A/N: And we're done!

Here's a few other works to check out if you're interested:

No Compromise (updated daily)- a look into Adam's entire life in canon told through drabbles

What We Call Home (updated Sundays)- a retelling of post V3-6 through Nora's POV, focusing on Renora's backstory and JNR's adventures

Metal Hands, Patchwork Hearts (updated Tuesdays) - a retelling of post V3-5 through Yang's POV, focusing on Yang's recovery

Scribbles (updated Thursdays) - a look into Glynda and James' relationship throughout their lives, from students to professors, in a slight soulmate AU

If any of you have an idea for AU!Arkos like this fic or Thrown to the Wind, my other AU!Arkos fic, let me know! I still have a bunch of oneshots planned for them, so stick around for those. All canon!Arkos oneshots will most likely be placed in my oneshot collection Moments of Time (which is all caught up now, only new content will appear from now on!), so follow that if you want to see more.

Let me know what you thought of the finale! Cheers :D

Of Complacency and Conspiracies

Day 30: What I Wrote

By the time the show had ended, it was nearly midnight. Thankfully, the air was still buzzing with praise and excitement- the production had been spectacular. When she was finally able to focus on it, and not Jaune's presence by her side (of course Ren had saved adjacent seats for them both) Pyrrha couldn't find a single flaw in the meticulous work put into the show. Everything, from the acting, to the pit, to the effects and lighting, worked perfectly together.

Nora rushed out after the initial crowd had filtered out of the theatre, throwing her arms around Ren and Pyrrha's necks enthusiastically. "The flowers are so nice!" she squealed proudly. "Did you like the show though? Wasn't it awesome?"

"It was wonderful, Nora," Pyrrha laughed, extracting herself from her friend's hold and pulling away.

She was about to add more, but froze instead. Right before her eyes, the redhead watched as Nora looked over to Ren for a seal of approval, releasing him as well. When the man nodded warmly, her entire face lit up, and she lightly tapped his nose before turning back to Pyrrha.

The entire exchange was so obvious. How had she not recognized their relationship earlier?

Surprisingly enough, it was Ren who spoke first. "I'll make sure Nora gets home. Jaune, take Pyrrha home." Before either of them could protest, he guided Nora to sit in the front of the theatre, where the rest of the cast and crew were gathering to take notes before closing down HTC for the night. Pyrrha wanted to protest, but a firm glare from the director shooed them out, and soon Pyrrha and Jaune were standing on the sidewalk outside of HTC, silence hanging heavy between them.

"So… great show, huh?" he asked awkwardly. "You were right, the plant was awesome."

Pyrrha chuckled wryly, but her heart wasn't in it. "Yeah, they did a fantastic job." She readjusted the strap of her purse over her shoulder. This… this isn't the best time to talk about this, huh? Maybe he doesn't want to do this right now... "I'll… um… I'll talk to you later?" When he didn't respond, she turned to head towards the nearest bus stop.

"Wait!" His hand shot out and grabbed her arm. She turned back, startled at the contact- and the bright red in his cheeks as he stuttered out, "C-come back to my place?"

She flushed head-to-toe. That certainly wasn't what she had been expecting. "Oh." But even before she could formulate a coherent response, her feet began taking steps towards him, and soon they were walking the opposite direction, towards the train station. The train was packed, but Jaune grabbed her a seat and hovered over her protectively, allowing her to keep her eyes trained on her hands, fidgeting anxiously with her lanyard in her lap.

Oh.

Yet, her worries and unease faded away almost-instantly when she walked through his front door. Sitting on his armchair was the stuffed otter she had won for him at the aquarium. He had kept it- and something about that innocuous little truth allowed her to relax completely.

He hadn't been lying in the theatre. He was serious about her.

Jaune made them both cups of decaf, and they settled to sipping their drinks quietly around his cluttered kitchen. "You kept it," she murmured, nodding towards the otter.

"Of course I did."

Sip. "So… you meant what you said? You'd like to try?"

Jaune nodded hesitantly. "I mean… if you'll have me." He quickly backtracked, "I mean, I'm leaving soon for my trip- shit, maybe we should only talk about it after, I don't want to force you to make a choice-"

"No, Jaune," she laughed, genuine and true. "It's okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Sip. "So… should we tell Ruby and them? That we're giving it a shot?"

Pyrrha snorted. Ruby had caused so much grief for the two of them over the past month, but now that the tension between herself and Jaune had so easily ceased, she didn't harbour any frustration towards the younger. Without her ridiculous schemes, she wouldn't have grown so close with Jaune, after all.

Still, she joked, "Maybe we should let them wonder for a while longer?"

He flashed her a wicked grin. "See, this is why I knew I liked you, Pyrrha."

And she laughed even harder, the blond seizing the opportunity to crack more jokes until she was clutching the countertop for support through fits of giggles.

They didn't tell anyone that she didn't go home that night. Instead, they purposefully avoided each other for the week, feigning ignorance whenever Ruby and Nora and Ren asked. Soon, concerned messages from the entire group began flooding in, and the two of them could only giggle and share their victories through late night chats on the phone. They didn't mind, though- "It's good practice for when you head out!" Pyrrha reasoned, and Jaune had to agree.

When they finally did tell their friends about their own schemes, the results were more than satisfying. Ruby and Yang were upset over the trick, while Weiss could only repeat, "You are all dolts. I don't know why I hang out with any of you!" Sun and Neptune congratulated them, and Ilia, the new girl at A Simple Bean, merely blinked at the news.

"She thought we were dating already," Jaune explained to Pyrrha, and the redhead could only laugh.

But the fireworks display in the local park which Ruby had told them about was beautiful, and Pyrrha and Jaune were more than happy to go on behalf of Nora and Ren while the orange-haired woman relaxed at home for her last night off before the show officially launched. At the end of the day, Ruby had been right about one thing, after all- her giant binder really was filled with some pretty good ideas to get people to fall in love.

-fin-