Crazy trouble with love part 9
Taiyang and Willow
Series: RWBY
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-Remnant, Solitas, Atlas-
HONK HONK!
"Get off the road!" yelled a driver as he nearly hit someone that happened to be wandering the city and didn't notice the light turning a different color until nearly getting run over by said driver.
"Woops." said a tall semi tanned muscular man with short dull blond hair that has two small strands sticking out from the top, blue eyes, a blond soul patch and small stubble along his jawline, a heart shaped tattoo on his right arm, wearing a brown leather vest that was sleeveless on the right side, a tan dress shirt, brown cargo shorts, a dark brown belt, a red bandanna tied to the left arm, a gray metal spaulder, leather vambrace, a brown fingerless glove on his right hand that went up said arm like a gauntlet, and black shoes, who seemed to be a little confused about the layout of the city. "Well, this is why I should bring a map, Atlas is way too big for me."
This was Taiyang Xiao Long, former husband of Raven Branwen and Summer Rose and former member of Team STRQ. And well...he was here to get some parts for his daughter's weapons, since they, according to his Scroll Messages, were badly damaged during a 'Bar Brawl' and a 'High Speed Attack on a Nevermore'. Needless to say he had to go as most of the parts were only found in Atlas and well...he needed to get out of the house, given he finally got over his own inner Grimm and wanted to see how Atlas has changed since he was last here.
And it had changed...a lot! It was so bad that he couldn't tell where Atlas was and where Mantle began. Given the last time he came, it looked about the same but now...he was just lost.
"Ok, maybe if I go down this street, I can find a bar, and maybe they can point me in the right direction." He muttered while looking around, very much unsure about his surroundings. "But where are the bars?"
As he walked around like a headless chicken, he noticed that a local bank was just on the other side of the road, and it looked like it had tied with the Schnee Dust Company, due to one of said company's shops being right next to it.
"Mmmm, maybe I should check out the shop? Get some extra Dust for my daughters...given they do eat a lot of Dust with their weapons."
He made his way over to it, mindly of vehicles this time, and entered with no problem. However, as he entered the room...he noticed something not right.
For one, he saw faunus wearing white Grimm masks and wearing thick black fur coats pointing several pistols and swords at many of the customers.
In the corner of the room, nearby back exit, were a group of faunus pointing their blades at a tall fair skinned man with white slicked-back hair, a large thick mustache, cold blue eyes, wearing a pure white double-breasted blazer with a red handkerchief in the breast pocket, a light-blue dress shirt, vest and a white clip-on tie, a white snowflake-like leaf emblem on the tie and soles of the shoes, a silver-colored ring on his right hand, and white dress shoes, with pure hate on their faces.
Right nearby was a tall fair skinned woman with slate-blue eyes, long white hair that in a low ponytail going over her left shoulder and sporting a bun in the back, a E cup chest and wide ass, wearing a white cravat secured by a ruby encrusted silver brooch, a light purple jacket with light sleeves, a wide silver belt around her waist, a light purple pencil skirt, black tights and white slippers, who seemed to be semi sober with fear as she was kept rooted in her spot by several pistols.
Overall...the Hunter just entered a heist, possibly a terrorist attack, and he was without any weapons to defend himself.
'Shit!' he thought, ducking behind a nearby table. 'Crap crap crap crap! I can't believe I walked in on something this serious!'
But as he peeked up, he noticed that the White Fang members, he assumed at any rate due to them being either teenagers or very edgy young adults, looked like they haven't had actual combat experience at all.
'Wait. I'm a teacher and a Hunter, why am I hiding like a scared dog?' He thought before carefully moving away from the table and tip toed closer to one of the faunus. 'Ok. Just sneak up on the leader and then make them stop. Easy...although I need to be careful, they look ready to draw blood.'
"Jacques Schnee." growled a male alpaca faunus while pointing his sword at the man's neck. "You have ruined the faunus for the last time with your lies."
"Look, we can talk this out like civilized people." he gulped.
"You can't talk your way out of this. The way you've treated our brothers and sisters will be atoned with blood, YOUR blood." He growled while the white haired woman seemingly nodded in agreement. "Any last words, Schnee?"
"Hey." Taiyang said while quickly grabbing the faunus and placing him into a chokehold. "Let's just calm down and talk about it before you stab someone with that sword, ok?"
The others all aimed their weapons at Taiyang, making him internally gulp.
'Shit!' "Calm down or he might get killed by friendly fire."
"Unhand him!"
"Yeah no. If I did that then you would go all stabby stabby on us." he said calmly before looking at the white haired man and blinked. "Wait, isn't that the head of the SDC?"
"Yeah." one faunus deadpanned. "Who else? General Ironwood?"
"I see...meh." he shrugged while looking a little annoyed. "Not a fan of him. I mean he tried to buy off the island of Patch, my home, under the premise of 'Grimm Protection'. If you're here to ransom him or something, go ahead, but let's try not to kill someone alright?"
"You don't tell us what to do, human."
"I'm not, I'm just suggesting a nonviolent approach to this." he said while the faunus in his chokehold started to turn purple. "So why don't we just put the weapons down before someone gets hurt?"
"Shoot him!" one of the faunus yelled while aiming their pistol at Taiyang.
BAM!
And shot their leader in the head by mistake.
"..." the faunus gulped while his cohorts deadpanned at him. "I-It wasn't me! It was the Schnees!"
"Excuse you?!" yelled Jacques in disbelief.
"H-He shot first!"
Tayiang looked confused while slinking closer to the older woman before whispering. "Here's a suggestion, run while I hold them off."
"And leave you alone with these idiots?"
"It's either that or they start playing 'who's the shooter' with you and your friend."
"That, unfortunately, is my husband."
"...I feel sorry for you." he admitted with a whisper before throwing the body at one of the faunus and charging at them with his fists clenched.
"Kill him! Kill him!" yelled a faunus before shooting at the man, only to see that his aura was deflecting the bullets. "Shit! We got a Hunter!"
POW!
"GAH!" He cried out while getting a right hook to the face, knocking him out in the process.
"And a damn good one!" yelled Taiyang while rushing into the one sided battle like an adrenaline fueled warrior.
The white haired woman blinked while a little surprised that he was taking on the Atlasian Sect of the dreaded White Fang as if they were common street thugs.
He was moving around the shots and strikes without missing a beat, member after member going down in no time. In her eyes, she was watching a boxer outdoing a rabid beast.
'Huh...he seems to be handling the situation nicely, unlike my idiot husband.' She thought before noticing that Jacques was slowly moving to the back exit. "And where do you think you're going?"
"To get away of course while they're more focused on that Hunter."
"The one that called you out on your business practices?" she frowned while having just enough of his bullshit.
He huffed. "You can see he's doing a fine job with those terrorists, I'm not needed in this situation. And I suggest you do the same and leave Willow, or are you too drunk to follow your better judgement?"
Willow eye twitched as she slowly felt her anger bubble to the surface. Yes, she was a drunk and wasn't there for her children but she knew all too well that running away from a hostage situation, especially when someone like that Hunter was trying to save their lives, was a horrible idea...and that just made her pissed beyond belief.
Jacques turned around and didn't notice Willow walking behind him with cold anger. "It was lucky he was around or I might have been forced into a split second decision that will hurt the SDC's reputation."
Grip!
"W-What-" he quickly said before getting pushed in the opposite direction-
BAM BAM BAM!
And right into the battle, getting hit by several Dust lined bullets from the White Fang member's pistols that bounced off of Taiyang's aura as he coughed up blood and tried to hold his now destroyed throat in the process.
"A...A...A..."
"Suffer you bastard." muttered Willow with a cold tone.
And just like that, the man known for escalating the distrust between humans and faunus, died in agony as Taiyang finished off the last of the White Fang members by knocking him out with a punch to the face.
"Ah...woah. That was a workout...wait." he said while turning around and saw the dead body and the 'crying' Willow nearby. "When-"
She looked up and shook her head, as if telling him to be quiet, as the Hunter blinked and felt a little guilty...but not much since the man was crooked beyond belief.
(Some time later)
-Schnee Manor-
Taiyang blinked as he stood near the front gates of the rather imposing mansion.
The reason, he was invited by the now new CEO of the SDC, Willow Schnee, who he saved from the White Fang and was given the title of 'Hero of Atlas' for his heroism, although that was slightly overshadowed by several events.
The first was the memorial of Jacques Gélé, who was cremated and thrown into a glacier as per his former wife's request of 'being with the cold'. The second was the apparent corporate restructuring by Willow to weed out many of the corrupt and crooked members of the board and company. The third event was that Willow was going to restart peace talks with both the White Fang and Menagerie to bring the two species together in harmony, which has been seen as either foolish or revolutionary.
But as of right now, Taiyang was waiting for someone to let him inside, since he was told, by telegram of all things, that the local butler, Klein, was in Vale to report Jacques' death to her middle daughter, the same one in his daughter's team apparently.
'Hopefully this isn't bad news or something.' he thought, checking the time on his Scroll. 'I wonder if I came too early.'
Creak.
The door opened as he saw Willow right in front of him, looking a little healthier than before and seemingly in a calmer state of mind.
"Ah, the hero." she said while opening the door wider. "Come in, we have a few things to discuss."
"Like what exactly?"
"Oh nothing too special." she said while letting Taiyang into the mansion, closing the doors in the process. "Just to talk and say my sincere gratitude for saving my life two weeks ago."
"Oh, it was nothing really."
"I beg to differ. Me and my husband both could have died that day if you hadn't shown up, leaving our children all on their own and the company in complete shambles." Willow said while walking next to Taiyang, who looked around the rather large living room at this particular moment. "But as you saved me, that will not be a possible outcome and they will have someone to keep them in line...well in theory. We don't see eye to eye sometimes."
"I see." He said while feeling sympathy for the woman.
"Since we are here." she said while taking a seat on the nearby velvet couch. "Why not talk a little, get to know each other better. I will let one of the maids make us some tea."
"Oh um...thanks." he said while sitting next to the woman, feeling a little embarrassed as while he was a lady's man in his youth, he didn't feel comfortable trying to 'hit' on a recently widowed woman...especially when she showed nothing but kindness to him. "So...uh..." 'What do I say? I've never been put in a situation like this!'
"I saw you were a capable fighter, meaning you are a Hunter yes?"
"Oh, was. Well still am, I'm a teacher at Signal. Former Beacon student and member of Team STRQ." he said while trying to not slip up. "I was the muscle."
"I can see."
"Well, I was kinda married to two of my team members. First was Raven Branwen, and then the leader Summer Rose." he sighed. "It's kinda complicated but I still care for them and have been raising their daughters quite well."
Willow nodded while understanding that this man didn't want to dive deeper into his personal life, well the relationship part. "And these daughters?"
"Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long Branwen. They go to Beacon as well and from what I recall your daughter is a member of that team."
"Oh yes, what a strange coincidence." she chuckled. "I was saved by the father of my daughter's two teammates. What are the odds?"
"A Long one I bet." he joked while Willow raised an eyebrow at that. "What?"
"That was a terrible pun." She deadpanned.
'Damn it!'
(A few minutes later)
"So I tell Qrow 'If you keep getting drunk you're gonna end up bringing home a whole flock,' and guess what happened?"
"Mmm, he somehow brings home a flock?"
"Yep! But a flock of chickens!" Taiyang chuckled while currently having some tea with the Schnee. "And after that, Raven smacked him in the face and told him to either eat the chickens or sell them. And that's when his semblance kicked in and caused the entire room to be attacked by the flock, oh man. It took days to get the feathers out of the walls."
Willow chuckled. "Well it was his own fault he got drunk in the first place, right after a bachelor party to boot. Do you have any other stories?"
"Yep." he smiled while not hearing the front door opening up. "This one is just recent. Now Qrow decided to visit General Ironwood, to get some law past, something about free beer for life I don't recall. But anyway, he was walking to the office and lo and behold, he saw a beauty."
"Oh?" she said while seeing her eldest daughter and youngest son walking into the living room. "And what did this beauty look like?"
"Let's see...kinda like you but taller and, in his own words, 'a massive rack that could feed an army and eyes that turn the strongest of men into sissies'." he said while Winter went wide eyed and a little mortified at what she just heard. "But what Qrow did was interesting, he tried to say hi and then, BAM! His semblance kicked in and her clothes exploded, no joke, he said it was like a mini firestorm hit the clothes and left her buck naked in the office and oh boy, she was really mad."
"How mad?" asked Winter in a very dark tone.
"Oh she was like Raven or Summer during that time of the month...wait, whose voice was that?" he asked as he saw Willow's mouth not moving when the 'question' was asked.
"I did." spoke Winter as the two turned their heads. "Mother, who might your...guest be?"
"Oh. This is Taiyang Xiao Long, he was the Hunter that saved my life." She said with a smile.
"Really now?" Winter said while Whitley raised an eyebrow. "Yet he mentioned a certain crow."
"Wait...YOUR the one Qrow thought was hot? Huh." Taiyang said while a little surprised. "I have to tell you Willow, she really looks just like you."
"I know." Willow chuckled. "She gets her good looks from my side of the family, same with Weiss and Whitley."
Winter groaned in embarrassment while Whitley moved closer to his mother.
"Why exactly is he here?"
"Oh, he's our guest." she said calmly. "Since he has no recollection of the newer parts of Atlas and is considered a hero by the city for his actions, I allowed him to stay with us until he's ready to return to Patch."
"Lovely house you live in." he tried to compliment, with Whitley putting on a fake smile that looked convincing.
"Thank you, it's to be expected with our family."
Taiyang looked at him before smiling. "You know, you remind me of Ruby in a way. Small, a little short in her own way, and rather adorable in certain ways."
And cue Whitley blushing bright pink hearing that.
"But I hope we get to know each other more." He said while getting a call from one of his daughters, that being Yang. "Oh hold on a second."
Willow sighed while Taiyang began to chat to his eldest daughter, Whitley and Winter moved closer to her and began to whisper in her ears.
"You are not serious about this mother?" asked Winter with a frown.
"I am, he is staying with us. After all, he deserves a little reward for his heroism."
"Then why not simply book him a spot at a hotel instead?"
"Because he is a celebrity right now." Willow sighed. "You do recall, both of you, what happened when the press and fans came rushing at us when you were younger?"
"I don't." Whitley deadpanned.
"Well, I do." Winter grumbled. "And it wasn't fun."
"Which is why he is staying here, and please try to be nice to him. He's a good man." she said before looking at Whitley. "And yes he's a Hunter and I don't want to hear anything about you mocking him."
"Y-Yes mother." he said quickly as Taiyang ended the call.
"Sorry about that, Yang just told me about her teammate, Weiss." he chuckled. "Apparently they just had a very...large foodfight, with makeshift food weapons, and they trashed the place."
Winter sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to call her to hear what she has to say about this."
Taiyang sweatdropped at that. "I was going to do the exact thing, but with Ruby since I know she's not supposed to go using food as a weapon!"
Willow chuckled at this while finding it a pleasant change from the cold and near oppressive nature of her former husband's 'aura', in the figurative manner that was.
(A bit later)
Taiyang blinked while he was currently being held at blade point, courtesy of Winter's blades, and was glared at by the Specialist for some unknown reason. 'Ok, what's going on? I head towards the bathroom and then she does this?'
"You and I must have a 'serious' discussion."
"About what exactly?" he asked, very much confused at her hostility. "Wait, is it about Qrow? Because I have no idea what the deal is with you two but I want no part of whatever hate love you two have."
"It's not about him!" she snapped with a blush. "It's about my mother!"
"Oh...what about her exactly?"
"Right now she's in a vulnerable state, given the loss of her husband, and the added position of the company giving her many stressful things added onto it. You are here as a guest and nothing else, so keep in mind, because should you try anything, you will find out what a trained military soldier can do."
Taiyang blinked before chuckling a little.
"What's so funny?"
"Sorry sorry, you just reminded me of Yang for a second, always being defensive when someone tries to hurt either me or Ruby." he chuckled. "Trust me, I'm not going to try anything. I know how it feels to be in a stressful situation of unending and agonizing depression."
Winter raised an eyebrow at that.
"Plus, why would I take advantage of her?"
"Given her position, any man who got to marry her would be in quite the influential position."
"Yeah, but that's not me. I'm not someone who is obsessed with politics, and I'm DEFINITELY not some jerk who'd hit on a woman who just lost her husband." Taiyang deadpanned. "I'm a two time widower, I'm not going to try anything to make Willow upset."
Winter narrowed her eyes. "And how am I supposed to believe that?"
"Simple, just think about this logically. I'm not your father, I'm not a jerk, I'm a loving parent to two children, and I'm a teacher to budding Hunters and Huntresses. So in all due respect, I'm one hundred percent not a sneeze ball that wants to make your mother even more hurt then she already is."
"...and if she gets drunk?"
"You do realize I not only have a drunk brother-in-law living in my house but I used to drink." he frowned. "I did it when my second wife died, if your mother is or had drunk in the past, I can relate to it."
"..." she frowned while eyeing the blonde very carefully, as if his words didn't seem true at all, especially the part where he admitted he was an alcoholic like her mother.
"Plus, isn't it risky to threaten a civilian? Pretty sure Ironwood wouldn't let that one go if he found out."
"How-"
"I know the guy, I worked under Ozpin in the past." he said while Winter moved her blades away. "But let's let bygones be bygones."
She blinked as Taiyang walked away, only to turn to her with a puzzled expression.
"So...where's the bathroom?"
And cue her facepalming at that very tension killing question.
(Later)
Taiyang yawned as he, currently shirtless, walked into the kitchen, deserted due to the staff either quitting or being on holiday, and began to look around the area for something to drink.
However, he didn't notice Whitley eating a bowl of Pumpkin Petes in the corner of the room, holding a Pyrrha Nikos plushie in one hand and a spoon in the other.
'I can never get tired of this cereal.' He thought while not seeing Taiyang opening the fridge to get some milk, only to find none and saw the boy but kept quiet. 'Yes it has a savage Huntress on the box but...at least she's interesting. And what my sister told me, she is in Beacon as a partner to some boy. Bah, she deserves better, like oh say, me.'
'I wonder what he's doing with the doll?' he thought before moving closer to Whitley and sat next to him.
'One day Pyrrha Nikos, one day you will be mine!' he thought before noticing a hand grabbing the milk carton and quickly turned to see Taiyang's face and rather hairy chest.
"Oh hey, don't mind me. I'm just getting something to quench my thirst."
"WAAAAH!" he screamed, falling backwards and clinging onto the plushie. "W-What are you doing here?!"
"Having breakfast." He said calmly while Whitley shook like a leaf. "So you like Nikos? My daughter knows her and from what she tells me, she's very polite." 'Kinda like Summer.'
"N-No of course not!"
"Then what's with the plushie?"
Whitley quickly hid the plushie behind his back. "W-What plushie?"
"The one behind your back." He deadpanned.
"There's no plushie, you're just sleep disoriented."
"No, I saw the plushie." he said while reaching over and took the plushie by the hair.
"Ah! No! Give it back!"
"And why should I?"
"It's mine! I bought it! It's the only prototype in existence!"
"A prototype? You mean your company is gonna mass produce these?"
Whitley paled and looked away, seemily hiding a big secret.
"Wait...they don't know about this? At all?" Taiyang asked while looking at the plushie and then at Whitley. "Mmmm."
'I can't just say I MADE that plushie with company funds and my own two hands just to touch a semblance of the warrior known as Nikos! He'd laugh and tell mother!' he thought while Taiyang put two and two together and smirked.
"Oh I see, you have a crush on her."
"T-That's crazy! Why would someone like me have a crush on a...Huntress?"
"Then you wouldn't mind if I give this to Ruby then. She enjoys dolls on o-"
"NO!" He yelled while trying to grab the plushie, but found he was too short compared to the blonde. "I will not let anyone have her!"
"Oh? So you admit you have a crush." he smiled teasingly. "Come on, admitting it won't hurt, we've all had them before."
Whitley blushed and continued to try and grab his plushie as no one noticed Winter, in a white nightgown, walking in for some breakfast and saw the two 'fighting'. "Give her back this instant! She's mine!"
"Not until you admit your crush first. Besides, everyone your age gets crushes." 'Especially Yang when she...started dating behind my back! Grrr! Just thinking about it makes me mad! No, calm down, it's not about Yang, it's about Willow's son.'
"What are you two going?"
"No-"
"Whitley here." Taiyang interrupted with a smile. "Was trying to get his Pyrrha Nikos doll back. Apparently he has a big crush on her."
"DESIST!"
"Whitley? Is this true?" Winter asked while Whitley turned bright pink.
"..." he turned away in embarrassment as Taiyang patted his head.
"Oh relax, everyone has a crush." Taiyang said before pointing to Winter. "Look at your older sister, she might have a crush on my brother in law."
"T-That's not true!" Winter frowned with a stutter, only to realize that Whitley did the same response and blinked at him in surprise. 'This...is unusual.'
Taiyang looked at them and sighed before giving Whitley back his 'doll'. "Let's just drop this matter and get something to eat." 'Before I somehow make BOTH of them point swords at my neck.'
He glared at the man and took it back before marching off with a huff. 'Lousy barbarian.'
'Hopefully he isn't that angry with me.' Taiyang thought with a sigh.
(Three days later)
Taiyang tapped his foot while currently waiting for his daughter's to arrive, having heard from Willow that her daughter was coming back to Atlas to make sure she was ok, although in a more colorful yet detached tone compared to what Willow initially told him, as he and Willow were currently enjoying some bunch together. "What is taking them so long?"
"Relax Tai." Willow said informally, having been told by the blonde to call him that instead of Taiyang, as she took a sip of her coffee. "They will arrive along with my daughter. Just be patient."
"Tell that to Patch's overstressed dad of the year." Taiyang said with a groan.
"Is that your own nickname?"
"No, Yang's." he sighed while Willow smirked at him. "What?"
"Nothing, I'm just amused that you even have a title like that." Willow said while Taiyang looked confused. "My children never gave such titles to him...or myself in a very long time."
"Oh...that bad?"
"Yes, and unfortunately those simple little things are far and inbetween."
"Well you never know, they might do that later on."
"Yeah, I think not." she muttered to herself while neither of them noticed Weiss, having returned home ahead of her team due to instinctual relocation aka memory, was walking into the room. "For all I know, my daughters might call me a drunk or walk away like I contracted a deadly plague."
"Relax Willow." He said with a smile, holding her left hand with his own, making Weiss turn red in shock. "They still love you, even if you have a drinking problem. Besides, if your daughter was here, and please don't get upset, she would say 'Oh mother dear, I'm tired of being alone in a dormitory full of sexurally charged teenaged girls. Give me attention and compliment me.'."
Willow chuckled as Weiss clenched her hands tightly in anger. "That really does sound like her. How did you get her mannerisms down right?"
"Ruby. She always calls me about her team, especially your daughter." He chuckled while not seeing Weiss walking behind him with her blade in her right hand. "Like the time she tried to make cookies for the team, and turned them into throwing star-"
"SILENCE OR ELSE!" Weiss yelled while pointing her blade at Taiyang's neck.
He gulped and turned around quickly. "Oh hi...so you're Weiss...huh. I'd thought you'd be taller since Ruby-"
"Stop talking!" She snapped. "Who are you!? Why are you telling my mother embarrassing secrets about me!"
Willow sighed. "Weiss, this is Taiyang Xiao Long, the father of your two team members and the one that saved my life. You do recall the whole 'Hero of Atlas' debacle, right?"
The girl's eyes widened and she lowered her blade a little bit. "I see, you saved her...and are the one staying with her for the time being."
"Um...yeah." Taiyang said nervously.
"...if you say a pun in my face I'll be angered." she glared, making Taiyang gulp.
"Yang I take it?"
"Yes."
"Then no puns, promise." He said before smiling a little. "But dad jokes are a go...right?"
"As long as there are no puns."
He nodded before looking at Weiss carefully.
"What?"
"Oh nothing, just surprised to see one of Willow's children." He admitted before looking at the older woman. "So she's your favorite?"
"Yes." Willow said while Weiss did a double take in her mother's direction. "While I do love my children equally, I find Weiss to be a good child, same with Whitley. Although she does have her father's stubborn streak."
"Ruby said the same thing to me. She's stubborn." Taiyang said while Weiss huffed in annoyance. "But so is Yang and Ruby. My little sun dragon and rose are just like their mothers."
"Wait...I'm your favorite?"
"Yes." Willow said with a calm expression.
"But I thought it was Winter."
"Yes, but she is also my first born. Sometimes a mother will be unconditionally attached to the eldest." Willow said with a heavy sigh. "But we aren't as close as we used to be, but to be honest, I consider all of you my favorites, even if they distance themselves from me most of the time."
Weiss felt her heart skip a beat at that while finding herself moving, without her knowledge, towards her mother before hugging her.
Taiyang chuckled at this while Willow felt a little surprised at this moment of affection from her middle child.
She reached up and slowly returned it with uncertainty.
WOOSH!
"Dad!" Ruby called out, while appearing in a flurry of petals, her team running after her like they had run a marathon, as she caused Weiss to flitch and blush bright red. "I'm here!"
"Ruby!" Weiss screeched out while Ruby blinked.
"...am I interrupting something?"
"Yes!/No." Both Willow and Weiss said at once, making Ruby even more confused.
"Um..."
"Relax Ruby." Taiyang chuckled while seeing Yang and Blake catch up to her. "You did nothing wrong this time...wait. Yang, who is that girl next to you?"
"I'm her partner." Blake said defensively.
"...ah. Now I remember, you're the girl Yang has a crush on." He teased while Yang turned bright red. "Huh, I guess the Xiao Long genes really kicked in on this one." 'Always the girls with black hair or...wait, is she a killer!?'
"Dad! Don't go saying stuff like that!" Yang yelled while Blake looked at her with raised eyes.
"What?"
"Oh come on Yang, you've been talking about her every time we chatted." Taiyang smirked. "How a cute girl with a bow keeps you up at night-"
"DAD!"
Willow chuckled to herself, feeling the warmth emanating from this small family bonding moment.
"Oh really now?" Blake said while looking at Yang with her left eyebrow raised. "First I've heard of it."
Yang gulped while having a hard time getting her words out. 'Damn it dad!'
(A little bit later)
Taiyang smiled as he walked down the hallway, having just watched his daughters and their partners getting settled in one of the manor's unoccupied rooms, and was just doing some exploring.
However, what he failed to realize was that Weiss was following him, still annoyed that he was very close to her mother.
'Just how close is he to mother? They seem to be on good terms, but is it platonic or something more?' She thought while seeing the blonde turning a corner. 'Mother hasn't been like...this in years. How can she change from an alcoholic to...to...a kind person in a matter of months!?'
'I wonder what to tell Willow? Maybe share some more stories of my past? Oh maybe I should compliment her, she might like that.' He thought while Weiss moved closer and closer to him with every step he took. 'It won't sound awkward if I do it out of nowhere, right?'
As the older man walked down the next hallway, he noticed that someone was following him and quickly turned around to see Weiss, glaring at him intensely.
'Oh no, not this again!' he thought, gulping, but picked up the pace and quickly turned back ahead of him.
"Hey! Get back here!" she called out while moving after him.
'Crap crap crap crap crap!' Taiyang thought while running faster down the hallway, with Weiss following him in hot pursuit, as he felt like he was going to either die or get kicked in the groin for some reason.
"Hold on! I need to talk to you!"
"Sorry! Can't talk!"
"Why not!?"
"Uh...uh...bathroom! That's it!"
"Then why are you running towards the front door!?" she yelled before forming glyphs and suddenly went super speed at him.
"SHIT!" He yelled before he tripped on his left foot-
CRASH!
And crashed into a suit of armor.
"OOF!" He groaned before-
BAM!
Weiss collided with him, sending the two rolling down the hallway before the heiress found herself on top of the blonde's pelvic region as the hunter laid on his back, a helmet dangling right on his face. "Ow..."
"You said it..." He groaned before Weiss realized where exactly she landed and turned bright pink.
She jumped off quickly, dusting her clothes off. "R-Right. Ahem...Xiao Long, I need you to answer some questions."
"...oh. So you're not going to hurt me?" Taiyang asked while Weiss tried to calm down.
"Depends on how well you answer me."
"Fair enough." He said with a nervous chuckle. "So what do you want to ask?"
"What is your relationship between you and my mother?"
"We're friends."
Weiss frowned hearing that. "Friends? Not friends that take advantage of a widow? Especially one that is a drunkard!?"
"What...oh...OH! I see now." Taiyang said in realization, getting up and taking the helmet off of his head. "You're worried that I might hurt your mother."
She turned bright pink and looked away in embarrassment.
"Weiss, I'm an honest man, heck I'm a clumsy one, so I'm telling the truth when I say I'm not wanting to take advantage of her."
"But-"
"Did I ever ask her anything she didn't like?"
"No."
"Then you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt her." Taiyang said with a sigh. "I know about her history, and I know about the drinking but that doesn't change the fact she's a good friend and I will defend her against anyone that tries to take advantage of her."
"..." Weiss looked at her feet before getting patted on the head by the blond's left hand.
"So don't worry about me, just try to protect my daughters." He said while chuckling a little. "They are more headstrong than me."
Weiss blushed at the head pat, which she quickly stopped by pushing his hand away. "D-Don't do that!"
"Why?"
"B-Because it's childish!" she blushed while Taiyang chuckled.
"Not with my girls, they love it." he said before patting her head again.
"Stop it! I'm not a child!" She yelled in embarrassment as Taiyang continued to pat her head, lost at how cute the girl was in his eyes. "Stop!"
(Some weeks later)
"Winter." Weiss said while she, Winter and Whitley, were in the living room, Taiyang and her own team were currently outside helping with the occasional chore or just helping Khein with an odd job, as their mother was busy keeping an eye on the older blonde...for some odd reason. "Whitley. What are your thoughts on Taiyang Xiao Long?"
"The blond brute mother is fascinated with? I prefer to ignore him." Whitley frowned while looking away.
"And this hasn't anything to do with your 'Pyrrha Nikos plushie', right?" Winter asked, knowing that her brother's 'secret' was revealed by the blonde hunter at least once in the past.
"NO!" he yelled in embarrassment.
"I'll take that as a yes." Winter said with a smirk.
"Whitley, do you have anything positive about him?" Weiss asked.
"...he's tolerable. I'll give him that." He huffed.
"And Winter? Your thoughts on him?"
"Same." She said with a nod. "However, he has been too close to mother as of late. While not a bad thing...I just worry about her mental health."
"Like you did before." Whitley muttered out loud as Winter elbowed him in the stomach. "Ah!"
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Look, I find him...annoying. But given that he actually makes mother happy is rather...shocking to say the least."
"Given her previous taste in men? Understandable." Winter said with a grumble, only for Whitley to silently nod in agreement, given their father was...not really the best human being in Remnant.
"Still." Weiss sighed before making a nervous glance at her siblings. "...I'm not so sure that he isn't a good match for her."
Whitley blinked before raising an eyebrow at her second eldest sister. "Wait, you WANT him as part of the family?"
"Well it seems like a good idea on paper, mother is happy with him and he kinda treats us, even you Whitley, like his own kids. It would be insane not to at least support it, for the most part."
"Are you saying that for our mother? Or because if they got together it would make your team leader our sister-in-law?"
"W-What!? I'm not doing it for the dolt! I'm doing it for mother!" Weiss yelled in embarrassment as Whitley smirked.
"Yes, that is really your intention with him."
"I don't see what the problem is." Winter said with a sigh. "He treats her right and in proxy, us. Wouldn't it be a good choice to let him into the family?"
"...still." Whitley said with a grumble. "Even if he is good enough for mother, she might not return the gesture and date him."
Weiss and Winter nodded while not noticing that their mother, having returned to get some tea, was hiding right behind a corner, eavesdropping on their conversation.
'Seems the children are gossiping.' She thought while letting the idea of her dating Taiyang sink into her mind. 'Still...dating him? Mmm, technically we have been dating. Between the conversations and the constant affection, it feels more like being courted than anything else.'
As she thought long and hard about this line of thought, she recalled how Taiyang was a Hunter, a teacher, a kind man, a father figure and a positive influence on her children.
'All he needs to do is be a good cook and he'd be every woman's dream guy.' She thought before getting an idea. 'Mmmm. I'll present a challenge to him. If he cooks a meal fit for a Schnee, then he shall be my husband.'
(A bit later)
"Wait. You want me to cook tonight's dinner?" Taiyang asked Willow, his body a little tired from cleaning the gutters. "Why not Khein?"
"Because he has other matters to attend to. Plus, I heard from your daughters that you cook a 'mean' steak." She said while the blonde blinked in surprise.
"Well, that's true but I haven't cooked a steak since Summer and Raven were living together." He said. "I really don't know if-"
"Well, I hope to enjoy your cooking. The ingredients are in the kitchen." Willow interrupted with a smile. "If you need anything, I will let my children help."
"But I-"
"See you at dinner." Willow said before walking away, leaving Taiyang stunned and in disbelief.
"...nuts." He grumbled while cursing his luck. "Ok Taiyang, it's not the end of the world. If you could do it before, you can do it again, hopefully."
(A few hours later)
'Ok...that was...close.' Taiyang thought while placing the steaks, semi charred due to stress and panic, on the nearby tray, the kitchen currently covered in both soot and the occasional flame.
The reason? Yang and Ruby heard about him cooking steak and helped, which led to Blake being roped into the preparations and well...none of the three were good with cooking...at all.
"Cough." Yang coughed while her hair was covered in soot, her sister and teammate currently standing next to her with either flames or soot in their hair or in the case of Blake, on her ears.
"Ah!" Blake cried out before smothering the flames with Ruby's cloak.
"Hey! Use some other cloak!" Ruby yelled while pulling her cloak back, only for Yang to pat the flames off her own head.
"Welp, that was...a sizzling sensation." Yang said while Blake facepalmed at her.
Taiyang sighed before looking at the three huntresses. "Right, Ruby, can you get the others? Yang, help me set the table. And Yang's wife-"
"Not her wife." Blake said with a light blush.
"Right, could you help get some new clothes, maybe some towels." He asked while Ruby zipped away via her semblance, leaving rose petals all over Blake's face.
"On it." She said before spitting out a rose petal out of her mouth.
'I hope this actually works...because I feel like I just turned the steaks into coal!'
(Later)
Willow blinked as she and the rest of her family, along with a now cleaned team RWBY, saw Taiyang walking over with a closed tray in his left hand.
"Here you go." he said with a forced smile, hoping his cooking didn't disgust her, and opened the lid to reveal the steak. "The famous Xiao Long steak...um...extra charred."
'Extra? They look burned to a crisp.' Willow thought along with the other Schnee siblings as Taiyang placed a steak on their plates.
"Enjoy." He said while walking to his chair, nearest to Yang, and internally gulped. 'I hope they don't spit it out.'
Whitley raised an eyebrow, but tried to cut into it with a grimace. 'This...is going to kill my taste buds.'
'Hopefully this is better than the food at the barricades.' Winter thought while cutting her steak.
'...I really am going to regret this.' Weiss thought while moving the piece of steak towards her mouth with her fork.
Taiyang gulped while seeing the Schnees taking a bite of the steak, dreading their reactions. "So? How is it...?"
"...tastes like shoe leather." Whitley gagged.
"It's etable." Winter said while not really complaining.
"Tastes better than Ruby's cooking at any rate." Weiss said while Ruby gave her the evil glare.
"Hey! At least I don't turn cookies into throwing stars!"
"That was one time!"
Willow hummed a little to herself while finding the taste and texture of the steak to her liking, akin to her own father's cooking during his younger days in the mines. "Mmmm."
"Willow?" Taiyang said while looking at the older woman. "How is it?"
She placed her fork down as a lone tear fell down her face, surprising the Schnee siblings greatly. "It...It reminds me of my father and his...terrible cooking."
That got surprised looks from all, from confusion and disappointment, in Taiyang's case.
Willow wiped the tear away with her napkin and looked at Taiyang. "You surprise me Taiyang."
"...how?" he asked while feeling rather depressed.
"I haven't had such a meal since my father was alive and you...you made me remember the good times with him." She said while Taiyang's mood started to perk up a little. "And for that, I thank you."
"OH! Y-You're welcome Willow." He said while Yang gave him a thumbs up.
"Great job dad, you just melted a Snow Queen's heart." Yang smirked before Weiss gave her a glare. "Oh relax, you're already melted by our shared passion for butt whooping."
"At least I don't try to burn the house down every time your hair gets split ends." Weiss retorted.
"Hey! Mess with the hair, and you're gonna get it." Yang yelled before seeing Ruby's eyes glint with an idea and raised her plate upwards. "Ruby, n-"
WOOSH!
Splat!
Blake frowned as the steak fell down her face, juices dripping from her cheeks as Ruby gulped.
"I was trying to-"
SPLAT!
"Ah!"
"If you want a food fight." Blake frowned while Ruby got hit in the face by a steak. "Then aim for the right target!"
"This is madness-" Whitley said before getting hit by a steak, courtesy of Weiss. "Why you!"
"Oops, it slipped." she smirked.
Whitley frowned before throwing his plate.
SPLAT!
Only to hit Winter's face due to Weiss ducking from the strike.
"..." She narrowed her eyes before grabbing the steak and slammed it into Weiss' face.
"AH!"
"Food-"
SPLAT!
"AH!" Ruby cried out while getting hit by some mash potatoes, courtesy of Yang.
"Girls stop!" Taiyang yelled before getting hit in the face by a plate of mashed potatoes, by Winter. "GAH!"
Willow shook her head while contemplating her family's previous gossip and Taiyang's cooking. 'Mmm...perhaps I should bring him into the family. Just need the paperwork and a select few 'friends' and possibly a few invites.'
SPLAT!
SPLAT!
"Alright, all of you, stop-"
SPLAT!
The room became silent as Willow wiped the mashed potatoes off of her face, looked at the group before-
SPLAT!
Throwing mashed potatoes right at Taiyang's face with a smirk.
"Oh it is on."
"Bring it." Taiyang said, his tone now filled with hurt pride, as the entire table started a food fight for the ages.
(A week later)
Taiyang yawned as he got out of bed, finally able to block the Atlesian traffic and noise from his mind, and got himself dressed for another Atlesian day.
But as he made it out the door and down the hallway towards the stairs, he noticed that Ironwood was waiting near the base of the stairs, seemilly waiting for him for some odd reason.
"General Ironwood?"
"Xiao Long, a word." He said with a stern tone.
'Oh no, what did I do?' He thought while walking down the stairs towards the man.
"..."
'I hope this isn't anything...bad right?' "What...seems to be the problem sir?"
"I just want to." Ironwood said while placing his robotic right arm on Taiyang's shoulder.
'Please don't let it-'
"Congratulate you for your upcoming wedding ceremony."
"My...what?"
"Your wedding, did you not send the invitations just last week?"
"...eh!?" he yelled out in surprise, confusing Ironwood in the process. "When did this happen!? Who!?"
"Wait...you didn't know you were marrying Willow Schnee?"
"Willow!?" He yelled in shock while not seeing the white haired woman walking behind him. "I'm getting married to her!?"
"Yes you are." She said calmly, making the blonde jump back in surprise. "Is it not a worthy prize for your past heroics?"
"B-B-But...we're...not dating."
"Then what were those interactions we had together these long months? Simple chats?"
"Well...wait, why would you do this!?"
"Simple, you are worthy."
"...eh?"
Willow chuckled a little at his confusion. "I consider you husband material. You are caring, protective, loving and above all else have a code of honor, unlike my former husband."
He turned red hearing that, stunned, before snapping out of it. "You never said you wanted to marry me though!"
"I didn't need to say anything, actions alone are enough." She huffed. "Besides, seeing you interact with me and my children with compassion is more than enough for me."
Taiyang blinked in shock as Willow placed a hand on his left cheek. "What else did you do?"
"Oh that. I just sent some invitations, prepared the ceremony, signed the documentations, all the complicated matters you didn't need to worry about a third time."
"...wait...you did ALL of that behind my back!?"
She nodded as Taiyang felt a little surprised and just confused.
"But...But..."
"So you don't want to marry me Taiyang?" she asked with a frown, one that made Taiyang flitch.
"Well no, I mean you are a lovely lady, but I...um..."
"Well?"
"I just...didn't expect someone to see me as marriage material." He admitted while not seeing Ozpin, who just walked in just moments ago and standing next to Ironwood, raising an eyebrow at his words.
"I don't know about that." Ozpin said as Taiyang jumped back in shock. "Most of your valuable traits, even the most vice filled, allowed you to woo half of your own team. Why couldn't it work again with the Schnee matriarch?"
"AH!" He let out in terror before noticing who the voice belonged to. "Ozpin!?"
"That is my name Mister Xiao Long. I thought you'd learned it after many years of studying at Beacon." He said in a playful manner.
"What are you doing here!?"
"I was invited to the wedding, your best man apparently."
"Best...wait, usually Qrows that."
"Unfortunately, Willow was clear not to let Qrow near her daughter, at all."
"...I see." He turned his head towards the Schnee. "Who else did you invite?"
"Your daughters, my daughter's team and their families." She said with a sigh. "Unfortunately, an uninvited guest showed up as well."
"Who?"
"Raven Branwen." She shook her head. "Apparently she heard of the wedding and, well, is looking for you, at this exact moment."
"Raven!?" Taiyang yelled in shock. "Oh no, if she finds me I'm dead!"
"Possessive?"
"Yes!"
"Well I can be possessive as well. I will not let my new husband get hurt before the ceremony." Willow said with conviction.
'What's more terrifying? A possessive bandit or a possessive heiress!?' he thought while near the stairs, Weiss, Winter and Whitley watched the scene unfold before them.
"This complicates things." Winter muttered.
"Agreed." Weiss said with a nod. "And apparently, Yang Xiao Long is looking for that woman as well."
"Let me guess, bad blood?" Whitley asked as Weiss nodded.
"Raven is Yang's mother, her birth mother apparently. So if those two meet here, before or during the ceremony, it will be a disaster!"
"And here I thought that damn Qrow Branwen was the one that would ruin the wedding. I misjudged."
"He might still sneak in." Whitley said while Winter grumbled.
"Knowing him, he might."
"Still." Weiss said while feeling a little shocked. "I didn't expect mother to...well, plan a wedding behind all of our backs."
"It's going to cause quite the stir." Whitley said before seeing Taiyang getting kissed on the lips by his mother. "Oh my."
"Seems mother couldn't wait." Winter sighed before seeing Taiyang fainting in his new wife's arms. "And made...father's heart give out." 'I'm never going to get used to calling him that.'
"Well." Weiss shrugged while not seeing Ruby, right behind her via semblance. "All's well that-"
"HI WEISS!"
"AH!" She screamed before using her glyphs to increase the speed of her right arm.
POW!
And punched Ruby in the face, sending her flying into a wall.
"Owie..." Ruby groaned as the screen went black. "So...much...pain..."
[Omake]
(Many weeks later)
-Menagerie, Kuo Kuanna-
Splash.
Splash.
It was a calm afternoon as Taiyang, currently in a black bathing suit, sat relaxed on a chair in the middle of Menagerie's sandy beaches, currently on a honeymoon with his wife, Willow Schnee Xiao Long, who was busy swimming at the moment.
It was a crazy wedding really, his first wife, Raven Branwen, interrupted the ceremony and got into a fight with both her daughter Yang AND the bride. But besides that and the fact Raven apparently had feelings for him still and is possibly waiting for his guard to slip so she can 'claim' him again, everything else was smooth sailing for him.
They got here, got set up, and he was trying to catch some rays for a tan.
"Ah...peace at last." he muttered out loud, not seeing his wife, now wearing a white and blue one piece swimsuit with a light blue skirt as her hair is now loose and trailing down to her hips, walking over to him until she sat down on his lap.
"Why have peace when you can have me?"
"Well, that's also a good option." He chuckled as Willow huffed.
"Good? You mean perfectly suitable, don't you?"
"Well that, but then again, breathtaking comes to mind." Taiyang said while Willow smirked and moved herself closer to Taiyang's chest.
"I see." she said while pushing her chest on his own. "How about now?"
"Mmmm, radiant." he smirked while wrapping his arms around her, not realizing that a flock of seagulls were landing around them, looking for food.
"Easy, keep that up, and I might do something naughty right here~"
"Oh really?" Taiyang smirked as he began to grope Willow's ass, the seagulls slowly moving towards them as they mistook their sun lotion's unique smell for bacon.
"Mmmm, bad boy~" Willow hummed before seeing a seagull land on Taiyang's head. "Huh?"
"MINE MINE!" The seagull cawed as the entire flock of over two hundred flew at them with alarming speed.
"AHHHHH!" Both screamed as the seagulls started to peck them like crazy.
"MINE MINE MINE!"
"MINE MINE MINE MINE!"
"MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE!"
"Get away you rats with wings!" Willow yelled while throwing the birds off of her left and right, Taiyang getting his hair pulled out in the process.
"YEOW! Damn it, why are they even attacking us!?"
"MINE MINE MINE MINE!"
"Back!" Willow yelled while punching one of the seagulls in the face. "Back I say! BACK!"
"MINE MINE MINE MINE!"
As this occured, a red eyed corvid landed on a nearby palm tree and watched the scene with amusement.
'That's for taking what's mine, Schnee bitch.' it thought before a seagull flew next to it.
"Mine?"
"Buzz off." the bird said before pushing the seagull off the tree, not realizing its friends saw the bird's actions and glared at it. "...oh no."
"MINE MINE MINE MINE!"
"NOT THE FACE!"
And like that, another day in the lives of the Schnee Xiao Long concludes...without a pun in-
"This is flocking nuts!"
DAMN IT!
xxxxxxxxxxxx
END