"Oomph!"

Jaune rubbed his back side as he struggled to his feet. The rooftop flooring was not very kind to him and Pyrrha wasn't letting up much either, though she did apologize every time.

"Sorry," Pyrrha apologized, handing him a bottle of water.

"Pyrrha, you don't have to say every time you knock me down," Jaune reminded her. "I'll take the hits if it means I can't get a bit stronger."

She smiled at him, brushing her long red hair back against the night wind. It had already been several days of training before Jaune could withstand the first few tactical blows Pyrrha delivered. He wasn't a fast learner, but he was progressing.

"Thanks," he said before taking a gulp of water. He stopped when he realized he was using Pyrrha's bottle. He handed it back, his face a bit red.

"So how am I doing," he asked Pyrrha who had set next to him. "Think I'm leader material yet?"

"Jaune, you're already leader material." She smiled at him and placed a sweat cloth over his head. "You just need to improve some basic combat techniques."

"Yeah, I guess."

They sat quietly, Jaune resting and Pyrrha contemplating her next move.

"Jaune…?"

"Hmm?"

"You know, we really never discussed payment for these lessons I'm giving you."

Jaune gasped in realization; he had never considered Pyrrha would have wanted compensation for all the help she was giving him.

"You're right," he agreed quickly. "I can't believe I didn't think about it sooner. Um, my mom doesn't send me much lien but maybe I can shine your javelin or-"

"Jaune," Pyrrha interrupted him as she placed one hand over his mouth. His cheeks reddened, and he turned his face away.

"How about you come with me to do some shopping?" she suggested. "It'd be nice to have some company and have help with the bags."

"Yeah," he replied, meeting her eyes. His cheeks were still a bit pink. "I can do that."

"Great!" Pyrrha grinned widely, and stood up. There was a bounce to her step as she pulled Jaune to his feet. He could feel his wrist almost come out of its socket from her strength.

"All right, now let' see if you can deflect this with your aura," Pyrrha told him as she readied her gun. Jaune gulped as he looked down the barrel of the Milo.

"Uh P-Pyrrha, I think we skipped a few steps here," he stammered.

Jaune was nervous as he waited in town. He was sitting on a bench near the Transmit Tower, fidgeting nervously. He had foregone his usual school uniform and combat gear for a nicer outfit. The sky blue button-up Ren had picked for him had gone untucked and he had picked out his nicest pair of jeans. Still, the change in outfit made him wonder if he was thinking about the invitation to deeply.

"Sorry I'm late!"

Jaune had to clench his mouth shut to keep his jaw from dropping. Pyrrha hurried to him, her satchel bouncing at her side. He had never seen her in casual clothing, and he couldn't help staring. Her usual armor had been replaced with a yellow boat neck top and casual pants that ran mid-calf. He couldn't see a single piece of metal on her, and even the bronze circlet she wore had been removed. Instead, her hair hung freely and swayed in the wind.

"Um, Jaune. It's kind of embarrassing if you stare."

"Wha- oh, sorry."

"It's fine. Shall we go?"

Pyrrha's heart was racing. She had faced countless combatants in the arena, Grimm of several species, and life threatening scenarios, but hadn't felt this tense in a long time. She missed the safety of her armor, but Ren had insisted it. She was unsure how to feel about the clothing he had picked for her, but it certainly caught Jaune's attention. She noticed that Jaune was sneaking looks at her when he thought she wouldn't notice.

The shopkeeper welcomed them as they stepped inside. Keen Edge was a weapon's maintenance store that made a good living working with Beacon Academy. The walls were lines with all sorts of weapons from war hammers, swords, guns, and things Jaune couldn't recognize. The shelves held every piece of maintenance equipment you could think of, and several brands of polish and maintainer.

"Pyrrha! Good to see you again!"

The shopkeeper grinned as the two students approached his counter. He eyed Jaune curiously, but made no comment.

"Hello Mr. Heptus. "Doing well these days?"

"As always Pyrrha, until the day Beacon no longer needs repairs that is. I assume you're here for your order?"

"Yes please."

Mr. Heptus ducked under the counter and pulled out a wooden box. He slid the box lid open and revealed several cartridges and bottles of liquid.

"Ammunition and weapon oil," he informed a puzzled Jaune. "Got to keep your stock up just in case, right m'boy?"

"R-Right."

Jaune looked around awkwardly as he waited for Pyrrha to finish her business.

"Hmm," the old man hummed loudly. "I don't know Pyrrha."

"Know what?"

"I don't think this one's a good match for you."

At this Jaune's face rivaled that color of Pyrrhas's hair, and even Pyrrha was getting a bit crimson.

"N-no, it's not like that," Pyrrha explained quickly. "This is Jaune, my team leader who is helping me with some errands."

"Yeah!" Jaune agreed, a bit too loudly. The shopkeeper laughed loudly, and pushed the box towards them.

"I'm only teasing," he chuckled. "You two have a nice day alright? Pyrrha, I'll charge this to your Beacon account."

Jaune and Pyrrha left, feeling considerably more awkward than when they went in. They walked down the sidewalk in silence, Jaune following behind Pyrrha. Jaune's shoulders were slumped and Pyrrha's walking had returned to a more rigid gait. He almost walked into her when she stopped in front of another store.

"Sorry," he said stumbling back.

"Oh no, it was my fault. I should have told you where we were going."

They looked at each other, and began to laugh.

"So what do you need from here?" Jaune asked as they entered the store. It was some kind of metal craft shop. The smell of polish and heated metal was prevalent, and Jaune coughed as he took his first breath inside.

"Actually, I was going to buy you something."

Pyrrha smiled at Jaune's surprised look.

"You've really been improving since we started training, so I thought a bit of a reward was in order."

"You don't have to do that," Jaune said, feeling bashful.

"Just pick out something small, alright?"

Jaune eventually conceded and began to look through the shops trinkets. There were collapsible daggers, multi-chamber attachments, and all sorts of impressive creations. However, most of them were pretty expensive as well. After a few minutes, Jaune approached Pyrrha with a small box.

"I'll pick this then," Jaune told her as he handed over the box.

Pyrrha opened the box, and pulled out a small medallion. Her eyes sparkled as she examined the small circle with a spear running through it.

"I thought it'd be a good way to remind myself to train harder," Jaune said, embarrassed. "If you don't want me wearing your symbol though, I understand."

Pyrrha paused, and dropped the box. She draped the medallion over his neck and placed it lightly on his chest.

"I think it's a wonderful choice," she spoke softly. She paid for it quickly, and took Jaune's hand.

They spent the rest of the day together, going from shop to shop, enjoying each other's company. It was already late into the afternoon when they stopped at a local café to rest.

"Thanks for today," Pyrrha said as they sipped their drinks. "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too."

Jaune smiled. On the battlefield he was sub-par, in class he was at the bottom, but he was glad he could support his teammate. He watched Pyrrha look at him, blush, and look away. She took a few breaths before turning back to him.

"Jaune," she said softly, "I care for you."

"Oh," Jaune said. "Yeah, I care for you too."

"No," Pyrrha grabbed his hand in hers. "I really care for you."

His heart racing, and he wanted more than anything to hold her hand tightly.

"Pyrrha….we can't."

"Why not?"

Jaune sighed.

"You're the best student in our year. You're famous, talented, smart, and beautiful. I'm…I'm just some guy who snuck his way into Beacon."

"Jaune…"

Pyrrha got up from her seat and moved to Jaune's side. As she embraced him, his face grew red . He was glad there wasn't many people in the area they were sitting.

"You aren't' the best fighter," she began. "You aren't the smartest and you did get to Beacon through illegitimate means."

"But," she continued, "I have never met someone more dedicated to doing the right thing, and so determined that he would train night and day so he could protect the people he cares for."

Jaune shifted so he could wrap his arms around Pyrrha's slender body. They stayed like that, enjoying each other's warmth.

"S-sorry," Jaune stammered, "I'm not really sure what comes next."

"I do."

Pyrrha moved away slightly, allowing Jaune to see her face. Jaune felt a small push from the back of his neck, he glanced down to see his new pendant glowing, and being pulled forward.

He wasn't sure what he felt when their lips met. At first he thought it was a pleasant warmness, then it evolved into a deep buzz of pleasure that traveled down his throat. From there, small sparks of ecstasy popped in his head, which fell into a nice numbness in his chest.

Jaune pulled back and fell against the wall, for fear he might pass out from forgetting to breathe. Pyrrha herself seemed at a loss for words and merely panted as she clutched her chest.

"Wow," Jaune remarked, his chest beating rapidly.

"Yeah," Pyrrha agreed as she felt the pleasant tingle leave her body.

"So, what now?" Jaune asked.

They were walking back to the air terminal, both feeling a bit light on their feet. Jaune worried that his hand was sweating too much, but Pyrrha didn't seem to mind.

"We should probably head back," Pyrrha replied. "I mean, Nora and Ren might get worried if we didn't come back on time."

"Right," Jaune agreed. "Um…what should we tell them?"

"The truth," Pyrrha suggested. "That we'll be having our private training sessions a bit more frequently."

"Oh, um, does that mean we're actually telling them?"

Pyrrha smirked.

"Yes, we'll actually tell them."

There was a pause.

"Hey Pyrrha?"

"Yes Jaune?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Author's Note:

So writing this made me realize I need some work on my romance stuff. Hope you enjoyed regardless.