Chapter Text
Pyrrha's smile warms everyone's heart, even on a video call. She's still sweaty, still in her uniform, calling her little family from her locker room, where her team has mostly left. Many, many miles away, Ren, Nora, Emerald, and Jaune crowd around Emerald's laptop, all sitting on a couch together. It's a tight fit for them to all fit in the camera picture, but Pyrrha seems to appreciate it. The poor connection makes her look more than a little pixelated. As she talks, she waves wildly, still clearly out of breath. "I had hoped we'd do better, but... ugh, that last team knew what they were doing! But- I mean, I probably should be more upset, but we made it to the finals! I'm still not over that. I think that's more than enough for this year."
Pyrrha's enthusiasm is contagious, and the group on the other end of the call is smiling. With a sigh, Jaune says "I'm just sorry we couldn't be there. I would've loved to cheer you on."
The others murmur their assent. Pyrrha sighs and wipes the sweat off her brow on the other end. Nora's face flushes slightly at the sight. "Next year, for sure," Pyrrha gives the group a thumbs up, "I'm finding a way to get you guys out here. I've really missed my sweethearts."
A chorus of awwws makes Pyrrha chuckle. "It's not the same without you here," says Nora, looking into the distance with a wistful smile. "We need our buff girlfriend back."
A giggle from the other end, and when Nora's eyes drift back to the screen, Pyrrha's jokingly flexing her arms. Nora's face reddens, and the others laugh, Emerald poking her side teasingly. Nora pouts. "Now that's just mean."
Ren sighs. "It's a pretty long ride back, too. It'll be too long before we see you again."
Pyrrha nods. "I wish this tournament wasn't so far away. And I wish I could get home to you all sooner. I really miss you, so much."
There's a moment of silence, and then Jaune snaps his fingers. "What if we came to you?"
All eyes turn to him, and the tallest of the polycule begins sweating. "Like, what if the four of us went on a road trip to go get you?"
"Wouldn't that... take just as long for us to see her?" Ren points out, reasonably. "And even longer for the five of us to be at home together?"
Pyrrha frowns thoughtfully. "Our bus doesn't leave until Friday, so I guess it might be a little faster? Although Ren's right about it actually being a longer amount of time until we're all back at home. Also, how are we going to fit five people in one car for that long? Also, what about sleeping arrangements?"
All reasonable criticisms, and yet they do nothing to stop Jaune. "My sister owns a big RV that she hasn't used in a while, and I bet she'd let us borrow it. That's sleeping and vehicle done."
"But it's still not practical," points out Emerald. "We really could just wait, and it'd be much easier."
Jaune nods. "Yes, that's true. However: A road trip would be fun, we'd see Pyrrha sooner, even though we'd get home later, and we could go sightseeing and stuff on the way!"
Pyrrha nods. "Those are... actually pretty good points."
Ren hums appreciatively. "Yes, they are. This... might not be a bad idea."
Emerald sighs. "I mean... I guess it might be nice." She pouts, but her partners can spot the hint of a smile dragging the corners of her lips upward.
Nora grins. "I'm in! This is gonna be great!"
Pyrrha beams. "Great! I'll be looking forward to seeing you!" She blows a kiss to the camera, and the group exchanges their goodbyes. After the call ends, Jaune whoops.
"Road trip! I'll call Saffron about the RV!" He runs off to his room, and the others stare at each other for a moment.
Emerald groans. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Jaune smiles, looking at the RV. "Looks great! Thanks for going to all this trouble."
Saffron ruffles Jaune's hair, a difficult task considering their height difference. "No problem. Anything for my baby brother." The nickname makes Jaune groan, but he grudgingly accepts it. "Well, I don't want to keep Terra waiting. Have fun, you four!"
As she walks off, the group appraises the vehicle. "It's smaller than I expected," remarks Emerald. "You sure there's enough space?"
Jaune shyly rubs the back of his neck. "There should be! Although, there's only 3 beds for the four of us, so-"
"Dibs on sharing with Emmy!" blurts out Nora, wrapping her arm around the taller girl's shoulder.
Jaune blinks, then nods. "Alright, you two can take the bed in the back. Em, is that okay?"
Emerald's face heats up. "Um, yeah, that's fine." Nora laughs delightedly.
Jaune nods, and turns to Ren. "Do you want the loft bed, or the pullout? Either one works for me."
"I'll take the pullout." Ren smiles at his boyfriend. "Who drives first?"
Emerald shyly raises her hand. "I guess I could go, if that's okay?"
"It's perfectly fine, dear." says Ren, punctuating his sentence by swooping in to give Emerald a brief peck on the lips. Her face heats up.
Jaune grins. "Shotgun!"
The four lovers race into the RV, loading it with all the belongings they deemed necessary to bring. In addition to necessities such as clean clothes, toiletries, etc, they all carry their own personal things, ranging from Emerald's half empty backpack to Jaune's overflowing with sentimental items he couldn't bear to leave at home. They all strap into the RV, and Jaune leans over to press a kiss to Emerald's cheek from the passenger's seat. "Are we ready?" he says softly in her ear, and her heart soars with adoration.
Gradually, Emerald starts to get the RV moving. "Okay," she says, her voice shaking. "Here we go."