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Sensation of fresh air woke up Cinder. It was a familiar sensation, something she experienced throughout most of her life. Cold air would wake her up almost every night during her servitude in Glass Unicorn. Things were hardly better when she entered Salem's Inner Circle. It was a different type of cold, not caused by weather, it was cold caused by an absence of life. But cold is cold, and by now Cinder was familiar with it.
At some point during the night her blanket slipped away leaving her torso exposed to the fresh air of wintery night. She slowly adjusted the blanket, shielding her body. Soon enough she'd return to sleep, at least she hoped. However, she wasn't so lucky. Cold sensation continued, it was as internal as it was external, and no warm blanket could help against that. From the edge of the bed Cinder observed darkness beneath her, hoping she would eventually fall asleep despite the cold, just like she did for years.
She heard a movement on bed behind her. Cinder sighed, her restlessness must have woke him up as well. There were few more rustles of bed sheets followed by his chest being pressed against her back. He was annoyingly clingy as always, like a humanoid golden retriever.
"What's wrong?" Jaune whispered, pressing his lips against her ear.
"It's nothing." She brushed it off.
"It's hardly nothing when you wake up in the middle of night on the other side of the bed." Jaune complained with a hoarse voice.
"Go back to sleep." Cinder simply replied.
More rustles of bed sheets followed it. She hoped he would roll away to his side of the bed and leave her alone. How naive. Instead he moved even closer, his fingers tracing her collar bone.
"You are cold." He concluded. His fingers continued tracing her exposed neck.
She said nothing. Yes, she was cold, yes, she craved his touch. But that didn't matter, she moved closer to the edge, avoiding his caresses.
"Why don't you let me touch you?" Jaune asked. There was a worry in his voice.
Her behavior was irrational. She was cold, yet she didn't want to let him warm her up. No, it wasn't irrational, it was rational because she didn't deserve it. Throughout all the years of knowing him, all she did was take things away from him. Even when they got together, it was all she did.
"All I do is take warmth away from you." Cinder said.
"You are wrong." He simply retorted.
"No... you touch me, you keep me warm, you do so many things for me. I am selfish, always was, always will be." She continued.
"Cinder, that's not how that works." He sounded tired in more ways than one. "You keep us warm..." Distant scream interrupted his explanation. Scream was followed by loud footsteps approaching their door.
"I'm glad I was already awake for this." Jaune commented, forgetting what he was about to say.
"Glad one of us finds this amusing." She was not gonna fall asleep any time soon.
Thud of footsteps finally stopped in front of their door. Doors loudly creaked as small form launched herself into their room.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Their daughter Charlotte yelled.
"What is it Charlie?" Jaune asked.
"There is a Grimm under my bed!" She loudly explained, hurriedly moving towards Cinder's side of the bed.
"Oh really." Cinder remarked. This was Jaune's fault. She knew it was a horrible idea for Charlotte to watch that dumb action movie. But he insisted, "it's fine I watched this when I was her age" he said. He deserved nothing less than to be sent to Charlotte's room until he brought that nonexistent Grimm's head.
"Well, you heard her, Daddy." Cinder mockingly said. "You need to get rid of that Grimm."
Jaune smiled. He would have probably grumbled about being sent to his daughter's room to kill that Grimm, but it appeared he himself realized this was due to his harebrained idea. So he just wordlessly marched to Charlotte's room, ready to vanquish the Grimm that interrupted his daughter's sleep.
Charlotte dove under blanket next to Cinder. "Will Daddy be alright?" She fearfully asked.
Cinder embraced her daughter before reassuring her. "Daddy will be fine Charlotte. That Grimm stands no chance." Imaginary Grimm was no match for him, he survived cataclysmic disasters and several encounters with Salem. Not to mention threw himself at her several times without any plan in mind. At this point he was too stubborn to die.
"Mommy... why didn't you go there? I thought you were stronger than Daddy." Her silly question only reaffirmed some of Cinder's worries. Even now, Jaune was the one making a sacrifice, as silly as it was. What was she suppose to say to her daughter?
"Oh... I get it." Charlotte concluded. "It's like... like... in the movie." She stuttered. That damn movie again. "Grimm can turn invisible and you are strong like Mr. Dutch so you will protect me in case Grimm followed me here." It was complete nonsense, but it didn't matter to Cinder.
"Yes." Cinder confirmed. "Mommy is gonna protect you just like Mr. Dutch did in the movie." As she said that she embraced her daughter even more tightly.
"I... I... am gonna watch this side you watch the other side." Her daughter instructed her, taking precautions against this supposed invisible Grimm. She will be a great Huntress one day with those instincts.
"No need sweetie." Cinder said, gently caressing her black hair. "Mommy is gonna cast a protective field around you."
"You can do that?"
"Of course." As she said that she started channeling her Semblance through her body, warming up her daughter.
"It's warm." Charlotte groggily said, her eyes slowly closing.
"Of course, that's how you know it works." Cinder concluded. She kissed her daughter's forehead before saying. "Sleep well my little Charcoal."
She closed her eyes hoping to follow her daughter into dreamland, but she couldn't quite reach it. There were still tinges of cold she felt on her back. Door once again creaked open, brave knight returning from his mission.
"Is it dead?" Cinder mockingly asked him.
"It's dead." Jaune laid next to Cinder. "It was one ugly mother..." He started to quote the movie.
"No more movie quotes." She interrupted him.
"It's a great movie." Jaune smiled. "Sorry, it was a bad idea to watch it with Charlie." He apologized
"Don't apologize to me, apologize to her tomorrow... and explain her there is no such a thing as invisible intelligent Grimm hunting Huntsmen." Cinder added.
"Is she asleep?" He asked.
"She is." Cinder confirmed, slowly caressing Charlotte's dark hair.
"She falls asleep so quickly in your embrace." Jaune smiled.
"What is that suppose to mean?" She inquired.
"You are warm Cinder."
"That's just my Semblance."
"No, not like that. You said all you do is take warmth away from me." He returned to their earlier argument. "But that's wrong. I do keep you warm but you return it in other ways. By being yourself you keep both me and Charlie warm." He scooted closer to her, once again tracing fingers over her collar bone. This time Cinder leaned into his touch.
"I'm stubborn sometimes." Cinder admitted. So often she went against what she truly needed. Back when she was allied with Salem she convinced herself she needed power, when in reality she needed love.
Jaune shifted his hand, now embracing her.
"You are. My stubborn little Radiator." Jaune groggily concluded.
She turned her head towards him. "Really? Radiator?" But there was no response. Jaune's eyes were closed and he started snoring. "Radiator." She sighed, to no one in particular.
She finally closed her eyes, this time following Jaune and Charlotte to the dreamland. All she felt, in every fiber of her existence, was warmth.