Part four

…

All three of them were outside, training.

Jaune was doing so alone, while Yang and her dad did it together. The two of them barreling through the snow as they sprinted like madmen. Because of course, them doing anything together should eventually turn out to be a competition, and running most certainly wasn't an exception to that rule. However, the thing which actually was rather surprising, at least for him, was how competitive their race turned out to be.

Now, he didn't really expect to completely out run her, but he was certain he'd be at least a fair distance ahead. Yet instead, she was actually an arm's length ahead of him. And given the fact that the imaginary finish line wasn't far away at all, he didn't have much time left to change that.

Luckily for him though, he could see she was running on nothing but fumes at this point; given how her speed just ever so slightly started to decrease. He, on the other hand, had some fuel left in his tank, and it was just about the time he'd put it to good use.

She didn't even need to glance back to know he was shortening the gap between them.

Crap!

That was really bad, but unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury to complain so instead, she madly focused on her exhausted, aching legs.

Don't give up on me please! We're almost there!

She pleaded them, as well as her burning lungs actually, and the imaginary finish line was roughly three hundred meters away as she did.

He increased his speed just a little bit more, and within a couple more blazing strides, he was right next to her.

She didn't spare him a glance still, but instead was focused solely on looking forward.

He actually struggled to gain the lead, but seeing how little of a distance was left, he managed to up his speed even further, and was finally inching ahead of her.

You did great lil'cracker, but it's still a tad bit too soon for you to win against me, so suck it up, and accept that I-whoa!

His musing was cut short, he planted his foot onto something uneven hidden in the snow, and lost his balance. A moment later, he was sent flying forward and then slammed right into the thick of snow.

She didn't even spare him a glance, and just blazed her way forward till she finally crossed the finish line.

Well…that was unexpected.

He thought to himself while still being buried into the snow, but a moment later, he pushed himself up.

Guess I celebrated too early.

He cracked a minuscule smile, and noticed she was sitting in the snow, rocking back and forth as she panted for a breath. His smile widened ever so slightly, he even chuckled a bit, and then fully rose to his feet. Brushing the snow off of himself, he then paced forward and closer to her. When he was close enough, he stopped.

She slowly turned her head to face him, and then grinned, obviously satisfied. "Now how about that, you old man?" She started, paused, collected enough breath, and only then continued. "I actually won."

He put his hands on his hips. "Did you, really?"

"Of course, I did. It's not my fault that you lost your balance and slammed into the snow. You should have been more careful." She voiced the last sentence in a teasing, almost mocking way, but he didn't bite back, and merely accepted his loss.

"Fine, fine." He started, and then offered her a hand. "You got me this time. Congratulations."

She gladly accepted his hand, and he then helped her to her feet.

"This time, you say." She started, and then nudged his side with her fist. "I wonder what you'll say the next time I'll win because trust me, you can bet your entire bank it'll happen again."

He nudged her back. "I'd be piss poor if I did," He said, and she then gave him a gentle shove.

"Just you wait," She said daringly, and moments later, they walked inside the house.

She went straight to her room, while he went to the kitchen.

Once she had entered her room, she laid down in her bed, splayed her legs out, and let head sink into the soft, cushy pillow.

I'll take a shower just a little bit later.

She decided, and then closed her eyes, and simply relaxed.

"…"

Some minutes passed, and there was nothing to distract her from enjoying peace and quiet. Before she heard someone knocking, and her eyes opened and she then slightly turned her head to the door. "Come in," She said in a louder voice, and the person then opened the door. She wasn't surprised at all to see her dad walk in.

"I figured that maybe you'd like something to drink."

"Sure," She said, and he then walked up to her bed, and placed a glass of homemade juice right on the night-table.

"Mind if I sit down for a bit?"

"Go ahead," She said, and he then seated himself on the edge of her bed.

"…"

For now, he didn't say a word and honestly, she was fine with that. It didn't feel awkward or tense, and after she glanced at his face a couple of times, she thought his expression didn't show any troubling, grim emotions. He looked calm, perhaps deep in a thought, and she figured she knew what he was thinking about.

The things that I said three days ago.

She was quite sure, and honestly, if he was about to express his opinion regarding all that, he more than deserved to do so. No matter if it would turn out to be a cold fury, a bittersweet acceptance or anything else. She was ready to hear him out, and in fact, wanted to.

He slightly turned his head to give her a peak, and then looked down to his crossed fingers. His expression staying the same. "Have you or Jaune even once doubted your decision on getting engaged?" He asked, and she was caught off guard for a moment.

"No. Not at all." She, however, composed herself quickly, and answered with sincerity impossible to fake.

He nodded, and mustered an honest smile as he tuned to look at her. "That's good to hear. I'm genuinely happy for both of you."

She smiled back. "Thanks."

His smiled widened. "You know it, it really does seem almost like a miracle that you met each other at just the right time. A perfect time, really."

"Sometimes it does, for sure. But then again, Jaune himself is like a tiny miracle, really," She said warmly, and half a second later, she averted her eyes from his.

He chuckled. "So, you went from bad puns to corny one-liners?"

"He's the one to be blamed for that. It's not my fault he looks so stupidly happy when I say stuff like that." She uttered sheepishly, and he full out laughed for a good, few seconds.

"Yep! Now I'm sure it's definitely love that you share!" He said with an oomph, and at first, she shot him a hard, irritated glare, but just a few moments later, her features relaxed, and she herself let out a quiet laughter.

"Well what can you do? Things just kept happening between us, and it eventually led to this," She said, and then pointed her look down to her ring. Her expression ever so slightly changing.

"Yea." He agreed, and pointed his look to…to her ring as well.

He blinked.

…

"My little cracker, you're walking! You're actually taking your first steps!" He exclaimed in awe.

Tiny Yang beamed at him with an exuberant grin. Her arms splayed out as she awkwardly stumbled forward and closer to the person who waited for her with open arms.

…

"Yang," He said her name pointedly, and crossed his arms under his chest.

She dropped the crayons she was holding, and then, oddly enough, kicked them away too.

He took a step closer to her, and then lowered himself just a bit. "I gave you more than enough paper to draw on. So, why are you doing it on the walls?"

"Because it's fun!" Little Yang answered with a cheerful smile, and he almost laughed at how honest she was.

"Well, you can't do that." However, what she did was wrong, and he had to reprimand her. "Also, you're going to help me fix that."

She averted her eyes from him, and with-out a word said, tried to just nonchalantly walk away.

He picked her up, and then turned her body in a way that she'd have to look in his eyes. "You're going to help me fix that," He said with a low, deliberate tone, and little Yang knew she didn't have a choice.

"Fine." She pouted, and he then nodded, satisfied.

…

"So how did you enjoy your first week at Signal?"

"It was pretty cool, actually."

"Really?"

She cracked a cheeky grin. "Yea. It's nice that I get to fight without breaking any rules."

He snorted, his fingers rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Oh, dear…" He uttered, but honestly, that's kind of what he expected to hear. "Just don't get too wild and please, try not to break too many rules, okay? Remember, I'm one of the teachers at Signal."

"Yea, I'll try." She chirped, and he gave her a wry look.

'At least she was honest and didn't make any empty promises.'

He thought to himself, his face awash with wry resignation.

…

"So how about that, you old man?" She put her hands on her hips, and cracked a triumphant grin. "I actually graduated with top grades."

He gave her a dubious look. "You did, and you probably cheated in every single written test."

"No, I didn't. I only cheated before we made a bet, but not a single time after that," She said, and then took half a step closer to him. Her whole expression speaking of nothing but gleeful victory. "So, suck it up, dad. You now owe me a bike," She said, and after he contemplated to himself for a bit, he quietly sighed, and then cracked a wry grin.

"…Fine. I guess I underestimated you, after all. You were, as some would say, on fire during your studies." He admitted his defeat and even made a bad pun.

"Just remember, we agreed it would be a brand new one."

"I know." He retorted back, and she seemed to be utmost satisfied with his answer.

"Good." She patted him on the shoulder. "I guess I'll go now. I have a party to celebrate, after all," She said, and as she was about to turn, he stopped her.

"Yang?"

"Yea?"

And before he would continue, his expression finally softened, he cracked a warm smile, and his eyes seem to brighten. "You did good. Really, really good. I'm proud of you," He said, and the sincerity in his voice was impossible to fake.

…

He blinked.

All the memories of her falling back to the deepest depths of his mind and his heart alike. And he knew he wasn't staring at a tiny toddler, a little girl or someone who just graduated combat school. Instead, what he saw before him was a young woman with a huge baggage of life behind her. Not the least of which was her engagement to a fine, young man.

He all at once realized how quickly it happened.

"Dad?"

He heard her voice, and at first, he couldn't understand why she looked worried. Before he realized something wet and warm was sliding down his cheek.

He wiped that tear away.

"Don't worry, I'm not sad or anything like that. In fact, it's more like I'm overwhelmed by happiness because…because I'm so, so proud of you," He said with a quieter voice, got hold of her hand and squeezed it. And the tears which lingered in his eyes were now free. "Despite everything that you've been through, and at such a young age, you've grown up to be a wonderful, strong and resilient young woman. A good person, and I just…I want you to know that watching it all happen was like a blessing to me. You've always been, and you'll always remain to be one of the best parts of my life." He finished with a shaky voice, and she then threw herself to his chest, and hugged him.

He hugged her back.

"I love you, dad." Her voice was shaky too, and her lilac was welling with tears which soon broke loose.

"I love you too," He said, and then gently started to rub her back. His other arm pulling her in and closer to himself just a little bit more, and then, jut briefly, a realization struck him that everything about this moment was just right.

He spoke right from his heart and hence, said exactly the kind of words he needed, wanted to say. She answered him in a simple, but heartfelt way. And the embrace that they shared was just wonderful in its entirety.

Even if his inner world wasn't anywhere near perfect, for as long as this moment would last, it would feel like it was. And so would the world around him.

"…"

They stayed silent for just a little while longer.

"…"

For a little while longer still. Before she remembered that there was something she absolutely needed to say. "Dad." She slowly started, and then tried to move back a bit, but his bear-hug wouldn't budge just yet. Not until after he'd notice what she was trying to do.

"What is it?" He inquired, and let his arms loosen up so she could create some space between him and herself.

"I just…I wanted you to know that I'm so, so sorry that I lied to you about not knowing where Ruby's heading to."

He nodded sideways. "No, it's okay. I mean, I'm not saying it was the right thing to do, but I at least do understand why you did it. So, really. It's okay, you can let it go just like I will."

She heard him say, and in a way, it almost felt unfair how forgiving he was. "But…but…" She tried a sentence, but couldn't find the right words and so, a wave of frustration washed over her. Her eyes welling up with new tears which dared to break free, and one even did so.

He helped that one away.

"It's better this way. Not only for you, but me as well. I don't want to hold onto a grudge, and neither would it do me any good if I did." He tried to reassure her, and even if some of the pain and regret refused to give up, the sincerity written in his face did help her ease up a great deal.

"…Okay. And thanks, dad," She said, and in return, he gave her a tiny, genuine smile. Before it faded, and after seconds of soundless consideration, contemplation, a new set of words lingered behind his closed lips.

After quietly breathing in, and then out, he slowly started to voice them. "There's something else I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

He paused for a moment, asked himself again if he was sure about this, and thankfully, his gut-feeling told him he was. "I'll be coming with you," He said, and didn't notice any argument into her eyes even as she realized what he was talking about.

"Okay." She replied with one word, but that one word was all he needed.