Based on a Musing from Selene Sokal
Yang Xiao Long was ecstatic. More so than she'd been in nearly half a decade. She'd stopped by a salon, she'd put on her most flattering clothes, she'd even gotten her nails painted a scandalous blood-red color. All of the pieces were in place.
Today was the first day of the rest of her life.
Six years ago, after the defeat of Salem, she had begun a brief relationship with one Jaune Arc. It had been a wonderful time, with a wonderful man. Considerate, kind, he'd even got along with Ruby.
But in the end her love of the freedom that came with being a Huntress had won out. She'd broken it off with him suddenly. She had been certain to be nice about it.
She had written him a very pretty note.
Then she had begun her crusade, embarking on a swath of adventuring and mayhem that would be the stuff of legends for at least a couple decades.
She had scattered the Tribe, she had exposed and annihilated "Little Miss" and her Spider organization, she had hunted down the last dregs of the White Fang.
It'd been a fucking blast.
But biology was a bitch during even the best of times. She'd not been celibate throughout those six years, but she'd been… less than promiscuous. She still dreamt of blue eyes and softly spoken words. A collection of blonde children to nurture into adulthood.
Ideally into yet more Hunters and Huntresses, but she wouldn't push on that. Much.
She knew that her career as a Huntress had reached a monumental peak. She intended to quit while she was ahead.
Her… egg donor had up and abandoned her almost at birth. Her actual mom had also been a Huntress.
Summer had known the risks, and while Yang would never, could never fault her courage, especially after learning the importance of the Silver-Eyes. She had always wondered if she would get further. If she could be there.
Then the contracts began to dry up. Most of her friends had gone onto steadier work. Weiss and Blake with the SDC, Ruby owned a gun-shop, even Ren and Nora had settled down in a village somewhere.
She had followed her old team under a pair of fake social media accounts. She never kept the same address, she rarely entered CCT range, she could barley find the time to send Ruby or Blake the occasional postcard just to let them know she was still alive.
At that last thought there was a hot twinge of guilt, one quenched by her own seething jealousy.
They all got to live happy, stable lives.
What did she have to show for six years of uninterrupted work? Money she couldn't spend on things she didn't give a good god-damn about?
Was a life lived only for yourself even living? What would she be doing in ten years? Twenty?
When the last of the Grimm pools were capped and were slowly siphoned off to be refined into dust?
Even Drunkle Qrow had finally grown up. He'd nabbed some Huntress about twenty years his junior on a mission in Vacuo and had retired to a small cabin on Patch.
His first kid had been her final wake-up call.
She didn't want to be a spinster, and she'd crushed all other obstacles in life before her so far. No two ways about it.
Yang Xiao Long was going to find wherever Jaune Arc lived and run over him like a train. No mercy. Then she'd knock motherhood out of the park too.
She'd practically raised Ruby. That was before she'd even had tits. This was going to be a complete cake-walk.
She looked down at the address on the post-it note, then back up at the metallic number beside the door of the brick two-story. She gave one last look behind her, the white picket fence and well-trimmed lawn were here only company. Well, that and the faint birdsong.
The universe was teeing her up here. This wasn't even fair! This was better than Patch!
Just a few hour's drive to Vale proper?. Dust's sake there was even a school nearby!
She knocked her typical "Shave and a Haircut" into the freshly-painted door. Pointer finger ringing the bell for her "two bits". The ding-dong seemed to resonate in her head, and she had to fight-down a giggle. She almost choked on it when the door cracked open though.
Crimson met violet. She was… weightless. Listing.
Disbelieving.
Emerald was here. Her lips were moving, but for the life of her Yang couldn't make out any words. She looked down at the post-it again, then at the number. They remained identical.
"Yang! Can you hear me?"
Reality reasserted itself suddenly. At least her perception of it. She nodded and made to respond. She forced herself to smile.
"Is Jaune here?"
"He'll be home soon. The kids with him, I'd say around half an hour?" Yang couldn't think of anything to say to that. Emerald continued.
"You just gonna sit there all day or are you going to come inside?" Yang nodded and stepped over the threshold and into the air-conditioning.
The entryway was… spacious. That was the only word Yang had for it. Light came in through Valean glass windows and played its way across the hardwood floors. A carpeted staircase climbed upwards just past the entryway.
Emerald had stepped back from her. Clad in a sports-bra and leggings, water-bottle laying on a table next to the door. Yang had caught her on the way out. She opted for a somewhat respectful tone. Trying to create some emotional distance to match the physical one.
"So… Ms. Sustrai-" Emerald interrupted her.
"It's Arc now, actually. Mrs. Arc." Fuck. Already a foot in her mouth and a reminder that she had thoroughly missed her shot. She could already feel plans she hadn't realized she'd been making slip through her fingers.
"That's… traditional of you."
"My parents abandoned me, I wouldn't have bothered with their opinion even if I'd managed to track them down for the wedding. Which I didn't. " Her tone regained its earlier levity.
"Since when have you called me Sustrai anyway? We're friends Yang. You are more than…. entitled to call me Emerald." Yang wished a hole would open up in the hardwood and swallow her.
Emerald knew exactly why she was here.
Emerald beckoned her to the kitchen, where she sat down at a small, round table next to another glass door. There was an ivy-ringed patio just outside of it. Children's toys were piled into a neat bin right at the edge of the wood. Another twinge passed through her. A minute pressure began to build behind her eyes.
She would not cry. She'd fucked up. She was going to apologize to Emerald, then to Jaune. She was going to meet his family.
She was going to crawl into a bar somewhere and drink herself into a coma.
Her pride could only take so much.
Emerald interrupted her musing.
"Coffee? I just brewed a fresh pot you know." Yang drew some air in though her nose, actually paying some attention to what scents entered this time around.
She nodded and a yellow pastel cup was placed before her and filled three-quarters full of the ambrosia. She usually drank it with enough cream and sugar to confuse it with hot coca. She gulped down the black mixture, and did so thankfully. She wiped the corner of her mouth with her free hand. Emerald did her best to continue to play host.
"So, Yang, what have you been up to recently? Anything exciting?" She put careful thought into her response. How long ago had been her latest real bust? The White-Fang wipeout, while fun, had been three years ago now. There had been nests of Grimm here and there, but the big clearings were massive, organized affairs usually run either by militaries or local governments. She wanted no part in those.
"Oh, you know, this and that. Lots of small stuff here and there. Just keeping busy. Lots of keeping myself on the move."
"Sounds real boring. Lonely too." Yang looked at Emerald, who had taken the seat across from her. Her face was absolutely unreadable. Yang could read the barely concealed aggression like a billboard.
Motherhood had only amplified Emerald's already acerbic presence. She may as well have been spraying poison at her.
Yang opted to cut the meeting short and skip ahead to the "drinking herself into a coma" part of the day. It was four pm somewhere. Frankly she was ready to just up and die.
This whole thing had been stupid. She was stupid for thinking of it.
"Emerald. Coming here was dumb. I'm sorry-" Emerald shook her head. A smile that couldn't melt butter affixed to her lips.
"I'm not the one you need to apologize to. I turned out just fine. I got two beautiful children, not a hastily-written note." She took a sip out of her pastel-green mug. Yang remained silent.
"Ahhh. Tell me, is there anything more satisfying than this right here?" She held out her mug, then proceeded to gesture to the room at large with it.
"I wouldn't know." She wouldn't cry. In some way's Emeralds taunting made that easier. In other ways…
The pressure behind her eyes built.
She heard the front door open again. Two sets of feet stormed their way up the stairs and another larger set began to pad their way along the hallway to the kitchen. Yang looked to Emerald, for something, anything to stop this.
Emerald called out.
"Jaune Sweetie! We have a visitor!" The plodding continued on. A familiar voice called back.
"Who is it? Is it Ruby again? Blake?" He made it across the entire corner before he stilled. Eyes wide. He spoke only one word.
"Yang?" This had all been a horrible mistake. It had also been her decision. She was going to have to deal with it. She took a deep breath.
"Hello Jaune." He'd grown only a couple more inches, broadened and bulked in the ways men who stayed active tended to do. He was dressed in a white button down shirt and black slacks. He looked so much like the stereotypical cartoon dad it was almost funny.
"Where's your armor?"
"I teach at Beacon now, I keep it around." He brought up the scarlet sash from his waist.
"The important stuff is always with me." She would not cry.
"Jaune. Can I be honest with you?"
"Always."
"I came here today looking to sweep you up. To come back and be welcomed with open arms. I'm done Jaune. I've been a Huntress. I've traveled the whole world Jaune, and you know what, its empty."
"What is?"
" The world. The life. Me. I came here expecting to pick up right where I left off. I've spent the last few years regretting my decision to leave you. I've spent the last few minutes realizing it was worse to come back." He made to stop her, she wouldn't let him.
"Jaune. I don't know if you'll accept an apology. Frankly I don't care. I want you to know that I was wrong. I chose a life of adventure over any chance to be happy with you. You did nothing wrong. You never left me, even in my quiet hours I comforted myself with the idea you were waiting at the end of it all-" He lowered his arm and let her speak.
"-I went from self-centered to delusional. I was living in a different world, where we never grew into different people or moved on. I had a lot of chances to turn back. I didn't. I had a lot of time to think, I didn't do that either. Frankly if you never want to see me again, I'll be fine with that. Frankly I deserve it."
A hand reached out and touched her shoulder, but there was nobody there.
She realized what had happened just a second before the illusion dissolved like ash in the wind. Emerald was grasping her shoulder. Yang wanted to die.
"Why? You know I'm sorry. Why can't I just leave? Why are you playing with me?" She forced in a breath, suppressing a sob. Emerald shook her head.
"I was expecting to pull the rug out from under you when you tried to seduce him. Somehow that was more painful." Yang felt her blood pressure beginning to rise.
"Get to the point."
"My point is, Yang, I have a proposal for you. I think you'll find it has some appeal." Might as well hear her out.
"Go on."
"Jaune and I have a little… understanding, when it comes to my-" she chuckled lightly "-sapphic, inclinations. His joke, not mine." Yang perked an eyebrow. The pressure was receding, if only out of curiosity. Emerald continued.
"I think I can fit you in under that." Yang held up a hand to stop her.
"That's nice Em, but I think you know that's not what I'm here for."
"You didn't let me finish. You'll have your blonde Arc-Xiao Long children. You'll have Jaune. You'll have the perfect house, the trimmed grass, and all of the love and admiration that comes from a quiet family life. There's just one catch."
Yang would have been lying if she said she wasn't intrigued, the pressure behind her eyes had lifted, she'd managed to get by without actually shedding a single tear.
Perhaps something could be recovered from this situation after all. But there was the catch. It's mere mention hanging over her head like the Mistrali sword on a string of legend.
"It's a big one, isn't it."
"Massive, but fair. At least in my eyes."
"Let's here it then."
"You're not the senior partner here. You came to us, after abandoning my husband with only a note and practically vanishing off the face of Remnant. You expected to just walk up and take him. Instead, we'll take you." Yang's eyebrows yanked upwards.
"You will live with us. My children will know you as their Aunt, same as they know Ruby, Weiss or Blake. You will raise them alongside your own. You will do anything Jaune or I ask of you. You will care for my children as you care for yours." Yang was having trouble keeping her breath steady, her heart was pounding violently, sending jolts of blood directly into the back of her brain. She did not speak though. Emerald plowed on.
"Your children can call you whatever you like, but no matter what they call you, they will also call me 'Mom'. I gave the Arcs two children, I love them dearly, but pregnancy's a bitch. You will be my womb from here on out. You will help me raise my children, and you will help me make them."
"I don't understand." Yang said, but she had a distinct impression that she did. Emerald took another sip.
"That brings us nicely to how we will conduct ourselves in the bedroom. Simply put, whatever we say goes there too. This is our home, and our bed. We'll share it with you, but you are the junior there, subordinate." Emerald set down the empty mug.
"You will service my husband, and you will service me. We'll make sure your needs are met, but to be blunt. You'll be our breeding bitch." Yang let out a light chuckle. One considerably more confident than she actually felt.
"And like that, you've lost me. Sorry Em, but I don't really play sub. Everything up to that point was… promising. That's a sticking point though. Yang Xiao Long is nobody's bitch." Emerald gave her a smug smile.
"Everything else still appeals to you? Everything? The domestic aspect? The child-rearing?" Yang shrugged, perhaps a little more stiffly than usual.
"Well then, perhaps we can decide this in a way you understand? I was already heading to the gym, Jaune is expecting to come home to an empty house anyway. Let's settle it now. A good old fashioned spar. If I win, I decide how we handle things in the bedroom. If you win, you do." Yang's smile returned with a vengeance. There was no way she was this lucky.
"You really wanna stake the future of your sex life on a brawl with me? Deal!" Emerald held up one finger.
"It's settled then. That said. There will be no rematches, this is the only chance you get to back out of this. I don't do safe-words. You lose this and your ass is mine. You win this, and you won't hear any complaints. No take-backs, no rematches, no bellyaching." Emerald's voice was hard. She saw the red eyes perk-up suddenly.
"Also, while I grab my weapons, call your fucking sister. She's been worried sick you know." Yang cringed.
Emerald paced off to grab Thief's Respite, Yang withdrew her scroll. She entered her password and opened her contact list. Ruby's name was highlighted in red under Dad's. She hit it. Ruby picked up on the second ring.
"Yang! Are you okay! It's been forever, Blake's pissed, and Weiss won't even say your name. Please tell me you're coming by Vale to visit?" Yang let her exhaust herself.
Her sister had on a welding helmet and a black tank-top, skin covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
"Yeah Rubes, I'm just outside Vale. I'm at Jaune's place with Emerald. We're just about to hit the gym for a quick spar." Ruby's hand came up to brush a lock of red hair out of her eyes. She seemed to deflate.
"Yang. You can't just drop in like that. Not after what you did." Yang nodded.
"I know Rubes, but me and Emerald have… an idea. It's still early on, but I think it'll all work out." Ruby raised an eyebrow.
"Stay safe Yang. When your done over there, maybe stop by Vale sometime. We'll grab a bite, catch up." Her guts twisted. Her own sister, the woman she'd raised, was so close, yet she was going to have to meet her all over again.
"I'd love that Ruby. I'm back for good, I promise. I'll want to be seeing a lot of you. I've got a lot of lost time to make up for."
Emerald came up behind her, lime green duffle thrown over a shoulder.
"Funny, that's exactly what I'm going to say later. How are you Ruby?" The girl, woman now, Yang reminded herself, smiled.
"Wonderfully. You be careful with my sister now."
"I promise I'll be gentle. At first." Ruby chuckled, giggled, then hung up.
Emerald gestured for Yang to follow here through a door, which opened to a disturbingly clean garage. They piled into a powder blue SUV and left without another word.
ARGUS INTERNATIONAL GYM
Yang's excitement had returned. Her heat beat itself softly, but rapidly against her ribs. Every nerve in her body seemed primed. She was going to get it. After all of that fuckery and fanfare she was going to smack this bitch and take the whole thing. Oh Emerald would stay, but she'd be humbled and cuckolded for the rest of her life.
Yang was an uncontested monster in the arena. Emerald should have just accepted an equal partnership. Instead she'd over-extended, and Yang was going to make sure she regretted every second of that for the rest of her life. She gave another look towards Emerald, who was stretching her legs just next to the arena.
Her ass stuck out invitingly, Yang possessed a distinct love of asses, but Emerald's was fine even by the standards of a connoisseur. Even if she could find a coin somewhere to throw at it, the metal wouldn't so much bounce off as it would refuse to desecrate those cheeks. Emerald stood back up.
"You done looking? Lets get started." Her smug grin had not faded.
"Lets."
They made their way to the center of the Arena. Emerald tapped a button on her scroll and tossed it to the side. Dust barriers sprung to life around the edge of the ring. The projectors hidden in a seam between the padding and the regular floor.
They took up their stances. Yang's was low, Emerald's posture was relaxed, her back straight. Hands on her hips just above her her holsters. There was a buzzer. Yang moved.
She knew Emerald had too, but instead she saw her standing perfectly still, revolvers out and aiming. Yang instead opted to use her ears, listening for footsteps on the padded mats. She caught some on her right, and saturated the area with buckshot. To her surprise though, there was no shimmer. Instead, the Emerald she could see unloaded her revolvers into her. The blasts blending together into a continuous stream. Yang brought up her arms and caught some of the shots on her bracer and prosthetic. It was only a partial solution though. She quashed a flaring of her semblance.
Emerald's cheeky grin remained. Yang rushed her, Thief's Respite shifting into blades while Emerald took a step back. Yang threw a punch forward early. Knocking herself out of an illusion and Emerald into the barrier behind her. She recovered before Yang could pin her to the wall with her fist, sadly.
Yang kept up the pressure, forcing Emerald to dodge and parry her blows while chasing her in a circle around the barrier. She refused to give the agility-based fighter any room to move. Emerald's smile was gone.
Finally.
Eventually, Emerald ran out of patience. She parried a blow from Yang, then made to follow it up with a near-vertical upward slash that snuck up from her other blade. Yang pounced throwing herself into Emerald's open guard.
She passed right through her.
Shit.
Three rapid slices into Yang's back followed. She finally lost her shit. Hair igniting as the blood in her brain finally reached a boiling point. She heard Emerald reloading her revolvers behind her. Yang pounced, roaring into action. Emerald ran. Yang made to chase her to the other end of the arena. Seeking to trap her between the barrier and crush her against it.
Instead she took a knee to the stomach. She scattered her last couple rounds in the direction of the blow. Emerald broke concentration to dodge them. Yang made to pursue her again. This time she could tell it was a route. The terror in Emerald's eyes was almost as satisfying as her turning tail to flee. She finally stopped, turning to face Yang with her blades deployed.
Yang felt something hook under her arms. The Emerald in front of her blew her a kiss as she was swung away. Emerald had clearly made use of her complex distractions to tie her chained blades under her arms. She had to give the girl some credit on the creativity front, at least before she killed her.
Yang's nose impacted the barrier, followed by the rest of her face. She crossed her arms and wrapped her fingers around the chains, but that just meant that Emerald had to use less effort to fling her around.
And fling her she did. Yang was smashed into the barrier repeatedly. She saw all four walls of the gym, and even discovered that their barrier had a ceiling on it. Which was a neat, albeit painful touch.
Finally she landed on the padded ground. An alarm blared out from her scroll. She forced air into her lungs. Emerald offered her a hand. Yang was tempted to knock it away. To refuse the gesture and simply go back to her old plan. Dying in a hole simply couldn't be more embarrassing than this.
Emerald shifted unsteadily. Her smile was doing its level best not to turn into a grimace. Yang forced herself to breath. She felt her anger fading away, replaced by a pleasant soreness and a vague sense of… acceptance. She took the proffered hand.
"Okay. You win. What now." Emerald helped her up.
"Now, we shower. Then we go back home and make dinner. You have your things packed somewhere?" Yang nodded.
"I parked my bike in front of the Library. I keep my things in a box in the back."
"Wonderful. We can pick it up on the way." She grabbed Yang's jacket collar.
She kissed her. Hard. Yang's already confused heart did a somersault. Emerald held for a few seconds, before detaching just as suddenly and walking away. She spoke over her shoulder.
"Wash yourself. Thoroughly. You're going to be getting visitors tonight. I wasn't kidding when I said your ass is mine." She sauntered off to the shower. Yang made no effort to keep her eyes off her swaying hips.
She licked her lips, then made to follow her.
Sadly, the gym had stalls for their showers. Emerald let Yang borrow her products, and her towel. Yang tried her best not to think of where the towel had just been.
They piled back into the car. Yang got out near the library and followed Emerald's lead to her new home. Bumblebee's thrumming engine was profoundly comforting between her legs.
They finally made it outside the house. There was a green car pulled into a hump in the side of the driveway. The garage door opened and Emerald pulled the SUV back inside. Yang pulled up right beside her.
They made their way into the kitchen. He was sitting at the table, reading a tablet. He looked exactly how Emerald had shown him. The only difference was the look of quiet concentration on his face, and the easy smile it gave-way to as he looked up to greet his wife.
He caught a glimpse of Yang and his eyes widened. His lips ceased movement as his jaw went slack with shock. Fortunately Emerald provided the necessary social lubricant.
"Hi Honey. Look who I found today, she'll be staying for dinner." Jaune looked at his wife.
"Emerald. I know you didn't just bring my ex, a woman who's been unreachable for nearly three years, into our home. At least without reason a very good reason." Emerald walked right up to him and bent down, kissing him on the cheek.
"Right you are Honey. I do have a very good reason, are the kids upstairs?" Jaune nodded. Emerald continued.
"So you know how you said you would give me a pass when it came to women?" His eyes narrowed.
"I do recall saying I wouldn't mind so long as you were discrete and casual, yes."
"And do you remember when I said I was over pregnancy after Ren was born?" It was Yang's turn to raise her eyebrows. Jaune took his in concert.
"Emerald! You can't be suggesting…" Emerald placed a finger on his lips.
"I can and am, but not out of nowhere. I mean, just look at how she missed you." Emerald swung her hand out with a flourish. Yang's eyes made for a spot in the corner of the tile as she was treated to a review of her earlier performance to the illusory Jaune.
She couldn't see the actual Jaune's reaction, she could guess though.
Then it continued, past the point where Emerald had dispelled the illusory husband and had begun her pitch. Yang felt her cheeks warming, she did her best to compress herself into a corner. Finally it dissipated, Yang knew that Emerald had included her in that little show to ensure she got her current reaction.
She wanted to make sure Jaune saw both the show and its veracity. Yang awaited the blow. A laugh, a snort, even a rejection.
None came. Instead there was a sigh. Then he spoke.
"Yang… You lost didn't you?" She slowly nodded. But she didn't speak.
Emerald walked off, muttering something about "changing" and "getting ready".
"Yang, look at me." She turned her head to face him. There was no anger there. He spoke.
"I'm not angry Yang. I'm just sad it came to this. You and Emerald already have an… arrangement, I want you to know that I'm okay with it. I'd be happy to have you, but I want to know you want this. I won't put the well being of my family at risk over a pissing-contest. Am I clear?" She looked at him.
"I made the deal Jaune, I'm a big girl. I knew what I was getting into." She sounded a lot more confident than she felt.
"Okay then. Don't say I didn't warn you though." His smile returned, he turned his head upwards.
"Ren! Penny! We have a guest! Come down and introduce yourselves." Oh shit. She wasn't ready for this. Two pairs of feet stormed down the staircase anyway. One of them landed with a notable thud-swish that indicated they had leapt the last couple of stairs. They swung around the corner.
On a positive note, Yang never had a chance of a mix-up between her children and Emeralds. Emerald's hair had been a subdued mint color, theirs was a shocking lime green. It made for a peculiar contrast with their eyes, which were both definitely the same shade of red as their mother's.
Jaune spoke.
"This is your Aunt Yang. She's Auntie Ruby's sister." The children remained unmoved. His tone remained steady.
"She's going to be moving in with us and helping out around the house. I expect you to treat her with the same sort of respect you'd give to me or Mom." The pair nodded, then turned in sync.
They both stared at her, she did her best not to be unnerved. Then Penny smiled and swept past her brother to shake her hand.
"Hi Auntie Yang. I'm Penny, its nice to meet you." She'd transitioned from creepy to adorable in a flash. Chubby cheeks and smiles. Even Ren's pout was hard to characterize as anything but endearing now.
Emerald came back down in a loose-fitting shirt and sweatpants. She grabbed an apron from off the hook while she let Ren introduce himself. Yang finished her introductions. Emerald tightened her apron and turned to her.
"Yang. Help me with dinner. Please." The rest of the night was a blur. At some point Jaune pulled out a bottle of wine and a trio of glasses. She felt her reservations beginning to dissolve. The children were lovely. Jaune and Emerald doted on them and eachother. Em never missed an opportunity to brush against her arm, and even Jaune placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
Eventually, Yang was wiping the sauces off of her plate with her bread. Penny finished her green-beans. Yang collected dishes and supervised the children rinsing their plate and slipping them into the dishwasher. Yang took care of the actual cooking mess. She caught a glimpse of Green hair out of the corner of her eye.
Emerald was leaning down next to her husband, hand cupped next to his ear. Indecipherable sounds slipped out, Jaune's smile was growing wider with every passing second.
Emerald stepped away from him. He stood from his seat at the table, before carefully pushing it back into place.
"Okay kids, its time for bed."
"Daaad… can we have fifteen more minutes please?" Emerald shot Jaune a death glare. Clearly he needed to stiffen up with them. Good luck. Yang was having trouble just being near Penny's puppy-dog eyes.
"What about a bedtime story instead?" Penny seemed to vibrate, jumping up and down.
"Can we do the one about the girl in the tower again? I really like that one." Jaune nodded.
"Of course." Penny disappeared up the stairs. Ren followed her a second later.
Jaune turned to face Emerald and Yang, smiling awkwardly. Running his hands through hair that had, thankfully been grown out again at her direct insistence. He faced his wife, and issued a series of commands.
"Emerald. Take Yang upstairs. Show her the ropes. Literally, if you feel like it. You did good work today. Indulge." The corners of Emerald's mouth pulled themselves to her eyes. She looked every bit the cartoon villainess she'd started off as.
Emerald grabbed her arm, it was a firm grip, but by no means painful. She ran her other hand through the hair at Yang's scalp, sliding her fingers down the full length of it.
Before Emerald could speak, Jaune shot one last word in.
"Nothing too drastic Em. Hurt her just enough that she understands the dynamic." Emerald nodded rapidly, it was easy to see where Penny got it.
"I'll have her ready for you by the time the children are asleep sweetie. You can count on me." Jaune made his way up the stairs. Emerald pulled Yang up them not long afterward.