Aftermath

A/N: Welcome, one and all to…..okay, what is it with me and Pyrrha oneshots lately? I'm a little late. Nah, just joking. This is a Reactsverse Oneshot, taking place between chapters 26 and 27 of Volume 3 of Weiss Reacts; so if you haven't read that, this will make absolutely no sense because there are quite a few references to older chapters. This covers poor Pyrrha's response to….well, seeing herself die on screen. Because that can't be healthy. At all. Seriously, how would you feel if you saw yourself die on screen, knowing full well that wasn't some sort of actor? Yeah.

Needless to say, Pyrrha's gonna need a stiff drink. Anyway, let's get started!

DISCLAIMER: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, otherwise….well, take a guess, it starts with 'Pyrrha' and ends with 'wouldn't be dead'. Credit to He who is AWESOME for story idea.

All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.

Warning for spoilers to Volume 3's ending!

"Do you believe in destiny?" Pyrrha asked defiantly, glaring up at her soon-to-be killer. Cinder's harsh expression changed, seemingly taken aback by the question.

"…..yes."

Stepping backwards, the pyromancer conjured her bow into her hands, notching a glass arrow aiming directly at Pyrrha's heart.

The spearmaiden resisted the urge to close her eyes, to turn away from her doom. It was all she could do to face her death. All she could do. She wanted more, really; more than just this fate, but she had chosen to go to it.

She reassured herself with one final apology to the one she loved, hoping that would steel her for what came next.

'Jaune….I'm sorry. I love you. Please, forgive me.'

Ruby barely managed to clamber over the rooftop to see the arrow sink itself into her chest.

The last thing Pyrrha Nikos felt was a searing, burning pain, spreading rapidly from her chest and throughout her body, and the blood rushing through her throat as her lifeblood ebbed from her literally broken heart.

She wanted the agony to stop. Nothing more than for it all to end.

And then all was nothing.

Pyrrha's eyes shot open and she sat up, looking around, sweat running down her back. It was the fifth time tonight her slumber had been interrupted with that image. She was safe and sound in JNPR dorm, with Nora and Ren in the beds nearby, their soft breathing reassuring Pyrrha that she was alive, that it had all been a dream and that she had not been cut down in battle.

The image of her final moments, choking to death on her own blood as she burned to death from the inside out, dying at the hands of the woman she knew in her world to be a kind, if eccentric teacher, was imprinted in her mind's eye. She knew it was nothing more than fiction, nothing more than a mere animation with their likenesses, but it felt real to her regardless.

It had been her voice that had uttered those choking, pained gasps, her hands that had clutched at the fatal arrow in her heart, and her agonised eyes that had widened, before she had slumped, the struggle of her life ended with fire and cut short before her time.

To add insult to injury, she had even kissed Jaune before she went off to what had become her death. She had affirmed her love for him and had it taken away just as quickly.

The spearmaiden was ashamed that this younger version of her had the courage to do what she could not, to show her love for the one she loved. She was also scared.

She knew it was illogical. Professor Torchwick wasn't going to be eaten, but currently sleeping elsewhere in the school in his quarters. Penny wasn't dead by her hands, but safe on a transport back to wherever she lived. So why should she assume that Professor Fall would follow what her counterpart did and kill her in cold blood?

Nonetheless, the thought of being separated forevermore from Jaune by a single arrow kept going back to her.

"…..I can't sleep." The spearmaiden sighed, shaking her head. She brushed a stray strand of long red hair from her eyes and stood up from her bed, looking around the darkness of the dorm. Aside from the moonlight pouring through their window, only the beeping lights of their charging scrolls shone through the darkness. Outside, a strong wind howled, and Pyrrha could hear the trees banging on the windows of the dorms below with a light rapping.

For a moment, all was quiet in the dorm, save for the light tapping of the glass by branches and the howling wind outside.

"Me neither." Suddenly, the silence was broken once more by Jaune's trembling, shaky voice.

Pyrrha whirled around to see Jaune, his golden hair barely lit up by the pale moonlight. The boy was staring at the window, and his eyes looked red and wet, as if he'd been crying. He seemed to tremble at her sight, surprised by her appearance.

"…Jaune, is everything alright?" The spearmaiden, forgetting her own issues for the moment, sat by him, placing an arm comfortingly around his shoulder.

"…I….can't."

"You can't-"
"I can't stop seeing it, Pyrrha." Jaune uttered, his voice shaking. "….I-I can't stop….seeing you die. I know it's just a s-show. B-but you can't….y-you can't tell me that didn't happen somewhere, out there. N-not after w-we went to another universe, for Dust's sake!

S-somewhere out there, I've got to live…..w-without you. I…." He sniffed, shaking his head.

"…don't worry." The spearmaiden pressed up against his side, hugging him tightly. She herself could not erase the image from her eyes, either, and she wanted to latch on to someone for comfort. "I-I'm here, Jaune. I'm not g-going anywhere."

"B-but what if you-" The knight spoke up, before choking slightly. "…..I-I just….Pyrrha, damn it, I don't want to lose you! I-I've come this far because of you and….I…I couldn't…

I love you, and….I-I wouldn't….I wouldn't know what to do if you-"

"…l-like I said, Jaune." Pyrrha repeated, trying to steady her own voice as she faced him. "…..I-I'm not going anywhere.

I'm always g-going to be here, with you."

"I just….." Jaune choked again, letting the tears run down his cheeks. He clung to Pyrrha as if she were going to be taken away, blown away by a gust of strong wind. "…I love you. Please….d-don't leave me."

"…...I won't leave you." The spearmaiden tried to intone in a fierce manner, but all that came out was one of desperation as her voice faltered. She never wanted to be separated from him.

That would be death enough for her, even without being shot in the heart.

She turned to hug him, clinging to him just as tightly. "…..I-I promise. Jaune, I will never leave y-you… I c-could never imagine a world where….I-I'm not there with you…..I…."

"…w-we should…..we don't need to worry about it, right?" Jaune perked up, sniffling through his tears. "…..a-as long as…."

"As long as you and I….if we h-have each other's backs…i-it'll never happen." Pyrrha completed for him, nodding, not even noticing her own tears roll onto his shoulder. "I-I won't leave your side…."
"…and I w-won't ever let you go."

For a moment, the spearmaiden and knight just sat there in each other's embrace, letting each other's warmth reassure them that their other half was there, safe and sound. For a moment, only their breathing filled the dorm, and the howling winds outside and the shaking trees were silent once more.

That moment seemed like an eternity, continuing when they pulled apart, simply staring at each other in the cold moonlight through teary eyes. They stared at each other, trying to get as much as they could, as if any minute one of them would vanish, never to be seen again.

As if at any moment, one of them would fade to ashes on the wind.

Finally, at last, the silence was once more broken and the moment faded, forgotten.

"I-if it's alright…" Pyrrha plaintively inquired, blushing slightly. "…..I-I….I would like to sleep with you."

Jaune was taken aback as he stared at her, his own cheeks reddening. "P-Pyrrha, I'm-!"
Her eyes widened in shock. "N-not what I meant! I…." She looked away, pressing her hands against her mouth in case she woke Nora and Ren up to calm herself down, before she sighed.

"I-I meant….I want to….just….be in your bed, with you. I….don't think I can sleep alone tonight. To be honest….I-I've been seeing i-it too. M-myself dying, I mean.

I…..I want to know I-I'm safe….a-and…..I….I f-feel safest when I'm with you."

"….o-oh." The knight sounded relieved. "…I…..yeah. I don't think I can, e-either. I….I just need to know that you're here. For tonight." He smiled at her as best as he could muster, despite his tears. "…sure, Pyrrha. We can share the bed."

"….t-thank you, Jaune." The spearmaiden smiled back, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I…..I need this."

The knight sighed as she pulled his blanket up, sliding himself under it and leaving space for Pyrrha to slip in. "Anything for you. J-just say the word."

"Thank you." Pyrrha nodded gratefully, before slipping under the blanket deftly, trying to leave enough space for her partner to lie down beside her. "I…I really need this, you know?"

"Don't worry." Her partner lay down beside her, pressing up close. "So do I."

"…..I love you, Jaune."

"I….love you too, Pyrrha." He wrapped his arm around her to embrace her. "Good night. Sleep well. If you….wake up again, I'm here, alright?"

"And don't worry about waking me up if you do, too."

"A-alright…"

The spearmaiden pressed up against his body, trying to stay as close to him as she could, before she shut her eyes, trying to return to blissful sleep.

'I promise,' she thought, as her consciousness returned once more to the land of slumber. '…I promise, Jaune. I won't leave you.

I love you. Always remember that.'

Jaune tried to drift off to sleep, listening to the spearmaiden's soft breathing as she slumbered in his arms.

It was hard. He wanted to do more. He wanted to talk to Pyrrha more, but at the same time, he knew she needed to sleep.

He wanted to know everything about the girl in his arms, he wanted to take her around the world, he wanted to grow old with her, he wanted nothing more than to be with her and not have her taken away before he even got to know her.

The image returned to his head, the echoes of the other Pyrrha's pained gasps rung in his head and he shook the image out, looking again at the Pyrrha lying next to him, uninjured and safe.

'E-Enough, Arc.' He sighed, cursing himself. '…..y-you don't need to worry. That….that won't ever happen to Pyrrha. S-she won't die.

She's...safe. N-nothing's going to hurt her….r-right?

I….I wish I was stronger. Then…..I…I could….I won't be like the other Jaune. I won't be sent away when she needs someone. I won't have to watch like he did, when she sent him away.

When it comes to it…..I'll stand by your side, and be your shield. I won't let you die, Pyrrha.

I promise. I won't lose you in this world. I'll make sure of that.'

For now, however, it was time for sleep, regardless of promises and oaths. It was going to be a heavy day tomorrow, Jaune felt.

Homework needed doing. Weapons needed cleaning. Friends needed talking to.

This was what mattered, the here and now. He didn't need to worry about the future, about things that might never happen or things that happened in some strange permutation of their world.

What mattered was that Pyrrha was safe, now, in his arms, sleeping by his side.

She was safe.

She was alive.

Jaune sighed, blinking. Shuffling over, he planted a small kiss on Pyrrha's cheek, before returning to his earlier position.

"…..sweet dreams." He whispered to her, before closing his eyes and dozing off, not noticing the girl smile a little as she pressed just that bit closer to him.

That night, neither of them had any more nightmares about Pyrrha's death, now safe in each other's arms.

It would not be until the next morning that anything happened; but that is a story for another time.

END

A/N: I had chills thinking about writing this, so much that I actually wrote this before I wrote the Volume 3 reaction! Fancy that, eh? Also, I really wish THIS was the canon series of events.

So, I hope you enjoyed that, leave your ideas, suggestions, comments, criticisms, reviews and thoughts, and I hope you have a GREAT day! Until next time!