And we are back! You know I don't like to make you guys wait too long for a chapter, so I'm not going hold you back any longer. Have a not so moderated amount of fluff.

Once he didn't get to sleep.

It was the day the professor had to be absent from class for some reason Jaune didn't have the mind to listen, just being excited for having an entire free day in the middle of the week.

The team was in the recreation area when Nora extended the invitation to her and Ren's weekly visit to Vale to both of them. He exchanged a glance with his partner and they were quick to silently agree on an answer.

"Thank you, Nora. But we… already have plans."

"And isn't this weekly hangout, like, just you guy's thing? We don't want to interfere."

Their teammate looked ready to argue. But then Nora alternated glances between both of them, eyes straightening almost imperceptibly, the analytic, and sort of familiar, staring made his cheeks burn and he had to look away.

"Ok then." She chirped suddenly, a bit too happily, surprising him by the lack of resistance. "We'll leave you guys to your plans."

As soon as the other half of the team left – and waiting until a few minutes passed, just to be sure they could only be inside the airship already -, they rushed up the stairs to their room. On the way, no matter how much Jaune bit the inside of his cheek, he wasn't able to contain his nervous giggles.

"Should we... feel bad about that?"

"Probably not?" Pyrrha's chuckles leaked into the words. Then with a tilt of her head, she added quickly. "Nora is used to going without us. And she didn't seem upset about it."

Upset certainly wasn't how he would classify the suspicious look she kept putting them both under. "Yeah... it would feel a bit like intruding on their thing probably… It is the thing they always do together."

"But not together-together." She idly completed with a quiet laugh, bumping her shoulder on his as they went up to the final stairs.

He just snorted and shook his head at the familiar words - it was quite amusing how both partnerships had their thing that they did not do together-together - while returning the shoulder bump.

That caused her to get back to him with another shove, he wasn't prepared for it and right at the last step, he tripped.

Both of them were quick to react. Jaune reached for the nearest support, that being her arm. Pyrrha's hand was placed on his chest in a swift motion to avoid him to fall flat on his face.

"Great." He cursed his ability to make a fool of himself. Then, straightening his body as his partner pulled him up the final step to the corridor, he looked up to her. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Her smile was this close of turning into a giggle, making him roll his eyes, embarrassed. He felt her hesitate then, hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder, he was still gripping her arm as it dawned to him it was his turn to be the carrier.

Pyrrha checked at the hall in front of them. "Scroll?"

Jaune promptly handed the device to her, and without a word, she laced her arms around his neck. He understood immediately, there was a small jump, and he took hold of her legs, an exact copy of how she had carried him the day they were almost caught. He stumbled in place as she leaped into his arms, not really used to carrying her this way.

"Sorry." She laughed as she hugged him tighter and he had to join her.

"Nah. It's fine." He adjusted her weight more comfortably before starting to walk.

He stopped unsurely in front of the door, carefully turning his back to it. "Can you reach it?"

"Oh- Wait… No." There was a grunt as she leaned further towards the lock. He blew away some strands of her hair that ended up tickling his nose. "Can you bend down a little, please? Yes. But more to the left... there." There was a beep, then a giggle. "Just step forward now."

He did. "No! My forward. I mean, step towards the door so I can type the code."

"Oh right!" Jaune let out an awkward chuckle. "I don't remember this being so complicated."

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha laughed with him. The sound of the accepted code resonated and they were able to slip inside.

He did that a bit too fast, trying to kick the door shut, though it was right at the same time she stretched on his arms, trying to do the same thing with her hand. The combined weight to a single direction nearly caused him to lose his footing. They both gasped. The door was closed with a loud bang. He spun around in an attempt to recover his balance, and to avoid an accident, Jaune rushed towards his bed, dropping her as safely as he could over the soft mattress.

She let out a breath of relief. He did the same right before another laughing fit came over them.

Only when it started to subside and breaths were being recovered, the realization he was still on top of his partner hit; half-stepping on the floor, half with his hands placed on the bed on each side of her body.

Pyrrha glanced up as he went silent. Her lips still bearing the vestiges of a giggle, flushed cheeks raising the corner of her eyes, clear shades of green staring up at him with something he could identify as genuine joy behind a few wild strands of her bangs.

He just stared and then he sighed. Unrestrained, loud and clear and lovesick, as if his feelings could pour out of him with a single exhale.

Her head crooked to the side a bit, looking up to him with expectant curiosity. His felt his face heat up, now self-conscious of the sound that had just escaped his mouth.

Before he could even consider speaking or doing anything else though, the curl of a familiar mischievous smirk was made clear and then it was too late. Hands and an impulse with a leg sent him flying, slamming him down on the mattress with a move he was sure she had used against an opponent in a match before. Jaune shut his eyes tight for the impact and a yelp came out as his head hit the pillow, almost attempting to activate his Aura out of instinct.

He snapped his eyes open. She was the one on top of him now. Being instantly overwhelmed by her proximity, he could only focus on how the curve her eyes gave away the size of her smile.

"Ah- Is this… some kind of payback for almost dropping you?" He opened his palms in surrender above his head.

"Not really…" Pyrrha let out a breathy giggle - somehow it sounded a bit apologetic - and the movement made the tip of their noses to touch before a respectful distance was put between their faces. "It was just meant to be… a little push…"

"I… think a move you can use in a battle is a bit more than a little push."

"I'm sorry?" Her lips trembled with her repressed laugh.

"Yeah, yeah." Jaune rolled his eyes, feeling his cheeks flush, shaking his head to get his bangs out of his eyes. "And I will pretend I believe that."

She replied with a chuckle, still holding herself above his head. He watched her expression soften, smile relaxing into a gentle curve as her eyelids dropped - had he ever noticed the reddish tint of her lashes before? - soon tender fingertips were helping him in moving blond strands back to their place. His skin prickled to the point it felt numb, and only her touch could bring any sensation back. He was absolutely powerless to look away, sappy smile stuck on his face, so when a lock of hair was being tucked behind his ear, he was also powerless to resist fitting his cheek on her palm.

A hitch of breath. Somehow, her gaze became unfocused and only focused on him at the same time. Words slipping out of her mouth in an amused whisper. "You're so cute…"

His eyes widened at the same second, mouth opening in a wordless exclamation. Her own immediately clamped shut and her hands gripped the sheets so tightly it made the cloth move under him. He felt like his chest was about to explode and it would only take on exhale to trigger it. And for once, not thinking about the damage, he let the breath go. "You're so beautiful…"

The splash of red on her face clearly highlighted the startled green of her eyes. His whole body was blushing at this point, with how his mouth and brain were not exactly working at the same wavelength.

At last, the shock faded from her expression and Pyrrha smiled, sheepishly and pure, only making his statement more truthful. His breathing turned sharp simply by catching a swift glance downwards from her part, and for a long, lasting second he could swear she had been inching closer, he could swear Pyrrha was going to kiss him.

And she did.

Soft lips falling over the burning skin of his cheek with such tenderness it made him swallow dry.

Then, in a blink of an eye, she vanished from his line of sight, and Jaune could only let out an ugly wheeze as she let herself heavily collapse straight onto his chest. His partner only sighed blissfully, he could hear her smile, hands lightly gripping his hoodie as she snuggled more comfortably against him, hiding her face on his shoulder; it felt warmer than usual.

He could only whine, because of the impact, because of what he had blurted out, and because he maybe wished she hadn't stopped after just one-

"Goodnight, Jaune." He barely heard.

That finally knocked him out of his daze, after recovering control of his limbs, even through his embarrassment, he couldn't stop himself from beaming, bringing his arms up to hug her. "Goodnight, Pyr."

The room was supposed to be silent but his own thoughts were being outmatched by the frenetic drumming of his heartbeat. His whole body felt restless and warm. That was probably pretty obvious for her as well, since she was laying right above his chest.

He needed a way to dissolve that energy, or he wasn't going to be a comfortable cuddling partner that way - the thought honestly terrified him.

As it happened when he was nervous, his fingers looked for something to distract themselves with. A hand of his didn't take long to stray up, sweeping aside some strands of her bangs that tickled his neck. Brushing them out of her face much like she had done not long ago. Jaune noticed one second too late his fingers hadn't stopped, and that he didn't have the mind to, light touch drifting behind her ear, sliding through the curves of the small ribbon of red that always framed her face.

A soft sigh escaped from Pyrrha's mouth as he mindlessly repeated the movement. His stroke traveled to the back of her head, finding a way to bury his fingertips on the strands pulled by her hair tie, her content hums were motivation for him to try something new.

Trailing upwards, he gently tugged the elastic keeping the red restrained, she nudged his shoulder together with a quiet sound of acknowledgment; he took that as a sign she understood where he was going.

Still, Jaune whispered with another light tug. "Do you mind if…?"

Pyrrha only shook her head, short and quick. "You can take it off."

He had to stretch his arm twice to free her hair without the risk of accidentally pulling any strands - and so he could even reach the end. The lively crimson color covered her form, shape of curls rising and falling like the waves of a calm sea, the scent hit him as if the tie had been keeping that locked as well, the sweet and spicy of cinnamon he always felt when lying on her pillow.

He tentatively ran a superficial touch over a few tips, then after receiving another satisfied hum of encouragement Jaune buried his fingers in the back of her head, massaging her scalp where the hair tie had been tugging restlessly for gods knows how long.

He didn't know it was possible for her body to relax further after the lazy way she had dropped over his chest, but she did, letting out a lengthy exhale, tension he would bet even she didn't realize she had been storing was being swept away with each stroke.

Her breathing steadied within seconds, and just by that, he knew Pyrrha had already fallen asleep. Yet he didn't consider even once stopping his caress, finding himself relaxing too as his fingers carefully slid through shapely curves of red, gently playing with curls and softly scratching her scalp, until the point he was just doing that automatically, completely immersed by the feeling.

So he didn't sleep.

And since his mind wasn't filled by dreams or emptied by deep slumber, he could only be alone with his thoughts.

She had called him cute. Besides his family, when someone had said that to him? And unironically?

Plus, none of their various others goodnight kisses had felt so intimate as that one. His mouth went dry just with the thought of it.

There was no doubt for a while now - there was nothing platonic about their situation. What kind of just friends cuddled together, has a habit of carrying each other, exchanged small kisses, had gone through countless almost real kisses situations and gave those compliments that were too close to flirting?

Their cozy naps were basically the highlight of his week. Easily occupying a space on the list of best things that had ever happened to him, right on the top, together with being accepted into Beacon to follow his dreams and meeting her.

Yet, his anxious mind had already come up with a diverse collection of things that could go wrong. Most of them ending with Pyrrha realizing she had made a terrible decision by liking him. Then he wouldn't be able to hold her close anymore, wouldn't be able to feel her warmth or her comforting scent or watch her eyes lighting up with her smile from up close, he would miss their Goodnight's, her soft sighs as she falls asleep, her lazy smirks as she woke up and even the way her hair ended up on his face on the middle of the naps.

Jaune didn't want that to end, he liked what they had. Gods, he loved it. He loved the fact it had turned into a habit, into their thing, even their stupid unintentionally imposed rules and the way they both followed it without a question, he loved that too, how she played along and seemed just as happy and willing to share those moments with him, and he loved how all those things and her touches and her smiles and her stares made him feel loved.

And he loved her for it.

A single mismatched beat, the same lovesick sigh from earlier escaped from his mouth.

His free hand hovered over her shoulder, tracing the path of the arm draped over his chest until it arrived at her hand, carefully resting his own over it. All the while keeping his eyes on her to see if she would notice, there was no change in her expression.

He listened to her soft breaths as his fingers were lost under Pyrrha's soft hair. She was indeed beautiful. The view before him looked like something straight out of his dreams - but it wasn't one, it was real and she was here.

So Jaune cheated a rule, approaching her forehead, he kissed her that day as well. Slow and tender, in a promise that it would get even better soon.

A lot of things made the moment when they had to part harder than it should be. The most obvious reason was letting go of her warm embraces, but the one that took the cake was what he had to endure after. Because when she sat up, she had the habit of stretching the drowsiness away, long enticing movements complete with cute pleased sighs.

And Jaune did his best to not stare, though the fact that most of the time Pyrrha chose shirts with thin straps for their nap, how she insisted on doing that before getting out of the bed fully, the way she would smirk lazily after, made it very, very difficult. It didn't help that part of him considered she was doing that on purpose.

Well, today avoiding gawking at her was a hundred times easier because the curtain of red was on the way, he didn't even get the urge to get closer and touch it since that was what he had been doing for the past hour.

Though, as she sat up, Pyrrha just looked around confusedly for a second, hand patting the mattress randomly as if searching for something. She let out a last yawn. "Do you have my hair tie?"

"Ah. Yeah." Jaune stretched his hand into her line of vision, shaking the wrist where the elastic band had been around since he took it. "Do you… want me to tie it back for you?" Oh well, guess he still wanted to touch it.

"Oh! Yes, please." She moved over the mattress, turning her back to him fully.

He positioned himself behind her, careful to not accidentally sit over any of the tips that sprawled over the sheets, gently gathering the locks in a grip, running his fingers through it to disperse any tangles. His stroked went to the back of her head, Pyrrha let out a loud relaxed breath, leaning her head back, rolling her shoulders, he could watch the defined muscles of her back dancing with the movement before they dropped, free from tension.

He felt just like when he had been helping her before their first nap together, completely flustered, as if his skin could successfully fry an egg and his lungs needed a reminder on how to breathe properly. She had to be doing that to mess with him.

Miraculously, he managed to tie her hair back without messing up. Her head bent forward while he swirled his hand through the length of her ponytail, her palm slipping to the back of her neck, fingers following the curve once before retreating.

A decision made by his half-functional mind. Still holding her hair out of the way, as soon as her fingers left, Jaune pushed himself forward, dry lips against the smooth skin of her nape in a quick kiss. He recoiled back as he heard her gasp and her back stiffen, letting the red drop back into its rightful place.

"Ah. Pyr! Sorry! I just- I'm-" He attempted stuttering an explanation he didn't have, raising his hands impotently.

Then Jaune choked on his own words as Pyrrha turned around to face him, gripped his hoodie and pulled him close. His mouth hung agape as hers fell on the curve of his neck, soft lips against sensitive skin in a firm kiss that made every hair on his body stand up.

"Now we are even." Without raising her head fully, she whispered, causing the words to brush against him warmly, somehow in a balance between shy and playful.

Letting his hoodie go, she pulled away. He only blinked, let out an "Uh-" and without her hold, his body fell back on the mattress much like a log that had been chopped down.

"Jaune!" Instant regret filled his partner's expression, hand raising in to cover her mouth as Pyrrha stared at his motionless flustered form, the other stretched towards him unsurely as if she wanted to help but didn't know how. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"I'm-" The sentence was completed with the release of an incomprehensible noisy breath

That didn't lessen her concern. "I just- I'm sorry, I won't do that again!"

"No!" Jaune was quick to react as her last words were processed by his mushy brain. "Don't- do it again. I mean- I don't… I don't mind- You… d-don't- You don't worry. I'm fine.."

"Oh." The single note overflowed with relief. They both avoided each other's eyes. "You… liked it then?"

"Hm- Y-yes." His skin burned so much he believed it would be able for him to melt into the mattress. "You don't… Can do that again. I mean…you can... do it again, yeah."

"Right." She whispered. He tested glancing back to her after hearing the quiet tone. "Only… Only if you do that again too..." The way Pyrrha blushed as she rubbed the back of her neck gave away what that was supposed to be.

He hummed in agreement. Her eyes fell back on him right at the moment he licked his lips. "I… I can do that… easy."

A beat of silence, a hold of an expectant gaze.

"... Now?"

She opened her mouth to reply, a familiar loud cheery voice coming from the corridors intercepted her words. Their teammates were coming back suspiciously early.

His partner got up from his bed, giving him a soft smile. "Next time."

It didn't come.

The whole team was encased inside their room. Windows shut as tightly as possible to prevent any leaks through any cracks, still, it wasn't enough since they had to place a rag underneath it to catch a few persistent raindrops that found a way to sneak in. Pouring rain loud enough to hinder any attempt of conversation between them.

Jaune instinctively flinched at the lightning, bracing his ears for the thunder. Ren didn't even bat an eye as he continued reading as if his semblance was also able to mute sounds. Nora pressed her face deeper into the window's glass as if she wanted to absorb the electricity from outside and use the boost in strength to blast the clouds away. Pyrrha didn't seem to acknowledge nature's turmoil much either, only checking the dripping on the window from time to time with quick glances. He could tell she was uneasy though, but for a completely unrelated reason.

He saw her yawn and had to close his mouth shut not to mimic it. If the weather had been clear, they would probably fast asleep right now.

But it wasn't and they weren't alone. So he just retreated deeper into his sheet, pressing his back against the headboard, trying to find anything interesting to watch or play on his Scroll after finding out that, by himself, he actually didn't feel in the mood for a nap.

The thunder shook the windows. And yeah, sleeping would be a little tricky with all that commotion outside.

It wasn't one minute later when Pyrrha shifted restlessly on her bed, threw her sheets to the side, scooped up her empty mug over her nightstand and left the room without a word, just a tentative look to his direction.

It wasn't one minute later when, with his sheet still around his shoulders, he decided to follow.

Jaune found her at the recreation area, refilling her mug with coffee as she failed to suppress another yawn.

Only being surprised for a moment that the place wasn't full of people, without a second thought he slipped behind her, sheet covered arms wrapping around her waist as he nuzzled her shoulder.

Her body basically melted as she allowed herself to lean heavily against his chest, shifting in place to fit more comfortably inside his embrace. Any stiffness fading together with the air she had let escape after a sip from her drink.

"Thank you… I… I needed that."

He hummed. "Yeah… Me too…"

"Do you want some?" She motioned the mug towards him.

"No, thank you." Considering he would have to move one of his arms away from her waist to do so. So Jaune just nestled deeper into her, he was doing pretty great with what he had. She only replied his affectionate nuzzling with a giggle.

They both stood there, staring at a nearby window, heavy clouds making the end of the afternoon way darker than it should be, the view only being raindrops being violently splattered against the glass, the only movement between the two of them being her occasional sips from her mug.

"Today was…" He broke the silence of the room after a crack of thunder, following the incomplete sentence with a blow of air.

Even so, Pyrrha agreed with a knowing hum.

"... Lame…" He completely a bit too late, she chuckled.

"Indeed…"

He picked a raindrop to accompany its movement down the glass. "I… I know it's silly but… I missed you…"

Jaune could hear her smile on the breath she took before speaking "We are both silly then…" After placing the now empty mug on the table, Pyrrha turned around on his arms. "I missed you too…"

He gave her a flustered smile, feeling his chest jump at her sincere look. Her eyes diverted to the side for a moment, and when they were back, he didn't miss the extra glimmer. "Do you want to go sit on the couch?"

It didn't take long for them to find a comfortable arrangement - weeks of practice -, soon he was settling against the armrest and she followed, dropping on his chest and resting her head on his shoulder with such easygoing naturality that was more than enough to make his heart flutter.

Moving his arms to adjust the sheet around them, Jaune draped the cloth over her back before lowering his touch until it rested around her waist again. He felt her sigh softly as she tested positions on his shoulder, when Pyrrha seemed satisfied he let his cheek rest on top of her head. "Comfy?"

Her pensive hum reached his ears right before he felt movement of arms with the clear intention of circling his body. While dodging the edge of the sheet between them, a hand accidentally - or not, he would never know - slipped under his shirt.

He squeaked, feeling immediate embarrassment at the sound. Then she rushed a flustered I'm sorry, the touch was leaving and he let out a whine. "But they were warm…"

Dust, he was definitely not supposed to blurt that aloud. She stopped right before removing fully, gave him an equally surprised and confused look that made him get even more self-conscious at his inability to keep thoughts to himself. The embarrassing moment passed in a blink of an eye though, right when she swiftly slid her hand back under his shirt.

He shuddered involuntarily with the new warm pressure going through his skin, just to immediately relax with a sigh as the touch skidded along his side.

"Comfy?" It was her turn to ask, quiet laughs tickling his ears. The sound, the gentle patterns being traced by her fingers and her easy proximity caused a lazy affirmative hum to be his only available reply, eyelids drooping without much notice from his part.

A surging thought from the back of his head didn't allow him to even consider falling asleep though. The recreation area was frequented by everyone on their floor - granted, they were probably being smart by staying inside their heated rooms in a time like this - still, that didn't exclude the possibility of someone wandering in, and by extent, catch him all snuggled up with his partner. No doubt, she knew of that outcome too.

She... just doesn't mind. She doesn't mind being seen with me here.

A breath got caught up in his throat. Noticing only after too many blinks that the simple realization made the corner of his eyes moisten up a bit, he just pulled her closer, smile buried on her bangs as a rush of happiness overcame him.

"I wish we could do this every day…" He thought aloud - again. It was murmured so lowly that he thought Pyrrha hadn't heard it.

There was a cut on her inhale, then it came out even quieter. "What did you say…?"

"I just…" A shuddering breath. "... I just wish we didn't have to worry about being alone to do this…"

"I…" She stopped for a moment, the single note carrying too many emotions for him to put a finger on a single one - surprise, expectancy, relief… "Why do we?" Tone as if the question wasn't only directed to him.

Jaune only shrugged. He wouldn't be able to voice his persistent doubts aloud - because he had told her to wait and was too much of a coward to say it wasn't necessary anymore, because he didn't want to mess up what they already had and got comfortable with the situation, because he didn't want to risk.

"I'm sorry…" He offered instead.

"... Why?"

"I… feel like I should have said that sooner…"

Pyrrha soothingly caressed his skin. "Don't be… Because if it's like that… I feel like I might be guilty too…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… I could have also… because I knew about how…" She paused; he felt her chest move with the long breath that followed. "How with the way you acted… the possibility of you feeling the same didn't sound so absurd anymore…"

The Oh that escaped from his mouth involuntarily had its sound blocked somewhere in his throat. He swallowed hard to recover his voice, heart pumping so fast Jaune could feel it on his fingertips, managing to produce a simple dumbfounded "You knew…". Not as a question or as a statement, but as him finally coming into terms entirely - Pyrrha liked him, and she knew he liked her too.

She let out a shy giggle at his awestruck perception of the obvious. When he wasn't able to get anything else out, she continued. "That's why I could have said something sooner… Because… with each passing day, I only felt more certain…"

"Even so... Everything I did… I was always… afraid that I would eventually take too far, make a mistake… make you uncomfortable… cause it to stop..." The sheet muffled her words. "But at the same time, I wanted… because I wanted to help you figure things out… So while trying to balance that… "

"But I…" His heart clenched inside his chest. "I figured out… And I still didn't say anything… I- I was such-" He interrupted himself with a frustrating mix of a groan and a whimper.

"Don't. Don't insult yourself." She traced circles on his side gently, hugging him tighter. "And I know. I guess… I liked what we had… and didn't want to jeopardize that…"

The familiar argument gave him chills, he swallowed back a weight on his throat. "I know how that is…" Jaune felt an unexplainable need to keep going - talking to her was always so easy.. "It's just… with you... it was so different." The word slipped almost like a dreamy sight. "I realized out of nowhere and you were so close and for the first time in my entire life, I felt like it could work! Like I had a chance! And I just didn't know how to deal with that. I mean, it was you-" He interrupted his own unplanned rambling with a groan that transitioned into a flustered chuckle in the end. Then, it slipped out in a whisper. "Yeah… I… I just- I like you a lot, Pyr… I didn't want to mess that up..."

She stayed silent for a second too long and he immediately thought he had maybe said something wrong. The clear confession at the end was too much, wasn't it? Then he felt her shake, quiet breathy laughs now making themselves audible, her hand raised to her face and he was able to notice through the gaps of her fingers how red her cheeks actually were.

She took a steadying breath, after a final light giggle, Pyrrha removed her hand from her face. "I know I was aware… Yet, it's so good to hear you say it…"

He felt her raise from his shoulder to glance up, Jaune almost held her back because he was hiding his probably also very red face between her hair and the couch backrest. Yet, she was able to catch his eyes effortlessly, so meaningful and pure and happy, it made his heart jump. "I like you a lot too."

"Pyr-" Her name cracked under her soft stare, his head leaned forward as he gathered himself, resting his forehead on hers. Deciding not to bother moving away, he opened his mouth, and words only came out on the second try, after breathy laugh. "It's good to hear you say too…"

"And it's good to finally be able to get it out…" She whispered, filled with sincerity and relief, smile painting her words.

A flash of lightning, he felt her fingers lightly tap his side then, a habit of hers he knew it meant she was pondering over a decision. Jaune didn't have the time to question, only feeling her shift before a gentle touch rested over his cheek, the shape of her smile was easily perceptible within the lingering kiss. He found himself closing his eyes, tightening their embrace before she pulled away. Pyrrha's head comfortably rested back on the curve of his shoulder then. "Even if we both took a while… I wouldn't do anything different…"

Thunder finally cracked outside, yet, it took a second more for the butterflies in his stomach to allow him to relax as well.

"Yeah…" He agreed, silly grin towering over his tone, still feeling giddy from the past minutes. Resting his head back on hers, he dared to press some light kisses on her forehead, before letting burning cheek fall once more on top of her bangs. Before it could go quiet, he continued. "But not even changing the position that day you woke up with an asleep arm?"

Pyrrha giggled freely. "Well… you helped me get rid of that, so I guess… no, I wouldn't."

"Uh- well, it happened because I rolled over it so I guess I had to…" He mumbled, feeling his face heat up at the memory of the massage - if those too tentative pokes could even be called that - he had given her to disperse the numbness.

She hummed knowingly at his flustered reply, a laugh hidden behind the sound. "So no changes either?"

Jaune considered saying that time I almost let you fall, but remembering that after he had the most beautiful view as he dropped her on the bed, he swallowed it back, whispering instead. "No… I guess not."

There was another quick moment of quietness before she spoke up again. "I… liked having that as our thing. The secret of the agreement. It was… unexpectedly fun… So that's another reason why I wouldn't change it..."

"Yeah! It was…" He beamed, then added after a lick of his lips. "Why are we talking about it like we're going to stop?"

"Oh no," Pyrrha shook her head, hugging him tighter for a moment. "As long as you're okay with it… we have no reason to stop…"

His shoulders dropped with relief, he paused to gather his words - and some much needed extra courage - to continue. "Oh, good. I still have to do that thing… we said we were going to do next time…"

"Oh?" When her tone of voice hinted genuine curiosity, he decided to show instead of tell.

The arms circling her waist pushed her body upwards lightly, he leaned deeper into her shoulder with a small move of head, brushing his lips on side of her neck. He felt her heartbeat accelerate under his touch and his almost stopped in response, fingertips burying on his skin, and her head slightly tilted to the side with a hitched breath. Her reaction made him decide to give her one extra kiss before pulling away. "That…"

"Ah. You're right…" Pyrrha straightened her posture to soon to lean her chin on his shoulder. "I believe I promised you too…"

She really wasn't one to waste time, the end of her sentence was already being pressed along his skin, making him shiver. She kissed right above his pulse, once, twice, soft and warm. Thinking she would stop then, Jaune gasped as a third kiss was placed on the opposite side of his neck; if he wasn't holding her he probably would have crumbled on the spot.

He lost count after; the warm puffs of air made him sigh, just for a nibble make him squeak, the laugh after made him shudder and yet he wasn't going to be the one to tell her to stop. Only being able to angle his head to give her better access, reclining deeper against the armrest, hugging her tighter. The shift allowed her to sneak to his collarbone, each touch causing a new jolt of energy spike from his nerves. His lips brushed her forehead with the change and he took the opportunity, nuzzling through her bangs to her temple. Sneaking a peck on the corner of her eyes as she skimmed along his jaw. Lingering on her soft cheek after Pyrrha marked his chin.

He peeked through his half-lidded eyes then, a look as asking for permission. She glanced at him in a similar way, giving the reply by brushing her nose against his, he returned the gesture, able to feel the scent of coffee on the puffs of air eagerly hitting his lips, heart pounding as if he had actually drank a whole pot.

A crack of thunder. He closed his eyes, everything went dark, and sparks flew.

Too dark. And literal sparks. They both jumped apart with the frying sound of the lamps in the room burning themselves out. Shouts traveled through the corridors of the entire dorm as the students exclaimed in surprise - or cheered - as the lights abruptly went off. There was a faint clang as weak emergency lights came to life through the halls, dim glow barely poking into the room. The sound of collective opening of doors and confused questioning followed short.

Lightning cleared the room for a second enough for him to take in his partner's startled face, the light faded, and Jaune could swear she pouted in annoyance. He let out a huff. The feeling was mutual.

Then approaching footsteps were heard, soon they wouldn't be alone anymore.

"I'm pretty sure there are some candles around here." Pyrrha spoke up, voice wavered before she stopped to clear her throat. "Those people are probably coming to get them."

"Uh- Should we… Guarantee some for us then?"

He only saw the shape of her head move as she nodded; her hands left his waist as he also let her go before getting up. After a few seconds of shuffling, the flashlight of her Scroll gave them a better view of the room.

They wasted no time. After opening and closing a few drawers, they found what they were looking for, promptly heading to their room to save the other half of the team from being consumed by the sudden darkness.

On the way, they mindlessly dodged a few students heading to where they had just left, the air hanging heavily around them, but not because of embarrassment or awkwardness - just that mutual frustration to their ruined moment.

In an attempt to lighten up the mood, he lightly bumped his shoulder on hers. "Next time?"

Her eyes glimmered with the meek shine of emergency lights and Scroll flashlights of rushing students. "Next time."

They almost burned their desk down with fire Dust because they had forgotten matches to lighten up their candles. And now Jaune was thinking that maybe that wouldn't have been so bad in the end.

The rain seemed unwilling to settle down, deciding to straight up punish the land beneath the clouds. And it was cold. With no energy and no heating system, the room got chillier with each passing minute. Flickering flames of four candles weren't exactly a big help. Sacrificing the desk for a fireplace seemed more tempting with each passing minute too.

When the time to head to bed arrived, he was sure the dorm had been transported to Atlas, so Jaune was more than happy to flaunt around the room his warm, soft and fluffy fleece onesie. The ones who made fun of it were now nothing but fools.

"Just think as if we were on a mission! On the snowy parts." Nora started as she got her bed ready. "Maybe we were traveling on a train and a bunch of Grimm appeared and we valiantly fought them off but the last attack made the train get off the rails and now we are-" She stopped for breath - and maybe dramatic effect. "Stranded in a frozen forest!"

He grunted. "How is this supposed to help again?"

"Activate your survival instincts! Think of how a Huntsman goes through worse!" She raised a fist, honorably placing it over her chest.

"Hm… That… makes sense?" He had to agree reluctantly.

"Well, she is probably right." Ren added with a yawn, getting under his covers. After a mumble of goodnight, he was already snoring.

Jaune let out a disgruntled gasp. "Can he mask off the temperature around him too?"

Nora let out a laugh, trying to wrap her sheet around her even tighter, and struggling. "I wish they gave us some extra blankets…"

"You read my mind." His partner's voice made him turn towards her direction as she left the closet, now clad in her caramel-colored long-sleeved pajamas, rubbing her hands together to produce warmth. He could only stare at how she had opted to free her hair from its ever-present ponytail. Pyrrha shivered before continuing. "That would be wonderful… I have no idea how we could get some though."

Nora paused. And when their teammate looked like that, the process of an idea forming in her mind was audible - maybe because of the fact she had the habit of loudly humming a continuous note as she did so.

She gasped. "I know how we could get some extra covering!"

"Scouting for leaves like we were stranded in a forest?" He joked; she stuck her tongue out at him.

"No, silly!" She scooped up her pillow, and one of her stuffed animals, jumping out of her bed with blanket trailing behind her. She dumped everything over her partner. "Sharing!"

"Scoot, scoot." She poked him, Ren only raised a hand for a second as if just waving away a fly, but doing as requested all the same as if he was very much used to this - he probably was actually.

Nora climbed on the bed and double covered both of them with a tenderness that contrasted greatly with her attitude seconds before. And collapsed on the mattress after with such strength that made her partner wheeze.

Then she stopped once more, clicking her tongue to the sight of the other half of the team staring with raised eyebrows. Her plan didn't exactly include a we like she had said. "Well… I guess you guys can try to take off your bed covers and use it as regular sheets?"

Jaune exchanged a glance with his partner, finding there the same anticipating look he himself probably was bearing. There was a small nod, and even by weak glow of candlelight, he identified her smirk. He turned back to their other teammate then, sounding offended. "Are you implying we can't share?"

Nora's brow furrowed in confusion. "No, but-"

"Pyr, she thinks we can't share." His partner laugh was contained with a bite of lip.

"I think we will be able to make this sacrifice." Her tone of voice was nothing but solemn. "After all, Huntsman are supposed to overcome and adapt to various situations and learn how to deal with them."

He was already gathering his covers and pillows. "That includes sharing and, y'know, emergency cuddling."

"Oh my gods!" Their teammate whisper-shouted in amazed disbelief as Pyrrha climbed on her bed, leaving an open space for him. Nora swatted Ren with repetitive hand motions. "Ren, are you seeing this too? What is happening?!"

"Yes, yes…" Was the only thing that came from the motionless lump over the mattress.

The reactions from the other duo were the last thing on his mind now. They both dropped over the sheets at the same time, as they had done many times before, face to face, grinning a bit too widely and quietly chuckling. The green of her eyes seemed to absorb the orange light of the small flames around the room, making the shades shift in an almost hypnotic way.

They shuffled with their covers, working together to tug them evenly over both of them. After succeeding, Pyrrha wrapped an arm around his torso like usual, and he responded by hugging her back, pulling her flush against him, not resisting on discreetly nuzzling the top of her head for a moment. Their settling ended with a delighted shiver from his part and synchronized satisfied sighs.

"What the actual Dust!" Their teammate was pure exasperation, her partner only grunted at her shout. "How- Since- I knew there was something going on! When did this happen? Where's the awkwardness? What did you do with my teammates?"

"You were the one to suggest it." Jaune said loud enough for her to catch it.

"Go to sleep Nora." Pyrrha added drowsily.

There was a breath as if she was going to say something else, then a pause. Then she muttered lowly, as if someone had just told her sloths weren't real. "Yeah… I think I will…"

Silence first fell over the room since the lights had gone off.

"We forgot to blow out the candles."

After a quick raise to fix that, they were snuggling back together. Pyrrha let out a relaxed breath as she embraced him, her body lightly shivered under his arms as she nuzzled into his chest, hands going up and down his back, a leg being draped over his as she buried herself into soft fleece. "Jaune… We have to do this more while you're wearing this…"

"Sounds like a plan…" He was able to mutter drowsily, melting into her caress.

Before he could fall asleep though, Jaune lowered his head, placing the customary kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Pyr."

"Goodnight, Jaune." She laughed tiredly.

"This... feels off…"

"... Being right for the goodnight for once?"

"Yeah… But I could get used to it…"

Jaune regrettably blinked his eyes open, stirring under the weight of extra covers and hugging arms. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion by being greeted with the darkness of the night, after all, usually when in a situation like this one, it was always around the end of the afternoon.

His sluggish mind soon connected the dots at the sound of steady raindrops, remembering that he was indeed cuddling with his partner through an entire night. Something told him it was probably around one hour since they had fallen asleep, his body, conditioned to waking up after that exact time while being in her presence, hadn't exactly gotten the message

Apparently, he wasn't the only one with that problem. After an attempt to tug the covers back up to his shoulders, since they had slipped down, he felt Pyrrha move against his chest, sighing. Glancing down as his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, he could only see strands of her hair poking out from the sheets as she stretched and repositioned herself. With all the shuffling, he took the opportunity to do the same, changing the position of his arms and letting their legs tangle as they got comfortable again.

She glanced up then, probably fully registering that he was also awake, gaze equally tired. He saw a hand sliding out from under the covers as Pyrrha raised it to drowsily attempt to sweep to the side some bothering strands in front of her face, and as instinct, Jaune was already raising his own to help her.

He did it carefully - not wanting to stick a finger on her eye or something like that - and she allowed, clearing her own hand out of the way. He traced her cheeks to tuck the locks back behind her ear, fingertips lightly brushing against her forehead as he freed her vision of thin red lines, running a touch through the side of her face to check if it was clear. She softly nuzzled against his palm while shifting her body close to him once again, letting a content hum escape, he felt her smile with the way her cheeks raised under his hand.

Jaune could only smile too, not resisting on tracing the soft curve of her cheek with his thumb, letting his head bend forward, their noses brushed together, she gave in to the touch, and he closed his eyes as she caressed him happily.

He felt her pause then, her sigh warmed his lips and his senses instantly overflowed with expectation, his tongue was running through it without him even registering. Hands gripped the fabric of his onesie tighter and he had the strength to open his eyes. Pyrrha looked up to him at the same second, finding through the darkness a familiar look, a silent request for permission - something he had never denied her.

Cupping her cheek fully and leaning his forehead on hers, he shut his eyes again.

At first, it reminded him of the questionable touches they shared before their first naps together, tentative and shy, and at the same time, eager for more. So he gave her more as Pyrrha pulled him closer, stealing all his breath away as their lips finally fully met, making him warmer than the flame of any candle, heartbeat loud enough to be heard over the sound of the rain.

It was short, yet sweet and satisfying, like receiving a small piece of your favorite dessert, savoring it carefully to engrave the taste. He could feel both of them wanted to go on but didn't have the energy for something grander. So they kept it simple, she went back to him by catching his lips with lazy nibbles, he responded just as softly, parting silently for a second before repeating, exchanging slow, sleepy kisses since neither wanted the moment to end.

Soon it turned into light brushes and superficial pressure once more, drowsiness dawning into them again as their tired bodies begged them for some sleep, touches slowing to subtle caress of noses and thumbs. Pyrrha let out a breath then, content and tired, a light chuckle that tickled his lips. He silently laughed too, pure joy leaking into it. Bravely placing one last sleepy peck on her smile, Jaune settled as she buried herself back under the covers, nestling back against his chest with the most satisfied of exhales.

He hugged her back, resting his chin over her head after a quick nuzzle over her bangs, fitting comfortably inside her embrace.

Before he drifted off, he found the will to whisper, loud enough for her, and only her, to catch it. "Can we… do this again… sometimes?"

The pause almost made him believe Pyrrha was already asleep. Though after a relaxed, happy breath she whispered back just as quiet. "That sounds grand…"

Consciousness slowly replaced senseless dreams. Jaune yawned while stirring over the mattress, stretching an arm as he blinked his eyes open. He squinted in drowsy disorientation as instead of meeting a wall, his arm kept going forward towards emptiness, hand falling over the nightstand usually between his and Pyrrha's bed.

Oh, yeah. Her bed.

Why was he alone on it then?

He swallowed hard as his heart anxiously raced. Maybe she got uncomfortable and went to sleep somewhere else, maybe he had been moving too much and he pushed her from the bed, maybe she had left for class and left him there.

Class! What time is it?

Hastily sitting up, he reached for his Scroll over the nightstand, after his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the screen cutting through the curtained room, a breath of relief escaped. He still had a half-hour before his alarm went off, though it wouldn't be necessary. According to a notification from the Academy, today classes would be canceled while the damages of the blackout caused by the storm yesterday were repaired.

Jaune leaned back into the headboard but didn't relax. Turning to the side, he faced where his partner was supposed to be. Waking up in her bed without her felt… wrong.

Before he could overthink, the sound of the door cracking open got him to pause. He watched Pyrrha slip in and close the door without a noise, placing the little bag she used to keep her toiletries on the nearest desk, then turning to head back to the bed. She caught his gaze and every speck of uneasiness he had been feeling washed away with the smile she gave him.

"Hey..." He whispered as she approached, so quiet that it was actually closer to mouthing the word than speaking.

"Hello…" She replied in the same tone, carefully sitting on the edge of the mattress.

A beat of tentative silence.

"So… no classes today..."

"Ah, yes. The whole dorm is still without power." Pyrrha slipped her legs under the sheets. "I heard some of the classroom's buildings aren't any better."

He hummed understandingly as she adjusted her pillow behind her back. "You're going back to sleep?"

"I… Was just planning to stay here for a bit longer…" She replied quietly, almost shy, gaze lowering as she settled by his side. "... With you… if you're planning to, of course..."

"Oh." His heart skipped a beat, his surprised expression didn't stay long, being replaced by a smile Jaune didn't hold back. "Yeah, that sounds great actually."

He was about to tuck himself back under the covers when he paused, feeling his body complain. "Uh… I just… Need to go to the bathroom first."

She gave him a nod together with a quiet giggle. He jumped out of the covers as fast as he could, just taking a second to get his own toiletries - he definitely wasn't going to let a morning breath stay - the icy air from the night before still lingered on the corridors as rushed in and out of the bathroom.

Careful not to disturb the other half of the team as he entered, Jaune closed the door and took quiet steps towards the bed. She was already all cozy underneath the blankets, bright eyes followed his movements from the edge of covers and between loose curls of hair, making him smile to the adorable scene. As he sat over the mattress, Pyrrha promptly reached her arms towards him, hands moving in a grabbing motion to invite him in.

He didn't waste time. Only beaming while throwing himself on her arms. The bed creaked a bit too loudly and they stopped shuffling, giggles being stifled with bites of lips and held breaths, not wanting to risk waking up their teammates.

The room remained silent, only after Jaune allowed himself to slip under the sheets, and for a second, they simply stared at each other. He felt her let go of a breath then, smile staying. "Good morning."

"Good morning..." He breathed through a grin - this was new, and he could get used to it too.

Then they both stopped. An almost comic unsureness hanging around then like an extra blanket. Something was missing; after all, their greetings while on the bed were never complete without a kiss, though they had never done that after waking up.

"Uh-"

"I-"

"Oh, sorry!"

"No, no, you can say first."

"I just- Should I- I mean… Which… Who? Y'know?"

"Ah. Yes. I… Think we are overthinking this..."

"Yup."

"Why do we have a rule for this?"

"Because we like to complicate stuff?"

"Hm… You know what?"

He felt a hand trail to the back of his neck before he was pulled towards her. Pyrrha's lips fell softly against his burning cheek. "I think we can both do it..."

"Yeah..." He could only smile, breaking through his flustered state and reaching forward, kissing the tip of her nose. "I like that way better."

The look she gave him was so full of affection he felt like he could burst - the fact he was the one causing her to blush like that not failing to intensify the sensation. Still, he shifted closer, settling more comfortably under the sheet. Not being hard to do so as Jaune felt her fingers burying themselves in his hair. He sighed, relaxing under the heavenly touch, silly smile stuck on his face as Pyrrha's fingertips brushed against his nape and scratched his scalp.

He lazily leaned his forehead on hers as she tucked wild strands behind his ear, letting their noses brush together, he caressed it playfully, watching the corner of her eyes crinkle up with her smile.

Her sigh warmed his lips, and a wave of familiarity washed through his nerves as pure energy, making him feel like he was jolting awake for a second time. His eyes widened and then squinted as his brow furrowed, his messy expressions caused her combing to halt.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah… No- It's… It's just..." He struggled, not really knowing how to express his realization as the specific memory got too clear to be a product of his sleeping self. Jaune glanced down, running his tongue over his suddenly dry lips. "... It wasn't a dream…"

The moment of silence was almost too long until she eventually spoke up. "... It wasn't…"

He didn't even get surprised when Pyrrha managed to understand his half explanations anymore. Yet he stayed silent, mouth too dry for words, he didn't know what to say next, though he knew what he wanted to happen next.

He caught her tongue poking out in a fleeting run over her lips and his own parted in a soundless gasp. The hand buried in his hair moved against the back of his head, a light pressure just enough to instigate him to be closer, Pyrrha glanced up, a silent request, and oh gods she wanted the same thing too.

His heartbeats were nothing but deafening thuds. Yet, he had to hold his breath as one was too loud too dull and too out of rhythm in comparison to the rest.

A heavy second of silence. Then a groan came from the other side of the room, enough to startle both of them, their first reaction was to scramble apart.

Pyrrha turned and he raised his head to glance to the direction of the sound, finding Nora, still wrapped inside her blanket like a burrito, face first on the floor after, apparently, trying to slip out from her partner's bed, a leg poking out of her cloth cocoon. Ren seemed just as disoriented as them - though that wasn't unusual to see from the boy after he had just woken up.

"Nora…?" Pyrrha tested, concern and confusion mixing into her tone of voice.

Their teammate suddenly shot up, pushing her body up with her arms, gasping as if she had just gotten rescued from drowning. "I thought it was a dream!"

"Hm- what… exactly?" He dared to ask.

Nora's reply was a bunch of wild gesturing to their direction as she shuffled inside her blanket, properly sitting on the floor. "And I can't believe it worked!"

"Oh." Jaune avoided her eyes. He caught his partner frowning slightly in confusion. "Wait- worked?"

Nora guiltily covered her mouth with the blanket - was she smiling under that? There was a quick staring contest between the two girls, apparently, Pyrrha won.

"Okay, look…" Nora started after a deep breath. "I suspected there was something going on… But Pyrrha wouldn't tell me what!"

"I'm sorry...?"

Nora waved the apology away with a wave. "I connected the dots anyway. You guys were too close and touchy, and sending each other sappy looks when you thought the other wasn't looking," He felt his face heating up under her accusations - was it that obvious? "Always stayed up later than usual on very specific days, and that day you refused to go to Vale with us? We came back earlier, you guys said you had been just chilling in the room, but Pyrrha's bed and the desk were completely untouched." She snapped her fingers.

"And then the blackout happened and, seriously, I just wanted to test the waters and see how you would react to the suggestion of sleeping together." Nora staggered to her feet, continuing rambling without a second to breathe, expression torn between surprise and excitement. "I didn't expect all of that!" She kicked a pillow back into place, muttering to herself. "Okay, yeah, I felt a little betrayed…" An accusatory finger poked out from her sheet wrapping. "Because you guys agreed too fast… If that was all it took, how much gossip I'm missing here?" She headed to the door, walking backward, eyes drilling into them. "Still…" The chilling tone of voice flipped into a high pitched squeal. "About time! I'm really happy for you guys!" She slipped out of the room through a crack of the door a human could barely fit through, the edge of the sheet trailing behind her, the shout was heard then. "I need to scream about this!"

"Hm…" He hummed awkwardly.

"She's just being dramatic." Ren offered, half-asleep, between a yawn - knowing him, he had probably dozed off a bit while Nora presented her allegations - before dropping into his covers once again. Jaune heard him mumble a "No classes… Nice." After a quick peek on his Scroll, with as much enthusiasm as a recently awakened Ren could muster. Yeah, he has no idea of what is actually going on.

He copied him, head falling back into the pillow heavily, his partner also turned around to face him. He only noticed he was pouting slightly out of frustration and frowning at the ceiling when he heard her giggle.

Her fingers run along his forehead, brushing strands to the side and relaxing the lines his expression. "You know Nora… means well…"

"Ah, N-no, it's not- It's not that."

"What is it then?" Her fingers tucked the strands behind his ear, a drop on her voice hinted worry and he was quick to continue to brush it off.

"Ah, y'know…" Jaune felt his face heat up, her caress definitely contributing to that, though the answer to her question was the main cause. He continued staring at the ceiling even after his frown was gone, mumbling away. "It happened again… twice… right when- I just- I just really wanted to-" The sentence became incomprehensible, subsequential words turning into flustered grumbles.

"Oh?" He wasn't looking, but he knew Pyrrha had raised an eyebrow by her amused tone. "Maybe if you actually tell me what you wanted, we can try to work on that."

"Y-you know what it is." Jaune rolled her eyes. And he knew his partner better than anyone else, so he knew that if he kept dancing around his words he would never win. So he took a breath, and continued as naturally as possible in his blushy state. "I… just really wanted to kiss you."

He felt her move by his side, weight lifting from the mattress, he finally looked at her direction, finding her propping her upper body up on her elbows, looking down at him, raising smirk framed by rosy cheeks. "We should definitely work on that…"

The heat on his whole body intensified, just being under her expecting gaze enough to get every nerve of his to sting with energy. Riding on that rush, in a split-second decision, Jaune passed his arms around her waist, hugging her closer and pushing them both up, sitting over the mattress with a swift motion.

Pyrrha gasped with the abrupt change, loud and combined with a laugh, in a way that actually remembered him when he had pulled her towards him at the Beacon Dance. The far off memory, how she looked back at him with that glimmer in her eyes - then and now - filling his stomach with butterflies.

He giggled with her, adjusting better his arms around her waist as she let hers drop around her neck. Before they could advance further though, he stopped. "One second." Turning his head towards the bed with the only other occupant of the room, he managed to say. "Hey, Ren, I'm going to kiss Pyrrha here real quick, if you don't want to see that, just turn around for a bit."

He received a drowsy, barely audible "Okay." as a reply. Yup, he still has no idea of what's going on.

Not wanting to delay any longer, he turned back to his partner, and he had to pause once again. Not because they needed to arrange anything else, but because her look, basically overflowing with blatant affection, and warmth and love - and maybe an "I can't believe I like this idiot" - just made him melt.

Neither of them needed a word more. He held her close as a hand slipped up to his hair, there was a pull, and they barely stopped an inch of waiting lips, warm puffs of air making sensitive skin prickle, a skip of a beat, and then… their eager breathing still the one sound in the room, no interruption. Jaune heard her let out a breathy relieved chuckle, and he finally moved forward, gladly catching the curve of her smile between his.

The first thing he registered was a sense of familiarity, brought by the memory of their lazy midnight kisses, just to immediately contrast with how much energy Pyrrha reciprocated, together with her comforting scent, with how her fingers dug into his strands, how she tasted slightly like toothpaste, how her face seemed to radiate warmth and how her smile didn't give any hint of fading.

He sighed happily into her kiss, lost to the way her touches somehow matched in tenderness and eagerness, letting gentle fingertips roam and curious lips nibble, every contact felt like it burned and it was wonderful. So he pulled her closer, palms sliding against the curve of her back, dodging long curls of silky hair to bring her properly to his lap.

The shift was a little clumsy, the kiss broke between giggles yet she remained close. Aware of his intentions, the hands in his hair relocated themselves to cup his cheeks, the heat of her palms only increased the temperature of his tingling skin, steadying his face as she contented herself with giving him soft short pecks while following his relocation plan, scooting closer with the pull of his arms.

They found stability once again, after a few bumps of noses though, and he felt her contently hum with the same ease he could feel her heartbeat pressed against his. So he forgot everything else, forgot he was in the middle of their shared room, that this was supposed to be real quick, that if Ren was awake, they were putting him through a really awkward situation, that Nora could walk in on them any time now.

That is, until the later happened and the steadily growing screech raised too much in pitch for it to be ignored anymore.

His face burned and chuckles intruded into their kiss, the screech got inhumanely long - or maybe it was a laugh now -, yet neither of them was in a rush to part. He felt Pyrrha smirk against him, catching his bottom lip then, pulling before releasing with such teasingly slow pace that made the sound that escaped from the back of his throat unavoidable.

They parted, Jaune blinked his eyes open, feeling dizzy, breath rushed, his emotions divided between hot embarrassment and silly giddiness. The brightest of reds on the face in front of him hinted she could be going through something similar.

There were no regrets in sight though.

"Oh, are you guys done?" The whine caused both of them to turn their heads. "I was about to take a picture…" Nora closed the door, still dragging her sheet behind her, and he couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

Pyrrha scrunched her shoulders with a flustered giggle and offered a classic "I'm sorry", he would be it was more because of her habit than anything else, if the way her eyes hid a glimmer of mischief meant anything.

"Ha. You're not." Their teammate scoffed.

"Hm, yeah… Weren't you going to scream outside?" He contained the urge to bury his flaming face on his partner's shoulder.

"You guys just keep giving me reasons to scream!" She pointed at their too intimate set up, managing to walk and sit on her bed without tripping on the sheet. "Now, spill, since when you have been dating in secret?" She tried to take a serious posture, it was a bit hard considering she was still wrapped like an elaborated package - the glare was enough though.

The following seconds was dominated by red faces and tumbling words. He practically squeaked. "Wh- We- We weren't-"

"We are not dating in secret." His partner managed to make clear after a series of flustered noises of her own.

Their awkward response was met with a raise of eyebrows. "So… it was not supposed to be a secret?" For a moment, Nora looked genuinely confused.

And it was understandable really, she just had called them out about the comfort they suddenly had around each other, with no denials from their part, and caught them kissing. He wouldn't believe himself either.

"We…" His partner started, he barely caught the quick lick of lips during the pause. "We just weren't dating then…"

He perked up at the past tense and her hopeful tone - when she shot a glance at him carrying the same emotion, Jaune felt his heart jump.

"Oh." It escaped. He continued, copying her look, voice lower than a whisper. "Are we… are we now? D-dating? I- I mean… can we? You want…?" He stammered, feeling excitement bubble up inside his body.

Her expression softened, gaze as warm as actually cuddling with her under their blankets, Pyrrha let out a light chuckle. "Yes." Part of the sound didn't leave her mouth, resembling more a shuddering sigh. She reinforced, smile growing as he felt a thumb caressing his cheek. "I would like that, yes!"

He was almost vibrating together with his heartbeat, which was back to frenetic speed just by seeing how she matched his feelings of pure joy. He wanted to remove all distance between them again, pull her closer again, hug her again, kiss her again.

And he would probably done that - actually, Pyrrha would probably beat him to it, by the way she had let her eyes drop to his mouth - if they weren't still under their teammate's stare.

The sniff was what popped their little bubble, getting them to divert their eyes to her direction. "Good." Nora nodded with a bit too dramatic solemnity. Her stare now not bearing any confusion or suspicion, just her usual liveliness with hints of satisfaction, and for some reason, pride and even relief. Like a puzzle that had finally been figured out after a long time.

"Well, since I'm an understanding friend..." She started, raising from her bed. "I'll let you guys be cute in peace." Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't exactly succeed in concealing her enthusiasm. "For now! I still want some gossip later, okay? Okay."

"I'll think about it." Pyrrha teased as he let out an embarrassed groan.

"You better!" Nora was already settling back on her partner's bed, the sleeping boy didn't even stir. "Ah! And keep your make outs quiet please."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes, and Jaune didn't know where he found the guts to shot back a "No promises!" Seeing the color fill her cheeks at the same second was totally worth it though.

There was a moment where the only sound in the room was Nora shuffling inside her sheets before going quiet over the bed.

"Can we go back to cuddling, please?"

They were once again tucked under their sheets without a second of delay, the morning was still fresh, the air still chilly and their day free - the ambiance couldn't be more perfect.

Scooting closer, Pyrrha let her hands circle his body like usual, touch just a bit more wandering than usual thought. Only when she sighed as she rubbed her cheek on his shoulder it dawned on him he should thank the velvety fabric of his onesie for that. He would definitely keep that in mind for their future naps.

"So…" He helped her get a few strands back into their place, placing long locks behind her shoulders with careful motions. "Does that mean we can do this more often…?" He tried, and probably failed, to not appear too eager - the once a week deal always felt too little in his opinion.

He felt her hum a laugh, head fitting deeper into his neck, the trail made by her nose made him chuckle between a squirm. "We can do this whenever we want…"

"More than once a week?"

She chuckled. "Every day even…"

Jaune beamed, feeling his chest flutter. "Won't you get tired of it like that?"

The warmth left his neck, just for him to soon find truthful green eyes staring back at him. "How could I ever get tired of you?"

His breath escaped as a freeing sigh, cheeks doubtlessly flushing as heart thumped inside his ears. Her hand raised, fingers tracing the side of his face and he gladly nuzzled into her palm, letting his eyelids drop slightly, yet not taking his meaningful gaze off her own.

He closed his eyes fully as she approached; her lips were warm and soft against his, the touch delicate and tender, almost shy. Light pressure just lingering for a few blissful heartbeats, in a promise of many others to come.

Jaune caught the smiling surging right before they parted, a similar one taking over his face. Just taking a quick peek at Pyrrha's serene expression before shutting his eyes again, he leaned his forehead on hers, hugging her closer, hands sliding through red waves as he traced lines on her back.

"Goodnight, Pyr…" He found himself muttering, the habit was stronger than he was.

"Goodnight, Jaune." She didn't even hesitate, it was their thing after all.

Good to slap that Complete button again on this. If you had told one-year-ago me that I would eventually write extra 20k+ for this fic here I wouldn't believe for not even a second. But oh well, here we are now... I got to say that I'm really happy with how this turned out!

I want to give a quick thanks for all the lovely words after the last chapter, so I would love to hear from you guys again! Your comments are what gives me the motivation to keep going, so leave one if you can! And if you haven't already, drop a fave, it means a lot too! :D

If you want more from me during the time between fics, I have a tumblr and deviantart under the same username, feel free to say hi there! (and quick shameless plug, I'm offering now art commissions, if you want to check that out you can easily find the info about it on my tumblr \o/)

Thank you again for reading and all the support! See ya soon!