Love (And Other Difficulties)

Winter Writing Challenge Day 1: Christmas Feast (Taiyang Xiao Long)

"You're acting like I've never met your daughters before!"

"I know, I know, but this is special!" Taiyang insists, looking into the pot he's stirring. "This is our first family holiday together! It'll be a blast."

"I'm not doubting that."

Not wanting to rain on Taiyang's parade that this interaction with his daughters will be just like every other interaction, you busy yourself with the food that needs to be prepared but not cooked. Taiyang's territory was the stove and oven, while you were left with the table to make your creations; he hadn't even wanted help at first, wanting you to just relax while he did everything, but conceded when you told him how ridiculous it'd be for you to not help him.

You're the first to greet Ruby and Yang at the door, as Taiyang was finishing up setting the food on the table.

"Hey guys!"

Ruby's eyes light up as she sees you and you spot the sly look Yang shoots you, but you ignore it as you wrap your arms around both girls and bring them into a tight hug. They didn't entirely know the truth of yours and Taiyang's relationship, or they hadn't been told anything official yet. You suspected at least Yang was aware of the truth behind why you were almost always over her father's house when they came to visit, and Ruby, if she didn't know, would at least be extremely supportive of it.

As Ruby heads into the kitchen to greet Taiyang, Yang hangs back, giving you another sly look but far more obvious. You smile in her direction innocently, shrugging your shoulders to her unasked question: if she wanted answers, she could ask her father. You were interested to hear what he had to say about it, and you know if anyone would breach the topic, it'd be Yang.

Ruby is sitting at the table when the two of you enter the kitchen, nearly drooling (with some tears in her eyes) as she motions towards the spread of food laid out across the table. Yang forgets all about teasing you or her father for the time being, stomach growling loudly as she takes her place beside her sister, ready to devour all food in her path.

"Soooo, dad." Yang leans forward on the table after pushing her plate to the side, "What's been up with you?"

Ruby is half asleep on the table, in a comfortable food coma until she hears her sister begin to pry into their fathers personal life; she pops up at the question, eyes sparkling as she looks at her dad eagerly. You almost feel bad for the pressure being put on Taiyang to confess he had a new love interest, especially when said love interest was sitting directly next to him. You lean against his shoulder causing him to glance over at you, spotting the amused look on your face and knowing he was gonna think this was a set-up.

"Well, if you really want to know..." Taiyang gestured towards you, "We've started a garden together!"

"That's great! Wait-" Ruby squints her eyes. "That's not what-"

Yang elbows her.

"That's great! Must be a lot of work keeping a garden together; takes real commitment."

"It sure does!" Taiyang offers absolutely nothing for her to use, and you can see her wracking her brain for a counterpoint. You wouldn't think it would be so hard to admit to your own children that you'd begun dating again, but it was far from your place to offer up the information, not to mention it was amusing to watch.

"Well, let me ask this, why are they always-" Yang only gets midway through her sentence when the front door bursts open loudly, causing all your heads to whip towards the entrance of the kitchen. You're all silent for a moment, wondering if weapons should be retrieved when a drunken Qrow stumbles into the room, looking mildly out of it but certainly full of holiday cheer.

"Hope I'm not late to the party."

"Not at all." You stand to help Qrow get to a seat without knocking something over, retrieving a plate for him as you're not sure he can be trusted to get it himself. With your back turned as you gather the needed utensils, and with Ruby happily greeting her uncle, Yang leans across the table and grabs her dads attention.

Taiyang is expecting her to start prying more, asking more vague questions that he could easily respond to with a vague answer, but he's pleasantly surprised.

"We're glad you're happy, dad."