Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions

Edited by ToxicExotic

Chapter 80 - Therapy

Ten minutes. That was how long Yang had spent listening to the steady ticking of the ornate clock that hung on a plain white wall. Although she was becoming increasingly certain that the clock was wrong. While it had seemed fine when she first arrived and checked in with the receptionist, the longer she had listened to it tick, the more time there seemed to be between each one. She refused to believe that a second could be so long. No, the clock had to be wrong. So, stopping the shaking on her knee, something she hadn't been aware she'd been doing, she ran a hand through her hair and pulled her Scroll from her pocket.

Unfortunately, as glad as she was to be able to use her Scroll again, and to see the affectionate message that her girlfriend had surprised her with earlier, she was thoroughly unhappy to see the clock was, in fact, correct. There was still another three minutes before they would be called in by the therapist. So letting out a small groan and leaning back in the comfortable chair, she pocketed her device and resumed the shaking of her knee.

"You okay, Firecracker?" She heard her dad say to her side.

The man had arrived only a few minutes after her, but not much had really been said between them.

"Yeah." She muttered, only lying a little bit. "Just not exactly where I wanna be right now."

"Oh…" Tai said in a low voice. "You know we can postpo-"

"What? No-" Turning to look at him, she saw a sad look in his eyes as he looked down at his knees. "I didn't…" She took a deep breath and put a hand on his knee. "I want to be here, I'm just… You know how well me and therapy go together."

"Like a brick and a window?"

"Exactly."

They both let out a soft chuckle. It wasn't untrue. She was thirteen the last time she had been in therapy, the doctor she'd been seeing had tried his best to get her to talk about her mom. He'd wrongly believed that there was some link between Summer's death and her anger and refused to let it go. As such, when she had left she had taken his door with her. In hindsight, it wasn't the best plan since her dad had been forced to pay for it, but Tai had never asked her to see another one again.

"But…" She let out another breath and returned both her hands to her pockets. "This is a good thing."

"It is." Tai nodded.

"Then we are all in agreement." A third person said in a confident voice.

Looking up from her knees, and seeing Tai do the same, towards the doorway she was greeted by a lanky man in his forties with hair so dark that even Blake's seemed light by comparison. His eyes were a shocking silver that seemed to twinkle in the light, brightened even more by a black sports coat with a grey turtleneck that covered his chest. Plain grey jeans covered his lower half, ending it a pair of black leather shoes that looked more expensive than anything Yang owned.

"That is always a good first step." He continued in an accent she couldn't quite place, a friendly smile on his face as he held out his hands. "Doctor Modaé Darq."

Though Tai quickly stood up and took one of them, Yang was a little cautious. However, trying her best to ignore her brain, which was reminding her of past sessions, she slowly stood up from her chair and nervously accepted the boney handshake.

"Taiyang." Tai said politely. "This is my daughter, Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." The lanky man's eyes swept over them both before inclining his head in acknowledgement. "If you'd like to enter my office, I will give you a small run down of what today's meeting will entail."

Walking past the man and into the office, Yang found herself quite taken aback. Previous therapy offices she had visited usually had certificates lining the wall, maybe even a few rorschach paintings or other therapeutic memento's. There was none of that this time however. Instead, the walls were rather plain except for a few normal paintings of a village that were actually quite well done. As was the rest of the room actually, with the room being empty of all but a few chairs and a desk, upon which sat a picture of the doctor and another man stood before an altar.

Taking her seat in one of them as her dad walked over to the wall, she shrugged off her jacket and silenced her Scroll.

"Swezen?" She heard her dad ask as the door was shut.

"My home." Darq replied with a surprised smile. "You've been?"

"Once with my wife." He nodded. "It's a lovely village."

"That's kind of you." Darq said, though looked at Tai with a little more interest. "But are you ready to begin?"

Giving a grunt of confirmation and crossing her arms, she watched the man walk over to the large wooden desk and sit down. Feeling a little discomfort as he pulled out a notepad and crossed his legs, Yang squirmed a little in her seat and refused to meet his eyes. However, seeing her dad sit in the chair next to her and remembering why she was there, she lifted her head and gave a nod.

"Good." The man said and wrote something down. "So since this is just a short session to help us get to know each other a little better, I'd like to go over what each person should expect going forth, and then lay down a few ground rules for how things should progress. Does that sound reasonable to you both?"

"It does." Tai nodded.

After a few seconds, both of their eyes turned to her. "Oh… yeah, sure."

"Perfect." The man said, scrawling something else down before putting the notepad down. "Now, the first thing I would like to make perfectly clear is that therapy is a give and take. I won't force you to talk if you don't want to, but I cannot help you if you are not honest with me, and you will only get out of these sessions what you are willing to put in. How much that is however is up to you."

"It's also important that you understand that therapy isn't a quick fix. There is no immediate solution or drug that I can give you that will have you leaving this office holding hands and singing merry songs together. All I can do is attempt to understand what has caused a rift between the pair of you and attempt to offer advice and insight on how to close it. Something that you will have to continue to do yourselves outside of these sessions too."

"That all sounds reasonable." Tai agreed almost immediately. "Right, Yang?"

"You don't have to answer that, Yang." Darq said before Yang could answer. "One thing I like to leave out of these sessions is leading questions. They present an expectation for a certain answer that can be rather uncomfortable."

"Oh… sorry."

"It's fine." He smiled. "Yang, did everything I say sound okay to you?"

"Uh… Y-Yeah." Yang replied curiously. Just from that rule alone, it seemed this man might be different from the last. "That's fine."

"Great." He said in a neutral voice. "Now, in addition to that rule, I would also like to ask that you don't interrupt each other. I know it will likely be a hard adjustment, but I believe you will find it helpful in the long run to hear how each other feels in its entirety before formulating your response."

"The third and final rule is another simple one, but one that also might prove challenging at first, and that is to not throw around accusations. For example, if one of you believes the other has treated them unfairly, try not to use accusatory mannerisms. I feel you have been unfair instead of you have been unfair leads to much healthier and more open discussions due to the other person not feeling the need to be on the defensive."

Just as before, those seemed like rather understandable rules. So giving the man a nod, and action that Tai mimicked, she sat up a little straighter in her chair as Darq gave a smile and pulled out two files from his drawer. While one was rather small, the other was quite thick with numerous coloured tabs.

"Perfect." He said and set them on his desk. "So I see you have both been in therapy before. Tai, yours appears to have been quite extensive. Yang, yours not so much."

"Yeah…" She grumbled and scratched the back of her head as the man pulled her file open. "It didn't really go too well."

"Hmm." Darq hummed, skimming through the pages and scowling a little. "I can see why. Though that's not your fault."

To her surprise, he picked up the file and dropped it into a trash can beside his desk. Almost immediately, her respect for the man soared.

"Not to worry. We'll just start a new one." He smiled and picked back up his notepad. "So, Yang, from the address you gave us I know you have recently moved out, but in your own words, how would you describe the situation at home while you were still there?"

"Oh…"

Yang had not expected the question to come so soon. In fact, she had hoped that the man would focus a little more on Tai at first, but apparently not.

"I dunno." She shrugged. "It's weird, I guess. Sometimes everything feels fine, and others… not fine."

"Would you say you argue a lot?" She gave him a nod. "And how often would you say these arguments occur?"

Twiddling her thumbs and shaking her knee, Yang gave another shrug. "Every month or two, I guess."

"Okay." He said, his eyes skimming over her as he scribbled something on his notepad. "Tai, would you say that's accurate?"

"Pretty accurate, yeah." Tai nodded, his voice so much more certain than her own.

"Mmm. And in your own words, how would you describe the situation at home?"

Just like Yang, Tai didn't answer right away. Instead he glanced sideways at her with cautious eyes and scratched the back of his head. After a couple of seconds though, he looked back to the therapist and took a deep breath.

"Tense." He said in a hushed tone. "I feel like I'm constantly treading on eggshells. Like everything I say or do will make her angry and cause her to leave again. It makes her difficult to talk to at times."

Looking over at her dad, she saw sadness in his eyes. She didn't know he felt that. Sure she knew she had a temper, and that she had snapped and shouted at him a lot over the years, but she had never thought the man was potentially scared to even talk to her.

"And why do you think that is?" Darq asked and wrote something down.

"I let her down. After my wife passed away, I started relying on drink and she was left to take care of everything in the house."

Darq pulled open the file.

"Your wife, Summer Rose?" Tai gave him a nod. "The loss of a loved one is never easy. Would I be correct in assuming that the wedding band on your arm is hers?"

Yang watched her father reach up and touch the swathe of red fabric wrapped around his upper arm. Just like the other kingdoms, Mistral and Menagerie had their own way of showing bonds. Instead of rings like Vale, or bracelets like Vacuo, each person exchanged a small piece of fabric that would be tied around a part of their body. That fabric was usually made and embroidered by the offering party, and the type of embroidery was always different based on what it was trying to convey.

Despite it having been there for as long as she could remember though, she had never really thought about it. She'd known it was his wedding band, that the outside was emblazoned with a white rose and the insides had a copy of Summer's vows, but she had never realised just how close the man was still holding her. Even after twelve years, the man still made the effort to tie it to his arm every morning.

"Yeah."

"Mmm." He hummed and wrote it down. "And how do you feel about what your dad just said, Yang? Would you say you feel he let you down?"

It was her turn to look down at her knees as she knew the answer to that question.

"Yeah."

"And does that make you angry?"

"Sometimes." Yang admitted. "I just… I had to do without him. I did so much while he was gone. I grew up, and he doesn't trea-" She cut herself off as the shrink raised an eyebrow. "Sorry. I feel like he doesn't see that."

"Mhm." The man hummed and wrote something down on his notepad. "It can be tough when we feel people don't acknowledge our growth. How we've changed and overcame the obstacles in front of us."

Darq gave her a knowing look before his eyes moved over to Tai. She knew immediately what he was hinting at, but couldn't really deny it. While she was definitely proud of her dad for getting his addiction under control and happy that he had come back to her, she knew she didn't show that as often as she should. And from the look in Tai's eyes, he was also having his own realisation.

"I do see you as an adult, Yang." He said. "And I'm proud of who you've become. I just want to be your dad, but you became so strong and independent so quickly and I missed so much that I don't know how to do that anymore."

"Maybe I don't show it enough, but I get how much you went through." Yang replied. "I know it wasn't easy and that you did your best, and I want you to be my dad too; I just don't need you to guide or decide for me anymore. I need you to let me make my own decisions, and just be there to pick me up if I fail."

"I can do that."

Giving each other a smile, Yang felt a small wave of relief rush through her. It was an argument they'd had plenty of times before, but never had Yang truly felt like the man had heard her. This time however, looking into his eyes, it felt different. It felt like her words had finally sunk in.

"That was a lot easier than I thought." Yang breathed and sat back in her chair. To her surprise, Darq let out a small chuckle.

"It helps that I have seen twenty families such as yourselves this week alone." He said and placed his notepad down. "Believe me, you are not alone in your feelings. A breakdown in communication is extremely common, but thankfully the root of yours appears to be rather obvious."

"That's good?"

"Usually yes. Sometimes the root of an issue is easy to find, other's it takes some digging. But when you find it, it helps you to understand why you are acting in such a way; and once you know that, you can work on acting the opposite. With the root of the issue solved, you are then free to work on the problems it created without fear of new ones sprouting as you do by reflecting on what led to them. It's what we refer to as root-cause therapy."

"Ahh." Yang hummed and nodded along, sort of getting the idea.

"And ours would be?" Tai asked.

"I have an idea." He said and closed the notepad. "But I would like a real session with you two before I say. Early diagnosis can do more harm than good."

"Right, right." He nodded and sat back.

"So the session's over?" Yang asked, trying to keep the relief out of her voice. While he was definitely better than her last therapist, she was still a little uncomfortable.

Thankfully the man didn't seem to take any offence.

"For today. Yes." Darq smiled at them both. "But today was a good day. You both accepted something about the other, so be proud of that."

Nodding at the man, Yang pulled her jacket back over her shoulders. "So we just wait for the next appointment?"

"Hmm, for now." Darq said and stood up from his desk. "Once we figure out the root cause, we can discuss out of office therapy, but for now I'm thinking every other week would be a great start. Is there any particular day that works for you?"

"Umm… I'm free on wednesdays." She replied

"I can move some shifts around to do that."

"That works perfectly." Darq tapping on the keyboard of his computer. "I have my 11am slot available?"

"That's fine." Yang smiled at him and took a hand as it was offered out. "Thanks."

"The pleasure was mine." He said, shaking her dad's hand too.

Letting his hand go, both of them gave the man a smile and turned to walk towards the door. Before leaving however, Yang cast a look back at him and saw that he was once again writing in the notepad. Previously when she had seen her therapist do that, she had worried about what they were writing, but she wasn't so much with him. The man actually seemed like he knew what he was doing, so not giving it a second thought, she turned back around and followed her dad out of the room and through the reception.

The session was definitely better than she expected. As Weiss had told her, he hadn't tired to pry too much, instead letting her work it out herself. It was something she appreciated. She also appreciated that her dad had been honest with her. Unfortunately, as she straddled her bike and watched Tai play with his keys, one of the man's answers rang out clearly in her head.

"Hey, dad." She said, causing him to turn around. "Are… Are you really scared to talk to me?"

The man paused his fiddling and ran a hand through his hair. Leaning back against the car, she saw the sadness enter his eyes again and knew the answer before he gave it.

"Sometimes." He admitted.

"Oh…" She hummed, feeling a sense of shame well inside of her. For all the times they'd fought, she'd never really thought about how he felt about it. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Tai said with a smile.

"It's not." She shook her head. "But I'll work on that. I promise."

"Okay." He nodded and finally found the right key. "But I should get back to work. Don't forget that Ruby wants us to all have dinner tomorrow. I'll do burgers."

"Sounds good." Yang nodded and watched him step inside the car.

Giving the man a wave as he started up the engine and drove away, Yang let out a groan and pressed her forehead against the handlebars of her bike. As much as she was relieved that the man had finally heard her concerns, hearing his concern had hurt. She never wanted her family to be scared to talk to her, and the fact that they were didn't sit right with her. So resolving to change that and throw herself into whatever Doctor Darq suggested, she took a deep breath and slipped the key into the ignition. Hopefully the long drive would help clear her mind a little and think over how to make sure nothing went wrong at tomorrow's dinner.

Letting out a low breath as she finalised the closest statement of her college essay, Weiss leaned back into the couch and pulled the tiara from her hair while checking the clock on the wall. It was almost one o'clock, which meant Yang's meeting had finished and the woman should be on her way home. Or at least, she hoped she was. After all, she knew just how draining the first session could be and wanted to be there for her so had decided to skip her class and wait at the apartment to provide what would likely be some much needed comfort.

The extra time to herself had also proven useful in catching up on some of the coursework that she had been ignoring due to Jacques keeping her busy. And thought there was still quite a bit to do, she had managed to at least knock out one piece from the growing pile. However, before getting started on another piece, she needed another coffee. So standing up stretching her arms, she made her way towards the doorway. As she entered the kitchen though, she found herself looking at her girlfriend pouring some coffee into a cup while a pot of milk slowly boiled beside it.

"Figured you'd come for this sooner or later." The girl smirked and held the cup out. "Shouldn't you be in class though?"

"Technically, yes." Weiss grinned and accepted the drink. "But I wanted to be here when you got back… How long have you been back?"

"About ten minutes." Yang shrugged and dumped a packet of strawberry hot chocolate she had likely stolen from Blake's shop into a cup. "Didn't want to interrupt your studying."

"You can interrupt my studies whenever you like." She chuckled and moved in closer to her girlfriend. "So… How did it go?"

"Well…"

Yang paused and a sad look came across her face. Worry immediately began to pulse through her, but it was short lived as the woman let out a humorous snort and shook her head. Rolling her eyes, she reached out and tapped the girl's shoulder.

"Yang!"

"Alright, alright," The girl laughed, though it quickly died out as Yang's voice took on a more somber tone. "It wasn't exactly the most fun experience of my life, but you were right, as usual. Darq is pretty chill."

"I'll try not to say I told you so." She teased and placed her coffee down. Pressing herself into the girl's body, she leaned up on her toes and pressed a momentary kiss against her lips. "But seriously, I'm proud of you. I know it's not easy to talk about your feelings to a stranger."

"Nah, it's fine." Yang shrugged and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Besides, he helped us see some things, I guess."

"So I take it you're going back then."

"In two weeks."

"Good." Weiss smiled up at her. "You and Tai will be back to normal in no time."

"Better than normal, hopefully."

Hearing the sincerity in her girlfriend's voice, Weiss gave her a sympathetic look and rested her head against the woman's chest. She was happy that Darq was seemingly able to help, so much so that even Yang seemed to have faith in the man.

"Anyway." Yang said after a minute, gently pushing her away so she could finish making the hot chocolate. "Do you mind if we just order food and continue watching Twisted? I wanna just wind down right now, you know?"

"Of course." Weiss nodded, still finding it quite funny that the brawler had a secret love for princess films. "Whatever you want, Sundrop."

"Thanks." The blonde said, leaning over to peak her cheek as she stirred her coffee.

Smiling and following her girlfriend back into the room, she set her drink on the coffee table beside her laptop and happily laid down on the couch. The second her head landed in Yang's lap, she felt fingers begin to drift through her hair so lightly that it was easy to forget just how strong Yang was. So, feeling content in the moment, she pressed a kiss against the woman's thigh and settled in for the show Yang had been making her watch for the last week.

A/N

Hello everyone :)

So there was the first therapy session. I didn't want to make it a long one, more of a first meeting to understand where they are at kinda thing and just show off who Darq is (Bonus points if you understand his name.) As for the session itself, I mostly wanted to touch on the surface level stuff here, the things you can easily tell is wrong with them that keeps getting in the way, and I also wanted to show the therapists experience by knowing how to get to it straight away.

It's also nice to see things going so well for Weiss and Yang :D It's always fun to write those cute little moments of them being there for each other. Surely that's gunna last a long time. Anyway...

Chapter 81 - Reality Check will be up on the 1st of April :)

Reviews

timrocks99, Zoro50, jm4reader, thank you so much for your kind words :) I'm glad you are all enjoying the story so far :D