it too…"

Gods, he's adorable! She sighed, she hoped that those tender looks from him would become a common thing, she would gladly learn to deal with how it made her knees weak.

"But hey…" She started, biting her lip to allow her words to come out despite her beaming smile. "Since it was a requirement…"

With a swift motion, she placed a hand on the back of his head and pressed his cute boyish grin against hers, just because she could. He let out a surprised noise, yet this time, was quick to reciprocate, hugging her again with a rushed, kinda clumsy move, angling his head so they could fit together once more.

She counted. When the five seconds were up, she managed to have the strength to pull away - his tight hug and still evident smile made that an incredibly arduous task. "Here's your five second one. Just to be safe."

She dared to punctuate the sentence with a wink. Totally worth it. He blinked, wide eyes darting everywhere around her face, struggling with his words for a moment, before letting out a flustered giggle.

"I, hm, t-thank you." He licked his lips, his giddy grin still wide. He smiled like that and she could only think about how she already wanted to kiss it all over again. The drumming of his fingers where he was holding her by the waist brought her focus back. "So… should I… go tell the guys I did the dare?"

"Oh! They… they are probably waiting for that, huh?" She had almost forgotten that he had, in fact, ditched his friends for this. She could probably make him stay… honestly though, a moment to recompose - and pinch herself just to be sure - didn't sound all that bad.

"Go." She pressed their foreheads together for a second, before removing her arms from his shoulders. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later. I, uh-" Jaune hesitated in removing his hands from her waist, and before that could happen, he placed a rushed peck on her cheek. "Night!"

"Goodnight, Jaune." Smiling from ear to ear, the spot on her cheek burned in the best way possible as she watched him leave, again stumbling into the same counter from before on his way out.

So… her tea was cold now…

During the trip back to her room, she felt as if her nerves had been replaced by tv static. Head buzzing, skin tingling, chest fuzzing. Opening the door with an automatic gesture, a voice finally snapped her out of her overwhelming numbness.

"Hey, did Jaune run into you? He was looking for you and acting super weird!" Nora squinted suspiciously. "Did you find out what that was about?"

Letting herself lean heavily against the shut door, eyes unfocused on the floor, she meant to reply something like a simple ' yes' yet no words came out. Heat crawled up to her face with such speed she instinctively covered it with both her hands. She wanted to scream - dust! - she really had just found out the person she liked reciprocated her feelings and they had just kissed how many times again?

"Okay, now you're the one acting weird!" Nora shouted. "What's going on?"

"Nora…" Pyrrha removed her hands from her face, her cheeks would start to hurt if she kept smiling like that. "You won't believe what just happened!"

"And then she goes… she says, here's your five seconds one ! After kissing me again!" Jaune threw his hands in the air, almost spilling some of his ice cream cup's content on the carpet - it was partially melted due to him being more focused on rambling than eating, or maybe the heat from his face was reaching it.

"No way man!" Sun's jaw dropped.

"That's the third, right? Three?! Three?!" Neptune counted, eyes wide in absolute bafflement.

"Yes?! I'm- I mean… How was that real?! And then she winked! She winked! At me! And I was- I'm just-" He gesticulated blindly, out of words, deciding to take a spoonful of the ice cream instead.

The guys listened attentively to his tale as if he was narrating an epic battle against an oversized creature of Grimm. Even Ren and Sage put aside their games to join them on the carpet. Curiously, their arrangement reminded Jaune of the sleepovers his sisters would have sometimes.

"And what happened next?" Scarlet instigated, loving some of the gossip.

"Next… I, hm… I left…?" He tinkered with his spoon.

"You just left ?!"

"No! I mean, yes but it wasn't out of nowhere! I just said something like should I tell the guys? and she just let me go!" He raised his palms in a placating gesture. "And I did kiss her again before I left…" His smile returned at the memory. "In the cheek. But still."

"Ah! Well, I'm still very surprised you didn't just stay there to make out." Neptune laughed, nudging him on the shoulder.

"Oh no should I have stayed? Did I mess up?!" His posture tensed. "Do you think she would have wanted that? It was all so sudden we didn't talk about it or anything maybe I should have stayed-"

A hand was placed on his shoulder, Ren was by his side, and he immediately felt himself calm down. "It does look like you needed a moment to breathe…"

"Yeah, man!" Sun cheered. "And it's not like she's going to run away or something. She likes you!"

"You think so?"

"Dude, that's a dumb question based on was what you just told us."

"Besides, you two literally live together." Scarlet pointed out. "You'll be able to talk it out soon."

"Yeah… I guess that's true…" He mindlessly scraped the bottom of his cup with the spoon.

There was a few seconds of silence which Sun broke with an amused laugh. "You… want to go after her again, don't you?"

He blinked. "I… Can I, though?"

"I don't know, is that something you want to do?"

He checked the kitchen first, just to not risk having to go up and downstairs again. It was empty, so he rounded back, eyes glued on the floor as his feet mindlessly dragged him forward, marching towards the stairs. Yet as he turned the corner, he bumped into someone before he could reach the first step.

"I'm sorry!" His own apology never came out as he recognized the very familiar tone.

He had to swallow dry as his heart skipped a beat.

"Jaune! Hello. Again!" His partner greeted as she halted, recovering her place in the step above, clearly taken aback by his second appearance that night.

"Hi, Pyr." He could feel his cheeks starting to prick with heat. For a split of a second, they just stood there, staring, expecting. He wanted to do something , he had been after her for that! But what you're supposed to do when you just stumble into the person you had just kissed after finding out she likes you back? This isn't exactly an everyday situation, he really should have thought of a better plan…

He was saved from an awkward moment of silence when she spoke first.

"You… you're back for another dare or…?" She climbed down a step so they were now standing on the same level.

"Hm? No, nothing like that." He let out a quiet laugh, pondering the best words while tapping on the stairs rails. "I… I actually… I came back to find you… again… and yeah, not for a dare this time."

"Oh?" Her lips tilted in a genuine smile, it made him realize how their simple exchange was making his heart race. "For what reason then?"

"I… just talk… I think."

She let out a chuckle. "Alright… do you want to…" She pointed back upstairs. "Since here is not the best place to talk."

"Ah. Yeah, sure!" He followed as she took the first step up. "Wait. Weren't you going to do something?" When her expression showed her confusion, he elaborated. "You were just coming down and now you're going up again?"

"Ah." Her cheeks actually flushed. "Yes… I… let's say, I was… also considering going out to find you… to talk." She admitted as they went up the stairs. He felt himself burn as she sent an almost shy glance back at him. "I'm glad you're here…"

He was only able to smile back. Full of anticipation, he managed to not skip up the stairs like a giddy kid who had just been told there was a surprise waiting for them in their room, quickly arriving at their floor after a silent, yet surprisingly not awkward, trip.

"Ah, one second." She made him a gesture to wait before opening the door. "I'm just going to let Nora know."

Jaune nodded, proceeding to restlessly shift his weight between his feet as he waited by his own room's door. It didn't take long for Pyrrha to open it again, and Nora rushed out with a pillow on hand and a blanket over her shoulders.

"I am so proud of you!" She grinned wildly, patting him in the arm as he entered. Before leaving, Nora stopped with her hand in the doorknob, sending Pyrrha and him a glance. "Ah… and I'm not coming back." She wiggled her eyebrows before shutting the door behind her.

He caught his partner shaking her head at their teammate's retreat. It was just the two of them now, he felt just as nervous as he had first approached her in the kitchen, yet now there was no fear involved.

"Wanna sit?" Pyrrha motioned to the beds.

Once again, he simply nodded, and made no questions when she patted the spot by her side on her own bed, promptly taking the offered space. The dip on the mattress made their shoulders touch after he sat. Neither of them moved away. It felt nice.

"So…" Pyrrha started, her head lowered as she stared at her own clasped hands over her lap, yet her tone hinted at a small smile. "How many of those first kiss scenes have you been imagining…?"

As soon as Jaune processed the question, he let out a groan, it ended in a chuckle as he raised a hand to rub his eyes, feeling his face heating up. "Oh man… I can't believe I just blurted those out to you!"

"It was nice to know though!" She let out a laugh, bright and lively as she bumped his shoulder. He felt like if there had been any possibility for awkwardness, it faded right there and then. "And, if it makes you feel better… I also have a few scenarios of my own…"

"Yeah?" He bit his lip to refrain a smile from splitting his face. He had always imagined his own scenarios with the certainty that she would never want the same, he wouldn't have believed those words if they hadn't just come out from her own mouth.

"Yeah…" She confirmed, her tone was almost dreamy. She raised her gaze to meet his, carrying hints of mischievousness he recognized from when she was about to knock him off his feet in a training session. "I know they won't be firsts anymore… but maybe… one day we could recreate some of them…"

"Oh." He felt as if she had actually made him lose his footing, yet now with words instead of a spear. He took a glance at the floor, gathering the courage to continue as his chest bubbled with excitement, tapping his foot to disperse some of that energy. "Could you… could you pretend to be surprised when I ask you to the dance then?"

A breathy chuckle made him look back to her, her cheeks were dusted with pink. "Alright, I can do that."

"Great…" One more time, they just stood there, staring, expecting. Though now not because he was too nervous to move, he felt a thrilling kind of calm that made him believe he could stay there forever, with their shoulders touching and blushing faces while immersed into gentle green, a stare that carried a sentiment that was so familiar yet so new. As if he had been under it on many past occasions, yet those were the first times he had really stopped to notice.

"So… since when?" She started, and he just wasn't startled by the sudden question because it was whispered in the quietest of voices. "You've been imagining that, I mean…"

"Oh, right… I… I don't even…" He scrunched his eyebrows. While scavenging his mind for an answer, a memory suddenly popped on his head. Lightening up with realization, he let out a quiet chuckle.

"What is it?" She asked with a tilt of head.

"Just something I remembered actually…" He winced slightly, skin flushing. "it's just- I don't know if you're going to want to hear that. It's… it's kinda lame…"

"I do want to hear it." She assured, lightly tapping his leg with her foot. "And you can't just make me curious like that and not tell me."

"I- okay, fine!" He messed with his hair, letting himself plop back on the mattress, staring at the ceiling, hiding a blush and a flustered smile under a hand. Pyrrha copied his position soon after, laying by his side.

He knew she wouldn't make fun of his story, yet he had never expected to be telling it aloud, much less with her by his side like that. He let out a long puff of air before finally starting. "Do you… do you remember that day when someone in our dorm bought Pumpkin Pete's with you in the box? I think… it was around the end of the second semester or something?"

"I… think so." She spoke after pondering for a second, curious to hear where he was going with the tale.

"Yeah, we were just at the kitchen joking around and Nora asked for you to do the thing from the commercial… and you did while copying the pose on the box and all."

"Don't tell me that was what did it!" She let out a flustered laugh, covering her face, the question was more of a joke than a serious doubt though.

"No, no!" He laughed along. "I mean you were great but that wasn't it, I swear!"

"Oh thank gods." She let her laughter settle. "I'm sorry, keep going."

"Hm, right. We were there, you did the thing all professional and all, and then we just started laughing… and… I don't know… okay-" He ran a hand over his face, it felt inhumanly warm. "It's kinda lame but… I-I guess it hit me there how the smile on the box was different from your real one. And I remember thinking that and just… Just being ' wow has it always been like that?' And then, suddenly started noticing more and imagining those things and-" His embarrassment got him to ramble, fortunately, he was able to stop himself this time. "And, yeah… y'know?"

It took her a moment to respond, he had to glance to her direction, finding her eyes focused on the ceiling. He caught her smile growing, it felt like seeing the sunrise.

"Ah, Jaune…" She let out a giggle. Her cheeks were adorably red - he wanted to kiss them again, one for each of her faint freckles, it would probably feel really warm…

She turned, catching him staring. "That's not lame! It's… it's sweet…"

"Yeah, yeah." He waved a hand in the air, having to lower his eyes away from her face - as nice as it was seeing her looking at him like that, it was still a bit overwhelming. "But anyway it's your turn now!"

She let out a laugh as he blurted his last sentence. "My turn? Alright…"

He saw her turn slightly to face the ceiling once again, humming quietly while organizing thoughts. "I can't tell for sure… it has been so long…"

"It has?" His shock was evident, yet she simply nodded.

"I think… I think the earliest I can remember is… Do you remember when we were taking a break from training, and I thought I had hit you somehow because there was a scar on your arm?"

"Ah!" He blinked, he wouldn't remember that himself if she hadn't just jogged his memory, that was more than one year ago for sure. It was the day he had accidentally put his arm protectors to wash together with his socks, so he hadn't been wearing them. "This one?" He raised his forearm, his pajama sleeve slipped down to show a thin, long scar that adamantly insisted on not fading.

"Yeah, that's it." To inspect it closer, she reached for it, pulling his wrist and running her thumb over the mark. It made his skin crawl, it didn't help that the pull on the arm that hadn't been touching hers made his body tilt slightly to her direction. "Didn't you get it while playing hide and seek with your sisters?"

"Yup." He chuckled, rolling his eyes at the memory. "I decided to hide in dad's storage and ended up cutting myself on splintered wood."

"I can't believe you stayed there even if you were bleeding!"

"Hey! I did win though!" He proudly pointed out. "Just so you know, I was pretty tough even back then!"

"Of course. I believe you." Her words came out between giggles.

"What… what about it though…?" He almost forgot she had been in the middle of telling her side of her story. He had been distracted, they were now laying down face to face, one of her hands close to her chest and the other still over his wrist, when had that happened?

"Ah, well…" She glanced down, her hand trembled yet stayed in the same place, he had a hunch she just had the same realization as him in regards to their proximity. "We… we were just there, relaxing and telling stories, and I guess I never had someone to do that with, and it felt… different… from when I talked to any other of our friends."

"Different…?"

"Yes…" She let out a quiet chuckle. "I mean… it isn't every day I sit down with a close friend, I look at them and can't help but think that… that I didn't want that simple moment to end, and that they look kinda cute when they blush as they talk about an embarrassing story, and that I suddenly have an urge to just-"

"Shut them up because they were rambling a bit too much?" He completed, surprising even himself that he was able to speak after hearing her call him cute.

"No! I mean, not exactly that!" She laughed as she explained herself. "I do enjoy listening to you talk, I really do. Yet… sometimes the thought does cross my head… not exactly to make you stop talking, just…" She took in a breath with her eyes closed, opening them to meet his own as she continued, gaze just as soft as her words. "Just because…"

"Oh…" The word was almost soundless. He felt himself flush yet wasn't able to look away. He ran his tongue over suddenly dry lips before managing to speak. "That doesn't sound all that bad…"

"It doesn't?" Her lips curled up in a playful smile.

"Y-yeah. I mean… if you ever feel like it… and you want to do it… I… I wouldn't mind…" He stumbled over his words, barely hearing what was coming from his own mouth over the sound of his heart pounding on his ears.

Because she was so close and her stare had lowered to his mouth. It was warm, her look, her proximity, her flushed skin, her touch over his hand. And he was warm all over, yet not warm enough, with his breathing uneven and his arm doing those involuntary shakes as his body processed the situation faster than his mind, having that urge to just-

"...What if I want to do it now?" She breathed and he could only sigh, a sigh of relief, of permission and affirmation and affection. And that was all Pyrrha needed to hear.

Maybe he nodded as well, though it was hard to remember details as the hand she had been holding close to her chest reached forward. How could such a feather-like touch bring to his entire body the same quantity of energy as being struck by a hammer overcharged with lightning dust?

There was no pain though, no ache, those sensations replaced by only warmth and comfort as she traced the side of his face. His eyelids relaxed and he leaned forward as the touch slipped in the space between his neck and the mattress, to reach the back of his head, to burrow into his hair, and then he truly felt as if every nerve of his was in fact was struck with the energy of every type of dust.

It felt much more tender than her previous pulls at the kitchen, yet it carried the same intensity. Pyrrha kissed him while playing with the strands of the back of his head. He kissed her while actually going for it and properly holding the hand that had been resting over his. He felt her smile and sigh and pull him closer. He didn't know how long it lasted, he wasn't counting and he didn't need to.

He only knew that at some point they parted, he opened his eyes to find her face without any signs of disapproval or disappointment, just bright eyes locked on his, and a cute blush together one of those smiles that would take his breath away. He knew she liked it because she kissed him again, and then again and again. He tried to count those, yet soon lost track, just focusing on telling how much he liked, wanted, needed, loved , her as well by kissing her back, while they were both smiling, her hand on his hair and the other with fingers intertwined with his, just being held as he pulled her closer.

It was exactly like and at the same time not at all how he had imagined their kisses happening. It didn't happen after going through the adrenaline of battle, it didn't happen after a thought-out confession under the stars, it didn't happen after a night of dancing in each other's arms.

Yet it happened with her, with her smiling and reciprocating and wanting this as much as him, and that was all he could have wished for.

"How?! I've been trying to get those two to act since forever! And then you just dare Jaune to do it and that's what does it?!"

"Pretty much!" Neptune shrugged, smile smug.

"Guess what he needed was just some good old direct confrontation." Sun added proudly, hands on hips.

"I… just need a moment to process this." Nora blindly reached for the nearest snack, eyes unfocused on team SSSN's sprinkled with crumbs carpet as she shoved a handful in her mouth. "Hm! These are great by the way! Mind if I get the rest?"

"Knock yourself out." Sun laughed, pushing the bowl in her direction. "Try dipping it into the grape soda!"

"Oh! Don't mind if I do!"

"Nora… maybe you shouldn't do that…" Ren's words were cut by a yawn, getting her attention with a light tap on her arm. "Too late for that much sugar…"

Nora pouted, shifting glances between the bowl filled with chips and gummy worms and her partner that was about to fall asleep right there on the floor. "Just a couple more?"

Ren just made a noise, blinking slowly, too tired to try to convince her otherwise.

"Okay, one more, and then just a few plain chips?" Nora suggested. Ren seemed satisfied with that, nodding almost imperceptibly before his eyes closed, unbothered by the lack of bed or by any noise coming from the game between Scarlet and Sage happening behind them.

"Man, I wish I could fall asleep as easily as that!" Sun fished a single gummy worm from the bowl, letting out a quiet chuckle at their guest who was apparently already out cold. "But anyway, those two are alone in your guys' room right now?"

"Yup!" Nora affirmed with a pop on the word. Scooting closer to her partner, she effortlessly tugged him upwards so his head was resting on her lap instead of the hard floor. "And I swear, they better be smooching!"

"Ha! Considering all the times they kissed just during the first time Jaune went after Pyrrha, I don't doubt it." Neptune laughed. "And you know, I think we can totally add match-making to our curriculum!"

"Yeah..." Sun dragged the word, his grin growing as his tail twitched behind him. "And I think I already have an idea about what could be our next case..."

"Hm, wh- oh, I see!" Neptune was quick to catch up, following his partner's plotting gaze.

"Really? Who?" Nora perked up, yet clearly making the effort to contain her movement and tone of voice to not startle Ren; the boy had curled up next to her without a second thought, sound asleep as if his partner's lap was the most comfortable of pillows.

"Nah, it's just a thought for now, and, hey, you want more chips?" Sun gave Nora friendly pats on the shoulder, an unopened bag of chips already in his other hand. "Just make yourself at home! Y'know, the night is still young, so we can just sit here, between pals... and have a nice, long talk…"