บท 1862: 93
Black Rose Blooms SilverCyberQueen_Jolyne
Chapter 93
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"So… I know that we've been… dating a couple months now. And that I've met your parents… and you've met my sister and her wife… but… I just realized I don't know you that well," Jaune started rather awkwardly as he and Pyrrha sat together on a bench out by one of Beacon's many fountains, enjoying the summer weather and holding hands gently. "I mean- not that you need to tell me stuff you're not comfortable with, or that I'm not paying attention, but like… I mean… I don't think you really talked about your past much? Or like… I mean, I know your favorite color isn't actually red despite how much of it you wear, but… y'know?"
"To be fair, I think we know each other a lot better than you think we do," Pyrrha pointed out idly, shrugging her shoulders and giving Jaune a patient smile. "We sleep in the same room, after all. You're one of the only people who knows what my casual wardrobe looks like, you know what toothpaste I prefer, you've seen me pigging out on the spanakotiropita whenever it's available in the cafeteria, and… well. You've seen a lot more of me than any of my prior… I suppose we can call them suitors… have ever seen before, because they saw me as the Invincible Girl more than they saw Pyrrha Nikos. You… You're a good boyfriend, Jaune. It doesn't really matter if you didn't actually know that my favorite color is cornflower blue. Or what my favorite novel series is. I'm…"
She paused, then shrugged again. "I suppose I've gotten into a habit of not talking about my favorite things because I'm too used to holding interviews. Too… aware of how many people would try to imitate me because of the things I like. I'm sorry about that."
"Hey hey- nothing to apologize about! I mean, I know you really like Xray and Vav and always laugh at Spruce Willis movies cuz they're all really badly choreographed and- wait what's spanakotiropita? The ones in the cafeteria are just labeled spanakopita…"
"Spanakotiropita is just what it's called in parts of Argoz. It's just another word for spanakopita with cheese. Anyway- as you were saying?"
"Oh uh, right. Well it's just… I wanna really get to know you, y'know? Like, It's… I know you pretty alright, but I'd like to know you even more? I mean, you've seen my baby pictures… not for lack of me trying to keep my demon sister from showing them to you," Jaune trailed off, muttering somewhat bitterly at the memory of their month in Argus (or, as Pyrrha kept reminding him, Argoz), where his demon of a sister Saffron had whipped out an entire album of Jaune's baby pictures that she'd literally had shipped over from their family home in Umibe.
The price of having protective parents, seven sisters, and no loyalty to the idea that he didn't want his girlfriend to not see the photos where he was dressed as a girl because his parents didn't actually have boy clothes for a few years because of all of the hand-me-downs his sisters left behind over the years.
"You were very cute as a kid, though! You pulled off that dress quite well," Pyrrha chuckled, reaching up and ruffling Jaune's hair with a cutesy grin, bumping up against her boyfriend and pressing against him gently. "And… we'll get to know each other in time, Jaune. Don't worry about it. Though, I guess I should tell you what my favorite novel series is, if only because you asked."
Jaune blinked. "Oh- really? What is it?"
"I'm actually quite fond of The Girl Who Fell Through the World- it's not a series, but… I did like the pair of the Rusted Knight and the Tarnished Lady," Pyrrha answered, smiling softly as she reminisced about the old story. "I never did like the character of the Curious Cat, though. I'm… growing up as I did, and with the reputation I had, there were a lot of people that spoke in lies and half truths because they wanted something out of me, and the way that the Cat spoke in the book… it never sat well. Plus, the illustrations of the Rusted Knight were… well. It's a popular book for a reason, I'd assume."
"I… yeah, honestly. I liked it too! It wasn't my favorite growing up, but I always wanted to be a hero like the Knight, and I thought the Tarnished Lady was really pretty… even if you couldn't really see her face behind that helmet," Jaune paused, then rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled to himself. "Well, I first wanted to be like the Rusted Knight, then I wanted to be like my grandfather. He fought in the Great War… on Mistral's side, at first, then for Vale later on, and… well. I wanted to be like him for a while, but… now I kinda have… something new to fight for."
"Oh? And what's that?" Pyrrha asked, nudging Jaune's shoulder with her own.
"I… want to be someone who can stand with you, instead of just being the weak one on the team. To be an actual, real hero- not just a fairytale story or a war hero, but like… y'know. Someone who can genuinely… do good. I know I… kinda… had weird expectations of what being a Huntsman would be like when the year started, but I've-" Jaune cleared his throat, looking away slightly. "I've been trying my best to be better about it. Well… You were there , but… I don't think I ever said why I started pushing myself so hard… or why I let Nora do… all of that to me."
Pyrrha hummed, wincing a little at the memory of just what Nora and Yang's combined efforts had resulted in- that workout plan was not meant for an untrained body like Jaune's, but with copious amounts of his own Aura and willpower he somehow managed it without dying, burning out, or just straight up crippling himself. "I… wish you hadn't, but I can't say it didn't pay off."
"Pyrrha, not a day goes by that I don't regret doing that to myself, but I'm at least glad I can fight at a level above most of the other guys in our year… maybe not in skill but at least I can pull out consistent wins without just resorting to trick tactics," Jaune sighed, shuddering quietly and rubbing his bicep because it had been nearly two months since the workout plan had ended and he still felt weird aches sometimes. Ugh. "I'm glad I have you guys, honestly. It's… it's been nice. More than I ever felt like I deserved for… y'know."
"And I'm glad we have you, Jaune. Even if you're not the perfect image of a Huntsman or a hero, you're still a good friend and about the best boyfriend I could have asked for," Pyrrha shook her head gently and patted Jaune on the shoulder as she gave him a kiss on the cheek- a chaste little peck that still made him blush bright red and giggle almost deliriously. "And I can't fault you for all the effort you've put in- you've been catching up remarkably well. I can't wait to see how you'll progress and- I think you'll stand by me sooner than you think. Even if you're still working on it now."
"Heh. Yeah. Thanks, Pyr'. By the way- speaking of The Girl Who Fell Through the World… did you ever have to do like… analysis lessons on the moral of the story? I swear, everyone always has a different opinion on Alyx as a person by the end. I always stuck with it being that she was a person who tried her best and maybe didn't succeed, but she still wanted to be a good person anyway," Jaune asked, tilting his head to the side as the thought flashed through his brain.
"I just thought that Alyx was perhaps not trying hard enough to make sure she didn't cause any problems, and that she could have gone through the entire story with fewer problems if she'd been less headstrong and thought more tactically about her situation," Pyrrha shrugged, then looked over at Jaune questioningly. "Why do you ask?"
"... I dunno. I just remembered back when I was in school- normal school, for civilian kids… cuz I didn't… really go to combat school… that I had to read it for a unit once and it really bugged me because the amount of work we did kinda made me hate it for a while," Jaune shuddered, sticking out his tongue. "And I barely passed that unit anyway. Bleh."
"School is school, I suppose. I can only hope you're having a better experience now than you were back then."
"Definitely- I've got you, after all! You're… you help me focus. And also aren't afraid to kick me in the butt when I start slacking," Jaune answered casually, running his hand through his hair and trying to give Pyrrha a roguish grin, which mostly just made him look goofy and a little awkward in a cute way- which, honestly, was better to Pyrrha than him being roguishly handsome. "Also, Ren and Nora. They help too. And Team RWBYP I guess?"
He paused again, tilting his head in confusion. "How… do you pronounce that?"
"... I think the P is silent," Pyrrha muttered, holding her chin in confusion as well as they both went silent for a long while as they both tried to figure out how they were supposed to pronounce "RWBYP" as a color name without completely mangling the intended pronunciation of "Ruby". ".... What were you saying about Nora and Ren?"
"Well, honestly I kinda wish we didn't split up into couples," Jaune admitted, shrugging lightly as he picked at a loose stitch on his uniform jacket. "We should hang out with them more, mix and match more often, don't you think?"
"It is nice when Ren helps me clean up my manicure," Pyrrha nodded slowly, then pursed her lips as a crazy thought entered her mind. "Jaune? Can I… ask you something? About… um. Sexual orientation."
"Sure? I'm bi, if that's what you're asking."
"... Well that answers a few questions- so am I. As it were… um. How…"
Pyrrha took a deep breath, centering herself as she took hold of Jaune's hands and cleared her throat a bit awkwardly. ".... How would you feel about polyamory?"
"... Well…"
Notes:
Oh hey, it's some foreshadowing... also the starting conversation of a JNPR poly!
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