To Be a Father

It was turning out to be an average day on the island of Patch. It wasn't an overly warm summer day; the sun was shining down and a nice breeze was blowing through the trees of the woods. Here there is a wooden home not too different from the home of one Taiyang Xiao Long, which wasn't too far away. This one had a few key differences but one could easily see this newer building took much inspiration from the Xiao Long/Rose home.

Inside the living room of the house sat a young girl around six years old. She was dressed in black sneakers, black skirt, and a light blue t-shirt. She had neck length white hair with red tips that went about a third to half the way up her locks. The hair was pulled from her face by two hair clips on either side of her head. The one on the right was red and the left was pure white. Stunning silver eyes were filled with mirth and a happy smile was on her lips as she played with her corgi puppy, Drei. This was Summer Rose-Schnee.

Summer was holding a small ball over her head as Drei had jumped up and placed his paws on her chest in a weak attempt to get it. He yipped a bit at his owner before he tilted his head with a whine. She smiled before she threw the ball down the hall towards the kitchen. "Go get it, Drei!" The small pup took off in a sprint towards the bouncing ball, losing traction once or twice and almost pumping into the wall. That caused her to giggle.

"Summer!" A feminine voice with stern undertone to it, sounded from the kitchen. "Please don't throw the ball in the house."

She nodded, even though the person was still in the kitchen and couldn't see her do it. "Okay. Sorry, Mommy."

That was when a knock came from the front door. Summer turned to the door and just said loudly, "Who is it!?"

She heard someone clear their throat before deep voice said, "Cookie delivery. A lifetime supply of cookies for Summer Rose-Schnee."

The young girl's eyes widened before she took off towards the door, "Coming!" She got to the door and threw it open. But as soon as she did, a pair of arms wrapped around her and lifted her off her feet. She panicked and started to thrash in the arms, "Mommy! The cookie man is trying to steal me!"

She heard the stranger chuckle before a familiar voice spoke, "Cookie man? Is that what your nickname is for me now?" She stopped struggling and opened her eyes to see if it was real. She looked at the face of a man with blonde hair, blue eyes, and calming smile. "Hi, Summer."

"Uncle Jaune!" she shouted in unbridled joy and her tiny arms wrapped around his neck for as tight of a hug as she could muster. "I missed you!"

Jaune just hugged her close, "I missed you too. How's my favorite niece doing?"

She pulled back a bit to look at her uncle properly. "I'm doing great. I even taught Drei to play fetch!" she said excitedly.

He chuckled, "That sounds great." He then gave her a serious look. "But you shouldn't answer the door for anyone, Summer. Not unless your Moms say it is okay. Understand?"

She looked down slightly, "Okay. I understand." She said disheartened. She then looked up at him, "Are you mad at me?"

Just staring into her bright eyes made his serious edge slip away. He sighed then smiled at her again, "No, I'm not mad."

"Yay!" she cheered and hugged him again.

He chuckled, "So, have you been behaving for your moms?"

She nodded, "Yes. I've only been sneaking cookies when I'm really hungry, just like you told me." That caused him to laugh again.

"What have you been teaching my daughter?" asked a cold voice from the hallway. Jaune froze when he looked up and saw Weiss, who had walked from the kitchen to the living room, with her arms crossed and her foot tapping. The familiar cold glare on her face. She was dressed simply since it was her day off: black flats, with jeans and a white button up, short sleeve shirt. Her hair was tied back in a simply side ponytail instead of a complicated braid. But that didn't take away from the mature beauty she had obtained from the years spent out of school.

"Uh oh." Jaune said as he stared at the annoyed mother. "I'm in trouble."

Summer turned to face her mother as she hugged her uncle tightly, "Mommy, don't her Uncle Jaune! He's my favorite uncle."

Weiss looked at her daughter and he glared lessened significantly before her eyes went back to Jaune. "Must you use my daughter as a shield?"

He shrugged with a nervous smile, "I mean if it stops you from freezing me…"

Weiss just rolled her eyes playfully and a small smile came to her lips. She walked over to Jaune, raising up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek before she hugged him. Jaune smiled and wrapped his free arm around her. The other was still holding his niece. The two had grown close over the years, becoming close friends, and even seeing the other as siblings. With Weiss grateful to have a better brother figure than Whitley. "It's good to see you, Jaune." she said happily.

Jaune smiled and gave her a brief squeeze, "Good to see you too, Weiss. How's the company?"

They pulled away, "Doing fine. Still having to adjust to not being at the office as much but they can still get a hold of me for conference calls." She then reached up to his other arm, "Give me my child." She said as she pulled Summer from his grasp, making the young girl pout.

Before he could ask why, the three heard the backdoor in the kitchen crashed open and footfalls running towards them. Not even a second later, Ruby ran into the room. She was dressed in black sneakers, black short-shorts, and red tank top. The usual outfit she would wear when training in the backyard and it also showed off how much of a grown woman she had become. She definitely wasn't the fifteen year old that went to Beacon anymore.

She was looking around in a panic, "Summer! What's wrong?! I heard you… scream?" Her eyes finally landed on Jaune, who brought a hand up in a wave with a smile. Before he could say anything, Ruby's expression shifted from worry to excitement, "Jaune!" she shouted as she used her Semblance to crash into him.

"Ahhh!" Jaune screamed in shock, as Ruby crashed into him. He was sent out of the living room and landed on his back on the front porch. He felt two arms wrap around him to hug him tightly. He then felt a pair of lips kiss his other cheek and he looked down to see Ruby pulling away from his cheek. She gave him a massive smile. "Why didn't you tell us you were stopping by?"

He smiled down at her as his own arms wrapped around her, "I wanted it to be a surprise. I finished my last mission and since I was already in Vale, I thought I would see how you three were doing. Although, I think I'll call next time. My back is killing me now."

Ruby just shook her head, "Please, you love me and you know it." She grinned up at him.

He nodded, "True." That's when Drei padded over and just started to smell Jaune's face. He then gave him a few licks to his forehead before he sat down next to him. "Hey, Drei." He said casually and the puppy barked back reply. He then looked back down to his best friend, "So, you going to get off me or are you just trying to make Weiss jealous?" he asked with a smirk.

Ruby just stuck her tongue out at him and stopped hugging him. That let them both stand up and Weiss was grinning at him. "Now you know why I took Summer." He just sighed with a nod of the head. "You'll be staying for dinner, right?"

He shook his head slightly, "I don't want to be a bother. I just thought I'd catch up with you all before I take my flight back to Argus."

Ruby looked at him aghast, "Jaune, you're going to try to take an overnight flight to Argus?"

He shrugged, "They're not that bad. I usually sleep through them."

Weiss shook her head, "You don't get proper sleep like that and since you just got done with your mission, you need to rest up. You're staying here for the night."

He scratched the back of his head, "I appreciate the offer but I don't want to be a burden to you two. You didn't even know I was showing up."

"It's no trouble at all, Jaune." Weiss continued. "We always have the guest room made up. Yang and Blake rarely give us a heads up when they show up, so it's best to be prepared."

Ruby nodded, "Plus, I always make extra servings for dinner. It'll be great to not have to clean up the leftovers for once."

Jaune looked between the two, trying to find an excuse to not stay. He honestly didn't have a problem with staying the night but just showing up out of nowhere made him feel guilty about it. But when he looked back at Weiss, he saw Summer looking up at him with those big eyes of her's, "Please, Uncle Jaune. I wanna hear about your mission."

Jaune just stared at his niece before his head fell. He looked back up with a reluctant smile. "I guess I can stay…"

"Yay!" Summer cheered as she jumped from Weiss' arms into Jaune's, where she hugged him tightly.

The married couple just looked at the two with matching smiles. "She has you wrapped around her finger, Jaune." Ruby replied with a smile. He couldn't argue with that and just nodded.

After that, Jaune spent his time in the living room with Summer and Drei. Weiss joined them not long after with a pot of coffee while Ruby went to get a shower and to change into a different outfit: black jeans and a red t-shirt.

He told them how his new mission was helping out with clearing Grimm out of Mountain Glenn. The Council was hoping to clear the ruins out slowly and try to retrieve some relics to place in the Vale Museum of History. Once that was done, there was hopes of trying to restore the old settlement back to what they hoped it was. Him and about another dozen or so Hunters were part of the group to clear out the underground settlements and a few of the connected tunnels. There were many Grimm but the sheer manpower the had was enough to not have to worry too much.

Summer looked mesmerized by Jaune's tale but she usually had the same look when Ruby or Weiss told her similar tales from there own missions. And for most of the night, both before and after dinner, Summer had sat herself in her uncle's lap to listen to him. Whether to listen to him talk about his mission or just listen in when he was chatting with her parents. Neither of her mothers had a problem with it. They were both happy that Summer had such a close relationship with Jaune.

As Summer gave an adorable yawn, Ruby and Weiss shared a look and Ruby nodded. "Okay, Summer, it's time to go to bed." Ruby told her.

Summer turned to her mother, "Do I have to, Mommy?"

"If you wanna grow up big and strong you have to." That caused the little girl to pout. "Now, say goodnight and I'll read you a story."

Summer nodded before she leant up and kissed Jaune on the cheek. "Good night, Uncle Jaune."

He smiled and gently ruffled her hair, "Good night, Summer."

She then got off his lap and went over to Weiss where she hugged and kissed her, "Good night, Mommy."

Weiss had the most radiant smile when she returned the hug, "Good night, my little angel. Sleep tight." With that, Summer took Ruby's hand and was taken upstairs to go to bed. Both Weiss and Jaune watching them go.

When they were gone, Jaune looked back to Weiss, "You two are so lucky to have her."

Weiss nodded with the same radiant smile, "We know we are." There was a brief silence before Weiss looked at him with a smaller smile, "We never thanked you for everything."

Jaune just shook his head with a small smile, "No, you did. A lot in fact, especially from Ruby." The two had a chuckle before he continued. "Besides, I was happy to help, Weiss."

"You know, Ruby and I still don't mind." She sounded nervous. "If you want to…"

"I appreciate it, Weiss. But I think I better not." Jaune told her. She looked up to him and he had a strained smile on his lips. She understood what that meant and nodded, not wanting to push the subject.

Ruby came down a few minutes later with a sigh, "Sorry about that. She wanted another story and she can be relentless." She then plopped down on the couch and rested her head on her wife's shoulder.

Weiss rolled her eyes, "This wouldn't happen if you stopped spoiling her."

Ruby just looked up at her wife, "Like your whole 'Ice Queen' act doesn't go out the window the second she gives you the puppy eyes." Weiss looked to the side as she drank her coffee. Ruby smirked and Jaune chuckled.

Weiss looked to him with a faint blush on her cheeks, "What are you laughing at, Arc? You are staying here out of the kindness of our hearts, so you better show me my do respect." Weiss said as she slipped into her business persona.

This had little effect on Jaune. He just shrugged. "I guess I overstayed my welcome." He got off the other couch and started to walk to the door. "Thanks for the hospitality. See you two later."

He got halfway to the door when he felt a body jump onto his back, arms around his shoulders and legs around his waist. "Nope, you're not leaving." Ruby said simply.

Jaune just looked over his shoulder at the reaper, "You aren't fifteen anymore. You really shouldn't be doing this to an unmarried man. Especially with your wife watching."

Instead of blushing, Ruby gained a smirk very much like Yang's. "What's wrong, Jaune? Are you going to get flustered over little, old me?" She then hugged him closer.

He smirked back, "First, you aren't little or old. Second, I got over Yang's teasings long ago, the mater of the art you are trying to copy." He then turned around to look over to Weiss, "Can you please do something here?"

Weiss took a sip of her coffee before she spoke, "You should've gone for his legs, honey. He can't run away without them." She said with a smirk.

Before he could come up with a rebuttal, all three adults heard Summer shouting from upstairs, "Uncle Jaune! There's a monster outside my window!"

Jaune looked at Weiss and she just raised an eyebrow, "You heard her, go save her."

Ruby got off his back and sat next to Weiss again, "She did call you."

He smirked, "Fine." He started to walk towards the stairs, "I'll be back shortly." He went up the stairs before going down the hall to Summer's door. He opened up the door and saw Summer hiding under her blankets. "Summer?"

She saw her tiny hand poke out and point towards her window, "I-it's over there." She said with a shaky voice.

Jaune quickly walked over and looked out the window. He looked around the yard below before he noticed that a tree branch from the nearby tree was leaning towards the window, looking similar to a hand or claw. And if on a que, the wind blew to make it scratch at the window. The noise caused Summer to squeak in fear before pulling herself deeper under he covers. He opened the window before reaching out and grabbing ahold of the branch. With a quick surge of aura to his hand, he broke it off with little difficulty. He then tossed it down towards the trunk of the tree.

He pulled himself back into her room and closed the window, "There you go, Summer. It wasn't a monster though, just a tree branch."

Summer slowly pulled the blankets down enough for the top of her face to appear. She looked at him with uncertain eyes. "Are you sure?" He just nodded with a calming smile. With that, she pulled the rest of the blanket down and sighed in relief. She then gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Uncle Jaune."

He walked over and gently rubbed the top of her head, which she leant into with a small hum. "Anything for you."

The two stayed like that for a bit before Summer looked back up at him, "Can you answer a question for me?"

Jaune took his hand away before he knelt down beside her bed, that way they could be eye to eye. "I can certainly try. What's on your mind?"

"Well…" she started. "A lot of the other kids in my class have a mommy and a daddy. So, why don't I have one?"

His eyes widened a bit. He honestly wasn't expecting that to be her question. He certainly knew why that was. Ruby and Weiss had done a procedure. It allowed two eggs to be merged together then fertilized with a sperm. It was an experimental procedure that would help women to have their own children. The child would have characteristics of the two women but have very little from the sperm donor. But, how exactly was he supposed to explain that to a six year old?

"That is a tricky one." He said out loud as he scratched his chin. Summer was still looking at him but now with her head tilted. "Well, a lot of kids have both but you are special, Summer. You see, your mommies loved each other so much that they were able to have you without you needing a dad. Does that make sense?"

She thought for a little bit before she looked down. Jaune just raised an eyebrow, "Summer, are you sad or jealous that you don't have a dad?"

She shook her head, "Nope. Not at all."

"Really? Well that's good." He smiled at her.

She nodded, "Yup. I have you Uncle Jaune, I don't need a daddy." She said with a bright smile.

He was honestly floored by that. He felt his chest warm in a way that he hadn't felt before. He could feel his eyes beginning to tear up. So he got a bit closer and hug her tightly, "Well, glad to know I mean so much to my favorite niece." She just giggled and returned the hug.

Eventually, he pulled away from her. He tucked her back into bed before kissing her hair and wishing her a good night again. He went to her door and left, gently closing it behind him. He looked back at her door for a bit before he turned to go back downstairs. He nearly jumped when he saw Ruby leaning against the wall. She gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry, you were taking a while and I was curious." She said in a low tone.

He just shook his head, "It's fine, Ruby. Did you hear…"

She guiltily nodded her head, "Yeah, I heard. She's actually been asking me and Weiss that a lot lately."

Jaune just raised an eyebrow, "Why haven't you answered her?"

She shrugged helplessly, "We weren't sure what to tell her."

He took a deep breath, "Well, don't worry. I told her what I think she needed to hear. So, crisis averted." He replied with a weak smile that didn't fool either of them.

"Jaune." Ruby started as she walked closer to him. She gently placed her hand on his upper arm, "You could tell her. We aren't against you doing it. We never have been."

He quickly shook his head, "Ruby, the only thing that would do is confuse her. She doesn't need to know that. And, at the end of the day, I'm not her father."

"Not her father?" Ruby asked, shocked but still in the same low tone. "Jaune, you are the reason she is even here right now. She may look like me and Weiss but, Jaune, she is as much your daughter as ours. We asked you to be the donor and you agreed in a heartbeat to help us have our family." He looked to the side. "Jaune, we understand you kept away so she could be our daughter but that's not necessary. Summer having you in her life is good for her. And her being in your life is the best thing to happen to you in a long time."

He sighed, "Ruby, I get what you're getting at but I'm not changing my mind. Summer doesn't need me as her father. She needs me to be her 'Uncle Jaune'. And that's good enough for me."

Ruby gave him a glare, "Even if it means, you never get to be with your little girl like you should be?"

"Well, she's not my little girl, so…" He spoke but his voice was thick with emotion. It hurt him a lot to say those words. And both knew it. He cleared his throat slightly, "I think my last mission is starting to catch up with me. I think I should get some sleep." He pulled back from Ruby and her hand slowly fell to her side. "See you in the morning." With that he slipped into his temporary room and closed the door behind him.

Ruby stood there just looking at the door for a while before she lowered her head with a sigh. She then slowly walked back down the hall and down the stairs. Weiss looked up as she walked over to her, "Any luck?" Her answer was to just plop down onto the couch and cuddle up to her. Weiss sighed, "I'll take that as a 'no'."

Ruby just shook her head, "He still is against telling her." She said sadly. "I think Pyrrha's death still weighs on him, even after all this time. That's why he doesn't let anyone in. I think he's afraid that if he opens his heart, he'll just get it broken all over again."

Weiss gently wrapped her arm around Ruby's shoulder before she rested her own head against her wife's. "We can try again tomorrow but let's not push too hard. We don't want to push him away." Ruby nodded and the two just relaxed with each other before they too would eventually call it a night.

Jaune woke up early the next morning, made sense since he went to bed so early. He then remembered how he just brushed off Ruby and the guilt started to rise in him. He sighed to himself before he got out of the bed. He made it before he changed into some of his more casual clothing that was in his backpack: simple jeans and a black t-shirt.

He left his room with his backpack and made his way downstairs. He saw that no one was there and placed his bag by one of the couches. He went down the hall and wasn't surprised to see that the kitchen was just as empty. He then got an idea on how to try to make up for what he had done the night before. He grinned at the idea and went about getting to work.

Several minutes later, Jaune was at the stove cooking breakfast for everyone. He had two frying pans on the burners, one with eggs and the other with bacon. He was humming to himself as her worked, enjoying the simplicity of what he was doing. He was then wondering what he'd do if he got done cooking and no one was up. Although those fears were unwarranted when he heard a yawn followed by Ruby saying, "What smells so good?"

He looked over his shoulder to see Ruby and Weiss standing there, half asleep and in their pajamas. He just grinned at them. "Breakfast. I'm making eggs and bacon. Grab your coffee and this'll be done shortly."

He turned back to the frying pans and saw the two move to the coffee maker. "You're the best, Jaune." Ruby said and Jaune just chuckled. He then scooped the eggs and bacon from the frying pans and placed them on two plates. He walked over and placed them in front of Ruby and Weiss. Weiss grinned up at him, "Thank you, Jaune. This was very thoughtful."

He shrugged with a smile, "Think of it as a 'thank you' for letting me stay the night." He then scratched the back of his head nervously. "And an apology for how I acted last night."

The married couple looked at each other before looking back at him. Ruby was the one to speak, "We're sorry too. We shouldn't have tried to push you into something you're not comfortable with."

He shook his head, "It's no big deal. And I do want to tell Summer but I think it isn't the right time. Maybe when she is a bit older and can understand the situation better. I think I'd be more comfortable with that."

Weiss nodded, "That sounds fair. We'll respect your decision."

Jaune smiled, "Thank you. Now I should probably get back to cooking before Summer gets up. I don't want to suffer the torture of the puppy eyes." That earned him a chuckle from the both of them.

Ruby and Weiss went about eating while Jaune started to cook for himself and Summer when she would eventually get up. As they were doing that, the three just chatted about what Jaune would be doing in Argus and he told them to visit Saphron and Terra. Adrian had started to gain an interest in being a Huntsman and Jaune was going to give him some light training.

They all heard an adorable yawn and they turned to see Summer walk into the kitchen while rubbing her eye. Drei was right behind her before he saw Jaune and ran over to him. "Morning." She said tiredly.

Ruby smiled wide, "Morning, sweetheart. Did you have a good sleep?"

She nodded before she looked back at her mother. "What's for breakfast?"

Weiss grinned right before she answered, "Well, your uncle has been cooking us some tasty eggs and bacon. Do you want some?"

"Yes, please!" she said happily as she walked over to the table. Weiss helped her up into her seat just in time for Jaune to place her plate in front of her. She looked up at him with a huge smile, "Thank you, Uncle Jaune!"

He just returned her smile, "Not a problem." He then took the only remaining seat as he ate his own breakfast. They all just chatted as they ate and enjoyed their meal. Until Jaune noticed what Summer was doing and smirked, "Summer, is my bacon that bad that you are feeding it to Drei?"

She turned back to him with wide eyes as she dropped another piece of bacon on the floor. "No! It's so yummy! I just thought Drei would like to try some…" she said quietly as she looked down.

Weiss was the one to speak up, "That was very thoughtful of you but you shouldn't feed him things like that. You could get him sick, okay?"

"Okay." Summer said as she got back to eating.

When they were all done, Jaune got up and started to take the plates. Until Ruby took them from his hands, "Nope." She said simply as she walked over to the sink. "You've done enough. I'll wash them."

He opened his mouth to say something but Weiss just walked past him, "I'll give you a hand." She said as she started to dry the dishes.

He just sighed before he walked over to Summer's seat and scooped her up. She giggled excitedly. "Come on, Summer. Let's see what cartoons are on." He said as he walked into the living room with her and Drei at his heels.

They sat down and Jaune tried to find something Summer wanted to watch but before that happened she hugged the front of his shirt. He looked down at her, "Do you have to leave so soon?"

He gently started to stroke her hair, "Yeah. I have to so see my sister in Argus then I need to go see your Aunt Nora and Uncle Ren. Otherwise, I would love to spend more time with you."

She nodded reluctantly, "Okay…" she was quiet for a few minutes before she got up from the couch. "I have something for you." She said excitedly as she ran over to where her book bag was. Jaune just watched her with a raised eyebrow, wondering what she was up to. She then ran over with a large sheet of construction paper. "Here!"

He looked down and saw that it was a picture that she had drawn. It showed herself with Ruby and Weiss. Even Drei was there. But what shocked him the most was that she had drawn him there too. And above them all was the simple title: My Family.

He looked to his niece in confusion, "Summer, why did draw me too?"

She just smiled up at him, "Because your part of my family, silly. Everyone else had their mommies and daddies. So, I added you!" she said happily. Jaune just slowly looked back down to the paper as her heart felt like it was about to burst. He just kept staring until he saw a drop of water land on the crayon drawing. He was confused until Summer held his arm. "Uncle Jaune, why are you crying?"

He reached up and felt that there were tears coming down his face. He chuckled before he looked back at Summer, who was looking at him in concern. He put the drawing on the coffee table before he picked her up to hug her. "Nothing is wrong. You just make me so very happy."

She hugged him back, not completely understanding but not letting that deter her. "I love you, Uncle Jaune."

"I love you too, Summer." He just held her close and enjoyed the moment. It would still be a while before he could tell her the full truth. But now, he had the feeling that she would probably take it better than he had thought.

From the doorway, Ruby and Weiss stood with their arms around each other as they smiled at the sight in front of them.

A/N- This was just a random one-shot that came to me a few months ago. So I decided to save it for now as a Father's Day story. I honestly like the way it turned out and it was great to write a one-shot again. There is just something refreshing of writing a short story every once in a while. I hope you all enjoyed and hopefully you'll check out my other works if this caught your interest.