{FIRST PERSON POV}
"Okay... Mordred... so what you're saying is that Mom is going to arrange a surprise beach trip?" I asked Mordred.
She nodded at me. "Yeah! Mom asked me shit about you! Like what's your favorite food! Your favorite places! Hell, she even asked me about what you love doing for fun!"
Mom asked her that? That is... surprising, to say the least... but a good surprise, I would say... a good surprise indeed.
"So... why didn't Mom ask me this?" I asked Mordred, because I was frankly curious. Why didn't Mom just ask me those questions? Why Mordred?
Mordred looked at me like I was stupid. "...Are you dumb? Of course Mom is going to ask me, and not your stupid ass."
.... And how does that explain why she asked her?
I let out a sigh. "...But why, though?"
"Because you're obviously not going to be honest about it and say something like helping around the house and going to town or some shit, because you don't want her to create a trip just for you... don't know why you prioritize the others." Mordred rolled her eyes at me and let out a sigh.
Well... she isn't wrong. Now that I think about it, if Mom were to ask me those types of questions, I would indeed say something simple like that.....
She then sat next to me on my bed and poked my chest. "Everything okay in there? Or is it still painful?"
...Well, I even forgot that my heart was really painful yesterday, because I woke up fine today. "No... it's not painful anymore..."
"... Is it Jaune-not painful, or normal-people-not painful? Because those two shits are two different things. You'd call having a broken arm not painful because you don't want to worry other people." She let out a sigh. "Just be straight with me... is it painful or not?"
I shook my head at her. "It's normal now, Mordred. Just like usual." I was telling the truth, because my heart was completely fine now.
"That's good, then, because if it's still painful, I'm going to drag you to bed and force you to sleep."
Mordred sounded serious, and I knew she would do that in a heartbeat. She could drag me to Mom and make her try to heal me, but she knows me better than that.
If my Aura can't heal whatever happened to my heart, then Mom's Semblance won't work either, considering that it is basically Aura healing...
Speaking of my heart... I still don't know what caused it. I have a hunch it has something to do with that dream.
Who was that girl...? I thought dreams were made up by somebody's imagination, and the people in dreams were made out of memories of the people they met in their day-to-day life...
But I never saw that girl before... and the dream felt so real. Not only the girl-I never even met that man. I forgot what his name was, but I remember his purple hair. I never met someone with purple hair before, so it can't be from my imagination.
I don't even know if people with purple hair exist, and his hair looked natural, not dyed.
And I don't know how or why, but I know for sure that somebody died... somebody close to me. But who? If it was Artoria, then Mom and Dad would be informed by now, so I can scratch Artoria's name off the list.
But who? Who died? And how am I close with that person?
"Jaune..."
I really need to think about this more, because what if this kind of thing happens again, but instead of when I'm sleeping, it happens when I'm outside?
"Jaune..."
I would be really vulnerable to anything... and I don't want to make the others panic...
"Jaune."
Can I stop it if it happens again? How would I even train for this kind of scenario anyway? Maybe if I- "Jaune!"
I got snapped out of my thoughts and looked straight at Mordred. "....Yeah?"
"Finally. I've been calling out to you for ages. You're stuck in your fucking head, Jaune." She let out a sigh. "You're lucky I didn't throw a pillow at your stupid face."
I let out a chuckle. "Well, I guess I am lucky, then... so why did you call out to me, anyway?"
And once again, she looked at me like I was a dumbass. "....You're impossible, you know that? I told you that I suspect Mom is going to throw a surprise beach trip for us, and it never crossed your mind to pack your stuff so we can relax while the others rush to get their beach shit into their bags?"
Oh... yeah... it didn't cross my mind to pack my swimming trunks and the other essentials...
"Sorry.... I don't know what I would do without you, Mordred."
"Probably keel over and die because of how much of an idiot you are." She stood up, opened my closet, and started searching through my stuff.
Her words may be harsh, but she is loving in her own way. I wouldn't want her to ever change.
<=======]==¤
{FIRST PERSON POV}
"Miles, I just asked Mordred about Jaune's favorite."
I told Miles as I got inside the bedroom.
He perked up. "Well, that's great... so what did she say?"
"Well, she told me that Jaune enjoys going to the beach, so there. I'll arrange a beach trip for the entire family, and I'll handle the girls while you go have some father-son bonding time with him."
I explained it to him, and frankly... distracting the girls would be the easiest and hardest thing for me to do.
How is it both easy and hard, you would say? Well, I know my girls are smart enough to understand what I'm trying to do, which is giving their father the space to have some time with their brother.
And you'd think that because they understand it, then it would be easy. Well, it is easy. Now let's get to the hard part: with my girls being smart enough to understand it, that means Mordred would understand it too.
I wouldn't be surprised if Mordred stubbornly decided to stick close to Jaune. Neither I, and especially not Miles, can do anything about it... no one can.
No one... except for Jaune.
I would bet my kidney that if Jaune says the word, Mordred would give him some space... but I also wouldn't be surprised if Mordred stalked the two of them anyway.
Sometimes Mordred is a little overprotective of Jaune, which is good. I would rather her be overprotective than not care about Jaune's safety at all.
Oh yeah, I forgot to bring up the fact that Mordred brought Jaune to the forest. I should scold her for it... but I'll decide to let this one go for now....
"So... how did you ask her for that information?" Miles asked me curiously, which I can't blame him for. He didn't even get the chance to ask Mordred before she exploded in anger.
"Well, I just asked her what Jaune's favorite things were..."
The wide-eyed expression on his face was a little funny. Poor Miles... her husband really never had a chance at doing this...
"That's it?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes... that's it." His face told me he didn't believe it.
"...No bribes?" The words came out of his mouth, but even I knew he didn't believe them either. He was just grasping at straws at this point.
"Nope. No bribes."
"For real?"
"For real, real."
Miles let out a sigh and sat on the edge of the bed. "What did I do wrong...."
I couldn't help but think about how cute he is right now. Is that bad? I don't care anyway. "A lot of things... but you are trying to make things right too, so that has to count for something." I patted his head.
"...Do you ever think that Mordred would... would stop being so... harsh on me?" he asked, and I couldn't help but pause to think.
Would Mordred give him a break from her hostile behavior? Maybe... but it's possible if Miles makes up for his mistakes with Jaune. Mordred would at least learn to tolerate him, at the very least.
"Well, I can't promise you that... but there's a chance it could happen if you make up with Jaune. You know how Mordred is... if you and Jaune become buddy-buddy, Mordred would stop being so harsh with you..." My words made him let out a sigh of relief.
"But...." Now he looked tense again. "But you would be on thin ice with her, and I can count on that. The moment you treat Jaune like you used to in the past-or even like last night-you'll destroy what little trust she has in you completely."
"Thanks for the words of confidence, Luna."
I let out a chuckle and lightly pinched his cheek. "Hey, cheer up. As long as you don't screw things over, then everything will turn out fine."
"Yeah... yeah, I guess so..."
<=======]==¤
{FIRST PERSON POV}
As expected from my genius mind, the others were rushing around the house grabbing their essentials and their stuff while Jaune and I relaxed on the couch.
Why would Jaune relax with me rather than help his sisters, you may ask? Well, the answer to that is simple.
I was forbidding him from doing that by resting my legs on his thighs as I lay on the couch, basically pinning him down. I guess me glaring at him whenever he tried to get up also helped, because for once, he actually sat down and let the others do their own shit without his help.
Because, damn it, Jaune wanted to help just for the sake of helping, and it's exhausting to watch him do that.
And there was no way in hell I was letting him do all this after what happened yesterday. What if his heart starts acting stupid again because he used too much energy helping these stupid, lazy fuckers!?
"Mordred... please..." He looked at me with his puppy eyes, which would work if I didn't steel myself and push him down with my leg again.
"No..."
"Please?"
Do I really need to say the magic words so he sits the fuck down? Shit... okay.
"Jaune... if you don't sit down and relax... I'll cry. I don't want you to have another heart attack, Jaune."
He instantly looked away from me and nodded.
Thank God that worked, because I think I would have to tie him down to stop him. I wasn't lying when I said that I'd cry, either, because as much as it'll hurt my pride, I will cry again if I see him in the state he was in yesterday...
Hopefully the others finish packing their stuff fast, because I was getting bored.
.
.
.
.
Thank God Jaune convinced me to drink the motion sickness pill or some shit.
Because right now, I'm lying down in the back seat with my head on Jaune's lap and my legs on Jeanne's lap.
How am I in this position, you may ask? Well, all I had to do was lay my head down in Jaune's lap, and he started to massage my forehead without missing a beat. As for Jeanne, I offered her a spar tomorrow.
This is why Jaune is my favorite and not that bitch Jeanne, because I don't need to offer Jaune anything and he'll do everything for me. It goes the same for me: he doesn't even have to ask me for shit, and I'll kill anyone he wants me to. Not that I expect him to ask me to kill anyone-he's too kind for that-and who would even anger Jaune that much anyway? Everyone in town loves him.
To be honest, I prefer to sit in the front passenger seat next to the driver for health reasons, not because I'm more comfortable there. I'm more comfortable being by Jaune's side. But fucking unfortunately, Miles is driving the car and Mom is sitting in the passenger seat. Even if Mom offered to trade places with me, there's no way in hell I'm sitting through two hours of a car trip with Miles by my side.
I would rather have Noir screaming in my ears than deal with that, and I consider Noir screaming a certified military torture method.
Two hours... hopefully the pills last that long.
<=======]==¤
{FIRST-PERSON POV}
"Kids, make sure you don't leave anything in the car. Bring your bags with you!" I hear Luna telling the Kids as I open the minivan's trunk and the kids climb out one by one.
Mordred nudged me slightly to the side and grabbed two bags, which I could make an educated guess were hers and Jaune's.
I saw Jaune try to take his bag from Mordred's hands, but she shook her head and walked toward the beach, which meant Jaune followed her.
I let out a sigh as Luna approached me. "How am I going to do this, Luna? It won't work."
She put a hand on my shoulder. "Miles... you've fought much more fearsome creatures. Creatures that would put Mordred's anger to shame. You can do this."
She had a point, but... "But Mordred is different, Luna. She's my daughter. What if I make her angry again and ruin Jaune's day? This can only end in disaster."
"Miles... listen to me." She grabbed my chin and turned my face toward her. "This could be your best chance to fix everything. Don't you miss Mordred calling you Papa? Don't you want Jaune to actually love you again? Come on. This is it." She patted my cheek. "Please. Do it for me."
I couldn't disappoint her now. I wasn't sure I could.
"Okay... I will. But please be there for me." I needed her to be there, because I didn't think I could do this without her.
She nodded. "I will. I promise, Miles."
Okay. That's good. I can do this.
<=======]==¤
I can't do this.
Look at Mordred. She's playing with Jaune at the shore, but maybe because of her big-sister instinct, she's shielding Jaune from my view with her body and glaring at me every so often.
"Miles..." Luna called out to me, and even though I didn't have the confidence not to mess this up, I had to try.
I nodded at her.
"Girls! Come here for a second!" Luna called. "I want to talk to you about some things!"
Why was she calling the girls over? Was this the distraction she mentioned? She didn't tell me she was doing this.
Mordred started walking over, dragging a confused Jaune along with her. She probably brought him because she didn't want to leave him alone, even though Luna only called for the girls.
A few seconds later, all of my children had arrived, including an annoyed Mordred and a confused Jaune.
"What is it, Mom?" Saphron asked, and I saw Jeanne and the twins looking to Luna with curiosity as well.
"Well, I would tell you, Saphron, but I only asked for the girls to come over, not the boys." Luna motioned to me and Jaune.
As expected, this didn't go over well with Mordred, who glared at Luna. "Whatever you want to say to me, you can say it to Jaune too!"
Hopefully this wasn't going to be a repeat of last night.
"Mordred, calm down. I'm planning to talk about girl things. Things only girls should hear," Luna tried to explain, but it only made Mordred angrier. Before she could speak again, Jaune put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.
"Mordred, please. It's okay, and I don't exactly want to hear about... you know... girl things." He looked awkward, and I couldn't blame him.
Mordred stayed silent. She and Jaune looked each other in the eyes, and whatever passed between them made her finally exhale and step away from him.
"Go on, then. Promise me you won't keel over and die."
It stung more than I wanted to admit that she thought I couldn't be trusted alone with him.
"Is the great Mordred Arc worried about little old me?" Jaune teased.
Jaune teased Mordred, and I expected a disaster.
"Me, worried? No. I just don't want to lose my personal masseur." She scoffed, walked over to Luna, and sat down on the beach towel beside her.
"Don't worry, Mordred. I'll be fine," Jaune reassured her, and somehow that actually seemed to calm her down.
I didn't understand how he managed it. I'd seen Mordred explode when her siblings teased her, but Jaune teased her and she didn't even snap.
As Jaune started walking back to the shore, I caught up to him at a steady pace. Thanks to my height, I didn't need to jog; my longer stride was enough to close the distance.
Once we were far enough from the others, I called out to him.
"Jaune."
"Yes, Dad?"
He sounded formal, and it made my stomach tighten.
"Do... do you want to take a walk with me?"
His eyes widened in surprise, which I couldn't blame him for. I couldn't even remember the last time we'd done something like this.
He nodded and gave me a smile I didn't feel I deserved. "Okay, Dad. I'd love to."
We walked along the shoreline, and I tried to start a conversation.
"So... it's been a while."
"Yeah. It's been a while."
"Do you want to get some ice cream?"
Jaune chuckled softly and nodded. "Yeah. That would be great, Dad."
I didn't know why my son was calmer than I was, but I needed to get myself together.
"Alright. Follow me, then."
I led him toward the stalls that sold hot dogs, snacks, and souvenirs, and most importantly, ice cream.
There wasn't a line, so we went straight to the counter.
"Can I get a large chocolate mint, please, and one large..." I trailed off, realizing I had no idea what Jaune actually liked.
"Neapolitan, please," Jaune told the cashier.
The cashier scooped the ice cream, and within moments, Jaune and I were walking again with our cones.
"So... I didn't know you liked Neapolitan, Jaune."
I asked because I genuinely wouldn't have guessed it.
"Well... Neapolitan isn't my favorite. My favorite is matcha. I don't really like Neapolitan," Jaune admitted, and my heart started pounding.
Matcha was the green one, right? Or was that mint?
"Do you want to go back and get a different one?" I asked quickly. "If you want matcha, I'll buy it."
Jaune laughed softly and shook his head. "No, it's okay, Dad."
"Okay, but... why did you order Neapolitan if you don't like it?"
"Oh. It's because it's Mordred's favorite," Jaune said.
That didn't fully make sense to me, and he seemed to realize it, because he continued.
"Whenever Mordred and I go out for ice cream, she always gets a large Neapolitan, and I get matcha. She finishes hers first and wants more, but her pocket money usually isn't enough because we always buy snacks too. I offer her mine, but she doesn't like how matcha tastes, so I started ordering Neapolitan too. When she finishes hers, I can give her mine. I could buy her another one, but she gets mad and says it's my money and I don't need to spend it on her, so this is easier."
That was... really sweet.
"How about this, Jaune?" I said. "When we go back, I'll buy Mordred two large Neapolitans, and I'll get you matcha."
His eyes widened, and he smiled again. "That would be great, Dad."
I breathed out slowly. "Jaune... I want to say I'm sorry. For being a terrible father to you and Mordred."
"Wait, Dad. No. You're not the worst father," Jaune said quickly, shaking his head like he could erase the past just by denying it.
"I am, Jaune. I've been a bad father to you since that day, and Mordred hates me for it."
Jaune said my name again, but I couldn't look him in the eyes.
"I wish you hated me too, Jaune. I deserve that."
"Dad," Jaune snapped, "I would never hate you."
His words stopped me in my tracks.
"Why?" I asked, voice tight. "I stopped you from achieving your dreams. I've done so much wrong, Jaune."
"But, Dad... I would never hate you for it. Am I sad? Yes. Am I angry? Yes. But hate you? Never. You're my father. I could never hate you."
I finally looked at him and saw tears building in his eyes.
I reached out and wrapped my arms around him. I expected him to push me away, but he hugged me back, and my throat tightened.
"I... Jaune... I'm sorry."
After a moment, he spoke again.
"Dad... I've always wondered. Why? Why did you do it? Is it because I'm talentless? A lost cause?"
That wasn't what I wanted him to believe.
"No," I said. "It wasn't because of that, Jaune. It was because... you look so much like my own father. I didn't want to lose you too."
"Oh..."
I held him tighter.
"Jaune... please. Help me be a better father to you. Please. I'm asking you."
"I will, Dad," he said. "I will. And I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, Jaune."
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