Ruby

“Ruby.”

Ruby felt like her chest exploded out of happiness from hearing that.

“W-why?” Pyrrha stuttered.

“Pyrrha, I care about you deeply too,” Jaune told her. “You’re kind, strong, smart, anyone in the world would be glad to have you.”

“T-then w-why?”

“You’re like a sister to me,” Jaune continued. “You’re family and while I would never want to sever ties with you, I’m… not romantically interested. You’re still one of my closest friends and partners. I know this hurts. I really know exactly what this feels like, but I need to be honest. Leading people on is wrong and I can’t do that.”

“I see.” Pyrrha looked downtrodden. “Thank you being direct and honest with me.”

“I promise to still treat you like I always have,” Jaune told her. “You’re family.”

“I… would like that.” Pyrrha wiped a tear from her eyes. “Well, I should go and let you two talk.” She stood up and left before Jaune could say a word.

“That… could have gone better.” He muttered.

“It could have been worse too.” Ruby told him. She hugged him tightly. “I’m so happy right now, I feel like I could burst.”

Jaune hugged her back and smiled.

“I’m happy too. I should have seen it sooner.”

Ruby lowered her head and bit the corner of her lip. Jaune’s blue eyes glowed back only a few inches away. Their faces began to slowly move closer. An instant felt like an eternity. At last, their lips met and Ruby was in heaven. This was everything she wanted. His strong arms wrapped around her, his kindness to not only her, but everyone around them, and his warm body pressed against her own. They broke apart and Ruby fell on the bed, grinning stupidly.

“What now?” Jaune asked.

“Hmm.” Ruby slipped her hand into her pocket and hit the Rest button. With a flash, she was back to normal. No longer metal, no longer older, no longer possessing stolen body parts. She was completely herself. It actually felt good. Different but good. Jaune didn’t notice anything different and she was glad she waited. “I think I know.”

Originally by Zone