A/N: Woo hoo, another one! Let me know how this one is, I feel like I wrote too much without... I dunno. Enjoy!
Jaune looked up as he heard the door to the bar open up, alerting him that there was a visitor. A wide smile broke across his face as he saw a semi-regular approach him, smiling politely back.
"Welcome back Miss Schnee. The usual?" Jaune asked, half polite. Crossing her arms, one of her eyebrows lifted, a stern look on her face.
"What have I told you before Jaune? Please, just call me Winter."
Jaune nodded his head, chuckling. "Yes, yes, of course." He said, without any intention of obeying the request. Winter huffed a breath, before smiling a little and sitting on the nearest seat across from Jaune, nodding as he repeated his question.
Jaune nodded, pulling out the bottles from under the counter, popping the top open and pulling a glass towards him. Quickly, he poured the drinks and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice into the shaker. Winter looked impressed at the speed and how prepared Jaune seemed to be.
"Do you usually have everything needed to make a drink of French 75 under the bar, or is it something you have ready for me?" Winter asked, smirking. Jaune grinned at her, shrugging as he poured the gin mix into the tall cocktail glass.
"You're a very scheduled person. You come in at around nine in the evening on the first Friday of every month." Jaune topped the drink with a bit of sparkling wine and placed a spiral of lemon peel, completing the drink. Pushing it forward, Jaune spread his arms theatrically.
"Your drink, Miss Schnee." Jaune said, his voice taking on a faux pompous air. Winter laughed at that, grabbing the drink daintily with her fingertips.
"Please, call me Winter." She said, a trace of laughter still in her voice. Naturally, Jaune ignored her once again, smiling warmly as she pulled the drink up to her lips. The two held the silence comfortably, having known each other long enough to realize when to speak and when not to, allowing Winter to enjoy her drink and Jaune to finish some small cleaning and organizing. Winter's eyes trailed after Jaune, her mind in a state of contemplation.
"Did you need something else Miss Schnee, or are you preparing yourself to talk about your family again?" Jaune's tone was semi-serious, letting Winter know that he was teasing her slightly, but is willing to hear her out if she does need to gripe. Raising the glass up to her lips to hide her smile, Winter kept her eyes locked on Jaune.
"Actually, I do have something I'd like to talk about." Jaune turned to face her as she said so, smiling.
"Well by all means Miss Schnee, my ears are open." Winter closed her eyes briefly, gathering her thoughts before placing the glass down, her face composed.
"I wanted to speak to you about my little sister." Jaune nodded, pulling out a fresh glass and preparing Winter's second round. She tended to brink four of these glasses, although the rate that they disappeared varied. Unlike the point of conversation the two usually had.
"Weiss Schnee, second daughter of the great Eider Schnee. Pretty, smart, and capable, and the only flaw anywhere on or in her body is her excessive pride for the Schnee name." Jaune said it in a tone that explained that yes, Winter didn't have to explain who she was for the umpteenth time. Winter picked up on this and frowned a little, crossing her arms. Jaune saw the put off look that she was making and held up his hands.
"Sorry, it's just I hear about her every month and I was wondering when you would get past the point where you didn't need to gloat with me." Jaune shrugged, placing his hands on the countertop. "I guess we're not at that point yet."
Winter frowned, her gaze lowering to look into her glass, the slightly tinged liquid making small ripples as she moved it around with her hands. Another moment of silence passed as the two of them didn't say anything, the air around them a little tense. Finally, Jaune was the one to burst first.
"I'm sorry—"
"You're right." Winter interrupted him, leaving Jaune with his jaw open, eyes wide. The white-haired woman turned to look him in the eyes, and he hurriedly snapped his jaw shut, ears perked and attentive.
"She's… she's such a strong girl." Winter murmured, before taking a sip of her drink. "She's intelligent, brave, smart," Jaune rolled his eyes when Winter wasn't watching, having just said something along those lines. "but she doesn't have any confidence." Winter turned her head to stare outside one of the nearest windows, probably just something to keep her eyes preoccupied, as it was a little too dark to really see anything out there.
"I think that's why she left the house." Winter continued. "She wanted to make a name out of herself, so that when she came back home she would be able to add something else to the Schnee name." Winter drew herself inwards, hands clasped onto the opposite elbows. "She's much stronger than I am."
Jaune stared at the woman—who seemed more vulnerable than he'd ever seen her before. There weren't many people Winter could really confide in. In fact, that number was easily countable with one hand, and that was something anyone with eyes could figure out about her just by looking. Jaune looked at the cocktail glass that rested in front of Winter, internally wondering if there was something in the drinks that he made that simply made people open up to him. Shaking off the thought, Jaune decided now would be the best time to step in with his advice.
"Why do you think so?" Jaune asked gently, eyes probing her face, which was still pointed towards the windows. "After all, you left as well." Winter shook her head, teeth gently biting into her lower lip.
"No. It's not the same."
"Why?" Jaune was quick to ask, wanting to know her thought process. Winter turned her head slowly, looking at him with a pained expression.
"Because I joined the military to run away from my name." She whispered. Jaune didn't say anything, simply keeping his eyes locked on hers, waiting patiently for an explanation that would surely come. And come it did.
"Weiss built up the courage to hide her application to Beacon from the whole family until the last second, where she announced that she would be traveling to Vale to carry the legacy out in her own way." Winter snorted, raising a hand to brush away a stray lock of hair. "My father disagreed, naturally, and after a brief debate, he gave her so many… so many rules to follow that were absolutely unfair to her, sure that she would finally back down, but…" Winter gave a grin, her eyes sparkling as she recalled that day. "Oh, the face on my father when Weiss agreed to it and went left the next day. A memory that I'll never forget." Winter chortled, covering her mouth as she did so. Another lift of the cocktail brought the glass to empty, where Jaune already had her third glass in hand, quickly changing the glasses out. Winter nodded in acknowledgement, grateful as she continued to talk.
"On the other hand I," Winter grimaced in disgust, her rigid posture slouched for once, "I decided to join the Atlas military, telling my father months in advance and waiting for his approval to leave." Winter rested her cheek on one of her hands, sighing balefully. "I simply thought of the best way out of the house that would cause the least amount of trouble and…. Well. Here I am. Drinking away my troubles on a Friday night when I'm still in the prime of my youth." Winter smiled sardonically, sipping on her glass.
Jaune placed a hand on hers and firmly made her put down the drink, causing Winter to look at him with confusion. Jaune's eyebrows were scrunched up, a frown noticeable on his face.
"I'm starting to think that you're a mopey drunk." Jaune said shortly, before pulling the drink towards his side of the counter.
"First off, three drinks a month is not wasting any of your time. And second off," Jaune looked at the woman, who seemed to be strangely attached to what he was saying. "Maybe it's true that you joined the military to run away from your family," he said, shrugging. "But that's not what matters anymore." Winter matched Jaune's earlier expression, confused.
"It's not?"
Jaune shook his head. "No. What matters is what you've done during your time in the military, and what you're planning to do now. I mean, from what I've heard, Combat Specialist Winter Schnee is one of the brightest and most capable young talents that the Atlas military has to offer." Jaune closed his eyes, reciting something that he had heard a certain man say a few weeks back to him.
"I think you're forgetting the big thing about why Weiss decided to join Beacon." Jaune said, deciding to reach and see if he could press the right buttons. "I think you're forgetting the fact that Weiss has seen you perform exceptionally in the military, and wants to follow in your footsteps to make a name out of herself. Like you." Jaune added that last part unnecessarily, hoping that he would get through to the woman.
Winter stayed silent, her mind whirling a little bit as she digested the words and comfort that Jaune had offered her. Sure, it wasn't going to solve much. Winter had been harboring these feeling for years, and a quick talk with a bartender wasn't going to instantly fix her problems. Even if the advice he gave was sound.
But it was a start.
Cracking a smaller, more genuine smile, Winter looked at Jaune sheepishly. "Thanks for the talk Jaune. I appreciate it." Jaune gave a small chuckle, and winked at her.
"Hey, anything to help one of my favorite customers out." He said easily, some of the charm that he developed from working at a bar leaking out. Winter grinned, an eyebrow raised.
"One of your favorite? I'm not your most favorite?" Jaune snorted, shaking his head.
"Of course not. I mean, you only visit me once a month. How can I place you over any of the people who visit me say, every other night?" Jaune waved a hand in dismissal. "No, that'd be betraying my regulars." Winter shook her head jokingly in dejection.
"Placing alcoholics in front of a trained Combat Specialist." Winter muttered softly, before grabbing her drink from Jaune's side of the counter, finishing it off and pulling out some lien to pay. "Well if that's the case, I think I'll just have to leave." Jaune glanced at a nearby clock, surprised to see the time fly by. He nodded, thinking that it would be best if she left before midnight came.
Combat Specialist or not, Winter was a girl, as pig-headedly chauvinistic as it sounded to Jaune.
"I guess I'll see you next month then?" Jaune asked, sliding the used glasses back behind the counter. Winter put on a thoughtful expression after she placed the appropriate amount of money on the table (which was twice as much money as the drinks really cost but hey, Jaune wasn't really complaining).
"I don't know, I might be busy and decide not to visit you for a while." Jaune frowned at that, even though he knew that she was just playing around. Winter grinned at him, copying what Jaune had done to before and winking at him. "Maybe I'll be freer than usual and decide to visit in less than a month." Winter shrugged, almost resembling Jaune in a way. "Who knows, I'm certainly not one of your favorite regulars after all." Jaune palmed his face, sighing a little.
"You're never going to let this go, are you?" He muttered the words, but made sure they were loud enough for the woman to hear. Winter laughed loudly, her shoulders shaking before she shook her head, agreeing with the statement. As the doors slammed shut behind her, Winter heard something that almost made her want to turn around, instead making her grin in a brief moment of joy.
"Have a good night Winter!"