Chapter 2: Meeting The Family & Shopping

(Summer POV) Year: 2160 Location: Patch

I was currently making breakfast, as the girls would be awake in a couple of minutes. Right on time, I heard the girls coming down the stairs.

"Hey, kiddos," I said when I saw them.

"Hey, Mom," Yang said before yawning and sitting at the table.

"Morning, Mommy," Ruby said while rubbing her eyes and sitting beside Yang.

"Breakfast should be about done in a few minutes. Hope you guys are in the mood for strawberry cheesecake pancakes," both girls had stars in their eyes when I mentioned what we were having for breakfast.

"Really? You rarely make those!" Yang said with an excited tone.

"That's because they're incredibly unhealthy," I pointed out with an amused expression, making Yang grumble. "If you wanna be Huntress when you get older, you gotta eat healthy. You can train as much as you want, but without a proper diet, you'll never get the desired results."

"Then how come you make us cookies all the time," she argued with narrowed eyes.

"Because the cookies I make are made with healthy ingredients and protein powder," I replied, shocking the girls.

"Really?" Yang asked.

"Yup," I chirped.

After I finished making the pancakes, I set the plates and utensils and then gave them their pancakes.

"Mommy, why is there an extra plate?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Oh, thats because a boy a bit older than you two will be living with us for a while," I replied, surprising them.

"Really?" Yang asked with an excited tone. "But where is he?"

Before I can reply, the front door opens, revealing the boy we were talking about. Both the girls blushed when they saw him, making me inwardly chuckle. I'm not even surprised by that, honestly. He's a cute kid, and I already know he'll be a looker when he gets a bit older.

Draco looked at them blankly and then looked at me. "Morning, Summer," he said with a polite yet cold tone.

I smiled at him. "Good morning, Draco. Would you like to join us for breakfast?" he nodded and sat at the back of the table.

He looked at the girls. "Greetings, little ones," he said, making the girls pout and me laugh.

"Who are you calling, little?" Ruby cutely narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah, you're like, what, ten?" Yang pointed out.

"Twelve," he corrected. I then put pancakes on his plate.

"Pancakes hadn't had those in a while. Thank you," he then began eating them.

"No problem," I put the remaining pancakes on my plates and sat beside Draco.

"So Draco, where are you from?" Yang asked.

"Solitas," he replied.

"Really, did you live at Atlas or Mantle?" I asked curiously, and he shook his head.

"Neither. I lived in a remote village deep within the mountains south of the continent before it got overrun by Grim," he casually responded as if he were talking about the weather.

The three of us looked at him with sympathy. That explains why he looks so dead inside.

"Im sorry for asking," Yang said, looking guilty for bringing up a sore topic.

Again, Draco shrugged. "Don't be. Life just sucks like that," he said cynically with a tone of indifference. "Being angry or sulking about the world's harshness won't solve anything or improve matters, so it's best just to forget and keep moving forward," he finished, making me and the girls frown.

"That doesn't sound healthy," I chimed in, causing him to look at me flatly and too much to my inner frustration; he shrugged again.

"Oh well," he then went back to eating.

We all ate in awkward silence until Ruby asked. "Draco, do you have you're Aura unlocked?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. I had it unlocked when I was two," Draco revealed, surprising us.

"Two?!" the girls shouted.

"Why so young?" I asked with disbelief.

"I come from a warrior-like society where strength and combat ability were valued above all else; if you weren't strong and couldn't fight, you don't deserve to live," he explained casually.

"Thats terrible..." Yang replied with a look of horror across her face.

"...Is that how you got all those..." he nodded in confirmation. "They were the result of my training and failures," he replied, making me pale with anger.

Oum, thats so fucked...I know this might sound terrible, but I'm glad that fucking village was destroyed. No child should have to suffer through what Draco did.

"What are you guys talking about?" Yang asked in confusion.

"Nothing," I replied, not wanting to bring up his scars. "Anyways, Draco, since you don't have any clothes, we're gonna go shopping later today," I said, wanting to change the topic quickly.

"Ok, could we also go to a weapons shop afterward?" he asked.

"Why?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I need to see what parts they have so I can make another weapon. My last one got destroyed while on the job," Draco explained.

"You have a job?" the kid is just full of surprises.

"Yeah, I'm mercenary," he divulged, making me sigh heavily.

"Any other surprises I should know about?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

I sighed again. I'mma take that as a yes.

(Timeskip)

After shopping for clothes, we headed to the weapons shop on the other side of town.

"What kind of weapons did you use?" Ruby asked with an excited tone.

"Knives, swords, snipers, handguns, rocket launchers, occasionally war hammers," he listed off with a dull tone. "It mostly depended on the situation, Grim type and opponent," he replied, and Ruby nodded.

"Sounds smart," she chirped.

"Thats because it is. It's always better to have multiple styles of combat instead of one. Being a one-trick pony is a death sentence combat."

Despite his pessimism, Draco is pretty knowledgeable, easy to get along with, and has an odd sort of charm. Ruby and Yang have already taken a liking to him, which I'm happy about, as it'll make having him around a whole lot easier. Hopefully, having us in his life, he'll develop a more positive perspective and loosen up.

"Could you teach me how to fight with other weapons?" Ruby asked.

"Sure," he shrugged. "Does any particular weapon come to mind?"

Ruby thought for a moment and said. "Mom says I need to work on my hand-to-hand combat skills."

"It's true, I've seen blind people fight better than her," Yang teased, causing Ruby to blush in embarrassment.

"YANG!!!" Ruby whined.

I let out a chuckle. "Yang, be nice to your sister."

Draco hummed. "Ok, we'll start with your hand-to-hand combat lessons when we return home. Once you master the basics and I get some money, we can create a weaponized gauntlet."

"Yay!!!" Ruby hugged him tightly, earning an amused look from me, Yang, and Draco, although it was barely visible on his part. "Thank you, thank you!"

"No problem, short stack," he patted her back.

Ruby broke the hug and pouted, crossing her arms. "Im not little. I drink milk!"

Draco looked at her flatly. "If you say so," he then walked away from the girls and went to inspect some of the parts on the other side of the store.

I stood next to him. "Any particular weapon you're interested in building?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Two, in fact. My first loadout is a pair of combat chain knives that transforms into high-powered semi-automatic handguns. My second is a scythe that transforms into a medium-length sword or a high-powered semi-automatic assault rifle," Draco replied while inspecting weapon parts.

"Sounds expensive and hard to make," I replied, and he shrugged.

"Eh, nothing a job or two can fix, and I've been creating my own weapons since I was three, so it's nothing too complicated for me."

"I see...hey Draco."

"Yes," he looked at me.

"What kind of jobs do you typically do?" I asked, looking directly into his cold, haunting silver eyes.

"...do you really wanna know that?" a chill went down my spine when I heard his tone, and his eye shined in a way that wasn't of innocence or excitement. It was one of danger and warning.

"...."

"Didn't think so," Draco returned to inspecting the weapons parts. "Look, Summer, you're a lovely woman who's given me a place to stay, and because of that, I'm incredibly grateful. However..." he looked back at me, and his eyes, impossibly, looked even colder than before. "Don't pry into my life or try to get in my way. If you can do that, we'll have a long and healthy relationship. If you don't..." he invaded my personal space and leaned toward my ear. "I'll show you exactly what my people taught me," he whispered, causing my flight or fight instincts to kick in, and right now, it was telling me to grab the girls and run for my life. He then leaned back. "Have we come to an understanding?"

"Y-Yeah...I understand," I inwardly cringed at the terror and meekness in my voice.

"Good," he said, and if I thought I was terrified of Draco before, then the sudden smile he gave me reinforced my fear of him tenfold.

It was a smile one would see on a serial killer or demon--no, not a demon, as a mere demon wouldn't do it justice. No, it was like the devil when he struck a deal with a poor, naive fool.

What did I just invite to my own house?

End.