A/N: So hey, been a while huh? I dont really have any excuses, the fic writing thing was too much for me and I bailed. I do apologize for people who were looking forward to it but it's a bitch to have motivation to write when nothing is really going write for you. Had to repost this, so sorry for the double emails. Please review, even if you hated it.
As usual, Jaune woke to the taste of hair. Sighing lazily, he moved the strands from his face – carefully, of course – before turning over to bury his neck in the soft blonde down. Wrapping his hands around his wife's torso, he squeezed her closer. The only reaction was a protesting murmur as his body molded into hers; the blankets snug around their bodies as snow dotted the landscape outside. This was what contentment was for the knight. Not even the shock of cold metal ruined the moment, and he opted to keep his hands where they were to warm the appendage. Right before he could fall back asleep, Yang woke with a start, her eyes lazy as she tried to remember where she was. A small kiss on her neck jolted her out of her reverie and she giggled as she turned her head back to steal a kiss from his lips.
"It's snowing. We don't need to wake up right now" Jaune's hot breath tickled her neck as he squeezed her even closer.
"You know they'll be here any moment now. You sure you want to spend the time sleeping?" and Yang was sure her smile was audible if the smirk she felt against her neck was any indication. But wait, what was this? No other reaction? Not even a poke? That simply wouldn't do. She had a reputation to keep as the sexy one, and even though they were alone it was the principle of the thing, dammit. Slowly her hand clasped his and she started moving it higher. If he was against it, he made no motion to stop. Not that he would. Right before she was sure vindication would be hers, the door blasted open as if torn by an Ursa.
"GET UP, ITS SNOWING" was all the warning she got before a weight crashed on either side of them. She debated finishing her ministrations but Jaune snatched his hand away and instantly turned away tucking something else in his hands as he spread the blanket over himself once again. Sometimes it was glaringly obvious how much control her daughter had on her husband as compared to her. The man had not yet said no to her once, and whoever would have thought Yang would end up being the strict parent. Not that she was perfect at it. A small, lithe form nestled itself in her chest and she couldn't help another snort of laughter.
"I thought you wanted us to get up, hmm" she breathed into the short blonde hair of her son who murmured, sending rumbles through her body.
"Yknow she won't get up and dad won't make her so I'd rather do the same with you". Another contented purr escaped from his chest as Yang stroked his hair before he piped up again.
"Also you're warmer"
"NO SHES NOT" a shrill voice permeated through the woolen curtain as her daughter poked her head above her father's embrace. "Daddy's warmer, so stop trying to make me jealo- aiiee" her voice was drowned as she was dragged back into the abyssal depth of her father's chest.
"Let them be sweetie, you remember who won the last contest we had don't you?" a gravelly voice called out and the brawler couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"Mooom he's doing it again" squealed the arms as they tightened around her. Their daughter might have had him wrapped around her finger but her son knew just the right words to trigger her maternal instincts. It was time for drastic measures.
Stretching her arms luxuriously, Yang made sure to get her locks all over the father-daughter duo – not without indignant protests from her wildcat of a daughter of course – before addressing her son as if it was only the two of them there.
"Don't worry hun, I made your daddy beg for mercy for so long a few days ago he couldn't get up the next day", and that triggered a reaction as Jaune finally turned over, his eyes flat as her daughter's horrified pout threatened to set her on fire.
"No you didn't, daddy beats you easily"
"No he doesn't" her son, bless his pure heart, immediately came to her defense. "Auntie Ruby, aunt Nora and everyone else said mom could easily beat dad in a fight".
"Jee Nora, thanks for the team loyalty" Jaune complained as he turned to lie down on his back while their kids traded barbs over their bodies.
Their argument had taken the form of a din she had learned to ignore for her own wellbeing as she tried to close her eyes to will the rest of her grogginess away. That would work right? But before she got far their youngest (And never did his sibling let him forget it. Twelve seconds might as well have been an eternity when it came to twins as they had soon found out) held her face in his soft hands forcing her attention to him.
"We need to get up, the best spots are going to be taken if we don't get there soon."
"Where are we going?" she replied as her lips curled into an involuntary smile at his beaming face.
"SLEDDING" her ears protested as her daughter jumped over Jaune to speak into her ear but she was saved by any further screaming courtesy of her son pushing his sister back over to her side of the bed.
"The hill near our school, mom. It's perfect and a ton of my friends said they would go there once it snowed."
"Isn't that pretty steep?" Jaune's eyes were narrowed as her son faltered with a guilty smile.
"Well, there's teachers there with kids and all my friends parents take them there too and there's snow so it's safe so can we go pleaseeee" he drew out the last word, hoping that neither of them would notice that he hadn't answered the question. Before Jaune could respond Yang was up, her hands filled with 6 year old boy as she carried him to the door.
"Alright, go get ready for breakfast then we'll head out" she pinched his butt as he squeaked happily before rushing to the toilet. Now came the daunting task of getting her eldest out. She knew for a fact that her daughter was probably equally as excited for the trip. But the competitive streak in the women of the Arc-Xiao Long household was something to behold. Her daughter was firmly in her father's camp and made it no secret who her favorite parent was. Oh sure, she did come running to Yang as quickly as she did to Jaune when she'd had a nightmare, but the fact remained that mother-son's easygoing bond was something she was undoubtedly jealous of. Hence the overcorrection with her father, which to Yang's chagrin, he encouraged heartily.
"Come on, both of you up" and Jaune grinned as he realized her veiled command for both of them. This would stretch out much longer if she was the only one dictating the pace of the day, and her sweet, loving husband, was requested to ensure that their daughter was out of bed and getting ready.
"Go on sunshine, you need to get ready before your brother does or he'll eat all the pancakes again"
If only her egging had a similar effect, but the lines had been firmly drawn and Yang's daughter had learned how her mother tried to leverage her competitive nature to get her to listen. It had worked for a blissfully short time before the jig had been up. Perhaps if she got her sibling into the fray it would work again?
Either way, the next thing she knew a blonde head of hair as thick as hers was rushing out. No doubt squealing protests were going to follow soon.
"Thank you for that" Yang rolled her eyes at the grinning man in her bed as she turned to head towards the toilet.
The steps were loud and she could easily have moved away but she never did. Strong arms wrapped harshly around her torso as he breathed in her scent. "Ew, don't smell me. I'm gross right now" but still she made no move to get free.
"Really?" Jaune asked with genuine curiosity as he returned to their interrupted ministrations, feathering her body with his calloused hand through her shirt as it rose higher, and higher until-
"I don't think so. You didn't seem to be in the mood to play earlier did you" Yang chimed as she spun out of his grasp leaving him with a forlorn look that almost made her melt. Oh who was she kidding, it melted her instantly.
"Although the water seems like it would be pretty cold today" she remarked quietly. "Wonder how Im gonna deal with the shower, damn".
Her trap set, she picked up a towel ready to head inside with a snigger before a shrill voice carried through the hallway.
"MOMMM, she's hogging all the toothpaste and won't give me any!"
"He's LYING, he eats the toothpaste so I took it away."
"I do NOT, IDIOT"
There was a heavy sigh behind her as footsteps trudged out into the hallway and Yang couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Warmth would not have been remiss at a time like this.
The trip had taken barely a half hour before the pristine, alabaster hills had been revealed. Jaune's eyes scrunched in worry as he saw the height but she clasped his arm with a reassuring nod. The sleds had been a gift from their aunt Ruby, who Jaune was convinced had secretly bought a third for herself. There were children everywhere as had been foretold, and he saw multiple couples mixing together.
"Ugh, that's their second grade science teacher, Ms. Havisham. I swear she hates me more than Salem did" his wife snorted as she pointed to a prim and matronly woman weaving through the trees talking to parents. The hill was on school property after all, and she was most probably there to oversee the festivities lest some teenagers show up with their own brand of trouble. Jaune shook his head as he smiled.
"You said the same thing about my parents and look at you now. I swear they call you twice as much as they call me", and the mention of the greater Arc family had his wife beaming again.
"Well naturally. I'm me, why would they not want to prioritize a glamorous celebrity huntress" came the reply as she struck a pose, looking truly heroic by accident with the backdrop of the city behind her.
"Mom, dad, stop showing off!" came the embarrassed whine from below as Jaune looked behind to see a number of children – as well as parents – looking at his wife. "I wanna go sledding now pleaseeee", and Yang looked sheepish as she bent down towards the oddly synchronized pair of twins, the four of them setting about the task of preparing the sleds for their maiden voyage.
It took only a few moments before Jaune and his daughter were ready, the firecracker rearing to go but held in place by her mother's look as Yang ensured they had everything tucked in. By the time she was done, the two were close to bursting out in a simultaneous whine and as soon as she said "alright" they were off. Jaune's heart sped up considerably as they sped down the incline, normalizing only when they came to a stop and squealing laughter reached their ears. A hard arm linked in his, but he grasped the metal fingers as tightly as he could as a contented sigh left his side.
"You know" he started, "sometimes, I feel like I'm not worthy".
Curious lilac eyes pored over his face with a raised eyebrow.
"You know, of them. Of this moment. Of watching them grow like this. Of you."
The metal fingers tightened. "I think the same sometimes. Why should I get so much happiness after what we've been through? Surely others are more deserving than I am?"
His answer was immediate, as he leaned into her ear "That's silly. You're the best mother they could have. You saved the world at an age where no one would have blamed you for walking away. You're kind, beautiful, an-"
A laugh broke his train of thought as lilac eyes smirked at cerulean.
"I could say the same of you, you know."
And immediately Jaune had to shake his head. How he had fallen for something so transparent he would never know, but that didn't mean there was no cause to worry.
"Well how about this, we remind each other of this whenever we're feeling sorry for ourselves."
"Deal" her nose scrunched up as his wife leaned up to plant a kiss on his lips. It had been completely chaste but that didn't stop the pawing hands and protesting tantrums as their kids reamed them for embarrassing them in front of everyone.
"Alright, alright fine" he tried to placate the two of them as Yang just defiantly laughed at the smirking children nearby, turning their daughter into a furious harpy. And she called herself the strict parent.
Somewhat convinced that their parents weren't going to start making out again anytime soon, the twins returned to their positions on the top of the hill. That was when Yang made a fatal mistake.
"So who won?"
His son's shit eating grin, and the way his daughter's back stilled told Jaune all he needed to know. Before anyone could reply, she started the countdown.
"THREE"
"Hey wait, Mum was-"
"TWO"
"I said-"
"ONE"
And it was truly impressive how violently his daughter's sled lurched from its starting point. When it took air after the first bump Jaune was ready to jump after her but the sled made a landing as smooth as a ballerina on ice. He could have sworn he saw sparks fly from where the sled tracks flew through the snow but no one had accused him of being impartial when it came to his kids. Now that they were on the way, it was time to face the culprit.
"You did that on purpose."
"I have no idea what you're talking about" his wife crooned sweetly as she batted her long eyelashes at him. When his flat stare persisted, she rolled her eyes and elbowed him gently. Which when Yang was involved, was not so gentle at all.
"Look, I talked to dad a while back. I told him of how abrasive she is with me, and how I've been having trouble. Do you know what he said? Nothing" Jaune's eyebrow rose. Taiyang not being there for his baby girl was as unlikely as, well, him not being there for his baby girl.
"The bastard laughed at me. Said I was exactly the same when Summer was around except I was attached to her hip. Used to constantly argue with him, turn everything into Summer versus him, basically what she's doing now."
Yang's eyes looked as distant as he had ever seen her, and he instinctively got closer.
"But then, Summer died, and dad nearly fell apart."
Her hand, the non-metallic one, grasped his and weaved her fingers through his.
"I don't want to force her to change suddenly, to grow up when she's still supposed to be making mistakes, and being stupid and having crushes that she pinches. Don't get me wrong, I know she's trying to get my attention because she thinks her brother is my favorite. She just doesn't know how to say it properly, and I don't know either. I just want her to grow up naturally, you know?"
Jaune looked at her, and noticing that the kids were far enough away that they couldn't tell, planted a kiss that was very not chaste on her lips. Something told him they would have to pay for that the next day when the kids found out from their friends, but he couldn't bring himself to care. His wife came away flustered, her cheeks red but he doubted that was from the cold.
"Let's race down the hill"
Yang looked down the incline, noticing how dangerous it looked despite seeing her kids make it all the way through safely, then gave her beau her most mischievous smile.
"You know you'll lose right?"
"We'll see" he grinned back.
Before his returning daughter could bask in her triumph over her thoroughly unamused brother, he stepped in.
"Alright, we're gonna have a family race."
His daughter's eyes lit up and as she took her place on the starting line waiting for him to hop in, only to squawk in surprise as he guided her mother behind her. Her gaze was questioning, but Jaune was firm in his intentions as he took his place behind his son.
"On the count of three"
"One"
Yang's legs secured her between them
"Two"
Jaune's hands wrapped around his son.
"THREE"
Let it be known that the shriek was definitely from Yang and their girl and definitely not from the father-son duo.