Beacon Mom and Dad

(OzGlyn Family AU)

The night was blissfully quiet, save for a single ship flying over the countryside of Vale. It was a relatively small, if a bit bulky, craft from Atlas whose only passengers were the pilot and, in the cargo hold amongst the crates of dust, two hunters, trying their best to keep from falling asleep despite their exhaustion. The hunters in question were professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy, and his wife and vice-headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch. At the moment, however, the proud and strong huntsman and huntress who’d help put down the leader of the grimm and who remained two of the greatest warriors yet living didn’t quite look the part. Then again, if you had just completed a mission in the northern outskirts of Atlas to track and eliminate the laboratories of a certain criminal scientist, ending with an arduous battle that lasted the better part of a day, you wouldn’t look your best either.

He was tired, but content when he entered the bedroom he shared with Glynda Goodwitch. Another day was over and Ozpin was looking forward to spending the evening relaxing with the woman he loved.  But his pleasant train of thought was interrupted when he saw Glynda hurriedly stand from where she’d been seated on the bed and thrust something inside the closet. Unfortunately, Ozpin couldn’t tell what the something was. Glynda had moved too fast for him to get a proper look. There was only a slight swirl of fabric and the glint of a hangar before the doors were shut on the mysterious object. Glynda then turned to face him, wearing a placid expression, holding her hands behind her back. Despite her apparent calm, though, there was nervousness in her eyes, like that of a guilty child caught with a toy they shouldn’t have been playing with. Ozpin raised an eyebrow at his vice-headmistress.

Ozpin hadn’t worn a bowtie since he danced as a student at Beacon, so it was only natural that he was out of practice when it came to tying one. Yet, after several minutes of trial and error, he managed to tie it correctly so that it stood like a small butterfly with rectangular wings made of black silk. Despite his success, Ozpin frowned at his reflection.

In celebration of @esperhuntress ’s Ozglyn week:

The first time Glynda found Ozpin asleep at his desk after working late the whole of the previous night, she’d been extremely gentle in waking him. He was sprawled across the glass surface, his head resting on his folded arms, looking like an exhausted angel in the early morning, with his tousled silver hair, the dark circles under his eyes and the light streaming in through the windows behind him. Glynda had been a bit upset when she’d woken up alone in their shared bed, but she softened at the sight of the sleeping headmaster. She leaned close to him and pressed light kisses on his face, stroking his hair and brushing it out of his eyes.

“Ozpin,” she whispered as he stirred in his sleep, “Oz, darling, wake up.”

She kissed him on his forehead and, slowly, Ozpin blinked open his eyes. He looked up at her with the mild confusion of the recently-woken.

“Glynda?” he murmured, then sat up.

When he opened his eyes again, he seemed to finally notice where he was and sighed, rubbing at his temples.

“I fell asleep at my desk, didn’t I?” he asked, his question trailing off into a yawn which he tried and failed to contain.

“You did. I’m guessing over your work.” Glynda nodded, smiling fondly at him and offering him a hand as he stood. “Now let’s get you some coffee before classes start.”

He groaned at the mention of the beverage. He’d never been particularly fond of its taste and had already drunken enough of it as a student to last him a lifetime, at least in his opinion. Glynda heard his expression of distaste and smirked in amusement.

“A necessary evil, Ozpin. If it’ll help you wake up, you’ll just have to bear with it.”

He looked over at her suspiciously.

“Are you considering this payback for not accompanying you to bed last night?”

She shrugged, a rare display of less-than-absolutely-professional behaviour that few had a chance to witness in Glynda Goodwitch.

“I might be.” she admitted.

“Then I promise not to fall asleep at my desk again.” he said.

…

Ozpin had sincerely meant it when he made that promise. But alas, the universe seemed to love conspiring against him. For several days, he ended up falling asleep in his office, neglecting to put a stop to his work and actually go to bed. Glynda put up with this as patiently as she could, but it was really starting to bother her. A few weeks after the headmaster’s first sleepless night of work, she awoke to find, once again, that her partner hadn’t joined her the night before. As he slumbered peacefully in his chair, Glynda left the room and returned barely a few minutes later with a tray bearing a coffee pot and two mugs. She set it down on Ozpin’s desk and gently shook the headmaster’s shoulder. He frowned and muttered something in his sleep about the council before opening his eyes and spotting his vice-headmistress.

“Good morning,” he said, smiling sleepily up at her.

Glynda couldn’t help but smile back, though there was still a trace of disappointment in her eyes.

“Good morning,” she greeted in return, offering him his mug, which he accepted with only a brief frown as he realized what the liquid inside was.

After they’d both taken a few sips of the caffeinated brew, she said:

“You did it again.”

“I know.” he sighed sorrowfully. “I’m sorry, Glyn.”

“I forgive you.” she said, then added, “This time. Just,” she looked over at him with an almost pleading expression, “please try not to again.”

Ozpin shook his head sadly.

“After this, I can’t exactly make any promises.”

Glynda’s exhale made her disappointment clear. She knew perfectly well that he was right and she always appreciated his honesty, but that didn’t make her wake-ups any less lonely. Ozpin saw the sad cloud settling on her features and reached up to turn her face to his. He smiled at her as reassuringly as he could.

“But I will try my best.” he said sincerely.

…

Unfortunately, it seemed that Ozpin’s best wasn’t good enough, at least when it came to thwarting his bad habit of working late. Glynda frowned as the elevator doors opened and she re-entered the office. Marching toward his desk, she set down the coffee tray she was carrying with enough force to lightly rattle the ceramic pot and mugs on the silver dish. Ozpin shifted around slightly, almost awoken by the sound. Before he could fully settle back into slumber, Glynda removed Reign from where it was attached to her boot and extended it with a flick of her wrist. Then she brought it down with a loud SMACK on the desk. Ozpin jumped in his seat and sat up abruptly, startled into wakefulness.

“Good morning.” said Glynda, though her tone didn’t quite match the warmth of the greeting.

She handed Ozpin his mug, already filled with coffee. Wordlessly, Ozpin accepted it and took a sip. He winced internally as the bitter taste washed over his tongue. Now he knew just how annoyed Glynda was (as if the wake-up method hadn’t been enough of a hint): she’d made his coffee black, with no cream or sugar to make it more bearable for him. However, he was smart enough to know that if he did complain, it would be as good as a death wish. He looked up at Glynda and opened his mouth to beg for her forgiveness.

“Before you apologize,” she cut him off before he even uttered a word, “I just want to let you know that this is your last chance, Oz.”

Ozpin nodded. Yet despite still being visibly nervous, inwardly, he felt relieved. This might seem a strange feeling to have at the moment, being as he was still pinned under Glynda’s imperious bright green gaze, but Ozpin had known Glynda long enough to know when she was truly furious. In this case, her tone wasn’t nearly as sharp as he was sure it’d be, not to mention she still used her pet name for him. So, despite appearances, he still had a chance of walking out of this office completely unscathed.

“I mean it. If you do this one more time,” Glynda continued, her fingers tightening just a fraction around the handle of her weapon, “I will not be held responsible for my actions.”

Ozpin swallowed audibly as he noticed her grip on the crop. Suddenly his fortunes didn’t look quite as good as he’d thought only a second ago.

“What kind of actions?” he asked cautiously.

Glynda’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

“Actions that will convey every bit of anger I’ve been building up these past few months.” she said, her voice as cold as winter wind.

…

And there was plenty of anger to be had when, despite everything from Glynda’s threats to his own better judgement, Ozpin spent the following night working. Glynda didn’t even bother checking the office when her eyes snapped open to find, for the umpteenth time, that the bed was empty save for her. She didn’t waste any time venting out her aggression. She simply dressed, slammed open the door and stormed past the desk and to the elevator. When she returned later, she carried no tray, just a steaming mug of coffee. The liquid was pitch-black and just cool enough so that it wouldn’t permanently damage your mouth if you drank it. Now in front of the desk, Glynda stared down at the man collapsed upon it like a falcon that had spotted a helpless rabbit.

You really had to feel sorry for Ozpin at that moment, as Glynda inhaled deeply, held out the mug, then upturned it, dumping its contents right onto the sleeping headmaster. A moment later, a howl of pain rang throughout the halls of Beacon Academy, thoroughly startling the entire population therein.

…

“I did warn you.” said Glynda later as she walked through the courtyard beside him.

There were a few lingering students around, and nearly all them turned their heads towards the two professors as they passed by. Ozpin in particular caught their attention. He was holding a small ice packet on the back of his head, the shadows under his eyes were so pronounced they almost looked like bruises, his hair was rumpled and slightly damp, his green scarf had a stain on it that hadn’t been there the previous day and, most bizarrely, he seemed to be followed everywhere by the faint scent of caffeine.

“I never said you didn’t.” Ozpin muttered testily.

His face was set in a deep frown, so different than his usual calm expression. But then, this wasn’t surprising given the brutality of his wake-up call.

“You said you didn’t expect me to go that far.” Glynda pointed out, scowling at the students as they stared, causing them slink away.

“I meant that I didn’t expect you to go so far as to actually pour burning hot coffee on the back of my head.” Ozpin clarified. “I did anticipate some form of bodily harm. Just not that form in particular.”

He shifted the ice pack on his head to the back of his neck and winced as his warm skin came into contact with the freezing cold bag. Glynda’s eyes flicked downwards. Now that she’d had the chance to calm down, she thought she’d reacted a bit too harshly back in Ozpin’s office. The man was already suffering from sleep-deprivation, self-inflicted though it may be, and punishing him for it wasn’t exactly helping the situation. It seemed cruel to only add to his trouble. Besides, despite her aggravation with his nightly behaviour, she still loved him and never truly wished to hurt him.

“I’m sorry.” she said in a low voice. “I shouldn’t have done it.”

Ozpin blinked in surprise at hearing her utter the apology. His expression softened and his voice, when he spoke, was tired but tender and comforting.

“You were angry, Glynda. I don’t blame you for acting on it.”

“More frustrated than angry, honestly.” Glynda admitted.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

“You nearly burned the back of my head out of frustration?” he asked, his mouth quirking up in a small smirk, much to Glynda’s relief.

“A lot of pent-up frustration that had to released.” she said, fighting back the urge to smile herself.

“A very painful release.” Ozpin added under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.

“Oh, stop it!” she snapped, though she couldn’t keep her laughter out of her voice, which greatly lessened the reprimand. “You’re making me feel guilty enough.”

Ozpin chuckled, then yawned deeply, barely covering his mouth in time.

“Pardon me.” he murmured.

Glynda nodded, all of the mirth fading from her eyes. After a moment of silence, she spoke again:

“You know what I think?”

Ozpin looked over at her, intrigued.

“Do tell.”

“I think you need some motivation to get to bed.” said Glynda.

At her words, Ozpin’s expression shifted suddenly from curiosity to fear.

“Not more coffee please.” he begged, his eyes wide with an emotion never before associated with Ozpin: absolute terror.

Glynda chuckled.

“No,” she said reassuringly, brushing a hand on his shoulder. “I was thinking something different.”

…

Glynda’s “motivation” proved effective. That night, for the first time in weeks, Ozpin slept, in bed, snuggled up to his partner, for a solid 8 hours. He did end up waking early the following morning, but it was by his own volition. And that alone was a blessing and a luxury to the man who’d gotten used to being woken up by a less-than-pleased Glynda Goodwitch. Speaking of Glynda, he noticed that she wasn’t in bed with him. He frowned, disappointed, and then suddenly chuckled to himself. Now he knew how she must’ve felt every morning. He stretched like a contended cat and reached over to the bedside table for his glasses. As he did, he noticed that there were two other objects on the table: a folded piece of paper and his mug. He unfolded the paper, a note from Glynda as it turned out, and read:

‘Good morning Oz, woke up early so I figured I’d get you a drink to help you wake up. Be back with breakfast soon. Love, Glyn’

this is my draw to the OzGlyn Week that @esperhuntress is doing !! 

If one were to tell you out of the blue that Ozpin and Glynda were a couple, you might rightfully be surprised. In fact, your first reaction might be to say that they didn’t act exactly…couple-y. And, to be fair, they didn’t…at least not in the public eye.