Destiny No More

Chapter 96

Pyrrha stood as still as a rock, mouth left hanging open slightly in what was possibly the worst pose for a statue that anyone would have ever seen. Any effort to close her mouth was quickly halted by the fact her brain was barely able to form thoughts.

"W-what?" Pyrrha's finally managed to force out the word.

"I said," Coco swallowed, looking back to meet Pyrrha's eyes. The determination in her eyes was mixed with embarrassment, but she managed to hold her gaze as she said it. "I like you. Do I need to spell it out?"

"No, I just..." Pyrrha paused. What did she say?

Coco sighed, looking away once more as the embarrassment became too much. "I tried to stay back. You had your eyes on someone else and I wanted to support that. You deserve that happiness." She groaned softly, bringing a hand to her face to cover her eyes. "I didn't know you were just gonna play it by ear. If I did, I would have been a lot more assertive."

Pyrrha shuttered at the idea. Coco was flirty and blunt at the best of times, she dreaded to think what the girl would do when she wanted to show her more involved interest. The two of them stood there in silence for a while. The air should have been awkward, but honestly, it didn't feel like that.

"When did you..." Pyrrha didn't know how to say it, thankfully Coco seemed to catch her meaning.

"Fall head over heels in love?" The smirk on Coco's face betrayed her teasing, even if it was at her own expense. Pyrrha chuckled softly, but felt her face heat up, nonetheless. "It might sound cheesy, but from the moment I met you."

Pyrrha groaned. "You were right, that does sound cheesy. I'm pretty sure I've heard that line in a romance movie."

"Maybe, but it's true." Coco smiled and shrugged. "It wasn't love at first sight or anything like that, but seeing you in those shorts in the middle of a workout? Let's just say I was impressed." Coco winked, causing Pyrrha to blush and look away. "Got to know you after that, but by the time I thought we knew each other well enough to make a move, you were already pining after Jaune."

"I wasn't pining." Pyrrha grumbled. "And you could have said something anyway."

"Yeah, but I didn't want to get in the way," Coco nodded, laughing warmly as she turned to lean her back on the rail as she looked towards the dance hall. "Just like you in that regard, I guess."

Just as Pyrrha had been willing to step back for Jaune and Weiss, Coco had been willing to do the same for her. The humor wasn't lost on Pyrrha and she joined Coco in her laughter, as brief as it was.

When the silence threatened to take over once more, Pyrrha asked the obvious. "So, what now?"

Coco shrugged. "That's up to you."

"What are my options?" Pyrrha asked. It was a little awkward to ask, but as far as she was concerned, this just wasn't something she knew how to handle. She didn't want to ignore it though, after how long she and Jaune had danced around the issue, she wasn't willing to go through all of that again.

"We can ignore it," Coco looked over towards her, clearly doing her best to keep a straight face and largely failing. "If that's what you want."

Was that what she wanted? She didn't know. Before her time in Beacon, she hadn't even been able to imagine making the friends she had now, let alone falling for her partner. The thought of her and Coco hadn't ever crossed her mind. It was not, however, an idea that put her off.

"And if that's not what I want?" Pyrrha wasn't sure why she asked. She didn't know if she even could return Coco's feelings, let alone if she wanted to. She was a friend, somebody that Pyrrha trusted, cared about, and enjoyed her time with. Honestly, it wasn't so dissimilar to how her and Jaune had started.