Chapter Text
It took four hours of cooking, three hours of cleaning, and more headaches (courtesy of her annoying ass roommates) than she could count, but it was nearly finished. Dressed in the most expensive white sweater and powder blue skirt combo she could afford on her budget, Weiss Schnee was going to make the first Thanksgiving she ever hosted the best damn Thanksgiving anyone has ever had! No matter how hard her “Friends” try to ruin it. Their families are coming too, so this night should be just as important to them as it is to her. Especially Blake and Yang.
Speaking of her friends, Weiss looks up from setting the dinner table standing in the living room to glance at the clock, and notices Ruby, Yang, and Blake have spent way too long cleaning their rooms. She can still hear the vacuum going on in Blake and Yang’s room, so she calls out to Ruby. “Ruby? Are you almost done? I want that room spotless by the time Winter and your father arrive!”
Ruby steps out of their room holding a broom and dressed in a black and red one piece dress and a dark grey cardigan, “Yes, Weiss. I’m almost done.” She rolls her eyes while closing the door, muttering under her breath about how pointless the task is.
Weiss ignores Ruby’s sass and instead calls out to her other two friends, “Yang, Blake, what about you?” They don’t answer her, but she can still hear the vacuum. “Yang? Blake?” She walks towards their room and is about to knock; but listens to the sound of the vacuum for a moment and realizes it doesn’t sound like it’s moving.
She opens the door without knocking and sees the vacuum propped up against the wall, just running, while Blake and Yang make out on their bed. “Are you kidding me!?”
The two quickly separate, but Yang just sports her usual cocky smile as she addresses Weiss, “Hey princess. Our folks here yet?” Blake at least had the decency to look embarrassed after getting caught.
Weiss’s face turns a bright shade of purple as she turns the vacuum off, “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?”
Yang sits up on her bed, “What? We cleaned. A little.” She wasn’t as dressed up as Weiss, or even Ruby, but had cleaned up pretty well. She had on a dull yellow flannel button down shirt, that for once didn’t show any cleavage, and a pair of cargo pants.
Blake sits next to Yang, she has on a purple peasant blouse and a pair black slacks. She draps an arm around Yang’s shoulder, “It’s cleaner than my room back home usually was.” She said with a shrug.
Weiss just rubs her eyes and deeply breathes through her nose as Ruby walks into the room, still holding the broom. “I heard Weiss screaming. What happened?”
“Your sister and her girlfriend were shoving their tongues down each other’s throats instead of cleaning!”
Ruby just looks at the two for a second before shrugging, “Oh, okay.” Then turns to leave.
Weiss grabs her arm, “Wait, Ruby this is a serious matter.”
“I mean, is it?” Ruby sighs at the annoyed look that crossed her BFFs face. “Look, Weiss, the truth is I stopped cleaning like twenty minutes ago. I just brought the broom in so you’d think I was still working while I played video games.” She finished with a shy smile.
Weiss looked two seconds away from exploding when Yang spoke again, “Weiss come on, your room is carpeted. What was she gonna sweep?”
“Are you three just trying to ruin this dinner!?” Weiss screeched at her friends. None of them reacted that much. By now they were used to their friend over-reacting like this when she gets nervous or excited.
Thankfully, Ruby had become especially adept at calming her white haired friend when she got like this. “Weiss, it’s okay. Winter won’t care if our room is in perfect condition, or even if the food is perfect. She’ll only care that you’re happy and healthy.” She gently places a hand on her shoulder.
A genuine look of guilt washes over Weiss’s face as she takes a deep breath. “I know...I know, Ruby. I’m...I’m really sorry, guys.” She turns back to the couple, “I’ve probably been really hard to deal with all day.”
“Well…”
Blake gently places a hand over Yang’s mouth, “It’s fine, Weiss. This is the first time we’re having Thanksgiving together. We’re all a little nervous.” Yang nodded her head with Blake’s hand still over her mouth, not really minding being kept silent. “I know I am. This will be the first time my parents are meeting Yang, after all.” Yang just looks at her with a concerned expression. “I’m sure they’ll love you.” And Blake gives her a peck on the cheek. Dropping her hand to show a small smile on Yang’s face.
Ruby smiles at Weiss, “And you already know dad loves you.”
Weiss looks to the side and rubs the back of her neck before saying, “Yeah, and I’m sure Winter will like you too.” Bringing a wide content grin out of Ruby. The moment for the roommates was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.
“There’s our first guest.” Ruby says before carelessly tossing the broom at the vacuum, knocking both over and earning another annoyed look from Weiss.
The girls begin to file out of the room until Blake looks at a mirror and notices her make-up has smudged while kissing Yang. As she exits the room, she heads to the bathroom instead of the front door. “I’m going to fix my make up real quick.” Yang winked at her as they separated. Blake rolled her eyes and pointed to her lips. Yang got the message and wiped the purple smudges off the corners of her mouth, before smiling at her girlfriend.
Weiss fussed over Ruby slightly, straightening her cardigan and trying to tame her choppy hair, as they stood by the door, until Ruby slapped her hands away so she could open the door.
Patiently waiting on the other side were a dark haired Faunus couple. The wife baring an unquestioningly strong resemblance to Blake, and the husband was a goddamn mountain of a man with a big bushy beard. Ruby offers her hand to the couple, and the wife takes it first. "You must be Blake's parents." She then shakes the husband's hand, "I'm Ruby, and this is Weiss. We're Blake's roommates. And this is Yang." She gestures to her sister standing behind them.
"Jesus Christ you're massive." Yang blurts out while looking at Blake's father. Weiss quickly slaps her across the shoulder and Yang blinks before taking another approach, "I mean, it's nice to meet the both of you." She shakes both their hands.
The two share an amused glance before Blake's father speaks. "It's...interesting to meet you as well. Blake has spoken often about you. I am Ghira, and this is my wife Kali."
Kali smirks, "I was wondering what it’d be like to meet our daughter's first girlfriend."
Yang scratches the back of her neck, slightly nervous, "Yeah well, I hope I make a good first impression." She pauses with a brilliant smile before re-addressing Ghira, "But seriously you are fucking huge. I'm guessing Kali has to be on top most of the time to avoid getting crushed."
"YANG!" Everyone at the door, with the exception of Weiss who just shook her head with a hand over her face, turned to see Blake standing by the hallway with a beet red face.
“Hey…” Yang casually strolls over to her girlfriend to take her hand and whisper to her, “I think they like me.”
Blake just rolls her eyes as they walk back to the door, her parents fully in the apartment and the door closed behind them. She hugs her parents, “It’s good to see you both again.”
Her parents firmly hug her back. Ghira says, “It’s been far too long.”
“It’s only been a few months, darling.” Kali chuckles, while squeezing her daughter tighter.
“It’s still too long…”
Ruby and Yang just hung back with warm smiles as Blake and her parents held each other, Yang pulling Ruby closer with one arm. Weiss, on the other hand, just looked to the side downcast. A bit jealous of Blake’s relationship with her parents.
Blake pulls away, and motions for Yang to come closer to them, “So...I believe you’ve met Yang.” The blonde walks over and takes Blake’s hand and waves at her girlfriend’s family.
“Yes...we have.” Ghira replied in a low voice.
“Oh , leave her alone.” Kali said, lightly slapping her husband across the chest, “I think she’s fun.”
“I really am.” A cheeky grin found itself on Yang’s face. Blake rolled her eyes again.
“Blake’s told us a lot about you, Yang. And the rest of you as well.” Kali said as they were led to the living room; the furniture rearranged to make room for the sizable table situated by the rear window. Ghira and Kali sat on the couch nearest the door, Ruby and Weiss share a loveseat near the left side of the room, close to their entertainment system, and Yang and Blake both take the recliner near the hallway that leads to the bedroom on the other side of the room; with Blake sitting on Yang’s lap.
“All good things I hope?” Yang said with a nervous smile as Ghira glared at the two.
“I think I should sit with my parents.” Blake quickly stood and made her way over to them.
“She did mention you were...blunt.” Ghira said, still clearly annoyed.
“I would go with a tactless loud mouth,” Weiss offered, “But sure, blunt works too.”
“Thanks, Weiss. But Ruby and Blake obviously don’t agree.”
“Yes we do.” Both girls agreed.
Yang looked between her sister and girlfriend incredulously, “Seriously!? You guys think I’M tactless?”
“Yang, you kept calling Penny a robot for the first two weeks we knew her.” Ruby said.
“Not to her face!” Everyone in the room burst out laughing, even Ghira gave a good belly laugh. They all chat for a few more minutes (Ghira seemingly warming up to Yang) until the doorbell announces another family member.
“Aw, and I was just about to take out Blake’s baby pictures.” Kali said as Weiss stood up to answer the door.
An absolutely mortified look crossed Blake’s face, “Mom, you wouldn’t.”
“PLEASE, tell me you did!” Yang asked with unbridled glee.
The door opened to reveal more faces than Weiss had ever expected, and only one that was in any way welcome. “Well girl, aren’t you going to invite your family in?”
The gruff voice of her father finally snapped Weiss out of her shock at seeing her entire family at her front door. “Oh...uh, of course. Sorry father.” She stepped aside and allowed them all to enter the apartment.
As Weiss’s father took a critical look around the room with his hand behind his back, everyone else stood. Kali spoke first with a bright warm smile, “I didn’t know Weiss’s whole family was coming.”
“Neither did we.” Ruby answered with an uncharacteristically cold tone of voice while glaring at the haughty mustached man scrutinizing her home.
Ghira walked up to the Schnee patriarch and offered a hand. “Ghira Belladonna, good to meet you.”
Weiss’s father just looked at the hand, then re-established eye contact without changing his position. “Jacque Schnee.” Ghira is visibly affronted as he lowers his hand, but otherwise doesn’t say anything. Jacque gestures behind him towards the rest of his family, “This is my wife Willow, my son Whitely, and my eldest daughter Winter. The only one of us, I might add, who was actually invited to dinner.” Jacque ended with a look of barely hidden contempt directed at Weiss.
Weiss looked away from her father, trying to hide her irritated look. Ruby bristled at the sight and prepared to tell Jacque off, only to be held back by Yang. The look Yang gave Ruby pleaded for her not to escalate things. Ruby closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing to glare at Jacque.
Whitely began looking around the apartment for himself, while Jacque took the recliner (Annoying Yang) and Willow sat with the Belladonnas. Weiss and Winter hung back near the door, “What are they all doing here?” Weiss asked.
“I’m so sorry, Weiss.” Winter whispered to her, “I off-handedly mentioned to mother that I would be visiting you for Thanksgiving. She must have told father and they all just met me at the airport without my knowledge.”
Weiss rubbed her temples as she took deep breaths through the nose and exhaled through the mouth, “It’s okay. It’s okay, we’ll deal with it.”
“Y’know, I’m kinda impressed, Weiss.” Whitely said looking down the hall to the girls’ rooms. “I don’t think I could stay in such a small place. Especially with three other people. Must get cramped.”
Before any of the four women living in the apartment he just insulted could say anything, Willow addressed her son, “Whitely please, there’s no reason to insult your sister’s apartment. I think it’s cute. It’s rustic.”
Yang, who had taken Weiss’s seat next to Ruby, muttered to herself, “Well isn’t that another word for Crap Shack?”
“We bought most of this stuff at IKEA, how does that even make sense?” Her sister added.
Jacque loudly cleared his throat to draw the room’s attention, “Can I ask, why are we all just sitting around instead of eating? That is the point of this holiday, isn’t it?”
“We’re still waiting for our dad.” Ruby answered, pointing at herself and Yang.
Whitley piped up again with an amused smirk, “Wait, you two are sisters? How? I’m guessing one of you is adopted...Or was daddy dearest less than faithful, perhaps?”
“Whitley…” Weiss yelled, “Stop!”
“Yes Whitley, stop.” Jacque lazily spoke up, “There’s no need to bring up their family’s lurid history.” Ruby jumped up from her seat, only for Yang to drag her back down but stares daggers at Jacque the whole time.
A loud insistent knocking broke the tension of the room, “Oh thank god.” Weiss says under her breath as she opens the door to a rugged looking blonde man with a good amount of stubble holding a glass dish.
“Hey Weiss! How’s it going?” He said with a big bright smile.
Weiss just gives him a relieved smile, “Hello, Taiyang.” And she lets him in.
“Dad!” Ruby and Yang rush towards the door and hug their father.
Tai hugs his girls back while keeping the dish balanced in one hand. “Hey, hey, calm down. Don’t want me to drop THIS, do you?” He says, while holding the dish between the two.
The sisters’ eyes sparkle with pure joy at the sight of the dish. Ruby grabs it out of her dad’s hand and exclaims, “You brought Turkey Casserole!?”
Winter made a disgusted face, “What on earth is Turkey Casserole?”
“It’s something dad came up with a few years ago.” Yang answered while Ruby walked over to the table, happily humming to herself. Most of the anger and unease pushed out of her mind by the arrival of her dad.
“Well, it sounds...delicious.” Weiss said, not all that enthusiastic at tasting the dish.
Blake added, “Yeah, I’m sure it’s great.”
“I didn’t know we were supposed to bring food to dinner.” Kali said, a slight look of embarrassment crossing her face.
Tai just waved it off, “Don’t worry about it. It’s just a little family tradition. I didn’t even tell my little girls I was bringing it.” He said while tussling Yang’s hair, and she playfully swats his hand away.
Yang turns to the two faunus, “Dad, this is Ghira and Kali, Blake’s parents.”
“Oh, hey! Great to meet you!” He energetically shakes both their hands. “Blake is a great girl. Yang really knows how to pick ‘em.”
Ghira chuckles, “Yes, I had some doubts, but Yang is a very lovely young woman. And she seems to make our Blake very happy. You raised two fine girls.”
Tai’s chest puffed out in fatherly pride, until Jacque spoke up, “So the blonde and the faunus are in a relationship?” He said with easily noticeable disdain.
The three other parents sharply look at Jacque while Willow just shakes her head. Tai walks up to him, “Yeah, they are. Is that a problem with you?”
Jacque’s jaw set as he stared Taiyang down, and through gritted teeth, “No. Of course not.”
“And this is Weiss’s family.” Ruby pointed out, and introduced the Schnee family in turn.
“Taiyang Xiao Long, pleasure.” He held his hand out. Jacque hesitantly took it and shook once before taking a cloth out of his suit pocket to wipe his hand off. Tai gives the other man an annoyed look but doesn't comment. Instead he points something out. “Unfortunately, I didn’t make enough casserole for everyone. I didn’t know Weiss’s whole family was showing up, after all.”
Willow looks surprisingly upbeat for a moment, “Oh, so we don’t have to eat it...” Before forcing a disappointed look, “That’s...such a shame.”
“Actually…” Weiss said as she and Ruby look over the food on the table, “...I don’t think we have enough food for everyone in general.”
“What?” Jacque turned to his daughter, “How can you not have enough to feed your own guests?”
“Maybe because we didn’t know there’d be three extra people here.” Weiss gave her father an exasperated look.
“Well I think this has a rather obvious solution.” Whitley stated, “Weiss and her friends should sit out for dinner tonight. After all, they’re the hosts. And a host should do what’s best for their guests. And seeing as there will be four people not eating instead of three, there may be a few scrapes left over they could share.”
“That really doesn’t seem fair to the girls.” Kali stated, giving a soft glare at the boy.
“I agree.” Willow stood, “I hate to suggest this since the girls worked so hard to prepare this dinner; It might be best to go out for tonight.”
Surprisingly, Blake spoke up, “I actually agree.”
“Are you sure, Blake?” Weiss asked.
She shrugged, “It’s not exactly practical to try and make more food on such short notice. And the point of Thanksgiving is to have dinner together as a family. It doesn’t really matter where we do it.”
Ghira gives her a one armed hug and a warm smile, “Well said. This might be the best answer to our predicament. Are we all agreed?” The rest of the room aqueses, even Ruby who laments not being able to eat her dad’s supposedly famed dish while it’s relatively fresh.
The girls’ families quickly grab their coats and leave the apartment and wait for the four in the building's lobby.
“I’m really sorry about this, guys.” Weiss says as she and Ruby exit their room sporting winter coats. “If the rest of my family didn’t show up, we wouldn’t have wasted all day cooking and cleaning.”
Yang just shrugs, “Eh, it’s alright Weiss. Look on the bright side: Now we have enough leftovers to last the next two weeks.”
“The real question is,” Ruby spoke softly turning to her friend, “Weiss, are you okay with your dad being here.”
The white haired heiress looked into the eyes of her three friends and sighs, “I’ll be fine. I’ve had to deal with his barbs, backhanded compliments, and barely concealed insults for 18 years. I can deal with it for a couple hours.”
“Especially when you have us.” Blake places a hand on her shoulder. Yang pats her on the back, and Ruby hugs her arm.
“Thank you.” Weiss said with a watery smile. The four roommates made their way to meet their families. The large group walked out of the building while attempting to make their dinner plans.
“So where are we going now?” Winter asked as they came to the parking lot.
“Well…” Ruby began, “There are a few places we like to go to when none of us want to cook. What about that great noodle place?”
“You seriously want to have noodles for such an important dinner?” Weiss asked incredulously, “No, I think a nice upscale buffet would at least give the illusion of a more traditional Thanksgiving.”
“Pfft, tradition’s overrated.” Yang waves her off, “What about that new BBQ place down the block? It’s supposed to be authentic Vacuo cuisine.”
Ghira gave a nostalgic sigh and patted his stomach, “I haven’t had Vacuan BBQ in years.”
Blake smiles at her father, “Well, I think we know dad’s vote. And I second it.”
“I could go for some BBQ.” Taiyang agreed. In fact nearly everyone thought the BBQ suggestion was the best idea.
Except, of course, Jacque. “BBQ? Really? You really expect my family to handle messy, greasy hunks of meat?” He said with his usual siddity tone. “Surely there’s a more respectable restaurant we can go to.”
“Father…” Weiss said in a warning tone.
Jacque looked genuinely confused by his daughter's rebuff, "What? We need some place to eat, and some of us aren’t willing to lower ourselves to some Vacuan greasy spoon.”
“I was thinking the same thing, father” Whitley said, as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, “While Weiss and her friends were coming down, I searched for a reputable Atlesian restaurant in the area. I believe that would be a far more appropriate dining experience.”
Jacque cracks the first genuine smile of the night and pats Whitley’s shoulder, “Well done my boy. Good thinking.”
Weiss rubbed her temple, “Father, please...this dinner is for everyone. There’s no need to hijack it.”
“Hijack?” His eyes widened with a look of mock surprise, “My dear girl, I’m only offering to allow your friends the experience of superior Atlesian dining.”
Ruby meekly offers, “Well, we never really have tried any Atlesian food. Except some simple stuff Weiss made.”
“Yeah, that’s because the cheapest Atlas joint is still way too expensive for our food budget.” Yang explains.
“That’s alright,” Jacque states with a sly smile, “I can pay for dinner tonight.”
“Why is that not surprising?” Taiyang mutters under his breath.
Weiss can easily see what her father is doing, she’s seen it her whole life and she was sick of it. She wasn’t about to let her friends get steamrolled without a fight. She takes a deep breath and steels herself for yet another argument, only for Ghira to step in, “It’s quite alright. We can have BBQ anytime.”
“I’m sure dinner will be fine regardless.” Kali adds with a strained smile.
Jacque nods and turns away from the rest of the groups after taking the phone from Whitley to make the reservation. Whitely follows close behind, and Willow seems to just wander towards their rental car with a blank resigned look on her face. Wiess and Winter turn to everyone else, “I can’t believe he’s doing this.” The eldest Schnee says. After an exasperated look from Weiss, “Okay, yes I can.”
Tai walks up to them and puts a hand on both their shoulders, “It’s alright, you two. I’m pretty sure if we went anywhere else, your dad would have spent the entire time sulking like a spoiled child. This is more for our own sanity than for him.” He smiles at them while taking a step back, “And besides, this way we still get a free meal. So it’s all good.”
The sisters smile as well, “You’re very kind, Mr. Xiao Long.” Winter says politely. His own daughters both give him a light hug.
“Alright, everyone!” Jacque catches everyone’s attention once again, “We have our reservation, but we must hurry along. Follow us, we’ll show you the way.” And with that, he and Whitley walk towards their car. Winter rolls her eyes and shrugs towards her sister before following the rest of her family. The rest of the group made their way to their respective vehicles.
Once the four roommates were secluded in Weiss’s car (Weiss driving, Ruby in the passenger seat, and Blake and Yang in the back), Yang blurted out. “Wow! Your dad is an even bigger asshole than I thought he’d be.”
“Yeah, that was a lot to deal with.” Ruby added.
Weiss just sighs as she pulls out of her parking space, “The sad thing is, this is him trying to be nice.”
Yang just shakes her head while Ruby stares in disbelief. Blake says, “We have to buy you a drink before the night is out.” Weiss smiles a little as she drives along.
Thankfully, The Frozen Garden, the restaurant Jacque had decided Thanksgiving would be taking place in, wasn’t that far away from the girls’ apartment so it took less than five minutes to get there. The Schnees and the Belladonnas were waiting patiently for them outside of the restaurant, the Belladonnas looking much colder than Weiss’s parents.
As soon as the roommates got out of the car, Jacque tried to hurry them all inside. “Alright, everyone, let’s go now.”
His wife actually stops him to point out someone missing, “Wait, where is Ruby and Yang’s father?”
“Oh don’t worry about it. Dad texted us on the way here.” Ruby said, “Apparently he saw a hardware store still open and needed to pick up something for the house. He’ll be here in a few minutes and told us to go ahead and start without him.”
Jacque just rolled his eyes and led the way inside. He walks up to the hostess, pushing past other patrons of the restaurant in the process, “Schnee, party of 11.”
The hostess nods and gestures for the party to follow her. As they’re led through the restaurant, the roommates (With the exception of Weiss) look around the place in wonder. “Wow, this has to be the fanciest place I’ve ever been.” Ruby says. The Frozen Garden was a perfect example of Atlesian architecture. Sleek, futuristic, and cold as the tundras of Solitas. While there were some plants dotted throughout the establishment, the overall white, grey, and metallic blue color scheme did little to make the restaurant feel homey.
While her friends marveled at the pristine decor, Weiss just grimaced at her surroundings. She had spent the better part of the last year and a half in the quaint little home she’s built with her best friend, her best friend’s sister, and her best friend’s sister’s best friend turned girlfriend. She had cultivated a weird little family dynamic with these three other women and loved it with all her heart. Her new home was filled with warmth and love, two things her childhood home severely lacked. And returning to this kind of environment brought back many unhappy memories. Even more so than seeing her father did, because at least then she was in her home with her friends by her side.
The hostess leads them to a private dining area, of course he wouldn’t “Lower himself” to dine with the “Commoners”. Weiss thought to herself. The table was large enough to fit everyone easily and the room, while secluded, had slightly fogged windows and a pale blue curtain for a door. As she sat down, Weiss noticed her father stopping the hostess before leaving the room but didn’t put too much thought into it. Just assuming he was trying to gain some other kind of special treatment.
The seating order was largely based on the families present. Blake sat between her parents, Ruby and Yang sat next to each other, with a spare chair reserved for their dad situated between Yang and Kali, and the Schnees essentially dominated an entire half of the table. The seating order alternated between child and parent; Wiess sat between Ghira and her mother, then next to Willow was Whitely, then Jacque, and finally Winter seated next to Ruby.
There was a slightly awkward silence as the group got settled. No one was totally sure what to say with tensions already kinda high from everything that happened back at the apartment. The only one not awkwardly fiddling with their silverware, staring at their plate, or glaring at someone else at the table was Willow, who had requested a bottle of wine for the table while Jacque was making the reservation. Weiss sadly glanced at her mom pouring herself a second glass as a waiter presented the table with menus.
Ruby and Yang were both completely caught off guard by the prices they saw. Even the cheapest thing on the menu was over 70 lien. There were some things that cost more than their rent! Even the Belladonnas were surprised but just how expensive every menu item was. While everyone at the table knew Jacque’s offer to pay for the dinner was a power play, none of them were going to argue at this point.
Everyone at the table made their orders, most of them requesting something relatively inexpensive; but Ruby, out of a rare display of spite, ordered one of the most expensive menu items. She’ll admit she got a degree of petty satisfaction from the way Jacque’s face twitched when she made her order. She wasn’t even sure what she ordered was or if she’d even like it, but it would be worth it just to get a rise out of her best friend’s father.
It was clear Jacque wasn’t expecting anyone to do something like that. He’d expected everyone to have “Too much Pride” to have Jacque actually pay for anything really expensive, and very obviously didn’t account for just how much Ruby would hate Jacque on Weiss’s behalf.
As Jacque composed himself, Yang asked Ruby, “Dad isn’t here yet, should we just order something for him?”
“I’m not sure. You think we should?” Ruby asked
“It might be better to just guess what your father wants.” The waiter interjects with a courteous smile, “Most of the meals we serve here take some time to prepare, so he might not be able to eat with you all if you wait for him to show up.”
Yang shrugs, “Alright then, so what do you think dad would like?” She asks while looking over the menu.
Ruby scratches her cheek and wrinkled her brow, “I don’t know. I mean, he likes meat and spicy stuff…” She looks towards the waiter, “Do you have anything like that?”
He smiles softly, “I can think of a few things along those lines. Is cost an issue here?”
Ruby pointedly looks at Jacque with a wicked smile, “Not at all.” The waiter jots down whatever he had in mind for Taiyang and leaves the room while the Schnee patriarch glares at the little red head.
Willow, already on her third glass, audibly cackled at Ruby actively screwing with her husband; something that actually lessens the tension enough that conversation starts to flow a bit better.
Ruby explains how she dropped out of college to start a locally famous rock band. Yang details her future plans to open her auto shop, specializing in fixing and customizing motorcycles. Blake mentions her studying to become a Civil Rights lawyer, and even interning at a local law firm. And Weiss brings up preparing for her MBA.
“So you dropped out of school...to be a rock star?” Winter asks with a stern voice directed at the little red head.
Weiss rolled her eyes, “Winter, please…”
“No, Weiss, it’s okay.” Ruby said with an understanding smile, “I get it. It’s kind of a weird path to take, I’ll admit. The truth is I wasn’t happy in college, and I didn’t really feel like I had anything to work towards. I changed majors three times in my sophomore year alone.” She said with a light chuckle. “But, I loved music. I’d usually find myself writing songs instead of studying, and my grades started dropping the longer I was in school, and at some point I just decided it would be better if I did something that I actually enjoyed doing rather than working towards nothing. It wasn’t easy, but Yang let me stay with her while I worked everything in my life out.”
“Well I suppose it’s good you found some stability,” Ghira started, “But I’m curious how all four of you began living together.”
“We know why Ruby and Yang are living together, and it’s understandable why our Blank moved in,” Kali takes a moment to playfully pinch her daughter’s cheek, “But what about Weiss?”
“Yes, It was surprising Weiss would leave an Atlas University to complete her degree program in another country all-together.” Whitley said, with a cocked eyebrow.
“I was more curious how Weiss and the other girls met, actually.”
Weiss gave her brother a brief side-eye before answering, “Ruby and I actually met online while she was still in high school.”
“It was in a My Little Pony fan forum.” Ruby states with a nostalgic smile. A light blush finds its way on Weiss’s cheeks as both Yang and Whitley barely contain their laughter. Even Blake and Winter hide amused smiles. Willow gently patting Whitley on the back of the head quieted him down with an oddly contented expression. Ruby just elbowed her sister.
Weiss cleared her throat before continuing, “That...It’s not important where we met. The point is, we started talking a lot, even if I started off more antagonistic than I really should have been.”
“She still calls me dolt sometimes.”
“That’s because you are one.” Weiss says with a warm smile as she throws one of the complimentary breadsticks at her friend’s head. Ruby easily dodges and sticks her tongue out at her before smiling brightly. “Anyway; we started talking more through PMs and even calling each other on Discord occasionally. After I mentioned having some…” She paused and resisted glaring at her father, “...Dissatisfaction with studying at Atlas, Ruby actually suggested I move to Vale to attend Beacon University, since she was planning to go there after graduation as well. I’m pretty sure she just wanted to meet in person and took it a little too far. But still, I looked into the school, found out I could transfer my credits; and here I am.” She finished her story with a shrug and a smile.
“Ah, that’s so sweet.” Kali said.
“So, how did you move in with Ruby and Yang?” Whitley asked, but for once didn’t have his usual smarmy, mocking tone. He seemed genuinely interested in Weiss’s story.
“Well…” Before Ruby could answer, she heard a voice coming from the front of the restaurant, one she was sure she recognized. Yang heard it too and the sisters shared a quick glance before standing and exited the private room.
Once in the main dining area, they see their dad loudly arguing with the hostess, “Look, this is the place I was told to come to, I’m here now, so just tell me where that douche with the mustache is!”
Ruby and Yang ran up to the front to break up the argument. Ruby reaches them first, “Dad, calm down. What’s happening?”
Taiyang turned to his youngest and pointed at the woman he’d been yelling at, “Ask her!”
The hostess in question addresses Ruby as well, “I’m sorry miss, but you know this man?”
“Of course she does, he’s our dad. She just said it.” Yang answered.
“What’s going on here?” Jacque walks towards the group with Weiss trailing close behind.
The hostess, getting more nervous by the minute, says, “Uh...well, this man says he’s part of your party, but he’s not on the reservation.”
Weiss steps forward, confused, “But the reservation was for eleven people and only ten of us are back there. Shouldn’t that make it obvious he’s with us.”
The hostess’s gaze switches from Weiss to Jacque repeatedly, “I...uh…I was told-”
Jacque cut her off, “If this is the quality of the services you provide, I’ll have to talk with your manager after our dinner.”
The hostess visibly paled at his threat, “B-b-but...you said-”
“That’s enough!” Jacque held his hand up then turned away, “We should return to the others.”
As he walks away, Weiss and the Xiao Long-Rose family all glare at him. “Soooo…” Yang starts, “We all acknowledge he tried to keep dad from eating with us just to be a shit, right?”
“Yep.” The other three answered.
Taiyang gets his coat checked and, feeling guilty for the downcasted hostess getting wrapped up in Jacque’s bullshit, he pulls out twenty bucks and hands it to her, “It isn’t much, but…” he shrugs, not sure what else to say. She smiles sadly and nods, seemingly understanding his intentions.
Weiss leads the smaller family back to the private room, “I don’t even know what he was thinking.” She thought out loud, “What was the point of doing this?”
Tai shrugged, “Eh, we kinda got into it outside of your apartment about Yang and Blake dating. So I’m not surprised.”
Yang smiled, “Aw, dad.” She kisses him on the cheek. “He probably didn’t expect you to be so loud we’d hear you all the way in the back.”
Ruby giggles, “Or that if we didn’t hear you, you probably would have just started yelling our names after a while.”
Tai hugs both his girls and smiles brightly as they make their way through the restaurant, “Hey, a dad’s gotta do what a dad’s gotta do.”
The four of them returned just in time for a few waiters to serve the table their food. They even served Tai a delicious looking pepper-spiced T-bone steak thanks to his daughters. He sat between his girls as the whole table began to eat.
“So what were we all talking about?” Tai asks, to get a foothold in on whatever conversation happened while he was gone. “I mean...we were talking, right?”
“Weiss was just explaining why she decided to live in a small apartment with three other women she barely knew.” Jacque stated as he began picking at his food.
“I wouldn’t put it like that…” Weiss ground out before taking a deep breath, “But, we were just getting there.”
“During my second year at Beacon, I started having a lot of issues with my dorm mate. She was...kind of a mess, and it was getting harder to work around her drinking, partying and bringing men around. Ruby had already dropped out around the time I was really fed up with dealing with all that.”
“And coincidentally,” Yang starts in, “I had to just recently kick out our old roommate, Neo. You remember her, dad? Short, mute girl with different colored eyes?”
“Oh yea,” He said, Taking a moment to swallow his food, “You kept saying you were afraid she’d stab you to death in your sleep.”
“Was that another joke?” Kali asked, “Like what you said about the robot girl.”
“No, Neo was pretty creepy.” Ruby answered, “She liked to just stare at you and smile, for some reason.” She shuddered thinking about it.
Yang just frowned at the memory, “Honestly, the only good thing that came out of Neo living with us was learning Sign Language.”
“But you can’t really kick someone out just for being creepy.” Winter stated.
“No, but you can if you find out they’ve been stealing your stuff for months.” Blake answers dryly, “Turns out Neo had a klepto streak along with everything else.”
“And after they got rid of Neo,” Weiss continued, “I moved in. Blake joined us a few months later after she and Yang started dating.”
“And now we’re one big happy family!” Ruby said in between bites of the mystery meal she ordered; some kind of meat stew. It tasted great. She still wasn’t sure what she was eating, but she decided that might be for the best considering how much she was enjoying it.
The dinner was generally pleasant from that point on. Everyone talked and shared stories from their families’ past. Kali even got the chance to show off Blake’s baby pictures to everybody, much to Blake’s horror. The one that really got Yang’s attention is of baby Blake clutching a yellow dragon plushie.
Blake got a sense of revenge when Tai said if the Belladonnas ever visit again, he’d show them a video of Yang running through the mud in their yard completely naked as a toddler.
The rest of the dinner was relatively chill, with only a few pretty arguments breaking out, “You wrote Ice Queen in glow in the dark paint over Wiess’s bed?” Winter asked, confused.
“It was funny!”
“No it wasn’t!” Ruby and Weiss say simultaneously.
And of course once Tai revealed that he’s a teacher, the question of how he could allow Ruby to drop out of school immediately came up. By Jacque, of course. Tai stated that he wasn’t happy with Ruby’s decision, but thinks she’s old enough to make her own choices; taking not so subtle jabs at what he’s heard of Jacque’s heavy handed method of parenting. Thankfully, Ruby and Weiss were able to de-escalate things before a more serious argument broke out.
Once the meal was finished and the three families were basking in their full bellies, Tai of all people openly admitted, “Okay...That was great.”
“I think that might be the best meal I ever had.” Blake added.
Weiss rolled her eyes at the look of smug vindication her father gave her. Clearly the tension from earlier was by and large forgotten, and even Weiss had to admit that coming here worked out a lot better than she would have guessed. Barring the still obvious animosity between Taiyang and Jacque, her father had not done anything to antagonize most of the people at the table. And everyone generally seemed to enjoy the night, so Weiss figured she could call this Thanksgiving a success.
“So, um...This was all great and everything…” Ruby started, somewhat nervously, “But is it weird that I really wish we could have had dad’s Turkey Casserole instead?”
“Oh my god, thank you!” Yang exclaimed, “I was just thinking the same thing!”
“What!?” Jacque looked genuinely incensed by this.
“I just mean...Dad’s casserole is so fucking good.”
“Yang, don’t swear in front of company.” Tai lightly admonishes Yang.
“Oh come on, we’re all adults here. Wait, how old is Whitley again?”
“Okay, I’m really curious now,” Winter said, “What exactly is Turkey Casserole?”
A somber smile grows on Ruby’s face as she explains, “It’s something dad came up with the first Thanksgiving after our mom died. He wanted us to try and have a normal traditional Thanksgiving...Buuuut…”
“Dad’s not exactly a great cook.” Yang finished for her.
“Hey, I think I was a pretty good cook.” Tai defended himself, “I cooked for your mom in college all the time.”
Yang just smirked, “Yea, I don’t think making instant Ramen on a hotplate counts as cooking.” She turned to the rest of the table to continue the story, “The first time dad tried to make Thanksgiving dinner, he managed to somehow burn or under cook just about everything. And because he’s way too stubborn for his own good, instead of just ordering a pizza or something, dad figured he could just smash together everything that wasn’t totally ruined into one thing and that would be good enough.”
“And surprisingly it was.” Ruby chipped in. “Dad’s been tweaking the recipe every year since.”
“And I don’t wanna brag,” Tai says, leaning back in his chair, “But I pretty much perfected it by now.”
“Well, that may be,” Blake stated, “But I bet it’s nowhere near as good as my mom’s sushi.”
Kali lightly elbows her daughter in the shoulder, but still smiling, “Oh Blake, stop.”
“No seriously, it’s so good. She even makes her own wasabi sauce.”
“You do make the most delectable yellowtail in all of Menagerie, darling.” Ghira adds, kissing his wife on the temple. Kali begins to blush at her family’s praise of her.
Ruby smiles at the tender moment, then turns to her friend, “Oh, Wiess! What kinda stuff does your family eat a lot?”
“Um…We don’t really have a traditional family meal, or anything.” She says with a shrug.
“Well,” Whitely pipes up, “There is that fish concoction Klein always makes at Christmas.”
“Yes! It’s quite a lovely dish.” Jacque says, “Can’t quite remember what it’s called, but we certainly have it every year.”
Willow downs her last glass of wine before slurring out, “My grandmother made the most delicious beef stew. She made it for my father during his mining days when it was especially cold to keep him warm. He even learned to make it himself, and would often give me bowls of it when I was sick.” As she talked, Willow reached for the now empty bottle and attempted to pour herself another glass. “I never learned the recipe, unfortunately. So I suppose it’s just lost to time.”
The Schnee kids exchanged glances as their mother realized there wasn’t any more alcohol to drink. “You never told us that.” Weiss said with a sad look on her face.
Willow just shrugged as she placed the bottle back down, “I didn’t want to get your hopes up about something I couldn’t give you.” She said while idly looking at the empty glass in her hand.
A tense silence overcame the table. Yang leaned to her dad and whispered, “Holy shit, this is awkward.” Tai just nods in agreement.
The check finally came and of course Jacque paid for the whole meal. The group left the restaurant and made their way to the parking lot as the Belladonnas and the Schnees prepared to leave. Blake hugs her parents, “Are you sure you can’t stay a little longer?”
They seperate and Ghira caresses her cheek, “I wish we could. But unfortunately there is much work to do in Menagerie. We could only make time to Vale for the night.”
“We’d stay if we could.” Kali pets her between her cat ears, “Hell, if it was my decision we’d probably stay for a week. I missed you much, dear.” Blake rolled her eyes at her mother’s hyperbole, but smiled all the same, and gave her parents another hug.
The Schnee farewell was not quite as warm. Willow had already been placed in the back seat and passed out. Jacque just shook his head and turned his attention to his middle child. “Well, I can’t say I’m impressed with how you’ve chosen to live here in Vale. But if you still refuse to finish your studies in Atlas…”
Weiss took a deep before answering, “No, father. I’m going to stay here, with my friends.” Give him a hard scowl to accentuate her point.
Jacque just rolled his eyes, “Very well. I suppose it could be worse.” And with that, he turns towards the car, gets into the passenger seat, and patiently waits for Winter and Whitely.
Weiss continues to give him a hard look until Whitely clears his throat, “Weiss, I have to thank you.” She arcs an eyebrow at this seemingly random compliment, “I have been worrying about the living arrangements of dorm life when I begin college next year. But after seeing your new “Home”, I can honestly say nothing short of an absolute hovel can scare me off now.”
Whitely turns to the car, but Weiss grabs his arm, “Whitely...Just for once in your life can you not be a little shit?”
“What!?” He rips his arm away.
Weiss just sighs, “I am trying to live my life without our father deciding everything for me. I’ve made a home with people who love me for who I am, not because of what my name is. Ruby didn’t even know who I was when I told her my name. I can’t remember the last time that happened.” Weiss placed her hands on his shoulders and looked directly in his eyes, “I’m happy, Whitely. For the first time in my life, I am well and truly happy. So once, just this once, don’t parrot what father says. How do YOU really feel about how I’ve decided to live?”
Whitley stared into his sister’s eyes for a moment before opening his mouth, only to be interrupted by their father knocking on the window glass and pointing at his watch. Whitley shrugs off Weiss’s hands and moves towards the car, then stops and says to her, “Good luck Weiss.”
Weiss just sighed as her brother climbed in the back seat of the car. “I think you’re getting to him.” Winter says with a confident smile.
“You really think so?”
“Whitely is still figuring himself out. And unlike the two of us, he bought into most of father’s bullshit. We just have to hope he can eventually see through it.”
Weiss thought about it for a moment before shaking her head, “Maybe, but I think we should help him.” Winter looked surprised at Weiss’s declaration. “If it weren’t for Ruby, Yang and especially Blake, I would probably still be mistrustful and bigoted towards Faunus. And I would have missed out on knowing some amazing people...And also Sun. We can overcome what father has done to us, but we need help to do so. And I don’t think Whitely has anyone in his own circle willing to do that.”
Winter gives Weiss an affectionate look before bringing her into an uncharacteristically warm hug, “I am so proud of you, Weiss. You really have grown since coming here.” While surprised at first, Weiss embraces her as well. When they separate, Winter says to her, “We’ll figure something out tomorrow. I still need to get them to the airport.” Weiss nods and let’s her walk over to the car. She waves as her family drives off.
The Xiao Long-Rose family just watch as their friends part ways with their families. Tai did have work in the morning, but considering Patch is only an hour and a half drive from Vale, he has considerably more leeway in when he has to leave and wanted to spend a little more time with his girls.
After Weiss’s moment with Winter, her friends all gather around her and Ruby is the first to ask, “You okay?”
She nods, “Yeah. Like I said, I had to deal with my father bullshit for most of my life. I could handle it for the last hour or so.”
Yang places a hand on her shoulder, “Yea, but that thing with your brother felt kinda tense.”
“It was. But that’s something to worry about later. Right now, I’m really tired and I just want to go home.” The other three agree, and the roommates drive off with Taiyang following behind.
Back at their apartment, the roommates put all the food they prepared away to serve as their breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next few days. They were all full after the Frozen Garden, but on Ruby and Yang’s insistence, they all have a small helping of Taiyang’s Turkey Casserole. “Oh my god, how is this so good?” Weiss exclaimed after only a few bites.
“Years of experimentation, that’s how.” Tai said with a cocky grin that proves beyond any doubt that he is Yang’s father.
“You should taste it when it’s fresh instead of microwaved. It’s sooo much better.” Ruby says finishing off her bowl.
Blake hums as she finishes another forkful, “I’ll admit, this is almost as good as my mom’s sushi.”
“You’re just jealous, kitten.” Yang said with a wink.
Someone knocks on the door and Ruby answers it to find Winter waiting. “Winter! What are you doing here?”
Winter walks into the apartment, “After I dropped our family off, I decided I needed some more time for myself. I called General Ironwood, and requested a few more days off. I can stay at least until Sunday.” Weiss stands up and hugs her sister.
The roommates, Taiyang, and Winter sat around chatting and laughing into the night. Finally able to enjoy Thanksgiving the way they intended.