Disclaimer: Own. Nada. Prompt: "everything's going to be fine" + bee's schnee
Yang couldn't help smiling as she pulled out aluminum foil, casserole dishes, a spatula, and tongs, eyeing each one in turn before setting it on the counter beside all the spices she'd already collected. It was nice having a much more spacious kitchen than her old, cramped, one bedroom apartment down by the docks, but it wouldn't benefit her much after she finished the prep. Today was definitely a grilling day, when she used their patio to prepare nearly the whole meal, save for a few of the side dishes. It was nice being able to bar-b-que again without getting a nasty-gram from her apartment complex about fire hazards, honestly, and the kitchen was great whenever she used it. Still, she focused on being mindful of her spacing as she went about her prep, pulling out the right cookware for the job and making a mental note to clean up after herself as she went; even if she wasn't the one doing the dishes tonight, she certainly wouldn't want to overburden her girlfriends. Especially since one of them looked like she was on the verge of succumbing to a full blown whirlwind of anxiety at any second, and had been that way for about three hours already.
"Everything's going to be fine," the blonde said, turning towards the refrigerator to avoid the death glare currently boring a hole through her back. "Seriously, babe, you're stressing yourself out! Nothing's going to happen-"
"Yang Xiao Long, you are either the most ridiculously optimistic oaf I've ever met or intentionally trying to get me to let my guard down and, either way, it's not what I need to deal with on top of everything else," the heiress snapped, coming to a halt on the other side of the wide, indoor window that made conversation between the kitchen and living room much easier. Honestly, a big selling point on the place was being able to cook and watch television at the same time, something the taller woman relished on game days. "This is going to be awful and you full well know it."
Blake was sitting on the couch, idly proof reading her latest draft while one ear was cocked towards the argument, a faint hint of amusement tugging at her lips. She'd tried her hand at calming the woman down earlier to much the same reaction, so it was her turn to sit back and see if another go would do the trick or if more drastic measures were necessary.
"Come on, it can't be worse than last year!" Yang chuckled, keeping the time in the back of her mind as she gauged where to start.
"Why would you jinx us like that?"
"Ha! Don't tell me you're superstitious, Princess," she said, throwing a winning smile through the opening. "You've already crossed a black cat's path a couple times!"
"And invoked my ancient curse." The Faunus offered dryly, red ink spilling from her pen as she marked in a correction. "Non holiday related family gatherings once a year, for as long as the three of us shall live. Oh, woe is you."
It was becoming something of a tradition, though the suggestion that it might continue in that vein was highly contested by Weiss at every turn. While the shorter woman was perfectly fine interacting with her uptight relatives occasionally, and had no qualms about the blonde's rather eccentric family or Blake's adoptive parents, putting the three groups together to watch a very specific football game somehow equated to a disaster in progress to the heiress. To be fair, Yang's entire family were born and bred fanatics for one side, and the Schnees literally owned the other, so there was some basis for concern.
Plus, there was… precedent.
"Last year, Winter threw your Uncle through a window, Yang." Weiss pointed at the newly replace pane for emphasis and, yeah, that didn't go over so well. "Granted, she was entirely justified-"
"Princess," the blonde said, a slight warning in her tone.
Her girlfriend crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, she was mostly justified."
"I'm actually with Weiss on this one." Her other girlfriend chimed in, pausing in her editing to look at Yang over the back of the couch. "Qrow did start it."
"Well, yeah, but that was only because he was drunk." The dual stares she received had Yang turning back to her task, grabbing one of the few knives her paranoid girlfriend hadn't locked in their safe to start chopping up the veggies. Some of them would be sautéed for toppings, some roasted on the side, and others skewered for kabobs. She liked to think she prepared a decently diverse menu for the evening, considering the guests they'd be entertaining. Seeing the strict, elder Schnee sister eating ribs was going to be a blast, if she actually dared to try them. Winter had given the burgers she'd cooked last year a shot, though, so there was hope yet, and an unending stream of remarks on how 'barbaric' it was, probably. "Anyway, that's not the first time he's been chucked through glass and it probably won't be the last, with the way he carries on sometimes. But I talked to him this year and he's been stone cold sober for six months. That counts for something, right?"
"Plus, Ruby will be here- he usually at least tries to behave around her." Blake pointed out, pen returning to softly scratch against the paper in her hands. "And you said you talked to Winter, so Yang's right. Everything's going to be fine."
For a few moments, the house quieted until only the sounds of the Faunus' writing and Yang's chopping could be heard. The blonde was counting the seconds mentally, certain that it was only a matter of time before Weiss would go back to fretting over every little thing, as per her usual. But when nearly three minutes elapsed without so much as a peep from her, Yang turned her attention back to the living room. Instantly, her smile dropped, lilac eyes landing on the quiet heiress as she stood, stock still, with her gaze downcast.
"Weiss?" Setting aside the knife, she turned to start walking around the wall separating the two rooms when she heard the stilted, broken inhale that was a telltale indication that there was something much deeper running through the woman's head. Putting aside the idea of taking any longer than necessary, the blonde vaulted over the counter and through the window, thankful she maintained such a vigorous workout routine to make such a motion fluid, and landed heavily on the other side.
Blake, having looked up at the concern she could hear in her girlfriend's tone, shot off the couch and wrapped her arms around the heiress, nearly sending them tumbling to the ground in her haste to reach the distressed woman. The blonde was there a moment later, steadying both of them as she pulled her girlfriends into her chest. Even if she'd become far more relaxed in displaying her emotions since the triad started dating, which was made evident once they started living together, there was always a point where Weiss would draw a line, burying things as deep as she could reach. Stopping her from retreating into herself was a battle the two remaining members of the triad were forced to fight with great care, but they somehow managed it, now that they knew a few tricks.
"Princess, it's okay." The Faunus' voice was just a murmur, holding Weiss with arms around her waist in an embrace that was gentle enough to comfort while allowing her the option to pull away if she so desired. It was rare but, sometimes, the woman didn't want to be comforted, and those times were the hardest for her girlfriends to take, but if the infinitesimal amount she moved towards Blake was any indication, this thankfully wasn't one of those times. "We're here."
"What's got ya down?" Yang lowered her voice too, sneaking in a quick kiss to the shorter woman's temple as she rubbed her arm gently, her own arm slung around shoulders wracked with tension. "You can tell us."
They were quiet, standing together in the middle of their living room, two waiting patiently as the third tried, and failed, to voice whatever had managed to shake her so thoroughly. The blonde had a hunch it had something to do with her family- although Winter was a loving, if a bit cold, older sister, the remainder often sparked mixed emotions in Weiss- but she wouldn't broach the topic herself, not unless it became obvious that a nudge was needed, and something in the way the Faunus' ears were canted indicated she wasn't alone in that suspicion. Finally, the mental block that was always erected out of habit seemed to break, allowing the heiress to speak up.
"My father's coming." Her voice was barely above a whisper, almost too soft to hear, but both of her girlfriends couldn't help but jolt from the shock.
The three of them had officially started their relationship four years ago. A little over two, they'd moved in together, and while things hadn't always been perfect, things were relatively great. However, introducing lovers to family was a nerve wracking trial for so-called 'conventional' relationships as it was, so it of course provided some interesting obstacles in theirs. Yang's treated the process with the same perpetual optimism that they did with everything else, even if she had grown a bit weary of all the 'like father, like daughter' jokes from pretty much everyone, her Uncle especially. Blake's parents were a little confused but pleasant regardless, though there was sometimes a slightly inappropriate but well intended question from them that the blonde was forever forbidden from answering after the last time. Although she thought it was a harsh restriction, she did have to acknowledge that it had taken at least three months before it could be brought up without her worrying her girlfriends would faint from the blood rushing to fill their cheeks.
Weiss was, as usual, different. Aside from her sister, the rest of the Schnees hadn't made appearances at the triad's home- not for holidays, not for birthdays outside of a brief phone call, and certainly not for any other event in their busy lives. Although the heiress attended to whatever parties or social gatherings demanded the entire family be present, she showed up as late as could be deemed socially acceptable and left as early as possible, returning home and spending the rest of the night alternating between apologies for going unescorted and assurances that it was better that way. Personally, Yang watched enough of the sports news networks to know who Jacques Schnee was and he had a fairly distinctive look, but not having met him didn't bother her. It was bound to happen eventually, of course, but she could bide her time until then.
Now, though, she had to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
"He… does know that most of us are rooting against his team, right?" She couldn't help but wince. Ever since she was a little girl, the blonde had rooted for the local team, and while neither of her girlfriends cared much for sports- Blake out of apathy and Weiss out of a cold detachment for it, being the family business and all- she was something of an obnoxious fan when they were winning. Part of what made tensions so high during this newly annual tradition was the fact that the Schnees in attendance were definitely outnumbered and Winter had a tendency to take it personally when the team that her family owned lost against that of the Xiao Long-Branwen-Rose clan.
Yang was trying to get better, of course, for everyone's sake, but sometimes it was just too easy to overdo her celebrations, something the heiress had adopted as a way of turning the tables on her girlfriend. It was aggravating the first time but, eventually, she came to recognize and appreciate the distinction between when she was being animated for the sake of annoyance and when she was genuinely celebrating a good play.
"I haven't told him yet," Weiss said, ducking her head a little more. "There's a chance Winter did, though, seeing as she is the one who invited him."
"Hoo boy." The blonde blinked, suddenly distracted. "I hope I got enough food."
"In a few hours, you two are going to meet my father, the very owner of the team you absolutely despise, and we are then going to watch a contest between the two to see who will win, and the last time this happened, my sister threw your Uncle through a window, which was an improvement over the year before." The heiress quickly surmised, looking up enough to the exasperation and anxiety to be easily seen shining in her eyes. "How can you possibly think of food at a time like this?"
"Because she's right," Blake replied, a small smile on her lips as she nodded towards the blonde. "Everything's going to be fine, Princess. If things start to boil over, we'll put a stop to it."
"That's what you said last year." She paused. "And the one before that, if I recall."
"Well, third time's the charm, right?" Yang grinned, sneaking in another kiss to her girlfriend's cheek.
The Faunus opted to take things a step further, coaxing Weiss into a proper kiss that went on nearly to the point of obscenity, the heiress' arms reaching up to pull their girlfriend's body firmer against hers. When they broke apart- breathless and with a touch of pink to their cheeks- Weiss immediately turned her head, allowing Yang to have her turn. Really, any other occasion and she'd at least suggest they relocate to the bedroom for a bit of physical reassurance, but she really needed to get started on cooking.
Once the second kiss ended, the heiress took a moment to just bask in her girlfriends' warmth, voicing no protest when Blake guided her head to rest between the blonde's chest and against her own shoulder, bare thanks to the black tank top. Yang rested her chin atop snow white locks and just smiled, pulling them both a little firmer against her.
"No matter what happens today, we'll still be together. Even after your boys get crushed for the third year in a row."
Despite the pinch to her side she received for that joke, the blonde couldn't help but laugh as she flinched away, weathering yet another lecture about 'ruining the moment' while their girlfriend tried and failed to suppress her smile.
Six Hours Later
Yang took a deep breath in and slowly released it. "Well… we said we were going to tear down the gazebo anyway."
"Tear it down, Yang." The heiress grounded out through tightly clenched teeth and a tense jaw. "Not burn it down."
Lilac eyes traced the embers floating on the wind for a moment before she looked over at the perpetrators. Qrow was glumly glaring at her father, who seemed equally unhappy with the other man, while Winter sat just over arm's length away from her brother, Whitley, who was somehow also invited along. While the former Schnee looked absolutely pissed- and perhaps a touch remorseful- the latter was fighting to keep a grin from appearing, the two being carefully watched by Blake's parents to prevent any further incidents. Their father was a bit busy looking at the fire, his expression as impenetrable as he always appeared during interviews.
Okay, so maybe things didn't go as well as the triad had hoped.
There was enough food, though, despite the extra guests, so that was good, and they probably wouldn't have leftovers if the firefighters were hungry.
"The fire department is on the way, but it's going to take a while," Blake said, returning from placing the call and coming to stand beside the furious heiress. "Traffic's pretty bad."
The fire department was on the way, their gazebo was on fire, half of the attendees were very nearly under citizen's arrest, all of them were covered in bar-b-que sauce and other bits of food from the impromptu brawl… and the game hadn't even started yet.
Logically, there was only one thing to do.
Turning on heel, the blonde ducked into the house, stopping by the kitchen and pantry before returning outside, her arms full. Unfortunately, that earned her Weiss' barely restrained ire.
"Yang." She set her hands on her hips, glaring at the foodstuffs and skewers.
"Hey, we might as well make the best of it." She shrugged, looking down at the graham crackers, marshmallows, and bars of chocolate she was carrying. "I mean, we can make at least one before the firefighters show up."
"And we did skip dessert." The Faunus pointed out, alleviating Yang of the skewers and marshmallows, opening the bag to they could start the process. It was something of a joke between them- how the golden crackers represented Yang, the chocolate Blake, and the marshmallows Weiss, and together they were delicious- but making s'mores was their go-to pick-me-up when things were really tough. "It's better than just standing here being angry. The game doesn't start for another half hour."
"You're both impossible." Although she acted like it was the very last thing she wanted to entertain doing at the moment, Weiss accepted the skewer handed to her by the Faunus, huffing out a muttered thanks. A bump to her shoulder brought the flicker of a smile, blue meeting amber for a moment before she approached the fire to start roasting.
Yang set down the crackers and chocolate for the moment on the table she'd used to hold her cooking utensils earlier, accepting a skewer for herself when she returned.
For a moment they just watched their girlfriend, pale skin given a warm glow by the fire.
"She's going to blame herself for this, you know." Blake muttered, fixing her own marshmallow at the end of her stick. "Or demand we hire a security team next year."
"We'll talk her out of it. Both things," she replied, giving her girlfriend a lopsided smile. "But the security team might not be such a bad idea."
With a fond roll of her eyes, the Faunus made to approach the fire but stopped short when she noticed the Schnee patriarch looking at her. Yang watched them both, noting the faint quiver in Blake's feline ears before she offered up a skewer wordlessly to the man.
He accepted it, turning the stick over before raising his gaze to look between them.
Taking a gamble, the blonde decided to break the silence. "Ever made a s'more before?"
"No… but I'm familiar with the concept." His lips twitched, pulling a marshmallow from the bag himself before continuing. "My people are conducting some marketing research into taking full advantage of rivalry games. We're also looking at catching the attention of non-sports fans with our apparel line and we were considering hiring a guest columnist for the organization's magazine. I think the… rather unique input the two of you have might be of some value to them." Turning towards the fire, he spoke over his shoulder, apparently not anticipating a response. "I'll forward the details to Weiss."
Slowly, the two turned their heads and looked at each other, both shocked by their girlfriend's father's attitude. He'd remained rather quiet the whole night through an apparent sheer force of will, only barking out orders for his children to stop bickering once it was too late to stop it.
And, sure, it wasn't a 'yes, I accept both of you dating my daughter' but it wasn't a 'get out of her life immediately' either which, for their first meeting with Mr. Schnee that involved sirens in the distance, was probably a good sign. They were already warned multiple times that endearing oneself to the man wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, but they must've done something right.
With a full blown smile on her face, Yang hurried over to stand beside the heiress, their girlfriend joining them a moment later after the skewers were handed out- and solemn promises were made by Qrow, Winter, and Whitley to use them for roasting marshmallows only- and everyone gathered around the poor gazebo.
Gently, she nudged Weiss' shoulder with her own, lowering her voice as she leaned in close.
"See? Told you. Everything's fine."
Blue eyes shot to her, but it was obviously taking effort for the heiress to pretend she was still upset. "I blame both of you for talking me into allowing this catastrophe… but I suppose it could've been worse."
Blake leaned around the blonde to flash a teasing smirk. "Don't worry; there's always next year."
"You're both incorrigible." Weiss huffed. "But I love you both anyway."
"Heh, love you too, Princess."
A/N: I'll be honest; this was not the first thing I wrote for this prompt. The other thing was… not as lighthearted as I tried to make this and I didn't think that would be welcomed, all things considered. Writing is my coping mechanism. Originally posted to Tumblr. Also, expect this to be a collection of one-shots, scenes that come to me, and/or prompts that I don't feel like posting as their own separate thing.