"Hey, Pyrrha," Ruby said as she walked up to the champion in the center of the arena.

"Hello, Ruby," Pyrrha replied, giving her girlfriend a smile. "Are you ready?"

"You could say that, yeah," Ruby stated, sounding slightly nervous.

It was the last round of the combat tournament. In the time since the dance, Ruby and Pyrrha had mostly kept their relationship a secret from the public, though both their friends and families knew and approved of their relationship. As for Ruby and Pyrrha, the two young women were the happiest they had ever been. Cinder's plan had been foiled at the Vytal Festival ball, her co-conspirators had all been placed under arrest, and both Ruby and Pyrrha were lauded as heroes.

"So, we're still going to be dating after this, right?" Ruby asked, glancing to the ground nervously.

Pyrrha laughed. "Yes, Ruby," she replied, just quietly enough for Ruby to hear. "We will still be dating after this."

"Just making sure," Ruby replied. "Ready?"

Pyrrha drew Miló and Akoúo. "Only if you are," she replied.

Ruby unsheathed Crescent Rose. "Then let's do it," Ruby said confidently.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Professor Port called over the loudspeaker, "we are finally at the last round, between everyone's favorite invincible girl, miss Pyrrha Nikos, and the youngest student to ever attend Beacon Academy," the crowd erupted in cheers. "And, competing against her is one of the most skilled young fighters I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, miss Ruby Rose!" The crowd again erupted in cheers, causing Ruby to blush slightly.

"Combatants ready!" Professor Oobleck called. "Begin!"

Ruby and Pyrrha started to circle the edge of the arena. Silver eyes locked with emerald, and he two girls stopped. They both nodded. Suddenly, both girls charged at each other, with Pyrrha leading with her shield and Ruby holding her scythe blade behind her. Ruby swung Crescent Rose around and felt herself shudder as the blade slammed into Pyrrha's shield. The invincible girl swung around with her sword, and Ruby quickly fired Crescent Rose to dodge out of the way. Ruby slid to a stop at the edge of the arena and quickly turned to fire a single shot from the rifle. The bullet hit Pyrrha in the shoulder, knocking her back slightly, and Pyrrha replied by firing a pair of shots at Ruby. Ruby dashed out of the way of the first shot, but she felt the second one hit her shoulder, sending a brief jolt of pain through her body as her aura absorbed the hit.

Ruby charged forward again, using her semblance to accelerate her towards Pyrrha as she fired a pair of shots from Crescent Rose. The first round connected with Pyrrha's shield, and she deflected the second with her sword, unleashing a torrent of slashes at Ruby as the two girls came into close quarters. Ruby replied with a series of attacks of her own, and shell cases flew through the air and landed around the two dueling opponents.

Ruby and Pyrrha broke apart and stopped again at the edge of the arena. Ruby glanced up at the board listing both hers and Pyrrha's Auras. Both girls' were very nearly depleted, with the number displaying a 16 above the bar.

"Well," Ruby said tiredly, "that's a thing."

"Indeed," Pyrrha replied, panting slightly as well.

"Well, it seems that both fighters are down to the end of their Auras," Professor Port called over the loudspeaker. "If either one takes another hit, then this incredible tournament will come to an end. Regardless of how this duel goes, I think we can all agree that this was an incredible event to witness."

"Together?" Ruby asked Pyrrha.

"Together," Pyrrha replied with a tired smile.

Pyrrha took aim at Ruby, and Ruby replied in kind, staring down the scope of Crescent Rose. The two rifles echoed out with simultaneous shots. Ruby felt the bullet pass her ear and sighed gently. Pyrrha, by contrast, felt Ruby's high-caliber round slam into her abdomen, knocking her to the ground.

"And that concludes the match!" Professor Port said as the arena broke out into applause. "And, in a dramatic upset, the world champion Pyrrha Nikos has been defeated by Ruby Rose!"

Ruby walked over to Pyrrha. With a small smile, she offered a hand to the older girl and helped her to her feet.

"Good match," Ruby said with a smile.

"Same to you," Pyrrha replied, her emerald eyes gleaming.

"Should we?" Ruby asked, cocking her head slightly.

Pyrrha gave Ruby a brilliant smile. "Yes, I think we should."

Ruby nodded. She and Pyrrha rapped their arms around each other, and slowly leaned into each other. After what felt like an eternity, their lips finally met in a gentle kiss. Both girls held each other in that position for what could have been a second or a year, completely oblivious to the second, louder, round of applause that had begun around them. The two young women released each other and pulled into a gentle hug, both sighing contentedly.

"I love you, Pyrrha," Ruby whispered.

"I love you too, Ruby," the former champion replied.

Ruby and Pyrrha lay next to each other in team RWBY's dorm, with Ruby snuggled into Pyrrha's body and Pyrrha with her arms wrapped gently around the younger girl.

"This is nice," Ruby said with a contented sigh.

"Yes it is," Pyrrha replied with a smile as she closed her eyes.

"Hey Pyrrha?" Ruby said

"Hmm?"

"Back in the arena, you said you loved me," she said, turning her head to look at her girlfriend. "Did you mean it?"

"You said it first, you know" Pyrrha replied giving Ruby a smile as she reopened her eyes

"Well yeah, but, still, did you?"

"Let me put it this way," Pyrrha said, sitting up in the bed. "Even if I was defeated, I'm still one of the most well-known fighters in the world, and I kissed you on camera. If I didn't love you, there is no way I would have done that. So, yes, Ruby, I do really love you."

Ruby smiled as she closed her eyes settled back into Pyrrha's body. "I love you too," she replied.

"Good," Pyrrha replied smiling as she wrapped Ruby into a hug.

"So, what happens now?" Ruby asked.

"Not sure, really," Pyrrha replied. "For the first time in my life, I have my own choice in what happens. Most of my life was decided before I had the chance to say anything about it. For the first time, it's my choice what to do."

"And, what are you going to do?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha hugged Ruby a little tighter. "I think my first choice is going to be spending the night with the girl I love," she replied, kissing the back of the new champion's head.

Ruby giggled. "I love you too," she replied with a gentle smile.

Both Pyrrha and Ruby lay there for several minutes. Eventually, Pyrrha felt Ruby's breaths start to become more drawn out, until she heard a faint snore from the girl, causing Pyrrha to giggle slightly.

I really do love you, Pyrrha thought as she closed her eyes with a gentle smile. And I promise you that I will love you for the rest of my life.

A/N: And we're done on the first day of the new year! Told you folks this was going to be rather short. Personally, though, I think it said what it needed to.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to you all for reading, not only this, but all of the other things I put out, from Lone White Rose all the way to the collab I'm participating in called Room 205. You guys are a great audience, and the entire reason I'm still around, so thanks for being there everyone.

Now that this is concluded, I'm sure some of you might be expecting me to announce a new story to take it's place in the lineup. Well, unfortunately, I'm going to have to disappoint you there. Writing four stories simultaneously is rather difficult, especially if I want to keep a relatively consistent schedule. Consequentially, I will continue writing my three stories (Flight of a Rose, Rose Guardian, and The Path We Walk), and a new one will follow on when I have at least one of those completed. In case you're wondering, I have a total of four in the pipe, with two listed on my profile, and two more unannounced ones (with both having a sci-fi base). As for what the latter two are, I'll reveal those at a later date.

As always, everyone, thanks for reading! You all have been a great audience! Up next is chapter 11 of Rose Guardian! I'll see you all then, and I hope you have a safe and happy new year!