Nevan Ren was a quiet child. He tended to keep to himself, enjoyed his solitude and never really lost his temper, with one exception
"What are you doing?"
Nevan sighed before looking up to see his twin sister Miki standing over him, her green eyes glittering questioningly and her burnt orange pigtails hanging near her waist. His eyebrows narrowed into a slight glare before turning his wine colored eyes back to his game, pushing his shoulder length black hair behind his ears.
"Playing Solitaire"
"By yourself?"
"It's Solitaire, it only needs one person"
"That sounds lame"
"It's a strategy game, you wouldn't get it"
That seemed to satisfy her for the moment as she shifted from foot to foot; Nevan swore if she was ever stood still for just a minute she'd probably fall over which probably wouldn't be a bad thing at this point as her shifting served to be constant distraction. He sighed, counting to five under his breath to calm himself. He may have his father's face but he most certainly didn't have his patience. He tried his best to ignore her out but his concentration was broken by another "Why?"
He groaned "Miki weren't you helping Mom?"
"Yeah but she left, so I got bored"
"Miki" Nevan turned to see his father standing in the doorway behind him "Why don't you go help Weiss with the salad, I'm sure she'd need some help chopping" He said patiently
"Okay!" Miki cried. She skipped happily, nearly ruining Nevan's perfectly set up solitaire set in the process. He mouthed 'thank you' to his father before turning back to his game. Ren chuckled as he followed his daughter into the kitchen, he honestly couldn't blame his son, Miki had the energy of Nora times ten and she was never still, always ready with an endless list of questions for anyone within four feet of her. Not to mention she was a walking tornado, everything she touched seemed to get destroyed. He watched as she pulled a stool next to Weiss and jump up, grabbing a tomato. Luckily the one thing she got from him was his cooking ability; Nevan could barely boil water without starting a fire so he had no reason to be nervous about her there. As he watched her though, he couldn't help his mind from wandering back.
It was inevitable that he and Nora would get married, like the changing of seasons it was natural. Once Nora was pregnant she wanted to know the gender immediately. Unfortunately Ren had other obligations and was unable to make it to that particular ultrasound. He remembered getting home late that night, deciding to make some breakfast for him and his wife. After a quick shower and dressing in only a pair of pajama pants, his damp hair falling down his back. He broke a couple eggs and started to fry them, Nora had been craving them lately and at least it was better than her usual pancakes. The door opened slowly and he could hear Nora shuffling her feet as she walked up to the stove. He glanced at her only briefly but he could tell something was bothering her, she looked nervous and unsure.
He smiled, hoping that would be enough to calm her "So how'd the ultrasound go, how's our little sloth?"
"Um... Well" Nora wrung her hands anxiously, staring at her feet her voice was barely above a whisper "its sloths actually, with an S... We're having twins"
A loud bang echoed off the walls as Ren slid down the stove and on to the floor in shock "Um..." He wet his lips "I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that could you repeat it?"
Nora smiled weakly "We're having twins, Ren"
"Twins" He laughed nervously "Right" Twins, how could he be having twins!? He could barely afford one kid let alone two! This was impossible! How did this even happen?
"Um Ren, your eggs are burning"
He glanced back up at the stove seeing a plume of black smoke starting to form "Oh shit!" He jumped up and furiously starting moving the frying pan back and forth trying to salvage they're breakfast. His hands were shaking and he could feel a bead of sweat rolling off the side of his neck, from fear or joy he couldn't tell.
He felt Nora wrap her arms around him from the side "I'm sorry! She cried "I thought if I told you, you wouldn't want them"
He whipped his head around "Of course I want them!
Nora's eyes shone and she smiled expectantly "Really?"
He paused, she was looking at him with one of her puppy dog expressions and she knew how much he loved them. He could feel his mind going blank and she shook his head as he searched for the right things to say as "it's just that... it's a lot of lien to raise twins Nora"
She pouted, scrunching her face as she thought. Ren couldn't help smiling at how cute she looked. Suddenly she gasped, her eyes lighting up "We could sell sloth dolls!" She exclaimed
Ren laughed before placing a kiss on his wife's head, even with this shock he could never say mad at Nora for long "I love you but I don't think that's going to work" He said softly "Neither of us know how to sew"
She pouted again
Ren sighed "Did the doctor say the genders?"
Nora perked up "It's a girl and a boy" She exclaimed.
Ren laughed nervously "Well, now we can stop arguing about which one we want" He rubbed the back of his head, trying his best to lift the mood.
Nora stared at him, her eyes holding a hint of sadness. Despite his semblance Ren was never good at hiding how he really felt and Nora always knew when he was faking it. He sighed in defeat, shoving the pan of half burnt eggs off to the side and turning off the element he wrapped his wife in a tight hug "It'll be fine" He soothed "We'll find a way to make lien somehow"
Nora looked up at him with the same puppy dog look "You promise?"
He smiled softly, staring down into her wide turquoise eyes "I promise"
Nora squealed, pulling him closer and burying her face in his naked chest "Thank you, Ren!"
Even now, Miki was using the same puppy face with Weiss to try and convince her to part with some freshly chopped produce, Weiss eventually gave in and handed her a piece of tomato which she gulped down greedily and Ren smiled watching them.
In the living room, Nevan had grown tired of his game and wandered back into the kitchen just as the front doorknob turned.
Miki gasped, jumping off the stool and rushing the door "Mommy's back!" She cried.
Another trait of Miki's is that she was very impulsive, and tended to yell the same thing no matter who was at the door, they had to peel her off the mailman three times this week. Luckily it was they're mother, returned from Jaune's desperate plea for more ice and caught her daughter as she jumped into her arms. Any bystander would consider this a simple act of childish affection but Ren knew that Miki always had ulterior motives.
"Did you bring me something, did you, did you, did you!?"She cried, bouncing up and down in excitement.
Nora smiled, reaching into her pocket "You mean this?" She pulled out a couple little caramels in shiny gold wrapping. To make extra money Nora sometimes had to take extra missions. As an apology for being gone so long she would bring back her children small treats or toys soon it became her tradition that she would bring back little snacks whenever she went out.
Miki's eyes lit up when she saw the tiny candies; she grabbed the caramels and jumped down, spinning around happily "Yay yay yay yay yay!" She squealed. She ran off but was quickly caught by Ren.
She looked up her father who cleared his throat poignantly "What do you say, Miki?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
The ginger girl smiled, a cheeky grin she always expected to get her out of trouble and turned to her mother "Thank you, Mommy"
Nora smiled back "Your welcome"
Ren let her go and she raced towards the living room, Nevan following behind her with the promise of treats.
Nora placed down the ice, she treasured these happy moments because they were few and far between. Miki and Nevan had constant sibling rivalry since the two were born and would fight about everything, missing toys, extra dessert at dinner, going into each other's rooms. They had to separate they're bedrooms at two different sides of the house just so they would stop accusing each other of taking each other's things. Nora never understood how her children could be so similar yet so different from them. Ren and her never fought but they're children were like volcanos, waiting to explode at the slightest provocation. She hoped at the very least they'd keep it under control for tonight.
Back in the living room, Cerise and Nelly were gathered around an old game of Total Annihilation that Jaune had found in the attic, it skipped a bit but still seemed to work and the girls were hypnotized by it as soon as they figured out the controls
"I wonder if Mel will show up" Cerise asked, her fingers flying over her scroll.
"I hope not, she's scary" Nelly answered.
Cerise looked at her "Really?"
"Yeah, she never talks, it's creepy"
Cerise shrugged, turning back "She has to talk sometime"
Nelly shook her head "Nah, she's totally mute"
Miki bounded up to them 'Hey can I play?" She asked
"Maybe later Miki" Cerise said, not looking behind her "It's a two player game"
Miki shrugged "Okay" Unfazed, the ginger skipped to the couch and hopped up before untwisting the caramel wrapping and popping both candies in her mouth, smiling happily and swinging her legs over the edge.
Nevan approached her, staring confused at her smug grin "Where's mine?"
Miki paused looking down at the empty caramel wrappers in her hands "Oops, I ate them" She grinned, rubbing the back of her head.
Nevan's rage boiled over, he had been waiting just as long for those caramels as she had and they were his favorite, he reached out and shoved his sister "You're so selfish!" He yelled.
Miki glared, jumping off the couch to confront him "It's not my fault; you should've got here faster!" She cried.
"That doesn't matter!"
The girls behind them made no intention to move, being used to the siblings fights
Miki looked like she was going to deck him but smirked; crossing her arms confidently "Maybe they were both for me" She mocked "Because Mommy and Daddy like me better"
Nevan had had it; he hated his sister's insufferable smugness. Her cry could be heard from the kitchen as he punched her. One near fist fight later and Nevan was sitting In Ruby and Jaune's room in time out with a bruised ego and a scowl on his face.
Miki entered, looking at her feet and rubbing her still sore jaw "Mommy says I have to tell you sorry for eating the caramel" Her voice drifted off as she spoke and she kicked at the ground awkwardly.
Nevan's scowl turned into a glare and he stared at the wall "I don't care, it was still my caramel" He grumbled
Miki growled angrily, clenching her fists "Nevan Ren, if I have to spend one more day with you I'm going to go crazy!" She shouted
Nevan turned to her "Good, then don't follow me to Beacon!" He shouted back
"If your there, I don't want to be a Huntress!"
"Good!"
"Good!"
"Good!"
Miki slammed the door and Nevan screamed into Ruby's pillow wishing, like he did every night, that he were born an only child.