A/N: Enjoy!

X

-Weiss-

The room was silent for just a moment following Pyrrha's request for a talk. With the atmosphere getting dimmer by the millisecond, Olive coughed and said, "Sapphire, how about you come help me with Lav here?"

Lavender flinched as Olive grabbed her shoulder. "Wait, what would Saph be helping with?"

"Talking." The youngest Arc was promptly dragged from the room, Sapphire following behind them with all due haste. Plum mumbled a comment about helping Jade with dinner, leaving Weiss and Pyrrha alone in the living room.

Weiss desperately wanted to run from the room herself; but she knew that to do so would only worsen the situation, so she took a deep breath before meeting Pyrrha's eyes. The only saving grace was that the athlete didn't seem to be angry; only disheartened. "What did you want to talk about, Pyrrha?"

"What, uh-" Hesitation; or, at least, a moment of being tongue-tied. "What do you think of what Yang's been doing with her weekly visits?"

"I think... that Yang enjoys spending time with Jaune's family. How far that goes, or rather how Yang may or may not feel about Jaune, is not for me to say."

Pyrrha's look of desperation indicated that she may have misspoke. "But shouldn't that be obvious? Lavender's tone made it sound like-"

"Pyrrha." The redhead stopped talking in order to hear her words. "Yang explicitly told me just earlier today that she fully supported your relationship with Jaune; that she had from the beginning, and would continue to do so going forward. Tell me: does that sound like a woman aiming to steal him from under your nose?"

"No, it doesn't; and... it was Yang herself that pushed me into asking Jaune to go to the dance with me."

Progress was being made. "See? Whatever Lavender may think is going on, the fact is that Yang is looking out for both you and Jaune so that you can be happy."

"I see." Pyrrha spent a moment just slowly breathing in and out, visibly calming down with each instance. "Yes, I suppose that is true. Thank you, Weiss; I guess I became so anxious that I momentarily forgot just who it was that led me to this point."

"You're most welcome." She allowed herself smile of relief, happy that was able to diffuse the situation. "And, just so you know, I also wish you the best; so be confident, okay?"

"I will do my best." She suddenly stifled a small laugh behind her hand. "Isn't this all a little funny? Here I am, asking you for relationship advice about a boy who spent half of last year asking you out."

"They do say that truth is stranger than fiction. I can honestly say that I never imagined myself accepting a picture of Jaune in a bunny onesie."

"Wasn't he just the cutest?" They both had a laugh at that. "Thank you again, Weiss. Now, since you've been a guest here, would you kindly point me in the direction of the restroom?"

"It's just down that hall; you won't miss it."

Pyrrha excused herself, and Weiss was about to pour through the still-open photo albums when a voice behind her called out. "Nice recovery, Weiss. Sorry we left you to deal with it."

She turned to see that Olive had returned, having apparently stayed out of sight to eavesdrop. "She'd asked to speak to me personally, so there likely wouldn't have been any way for you to assist. However, may I ask just what Lavender was doing?"

"She's kind of a big supporter of Yang and Jaune getting together. We told her to cool her jets before you guys came, but you can see how well that worked. We put her in timeout until dinner."

"Timeout?"

Suddenly, a screech sounded from the second floor of the house. "Why are there baby gates here!?"

"Timeout," she confirmed with a tiny grin. "So, you and Yang are both on the Pyrrha and Jaune train, hmm?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Does that surprise you?"

"A little bit; but as long as Jaune's happy, it's all good to me." She looked to where Lavender's voice had sounded from. "Most of us feel that way, really. Lav is the only one pushing for Yang hardcore."

"Then your beliefs line up with my own; and, on that note, I went ahead and mentioned your plan to Yang. She said that she'd think about it, so you might be able to truly convince her to work with me if you explain it to her yourself."

Olive spun to face her with pure glee radiating from her eyes; those sapphire eyes that matched Jaune's to the minute detail. "Really!? That's freaking great! Way to get the ball rolling, Weiss!"

She accepted the praise with a simple nod. In some ways it was clear that Olive would proceed no matter what; but if she got involved, at least the plan would have a better chance of success. She hoped. "I did have a question for you. Are you sure that you want to work at your sister's restaurant? I'm sure that there are other places you could work as well."

Olive shook her head as she sat across from her. "It's about reliability. I know that as long as I don't mess up too much, Vermilion will let me work without threatening to replace me with somebody else. What other business around town would be willing to give a teenager more than a single chance? Plus, I will not say 'would you like fries with that' every thirty seconds."

That was when Pyrrha walked back in. "Are you thinking about getting a job over the summer?"

"Not quite, Pyr. Wait, can I call you Pyr?"

The athlete gave a wry smile. "It sounds pleasant to me."

"Cool; anyways, I'm wanting to get a job when I turn sixteen so that I can earn money for the family instead of Jaune. He deserves to play his music."

Pyrrha gave a slow nod, looking almost motherly in some way. "That's very commendable of you. Although, if that's why you wish to work, is there a reason that you're waiting until you're sixteen?"

"Vale labor laws say that I can't work until I'm sixteen."

Pyrrha put a finger to her chin in thought. "Actually, that's not quite true. Thanks to being involved with my sponsorship contracts, I know that Vale has the same labor laws as Mistral, and you're allowed to work any non-warehouse or mining job available as long as you're fourteen-years-old."

Olive froze, her mouth open wide enough to catch flies. "Wha- Bu- Mom said that it's sixteen, and she's a civil court lawyer! She knows the law from back-to-front!"

"You'll need a parent or guardian to fill out a consent form, as well as needing to inform your school; but once you have those two things taken care of, you shouldn't have any issues."

"But Mom said..." Olive rose from her chair. "I'll be right back."

She walked out of the living room, allowing Pyrrha to take her seat. "Did I say something wrong?"

"It seems that you just accelerated her plans a little." What that would mean for the Arc family remained to be seen. What could she do to help in all of this? "Pyrrha, would you be willing to help us with something?"

"Hmm?"

-Olive-

Her mother's words ran through her mind. "You can only work when you're sixteen. Be patient, Olive."

Followed by Jaune's. "Mom and I agree that you girls should just leave the work to me and focus on school. We've got this; trust me."

Juniper Arc had almost every Valean law memorized. Why would she say that people could only work at sixteen? Why would her mother lie to her?

Olive crept towards the closed door of her mother's bedroom and put her ear to it. She could hear music playing, which meant that mom was awake. Good. Carefully, she knocked on the door three times. "Come in."

She opened the door and took in the familiar view. Juniper was laying on the left side of her four post bed and was clicking off the CD player on her nightstands. Before it was cut off, Olive recognized the tune as her father's singing, recorded long before she was born. "Hey, Mom. I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Not at all. I've dealt with all the contacts the firm wanted me to, so I'm done for the weekend."

"That's good." She steeled her resolve; there was no other way but to dive in. "So, I've spent a lot of time thinking it over-" -Months- "-and I think I really should work a real job. You know, help pay the bills instead of Jaune."

"Oh, Olive." Her mother frowned, and Olive could see that she'd have to push harder. "I told you, Jaune and I can handle everything while you girls go through school. Additionally, you're still only fifteen."

"Well, I was talking with Pyrrha and she told me that Vale actually lets teens as young as fourteen work if they tell their school and get a parental consent form signed. I'm sure Vermilion would let me work at her restaurant if we just talked to her."

Juniper pursed her lips. "Pyrrha told you that?"

"Yeah! She needed to know for her sponsorship deals. So, what do you think?" Her mother didn't answer right away, her eyes drifting to a spot just to Olive's left. When she turned to look, she saw that Juniper was looking at a full family picture: all of the Arc children, even Apricot, were smiling as Dad and Mom stood behind them.

After a minute, Juniper said, "Olive, do you understand that I didn't want Jaune to work, either? I only let him do so because I did the math; with only my income and this many mouthes to feed, we would've had to start pulling money from our savings sooner rather than later. Jaune is... he's working so that you girls can do anything that you want to."

Olive felt her blood beginning to simmer. Was her mother really going to fight her on this? "Mom, I don't have anything I want to do. I'll have decent career choices in the future, sure, but it's Jaune that actually has a passion. He'd dedicate his every waking moment to his music if he could, and you know he got that from Dad."

"Olive-"

"Mom!" She didn't mean to shout, but her mother's expression of displeasure just set her off. "I've run through this again and again. My grades are practically perfect and I have all of this year's schoolwork burned into my brain, so what could I lose from this? What would I do with my time if I don't work? Sit around the house feeling bored and miserable that I'm not allowed to help my family! Please, please... let me do this for Jaune. For ALL of us."

Silence once again. The sound of her heartbeat in her eardrums was deafening as she waited for her mother to speak. Olive continued pleading with her eyes, but Juniper was looking away as she deliberated with herself.

Jaune working at Vermilion's restaurant had been a slow process, just a night or two a week once his sophomore year started; but over time, he began needing to work three days a week. Then, four days a week. Eventually, the situation forced him to quit band altogether and work at least six out of seven for them to stay out of the red.

It was time for her to change that. Depending on how much she made, Jaune might need to work a shift or two still; but a day or two was okay, because that would leave him time for what he loved.

Ever so slowly, Juniper met her eyes. It was easy to see that she was sad, but Olive needed to do this. "All of us will sit down tonight and talk it over. My personal demand is that you keep your grades up while you work, but as long as you do that... as long as you put school first, I can help convince Jaune into this."

Juniper shifted her legs off of the bed and spread her arms for a hug and Olive quickly embraced her. She wanted to cry out of happiness, although some strange sense of pride stopped her from doing so. Myabe it was the adrenaline still punping through her. "Thank you, Mom; thank you. I promise, I'll be the best student I can be and still help us put food on the table."

"I know you will." Juniper ran her fingers over her hair as they hugged. "We can talk to Vermilion later. Maybe on Sunday."

"Okay." They stayed in that position for a moment longer, but Olive broke the hug first. "I'm going to see how dinner's going and hang out with Weiss and Pyrrha. Do you need anything, Mom?"

"I'm quite fine, thank you. I might be able to sit with you all at dinner today."

"Sounds good. See you then." With a wave of her hand she closed the bedroom door and simply stood there for a moment.

Until she pumped her fists in victory, that is. 'It worked! I got through to her! I understand where's she coming from, I really do, but this way all of us will be happier. Time to tell Weiss the good news!'

She almost skipped down the short hall back to the living room, where Pyrrha was going over something that was displayed on her phone. "-All I'm saying, Weiss, is that Jaune wouldn't look right in that kind of outfit on stage."

"Well, what else would you recommend he wear on stage? He certainly couldn't pull off the punk rock appearance you first suggested."

"I didn't suggest punk rock, only something other than what you showed me." That was when Pyrrha noticed Olive's return. "Oh, welcome back. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is better than okay, Pyr. Did I hear something about outfits?"

"Indeed," answered Weiss. "Pyrrha and I were discussing what clothes Jaune might wear on stage if he became a musician, but she can't seem to grasp my sophisticated tastes."

"Well, I'll be the tiebreaker. What was it?" Pyrrha passed her phone over, and Olive was immediately inclined to agree with the athlete over the Schnee. "You want him to wear a monkey suit while playing the guitar in front of an audience? Weiss, no."

Weiss put her fists on her hips in frustration. "What's wrong with looking formal!? Are you saying that you don't think he would look good in a tuxedo?"

"What I'm saying is that guitar players don't rock out in clothes measured and cut by the millimeters. Him being able to pull off a tux is irrelevant." She moved to sit beside Pyrrha, who had the slightest of smiles at winning the debate. "Anyways, Mom agreed to let me work as long as my grades stay up. Now it's just convincing Jaune to not be mad at me and talking to Vermilion for the job."

"About that, Olive," responded Pyrrha with a little trepidation, "Weiss gave me a summary of your idea. Do you really think that we'll be of any help getting Jaune to understand where you're coming from?"

"I'm betting that you'll get farther than I will. Arc stubbornness against Arc stubbornness tends to go very poorly; to be honest, I still can't believe that I managed to get through to Mom just now. Mom and I will talk to him after dinner; and if it doesn't quite work, that's when you and Weiss will have a crack at him." She thought about openly pleading, but something in Pyrrha's expression told her that it wouldn't be necessary. "Will you help, Pyrrha?"

"Certainly," came the immediate answer. "I'll call my parents right now and tell them that I'll be home later than I expected."

Retrieving her phone from Olive, Pyrrha stepped into the entryway to make her call. Olive took that moment to finally put the photo albums away, lest the redhead stare at them all evening. When Nikos returned to the living room, it was with a frown rather than a smile. "What's wrong, Pyr?"

"My parents just informed me that they scheduled a photo shoot for tomorrow morning despite the fact that I asked them not to. I actually have to return home now to see if I can salvage the situation, because if I don't then tomorrow will be an extremely packed day." She sighed, clearly regretful for the sudden departure. "I'm sorry that I won't be of any help with talking to Jaune tonight, but I promise to intervene if he's still against it over the weekend."

Olive felt that it was an honest shame, but people do what they have to do. "It's alright, Pyr. Will we see you tomorrow before or after the dance?"

"Jaune is picking me up from my house before the dance, but I don't know about after. I certainly hope that I see you all again soon."

"Me, too. Be safe going home." She gave the athlete a farewell hug, and Weiss bid her goodbye with a wave. Soon, Pyrrha was out the door and gone. "It's too bad that happened. Looks like it'll be just you as support if negotiations fail, Weiss."

"I have faith that we'll all convince him together." Sniff. "Jade's cooking smells exceptionally good. What's on the menu?"

"Dunno; but I think she's done by now, so let's go find out."

X

Opinion question: what do you think would be some of the staple Valean foods in a world without Grimm? I couldn't quite figure it out.

I hope you enjoyed the brief chapter, and I'll see you next time; you know, when Jaune decides to be a loving yet stubborn bastard. Have a good day/night!