Sunrise on a Sunday is normally a quiet time for Beacon, as only the most dedicated to certain routines pass up the chance to sleep in under normal circ*mstances.
These are not normal circ*mstances. As such a group of women who would normally be using their day of rest to… Well… rest, gathered in a small and intimate courtyard known as the Lynessa Garden to discuss the matter that concerned them all.
The nine of them sat around a circular stone table that had been placed in the center of a gazebo built with an excellent view of the reflecting pond that captured the symmetry of the carefully planted trees. As a gentle breeze rustled the leaves the nine women regarded one another with cautious eyes, all of them quiet as the morning light slowly grew. Eventually the silence was broken by the eldest of the gathered women.
"I believe we've waited long enough for Arslan," Glynda began with a frown. "Someone will need to inform her about the decisions made in her absence."
"I'll talk with her," Pyrrha volunteered as she looked towards the garden's entrance once more. The redheaded spartan knit her brow as she tried to fathom the chocolate skinned nun's truancy. Had Arslan not gotten the message? Was she still asleep? Did she get lost on her way to this garden? Was she trying to seduce Jaune-NO! No, she couldn't think that way about her (recently discovered) oldest friend/rival!
Regardless of the reason the meeting would go on without her.
"Thank you Ms. Nikos." Glynda nodded her appreciation to the redhead before she continued, "Ladies, I don't need to lecture you on how serious this situation is. We know definitely that the choices we're making right now are going to have profound impacts on the future. All of us have reasons to seize this moment to make our own personal futures happen. However, the fact that we are in this situation means that none of our futures are set in stone, and the actions we might take to make our futures happen could prevent them from happening altogether."
Light and groggy murmuring of reluctant agreement rippled through the air. Ruby was still rubbing sleep from her eyes. Blake was subtly pinching her own thighs to keep herself focused. Emerald had deliberately crossed her legs in a manner she found uncomfortable to keep herself form dozing. The failed late night meeting with Jaune most of them had attempted had disrupted their sleep cycle enough that even the morning people among them were having a hard time shaking off the last vestiges of dreamland.
Glynda sighed heavily as she went on, "And so In the interest of reducing the risk to all of our known futures we need to lay down some ground rules. First is something I hope we can all agree on: no more violence. Division at this point simply means that none of our futures can happen, so we need to find a way to work together if we're going to make any of our futures happen."
"How could we possibly work together?" Weiss objected, "All of our futures are mutually exclusive." Hushed grumbles of agreement came from the other young women.
"Well to start we shouldn't be trying to sabotage one another," Glynda answered as she glanced around the table to look all the younger women in the eye, "Because if we try to get in each other's way we'll all lose, and none of us want that outcome. That's half of the reason why we need this meeting: to brainstorm ways we can move forward without actively stepping on each other's toes. For instance, is there a way to guarantee we all spend an equal amount of time with Jaune Arc so we all have the same chance to bond with him?"
A brief moment of contemplation was spent before Winter spoke up, "I don't think that's possible from a logistical standpoint. The standard workload of a school week makes it impossible for the girls who aren't already in close proximity to Jaune to increase the amount of time they can spend with him; meaning the girls who are normally in close proximity to him would have to keep their distance to make that work. I also can't see anyone agreeing to reduce their time to the small allotment it would take to make things fair, as it would be based off of the amount of time you can realistically spend with a student, Glynda."
"It would be based off of me, not you?" Glynda raised an eyebrow at Winter.
"I've been given direct orders to make myself a part of Jaune's life," Winter somehow managed to sit up straighter. "As a result General Ironwood has reduced my duties to the minimum possible. The bulk of my days will be my own until this crisis has been resolved, and I fully intend to speed that time with Jaune Arc."
Most of the other women at the table glowered at Winter's stated intentions, with her younger sister becoming particularly agitated.
"You. You! You," Weiss sputtered with growing anger, "You're turning dating Jaune into your full time JOB! How is that fair!"
"What else am I supposed to do? One does not simply refuse orders to date a cute boy!" Winter met her sister's accusation head on, "Of course I'm going to do everything to support my son's future! Just as I expect you to support yours! Our only other option would be to figure out which child comes from the best possible future and then we agree to support them for the greater good! Is anyone here willing to do that?"
Silence hung over the garden as Winter's question echoed in the minds of those present. Looks of defiance and guilt mixed across many faces as all of them knew how they would answer.
"The future my twins showed me is almost utopian," Blake began with a trembling voice. "All the world's at peace, the Grimm are in retreat, the barriers between humankind and faunusdom are practically gone." She began to physically shake as she continued, "If someone else has a better future than theirs, I might be able to consider it for the sake of the greater good, but I don't think I'd be able to follow through. I… I won't betray my family. Not again."
"August's future is just as wonderful," May asserted with a strength she hadn't felt before the words left her mouth. "The world's truly united in a singular grand alliance that's reclaiming the world from the Grimm, and the criminal underbelly of society is the smallest it's ever been." The unexpected confidence that had compelled her to speak started to peter out, but she managed to keep speaking, "Th-that being said I don't think any of our children came from a genuinely bad timeline, so appeals to something like the greater good aren't really valid here and shouldn't influence our reasons for getting close to Jaune."
With the specter of The Greater Good dismissed from the discussion the girls were free to voice their real convictions, and Pyrrha seized upon the opportunity with gusto.
"I've been in love with Jaune since the day we first met," The Invincible Girl staked her claim, "Long before any of you looked his way."
"That doesn't matter," Yang scowled at the redheaded spartan. "For one thing we aren't playing by 'I saw him first' rules, and if we were then I saw him before you did and thought he was cute. Heck, when I saw how light he was on his feet I thought about taking him to a club for dancing! Only reason I didn't scoop him up back then was because I knew you and Ruby were sweet on him and I was willing to let you shoot your shot first!"
"Was this before or after he threw up on your boots?" Weiss asked sardonically.
The blonde boxer shifted her scowl to the heiress and sneered, "You do know the way you treated Jaune is the reason the whole school calls you Ice Queen, right? The whole school's gonna call you tsundere now since you changed your tune at the drop of a hat."
"At least I'm being honest with myself now," Weiss grit her teeth. "And while I admit the circ*mstances that helped me come around are exceptional, what about you? Would you have held off on admitting you liked him until Pyrrha or Ruby married him? Leaving you with only a cat to go home to?"
Blake felt offended and wasn't entirely sure why.
Yang cracked her knuckles and shifted in her seat, threatening to get up. "You're treading on thin ice, Weiss."
"Don't you threaten my sister," Winter's eyes narrowed as she also shifted in her seat.
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS TRAITOR!" Weiss snapped while pointing dramatically at her sister.
"Tra-tra-Traitor?" Winter recoiled as if she had been struck. "How am I a traitor?"
"You, you," Weiss sputtered as she tried to articulate why she was upset with her sister. While the root of the issue didn't find words another problem did. "You didn't even meet Jaune properly until yesterday! Why are you diving into this headfirst?"
"He's a good man that cares and is willing to put the work in, what other reasons do I need?" Winter answered. "You don't seem confused by the thief going all in on Jaune," She gestured in Emerald's direction, "And she was part of a conspiracy that could have killed him not even twenty-four hours ago! Why aren't you being suspicious of her? She could still be part of that conspiracy for all we know!"
Emerald slammed both of her hands on the table and stood with passion in her voice, "Jaune Arc has shown me more genuine kindness and common decency over the last day than anyone I've ever met in my life! Don't you dare insinuate that my interest in him isn't real." Emerald glared fire in Winter's direction before realizing that all eyes were upon her. She shrank back into her seat under the collective glares of all those present, but the rage in her eyes remained.
"Al-Alright," May spoke up again with a shaky voice that was supposed to be calming. She hoped she was leading the conversation to less confrontational waters. "So we can all say that we all gain something precious from our future relationship with Jaune. Before all this I had no family, no direction, no goals beyond simple survival. Now? Now I have all the things I lacked and it's all thanks to him. We know the future is good, it would be a shame if we tore each other apart before we get there."
"We know the futures our children came from are good, but we don't really know how time travel works." Pyrrha pointed out. "Destiny might be in our hands right now and pliable to our wills. Destiny might have already slipped through our fingers and is unbendable. There are too many unknowns. But what I do know is that Jaune is the first person I've formed a real connection with since I won my first tournament; and after spending my whole life denying my own desires for the sake of my mother, my career, and my sponsors I know I can't deny what my heart wants any longer. I won't go out of my way to try and erase any of your futures... but if destiny is in our hands right now I will bend it towards my future with Jaune."
The other women tensed at Pyrrha's declaration.
"Not if I bend you over it first," Yang growled.
And with that the dam burst and all the aggression that had slowly built up on the back burner spilled forth in a cacophony of incomprehensible noise. Yang and Pyrrha yelled at each other making threatening gestures with their fists. Blake hissed at Emerald while Weiss shouted at Winter, who answered in hurt and confused rejoinders. Glynda's calls for order went unheeded, while May shrank in on herself at a loss.
Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. The diminutive reaper thought about the conversations she had with her son the day before about some of the secrets of their silver eyes, how they could produce a light that could harm the Grimm while being harmless to everything else...
...Well, technically harmless.
She focused her aura and her feelings and built more and more energy behind her eyelids in the way Julian had showed her. As the arguments around her reached a fever pitch and threatened to become physical, Ruby Rose stood with the grace of a leader and opened her eyes and mouth in unison.
"QUIET!" Her voice carried as her eyes flashed with the intensity of a silver sun. Though the flash only lasted a second or two it's brightness forced everyone else at the table to shut their own eyes and wince lest they be temporarily blinded, and even then they were blinking away nonexistent spots from their vision. Silence reigned. Satisfied that her first ever Silver Flare had given her everyone's undivided attention Ruby began with the unvarnished truth:
"Jaune would be disappointed if he was here," And Ruby's own disappointment was evident in her voice. "Especially since this is the time where we need to be united the most. Cinder is still out there, and she's undoubtedly told her boss Salem about everything that's happened here. A great and ancient evil now knows that time travel is possible through Moses' semblance, and if she's anything like the stories Julian knows about her, then she has regrets of her own that she'd want to erase. That means she's going to come here at some point to try and take Moses' power, and if she succeeds she'll erase the world as we know it. It isn't just our futures on the line. Everyone's future is on the line as long as Moses can't get back to his time."
Ruby turned and began to circle the table as she continued talking, trying not to outwardly fidget at their intense stares.
"So none of us are going to fight over Jaune. Not just because Professor Ozpin forbade any more fighting, but-but because we can't afford to while Salem is still a threat. Until that threat is gone all we can do is follow Ozpin's orders to get along with our kids, get along with each other's kids, and until we can figure something better out we'll just have to share our time with Jaune and our kids."
She returned to her seat and sat down with a commanding presence, though inside she felt scared enough to throw up.
"No more fighting," Ruby reiterated, "And-And we all share. You got it?"
There was a lot of staring at Ruby, before shamed murmurs of agreement came from the others sitting at the table.
"I can't hear you!" Ruby glared as her eyes glowed again.
"We got it," the other girls replied slightly out of sync.
"Very well said Miss Rose," Glynda commended her student.
Ruby blushed deeply. May actually gave her a warm, relieved smile. Pyrrha did too, after a bit of contemplation. Weiss shared a rare look of respect with her, as Blake nodded in agreement. Yang grinned in some pride, though it was mixed with a stuck out tongue in true sibling-like fashion. Something Ruby returned with a relieved smile. Emerald nodded obediently, perhaps out of instinct. She was used to following someone's orders, after all. Winter assessed her with a poker face. The quiet stretched on.
Everyone looked around, not quite looking each other in the eyes as they all mulled over Ruby's words. Silence filled the garden as none of them knew what to say after that.
Fortunately, before things could become too awkward one of the doorways to the garden opened up. Everyone turned to see who had arrived, and they saw with a small amount of surprise and shock Jaune and Arslan walking side by side with all of Jaune's children and Penny following close behind.
"Oh good, you're all here," Jaune smiled cautiously at them, "That makes this easier. Arslan and I are taking the kids to church after breakfast. Do any of you want to come along?"
Glances were quickly shared around the table. Ruby answered for the group with a bright though nervous smile.
"Yeah we'd love to come with you guys!"
"Great," Jaune's smile became relieved. "Ren and Nora spent the last hour whipping up a breakfast for all of us, so let's not dawdle and test Nora's patience; she's already drinking syrup."
The nine women got up from the table and exited the gazebo, mingling with their children as they made their way to the dining hall. They were halfway there when Ruby suddenly grabbed Yang's shoulder in a panicked vice grip.
"What is it?" Yang whispered to her sister.
"Yang, I just realized something terrible."
"What?"
Ruby looked at her sister with wide eyes, "I left my Sunday dress back home in Patch!"
