The following is rated T for mature situations and may not be suitable for young readers.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real persons or events is unintentional.
The author recommends using 1/2 story width to best enjoy the story.
DISCLAIMER:
The story elements and characters
depicted are the property of Monty
Oum and RoosterTeeth Productions.
The Author claims no ownership and
writes with authorization from ffnet.
Foreword: The following oneshot is inspired by Chloe Agnew's rendition of "The Last Rose of Summer", written in 1805 by Thomas Moore.
There's no reason to, and no reason not to love
"...many, many years aft'r the great destruction of the land..."
Yang's eyes fluttered weakly as she struggled to stay awake until the end of the story. In her mind she could imagine the traveler, a little girl who looked just like her, helping everyone. She'd heard this story many times, knew how it began and ended through and through.
"...a young traveler visit'd the people, and helped ta heal their war torn country. The people of th'land were etern'lly grateful to the traveler, but when they ask'd him fer his name—"
Thud. The sound of the door opening and closing broke Summer's concentration for just a moment, long enough to see that Yang Xiao Long was already fast asleep, her curly golden locks framing her beautiful face as a trickle of drool began to ebb from her lips. With a happy sigh, she wiped away the drool with her cape and rolled little Yang onto her back. Taking one last look at Yang's gently rising and falling chest, Summer slid silently through the door, careful to leave it open just a crack, before making her way downstairs.
Taiyang was already up the third step when he noticed her coming down, and smiled apologetically. As he opened his mouth to greet her she put a finger to her lips and looked back at Yang's door while shaking her head, before motioning to the living room behind him.
"I just put 'er ta bed," Summer explained in hushed tones as they moved back downstairs, cutting him off as she moved to disrobe his cloak, tattered from his last mission. "Come, let's sit at the table and I'll make us tea."
"Thanks," Taiyang grunted gratefully, lead by Summer's hand to a chair he could melt into. He leaned back and let out an exhausted groan of pain, rolling his shoulder as he massaged his upper arm. "I can't thank you enough for everything you do for me. You and Qrow..."
"Now, now, none'a that," she chided daintily as she stepped on her tiptoes to reach the kettle on the shelf. Filled with water, she set it on the stove and retrieved the teacups. "Goldilocks 'n I made potato salad. It's quite nice on crackers."
Taiyang watched her work, mind empty of almost all thought except for the nostalgia of days long gone. He blinked his eyes for just a moment, and the small pale woman before him transformed into a tall, ravishing beauty. His felt his chest clench and looked away guiltily, fiddling with his armor clasps and hoping she wouldn't notice.
Of course Summer had seen it: The way his eyes glazed over and seemed to droop, the sadness in them. But it was easy for her to pretend she hadn't and just steep the tea and scoop little portions of potato salad next to humble stacks of crackers.
Sweeping over the table with her arms, she placed a steaming cup in front of Taiyang. She took a minute more to clean and put away the kitchenware and took a seat his left. He was still looking away from her, most of his armor piled neatly next to the table and his eyes drawn to the cloudy sky outside. She cleared her throat and he looked at her again—looked at Summer Rose again.
"Thank you," he mumbled quietly.
"Of c'rse, Taiyang. I know I c'n count on you 'n Qrow ta comf'rt me aft'r a hard job." Her eyes twinkled in the shrouded moonlight as she paused to blow on her tea. "Government give you any trouble?"
"No, not much. The nomads were much worse," Taiyang answered quickly. He took a deep draft of the tea, savoring its smooth warmth as it washed down his throat and cleaned and wetted his dry palette. Clearing his throat, he set the cup down with a precipitating thud and folded his hands together, looking at Summer seriously. "And that's not what I mean, Summer. I'm very grateful to you for looking out for my daughter. I don't think I'd be able to do it without you, or Qrow. Yang, especially, she's—"
"—wonderful. Now eat." Summer interrupted, shoving a cracker piled with potato salad in his face. She waved it around until he reluctantly took it from her and ate it. As he chewed, she continued, "She misses you a lot, Taiyang. She wants to play with her father."
"...I know, and I'm s—""
"—Y'keep apologiz'n, silly man." She took a small bite of salad and cracker and went on. "She was tellin' me 'bout the planetarium t'day. Went with'er schoolmates. Really liked it."
"…ah…" He fell silent, and Summer cringed at the shame visible on his face. She had only meant to drop a suggestion, not embarrass him. An awkward silence overtook the kitchen as they quietly ate and sipped tea.
Hoping to cheer him up, she got up and went into Yang's playroom, otherwise known as Taiyang's office. He followed her with his eyes, too tired to go after her or inquire her purpose, but eyed the paper in her hand curiously as she returned to present it to him. The color returned to his face a little, a proud smile inching its way across his cheeks.
"Made 'erself the traveler, cheeky girl," she tittered, leaning over and pointing at the third figure, herself. "See that? You 'n me, and there's Qrow."
Taiyang smiled a little more and nodded, ignoring the flush on Summer's cheeks. "She loves that story, makes me tell it to her maybe a hundred times a night when I'm home, and she still never falls asleep."
"That's b'cause y'suck at tellin' it," Summer smirked and elbowed him teasingly. "I c'n never get to th'endin' with 'er. Out like a light, she goes!"
He ducked under her overenthusiastic hand gesture, and she shot him a playful smile.
"You have a way with her," he reasoned while shrugging. "Yang adores you. I'm actually a little jealous. A lot jealous."
"Oh…" She could feel the heat coming through her cheeks and turned away shyly. "'s'nothin'..."
He sat up straighter, determined to press the compliment. Reaching for her hand, he insisted, "No, really. You're amazing, Summer. I don't know what I'd do without y—"
"Taiyang, don't…" She withdrew sadly. "Y'know how I feel, so please understand."
Truthfully, it had occurred to him that the situation was going somewhere awkward, but he'd been trying to ignore it. Now that she was confronting the context that he was trying so hard to ignore, he was at a loss for words and couldn't look her in the eyes.
"There y'go, again, not lookin' at me," Summer scolded softly. She sat down and buried her face in her hands. The sadness in her soft voice brought his eyes down to the table. "Why d'you look away, look sad? Look at me, Taiyang. Tai!"
Hearing her use his pet name that way made him look up at her in anger, fist clenched. He refused to give a response to provocation, but she wasn't waiting for one in the first place.
"I know! I know who yer lookin' at when y'can't look at me! And I know you don't mean it, and I'm not mad!" She shakes her head in affirmation. "I know you know I'm not her! Do you understand?"
He looked back at his clenched fist and sighed. Taking another sip of tea, Taiyang massaged his forehead and groaned. "Why are you telling me this...?"
"B'cause I love you, stupid!" She stood up suddenly, prompting Taiyang to recoil away from her in surprise. "I know it 'n you know it! Qrow knows it, and she knew it too and—and I—"
Tears began trickling down Summer's cheeks, shimmering in the glow of the candle. She sniffled and wiped her face.
"I want t'help you, Taiyang! I want t'be there for you, but I don't want t'hurt you!" Her heart throbbed painfully as she sat back down for a third time and held herself, trying to hold back all of the emotions she wanted to let out all at once: All of the buried passion and longing that she'd been setting aside, and never truly dealing with. "I want you t'be sad with me, Taiyang. I want you t'cry and weep and feel bad, so that maybe we can all have fun again, like b'fore..."
Grimacing, Taiyang realized he'd been so caught up in self-pity that he'd forgotten about Summer's feelings for him. He thought—no, convinced himself—that she'd forgotten about them, gotten over them at some point. But that had just been wishful thinking. It helped him brush off the responsibility of maintaining a healthy relationship with her so that he could wallow in despair.
"I need ya t'cry, Taiyang. I know it's not my place t'ask, but I need ya t'let yer guard down. B'cause I can't stand it when y'look at me like that, and then y'look really sad. What am I s'posed to do, Taiyang? I can't leave you alone, but when y'look at me, y'get sad."
The tears were welling hot in his eyes now too, and he took deep, slow breaths to try and hold them in. But now he didn't feel he had a reason to hide it. It would be selfish and lazy of him to push Summer away from him, away from Yang, and alienate everyone from one another. But it would be just as wrong of him to continue to allow her to take advantage of his feelings, and take advantage of hers in return.
"We need to stop—" he started, and then his voice failed him. A low growl escaped him as he suppressed the urge to cry out in deep pain. Clutching his face to hide the escaping tears, he began to weep. "We have to stop—c-can't keep taking advantage of each other—!"
"Oh god," Summer slumped over and laughed bitterly. "Oh, god, you do get it. We've been on the same page this whole time and all I had t'do t'get you to talk about it is make y'tea."
She exhaled and with it, released the weight of the thoughts she'd been harboring. It was all out on the table now and, for better and worse, hopefully she and her comrade could find some way to move on with their lives. They sat in a sad yet amiable silence for a several whiles more, and finally she opened her mouth to speak.
"'m sorry, Taiyang. I just—I've been want'n to get that off m'chest for a while."
"No, it's okay... I'm sorry, too. I've been ignoring it because I'm only thinking about myself... I'm still—" he struggled to find a better word.
"—damaged—" She resisted a smirk as he cringed.
"—yeah..." It hurt to admit, but he had to swallow his pride. "And I know—"
As they talked, the tension dissipated. Suddenly, Taiyang felt stupid for having an emotional breakdown, but seeing Summer's tear-stained eyes reminded him that she was hurting, too. He needed to have the courage to face himself. For the sake of his daughter, and for his friends and family, he had to win.
"I know I need to fix myself, but I don't know how. I don't—" he took another breath as he stumbled over the words. "I don't know what to do or—or even what to say…"
As Taiyang spoke, he screwed up his face with intense emotion, and suddenly Summer started laughing. It caught him off guard, but his confused, teary eyed expression only made her laugh more, and she had to bury her face in her cloak to muffle the sound.
"Yer face—!" she blurted out. "Yer so unmanly, Taiyang... God, I'm sorry—ahem! Hah...!"
Taiyang blushed and looked away, frustrated. She reached for a paper towel to wipe his face, and then hers. "Look't me, flirtin' with you while we're havin' such a serious conversation...! God, I'm awful. We're both awful, y'know that?"
He took a deep breath and sighed. The tension was completely gone now, and he felt a lot better, like she'd tied their burdens together and they'd fallen away. The longer he looked at her smile and laughter wrinkled face, the sillier he felt.
"Summer, would you refuse me if I asked you to stay with me, tonight...?"
Still giggling, she wiped more leftover tears from the corners of her eyes and shook her head. "Y'just can't let a nice moment be, can you?"
Her smile was infectious, and he was sure his face was only looking sillier as he stubbornly fought it. They cleaned up the kitchen, and his armor and, surprisingly, Summer was the one to lead him upstairs. She didn't have any clothes to change into, and he would have felt awkward sleeping with her in his pajamas, so he changed into a fresh set of day clothes and pulled her into his arms.
"You're not cold, Summer?"
She shook her head and gazed up at him, brow furrowed.
"Tai," she called softly, experimentally, wary for any change in his expression. He frowned a little, deciding how to react, but eventually closed his eyes and relaxed, as though accepting it. A cute smile spread across her face, and she snuggled closer into his chest while lacing their fingers together.
He opened an eye to peek at her face. It was an adorable smile, an innocent smile like the kind she'd used to wear in their school days, before adult life made everything more… complicated.
Right now wasn't a time to be complicated. Right now was a time to be simple.
"Summer…" he called back, smiling to himself sheepishly and feeling like a little kid.
"Tai," she answered, squirming happily in his embrace and rubbing her rosy cheeks against him.
"Summer."
"Tai..."
They whispered back and forth for a while, the intervals spacing out until eventually they both fell asleep. In the hallway a light came on, then turned off. Yang stumbled from the bathroom back to her room, but stopped to admire dad and mama Summer hugging each other on the bed.
"Mmm…" she groaned sleepily. She wanted to crawl between them, but they didn't have a blanket and she was cold. Besides, they looked so happy, she didn't want to bother them. Pulling her sheets over herself, Yang returned to the land of dreams where she was the traveler, traveling through a strange and wonderful land and helping everyone she met along the way.
Afterword: Listening to "Last Rose of Summer" over and over again may convince you that Summer's voice has to have an Irish accent. As an American, I don't really know what an Irish accent is, so I spent about an hour watching online videos of Irish people talking. Summer's dialogue is the result, and you may verify its authenticity—or lack thereof—for yourself.
The bedtime story Summer is telling to Yang is "The Legend of Razgriz" from Ace Combat 5. I tried to not be too literal in referencing that in the story, but for those of you who were wondering, yes: A Blue Dove for the Princess.