Chapter 42: Déboulé
I solemnly swear that I have a plan with these chapters.
She was in control. Power was at her fingertips and she could just about reach for the button, ready to unleash hell on the world. She would be lauded as the saviour of the world with but a single press, just ready to-
"Stop that, Sienna."
She stopped, giving him a catty grin. It had been quiet for the past few days, and it had been pleasant. Willow seemed to have gone completely silent, seemingly dealing with that bastard of a husband of hers, and she had her man here with her. Her fingers pressed against his side again, his eyes not quite happily gazing at her.
"But I wanted to try it. Come on, can't you cut a girl a break?"
He gave her that stern look that she liked, as if the human sensibilities were finally coming to a break and she was going to get fucked again.
"You are not going to do that again. Get this thing off me."
She smiled even broader. Of course, it was just a toy, but it did feel good. She licked over his skin, tasting the sweat on it. That had been entertaining, trying out the little mesh-fibre cover that could be applied to a shaft. The vibration function had been glorious.
She pressed the button and found her throat seized again, as he stiffened. She had power!
"Off. Now. I've-"
She playfully growled at him. A nice afternoon off, not something like a boring dreadful meeting, no assholes trying to usurp her position.
"Oh... Something wants some attention."
Her finger pushed the button again. "My... Gonna really do it, human?" He didn't disappoint. She was pressed against her bed again, groaning and yowling like a cat in heat, getting what she craved.
He pulled out of her suddenly, before she had that moment to reach the peak. She looked back at him.
"No, you can't do this to me! I was so damn close, Jaune. So damn CLOSE. Come on, put it in!"
His hand smacked her buttocks and she growled at him. He wasn't treating her properly, but-
He glared at her. She felt her ears flatten, as there was a rage in his eyes that didn't seem to stop. "Get it off, Sienna. Now."
She pushed the button and the mesh shut off, her eyes looking down. She was Sienna Khan, proud Faunus, but his voice had commanded her to shut it off and his eyes were dangerous-looking as if they were serious.
"Winter went too far. I'm not-"
He shook his head, her eyes watching him. She didn't get it. He should be happy that there was such a good-looking girl showing an interest! He was her man! Sienna didn't want just any ugly asshole with some baby dick right up in her face when she did sexy stuff, nope! Best asshole in the world and it belonged to her man, Jaune.
"So?"
She said, and he looked at her. He held up a hand and a Glyph appeared in his hand. It was the Schnee Semblance, but she thought it made him look distinguished. She might have disapproved of it before, but now it was practically something that she saw frequently, when he did a little twist and his Aura flared up.
"How can you even...? Sienna, I love you and-"
She put a finger to his lip, shaking her head. It wasn't something that he would get with his age, but it was really simple. It was natural.
"Ah, no. No moping. She sucked you off. Am I a better sucker?"
He looked at her and gave a confused look.
"Yes, she's got sloppy technique! But- Hey, that isn't the point! Aren't you mad or upset?"
She blinked. No, why should she be?
"Why should I be upset? If it was Kali, I might be somewhat upset because you'd have to fight Ghira to the death, but I don't think I have... cause to be mad? Why? Do you want me to be mad at her for being a bad cocksucker?"
Humans were weird. Jaune just stared at her as if he was looking at some sort of weird creature. She just pulled the little toy off and just got on the love-rocket. There, the world was right again. Her man was giving her pleasure and she was a happy kitty.
"What? What?!"
He was being stupid. Of course she'd not get mad. Who wanted to have some bad cocksucking done? She'd given him her body and that was his right.
"It's your right, Jaune. Now stop talking and give me a fucking. You've got to be back at Beacon soon and I want my fifth orgasm of the hour."
There was much more pleasant things to do than to worry about whether Willow's daughter needed lessons in how to suck a dick. Dicking by the human, yes. Thinking about frosty pussy? Nope.
"Sienna, I'm..."
He didn't get it, but she didn't really care much. Willow was her friend, one of her best friends. It didn't count if it was between friends. Now, if it was some low-grade bitch with saggy tits and a venereal disease that'd make her crabby for a month, she'd have to cut open a bitch and stuff her full of rocks and send her for a long swim off the pier, but that was just normal stuff for people. Menagerie had outlawed the mate-stealing punishment, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't fight to the death for her guy!
"No time to be mad, more time for the sex. I've got a whole week full of Schnee asshole to look forward to and I'm not giving up my day off for the weaklings that dare to get between the two of us." '
Jacques Schnee wanted more negotiations. If that man insinuated once more that she wasn't some sort of functioning humanoid being, she would have to strangle him with her whip or something...
'Strangle him, tie him and throw him off a damn building, bah.'
Yeah, that wouldn't be so bad. If she didn't have to fight with the public opinion of her bunch of merry Faunus, she might even go and do it herself.
'Humans really worry too much about that stuff... I've staked my claim, he smells of me. A good woman is going to have to come along to steal him away from me... And even then, it's slaughter time when I find her.'
Sienna Khan was a woman of simple pleasures with her man, at this moment.
"Hey! Don't get out of bed!"
A simple pleasure was getting out of bed, though. That could not be allowed! She hadn't had her orgasms yet! She was going for fifteen at the least!
Willow let out a slow shuddering breath, her eyes haggard-looking as she looked at her eldest daughter, currently cuffed to the chair with a set of cuffs, the look on her face thunderous as the woman raised herself up from between her legs.
"Nothing yet, but you really should wash more often with a gentle soap. It's irritated down there, your mother did state that you have a stressful job, but that's no reason to neglect your health down there, young lady." The woman was in her late fifties or something, her daughter's glaring face turning redder, as she looked at her mother with thunder in her expression.
"Nothing happened, mother."
She didn't believe her daughter. Evidence pointed to the contrary. Her daughter was nothing if not stubborn. She undoubtedly got that from her father and her mother, considering that Jacques seemed to be a Lien vampire... if not for the fact that he went outside into the sun, she might consider garlic and perhaps a stakegun of some sort.
"Olav, take the handcuff off the chair. My daughter needs her space to get out of the chair and back to the car."
Weiss was still in shock. Having to be married to Braun Wolfgarde was something that she hadn't expected, but her husband had already drafted up the contract and had signed it. With some legal mumbo-jumbo about the legalities of it as an excuse, it was apparently fully legitimate... and her daughter had no position to challenge it, as she had been instated as the heir by her own will.
As they left the gynaecologist's office, she already could see Winter getting that uppity look on her face.
'A pity...'
"You will apologize to Mister Arc, Winter."
She knew that her daughter had done wrong, but she had not dared to talk to him, afraid that he would hate her. What Winter had done had been foolish, it had been stupid and Sienna had not been very talkative either.
"I haven't done anything wrong!"
She kept insisting that. Just some head, apparently. Her daughter was a liar, and she knew it. Why else would she send such a provocative picture of herself to the young man? Why else would she keep trophies, like some depraved hedonist.
'You need help...'
She wasn't going to be able to give it, sadly. It was out of her reach, out of her skill. She was aware of global economic trends and wooing a crowd of curmudgeons into paying through the nose for her stuff, not at trying to apologize to a young man she had strong feelings for about her daughter's rape of him.
"Olav, ensure that she is in the car. We will meet with Whitley."
This would be one choice to make. She dialled the number and waited for the ringtone to stop, hearing the person on the other side pick up.
"Yes, Klein? Do you think you could be Winter's minder for a moment? It seems to be... a touch more than needed." The man was present for the Schnee family, and Olav was for her personal protection. The man had that knack with her daughters that she would like to see from the father that they had been forced to deal with, but without the grandiosity that came with the deals that her husband provided.
She got into the car, the casual, insofar as she could be called casual, clothing barely ruffled. It had just been a mother and a daughter going to the gynaecologist. She looked at her daughter, whose broody expression was just like Weiss her own.
"I am making Klein into your minder, Winter."
Her expression did not fade towards that impassiveness that she had once held for her daughter, too drunk to care or to bother. She was a woman with pride, a pride that had been trampled over by her daughter's moronic choice to go out and rape the boy that she had taken a fancy to.
"I am not si-"
She grabbed her daughter's chin and shut that mouth, looking into her eyes. Winter shrank back, as she looked the young woman into the eyes.
"I have grovelled for you, Winter Schnee. I have cried for you, I have taken hits for the safety of my children, but I will not tolerate you ever doing something like that to anyone, the least of all a young man who is Weiss' age."
Her voice was angry, as she saw the incomprehension in her daughter's eyes.
"If you cannot behave like a mature adult, then you are a child. I will be telling Mister Sieben about what you did. Tell Weiss yourself, or I will. This is one of her friends, and you did something unforgivable to him. A child, Winter. A little life, which you ripped from him with a stupid choice. I'm not happy, Winter. I will love it, just as much as I loved you when you were little."
Winter didn't respond, and Willow didn't expect a response. Her daughter's eyes looked at her, tearing up. She looked like she was hurt. Willow didn't care anymore.
"Oh, did that hurt, Winter? Think about what you did to that young man. You took from him something that he kept for that special someone in his heart, and you begot life from him."
Her daughter was crying, her heart throbbed with a pain that was instinctual, yet she suppressed it. Her daughter was a sick woman, sick enough to do something like that to a young man who had saved her mother from the dark pit she'd fallen in, who had not done a single thing to her younger sister when the opportunity had come...
"I didn't do anything, mother. I didn't..."
She didn't believe her daughter. No matter how often she repeated that, it was still a lie. She was afraid to call Jaune to hear it from his lips, so very afraid that he would hate her. Whitley was... well, she didn't know where he was, but she had to make sure that he would at least get to talk to her. It had been a while since she had last visited the house...
'And then...'
She saw the door open, Mister Sieben standing there like the stalwart butler that he was. It was a softness of his features that had always made the daughters feel safer, and her little man was happy with the butler as well, if the somewhat fond smiles were on occasion there as well.
She still loved her children, no matter what. She was not going to give up on her daughters without any sort of structure in place. She rose from her seat, Olav joining them outside the car. Klein gave her daughter a curious look, but Willow was smooth and in control.
"Mister Sieben, we have a small task for you."
There was much to be discussed with the man. She noticed that Whitley was standing there next to his father, the man's bodyguards surreptitiously arrayed around him. The look on her face was tense as she let her eyes look for the man. She spotted blonde hair and then groaned.
"Get a move on, Winter... I am not going to cause a scandal here, so off you go... Mister Sieben... Consider it your task for the foreseeable future to ensure that my daughter is kept out of the presence of..."
She motioned for Olav to take the lead, trying to affect the appearance of being 'busy', walking into the apartments that had been set aside for privacy and protection of the family. She paused in front of the room that was Winter's, regarding the man with a cool expression on her face.
"Mister Arc."
The butler's eyes looked at Winter, that look of empathy once more given to her daughter. The man was akin to a kindly uncle to them, older than she herself was by a good fifteen to twenty years. Not a man who was to be crossed, however.
"I didn't do anything, mother!"
Winter was being petulant again. Lying was such a bad trait. She definitely got that from her father.
"Evidence speaks for itself, Winter. If you cannot be honest to at least the family butler, I will be honest for you. It is the least that I can do for my daughter, even if she lies. Mister Sieben, Winter is with child."
The man smiled kindly at her daughter, and Willow looked at her daughter, who looked at her with a scandalized expression. She did not care for her daughter's opinion on such a thing now, as she finished her sentencing.
"She, in her grandiose wisdom, as befitting of the daughter of Jacques Schnee, sexually assaulted a young man, one of Weiss' friends, and ensured that we have another child to care for."
Her voice was biting, as she looked at her daughter with calm, cold eyes. The man's eyes went to Winter, something that was more humane, as his eyes shifted colours.
"Now, is that true, Winter?"
Willow didn't want to see her daughter break more with the paternal tone that came from the Butler's mouth, so she took a deep breath.
"I will be in my apartment. The moment that your father finds out about this..."
There was a soft grimace, as she could hear her daughter start to sob. She had dug her own grave, doing such a stupid thing. If it had been something consensual, if it had been anyone else, like that guy who had groped her ass, she could have threatened with something, something that held the full power of the Schnee Dust Company behind it.
The door closed behind her, as she heard her daughter start to deny it once more. She walked to the window, looking at the limousine that was pulling away, her husband already on his way, a satisfied smile on his face.
'This is a mess, but I won't let you ruin this, Jacques.'
She needed just a bit more time...
Jaune looked at the young man standing there before him, as he looked at the man who had essentially just told him that he was to be a babysitter. The father of the young man had just departed, the bodyguard that stood there with the man having essentially left. He knew that this was undoubtedly a test, something to check whether he had the proper loyalties to the company.
Leaving the heir to the Schnee Dust Company in the presence of the young man who was going to be the cash cow was to gauge the interest, as Jacques Schnee would have it. Multiple bodyguards were undoubtedly through the surrounding vicinity, hidden but within a careful distance.
"So, you are the brute that Father has been scouting. The name is Whitley Schnee, a pleasure."
The smile was as fake as it could be, and Jaune knew it by sight. The politeness would make Whitley look like a well-raised child, but it was something that he could also see within the man who had sired Whitley, the false veneer.
"Jaune Arc, a pleasure. Your father told me a lot about you."
More like the fact that his memories of Whitley mostly were from Willow's perspective, but that wasn't something he publicized. He was sure that the compliment would land well, knowing that Whitley tried to aspire to please his father.
"So, we're together for a day. Do you have anything you'd like to see? I've got a few interesting thoughts in mind, but if you'd like to, I don't know, go to an arcade or something?"
He tried to play the cool older brother, or at least give it an attempt. He was sure that he could get a few bits ready, if needed.
'Hmm, a visit to Sienna might be what would shake the guy out of his daze... perhaps a visit to big sis? Yeah, that'd be a good idea. She's a history geek, so some interesting tidbits of history might just be up his alley.'
"I do not think that an arcade would be suitable, Mister Arc. I do not care much for the foibles of the plebeian masses." Jaune smiled. It'd be a visit to Sienna then.
"Allow me to take you to a place where you might learn something. Don't worry, I won't let anyone lay a hand on you, Huntsman's word."
He would make sure that Whitley would be returned just as intact as he'd first seen him. The hands behind the back, the gesturing with his body language of uncertainty and the other parts, as the facial features pinched together in that look of faint consternation, before the mask was back in place.
'Yeah, that's what I guessed...'
He caught Willow looking down at him from one of the windows, giving her a soft smile. It was for the best, he guessed, that he made sure that Whitley had some fun today. Weiss seemed to have gotten bad news, but nobody really seemed to want to tell him what the issue was with that.
"As you say, Mister Arc."
He sighed, shaking his head. The kid looked like he'd be a stuffy one.
"Just call me Jaune. It's too early for me to be called Mister Arc yet. Come on, let's go, shall we? We're taking the public transport."
There was a look of consternation on the younger teenager's face, but there was no comment further. The bodyguards undoubtedly would have to catch up, but Jaune trusted himself. As long as he was with Whitley and there was nobody who looked too closely, Whitley would be safe in his anonymity as just another kid.
"I do not like this, mister Arc."
The young man mumbled as they stood in the crowded tram, Jaune's ears catching some of the conversations around him. He'd put the jacket onto Whitley's shoulders, hiding the big Schnee crest on the back of the jacket that Whitley wore.
"It's just public transport, Whitley. It's what it's supposed to be, crowded and busy."
He knew that he'd have to swing by the White Fang HQ anyways because Sienna had been cagey about whatever stuff was going on. The woman was entirely too busy with her work.
"I still do not know where we are going, Mister Arc."
The formality of the fellow was starting to become a bit bothersome. Whitley had been an eager young boy when his mother had still been functional as a mother, and had quietened now that his father took a stricter look at his education since Weiss had intended to become a Huntress.
"Oh, it's to a place where you'll get to meet someone I think you ought to meet."
Sienna would at least be civil, he guessed. She was a big softie, he knew. The young teenager at his side merely scoffed with disbelief. Clearly, the young man had a different opinion.
"I do not see why I should meet with one of your obvious barely literate friends. I am a Schnee and I am not to suffer fools."
Jaune snorted, giving the younger teenager a look. It was so much like Weiss when he'd first made her acquaintance.
"Just remember... I'm with you and I'll keep you safe."
He wasn't going to let Willow's son get in hot water, because he was someone who cared for Willow and her happiness.
'Yeah... If you knew what I was planning...'
Jacques Schnee was not someone who you could eliminate as easily as getting a sniper rifle and taking the shot. Cinder Fall had been flying below the radar, the Dust ammunition being enough. He had considered just taking his weapons to the industrialist husband of Willow, but it was not going to be easy to fight off the professional protection detail that surrounded the man.
"With Faunus, Arc?"
Whitley's voice was a loud hiss as they stood in front of the building, the symbol proudly declaring that it was the headquarters for Vale. He supposed that it might just as well be a good little time to announce to Whitley who they were here to see.
"With Sienna Khan, to be precise. She's a woman who's got a lot of stuff to do in her day, so we won't be staying for too long, I'll have to call Camellia in-between... But hey, I think you'll like her." He wasn't clear on who he meant, but the kid would figure it out. Sienna was one hell of an experience, and his sister was great with kids, he guessed.
Sienna had said that she was busy with administrative stuff today, so a quick visit might just be enough to make his girlfriend quiver a little with anticipation. The huff from Whitley was a good sign that the kid was accepting it.
"As long as you keep me safe, Arc. I shall meet with Miss Khan."
The haughtiness of Willow's only son was something amusing, as he pushed open the door. The receptionist looked up from her work.
"Mister Arc! And... Your brother? No, wait, different scent. Here for the High Leader, Mister Arc?"
Jaune put his biggest smile on his face. The mole Faunus was nearly blind as a bat, but there was nothing wrong with her sense of scent.
"Yeah, I got a little tag-along here with me. He's under my protection, so make sure that you keep the miscreants out of our way, alright? God knows what Sienna would do if she found that my guest was being harassed."
She'd freak and beat people into the hospital again. Sienna was very emotional, if it was needed. He noticed several of the upper guys give him a look, or more specifically to Whitley, but it wasn't too important as he motioned the kid to come with him.
"Animals."
Jaune shook his head, not quite sure about how he should go about correcting this. One of the big Faunus looked like he was going to do something, but Jaune just gave him a look. The big guy moved away a little. Sienna had been right. If he'd glare at them, they'd stay in their place.
'Who knew that Faunus could be intimidated with just a bit of a glare?'
He didn't know much about that, except that Sienna rarely explained stuff that was completely normal to her and other Faunus. Secret rules, he'd called them, but Sienna was passionate. He knocked on the door to her office, her personal secretary looking like she'd rather be elsewhere.
"She's in a bit of a mood today."
The door was jerked open. "YOU! I NEEDED THOSE FILES N- Oh, it's you." She turned her gaze to Whitley and Jaune caught the young man actually shrinking back. Sienna Glare Number 5, angry smouldering tiger gaze of doom, given right to Whitley.
"You better not be seducing him, Jaune. I will not tolerate that."
He grimaced at her words, shaking his head. Whitley just goggled, Sienna pushing the door open and looking at her secretary. "Cancel shit for the next hour or something, tell em that I'm going to beat the ever-loving crap out of Jacques' Schnee's only son or something... " Sienna rolled her shoulders as she walked to her desk and put a bottle back in.
"Right, Jaune, sit your annoying ass in that chair, Whitey Schnee, whatever your name is, get in the one in front of me. If the blonde human's brought you here, that means he's here to get you all pleasantly introduced to the Faunus and stuff... So yeah, Hi."
In usual blunt fashion, Sienna just directed them. Jaune sat down, watching Whitley's expression change slowly from surprise to acceptance and a hint of disdain. There was a haughty manner of seating himself that the son of Willow adopted, something that hinted at a feeling of supremacy over the woman. Sienna caught it, but didn't comment on it.
"It is a pleasure to meet the High Leader of the White Fang, as the heir to the Schnee Dust Company. I was unaware that my bodyguard for the day might know such an illustrious figure such as you."
Sienna's face was humoured, as she pulled something out of a drawer, her Scroll lighting up.
"Yeah, one moment. Eve? Get up here and make sure that you're modest. We've got Schnee's youngest kid over here. Time to practise your babysitting skills, you lazy cow." There was a grin on her face, as she looked at him.
"I'm getting you a back-up bodyguard. Great woman, bit strange, but fitting. Don't worry, you're going to be perfectly safe. If anyone gets up in your face, Arc will probably get you taken care of, keep that Atlas tan working perfectly."
Whitley didn't look very entertained with that comment, as the woman merely shuffled some papers around on her desk, Sienna not bothering with the etiquette.
"You are quite rude, Miss Khan."
The rude noise that Sienna made was as expected, knowing that she might make a fuss out of it. Jaune watched as the woman gave Whitley a flat stare.
"Whilst I may hold some sort of respectful countenance towards your father and mother, based on the fact that I am representing an organisation that fights for the rights of the Faunus, I am under no obligation to cater to the whims of someone who hasn't even had their puberty fully hit yet."
Sienna's answer was curt and to the point, her attention turning to the desk's contents once more, her eyes sweeping up and peering right into his own. "You don't mind if I send Eve to keep you out of trouble, right? After that little incident with Whitey's older sister, I'm just making sure that there won't be any more incidents."
He grimaced, getting a look from Whitley. "Your oldest sister has quite the temper." He said, not quite intending to clarify that statement with a 'she sucked my cock' because that would be too crude for the kid to witness. Kids should be kept as innocent as possible, though Whitley already seemed to be well on his way to be like his father.
"I am sure that Weiss has her issues, Mister Arc. A Faunus offering resistance whilst given perfectly reasonable labour terms and agreements is to be expected."
He saw that dangerous look in Sienna's eyes and wondered whether he'd have to get in front of Whitley before she'd leap over the desk and try to maul him. Sienna was a tender woman when it came to insults to her people. She'd just maul the offender.
"Helloooo Sienna! Ooh, and we've got mini-Jacques too! Jaune, you didn't tell me that you had the Schnee Queen's youngest with you, naughty boy!"
Eve Taurus entered with her usual bombastic nature, the jacket fitting perfectly well around her shoulders, his breath exploding softly.
'Oh gods... this feels like it'll be one of those conversations where I'll end up being tired.'
"No taking the kids to the sex shop, no weird kinky threesomes and for the love of god, make sure that he's delivered as-is with his father again. I know what you're like, Taurus."
Sienna's voice was stern and directive, fully invested with the power of being one of the leading Faunus in the world.
"I'll just deny the offer of a double beef spitting, yeah... No offense kid, but you're too young to ride this motorcycle." She winked, Whitley making a face at the woman.
"Gee, you'd think that he'd blush, but he's all like 'eww, Faunus'. Bee in your bonnet, or are you just stuffy?"
Whitley looked like he was going to comment, but he headed the banter off. "Eve, behave... We don't need to have Whitley looking like he'd just spent a week slumming it with your kind of barnyard animal..."
Sienna gave him a look that might have some faint approval in it, Eve giving him a cheeky grin, not at all offended.
"Ooh, does that mean that we're going to be shedding clothes and getting a whole lesson on sex ed for the stuffy kid? I can be mommy and you can be my daddy and we'd make some Faunus love."
It was a testament to Sienna's patience and Eve's utter shamelessness that the office remained without any sort of explosions, Sienna's head just turning to the papers that were on her desk.
"Just... do your thing, Eve. You're the charm offensive, I'm just the woman who keeps the books clean."
It was acceptance, and yet he could see Whitley's face look uncertain as Eve started to rattle off a few common questions, something about 'weather quality' and Atlas, Whitley's answers a little hesitant. He didn't quite know what that was going to be all about, but it sounded like something professional.
"Soooooo... Did you get the crate yet? I spent most of last night signing them all, and I hope that you like em."
He wasn't sure what she was getting at so he shook his head. Her laugh was amused, as she ran a finger through her short hair.
"I guess I shouldn't expect you to, because you'd have known what I was talking about. No crate, that ain't great. Soooooo, Whitley, have you ever ridden a motorcycle?"
He got up and quietly spoke with Sienna for a moment, Whitley answering Eve's excited questionnaire with a laboured sigh, trying to keep up to the excited woman's chattering.
'Yeah, that's definitely out. Bringing a chatty girl near Camellia isn't going to work... I guess we'll have to go for a trip through Vale...'
He was adaptable, after all. He checked his Scroll for a moment, seeing the notification from the air docks already. That meant that a few more things had to come into being first, and he'd have to book some time...
'Okay... that's number three...'
"-friend, because you can definitely be one of the cutest boys of Atlas if you try. I have a makeup kit here with me, how about-"
Eve was talking and Whitley was looking at him with a look that screamed 'help me'. Sienna had gone back to her work, mumbling something about wanting to grind someone into a very fine dust. It wasn't something he liked, but it would be-
A notification with the melody associated with Weiss, as he received a message on his Scroll.
'Do you want to come to the spa with me and my team? I'd really like it if you came with us.'
Weiss had been distant. She had been looking like a mess for a few days now, her eyes red. She didn't want to talk to him, no matter how much he asked, Nora and Ren remaining calm and just telling him that it was okay, Weiss needing some more time to come to terms with something.
'Winter must've told her...'
He knew them well, through their mother's perspective. They were great women, but they were most certainly not the easiest to handle. Their pride in the name of Schnee and their own skills was something that had been passed down.
He responded back immediately.
'I'll be there. If my friends want me there, I'll be there.'
Weiss was a good friend. He'd been clear to her about his feelings and he knew that she'd find someone better to love than him. He was in a relationship with Sienna and Willow looked to be getting ready to join that too.
"Soooo... We're going to find the best burger joint in town, Jauney. Lil' squirt here said that he'd never had 'peasant food' so, we're going to introduce him to something good and filling!"
He could see that Whitley wasn't really so very enthused, and he flashed an apologetic look at the young guy. It was just how Eve was. Brash and with a good heart, and a teasing side to her that she occasionally let out.
"But I didn't say-"
Eve shook her head, giving the youngest Schnee sibling a bold grin.
"Nope, no talking back allowed. Big sister is going to treat you good... And we'll leave that whole little bit about being a Faunus out of it, alright? People are a bit touchy about the Schnee's here, and Sienna is the type who wrangles your dad a lot, so... We've gotta make sure that you're safe and secure, okay?"
Whitley was a good boy, Jaune could see that. A little fake at times, but the widening of those eyes and that barely perceivable yearning was there.
'Hmm... Should I?'
"She's a really pretty woman, right? Don't worry, you can look. Eve's the type who doesn't mind if guys look, right?"
Whitley flushed, Jaune spotting the weakness. Eve's grin turned almost shark-like. She pulled her top open a little more, the jiggling bits looking extremely appealing. Jaune had to admit... The girl had a set of knockers that'd make most men look twice.
"Oh, does the littlest Schnee want to see more, hmm? Big sis is going to be really nice... Does the little boy want to have a touch, hmmm?"
There was a grin on her lips, as he leaned against Sienna's desk. Whitley was turning red, just as Weiss did when she was flustered. He gave Eve a look, raising an eyebrow at the insinuation.
"Eve... He's not comfortable. You're trying a bit too hard."
She looked at him, a daring look in her eyes, the top slowly opening a little. Jaune gave her a look, her attention directed straight at him.
"Perhaps you'd like to see more, hmmm? Have a bit of exp-"
Sienna's whip flashed past Eve's nose. The High Leader of the White Fang looked at her subordinate and friend, her expression looking as pleasant as always, which meant that she was half-glaring.
"Burgers deserve to be in the fridge, Eve. Don't be a burger. Don't hit on Arc if you know what's good for you. Hit on Schnee after he's grown interested in girls."
Eve's head turned to her friend and boss, Jaune catching something in her eyes, and he sighed. This felt like a bad comedy, as Sienna's expression barely changed. He could see Whitley looking at the play between the two women, giving a soft groan as he saw Sienna getting ready for another push.
"But what if he wants to get some Faunus, huh? Are you going to deny him the pleasure of a woman, Sienna? Is it the big breasts? Come on, be honest."
Jaune sighed deeper as he saw the discomfort on Whitley's face increase.
"They get like this sometimes. I guess this is just their relationship."
Whitley's eyes looked at him uncertainly. He could see something of Weiss in the young teen boy, the uncertainty in his eyes, almost too certain. Clearly, it was not comfortable for him to be in the presence of someone who teased.
"I did not know that Miss Khan was a lesbian."
Whitley said softly. Not too softly for Sienna to hear, her eyes blazing with flame at the insinuation. Sienna's fist slammed onto her desk, spooking the kid some more, the blue eyes going wide.
"I most certainly am not! Beef Burger may be flexible, but I'm all-man, all the time! When I've got my legs wrapped around my man's face, he'll know that Sienna Khan's nobody's woman but his."
Whitley shrank back when Sienna's voice accentuated that, and Jaune just looked at her. There had certainly been something like that, but it had been with Sienna's head between his legs. He didn't correct her on that. The kid was spooked enough as it was, and he wasn't going to make Willow's son a wreck with nerves.
"Sienna, you really should share. You know that we'd make good stuff happen together!"
He fixed Eve with a look. His lips were pressed tightly together and Eve glanced at him for a moment and became quiet.
"Good Faunus."
He said, shaking his head lightly at Eve's apparent eagerness to get something going with Sienna and him. Sometime Faunus just seemed to want things a little too much.
"Modesty is still a virtue. Zip up and get up. We're going to take Whitley out on the town, get him some experience with the sights of Vale. Have you ever been to the Needle, Whitley?"
Whitley looked a little unused of sorts to being suddenly addressed, his eyes looking at Sienna, who looked like she'd have a few choice words to say about being addressed as a 'good Faunus'.
"N-no, Mister Arc, sir."
Hesitation, something a little more than that, and a good dose of that indecisiveness that had plagued Weiss as well when she was younger. The kid wasn't comfortable, so he was going to get him out of here. Meeting Sienna was at least a good choice for making sure that the uppity attitude seemed to have been banished.
"Call me Jaune, Whitley. I'm too young to be a sir, and, well- Hey! Stop that!"
Eve had started to zip up and was getting awfully close, looking at him, shooting looks at Sienna. A pout on her lips, as her hand brushed between the horns, giving Whitley a wink.
"What? Can't handle a sexy woman, Mister Arc?"
He could curse at her for her flirtatious ways, if Sienna didn't. The woman looked like she was going to throttle Eve for some reason, and he didn't quite get it.
"And that's my cue to get out, alright, I'll get the bike out and we'll get you to the Needle. How about that, eh?" The smile on her lips was a little wan, as Sienna's expression turned murderous at Eve.
"Get out of my office, beef burger. I need to get something done here and not be distracted by you smelling up the place like it's the barn you were born in."
A mock-hurt look on Eve's face as she got up, shaking her head and leaving the office, the door swinging shut behind her.
"Arc, you sit here, Willow's brat, get out of my office. I'll toss Arc out of here in a minute or five, entertain yourself with my secretary, if you're in need of something to occupy your time."
Jaune sighed, looking at his girlfriend and partner and... well, pretty much one of the women who were out for his future prospects. Sienna looked at him with a look that promised very ill tidings if he did move from his seat.
"I'll be right out... This is just something that'll be done in a jiffy, she gets like this."
The uncertain look on the young man's face, Sienna's womanly growl in the back of her throat, and Whitley Schnee vacated the office. Jaune turned to look at her when the door was closed and he found himself nearly face-to-face with her.
"Mine. You're mine, you hear me. If she wants to join in, she'll know whose bastard you are. All mine."
She rubbed herself against him, putting herself in his lap, her body pressed close to him, not unlike the feeling when they'd had sex. She rubbed herself against him, her eyes looking at him, golden-orange eyes looking into his own.
"Hey, I stick with my girlfriend."
She growled at him, a deep throaty sound. There was something in those eyes, as she bumped her hips against him. He knew that Whitley was his charge, but Sienna was now preventing him from leaving.
"Why did you bring him here? Half of the office probably wants to hang him from a lamppost outside..." Her eyes were curious, desiring his explanation. He sighed.
"He's just a kid, Sienna. He's not guided properly by his father and he deserves to know that Faunus aren't people to-"
A smirk on her lips, as she tapped his nose. "Faunus aren't people, huh? Mighty brave words, human." Her eyes were heavy-lidded, as she looked at his features, giving him a soft kiss to his cheek.
"I get that. If you'd been here a year before, I'd have just kicked you out, but now..."
A soft sound in the back of her throat, something that went for a 'fuck' in whatever language she used. She was eager, as her lips slid up some more.
"I fucking love you, Jaune. I stick with the guy I've made mine. Eve just... Egh. You need to man up and take Willow. If you want me to get a sniper rifle and take out Jacques or something, I'd go to jail for that."
He grimaced. That wasn't really going to be handy for their relationship, or Faunus-Human relations. Jacques was kind of a big thing in the world, not like some no-name Huntress in training that Cinder Fall had purported to be.
"No, I don't think they do conjugal visits in the Vale prison..."
He said, and she shook her head. It was going to be hard to get the idea out of her mind now. Sienna Khan was someone who could be remarkably hard-headed about some things at times.
"Hey, I can get a prison outfit. We can do the fuckening too."
An ill-amused look on his face made her grin. "She's not doing so very well though. She's not responding to my messages as she used to."
He hadn't had a good read on how Willow was feeling because she just hadn't been talking with him. Sienna saw Willow infrequently, dealing mostly with the woman's husband, which was the main problem in this equation. He knew that he should call, that he should try to talk to her, but she wasn't going to be so easily waylaid, with her husband around.
'That'll all be done soon.'
"Now that's a look of a man... Thinking about good stuff, Jaune? Going to put a Schnee in the maternity ward for a while, huh?"
He wasn't going to do that yet. He had just narrowly avoided Winter's assault because she'd been desiring to be claimed. If she'd been more domineering than what he'd seen, he'd have been assaulted.
"No, I don't think that I will do that just yet."
Sienna was still happy with him, even if the issue with Winter doing what she did had been shoved aside as 'trivial'.
"But I was thinking about getting rid of our little Dust Mine rat."
She kissed him full on the lips. She smelled still like she'd held the jewels of the world in her hands and her eyes were blazing with that eagerness, her hands tugging at his clothes. He could smell her arousal, something that he'd only gotten used to after the repeated moments of when she was close to him.
"Five more minutes..."
She growled something, before he pushed her off. A pout on her face, as she looked at him, straightening out. She was giving him the look that meant that she wanted to be fucked, that she wanted to get funky with him until the desk and chair gave out.
"I've got a kid to shepherd, so, no five minutes. You be good."
She growled at him, her hand already half-way towards his nipple, which she tweaked. He didn't give a sound, knowing that it was a challenge by her. Sienna was straightforward, honest and mostly a burning flame, compared to Willow's composure and her manners.
"Sure thing. Eve'll make sure that you two will be safe, even if she's making threats to me. Sienna Khan does not lose to some fourth-ranked little bitch with tits."
He didn't really get the reference, but he shrugged anyways. If there was some sort of unofficial ranking, Sienna and Willow shared the top spot.
"You're first, together with Willow."
Sienna gave a nod at that, one of those nods that had a complete and utter assurance.
"Hell yeah, and don't you dare forget it! She needs to eat her husband's heart so she can get with you." He grimaced at that. He had that image of Sienna ripping out Jacques Schnee's heart and eating it.
"No, I'm not going to rip out your heart. I like it. It makes your penis hard. That's good. Pleasure is good."
She nodded, several times. She seemed to be convinced, and Jaune sighed. Sometimes, Sienna's logic made very little sense, which usually happened when she wanted to get laid. Faunus at times seemed to be more like animals than they were like human.
'Sometimes, I worry for you.'
She'd had the crazy idea to bite him a few times, only to challenge him to bite her back. When she'd drawn blood, she'd hissed at him for not getting punched off.
"Would you abandon me if a better guy came around?"
A snort, immediate and dismissive, came from Sienna's mouth. She didn't even seem to be willing to consider the thought.
"There is no better guy, Jaune."
She looked at him and frowned. "Why else do you think you've been having Faunus women throw themselves at you? You're someone who survived a Pogrom against two hundred. You're all mine. Yes. Nobody is going to get you, even if burger babe teases you."
She paused, tilting her head. A stern look. "If you do fuck her, make sure it'll leave marks. Nobody will think my man's weak." She added some fire to that voice, her lips pressing tightly together.
'Oh...kaayyyy...'
There was perhaps some need for a Faunus primer or something, because this just went in a direction that he hadn't been expecting. Then again, he could make the same case for loving two women, one who was still married to her husband and had children.
"I should get out and get Whitley a nice day away from his dad."
He knew that Sienna would just drag him into a quickie or something, knowing that she was in that state where her needs grew greater with time. It wasn't something he encouraged within her, but it happened from time to time. Sienna was as Sienna was, and it was not going to be something that he could easily stop.
"Remember... Next week you're mine. I need my man."
Sienna was a little possessive at times, but he liked that about her. She was, aside from her occasional moments that just baffled him with their oddity, a smart and intelligent woman, a driven fighter for Faunus rights and pretty damn gorgeous when the sweat was dripping down her body.
"Yeah, I'll make sure to get a spot in my schedule for you."
She replied with something that was too crude to respond to, involving something that would have made his mother blush. He should give them a call soon enough, it'd been nearly three weeks since he'd last given them a call.
'Time flies...'
He exited the office, finding Whitley looking mightily intimidated by one of the burly members of the organisation, a guy who he'd faced down in the Pogrom. There was no overt threat of force made yet, but the look of the man was like it could kill.
"- se enough, isn't that right? You'll just be like your father, and we don't like that."
'Damn...'
"Alright, simmer down, Logan. Whitley isn't his father yet, and I happen to have it on good authority from the boss lady that you'll probably be wanting to explain yourself to her about why you're shouting at a teenager who doesn't even have the majority of his inheritance yet."
The man looked like he'd make another comment, but seemed to recognize him. Jaune's glare upped a level and the man turned around, making a grumbled apology. A hand on the man's shoulder and Jaune spun him around.
"Apologize to him, loud and clear. Khan would kick your ass for disrespecting her guest worse than I kicked yours, so make it snappy."
He was emulating Sienna in her nature, because that seemed to get results. Just punching the man out wouldn't work much, since Whitley looked skittish enough to be on the verge of a panic attack.
Neither Weiss nor Whitley had much ability to deal with angry people, and he wasn't going to let a kid be scared when he was around. He was better than that, and he'd been raised better than that.
'Dad might've been the one to just punch him...'
"I'm sorry, Schnee."
The man pushed open the door to Sienna's office, a thunderous barrage of insults immediately flying from the woman's direction about 'being too damn late for a half-born panda abortion'. Jaune didn't suppress the smile, as he patted Whitley on the shoulder.
"Sometimes, you've got to show people that you mean business. Faunus aren't that bad, even if the woman who bosses around the White Fang comes across as a bit of a bitch."
Sienna freely admitted that she was a bad-ass bitch, and she was... eh, his bitch too. He certainly didn't mind using that as a pet name for her. It got her going, so it was alright.
'That'd go over great with mom...Hey, here's my bitch Sienna. No, she's house-trained...'
It had been once. He'd allowed it because Sienna had suggested it, but he was not wearing the dog ears again. That had been one time.
'I am calling mom tonight...'
He had a kid to shepherd through the city. Eve better have made some arrangements, as Whitley looked like he'd rather be gone from this place soon. He put a smile on his face, as Eve appeared. A set of helmets were in her hands and the grin on her face was broad.
'This looks like a bad idea...'
"So, we're here."
His life had flashed before his eyes. Eve's driving style could be best described as 'trying to cause the biggest traffic accident in Vale'. Whitley had held on to her like he was dying, and Jaune just made sure that she was secured, his arms resting around her.
"I hope I never get a driver like you..."
Whitley looked pale and nervous, his eyes wide, Eve giving a big grin and slowly zipping the jacket open a little. She'd changed the top, luckily, something a bit more modest and covering, but still her body looked as fine as it was.
"Would you rather have blonde and hunky over there, hmmm? Secret rendezvous under the moonlight, an abandoned stretch of land to make the suspension give little squeaks, huh?"
Eve was making the kid uncomfortable again, Jaune sighing. "Just... moderate it a bit, Eve. He's still got to go through puberty." A setting of the chin and a look that was a breach of the controlled expression, as the body language spoke volumes.
Whitley was more evocative through his body language than through his facial features, and the unease and indignation was visible.
"I will not be talked to like that by some harlot who knows nothing about the stresses and proper driving protocols!"
Eve laughed, as she shook her head. "Feisty, feisty... Well, that's a good spirit. I'd like to get your big sis in with me for a chat too. Little miss Winter Schnee looks like she needs some attention."
He was sure that Winter would probably be at Eve's throat in no time, if they ever met. Adam and Blake were still somewhat lukewarm, even if Adam was getting the treatment that he deserved. Imagining Winter and Eve...
'Oh god, that's just...'
Not a bad view, but it most certainly was not the image he should have of Winter and Eve in a very tight set of lingerie. Willow would probably kick his ass with the mental images that appeared to his mind's eye.
"Mister Arc, are you going to allow her to slander my family name?"
He snapped to attention, looking at Eve, who looked much amused by Whitley's stiff features, the young man's body swaying a little, betraying his unease. Fidgeting was something that he could see the young teenager do.
"Eve, quit it."
He said, not humouring the bovine Faunus more, Eve's expression shifting to an ill-amused one that seemed to have the same broody look that Adam also had from time to time. The twins were different in their temperament, but also similar.
"Going to punish me, daddy? Take that big hard beating rod to this bovine beauty, hmmm?"
Her voice was a little rougher, as her eyes looked into his own, sharp and blue as she held the gaze for a moment. He did not flinch from her gaze, her grin broad as she did so. He looked away, at Whitley.
"Well, daddy's here to take care of Whitley here, so you can keep your stuff in your pants, Eve."
She didn't look too happy with that, brushing a hand over him. He didn't get that, but Sienna was affectionate as well, so it was perhaps a Faunus thing. He smiled at Whitley.
"So... Let's get you the Needle experience. Don't worry, we're going to enjoy ourselves."
The Needle was a strip of the Vale entertainment district,several arcades in close proximity as well as some of the best burgers in the Kingdom... or at least that was the claim that they made. He didn't know about that, but he knew that he was going to be getting some fun into Whitley, even if he didn't want to.
"I am not sure whether this pedestrian thing might be worth my while..."
Eve grinned, wrapping an arm around Whitley's head, her prominent chest bumping against the poor guy's head.
"It'll be fun, lil' Schnee! Just let Mommy Eve take you out for a trip across the best of the best, Schnee-ey!"
He watched with slight amazement as she just dragged Whitley along, looking forward to it.
'Well...'
Yang's cheeks were red and her eyes definitely were glued to the screen. Blake was sitting beside her, watching enraptured. Weiss was turning pinkish-blue in the face and her little sister was still trying to get the images under wraps and under control.
'Woah...'
The crate had been delivered to their dorm, but the contents most definitely were something that was something they hadn't been expecting. Pyrrha and Nora were looking a little flustered, as the lady on-screen was enthusiastic in her manhandling of some eager 'huntsmen'.
It had been a mistake with the delivery, and they'd called team JNPR's members over, sans Jaune, who seemed to be out, but to see the subject material...
'Where the wild roses grow, eh?'
Hard-core pornography. That was the only thing she could call it. Weiss was flustered and flushed, half-amazed at what the bovine Faunus could do with her body. Secretly, Yang glanced at Weiss' chest, which was nowhere near as developed as her older sister's.
On the screen, the 'Rose' was definitely getting plucked. Yang had to admit that the guys were fit, but that she'd much rather like hand-holding and gentle touches. She glanced at her sister to find that the hand was most definitely in the danger zone.
"Well... This definitely is a subject matter that is... risqué."
Someone moaned softly. There was one name, moaned. Yang flushed. It was someone, but it burst the dam. The scene froze. There was a polite cough, as someone seemed to look at the screen, the two men definitely looking not as fine as blonde and hunky. They were professionals, but there was something that just froze.
"So... Weiss... Are you okay?"
Yang felt pity for the girl. Her father had sprung on her that she was to get married to this 'Wolfgarde' fellow, some sort of big-shot fellow from Atlas who was like, dad's age. Weiss did not look happy in the slightest with that, having cried about it. Yang had to admit to feeling both a little happy and a little conflicted for this.
"No. I'm... I'm going to get married. I want to- and I'm sorry to say it, but I want it to be Jaune. He's-"
Some understanding sounds came from the others, Yang noticed. She hoped that Weiss would be able to manage. Blake pulled something out of the crate and held it up.
"It's addressed to... me? Why would she address something to me?"
A disk was changed, and the porno disappeared. Eve Taurus in her full nude glory appeared on the screen, seated at a chair. This was an abrupt change, and most of the girls watched how the Faunus shifted a little, looking a little bit older than the first movie that they had 'witnessed'.
"Alright, let me get this straight for you, Blake. You blew your shot. Sienna's not giving him his due, because she's a greedy lil' kitty... So, let me put this simple for you. What happened to your mom and dad, ain't happening to blonde and manly. I'm staking a claim. Stay in your fucking lane or I'll make sure you will."
Blake's face seemed to turn pale. This was something of a personal threat, as the woman raised a hand on the screen and made a gesture, a finger raised and the middle finger pushing towards the palm, sternly gazing at the screen. Blake frowned.
"What exactly did she mean with that?"
The small file stopped playing, and Blake grimaced, clearly not very comfortable with it.
"It means that we've got competition. Sienna's just about finished with his education, so he'll be getting through the final trial. Mom and dad had done something like that too... Mom was the fiercest."
That didn't say much to Yang. Kali Belladonna had been a nice lady, but what this had looked like was more like a threat.
"So... That means that she's in the race for Jaune?"
Blake didn't respond, looking at the screen and frowning.
"Still think he'd make great babies." She mumbled, and conversation derailed, as someone started to talk about said babies and how cute it would be to have them with Jaune. It was official for Yang though... This wasn't just a fucking crush.
'What IS it with feelings?'
She guessed that it might just be like trying to be better than her mom. Mom ran off, after all. She'd stay.
'Well... When he's married, we'll see.'
That was the end goal. Marriage, a nice home and kids.
"How about Raven?"
She winced. She wasn't going to call a girl after her mom. Well... maybe if he insisted. It'd better be Raven Xiao Long then!
Dad needed little buggers to care for from time to time. Best granddad ever, yep!
He smiled as he watched Whitley score another high score, the game having long-since worn out its welcome on him. Who knew that there was such a spirit in the somewhat arrogant-looking teenager that was Weiss' younger brother. The glowing look in those eyes as the tapping on the buttons continued, Eve giving a look.
"Do you ever think about kids, Jaune? A few of your own?"
He had given it some thought. Sienna was a woman who did not love without at least a few precautions. She was on the pill and got tested regularly, because who knew what sorts of bad stuff she'd had for dinner, or at least, in her own words, like that.
"I'd like some, eventually. Sienna and I haven't really talked about it, not... Not yet. She's twenty-nine and I'm not..."
He halted, looking at her. There was a look in her eyes, something that was both sad as well as desiring. She looked older than she was, somewhat more jaded.
"I'd like a few. A few girls to teach how to use these babies. A few boys to keep in line and let dad make them into men worthy of their woman." A stern nod, as Eve's gaze went to him, her hand brushing over his side.
"A man like you. She's just ahead, but she's not done the right stuff yet..." A grin, as she looked him right in the eyes.
"Her loss... But hey..."
She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. She smelled like sweet body wash and her cheeks were set in a smirk that looked appealing, her horns poking out of her hair.
"That makes the chase all the better, don't you think?"
He shrugged, not very sure that he'd be too comfortable with it. Willow and Sienna came first, before Yang even featured in his eyes... Winter and Weiss...
'Yeah...'
She was saying something, but he only caught the tail end of it. "- sure, right?"
He sighed. "I've got obligations to handle. There's a lot of things that will happen. Now I'm out with Willow's youngest, and-" He didn't know what to think. Jacques Schnee thought that he was going to be buddy-buddy with him, a young and impressionable Huntsman...
He checked his Scroll, noticing that there'd been an email attachment that he'd received in the interim. He read the attachment and then frowned.
'That is...'
His eyes remained on Whitley to keep an eye out, as he dialled the number, his face showing some annoyance. It would have been nice if people actually kept him informed.
"Mom? What is all this 'Repossession of the house' about?"
The answer wasn't immediately forthcoming, but he could make a decent guess as to what happened. He gave a soft groan, knowing that it wasn't going to be alright.
"I'm sorry, honey. They started to really press for the money, I need-"
He looked at Whitley's happy face, the child being a child for once, rather than the stuffy boy that he pretended to be. It was lightening the burden on his heart, the smile on the young man's face as he worked for his high score.
"I'll deal with it. I'll wire you twenty-five thousand. That should at least be able to pay off a good sum, if you spread it out well."
That wouldn't break the bank, since he had been investing in things. It would pay for a few of the bills, if they really wanted some of them paid. He couldn't get everything paid off without asking one of his friends to spot the money, but that would mean that he would have to ask.
"But you should use that money for your own life! We can still loan! Your father's credit is still mostly untouched! Vivian is the guarantor too, she can put in extra work!"
He didn't think it'd help much. He knew that Sienna was fairly rich for a Faunus, and that Willow probably could sleep in a bed of Lien if she wished, but asking either of them was not going to happen.
'And who is the one responsible for this...'
A guess which probably was right. He had signed one contract, and of course, Mister Schnee would want him to be in a good mood. A good financial advisor, a little help to his ailing family...
'Oh, that's just perfect, isn't it?'
It was how Jacques Schnee bought you. A little favour here, a little hint there. A good bit of investment and then straight through the heart to own you. Anything that he gave you would be repaid a hundredfold.
"Don't worry too much about it, I'll- I'll find something."
He shut the call down, trying to keep the smile on his face and settling for a half-smile, his eyes narrowed, looking at the younger teenager with a look. He shouldn't blame the child for the sins of his father, watching the genuine smile on the young lad's face.
He looked broodingly as Whitley scored another high score, his eyes catching sight of several girls staring with admiration at the young Schnee scion. He could feel a dash of pride, even though his eyes looked a little tense.
"Problems, Jaune?"
Eve asked, and he grimaced. It wasn't going to be an easy to talk about subject, but it wouldn't make much sense to hide it from her, knowing what he did about her. He had gained a flash of insight into what made Eve Taurus the woman she was, and the love that she held for her brother. When he had restored her back to whole, he had seen what it had been like, felt how she had felt, and it was good.
"Just something with mom. I'm not..."
Jaune's eyes watched as one of the girls approached Whitley, the snooty look not being on his face. It was just like having a little brother added to the bunch, but...
"Bad for business?"
She asked and he nodded softly, looking at her for a while. She was teasing most of the time, but he knew that there was also a serious side to her, one that showed when she was in a state where she had to focus.
"I'm going to do a Horndeeny."
The term was used in the White Fang for a disappearing act, to make someone stop breathing, Eve's eyes looking a little more jaded. He indicated Whitley, who seemed to be animatedly chatting with one of the girls, a blonde girl perhaps a year or two older than him. She looked to be around sixteen-ish.
"His father's been making me sign contracts."
He made a gesture with his hand, and he smiled a little. The gesture coupled with the smile indicated that he'd deal with it himself.
"Looks like it'll be fun to meet with him after the weekend."
She gave a small nod, her hands straightening her jacket. The smile on her face wasn't the normal one, showing more of her teeth than she regularly should.
"Up for a date then on the start of the weekend? I'll bring the toys?"
He wasn't sure whether he should make Eve do something like that. Most of the arrangements were already in place, there just had to be a good moment for that...
'After the Spa trip with Weiss and her team...'
"Nah, we'll go for a set of ribs in the midweek, right?"
The codes were all disguised as ordinary things, and Eve, being one of the people who could understand him in a fashion, gleaned the meaning of that. Around the midweek, he'd be either toast or a roast, not very pleasant... But it was something that he would have to do.
'Well... It feels like we're going to be dancing, Jacques.'
He pressed the button and then heard the dialling tone connect, speaking a single word. "Monday. Get things ready for the party."
He'd have to act, and there was little chance for something going wrong now.
'Looks like Whitley just scored himself the number of a girl...'
Time to get the kid out of here before he lost his virginity or something... Those girls looked like they'd want a piece of him.
She let her gaze rest on the elegantly shaped chair in which her son sat, his eyes looking as calm and in control as they always did when he was around her. Klein was busying himself with pouring another cup of tea for her, her eyes looking at the expression of the only son that she'd birthed into this world.
"Did you have a nice time with mister Arc, Whitley?"
Her voice was a soft, tired sound, knowing that Winter kept insisting and lying about not being pregnant. It would show soon enough, she knew. Winter was stupid to lie to her mother. Whitley's measured tones were simple, but she could see his body language shift.
The corners of his lips raised a little, as the look in his eyes changed. They were more like hers, more like they were filled with emotion and something resembling the human expression.
"It was a pleasant outing with Jaune, mother. We went to Miss Khan. She is a woman of... dubious personality."
There was a softness to the youngest child's voice, as he put the tea down on the saucer. He hadn't noticed the slip-up, but she had. Personal names were taboo. It was always 'Mister this' or 'Miss that' for the formal speech.
"We..."
His body language betrayed unease, a lack of certainty. She knew how to read her son's body language and she knew that Jacques knew so too. Whitley was not someone who could hide his language well yet.
"We went for some plebeian entertainment. Truly, the things the commoners come up with."
She spotted the smile on his lips, the warmth in his eyes that had been absent for years. She could feel the warmth settle in her heart, knowing that her son had enjoyed the presence of Jaune. A look on his face changed softly.
"Do you think... Do you think it feasible that a suitable match might be made between J- Mister Arc and my sister?"
A hesitation, as she looked at her son, whose eyes seemed to carry that warmth still. She shifted, the dress she had opted to wear today glistening in the soft illumination. Klein looked at her with eyes that questioned her. She would let the man think, Winter was being moody again and had shut herself in her room after a tantrum.
"Weiss, you mean?"
She asked, in order to clarify. The tension in her son's body increased. Clearly, there was more below the surface. She looked at him and he took the same body language as her husband did, his tone a touch sardonic.
"Well, I most certainly cannot offer myself, can I, mother?"
He froze up completely after he had said that. She stared for a moment and the cup of tea quivered. That most definitely was not going to be received happily by her husband. She let her gaze rest on him for a moment, not responding yet.
"No, I would imagine not. It would be not done for a young man to come out as a... man who prefers the company of other men."
She hesitated, looking at her son, her expression changing to one that was more maternal. She was not going to give up on her only son. No matter what, she would support him.
"It's okay, Whitley. I'm... I love you, no matter what you feel for people."
He looked a little lost, shaking his head. He frowned a little, unsure of what he was going to say. Weiss was just like him, whilst Winter often had a temper problem.
"No, mother, I..."
A sigh, as he looked at her, most of the defences down. There was a child before her eyes, a child that had been forced to grow up too swiftly to be a real child.
"He's so, so... Guileless. When around Miss Taurus, he's like..."
A look of annoyance, and her son looked away. "like a... He's dumb. He's too friendly. He treats me as if I'm not some sort of person with a destiny in the world of Dust, as if I'm just..."
She could understand that. Whenever Whitley was around people his age, he always had to perform. A ringtone, unusual in the way that it sounded, came from her son's Scroll.
"Do excuse me, mother, I have a call."
It was not the ringtone used for Jacques. She had heard that one before, this one sounded a little bit more like-
'Oh.'
Her son transformed, a more youthful smile setting on his face, as someone's face came to the other side of the Scroll, only partially visible through the distortion.
"Whitley! Are you interested in coming to the arcade with us again tomorrow?"
Her son smiled, the smile more childish than the forced polite smile that he had to adopt. There was something in her boy that would charm a girl, any girl, something that had been lurking below the surface.
"Maybe. I do have some responsibilities, Marnie."
There was still some hint of formality but... But this was a start.
"Ditch them. Weren't you saying that you were only in Vale for the Vytal Festival? Come on, let's get some gaming done! Carice would totally want to see you try your best at the Killer Comp!"
The girl's voice was excited, there being a hint of something more. It was a tone that she might've used to a guy she liked. Her boy had admirers. Not a bad thing.
"My father is fairly strict, and my mother..."
She would humour her son. Making friends was more than alright. "It's okay. I can tell your father that it is a 'personal trip', as long as you take Klein with you and several bodyguards."
A giggle from the girl and her son's broadening smile seemed to make this worth it, as he started to talk animatedly with her, seemingly forgetting that she was in the room. She shared a small smile with Klein, watching her only son speak to the girl.
"So, is that big brother of yours coming with his girlfriend as well? He was like, totally hot."
Her son flushed a little, and he gave her a nervous look, his cheeks colouring adorably. Cute, she would add. Worthy to tease about, if she had the opportunity.
"No, I don't think Jaune will be available. He's studying to become a Huntsman and... well."
The girl sounded a little sad about that, but she seemed to perk up immediately.
"Too bad! See you tomorrow, cutie!"
She had a smile on her face. She knew that her husband would have the girl tracked down and taught not to mess with the grand scheme he had in mind for Whitley, Klein looking as a butler should, his face expressionless.
"'See you tomorrow, cutie!'?"
He flushed a deep red, her son's composure completely shattered now. She smiled and got up, walking over to her son and giving him a hug.
"Mother, I..."
He hugged her back after a moment. Willow couldn't help but feel that it was a step in the right direction, as Klein gave a small smile, her mind turning to different things.
"I won't tell your father, Whitley. You're my son and your father would not be... enthused."
Blue eyes looked into her own, as she smiled at him. "I love you and your sisters more than you can believe. I'm not very happy with your oldest sister, but she will learn that there are consequences to her actions."
Her son smiled at her, his expression almost back to the time when things had still been okay with her and Jacques, when she had not known the cruel truth.
"So, a big brother, eh?"
Her son gave a small 'Che' sound, flushing a little, Willow's eyes warming a little. If Winter had been stupid, well...
'He loves me, and he said he loved me...'
"He's supportive. We had a thing called a 'hamburger'. I did not know that they could taste so well. It is different from caviar."
Willow smiled softly at her son as he started to talk. It was in one way, adorable. What Winter had done couldn't be forgiven, but...
'We will have words, Winter. The Spa will be where we can have a chat, away from the prying ears of your father. Let's hope that Weiss' guy is not too dull... She probably has better taste than you, going for someone her age at least.'
I'm working on the assassination of Jacques Schnee. It's not like Cinder's assasination in a sudden explosion of Dust and blood. Jacques Schnee is a different animal altogether. Cinder Fall had the benefit that she was relatively unknown and didn't have her guard up. If she could last until Volume 3 without being detected, well, I'd imagine that her being taken care of with a sniper rifle would just be a one-shot kill thing. Jacques Schnee is, as I've stated before, a different animal. Cunning and driven for his bottom line. Underhanded dealings are second-nature for the man.
Ah well, the next time will feature the Spa trip with team RWBY and the Schnee ladies! Fun for the whole family!
Omake
He sat there, flushed in the face as he didn't look at her. Her son, gay. Gay for the young man who would be his stepfather. Internally she screamed, as he looked up at her with a pleading look.
"I... I would like it if he were to be approached. I've never felt this way before."
She could scream aloud now. Her oldest had fucked the young man she wanted as a husband, her youngest was... well, it'd just about be damn fabulous if the guy she liked was Jaune as well and now her son was going to be interested in him as well!
Today sucked for Willow Schnee, and not in a good way.
"I... See. V-Very well. "
She would not give up on her son, even if he was gay. She'd deal with this after she cried in the pillow for an evening or something, because this just wasn't fair!