Vacuo’s Rainman Chapter One
AN: I’ve had this laying around in my google docs for like a year. I don’t know if I’ll post a second chapter or not, I have a plot line, but I don’t know if I can follow up on, because this writes some different from me now. But I’ll try eventually. Now onto the story!
In the living room of the Arc family's house sat a three-year-old Jaune Arc dressed in blue overalls with a yellow undershirt playing with a toy dump truck rolling over some plastic Beowolves while the tv sounded in the background. His father, Nicholas Arc, sat there contently watching his only child play while making aggressive and nearly disturbing sounds of Beowolves meeting their demise. He thought to himself, while slightly worried but happy nonetheless, "He'll make a fine Hunter one day," He paused in thought as the love of his life came down the stairs with something behind her back. "If his mother ever lets him go... Not like I'm any better, though." His mind remembering his extensive measures taken for his son.
The sound of snapping and hysterical giggles brought Nicholas Arc out of his memories, and he turned to look at his beloved with his most confident and dashing smile, saying, "Yes, my Dearest?"
She stared at him for a good 4 seconds saying nothing before bursting out laughing, driving a flush onto the veteran hunters face while getting a chilling sense of nostalgia of his first encounter with Juniper.
Still laughing, his wife spoke to him. "Puh-please, don't do those goofy smiles of yours; they tear me up inside!" Face again flushing the Arc said with embarrassment and a little annoyance that his wife still found his dashing good looks laughable. "Whatever just tell me what's up, Jaunes playing, and I want to watch."
The toddler in question was still playing but giving the occasional over the shoulder glance at his parents over what had his mom cracking up; he hoped it was his dad making funny faces again.
Juniper looked over humming merrily before looking back. "Weell, let's just say that after today Jaune won't be the only one you'll be watching play..." She said playfully letting the sentence stop.
The older Arc looked nonplussed and asked: "What did you find Jaune a playmate or something?"
She hummed some more. "Well, I guess you could say that, but they'll be much younger."
"Ok, then." The Hunter said. "Good for Jaune then, he needs more friends." His wife looked at him for some reason he couldn't figure out.
His wife spoke again: "They'll be here every day, and you'll be looking after them too..." His wife once again trailed off.
‘Why does she keep doing that?’ Nicholas thought to himself, "Alright then, did we get new neighbors or did you meet someone that has a kid around Jaunes age?" The man of the house questioned.
"No." His wife deadpanned.
"Then, where on Remnant did you find a playmate for Jaune? Did my sister finally get pregnant? Oh, was it your brother? I always thought he'd make a great father!" Her annoyingly dense at times husband said confused and then excitedly.
"No! Right here!" She shouted, grabbing his hand and putting it on her stomach and showing him a pregnancy test.
He flushed and looked at Jaune sitting mere feet away and blushed harder.
"H-Honey, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but Jaune's right there! He's too young to learn, and I haven't had time to wash up, I mean-" The man started to stammer. Many things the Arc Patriarch is good at, but reading in between the lines was not one of those things.
"Ugg," The woman groaned, and then looked at the pregnancy test and realized it was backward and groaned much, much harder.
"Honey, please! The boy's right there; this is something I rather tell him than show him!" The man said, stammering harder.
She quickly flipped the test around and showed him the positive results, and said: "You're going to be a freaking father again, Nicholaus!"
"Oh, why didn't you just say so; Wait, what?" The man said, doing a double take.
A goofy grin reminiscent of a specific future goofy blonde appeared on his beautiful wife's face. "I said you're going to be a father again." She said tears began well in her eyes.
Nicholas's face went blank briefly before returning with the biggest smiles his wife had ever seen. Picking her up and grabbing her, he brought her into a tight, but gentle hug.
Juniper could only blush at her husband's sudden explosive affection, wanting to dwell at that moment forever.
Her husband drew her into a kiss before he put her down, only to stop once they heard a childish "Ew, Gross!" from behind them, seeing the young Jaune Arc looking at them like they were insane.
Juniper blushed a bit, while Nicholas just got down on a knee and called his son over. "Jaune! Come over here; we've got something important to tell you!"
Jaune listened, as that excited tone from his father always meant something good was about to happen.
Wiggling his way over to his father, he asked. "What is it, daddy?" Jaune said, knowing his dad like to be called that, and making his dad happy usually meant more goodies.
Under any other circumstances, his father would have internally squealed at being called daddy, but today was different. He took Jaune by the hands and picked him up.
"Jauney..." His father said, trailing off. "Today everything changes; you're going to be a brother!" His father practically squealed, making his mom nearly double over laughing.
Little Jaune could only look at his father, "What's a bra-thar?" The child said, trying to sound out the word.
His father tossed him up a little into the air, eliciting a squeal of joy from Jaune, before adjusting him to a more comfortable position.
"Well, Jauney a brother is kind of like... Well... Um? Juniper help?" His father said to his mother, not quite able to explain to his son what he was about to be.
"Bring him here, Nicholas," His mother said, sitting down.
He did and put Jaune down his mother's lap. "Jaune, give me your hand, please." He did, and his mother put his hand on her stomach.
"Jaune, what do you feel?"
"Warm, tired." He said with a yawn, starting to drift his head back and forth.
"Well, inside of me is something warm, and it's tired too, asleep actually."
"Is it your heart? Why's your heart asleep?" He asked full of childish innocence.
His mom laughs. "No, Jauney it's not mamas heart, no it's a little person like you. They're asleep inside of mama, and in a couple of months they'll come out, they going to live with us, and daddy and mama are going to take care of them like you, and you Jauney... Are going to be their big brother."
They're that word again; what did it mean? The child thought to himself, "Ok, but what's a brother."
His mom looked little tense, herself not quite knowing how to answer, before sighing and just decided to wing it and go from the heart. "You're... They're protector!"
Jaune's eyes widened. "Protector? Like a hero!?" he squealed excitedly.
His mom nodded her head, seeing an easy way out. "Yes, Jauney, you're going to protect them like a hero! You're going to love them, protect them, and guide them when mommy and daddy aren't here. That's what being a brother means."
It took a moment for the words to sink in. "That's... So awesome!" Jaune said with blind excitement, still not fully realizing what being a brother meant, but happy for it.
Jaune hopped off his mother's lap and went back over to his toys, picking them up to take back to his room.
"Jaune, what are you doing?" His father called out.
"I got to start training now if I want to be a good protector by the time they're here!" He said, taking his toys up the stairs.
His mother and father could only smile at each other before making eye contact, an unspoken conversation happening, both agreeing.
Juniper Green Arc rose up and kissed her husband's cheek, saying "Go, go and help him. You know how you Arc's are when you get motivated."
He nuzzled his nose against hers. "Well, you would too. It's how I got you to love me." Nicholas said sweetly to his darling wife.
She lets out a dry laugh. "Ha, that or the fifty times you asked me out, and I finally realized how cute your pout is. Oh, there it is right now." She said with a laugh.
Nicholas, definitely not pouting, said with a huff. "Couldn't say it was my dashing good looks, could you?" She merely laughed again. "Alright, fine. I'm going to go teach Jauney the basics of footwork." He said with a flush face but moved with excitement.
"Make sure you don't hurt yourselves!" Juniper called out to her husband moving up the stairs, watching the other things that drew her to her husband, from that tight body and cute butt to the confident way he carried himself when he was happy, oh, how she loathed seeing him down, it was like watching a puppy die. Oh, and who could forget those beautiful blue eyes, and that luscious blonde hair. Gods, the Arc genes just had it all; it was downright unfair to the competition.
She chuckled at the memories of having to scare off more than a few would be seductress, not that her husband knew either too love blind or dense to notice, more than likely the latter as according to one of his former teammate from Beacon, he had more than one girl after him at the time and he never noticed too focus on being a hunter, only realizing years later on a mission. His teammate still laughed at the memory of him screaming wildly into the night, and she did too after she saw the video.
Juniper mentally then began preparing herself for going back to Atlas, as Nicholas Arc had sworn an Arc promise to see her safely through any pregnancies, and an Arc never goes back on their word.
Ha, at least she wouldn't be alone this time. Little Jaune would be there with her, and that's all that mattered, no doubt the Fervent Hunter of Ansel would be making a reappearance soon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My parents were acting weird, the first thing after teaching me how to move funny, and making a promise to practice every day, dad made me and mom go live in the hospital far away from home, and I knew it was far away cause he saw the land go bye bye from the plane.
Then mom started to get fat, like real fat, but just on her belly and then got sick like every morning. I guess that's why she in the hospital, not sure why I'm here, I miss dad, but he comes by sometimes.
Mom says it helps that I'm here, I don't get why though. But as long as mom is happy, I'm happy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Juniper holding her baby in her arms felt more than saw her husband enter the building, the constant shaking on the floor was a dead give away.
The shaking got louder as she felt her husband's presence down the hallway, all that stood between them was a dusteel electronically locked, bomb proof door.
The poor door never stood a chance as it was in between her and him.
The door flew off with a thunderous clap and got stuck in the wall, never had she been gladder that she had sent Jaune, and the employees away, she did not want another incident like her last pregnancy, that unfortunate man to get in the way was still recovering.
"Is it true?" Her husband said with nary, a huff, presumably running from wherever he was to her after the nurse called him to tell him that his wife had gone into labor.
Holding up her newest addition to the family as evidence, Juniper said, "Yes." With tears in her eyes.
Nicholas stood in the doorway, looking with awe at his child. "Is the baby a," Nicholas began to ask, "A girl, a beautiful baby girl." His wife answered.
The man nearly began to break down, crying there as he moved over to his wife.
"Have you thought of a name for her yet?" He asked in between sob, never thinking he'd make it this far again after their first experience.
"No," His wife answered back, "I was... Thinking Jaune should try and think of a name for her." Juniper said sheepishly.
Bewildered, her husband looked up from their child and at her. "Wha?" Was the only thing to come to mind for the papa arc.
"Now, Nicholas, it's just Jaune's been cooped up in here with me for the last nine months, I thought that he should at least have a say-" Juniper began to stammer, till Nicholas took her hand and looked her in the eyes.
"It's fine Juniper, if you think it's a good idea, I believe you... And we can regret it after you get off this pain medication." He said with complete seriousness.
They stared each other in the eyes before lapsing into laughter, barely managing to keep from waking their daughter.
Recovering from the joke, Juniper grabbed her husband's shoulder "Go find the nurses and get Jaune in here, please."
He smiles at her, "Sure thing, honey." Giving her a quick kiss before he left.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jaune was with the nurses thinking to himself that now it wasn't just his parent acting weird. The nice ladies were all acting weird too, making him leave mom when she started screaming, saying something like how children aren't meant to see this. Why? Mom's in pain, he needs to be there so he can kiss the boo-boo and so it can get better. That's what mom and dad would do for him.
That's when the nice ladies told him his dad was here, and that they were taking him to see him, and someone special. But, who's special? Everybody he cares about is here, well besides that white-haired girl he met a couple of days ago. She was mean but made him feel funny, like not sick or laughing, but more like his heart was happy. He wishes he knew her name.
Maybe it's Uncle Toe or Aunt Sissy? But they already left a couple of hours ago when they started letting people say hi to mom again, but they still won't let me see her yet.
Seeing his dad though made all those thoughts drop out of his mind, Jaunes face lighting up like the sun crossing over the horizon, seeing his father for the first time in weeks. Nicholas was no different from his son giving a smile that could warm even the iciest of hearts and more valuable than gold, also unwittingly distracting several passing nurses and one white-haired woman with an almost stunned expression.
Jaune shouted out to his father as he ran to him. "Dad!" Accidentally crushing the hearts of the nurses watching, and also warming them at the same time. The ivory-haired woman didn't seem to mind, though, taking a photo of the scene.
"Jauney!" His father said back as he caught him and spun him around, before showering him in kisses acrosses the forehead and cheeks. Eliciting several coos and daws from the peanut gallery, unaware of being filmed by a snow-hair woman.
"Jaune, I've got something significant to show you. Ready?" His father asked to which the only response was nodding his head.
The pair walked away, letting the nurses disperse while the white-haired woman stayed and watched them leave only stopping when a small, regal little girl called out behind her.
"Mother? What are you watching?" The white-haired child asked.
"Oh, nothing, Winter, just... Nothing." She said, walking the other way, her daughter following her. Replaying the natural sight of warmth in her head over and over again, a view the woman had not seen since her childhood.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The pair entered his mother's room, and Jaune was let down to see his mom.
"So, where is the important person? Where? Where?" The boy asked impatiently.
His mother giggled and shifted her body to show the baby breathing lightly in her arms. "This is her Jaune, your little sister."
Jaune squinted his eyes looking at her, trying to figure out what had everyone so worked up over her. "Hmm, is she sick?"
His parents gasped at that. "What?! No, Jaune, she is perfectly healthy!" His mother said to him.
"Ok, but then why is everyone so interested in her?" Jaune asked with all the logic his young brain could muster.
"Because she's your little sister; that's why!" His dad said, hoping he wouldn't have to explain what a sister is. Luckily enough, though, his mother covered that.
"Oh, ok, then." The boy responded, looking a little disinterested trying for the life of him to figure out why the baby was getting so much attention.
"Well?" His mom asked him.
"Well, what?" The boy answered.
"Do you want to hold your baby sister?" His mother asked excitedly.
He seemed to consider this for a moment before accepting her, his father and mother carefully setting him down between them and instructing him on how to hold her.
His baby sister felt heavy, but also not heavy in arms, Jaune thought, like he suddenly had all the weight of his toys in hand but scared that if he dropped one, they all would fall and break. Too important to let go of, was a good short version of the feeling. The feeling was weird, like his parents.
"What's her name?" The little boy asked, unflinchingly staring at the baby.
His mom put on a wide grin at the question, and his father merely smiled happily.
"Well, Jaune, I hoping you might come up with one." Juniper Arc said warmly.
The boys head almost shot up, but scared to hurt the baby he merely looked to his mom and asked: "Why?"
His mother drew him into her embrace and told him. "Jaune, you've been here with me for nine months, helping me when I need it and being with me, you've been just as important to making sure she got here safely as dad and me," His mother said with some exaggeration.
The boy's eyes widened, "Really?"
His mother nodded, and so did his father.
"Jaune, remember you're going to be her protector, her brother, you're going to take care of her as much as Dad and I, so go ahead and think of a name for her," Juniper said to her nearly four-year-old son. Which reminded her his birthday was in two months. Nicholas though already remembered and bought a present in advance.
It was at this moment everything began to change for young Jaune Arc, no longer was he just Jaune Arc, son of Juniper and Nicholas Arc, only child and friendless, but from this day forward, big brother and protector of his sister.
The boy nodded to his parents with fire in his eyes, seeming to shine a brilliant sapphire to his parents at that moment.
The protector looked to his new charge and staring at the pale creature in swaddling blankets. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing softly, he could barely make out her heart as he held her close. He could scarcely see any hair on the creatures head, but what he could see was bright and shiny like his.
Staring at his sister for what felt like hours, till the right name came to mine and finally answered, "Rayonner! I think she should be Rayonner!" The boy said to his parents, who had fallen asleep behind him, cuddle together.
He looked to the window, no light. He had been thinking for hours.
He looked down at the baby as it started to move, and he adjusted the child so that it would see him when she awoke.
The child stirred for minutes at a time till she finally awoke and saw him.
She didn't scream; she didn't cry, nor did she whine.
No all she did was a yawn and stared at him with the most brilliantly green eyes he has ever seen — the same color as moms. The boy thought to himself.
He waved a hand in front of Rayonner, "Hi, Rayonner, I'm your brother, it's nice to meet you finally. I've been hearing about how'd you be here for months now, and your finally here! It's awesome to have you here."
The baby looked it's green into his blues, and then with its newborn arms reached up grabbing his hand, giggling and falling back to sleep comfortably.
The boy then at the moment finally got what was so important about this baby, and then once again everything changed. His heart swelled and found himself looking around the room, worry seeping into his soul.
The boy finally understood fear, fear for someone other than yourself.
It was at that moment his dad woke up to see his son pacing around the dark room looking around for... Brother's know what, while keeping a solid hold on his newborn sister.
"Jaune? What are you doing?" His father asked sleepily.
The boy shot around to look at his father before rushing over. "Dad! Good, you can keep Rayonner safe, while I make sure there's no monster under the bed!"
The father had no words for how confused he was. His son already under the bed and then out the other side looking in the closet, making just enough sound to wake his mother.
"Wha?" His mother said sleepily.
The father merely shrugged and waited for his son to tire himself out.
The mother tried to go back to sleep.
Their child didn't stop though, and he kept patrolling and looking, armed with nothing but butter knife, looking for any danger that might harm his baby sister.
It was around an hour late that they put a stop to it and asked what was wrong.
"Jaune, come here." His mother commanded.
The boy complied but stuck his butter knife in his pants.
"Did you ever think of a name for your sister?" His mom asked.
"Yes, it's Rayonner! I already told dad," He looked at his dad. "Why didn't you tell her dad?"
Nicholas Arc shrugged. "I thought I was still asleep." A valid answer as any.
Juniper Arc stared at her husband, before realizing she was too tired, but couldn't sleep till she found out what was wrong with her boy.
"That's a good name, Jaune, but what's got you scared? You're usually so brave, what's wrong honey?" She asked as nicely as she could after only getting four hours of sleep after giving birth to a nine-pound baby.
"I'm scared there might be a monster in here that wants to eat Rayonnner!" The boy said with fear in his tone.
The mother looked at the father, the father looked at the mother and shrugged, holding his baby to his chest.
"Why do you think that, Jaune?" Nicholas said tiredly.
"I-I don't know, and it's just ever since I named her, It's like the only thing I can think of. Like if I put her down for a moment that she'd disappear or someone will hurt her!" The boy shouted out worriedly.
The father looked increasingly worried for his son until his wife then burst out laughing, realizing what her son was doing. Like father like son.
Juniper whispered to her husband, a smile crept over the man's face, and he nodded.
He put a hand down on his son's shoulders, who was still looking for monsters.
"Jaune, do you want to protect your sister?"
"Yes! What do you think I've been trying to do for the last hour!"
"Well if you want to protect your sister from monsters, then swear on your Arc name that you won't let any monster hurt her." His dad said proudly. Unaware of the drastic consequences that would come from this.
"Yeah! That's a great idea, daddy! If I say that I'm protecting her, then the monsters will have to come after me first! Lets do it!" The boy said excitedly.
"Alright, Jaune, all you have to is swear on the Arc name." His father said, both well aware of the meaning of the act.
"Ok. I, Jaune Arc, swear on my name as an Arc to protect my sister from the darkness, and the light, from the worse of man and faunuskind, from the Grimm and the monsters. That should they bring harm upon her that I will use the full extent of my power to destroy anything that would hurt her, I solemnly swear on my name as an Arc!" The boy said with a level of confidence and power that shocked both parents.
His father, a faint trail of tears, going down his face, and his mother squealed and picked up him up and crushed him against her chest. "My little boy is growing up!"
"Yeah, he is." The father said, wiping his tears away, noticing how dark it is. "It's also time we get to sleep, and this bed isn't big enough for all of us, so say goodnight to mom and Rayonner."
"I can't stay here?" The boy asked, sadly.
His father shook his head. "No, you might get them sick, if you're around Rayonner too much right now, but don't worry, Rayonner, and mom will be home with us tomorrow."
That brought a smile to the steadily growing, tired boy. "Alright, night, mom, night, Rayonner love you." He said, giving a kiss to both on the cheek and forehead.
He gestured for his dad to pick him up, which he did, and they walked out.
"Hey, dad," Jaune said to his father as they walked out of the hospital.
"I mean it. I am going to keep Rayonner safe, no matter what." The child said with all of his might, which sounded suspiciously like a yawn.
"I know Jauney, I know, and I'll keep you safe till you can keep yourself and her safe."
"Thank dad; I love you." The little boy said, drifting off to sleep in his father's warm, safe embrace.
"I love you too Jaune, so much that you cannot even imagine what I'd do to keep you safe." The boy's father said in barely a whisper to his sounds sleeping form.
