Work Life Balance

Jaune sighed as he surveyed the now quiet cafeteria during the school's lunch break. He hadn't seen Yang since last night, and although he wasn't sure whether he should thank her for attempting to further things along with him and Miltia, or to scold her for being such an unreasonable bitch about it.

Either way, she wasn't with the rest of her team when he arrived at the cafeteria and without her constant chidings and teasing, the whole area was a lot more silent. He was tempted to ask her team for her whereabouts, but figured they either didn't know or she didn't want him to know, so he left it for now.

Remembering back to last night, Jaune wondered if it was an entirely good idea to tell the truth and let Junior and Melanie know about his and Miltia's newfound relationship. He was worried by the fact that Junior made it a law of the club that the girls were off limits, but when he told him, Junior just smiled, patted Jaune on the back and told him 'good luck.' Melanie seemed less pleased, but Jaune couldn't seem to figure out why.

"So Jaune, are you working every day of the week now? That seems excessive." Pyrrha said, voicing her concerns.

"Oh it's not that bad really. Besides, the more hours I get the more lien, so I really can't complain." Jaune chuckled softly as he turned to his partner.

"I suppose that's true, but I can only imagine it'll strain your body eventually. When are you heading off today?" Jaune was about to reply saying that he d leave at the usual time, but recalled Juniors words from last night.

"It would be around five or six, but things got a little stressful last night, so Mr Xiong decided to give everyone the day off today." Pyrrha nodded in understanding and the rest of the lunch break continued as normal until eventually, the school day ended. Jaune rested for a small moment before getting an early start on training with Pyrrha. The two hours were gruelling, but concluded quickly, releasing Jaune from his partners clutches and giving him ample time to sprint to the airdock and prepare for his afternoon alone with Miltia.

The ride ended quickly and Jaune ran off the airship and over to the same park from last night. Miltia wouldn't be arriving for at least another half hour, but Jaune wanted to make sure he was early.

A good choice on his part when Miltia arrived not ten minutes later.

"Oh, Jaune, I wasn't expecting you to be here so early, when did you arrive?" Miltia was dressed in a white, calf length strapless dress with black buckled shoes, and only light make up adorning her face. Needless to say, Jaune was mesmerised by the sight of her, but quickly calmed his thoughts and laughed softly.

"Only about a minute ago really, I just got here." He answered with a smile; Miltia returned it tenfold and caused Jaune's stomach to flip and his heart to flutter. Silently and nervously, he reached out and grabbed her hand to hold; Miltia blushed and smiled softly as she laced her fingers through his. They then left the park and began a long walk through the streets of Vale, talking to extent about anything and everything that crossed their minds.

Melanie paced through Juniors office that morning, Junior in his chair watching the gears in her mind shift and spin. She thought long and hard about everything he told her last night, but still found it so unlikely to have occurred.

"So let me get this straight:" Melanie began, "You and Jaune's father went to Beacon together, were on the same team, and then had a falling out a couple of years after you graduated and bought this bar." Junior nodded, silent and patient as Melanie continued to think.

"Then, almost twenty years later, your partner's child rolls into your office asking for a job, and you're saying that isn't unbelievably coincidental?" Junior leaned back in his chair, somewhat annoyed by the conversation and thought of a response that would please Melanie.

"I never said it wasn't coincidental, I said that it was a very odd occurrence. Don't think I wasn't suspecting something when I saw his old sword strapped to the kid's waist." Junior shook his head as he recalled Jaune's father in action with the historic weapon. "My point is, the kid is working here now, he has for a long time, and he doesn't seem as if he's realized who I am. I doubt the old codger ever told him about me anyway. So no, you do not need to worry about Jaune being some sort of spy." Junior sighed and thought on how long it had been since he last saw Jaune's father.

'Nineteen years huh...?'

"Fine, I can accept that, but what the hell are we supposed to do about Cinder? She knows who Jaune is and where he works now, it won't be long before she comes after us again and I do NOT want to lose my sister because of it!"

"I understand that!" Junior replied, beginning to lose his patience. "I don t want to lose any of you either, but it's not as if we can just waltz into her secret underground hideout that no one knows the location of and fight her." Junior relaxed, hunched over and rested his face in his hands. "We'll just have to wait and see how she responds. I don't think she'll run in here, guns blazing looking for the kid. She ll send her lackeys and see how we respond before burning the place to the ground." Melanie scoffed.

"Well if that's your plan, I just hope we're not going to be a part of the ashes when this is over."

And with that, Melanie left and slammed the door behind her. Junior sighed once again as he closed his eyes and continued to think, reaching into his pocket for a lighter, his eyes widened, then he clenched them shut accordingly.

'I'm going to need to insure this place already...'

"And so I says to her, I says: 'Aura? I barely knew her!'" Jaune began to laugh at his favourite joke as Miltia faked a laugh to not hurt his feelings in response to possibly the worst joke she had ever heard.

"Where'd you hear that one, Jaune? It s hilarious!" Jaune's guffaws died down to a light chuckle as he wiped a tear away from his eye and smiled.

"My father told me it when I was on the phone to him about unlocking my aura. Needless to say, hilarity runs deep in the Arc family heritage." Miltia gave Jaune the greatest fake smile she ever thought she could muster as Jaune gave her a thumbs up and a grin in response to his overwhelming pride.

"I can tell; I couldn't imagine you without your never ending source of comedic material." The newfound couple laughed together as they walked the cobbled streets of Vale and passed by a small, yet lavish clothing store.

"Hey, what about this one?" Jaune asked as he pointed to the building.

"Ew, no. Are you kidding? That place uses 'polyester.' I wouldn't be caught dead in anything they sell." Miltia continued ahead of Jaune with her nose held high as Jaune stood dumbfounded and scratched the back of his head.

'I don't even know what that means...' He quickly caught up to his date and held her hand in his once more as they continued to scan the streets for a new clothing store that suited Miltia's needs. Almost every one of them didn't cut it, and when one did, the staff were too 'uncultured' for Miltia to buy from there. Jaune knew the girl could be a little posh, but he was shocked by her responses to simple stores. 'She wouldn't last a day at Beacon.' Jaune shuddered remembering his days tied by a tether to Cardin.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Miltia asked, concern written on her face as she looked into Jaune's.

"What? Yeah, sorry. I was just daydreaming." Jaune scratched the back of his head again as he nervously laughed. Miltia pouted in response, but decided to leave the conversation be from there as she heard Jaune's stomach rumble and decided immediately to go grab a light dinner.

"Come on, you're treating me!" Miltia called out with a laugh as she pulled Jaune by the hand to the nearest cafe. The cafe was a quaint little spot, small but furnished with an upper balcony and plants growing around the second story.

"This place looks amazing..." Jaune spoke in awe, "How have I never seen it before?" Miltia laughed as Jaune opened the door for her and the two of them walked inside.

"Not too many people know about it honestly, but I love this little spot. I come here with Melanie all the time." The couple ordered their food; a single slice of cake for each of them, an Earl Grey tea for Melanie and a hot chocolate for Jaune. "In fact, this one time, these two losers walked right up to us and tried to get our numbers, but Melanie was so annoyed by being disturbed here that she gave them the harshest berating she's ever given someone in her life." They sat down at a small table for two on the first floor and bathed in the electronic light seeping through the windows from the holographic streetlights adorning the now dark streets of Vale.

"Wow, I couldn't imagine her being any crueller than when she yells at a wannabe suitor at the bar, those guys must've been sent running!" Jaune laughed at the thought while Miltia chuckled in response, slowly coming to a realization.

"So Jaune, tell me about your family. I feel like we've never talked about them before." Their order soon arrived; Miltia and Jaune both took a bite of their separate slices of cake and a sip of their drinks.

"I guess you re right," Jaune laughed. "Let me think about that... I have a dad, in his late forties by now and my mum would be around forty two as well. I m the youngest of my siblings. I actually... ' Jaune sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I have seven older sisters..." At this revelation, Miltia immediately began coughing as she nearly did a spit take with her tea.

"You have how many?!" She exclaimed, uncertain if she even hear him correctly. Jaune simply blushed in embarrassment and continued his nervous habit of scratching the back of his neck.

"S-seven..." He stuttered, "My dad was very adamant about having a son." Miltia just stared at her tea in stunned silence.

'I couldn't imagine having seven Melanie's running around...' She shook her head and looked to Jaune. "So what are all their names?" Jaune just waved his hand as he took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"I'd rather not spoil the surprise; it's actually pretty funny what my dad decided to call them. It s almost as if he knew he'd have seven daughters." Jaune laughed, thinking back to how annoyed his mother looked whenever the conversation was brought up and the stupid grin on his father's face as he stood next to her.

"Awww, come on. Pleeeaaase?" Miltia pouted, trying her hardest to pull a cute face to convince Jaune otherwise. But his certainty did not waver, and Jaune used his iron resolve to drive out the image of Miltia's adorable face from his mind. The two quickly laughed when they next locked eyes and soon, the table fell into a comfortable silence as Jaune and Miltia finished their slices of cake and slowly enjoyed their now cooling drinks. Jaune continued to remember past events in his life and smiled.

"You know it's funny..." Jaune said softly, barely breaking the silence. "My dad, it was actually him who told me to stop wasting my time and get a job. So it if it weren't for him, I would never have met you." Miltia gave Jaune a soft smile as she looked from her drink into his cerulean eyes.

"Well I'll just have to thank him personally when I meet him then." She said with a smile, causing Jaune to blush.

"That sounds nice; I think he'd like that. I'll give him a call and thank him myself soon too." The couple eventually finished their drinks and left the cafe, Jaune's treat of course. The two of them soon returned to the bar after a short, failed attempt to find another clothing store for Miltia. They stopped at the door and Miltia gave Jaune a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I had a wonderful time tonight, Jaune." Miltia said, smiling. Jaune returned her smile with a hug.

"I did too... Miltia." He pulled back from the hug and smiled down at his girlfriend. "Have a nice night, Miss Miltiades." Miltia watched Jaune walk off, back to the airdock until she couldn't see him anymore and the moons pale light illuminating the street ways was all that was left to view. Returning inside, Miltia found the bar empty save for Junior behind the counter and Melanie sitting on a stool.

"Hey, what's going on?" Miltia asked, noticing the sombre looks on the two's faces. Junior looked at Melanie, who mirrored his gaze, then sighed and pushed an open envelope Miltia hadn't noticed til now towards her as she sat on the stool next to Melanie. Miltia looked down at it; it had no date, no address and no name on it, other than 'Junior.'

"What's this...?" Miltia asked; trepidation in her voice.

"I found it in my pocket earlier today," Junior said, not looking away from the glass he was cleaning. "I didn't put it there, and there was nothing in those pants when I put them on this morning." He placed the cup on the rack and turned around to stare at the table. "It's from Cinder."

Miltia felt her heart sink as she slowly opened the letter and began reading its contents aloud.

"Junior,

I know you've been hiding the Arc boy and you know why I want him. Leave a note in the trash outside your bar if you're willing to be reasonable and we can make a deal for him. If there's nothing in the bin by Monday, next week, your precious bar will burn and you along with it.

Kisses

C."

Miltia placed the letter down and felt tears well up in her eyes. "What are we going to do?" She asked, looking between her sister and her benefactor.

"I've already arranged for a grunt to leave a letter on Monday telling that monster to leave my family alone. Come what may, we can handle it." Miltia smiled at that, but they all knew in their hearts that the bar was doomed; and Jaune with it.

Jaune smiled as he stared up at the old statue of his ancestor in the main courtyard of Beacon. He sighed remembering the wonderful day he had and recalled what he said he would do once he got back. Jaune pulled out his Scroll and dialled up his father's number.

"Hey dad, it's me."