Chapter 4: Abilties and Surprises

(Draco POV) Year: 2162 Location: Patch

"Since you two have been doing so well, I think it's time I give you both a reward," I said, causing Ruby and Yang to look at me with shit-eating grins. The former of the two got in my face.

"Really? What is it?! What is it?! What is it?!" Ruby asked in rapid succession, looking at me with bright eyes while bouncing up and down on her feet.

I placed my hand on her head to stop her from bouncing rapidly, and she instantly stopped

"Are you good now?" she nodded. "Ok, good," I took my hand off her head. "As I was saying, I have a reward for you two. I'm gonna teach guys how to use two advanced Aura abilities," I revealed, shocking the girls.

"REALLY?!" They both squealed with excitement.

"Yes," I did my best not to roll my eyes and sigh in annoyance. "The first ability I'm going to be teaching you is Reinforcement," I channel Aura, and my body becomes coated with thick reddish-black energy. "By increasing your Aura's density, you strengthen your defensive and offensive capabilities significantly. It also gives you a higher pain tolerance."

"Thats awesome!" Yang said with excitement in her tone.

"Indeed it is," I deactivated my Aura. "And due to my training, your guy's Aura control is decent enough to allow you to execute the power without much of an issue. Just do those breathing exercises I showed you and visualize yourselves coated in dense energy," they nodded and did as they were told.

Yang was the first to accomplish it, as her body was coated in a yellow aura, and not so long after her, Ruby was covered in a red aura.

Not bad at all. I expected the girls to struggle a bit, especially Ruby, since her control wasn't as proficient as Yang's, but they both managed to get it on the first try.

I wonder how they'll do with learning the second ability. Eh, there's only one way to find out.

(Summer POV)

I was looking out the window, watching Draco training the girls, and I couldn't help but smile. Despite his cold demeanor and late-night activities, he's friendly and caring in his own...interesting way. He's just rough around the edges...ok, very rough around the edges. But I can't complain all too much.

He's pretty good with the girls, and they absolutely adore him. Whenever he's not busy, he trains them, plays with them, helps them with their homework, and cooks for them. It was safe to say they were attached to the hip, and their bond will only grow stronger as they get older. I just hope they don't pick up any of his characteristics or habits, as I don't need another Draco. One is enough as it is...

He and I are on good terms, and I even managed to get him to loosen up a bit over the two years he's been staying with us. While he was still cold, expressionless, and edgy, he occasionally showed a softer side of himself. He even smiled more! Although his smiles were barely visible, they were still smiles, which was a win in my book.

He also gets along with Qrow pretty well; the two regularly spar, hang out, and drink together, much to my anger, but I can't stop Draco because he'd put me on my ass if I tried.

Honestly, I can only say my issue with him besides his drinking is his late-night activities. While I do accept that if he doesn't want to change his lifestyle and habits, I won't get in his way yet, I still can't help but worry about him every time he goes out in the middle of the night.

Half of it is due to my motherly instincts, and the other half is because of the girls. What if something terrible happens to him when he's on the job? I know he's capable, but still. The girls, Qrow, and I would be utterly devastated if he died or went missing, and I honestly don't know if we'd be able to recover if we lost him. Draco may not realize it, but he's impacted our lives for the better.

Ruby is more confident in herself and her abilities because of him. She even managed to make some friends to make some friends at school, which was something she always struggled with.

Yang is less temperamental, doesn't overly rely on her Semblance to win fights, and gets into fewer fights at school.

Qrow, while still a heavy drinker, doesn't drink it like it's his breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I wonder how Draco even achieved that. Regardless of how he did it, I'm thankful he did the impossible.

As for me, he helped fill the whole emptiness I felt for a very long time, something Tai and the others could never do. With him around, I felt whole...plus he helps take care of the house and the girls, so that's a big fucking plus!

I could go on and on about how much he improved our lives, but that would take a while and be redundant. Simply put, without him, I and the others wouldn't be who we are today, and losing him would undoubtedly revert everything he's done for us. That's why I gotta find some way to convince him to stop or at least lessen his activities...well, there is one way, but I don't know if it'll work due to his personality, but it never hurts to try.

(Draco POV)

"Alright, we move on to the next ability. This power is called Hyper Instinct; it grants you greater senses and a limited form of precognition and empathy," I explained. I then pulled a blindfold out of my pocket and tossed it to Yang. "Put it on," she looked at me confused but did it anyway. "To hone this ability is pretty simple yet not so simple at the same time. "

"How so?" she asked curiously.

I smirked, grabbed a stick off the ground, and promptly smacked Yang.

"Oww," she rubbed her head. "What the heck?!" she yelled, looking in my direction with gritted teeth.

"To master this ability," I started ignoring her ire. "You must master your instincts, and to do that, you must consistently and constantly train it until it's second nature to you, like breathing," I explained while lazily swinging the stick in my hand at Yang, who was doing her best to dodge my strikes but got hit several times. "However, I don't expect either of you to master this anytime soon, so I'll make you both a deal," they perked up. "If you can successfully dodge five strikes, I'll do anything you want within reason. Does that sound like a fair deal?" they nodded. "Good," I kept swinging at Yang for a few minutes but stopped to give Ruby a turn. "Now it's your turn," I said, looking at her.

Ruby paled a bit but nodded nonetheless. Yang took off the blindfold and gave it to the younger girl, giving her a look of sympathy.

"Good luck, little sis," Yang said before giving the two of us space. "You're gonna need it."

"T-Thanks..." she stammered and slowly put the blindfold on. "O-Ok, I'm ready..."

After beating the two of them with a stick for six hours straight, I ended the training session, and they happily ran inside, much to my internal amusement.

I sighed and took a seat on the porch. I was out here for an hour or two looking at the stars. I was lost in my thoughts, thinking about something thats had been on my mind for a while.

I was then brought out of musings when I sensed Summer coming. I heard the door open and the close. She then sat next to me.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hi."

"So, how'd the training go?"

"It went well. The two managed to learn Reinforcement pretty quickly. After that, I began training them on how to utilize Hyper Instinct, and I won't lie, I enjoyed that. Beating them with a stick brought a sense of nostalgia. Unfortunately, it was getting late, so I had to end my fun," I let out a sigh of feigned sadness.

"Oh, you poor baby," she giggled. "You enjoy bullying them too much, you know that."

"Yeah, I know," I shrugged, not bothering to deny it.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Summer spoke up.

"You know..." she began. "You should relax every once in a while. You've been training the girls nonstop for years," she pointed out, making me think for a moment.

"Yeah... you're probably right...I'll take a break...after the girls manage to evade five hits from me blindfolded," I said, making her sigh.

"You're unbelievable..." she chuckled.

"So I've been told," I smiled lightly.

The two of us looked at the sky and again sat in comfortable silence until she broke it.

"Draco, we need to talk..."

"About?" I looked at her and quirked an eyebrow, indicating her to continue.

"Your late-night activities..." Summer said hesitantly.

I felt my somewhat good mood sour, and I looked at her coldly.

"I thought we had come to an agreement over this two years ago," she flinched at the tone of my voice.

"W-We d-did, but things have changed," Summer's attitude abruptly changed as she hardened her expression, but there was still softness and warmth in her gaze. "Look, I'm not asking you to stop being a mercenary because I know you won't. I'm asking you to take a break occasionally and relax because you mean the world to us whether you like it or not. Ever since I've known you, you've never relaxed. When you weren't working on a project, doing chores, training, or doing a job, you were training or helping the girls with homework. You barely sleep; the most I've ever seen you do is take two thirty-minute power naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon...I still don't know how you function off that..." she sighed heavily. "Honestly, I could ramble on about many of your habits I don't like, but we'd be here all day if I did. My point is you should enjoy your life. Your fourteen, for fuck sake! Boys your age should be sleeping in, hanging out with friends, talking to cute girls, playing video games, or playing a sport or two! I just..." she placed her hand on my face, slightly surprising me. "I just want you to be happy. Can you try and do that for me?" she begged, her brilliant sliver eyes looking deep into mine, my hollow ones.

I thought about everything Summer said, and she raised many good points. When it comes to being a mercenary, an assassin, a fighter, a teacher, and a creator, I'm one of the best. But it comes to being my age, being social, and having fun, I'm absolute dog shit at it...so I guess I could act more like my age. The only thing I won't be able to do is sleep more due to my heritage, but I can certainly do everything else she asked. My only issue is that I'll be losing a lot of revenue since I'll be working less, so I'll have to create a budget or find a less dangerous source of income, but that can wait until this conversation ends.

"I guess I could try...although I'm gonna need proper compensation to do so since I'll be losing out on a lot of potential money for this," I replied with a heavy sigh.

I may be willing to do what she asked but not for free, Im not a charity case, nor am I cheap.

"I figured as much," Summer chuckled lightly as her cheeks turned red, much to my confusion.

Before I could ask her what was wrong, Summer did something I would have never expected.

Summer slammed her lips against mine. My eyes widened, my heart began beating rapidly, my head was spinning, and I felt something foreign: arousal.

Her lips were incredibly soft, warm, and wet. She tasted sweet, like strawberries with a mix of vanilla and cinnamon. While I don't generally like sweets, I could make an exception for Summer if this occurrence was gonna be frequent.

After a moment of shock, I let my instincts kick in. I closed my eyes and kissed Summer back, causing her to moan and press her lips harder against mine.

I felt her hands reach the back of my head, and she gripped fistfuls of my hair. Not wanting to be inactive, I grabbed ahold of her waist and pulled her closer, causing her large assets to press against my chest.

I then felt Summer's tongue brush against my teeth, so I opened my mouth to allow her entrance. Her tongue pressed against mine, and I returned the favor, eventually causing our muscular organs to dance and explore. Eventually, we had to part ways due to the lack of oxygen on her end.

Summer's eyes fluttered open, and she looked at me, her cheeks turning scarlet. Her eyes were filled with embarrassment, excitement, and lust.

"That was unexpected, but it was a welcomed surprise," I said with an amused tone, causing her to laugh. "However, I assume thats not all of it, right?" I inquired, and she nodded.

"Yeah," Summer replied once she caught her breath. "Follow me," she took my hand and led me to her bedroom.

Of all the ways I could have been compensated, I never thought Summer would give herself as payment. It was a very unexpected but welcoming surprise.

End.