"No!"
"What do you mean no?"
"I mean you can't just move in with us!"
"Why not!"
"Because you're a psychopath who breaks the freaking law!"
"So?"
"What do you mean, so?"
"I mean so what? I can be a good housemate if that's what you're worried about."
"For fuck's- I'm not worried about you not doing the dishes or whatever I'm worried about you teaching my daughter to murder puppies and steal candy from babies!"
"Swear! You swore twice, you siad both the f-words!"
"Sorry Khione." Jaune sighed, rubbing one hand up and down his face whilst the other kept him propped up against the dingy dinner table. "I'll add money to the jar later. Have you done your homework?"
"No." Khione replied, pouting up at the both of them as they turned to tell her to do it. "It's hard to focus when you both yell."
"Shi-Sugar." Jaune sighed again, even as Khione gave him a glare. "That doesn't count. Look, we're sorry for yelling kiddo but me and Cinder need to have a serious discussion."
"About who your bullies are and where they live." Cinder interrupted, kneeling in front of Khione and instantly reminding Jaune why he had sent Khione to her room to do homework after dinner. "What do they look like, what does their route to and from school look like, what-"
"We were discussing how since I'm gonna arrange a meeting between me and those little twerp parent's, we don't need to do Cinder's plan, whatever that plan is and whatever law-breaking it may entail." Jaune interjected, making Cinder glare at him for the interruption and Khione to blink at him confusedly as both adults spoke over one another.
"I thought you were talking about whether or not mom should move in or not?" Khione asked quietly, though the words caused a dead silence from the two adults who very pointedly did not look at each other or the confused child in between them. Instead they surveyed the room around them, as if looking for an escape from the awkward situation, before their eyes met briefly and they quickly looked away.
Neither was quite used to Khione referring to Cinder as her mother just yet.
"We were talking about that too, and we decided-"
"We wanted to hear your thoughts on the matter, Snowflake." Cinder interrupted, making Jaune growl a little at yet another interruption, something made worse by the fact it was Cinder doing it. "What do you say? Do you...mind me living here?"
"Yes!" Khione exclaimed, eyes glimmering before glancing towards him and staring downwards at the ground with a downcast look. "I mean, so long dad says so."
Oh boy it was going to be like that then huh? Talk about tossing the hot potato. Better judgement or the instinct to turn that frown upside down? Cinder glared at him, as if that made the decision any easier, and the last vestiges of his sanity gave in at the shy, nervous look Khione gave him, the same look a puppy would give to its owner after just ripping apart their slippers and getting scolded for it, knowing full well they'd get away with it.
"I…I suppose." Jaune sighed, the instant regret he felt at the words stymied by the waist-crushing hug given to him by Khione and the look of surprise on Cinder's face. It was a rare moment when he managed to turn the tables on his nemesis turned free part time babysitter. Wait…Why was she smiling? Like smiling-smiling? Not I'm-so-evil or I know something you don't smiling slash smirking?
"Thank you Jaune." Cinder said, standing up from where she had been crouching to meet Khione's eyes on her level. "I promise you won't regret it."
"No villainy or law-breaking or planning to do either of those whilst under my roof, you hear me?" Jaune warned, pointing a stern finger at Cinder as Khione let go and barrelled into her new 'mom'. That still was a weird thought, even if they were technically living together now…
He was going to have to sleep on the couch. Wonderful.
"First act of mother-daughter business." Cinder proclaimed, lifting Khione up into the air and spinning her, making the girl giggle before putting her gently on the dinner table. "You tell me everything I need to know about your bullies."
"For the love of!" Jaune groaned, closing his eyes and waving his arms like a director disappointed with the acting of the main lead. "No! Stop trying to case out those little twerps to jump them or something! You wanna be Khione's mom and a good role model? Come with me to the meeting with the school headmaster."
"And if that fails?" Cinder retorted, making him narrow his eyes and plant his hands on his hips.
"Then we improvise." He conceded, tone and face stern. "But until then, we do things my way, the right way."
"Fine." Cinder shrugged, leaning away from Khione, who's head darted back and forth to whoever was speaking. "Just don't come crying to me when absolutely nothing happens at that meeting you haven't set up yet."
"I'll call in the morning." Jaune replied, picking up the empty dinner plates that were stained with the remains of spaghetti bolognese. "The school won't have anyone answering phones right now. Help Khione with her homework whilst I do some housework will you?"
"Of course." Cinder grinned, turning to Khione. "We can always say the dog ate it if you want?"
"We don't have a dog." Khione grinned back, slipping off the table and taking Cinder's hand to guide her to her bedroom. "I'd like one though."
Jaune looked up and stared out the window above the sink at the dingy, metre wide alley and house opposite theirs as Khione's bedroom door clicked shut softly. Why did he have the feeling he'd wake up to find Cinder had raided a pet store or something like that?
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Putting aside her plans to rob the Pets-And-You store a few blocks away, Cinder plopped down on the soft, springy bed next to Khione and read through her homework for a moment. Simple mathematics. A simple enough task for herself, and an about average challenge for Khione.
"How about we make a deal?" Cinder whispered to Khione in a conspiratorial tone. "If you tell me everything you know about your bullies, I'll do you homework for you tonight and you can read that new book you got the other day,"
"Deal!" Khione giggled quietly, holding out her pinkie finger. Cinder wrapped her own over the significantly smaller one and pulled out a few spare pieces of scrap paper, jotting down notes as Khione rambled on about her bullies, not knowing she had just signed a deal with the devil herself.
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Kissing Khione's head softly, Jaune gave her a grin before turning off her bedside lamp and leaving the room, giving her a hushed good night before closing the door. He wandered down the narrow hallway to the living room, where Cinder sat and watched the practically muted evening news silently.
"Odd not seeing yourself star after a particularly elaborate heist?" Jaune asked teasingly, leaning against the doorframe and breaking Cinder from her reverie, making her startle and jump.
"More like it was odd not seeing you give a self aggrandising speech on the importance of law and order and good this and bad that and blah, blah, blah." Cinder retorted, before standing and stretching. It made the hem of her red dress lift, revealing the black shorts she wore underneath, drawing his gaze for a few moments before realisation of what he was doing made him cough involuntarily and look away discreetly. "I need to get some stuff from my former abode. Where's my bed?"
"I'll sort that out and show you when you get back, we're gonna have to share storage like a wardrobe though." Jaune warned, to which Cinder just shrugged. She stepped past him, not commenting on his likely red, flushed cheeks and instead slipping into a long trench coat that hid her dress and figure before adding on a fedora. With her mane of raven hair hidden in the collar of her coat, she looked unrecognisable to the average joe, if not totally conspicuous on account of her wearing a freaking trench coat and fedora like this was a detective noir movie.
"Don't fall asleep or I'll burn the door down." She warned and he crossed over his heart in response. Cinder just rolled her eyes before stepping out of the front door with a muttered good bye. Jaune sighed and locked it after her, before heading towards his bedroom to change his sheets and storing away a few personal artefacts like pictures of his family and friends and…former acquaintances. The odd clutter around his bedroom that explicitly stated that it was his bedroom.
Then he delved into the darkness of his wardrobe to try and find a spare blanket after pilfering one of his two pillows. Luckily for him, he'd be able to use the cushions on the couch to boost it further to a more comfortable level, whereas Cinder couldn't.
His back seemed to think she got the better end of the deal a few hours later, as he stared at the dark ceiling of his living room whilst the distant sounds of Khione and Cinder sleeping softly and comfortingly echoed into the living room. Damn thin walls.
Damn lumpy couch.
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It was a bright, sunny Saturday afternoon. The birds tweeted in the branches of tall trees and squirrels looked on cautiously from their nests as children ran rampant across the sprawling green fields and hills of Oswald Park. A wide, gravel road cut the park in half, separating the fields from the small, cultivated woodland. It led towards the main roads leading to the myriad of houses and flats that surrounded the park like the walls of a fortress, and a large play area sat at the northern end of the park.
Cinder Fall, villainess supreme under the alter ego dubbed the Nefarious Nightstalker by the press, the blight of Vale, the nemesis of the Huntsman and now the roommate of Jaune Arc and his daughter, lounged in the shade of a stout willow tree just to the north of the play area, lazily keeping her eye on Khione through the branches of the willow tree, which rustled softly in the wind.
Jaune had wandered off to the ice cream truck to get them all ice cream, and Khione had agreed to her bribe of sweets whenever Jaune wasn't looking to play by herself. Cinder could tell who her bullies were, the little twerps had been keeping one eye on Khione from a distance ever since they arrived. Khione's unique white hair that made her seem like a Schnee look-alike was probably what drew them to her, like moths to a flame. Unfortunately for them, that flame had an even bigger flame that burned little moths that tried to harm the little flame.
Sure enough the kids, two boys Khione's age, wandered over to her with stupid smiles that made flames spark to life in the palm of her hand. Khione was a smart, observant girl who understood the plan perfectly. She ran. The bullies followed.
Cinder stood, stretching a little after having been sat for so long before striding towards the trio, Khione running towards the woods to prevent witnesses. Just like planned, and it seemed to be going off as easily as stealing candy from a baby.
She ran the moment Khione entered the treeline so she didn't lose sight of them, following the boys to a clearing where Khione had stopped, panting heavily with a triumphant look on her flushed face.
"Where ya going snowflake?" Asked one of the boys tauntingly. As Cinder got closer, she noticed the floppy dog ears on his head and the little bear paws the other had for hands.
"We told you what would happen to you if you squealed you little Schnee wannabe." The other boy, Bear Claws, growled. "Now you're about to get very familiar with Faunus and Rights."
As the boy said the words he raised his clawed hands, making the other boy giggle. Cinder winked at Khione from behind the boys, making her laugh in return and stopping their laughter in their tracks.
"Don't believe me?" Bear Claws spat. "Well I'll show you-"
"What do we have here?" Cinder interrupted, feeling a viscous feeling at the shock and fear in the eyes of the two boys as they spun around and gawked at the sudden appearance of an adult.
"W-We were just playing! Swear!" Doggy Eyes protested, stepping away from her with raised hands. Cinder raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
"Khione, sweetie, go find your father before he gets worried and the ice cream melts." Cinder ordered kindly, smiling a smile that promised nothing but pain at the clearly terrified boys. "I need to have a word with these two about how they should be more gentle when they play."
Khione scampered off happily enough. Cinder had told her she would just tell the boys off after scaring them with the surprise. Khione didn't need to know Cinder had slightly more…nefarious plans in mind.
"So…" Cinder drawled, fire sparking from and curling up her hands to the horror of the now crying boys. "Where were we?"
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"Where have you been?" Jaune asked Cinder, handing her an ice cream on the verge of collapsing in on itself when she approached and sat down next to him on the metal bench, wedging Khione in between them.
"Oh, the usual." Cinder replied aloofly. "Stealing candy from babies, casting curses on firstborns, riding broomsticks, the usual witch shebang."
Jaune rolled his eyes but didn't question it. He couldn't see any fire or the like, so he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she'd been taking her sweet time getting back from that 'vantage point' she had talked about when he had asked her to keep an eye on Khione.
It was cute she was so protective of Khione, even if it was in her own weird, likely criminal way.
As he finished munching on his chocolate flake, he noticed two Faunus boys leaving the park, tears streaming down their cheeks and traumatised looks on their faces as they dragged their bewildered looking parents behind them.
Jaune couldn't help but frown sympathetically. He hoped they hadn't just suffered some sort of racially motivated bullying or attack thing.
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Jaune frowned at the two vaguely familiar Faunus boys who stared intently at the ground as they entered the headmaster's office. Their parents urged them in, giving him the apologetic, awkward looks of parents whose children had been caught, well, bullying another child.
Jaune refused to relent his patented disappointed glare, even if the other set of parents were probably used to dishing it out on their own kids. Surprisingly it worked, to the point they refused to look at him as they sat down on the seats next to him and opposite the grey-haired headmaster, who was silent and watching carefully.
Khione squirmed a little in her seat on his left, so gently put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed a little to let her know he had her back and to quiet her down a little. Cinder copied the movement on Khione's other shoulder, due to sitting on her left, and he quickly gave her a grateful look before turning to the headmaster.
"So how does this go?" He asked, and the elderly man coughed before leaning forward, hands folded underneath his chin.
"As it is their first offence, I cannot expel either Mister Grylls or Mister Kuza." The headmaster intoned, a stern look on his face as he looked at the shame-faced boys. "However this will go on their record as their first strike and they will both have to attend mandatory sessions with Mr Emden in order to try and find other ways to release any pent up anger or such."
"They'll do it." Said one of the boy's parents, a man with a set of spotted dogs ears on his head. "Isn't that right boys?"
"Yeah." They muttered quietly, still staring at the floor. A moment of awkward silence passed.
"Anything else you wanna say?" Asked one of their mothers pointedly, and another moment of silence passed.
"We're really sorry for being mean to you Khione. It will never happen again. Can you forgive us please?"
"Sure." Khione replied quietly, mimicking the boys by staring at the ground. Jaune felt his temper spike slightly at the blatantly rehearsed apology, before the headmaster clapped his hands together and proclaimed an end to the meeting, asking the parents of the former bullies to stay behind to discuss the punishment further.
"Well that went well." Jaune said, forcing a little optimism in his tone. Part of him still wanted to tear those kids to shreds for bullying his little girl. Instead he turned to Cinder, nudging her a little and giving her a grin. "See what happens when you do things the right way? You get stuff done and you don't get Johnny Law on your tail."
"I suppose you're right." Cinder smirked, his hackles raised at the look on her face. If he had a patented disappointed look, she had a patented 'I know something you don't know' look. "You do get things done…if you do them the right way of course."
A/N: Next update on 5/05/2023