Dad Look No Hands
Well she's up and that's… something, a thought that crosses Taiyang's mind when he saw his daughter Yang sitting at the kitchen table instead of in her bed. Two weeks have passed since Ruby vanished away into the winter woods; Tai's anxiety is only slightly calmed by reports from Qrow that she is safe and traveling with friends. He has to trust her - Summer would have wanted him to trust his children.
Tai takes a sip from his well worn "World's Best Dad" mug before setting it on the counter and sitting across from Yang giving her a tired, yet loving smile.
"Hey Spitfire," he says. "How are you feeling?" Yang merely shrugs, slouching down in her chair. Tai can feel his long broken heart go from ruins to ash. That spark in Yang's eye has faded to ember; something he never wanted to see.
"Want some breakfast," he asks, standing with a loud clap of his thick hands. "I'll make those wildberry pancakes! You know the ones that always turned your teeth purple? I think I have a picture around hear with you and Ruby just smiling with purple teeth."
Yang just shrugs again and Tai grabs a bowl, whisk, and various other things for pancake making. Yang barely looks up, her eyes locked on the table; Her hair is a tangled mess, pressed in some places, raised in others. She's losing weight too. Tai has seen this before on himself. Depression isn't pretty, but it's so much worse to see it on his child.
"Do you remember," Tai says carefully, pulling three eggs out of carton. "When you were little you loved to crack the eggs? Every time we cooked you were there, chair pulled up just waiting to crack those eggs."
Tai gives a little chuckle.
"Wanna give em' a crack," he asks. "For old times sake."
"How am I suppose to crack an egg with one hand," Yang snaps, still not looking at him.
"Like this," Tai flicks his wrist, tapping the egg on the bowls rim letting the shell crack, the inside dripping into the bowl. "See, you don't need two hands to crack an egg."
Yang stares for a minute, almost as if she's trying to figure out if what she just saw was some kind of trick. Finally she stands up, awkwardly pushing the chair out with her heel and walking sluggishly over to her father. She picks up a single brown egg and taps it on the side of the bowl; sure enough the shell splits and the yoke drips into the bowl.
"There you go," Tai exclaims as Yang repeats the action with the next egg.
"It's just cracking an egg," Yang mumbles, but Tai sees something in her eyes - a glow, defined in the ashes around those embers. And he fully intends to fan that glow back into a flame.
On the fourth week after Ruby left Yang finally took a shower and brushed out her hair. She struggled the whole way, cursing and scowling as she tried to get at all her hair with one hand. Tai didn't offer his help but watched excitedly as she worked through it. Since that morning in the kitchen, Tai has been sending Yang little challenges.
"You don't need two hands to make a bed do you?"
"You don't need two hands to play fetch with Zwie do you?"
"You don't need two hands to help dry the dishes do you?"
So far his new method has been effective, as Yang can never refuse a challenge, but Tai has been careful not push it too far. Nothing too big or overwhelming, failure could send Yang backwards and he can't risk it. But now, with her standing, hair brushed out, wearing a plain but clean white t-shirt and purple sweat pants - now is a time to try.
"Let's go sit in the living room," Tai offers. "I need to do my morning work out and that's the only room with enough space."
"Yeah," Yang says dully, as she follows her father into the open living room. The morning light shines through the large window that over looks the yard casting warm light across the room. Yang plops down on the couch as Tai stretches his thick arms over his head before he starts doing jumping jacks; once he hits the fifth he stops and looks at Yang.
"Wanna join in Spitfire," he asks.
"I can't do Jumping jacks," Yang snaps.
"Only if you think the clap matters," Tai snorts a small laugh out. "Please, I feel dumb hopping around her by myself."
"Well you look dumb," Yang gives a small smile before looking down at her nub and for the first time Tai catches the look of sadness and a flint of a hint of anger.
"Okay," Yang says pushing off the couch. "Why not. But only so I don't have to look at how much of a dork you look like."
"I can accept that," Tai says as he goes back to jumping jacks. Yang falls in time with him. Her arm and numb raise and fall as her legs v in and out. She keeps pace with him, though sweat forms on her brow. After thirty Tai stops and drops down to the floor, laying out for crunches. Yang hesitated for a moment before joining him as Tai starts Yang mimics. She grunts and pants, the weeks of inactivity catching up with her. She grits her teeth, pushing as her stomach tightens and clenches, huffs of breath pushing out her throat.
"Good," Tai says lifting in time with her. "You can do it. Keep going, only two more…one more…and there." He sits up fully as does Yang and the two take a moment to catch their breaths together.
"Well guess that shower was pointless," Yang sighs. "What now."
"Pushups," Taiyang states and Yang's gaze falters.
"Dad I can't," Yang says, shaking her mane of gold.
"Yes you can," Tai says, his voice unfaltering and firm. Yang swallows the lump in her throat and moves to her knees. She places her arm on the ground as she pushes her legs out behind her. She balances on her remaining arm but it shakes and crumbles as Yang's torso hits the living room floor.
"SEE," Yang exclaims tears pricking in her eyes. "I can't do it!"
"Yes you can," Tai states. "You never let anything stop you before. You never cared if you were too young, too small, or anything else. You never let anyone tell you no, and I'm not going to let YOU be the exception to that rule."
Yang snarls and presses her arm under her torso and press hard. Her joints pop and crack and her arm shakes like a leaf in the wind.
"Don't quit," Tai says. "You never quit, Yang." Yang lets out a scream of rage and her body shoots off the floor, supported on the weight of one arm. Drops of sweat fall down her nose and hit the floor that she is now staring down at. Yang is frozen for a long time, holding herself there before she starts to laugh. Tears drip down her cheeks washing away the sweat as she laughs and lets her body go back down, elbow bending as she pushes herself up and down in a rhythm, a fire burning bright behind her eyes.
"DAD," Yang bellows as she enters the house on the morning of the sixth week. Six pieces of chopped wood balanced on the crock of her shoulder, an axe hooked in her belt. "I got the wood all chopped and piled in the back, I brought some in. Where do you want it?"
Tai gives an answer and Yang frowns wondering where he went because of course he heard her, anyone in miles would have. Yang walks into the house, kicking the door shut behind her. From the living room she walked into the kitchen to find her father, a plate of wildberry pancakes and one of the twin Ember Celica waiting for her. Yang sets the wood down on the floor and looks at her weapon, pancakes, and father before crossing the room.
Taiyang watches as Yang's fingers drift over the gauntlet. Yang turns to face him fully as he leans on the wall, his favorite mug in hand.
"A long time ago," Tai says. "Back when I was in beacon, I shattered my leg. It was doing something dumb on a mission and I should have known better. What kind of moronic hunter breaks his leg ya' know? They thought I wouldn't walk again… amputation was talked about a lot. Aura's don't heal everything after all, at least not when you've given up." He stops for a moment to take a sip of his coffee.
"Raven came to me and told me that if I wanted to walk again I would do it, and from that day on every morning she helped me. She walked as slow as a slug so I could keep up on my crutches and then to let me limp along. But eventually I was walking, and then I was running, and then fighting with my team again."
Tai picks up Ember Celica and holds it out to Yang, whose eyes are burning with a forest fire's worth of ambition, hope and rage.
"I don't want to lose you," Tai finally says. "But you sister needs you, your friends need you, this whole damn world needs a spitfire like you to kick its ass back into order. So even though it scares the ever loving shit out of me, I want you to go save the world Yang."
Yang throws herself at him, arm wrapping around Tai as she squeezes hard. Tai holds her close, closing his eyes tightly as he feels the power behind her.
"Thank you," Yang says. "Thank you dad."
"Just doing my job," Tai laughs. "I gotta' keep earning that mug you know."
Taiyang stands on the porch and watches as Yang walks down the trail. Yang turns around one last time, giving him a wide wave, a smile on her face before taking off running, kicking snow up behind her as she fades over the hill.
"Don't think I haven't seen you around," Taiyang says, looking up at the Raven perched in a tree branch barely visible from where he stands. "Look out for our little fire ball alright? Not that she needs it. " Tai doesn't look back again as he walks back into the house closing the door with a small click.
A/N: My fiancee' proof read and edited this for me but if anything sloped though I apologize I did my best with it.