I DON'T OWN RWBY! IT BELONGS TO ROOSTERTEETH!
I had the idea and I had to continue it!
`…`…`…`…`…`…`…` Yang – 3, Ruby – 1 and a few months con't! `…`…`…`…`…`…`…`
Tai scratched his head as he looked down at Yang, the girl in nothing but her underwear and a pair of pink rain boots. He hadn't thought Raven had been serious when she said Yang would refuse to wear clothes. The little blond was giving a glare reminiscent to Summer's and had her arms crossed while Tai held a dry set of clothes in his hands.
"What if I give you three cookies?" Tai asked as Qrow rolled his eyes and went back to feeding Ruby bites of a ham sandwich and banana.
"No!" Yang said, stomping one foot for added affect, mud dropping off the pink and hitting the floor. Tai had learned his lesson now with playing in the rain with Yang. Always pull her shoes off and hide them!
"This is why I love my Tick." Qrow laughed as he took a bite of Ruby's breakfast before giving her another. "She doesn't try fighting me much." Qrow said, turning his head to look back at Tai just as Ruby threw her sippy cup at him.
"Hey! I was bragging about you!" Qrow said as Ruby giggled and clapped her hands together. "Little demon today, hmm?" Qrow asked as held the cup just out of Ruby's reach.
"P'ay'z!" Ruby said, jutting out her lower lip and giving Qrow big eyes. It was Tai's turn to laugh at the other man as he folded under the sad look while he picked up his little naked blond and set her on the counter.
"So, the birds are coming back tonight. Any plans?" Tai asked as he let Yang eat her sandwich and yogurt. Qrow shrugged, lifting Ruby out of her chair so he could lean back and still feed her.
"I was thinking go to a bar, get laid, wake up, and repeat." Qrow said as Tai made sounds of distress and hurriedly covered Yang's ears. "She doesn't know what I mean, you know." Qrow said as Yang tried to push Tai's hands off her.
"Sure, but if she repeats it to Summer or Raven, then I'm the one dead!" Tai told him, growling under his breath when the other man shrugged and just opened his mouth for Ruby to feed him a banana. "You know, Ruby doesn't talk much. I mean, Yang's always been a motormouth but Ruby's kind of quiet." Tai said, looking up from where he'd been working on his own food to look at the dark haired duo.
"So she's quiet, let her be. She talks when she wants too." Qrow told him nonchalantly and continued his actions while Tai shook his head. Qrow choked a few minutes later when a loud clap of thunder shook the house and he tried jumping to his feet. Ruby, startled by the noise and by Qrow falling from his chair, let out a cry when Tai dove over the counter and caught her by her ankle while Qrow hit the floor.
"Do it again!" Yang cheered as Ruby began to cry and the lights flickered and went dark.
"You okay?" Tai asked as he pulled Ruby up and into his arms, letting the girl sniffle against him as he walked around the counter to help Qrow to his feet.
"Yeah," was all the other man said before he was diving over the counter too, his hands managing to catch Yang under her arms before she could hit the floor. "Fuck." He breathed in relief as Yang giggled and swung in his arms.
"Why don't we go to the living room? I've got some flashlights somewhere." Tai said as Qrow slid forward far enough to drop Yang safely on the floor. "You wanna hold her or…?" He asked, motioning to the still upset Ruby in the crook of his arm.
"C'mere, I know what you need." Qrow said, taking Ruby from Tai and grabbing Yang's hand. "Yang, go grab Ruby's wolf for me." Qrow said, trying to set Ruby down and finding she had dug all four limbs into his shirt to tightly for him to let her go. Yang let out a cute 'okay' before her feet padded over to the mess of toys by the TV. Qrow sat down on the couch, running his fingers through Ruby's hair, and had to bite back a laugh when something made a popping sound and Yang rolled backwards with a well loved stuffed toy in hand.
"Alright, alright, I know." Qrow whispered as Ruby started to push against him, no longer wanting the man holding her. "One, two, three birds in a tree." Qrow whispered, taking the toy from Yang and bouncing it around Ruby.
"Four, five, six they got some sticks!" Yang added, the rhyme familiar to her since Raven had come up with it to help her learn to count.
"Seven, eight, nine they hopped on a line." Qrow continued, smiling as Ruby's whines started to calm down as she watched the little toy dog move around her. She even smiled when Qrow made it tap her nose before bouncing away.
"Ten! They did it again!" Yang cheered, clapping her hands in victory just as Tai walked in with a flashlight in hand. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! I counted to ten!" Yang told him proudly as he propped the light on the table and set a pack of batteries down next to it.
"That's great, but can you count to twenty?" Tai asked as he sat down in his recliner and let Yang crawl into his lap.
"Uh uh," Yang said, shaking her loose blond hair while Tai leaned back a bit and started tapping his fingers to a random rhythm for Yang. Qrow watched the duo for a few seconds before his attention went to Ruby as she tried to crawl off the couch, her little eyes glued to the flashlight on the coffee table.
"Nope." Qrow said, leaning forward to scoop the girl up much to her annoyance. "Nice try though." He told her, smiling at her angry look before lifting a hand to run his fingers through her hair, his eyes glancing at the glow in the dark watch on his hand and wishing for nap time.
"Hey Tai, has Ruby decided which one of us is Dada yet?" Qrow asked with a sideways grin as Tai looked up at him and Yang turned to him in confusion.
"He daddy." Yang told him, pointing at Tai, and frowning as if it were obvious.
"No, but I don't think she will. I mean, Yang was already saying dada at her age so." Tai shrugged, his blue eyes going to look at Ruby as she pulled on the buttons of Qrow's shirt. "Ask her, she's pretty smart." Tai said, letting Yang down from his lap so she could run around and again wishing she'd put on clothes.
"Ruby~" Qrow whispered, making the girl look up from his buttons and at him. "Who am I?" He asked, smiling as she frowned and chewed on her fingers. "Not gonna,"
"Ko." Ruby said, making him blink in surprise and look down at the innocent face. "Hi!" She said with a drool covered smile that made Qrow smile and ruffle her hair.
"You heard the brat, I'm Ko." Qrow laughed while Tai rolled his eyes and huffed a laugh. "Go play." Qrow told her, setting her down on the floor to follow after Yang before propping his feet and leaning back on the couch.
"So much for a small rain, almost looks like a hurricane out there." Tai said, looking out a window to see the trees bending and swaying in the harsh wind while the rain poured in small rivers off the porch roof.
"So long as it doesn't flood, I'm good." Qrow said from his spot, not even bothering to move as thunder rolled overhead. "Perfect sleeping weather." He mumbled as something caught Tai's eyes and he stood up.
"Qrow," Tai said, his voice low and not catching the Huntsman's attention. "Qrow." He said a bit louder, still not turning away from the window.
"I'm tryin' to sleep." Qrow grumbled, deciding to turn and sprawl out on the couch.
"Qrow!" Tai finally snapped, his voice not rising from a normal volume but his tone making the other man jump while the girls froze. "Where's your weapon?" He asked, drawing the man to the window while Yang watched and Ruby chewed on one of her dolls.
"I see'em." Qrow mumbled as he looked outside the window as well. It was still light enough even with the dark clouds, to make out the lean and hunger starved forms of the wolves outside. It wasn't abnormal for some the island's animals to take shelter in the homes further from town, but everyone knew to be cautious when the wolves showed up. Like many of Patch's residents, Tai had a small a few small animals in his backyard. They were pinned up due to the weather, but hungry animals were smart and Tai wasn't a carpenter. He'd probably lose a few chickens but he hoped they didn't get the new pig he got.
"Yang, why don't we go upstairs for a bit?" Tai said, turning to the girls with a smile while Qrow pulled the currents and went to the closet housing his giant blade.
"Why?" She asked, looking at the window then at Tai as he picked Ruby up and opened his arm for Yang to crawl into.
"We have some…company outside. Uncle Qrow and I are gonna go see it." Tai said as he walked up the stairs, his ears straining to hear anything over the pouring rain.
"I wanna help." Yang told him, pulling on his ear to get his attention while Ruby squirmed and made sounds of agreement. Tai looked at the girls, twin innocent eyes looking back at him.
"Protect the house, okay? And watch your sister, make sure nothing happens to her." Tai said as he finally reached the girls' room. It was a fairly simple room; a low sitting bed for Yang fitted with a bright blue bed spread with toys scattered around it, Yang's old crib sat on the opposite side of the room it's rails decorated with squishy orange padding so Ruby wouldn't hurt herself. He'd learned his lesson when Yang had managed to squeeze through the bars of the old crib and hit the floor.
"Okay!" Yang nodded, determination shining as she raised a fist and jumped off of Tai's arm to land on her bed, giggling when she bounced. Tai laughed at the child's antics as he set Ruby in the crib with a few toys.
"Stay up here, okay?" Tai said as he headed for the door, his eyes widening a bit as he heard the first howl. "And don't leave the house!" He commanded, taking off out of the room and hoping Qrow hadn't run out without him.
It only took Yang four minutes to leave the room, one more to remember her sister, and thirty seconds to reach the stairs.
`…`…`…`
"Tai, enough about your pig! You can get another one!" Qrow gripped as Tai whined about the loss of 'Piglet' and how was he going to tell Yang?
"Hi!" Yang chirped as they walked inside, both men freezing and turning to look up at the stair well where Yang was sitting.
"Yang," Tai said slowly as Qrow just looked at the girl sitting between the bars and looking down at him. "What are you doing?" He asked slowly, part of him really hoping he was dreaming.
"Sitting." Yang said with a cheeky grin that had both men rolling their eyes.
"Where's Ruby?" Tai asked, already dropping his weapons down on the couch before heading for the stairs. "Oh." Tai said as he looked up at the first landing in between the stairs. Ruby was sitting there with two pillows beside her and playing with the streamers Tai vaguely remembered buying.
"Dada!" Ruby cheered, lifting her hands and the bright colored streamers up as Tai laughed at the sight and Qrow walked over to look at the sight.
"She safe!" Yang said proudly, jumping down each step with care while Tai walked up the stairs to pick Ruby up and watch Yang.
"You wanna n-a-p with these two or clean up?" Tai asked as he walked down the steps and looked down at Qrow already dozing in his chair. "Well fine then." He teased, letting Ruby slid from his arms and onto Qrow before looking down at Yang.
"You wanna join'em?" Tai asked, already knowing what Yang would say and heading to the kitchen.
"Nope!" Yang said, bouncing behind Tai as he scooped up his weapons and went to clean them, taking the flashlight with him.
`…`…`…`…`
"How are the girls?" Summer asked as Tai walked around the table, trying to set it for dinner while Yang and Ruby played in the living room. Saying they were playing was putting it lightly, really they were screaming at each other.
"They're…good?" Tai questioned, leaning through the doorway to check on them just as Ruby pulled on Yang's hair. "Ruby! No! We do not pull hair!" Tai exclaimed as Yang yelled in pain and turned to push Ruby down.
"You sure everything's okay?" Summer's worried voice asked through the scroll as Tai balanced it on his shoulder and held the duo out with his arms. "I think if Raven pushed it, she'd get around the storm." Summer said, Raven's voice sounding in the background as her wife quickly explained what was going on.
"No, no. I got this. They're just fidget-y from being inside for most of the day." Tai explained just as something thudded against his door. "I think that's Qrow, hold on." Tai said, setting Ruby in the playpen he had brought downstairs before bouncing Yang to his hip and heading to the door.
"I got more flashlights and milk." Qrow said with his arms wrapped around two bags filled with more than flashlights and milk. "Is that Summer?" He asked as Yang took the scroll to talk while Tai grabbed one of the bags in the other man's arms.
"Mama! Ruby pulled my hair!" Yang tattled, a shriek from Ruby telling the adults she had heard the statement and was not happy with it.
"Looks like the boats are stuck till the storm leaves. How's flight?" Tai said as he set Yang down and let her run over to Ruby, sitting just outside the other girl's reach as she talked to Summer.
"Screwed. Took me most of two hours to get there. Faster to walk." Qrow muttered as he set his bag down and pulled out two containers of milk, a jar of peanut butter, two jars of jam, a loaf of bread, marshmallows, and several other items.
"What's all that for?" Tai asked as he looked at the dried goods, making a face at the assorted bags of chips and junk food. He'd rather eat dried fruit or trail mix and didn't buy much of the junk Qrow had brought back.
"Power's supposed to be out for a few days. You got any ice Dust? They were all out at the shop." Qrow said, looking at the back of the chunky chocolate chip cookies he'd bought before shrugging and tossing them with the others.
"Probably, but it'd be upstairs." Tai shrugged before running back into the living room when he heard a crash. "Oum…" he groaned as he saw Ruby sitting on the floor outside the playpen and Yang looking a bit guilty.
"Hey, do you wanna call back later? Yang just pulled Ruby out of the playpen." Tai tried to explain, Ruby's whimpering and squirming in his arms not helping him try to talk to Summer.
"Hold on, switch the call to video." Summer said as Tai walked back and forth trying to sooth Ruby while Yang literally walked between his legs like a cat. "Hey Tick, what's wrong?" Summer asked as soon as Tai switched to video and faced it to Ruby.
"Mama," Ruby whimpered, reaching for the scroll with a pouting face while Yang jumped up and down trying to reach as well.
"Do you miss us? Look, Birdy's here too." Summer said, leaning to the side to show Raven next to her. Raven smiled at the sight, laughing a bit when Tai sat down and Yang jumped into view. "Hey Sunshine!" Summer greeted with a smile, Tai having to shift both girls in his lap so they could see and be seen.
"Bir'y." Ruby said, reaching for the scroll as Summer and Raven leaned together so both girls could see them. "Bir-y!" Ruby whined, unhappy that the woman wasn't right there and starting to cry.
"You're fine, Tick. We'll be home soon." Raven said, making Ruby sniffle but stop whining. "I assume Qrow's there? He better be or I'll string him up by his...toes." Raven said, looking up at Tai while Summer made faces at the girls to get them to smile.
"I'm here. And as the older brother, I'm tellin' ya now. Do not fly. In this weather. Took me almost three hours to make it to town and back. Last thing we need is you getting lost in this bull." Qrow said, appearing over Tai's shoulder with a bottle of ranch in his hands. "Also, dinner's almost done. Thank Oum, you take care of your camp stove." He grouched before disappearing back from whence he came.
"What a wonderful brother." Raven said sarcastically before sighing and looking at the screen, her focus on the girls while Summer smiled.
"Yang, be good for you Daddy and Ruby, be nice. No hair pulling or pushing! We'll be back tomorrow." Summer promised, getting a pouting nod from Yang as she crossed her arms. "We love you." She said laughing when Yang leaned forward and kissed the screen while Ruby tried to say it back.
"See you tomorrow?" Tai asked as his nose picked up the smell of something delicious. Thank Oum that Qrow was here, otherwise the girls would be stuck with cold sandwiches.
"Yep!" Summer said while Raven nodded in agreement.
"Be careful, and call us if something happens." Raven said, worry making his cherry eyes widen a bit. Tai nodded, ending the call with a sigh while both girls sat quietly in his lap for a few seconds.
"When's tomorrow?" Yang asked and Tai made a sound between a groan and a laugh. Thus, the questions began! Three year olds really were full of questions.
`…`…`…`The next day `...`...`...`...`...`
"Summer! Help!" Raven laughed as Yang and Ruby doused her in water. Her brother would pay for getting the duo the little toy guns. She did not like getting wet!
Summer laughed, covering her mouth with both hands as she watched the usually unflappable Raven trip over her own feet and fall into the mud while getting water shot at her. Qrow stood off to the side with a bigger water gun of his own, pumping it rapidly in preparation as Raven managed to sit up and glare at him while capturing both girls in her arms.
"FIRE!" Qrow yelled with glee, shooting his own toy at his sister and getting his nieces as well. Summer couldn't help but lean against the porch railing, laughing too hard to stay upright without help as Raven used the girls as shields and ran towards her brother. "RetreAT!" Qrow yelled, his voice pitching as Raven closed the distance to fast for him. The Branwen twins chased each other around the yard, Qrow somehow getting Yang in his arms and having her shoot over his shoulder at Raven and Ruby, the woman doing the same with Ruby's gun.
Summer smiled at the sight, loving the scene before her as she watched her wife and brother in law play with her baby girls. It almost didn't occur to her to get pictures until the very last stretch of the 'fight' where Ruby was holding onto Raven while she used the now empty toy to smack her brother while Yang fired one last squirt up at Raven's face. The split second of action was captured and Summer knew it would become one of her favorites.