- Jaune-

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Jaune stretched in his chair as the dismissal bell went off, glad to be done with this week of final exams. It was Friday, and all that was left of the school year were two days next week that both faculty and students knew were 'nothing' days. Even doctor Oobleck had said they'd just be watching some historical documentaries in his class while the teacher finished compiling everyone's grades. Jaune could respect his honesty.

His day was done, but rather than go straight for his truck he made way to Beacon's courtyard. It was a well-kept place, and the large oak tree in the center made for lovely shade while you sat on one of several benches in the area. It'd become the new normal for him to people watch here while he waited for-

"Jaune!" Yang popped out of a nearby door, grinning as she jogged over to him. As she sat down and slid her right hand into his left, he happily returned her warm gaze. "Good to see you, stud."

"Ha, we just saw each other at lunch." Yang pulled in close, which he took as her usual sign and gave her a firm kiss on the lips. It was as warm as always, sending a spark to his mind that he just couldn't help but enjoy. She'd turned out to be very affectionate, which, hey, he's a guy: he's not about to say no to some TLC from his girlfriend. As he pulled back he asked, "Did everything go well with your exams?"

"All good. No summer classes for this Xiao Long, thank you, which means…" She punctuated the last two words by tracing her free hand over his arm with a sultry look in her eyes. "We have all summer to do as we please."

Jaune felt a blush creep onto his face. He absolutely knew what she meant, since he had a certain O-shaped object buried deep in his wallet as they spoke. "About that," he spoke softer so his voice wouldn't carry. "I know you wanted me thinking about the… where we'd finally do that, but I'll be honest: I'm coming up short on places. Both of our houses are out, and your dad made it clear that you needed to be home at night, so it's kinda hard to go get a hotel…"

"Mm, true." She turned her back so she could lean against him, letting their hands shift so that both of his were right over her stomach. "Maybe I could convince Blake to let us crash at her place for a night after hanging out with her? The Belladonnas have the spare rooms in that mansion of theirs, so as long as we're sneaky-"

A flash of white crossed his vision just as he heard another friendly voice. "I'm so glad I caught you two."

Weiss came around the tree holding a brown folder in her hands, an endearing smile present as she observed them. Yang raised one as a wave, but the other hand that was covering his own began to clinch tighter. Under his breath he whispered 'Yang, stop,' but he couldn't tell if she heard him. "Hey Weiss. I guess there's no need to ask you how your tests went."

"They were flawless, of course." The former heiress let out an exaggerated noblewoman's laugh. 'Oh-ho-ho' indeed. "But I'm here to hand you this folder. I think you'll appreciate what's inside."

Freeing his hands, he accepted the folder and opened it up so he and Yang could both see. "Sheet music?"

Written in bold letters on the first sheet were the words "Mirror, Mirror". He slightly bent the pages so he could thumb through them. There was a set for "Mirror, Mirror Part 2" and even a part 3. "So this is what you've been working on, huh?"

"Mhm." Weiss took a step back as the couple studied the music. "My first three songs, now complete. But there's also a secret in the back."

Catching the hint, he kept going and landed on the last three pages. Unlike the prior songs, this was only a guitar's part and didn't include the words that would be sung. Even the title wasn't shown, only having the word "This" in bold at the top. "What's the story behind this one?"

"That, Jaune, is the culmination of it all." She flushed a little. "I have the vocal sheet at home, and, if it's okay with you and Yang, I'd like you to practice the guitar part over the summer."

He smiled widely. "You want us to perform this for the school?"

One of Yang's fingers found its way into his stomach through his school uniform. He did his best to ignore it while Weiss continued to back away. "I do, but for now I need to go catch the bus. Let me know later if you accept."

"Alright, see ya." When Weiss left the pressure in his side finally released, letting him take a breath and lean over a bit to look at Yang. "Honey, we talked about this."

She gave a resigned sigh. "I know we did, it's just- I can't love music like you two do. It feels like you're sharing a secret passion right in front of my face. If I didn't know you to be such a sweetheart, I'd swear that you're the ballsiest guy ever."

Jaune bristled a little inside, but kept his cool. "You're being silly, Yang. That ship she's on sailed a long time ago, and we're just friends."

She looked him in the eyes before nuzzling into his neck. "I'm sorry. I'll be better about my jealousy. Just think about how it looks from my side, okay?"

"I'll do my best." He closed his eyes as he relaxed. "We're here, so just enjoy it."

"Mm." They sat there for a minute before she spoke up again. "Hey, Jaune?"

"Hm?"

"You said she's on a ship, but what kind of boat are we on?"

He said the first thing that came to mind. "Motorboat."

"Pfft. Jaune, that's what you want to do to me."

"Oh shush."

- Qrow-

Doing his best to stifle a yawn, Qrow Branwen continued typing in his latest report at his desk while ignoring the standard hustle and bustle around him. If there was one thing he'd regreted about joining the force, it was underestimating how much paperwork he'd be doing on a day-to-day basis. Even when he got cases closed, a good thing by any metric, the joy of a job well done would be robbed by knowing he'd have to hunker down here to push some papers before moving on.

Brrrrrring!

Briefly grateful for the interruption, he slid over to the phone and answered it. "Vale Precinct Thirteen-"

An automated voice came on the line. "This is a call from the Vale State Penitentiary System."

A prisoner was calling him? Directly? He sat up straighter and waited for a small tone to sound that let him know when he was successfully connected. "Vale Precinct Thirteen, Detective Branwen's desk."

"Ah, good, I'm glad I have the right number." It was a voice he knew all too well, and he felt a chill run down his spine as memories from a few years back rushed into his mind. Memories of a monster with a tail. "Mister Branwen, this is Tyrian Callows. I assume you remember me."

"Hard to forget a bastard like you." A laugh came out of the speaker. "What the hell do you want?"

"What I want is to give you information about the disappearances of three people from before my incarceration. If you want to know how I know this information, that would be because I'm responsible for them."

Qrow took a deep breath, doing his best to stop from overreacting. "Callows, I'm legally required to remind you that this is a recorded line. Any information you say will be used against you, and no deal with the DA will wipe it from the records."

Another cackle. "Oh no, sir, I wouldn't dream of it! Let the families have their justice, I'm already here. But I am glad you brought up deals, because I have a condition for sharing what I remember."

Qrow slid a pen and paper close to him to begin writing. "And that would be?"

"The Arc family, the kin of the officer I killed, I do believe there's a son? I want him to come down to the prison for one of those supervised phone calls past the glass screen. I'll tell everything I know to that young man."

His grip on the phone tightened as he growled, "You're a sick man."

"Guilty as charged."

"You know what?" Qrow set the pen down. "I'm not biting. I refuse to play along with whatever disgusting fantasy you have going on here."

"How noble of you, but I don't think it's your decision to make, Detective." Tyrian's voice dropped dangerously low. "I know that the Council of Vale used to heavily push your department for information on the missing Senator Damian Slade from Mistral."

Of course they did, it was an international incident- "...No…"

"You said this line is being recorded, yes? Now they'll know that you have a lead. So go ahead and tell your boss about my price. No rush, of course: I'm certainly not going anywhere!"

"You BASTARD!" The line went dead as Qrow shouted into his phone, causing the folks around him to stare at him. He almost threw the desk phone back into place before staring at his computer report.

He couldn't do this to them. Please, anything but this.

"Qrow?" His eyes flicked over to his captain's face, who had come to investigate what happened. "The hell happened?"

Qrow let out a deep breath.

Having relayed everything that was said to Captain Brine in his office, all Qrow could do was pray that the inevitable wasn't said out loud.

"Qrow-"

"Don't. Don't say it, boss."

"I have to." Brine's brown mustache, grayed with age, crinkled in disgust. "Tyrian caught us by the balls. If it were up to me, I'd say bury the lead and let it rot, but it won't be my call once I have to bubble this up."

"I know this family, Bran! I played poker at their house just last month! And now you're telling me I have to march in there and tell them to relive their past because of something that might lead to closure for the council?"

"Would you rather it be me? Or the Chief?" Sigh. "Look, just ask. Please. If they say no, then we'll let it go and I can be the one the Council bitches at for this falling through."

Goddamnit.

Having parked on the street, Qrow's feet walked slowly over the gravel that led to the Arc household. Every step was one closer to unnecessary pain, but he walked regardless. Knocking on the front door, he put on his best uncle smile for the blonde girl who answered the door. "Hey there, Olive. Any chance I can see June?"

"Oh, hey Qrow." The Arc was surprised to see him, but smiled back happily. "She's out in the living room, so sure. Come on in."

Taking his shoes off at the entrance, he followed the girl to the den. Juniper Arc seemed to be in good shape as she sat on the sofa, but when her eyes caught his she seemed to sense something. "Hello, Qrow. Olive, can you and the girls stay upstairs for a while?"

If Olive had a complaint, she swallowed it without saying a word as she disappeared. Qrow rubbed the back of his head with no small amount of shame. "Am I that easy to read, June?"

"I learned a long time ago how to read cops, Qrow. This is bad news, and I don't want them to hear whatever it is if they don't need to." Juniper pointed to the chair to her right, but Qrow shook his head. He wanted to stay standing. "Very well. Let's rip off the band-aid, shall we?"

- Yang-

After their public display of affection was over, Yang followed Jaune to his house on her bike. He still had to work that evening, but she wanted to hang out with his sisters for a while that night. There was always something cathartic about winning in a good board game. She was always prepared to kick Arc sister butt!

What Yang was not prepared for, however, was seeing her uncle's police cruiser parked in front of Jaune's house. Jaune hit the brakes pretty hard as he parked his truck, nearly jumping out of his seat as he ran to the front door. By the time Yang managed to park the bike and get her helmet off, Uncle Qrow had exited the house and said something to Jaune, who promptly ran inside. "Uncle Qrow," she called out as she approached. "Please tell me nobody got hurt."

"No, no," the old man sighed. "Not physically, anyways. I had to bring up some painful memories."

He pointed back at the door. "Go help your boyfriend out. I'll be with your mom and dad at your house tonight."

Needing to hear nothing else, she made her way in and quickly scanned the scene. There were some plastic cups on the floor in the living room, and Jaune was helping his mother walk to her bedroom. The woman was hyperventilating as she hobbled, but before Yang could go assist, Olive and Sapphire came barreling down the stairs. "Yang?! Do you know what's-"

"No, I don't, but I think Jaune needs your help with Juniper." She backed down from trying to help right at that moment. Her family was probably better suited for helping with the immediate problem, so Yang would wait in the living room for someone to fill her in. The girls sped down the hallway while she took a seat.

A minute passed before both Arc girls returned and Sapphire glumly said, "We got told to go back. Sounds like Mom has something bad to talk to Jaune about, but otherwise she's fine."

"Alright, thanks for the update. I'll be here."

One minute became two. Two became five. Yang began fiddling with her phone, mindlessly thumbing through Beaconbook posts until she heard movement to the side. Jaune had come out, and-

Thoof!

He fiercely threw his fist right into the back of the two-seat couch next to him. "Jaune?!"

"Just- just give me a second," he almost growled. Taking his seat in the assaulted furniture, his right heel thumped again and again on the floor as his leg furiously bounced in place. With his mouth covered by his hands and his eyes staring at something only he could see, Yang had never been so afraid of his behavior.

She didn't know how long he stayed like that, but eventually he took some slower, deeper breathes and began to talk. "Yang, have I told you about the guy who killed our dad?"

He had not. "It's not something I wanted to bring up unless you did, Jaune."

Another long breath. "Tyrian Callows. A Faunus with a scorpion tail. Dad was off-duty one day when he saw him at some distance trying to drag a woman away for what we know now was gonna be a heinous murder. He called for police backup while giving chase on foot. The woman survived the encounter; Dad didn't."

She moved next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to tell me if it hurts to relive it, Jaune."

He shook his head. "I'm thinking out loud, so please let me. Anyways, Tyrian gets caught, doesn't bother fighting the charges. Crazy bastard cackled in the courtroom as his sentence was read out."

Beat. "Today, Tyrian called Qrow from prison to tell him that he's willing to confess to three other crimes, all kidnapping and murders, as well as provide the location of their bodies."

"That's… I mean, at least they'll finally be found after so long."

"Tyrian also said that he'll only tell the information to me, and that I have to come down to the prison to get him to spill."

"Oh my Gods." What kind of monster was this? "Jaune, I- I don't think anybody will blame you for not wanting to do that. Why would Uncle Qrow even tell your family this?!"

Jaune leaned back in his seat, now staring into the ceiling. "His boss made him. One of the missing is a senator from Mistral, or at least that's what Tyrian said."

Yang sat back and pulled Jaune towards her, making his head land on her shoulder. "Screw the council. They can't put you in that position."

"No, they can't. But…" One breath in. "'The only way for evil to win is for good men to do nothing.' What would my father do?"

Yang couldn't answer that. After a moment, Jaune stood up and pulled out his phone, finding a contact on his list and dialing it. "Hey, Vermilion? If I drop Olive off at work, can you take her home? Something's come up and I won't be able to come in tonight."

"...?"

"Everyone's fine, we're all healthy. But I can't come in, I'm sorry. Yeah, just use up one of my personal days, I've got plenty of those. Thanks."

Once he hung up the phone, he looked down at Yang with a sorrowful resolution. "Yang, sorry to ask but do you know where Qrow will be tonight? I need to talk with him."

X

If I may inject some humor:

Tyrian ate Damian's liver with chianti and a side of fava beans.