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It’s a serene evening in the Xiao Long home, the house mostly still, undisturbed and quaint. Taiyang smiles pleasantly as steam rises to brush across his face, taking small sips of the green tea nestled in his palms. Outside, the shattered moon is gleaming full, making the sky and the stars around it glitter like a galaxy.
Tai huffs out a relaxed breath, pouting when his gaze falls upon the large pile of dishes that have accumulated in the sink, when a small figure with soft fur bumps against his legs. Chuckling, the man bends down and scratches the adorable Corgi who has just rubbed against him.
“Hey, Zwei,” He chirps. “Ruby’s still out, huh? Don’t worry, she’ll be back soon to give you all the pets you want”
Zwei barks and wags his tail, but Tai can’t help but feel a tinge of worry. His youngest daughter has been off of the island and in Vale City for nearly 3 hours now, and she’s cutting it pretty close to curfew. Closer than usual. He supposes she just got held up at that dust shop she likes so much. From Dust Til Dawn? He recalls. Tai appreciates the play-on-words in the title, as a dad joke enthusiast himself.
But this is really too late for her to be out. She’s usually back by now, with a whole new weapons magazine in hand. What’s taking her so long?
“DAAAAAAD!”
Tai winces as an abrasive cry rips through his thoughts. He treads from the kitchen, leaving the corgi to do his own thing, over to the living room and turns around to glare up the stairs. His eldest daughter, shimmering blond locks and all, is standing at the top, wheeling over a large, bright orange suitcase.
“Geez, Yang, did you have to yell so loudly?” He complains, plugging his ears. “I can barely hear myself think!”
Yang cracks a smirk. “Really? I was under the impression that that head of yours was empty.”
Tai sticks out his lower lip and slouches. “I didn’t raise you to be mean. Mean daughter. Where did I go wrong?”
“You make it too easy,” Yang shrugs. She gestures to her suitcases that are. “Anyways, I’m all set for Beacon now! This is the last bag!”
“You’re sure you have everything you need?” Tai asks. Yang nods, but Tai of course needs to grill her a bit just to make sure “Got your toothbrush? Ember Celica? Extra pairs of underwear in case-“
“Oh my gosh, stop. YES ,” Yang assures him. “So is it cookie time now?”
Tai laughs. “Okay, okay ! I’ll start making the cookies.” Yang pumps her fist and carries her last bag down to the front door where the rest of them are waiting.
“Is Ruby home yet?” Yang asks as Tai heads to the kitchen. “Because there’s no way she’d forgive us if we made these without her and didn’t even give her a sample of the cookie dough.”
“No, actually,” Tai says, and Yang raises an eyebrow. He manages to catch a brief sheen of worry flash across her violet eyes.
“That’s….”
“Strange, I know.”
Yang gazes thoughtfully at the wooden floors before perking up again. “Maybe she’s finally hit her rebellious phase.”
“Ruby? Nope. Not Ruby. There’s only enough room in this house for one mean daughter.”
The blonde teenager sticks her tongue out in response.
Sniggering, Tai begins to pull out all the ingredients he’ll need for the cookies when there’s a loud rapping on the door, coming out in rapid fire succession. Tai and Yang both exchange curious looks. They aren’t expecting any company, and if it were Ruby she would’ve burst in without even bothering to knock.
Yang makes a move to answer the door but Tai plants a hand over her chest and pushes himself past her to beat her to it. Bracing himself, he pulls back the door and his eyes widen in surprise.
Standing in front of him is a platinum blond haired woman with glasses and a purple cape. Her forehead is tight, the lines freezing her expression in a permanent deadpan.
“Glynda?” He remarks, shocked. Glynda Goodwitch nods at him, remaining in her strictly professional nature.
“Good evening, Tai,” She says. “I believe I found something of yours in Vale City… at a little dust shop.”
He hadn’t noticed her before but he sees her now. A little girl clad in a black and red skirt and sleeves leans to the side from behind Glynda, with stunning silver eyes that shine like a second moon. The spitting image of her mother. Ruby smiles awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. “Heh, heh, hi, Dad.”
Tai’s heart flutters with relief. His daughter is safe, and with a Headmistress of Beacon no less. Speaking of…
“Glynda…” He trails off warily, side-eyeing his daughter as he speaks. “How... did you two end up meeting?”
“That, Tai, is a long and exciting story that is better explained once we are inside.”
Tai watches as Yang’s jaw slowly falls ajar, but he steps aside and allows Glynda and Ruby to come inside. He stops Ruby, catching her by the arm just before she steps through the doorway. “What’s going on?” He asks.
“Heh heh, that’s kinda part of the story, Dad,” Ruby switches from nervous to excited, her silver eyes twinkling in the same way they do when she talks about weapons and combat. “But I don’t want to spoil it for you! I’ll let Professor Goodwitch explain. She’s so cool, Dad, I saw her fight and her semblance does this cool thing where-“
Tai blinks when he clues in to what she just said. “Wait, you were in a
fight ?!”
“Yeah, well… technically it was a dust robbery but that’s-“
“WHAT?!”
“Spoilers, Dad! You got to hear the whole thing! Can I come inside now?”
Bewildered, Taiyang steps to the side. Ruby’s quickly dragged to her sister’s side, whose murmur of “What did you do ?” reaches his ears. Tai is inclined to ask himself the same question. Glynda Goodwitch doesn’t do casual friendly visits. If whatever Ruby got involved in is enough to catch the attention of Glynda Goodwitch and prompt her to come here, then no doubt it has caught the attention of Beacon’s own Headmaster, Professor Ozpin.
And that is what has the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.
“Girls,” Glynda pipes up. “Do you mind giving your father and I a bit of space to discuss this... matter?”
Yang and Ruby look to Tai with concern, silently asking for his assurance that everything will be fine. He nods, and the girls seem convinced enough to return his warm smile. Eagerly, they both evacuate the main floor and head up the stairs.
“So,” Tai says, giving Glynda a tired look. “What kind of matter is this? I can pay for any damages.”
“No need,” She promises. “The shop owner’s insurance covers it. That, and my semblance repairs things.”
Tai blinks. “I- I was mostly kidding.”
“This is no time for jokes, Tai.”
Glynda invites herself into the kitchen, and Tai follows, face stuck in a permanent expression of disbelief. He hasn’t been given the chance to mentally prepare himself for this type of thing, which makes him wonder why he even thought he was capable of being a father in the first place.
He just needs to accept that he’s never going to be mentally prepared for anything when it comes to fatherhood, especially not when he has children like Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. Definitely not.
Then again, it’s not the full-fledged fatherhood experience if he’s not hit in the face with curveballs.
“Tai, I’m just going to give it to you straight,” Glynda begins, pulling out her scroll pad. Her fingers glide across the holographic screen as she searches through, until she finally throws up a video and turns the device to face him. On the screen is a security recording of Ruby fighting off several men in front of a dust shop, with Crime Boss, Roman Torchwick, barking orders at them.
“Your daughter fought off several associates of Roman Torchwick, and even went after the man himself,” Glynda explains. “She was successful in stopping the robbery, only after recklessly starting a fight and putting civilians and herself in danger. Torchwick was able to escape with the aid of an unknown assailant, whom I was able to fight off before they got away.”
“So you’re saying Ruby stopped a robbery, got in a fight which you helped her in, but then the bad guy got away?”
“Indeed.”
“Okay, that explains the dust robbery part,” Tai remarks. “What it doesn’t explain is why you decided to boat over to Patch when you were already in Vale City. There’s no way it was just to escort my daughter home.”
“That’s because I’m not here for me,” Glynda confirms, and Tai clenches his jaw. With her arms folded, she pauses, eyeing him carefully through her glasses. “Professor Ozpin asked me to come here, as he felt it would be better to ask for permission in person.”
He holds his breath.
“Ozpin saw what your daughter did, and her exceptional skills impressed him. He wants your daughter to come to Beacon. Early.”
And there it is. Just as he feared.
Tai groans inwardly, placing a hand on his forehead and sitting down on the kitchen table. She can’t go to Beacon yet, regardless of how good she is. She’s not ready for the intensity of combat and responsibility. She hasn’t been given time to grow, to learn, to enjoy her youth while it lasts.
“Your daughter has already accepted his offer.”
And of course she has. She’s wanted to become a huntress and follow in their footsteps since she learned the meaning of the word. Ruby’s lifelong dream is to be the hero in the stories, to help people who aren’t capable of helping themselves, and to fight for what’s right. How could she pass up the opportunity to reach that dream sooner? How can he expect her to?
Tai exhales shakily. “Glynda… she’s 15 years old. That’s two years behind the other first years.”
Glynda huffs out a breath, expressing her shared concern. “I know. I don’t exactly approve of his motives; she’s clearly not ready to attend yet. But, Professor Ozpin seems to think otherwise-”
He violently shakes his head and pushes himself to his feet, suddenly ridden with frustration. “That’s bullshit. Don’t think I don’t know what Ozpin’s really after. He’s just… he’s using her Glynda, just because of what Summer-” His voice suddenly catches on a sob, and he backtracks. “Just because of what her mom could do. Because of what Ruby could do. He’s trying to drag our daughter into his war, and you just expect me to let it happen?! After he let her go? After what he did to our family?”
He feels his cheeks wet now, his chest heaving from a raised voice. Glynda says nothing at first, placing a hand on his shoulder, sadness reflecting in her own tired green eyes. In her touch she can feel her sympathy, but he can also feel something else. A desire to protect.
“I know, but can you really look at your daughter and tell her no?” Glynda says softly. Tai sags his shoulders resignedly. No . He can’t.
He doesn’t need to say it out loud. She nods in response. “A war is coming, Tai, and because of her eyes, she’s going to be dragged into it whether she’s ready or not. The best we can do is prepare her for it.”
Damn it. She’s right. He hasn’t exactly done the best job at it. His wife’s abilities are what got her... are what stopped her from coming back to them. He’s feared preparing Ruby for them because he feared she might be destined for the same fate.
He doesn’t want to lose her, too.
“I’m sorry that this is the way it has to happen,” Glynda says sincerely. “But I think you don’t have much of a choice.”
Tai lets the news sink in, and nods gently, finally conforming. He stands, returning once again to the living room with Glynda giving him some space from behind. They both pause at the bottom of the steps, and Tai calls out, “Girls! It’s safe to come out now!”
Almost instantly Ruby is at the top of the steps thanks to her semblance, standing still anxiously. Yang follows shortly behind her. Both sisters are silent, equally as patient.
Tai sighs, and looks to his youngest with a fondness that only a father could have. “Ruby, how badly do you want this?”
For a moment, Ruby glances at her feet, then up at him with her pleading silver eyes, biting her lip. Bad enough that she can’t even put it into words. There’s a heavy blanket of silence over them- Tai can feel the weight of it on his chest, making what he’s going to say next difficult to make. “Alright. You can go.”
She breaks into a beaming, toothy grin, and his heart both breaks and mends at once. He’s both sure that she’s going to be okay and equally terrified. But somehow that beaming smile is all that matters.
“I can’t believe my sister is going to Beacon with me!” Yang squeals, crushing Ruby in a hug. Tai winces. Yang’s hugs are equally as strong as his own, and that alone is saying something. Yang gasps suddenly and grabs her sister by the shoulders. “We have to get you packed!”
“Uh-” Ruby tries, but Yang grabs her by the arm and she squeaks in protest. “Yang, wait-! Uh, Thanks, Professor Goodwitch!”
Glynda chuckles at the girls’ antics as they disappear down the hall. “Well, Tai, I’ll leave you to it. Have a good evening.”
“You too,” Tai says truthfully. “Safe travels.”
“Thanks. For your family’s sake and the world’s, I sure hope Ozpin knows what he’s doing.”
Tai can only hope so too.