It wasn't easy to bother Pyrrah Nikos.
Despite her strength and merits she was a very open-minded and friendly person, sometimes to her own detriment. To actually have to bother her as a person you'd need to be really peculiar or kind of evil.
To bother her as an object or a situation there should be something about it that she can't get no matter how much she puts her mind to it.
The latter had recently happened. Which is why, for three days in a row, Pyrrah Nikos had been spending at least a few minutes in the morning and a few minutes after classes staring at a wall in the dormitory hallway.
"Pyrrah?" She startled, her focus broken as a familiar voice echoed through the corridor. She flushed at being caught in that situation and by Jaune of all people. The blonde student, still wearing his uniform like her, approached her with a look of curiosity mixed with confusion. "You were staring at a wall?"
"... I was staring at a wall." She sighed and nodded, dropping her head forward. "There's something weird about it."
"I don't see anything weird about it."
"It's not about seeing, it's about..." She shook her head, adjusting a stray lock of red hair behind her right ear. "My semblance works with magnetism. Remember?"
"Yes. So?" The blonde student scratched the back of his head.
"So, I have a particular kind of reaction when I pass by particularly magneto-reactive materials. Like metal." Pyrrah narrowed her eyes and put a hand on the wall, brushing it with her fingers. "And I feel a strong reaction coming from this wall."
"So there's metal in the wall? It could be pipes."
"That's what I thought as well but it feels... Concentrated. It's something bigger, and it's not spread out like pipes would be." Pyrrha explained, bringing the brushing hand to her right cheek, tapping her cheekbone in thought. "I know it's a silly thing but it bothers me."
"Sounds more like curiosity to me." Jaune grinned and put a hand on Pyrrah's right shoulder, who smiled. "Come on, just admit: I, Pyrrah Nikos, want to know what's behind the wall."
"Jaune...! Wait." Her eyes widened and she turned to him. "What did you just say?"
"Huu... I, Pyrrah Nikos, want to know what's behind the-"
"Jaune, you're a genius!" Pyrrah laughed and hugged the blonde tight before letting him go, an action she would have never been able to do if it had been in another situation, which left the J in team JNPR surprised and embarrassed since the tightness of the hug had pressed Pyrrah's rotundities in his chest. "Of course! There's... A hidden room or something similar!"
"It was just a random sentence. I mean, I don't see any entrance or a place to hide a secret switch. Do you?" Pyrrah let go as she realized that indeed, he was right. Nothing like that in a hallway and if there was something like a hidden switch her semblance would have reacted to it.
Which meant the entrance would have to be in a neighboring room. And the room neighboring this seemingly empty space was...
-LR-
"Uhm, Pyrrah, I must say..." Jaune voiced out but not too loudly since they were sneaking around the thankfully empty shared apartment of team RWBY. Pyrrah's semblance had brought the snooping duo to the kitchen, which was the room closest to the secret space they were trying to access. "This is really not like you."
"I know, I know... But aren't you curious? A secret room." Pyrrah commented as she ran her hand on the kitchen wall, on the empty space beside the fridge. "It's right behind this wall. I can feel it. But I can't find anything!" Jaune sighed, grabbing his chin as he observed the wall from a wider POV. "There should be like, an empty space, a moving panel..."
His eyes fell to the ground, more specifically the skirting board between the fridge and the wall. There were signs of dragging. "Pyrrah, help me out here."
"Huh?" Jaune walked to the fridge's left side and leaned his right shoulder against it. The redhead understood and placed her hands on the right side, steadying the appliance while her team-mate started pushing against it.
A few seconds later... "That's less high-tech than you were expecting, huh?" The fridge had been moved to reveal a human sized hole in the wall.
"Kind of." Pyrrah laughed but immediately after stuck her head inside the hole finding a small room furnished with a metallic cabinet, which she guessed was what had made her magnetic sense tingle. "What is this place?"
"Uhm..." Jaune followed her inside the room, large enough to contain two people moving around comfortably. On the opposite side compared to the cabinet was a washing basin with a faucet connected to a counter. Above it hung a small rope, like the one you'd use to hang clothes...
Or photographs. "This is a darkroom." Jaune declared, putting his hands on his hips as he observed the familiar set up. "But why would there be a darkroom-"
"WHAT?!" He almost jumped out of his skin as Pyrrah shouted out from behind. As he turned he saw the redhead with her back to him, holding up a folder collected from the now open cabinet. "W-W-W-WHAT IS THIS?!"
"Pyrrah, what..." Jaune heard the flapping of cloth before Pyrrah since he was closer to the entrance. He turned in the direction of the noise only for something to hit him hard in the side of the head, sending him sprawling to the ground.
"Jaune?! Wh-AH!" The last thing he heard before passing out was the sound of Pyrrah's voice struggling against a gag.
-LR-
"...llo? He~llo!"
"Hmm..." Wakefulness came again in the form of petite hands slapping his cheeks lightly and them smushing his face, pursing his lips forward. The ringing in his head slowly dissipated as artificial light filled his vision alongside shades of white, black, silver and a few highlight of red... "Ruby?"
"Welcome back, sleepyhead. Thank god I didn't hit you too hard!"
"Yeah, thank..." Wait, what? Sleep and confusion escaped Jaune almost immediately as those words reached the language parts of his brain. His eyes widened as Ruby let go of his face and sat back in the chair she was occupying, tilting back. "Ruby, you hit me?!"
"And subdued Pyrrah! Thank god she was -ahem- distracted." Ruby giggled as she pointed to Jaune's left. The blonde followed her finger...
And found himself blushing up to his ears, spluttering and trying desperately to avoid his eyes but he didn't know where to look because even as he tried to not look at Pyrrah's naked body she was desperately trying to find his eyes with hers.
Wait, no. She wasn't completely naked. She still had her tiara and her underwear on. Also, she was gagged and tied to the chair she was sitting on...
And so was he. Tied, not gagged. Also in just his sunflower boxers. He gaped and returned his gaze to Ruby who laughed at his reaction. "Ruby, could you pretty please with cherry on top tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"
"I restrained two trespassers out cold." Ruby chirped and Jaune's eyes widened.
"You mean that darkroom's yours?"
"Wasn't a darkroom before but I repurposed it for glorious purpose."
"But why knock us out cold?!"
"GnshfiLTH!" Jaune and Ruby turned in Pyrrha's direction as she finished biting through her gag, spitting out the bits of cloth with a loud 'ptoui'. "Don't listen to her, Jaune! Don't let her guilt-trip you! T-That folder..."
"What, Pyrrha?! What was in that folder?!" Jaune asked and Pyrrha opened her mouth to say something but froze.
Then she flushed.
Then she lowered her head and whimpered. "P-Pyrrha? What's wrong?"
"Yea~ah, Pyrrha, what's wro~ong?" The redhaired warrior gulped at Ruby and slowly raised her head, Jaune following her gaze to the manila envelope in Ruby's hands. "It's just a folder with some pictu~ures..."
"... What kind of pictures?" Jaune asked.
"Oh, wanna see?" Ruby offered.
"NO!" Pyrrha shouted, and Jaune's eyes bulged at the sudden vehemence with which his team-mate was struggling against her restraints. "DON'T SHOW HIM!"
"But why, Pyrrha? They're great shots. Some of my best work, if I do say so myself!"
"Wait, that cabinet is full of pictures?" The hood wearing student pouted.
"Not as full as I'd like." But she brigthened right after. "So, wanna see?"
"I SAID NO!" Jaune was so confused. What could make Pyrrha react like that?! What kind of pictures could they be?
"But Jaune is so curious..."
"NO HE'S NOT!"
"Uhm, I kinda am-"
"NO YOU'RE NOT-GAH!" Ruby and Jaune winced as all the struggling and rocking toppled the chair's balance and sent Pyrrha falling to the ground.
"Damn, Pyrrha. Calm down. It's not that bad." Ruby said and then turned to Jaune again, slowly opening the folder in front of his face.
"Sssstoooop..." Pyrrha moaned out, still stunned from the fall.
Jaune swallowed, sweating in anticipation, wondering what could have made the strong, proud Pyrrha so panicked and desperate...
Turns out, it was herself.
"Oh. My. God." Jaune breathed out as the manila folder opened to a giant A4 format photograph of Pyrrha. She was in the girls changing room of the academy, in the process of taking off her shirt, leaving her in a burgundy bra and panties combo with just a hint of lace, and the uniform's socks. The shot was taken from behind and slightly to the left, highlighting the curve of Pyrrha's back and rump. The light coming in from the window gave the warrior's silhouette a warm glow without though ruining the exposition, thanks to the strategic placement of the camera.
The picture captured a side of Pyrrha that she seldom showed to the world, feminine and soft and encompassing all of her beauty without forfeiting the tone and athleticism she had spent years developing. In the face of such a vision captured on film, Jaune said... "Oh, wow! The lighting is incredible!" Which prompted both girls in the room to look at him like he had spontaneously burst into flames. The first to recover was Ruby, with stars in her eyes.
"Y-Y-You understand my art?!"
"Well, partly. One of my sisters likes photography and she helped me set up her own darkroom." Jaune shrugged with a small smile. "She also showed me how to use her camera... And this is really good! How did you take it? Without Pyrrha noticing, too!"
"Hehehe..." Ruby flushed at the praise and grinned. "Well, you know how my-"
"The lighting?!" Only to be brusquely cut off by Pyrrha who had gotten back on her feet, bent forward so that the chair didn't impede her movements. It also subjected her cleavage to gravity but she seemed more shocked and a bit irritated than embarrassed, if the little twitch at the angle of her mouth was any indication. "Jaune... That's a pic of me changing... Of me in my underwear... AND THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE IS THE LIGHTING?!"
"... Crapbaskets." Jaune cursed under his breath as he recognized the mood Pyrrha was in right now from past experiences with his sisters. She may have been embarrassed almost to the point of dying before but he guessed it was a blow to her ego nonetheless.
Which, he must say, surprised him. It was so... Normal. "Ehm, Pyrrha... I can assure you that in a normal situation I would have reacted much differently."
"A normal-What's THAT abnormal about this situation?!" As an answer Ruby and Jaune just stared at her, the latter with a small flush. Pyrrha bristled for a few seconds before freezing and looking down at herself. She started shaking and when she raised her head again she was on the verge of tears. "I WANT TO DIE~E!" Then she actually started crying like a toddler who dropped her ice-cream on the sidewalk and fell to her knees, the restraints snapping with the strength of desperation.
"Maybe it's her time of the month?"
"Not helping, Ruby." Jaune groaned.
-LR-
"So, now that we've sufficiently calmed ourselves down..."
"Says the provocateur." Jaune spat out with a small glare, still holding a sniffling Pyrrha, the redhead warrior leaning with her head on Jaune's chest, both of them still in their unmentionables.
Now, the more series savvy of you may say that this is completely out of character for the normal Pyrrha.
This Pyrrha though decided that she had humiliated herself enough for one day and if Jaune didn't mind she was going to use him for all the snuggle she could get in that situation. She deserved it.
"Aw, come on, it was just a joke... Also, it kind of made it easier for me to drag you to my room." Thank god her team-mates had yet to come back. Weiss had to pick up something in town and Yang had asked Blake to spar. Explaining two restrained students snuggling half naked on Weiss' bed -one of which in tears- plus her secret room would have been reaaaaaaal difficult. "Anyway, as I was saying, my compact form for Crescent Rose is actually a high definition camera!"
"Which explains how you could take pictures without anyone noticing..." Jaune commented. "By the way, are all the pictures you take... Uhm..."
"Not all of them. Don't make me sound like a perv..." Ruby pouted as she crossed her arms on the back of the chair she was using in reverse. "It's just that I like to take pictures of people in situations when they least expect it. When they show secret sides of themselves that they usually wouldn't knowingly show..."
"... You're right, that's not a pervert. That's a voyeur." Ruby puffed her cheeks and avoided her gaze. "Couldn't you have just taken pictures of kitties or something?"
"A kitten or Yang after a workout. Who would you rather photograph?" Jaune opened his mouth to speak... Then he closed it. Good point. "Right? And when I came to beacon, aaaah! So many subjects! But it's much, much more difficult to take good pictures here. Everyone's just so... Careful and guarded."
"Comes with the curriculum."
"Doing it alone is becoming way too hard. So!" Ruby suddenly tilted her chair backward, then forward and with a hop let herself slide to a stop in front of the bed, arms spread to the side. "Welcome on board!"
"No."
"Oh, yes."
"Not a chance in hell. Just be thankful we're keeping this a secret." At that Pyrrha recovered and pushed away from Jaune, an eyebrow raised.
"Who says that?"
"I do, since it would also mean to come out and admit that we've snuck into her room." Pyrrha tsk-ed and turned to the side. "Still, no way in hell we're going along with your voyeur crusade."
"Come oooon, pretty please!" Ruby joined her hands together in front of her face. "A couple and a boy can do things I could never do, create situations I never could for superduper shots!"
"... A couple?" Pyrrah suddenly asked, turning to Ruby as well.
"Yeah! People react to a girl in a way, to a man in another way and a man and a woman together in yet another way!" Ruby explained making her best imitation of the Zwei eyes. "I can't even be the girl if I have to take the pictures! I need you two to help me, act parts, create distractions... Pleaaaaaase?! You're the only ones I can ask!"
"Because we're the only ones who know your secret! Sorry, Ruby, but the answer is-"
"We'll do it."
"Yeah! We'll-Wait, what?" Jaune's eyes widened and he turned to Pyrrha. Ruby gasped, visibly excited. "Pyrrha?"
"Jaune..." The redhead leaned in to whisper in the blonde's ear. "Think about it. If we managed to find her darkroom by chance, how long until she's discovered taking pictures? I don't know how she managed to keep this a secret for six months."
"Yeah, and?"
"Well... Hobby to the side, Ruby is a good friend and-"
"She knocked the both of us out!" Jaune harsh whispered while Ruby looked on in trepidation.
"Because she thought we were intruders-Look, do you really want her to get expelled for a few pictures?" Jaune wanted to comment on the use of the word 'few' and wanted to object that maybe she should just stop taking them altogether... But in the end he sighed, holding the bridge of his nose. No, he didn't want Ruby to get expelled. Concussion to the side, she was a good friend, maybe the first he had made at Beacon Academy.
"Alright, fine."
"Yay Jaune! Thank you!" Ruby squealed and threw herself at the half naked Jaune, hugging him while a half naked Pyrrha startled and pulled back just a couple inches.
"Hey, Ruby. Have you seen my-" And that's of course when Yang opened the door, having forgotten her scroll in the classroom but thinking it was in their apartment. Three pair of eyes met a single one and created a sphere of immobility and silence. Yang with her hand on the knob, Jaune holding Ruby up, Ruby hugging him around the neck, Pyrra behind the duo with one hand on Jaune's left shoulder.
One, five, ten seconds. At fifteen...
"Look, either you come in or you go back outside." Pyrrha said, shrugging her shoulders.
"... Hmm." Jaune's eyes widened and started sweating as Yang grabbed her chin. "Maybe next time. Got stuff to do. Don't break anything." The door closed again, Yang's footstep slowly disappearing down the hall.
"... Soooo." Ruby giggled as she bent her head backwards to look at Pyrrha. "Who do you want to do first?"
-END OF CHAPTER 1-
Indeed, dear readers. Who do you want to do first? Leave a review to cast your vote between:
1) Weiss
2) Yang
3) Blake